BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Winfield Discusses His Role as DH

Dave Winfield spoke with Manager Buck Rodgers about Rodgers’ frequent use of him as the designated hitter, but he hasn’t decided if he likes his new role.

Winfield was scheduled to be the designated hitter Wednesday for the ninth time in 14 games he has played for Rodgers. However, he was shifted to right field when a strained left rib cage forced center fielder Junior Felix to sit out.

“We talked, more to get to know each other than anything,” Winfield said of his conversation with Rodgers on Monday. “He told me he wanted to give some of the young guys some at-bats and I understand that. But any time you make a change, it’s difficult.

“I haven’t DH-ed more than maybe 50 times. I hadn’t anticipated it happening this year. I thought maybe I’d move from outfield to first base then later to DH. I haven’t come to any opinion about it, really.”

Felix’s injury occurred during batting practice Wednesday. He was to be examined after the game by team physician Jules Rasinski.

Rodgers hasn’t scheduled another start for right-hander Kirk McCaskill, who was pulled from the rotation last week. “I want to see Kyle Abbott once more and (Scott Lewis) another time before we start talking about Kirk,” Rodgers said. “Then I want to get Joe Grahe back in, and if we don’t run out of games, we’ll be set.”

Brian Downing of the Rangers has told friends he will retire after this season, although he insisted Wednesday he’s “noncommittal.” In case Wednesday was his last game at Anaheim Stadium, he had two of his sons, Bradley and Brandon, at the game as bat boys. The ovation he received after his leadoff home run Monday “was one of my highlights,” he said.