Hill Joins Mates on List of Injured

Pitcher Ken Hill will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow Monday and is expected to be out for six to eight weeks. Unless Dr. Lewis Yocum finds more extensive damage than the two bone spurs that have caused so much irritation the past two months.

“I could be out six to eight weeks, or there could be something else in there, too--I don’t know,” said Hill, who was put on the disabled list Friday for the fifth time in his career. “I do know I need an oil change though.”

The loss of Hill means that three-fifths of the opening day rotation--Hill, Jack McDowell and Allen Watson--is on the disabled list. Omar Olivares and Jarrod Washburn have eased the loss of McDowell and Watson, but the loss of Hill could put a serious dent in the Angel pennant hopes.

Hill is 8-5 with a 5.15 earned-run average in 14 games, and he combined with Chuck Finley to give the Angels a formidable one-two pitching punch. “It’s a bitter pill to swallow, to say the least,” Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi said.

With Watson out at least two more weeks and McDowell out indefinitely, the Angels probably will turn to knuckleballer Steve Sparks, who has a combined 0-8 record and 5.37 ERA at triple-A Vancouver and double-A Midland.

Manager Terry Collins, who is also considering a four-man rotation, is optimistic Hill will return--and not merely pitch--within two months.

“He’ll need four to five weeks of rest and rehabilitation and a couple weeks of bullpen workouts,” Collins said. “And then he should be ready.”

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Remember that saying, it only hurts when I laugh? Second baseman Justin Baughman, who rejoined the Angels on Friday after being hit in the face by a line drive Sunday night, knows just what it means.

“Smiling, laughing and trying to pronounce certain letters makes me uncomfortable,” said Baughman, who suffered a slight concussion and several gashes in and around his mouth. “I feel fine--I just can’t talk real well.”

Baughman needed between 60-70 stitches to close his cuts--Collins’ belief that it took 200 stitches “was an exaggeration,” Baughman said--and he has not shaved since he was hit by Colorado center fielder Curtis Goodwin’s liner.

“I remember the ball coming at me and Gary [DiSarcina, Angel shortstop] yelling to get two,” Baughman said. “Then I remember waking up on the field with everyone around me. There wasn’t a lot of pain, just a lot of swelling and blood.”

Baughman went through a light workout Friday and will increase his load in hopes of returning to the lineup Monday. He doesn’t believe he’ll suffer any emotional repercussions.

“It wasn’t a ground ball that took a bad hop,” Baughman said. “I didn’t really see it, so nothing will trigger a bad memory. There’s nothing to remember about it that would make me feel uneasy.”

Collins still has trouble comprehending the play. “I’ve never seen anyone get hurt that bad from that far away,” he said.

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The Angels have suspended pitcher William VanLandingham after the right-hander refused to report to Midland last week. The former San Francisco Giant, who was expected to challenge for a rotation spot this spring, was demoted after going 0-6 with an 11.23 ERA at Vancouver. If VanLandingham doesn’t retire, the Angels probably will release him. . . . The Angels have signed pitcher Brandon Emanuel, a Northwestern Louisiana State right-hander who was the team’s second-round pick in last week’s draft. Emanuel, primarily a reliever, went 5-1 with a 2.15 ERA and eight saves in 25 games last season, limiting opponents to a .159 average.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

ANGELS’ JARROD WASHBURN (1-0, 2.13 ERA) vs. RANGERS’ AARON SELE (9-3, 3.53 ERA)

The Ballpark in Arlington, Tex., 5:30

TV--Channel 9. Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090), KIK-FM (94.3).

* Update--Collins, who served the fourth game of an eight-game suspension Friday night, won’t be alone in his hotel room this weekend. Angel catcher Phil Nevin began his three-game suspension Friday and watched the game with Collins. The Rangers, who had shuffled their rotation so left-hander Darren Oliver could pitch twice against the Angels in six days, had to scratch Oliver from Monday’s start because of a strained muscle in the back of his left shoulder. Sele, who had given up 19 hits and 15 runs in 7 2/3 innings before beating Colorado, 3-1, Monday, will try to become the American League’s first 10-game winner. The right-hander was hit hard (nine earned runs in 10 innings) in two starts against the Angels last season but has a 3-2 lifetime record and 4.47 ERA against them. Reason for Washburn to be concerned: The Rangers are batting .353 against left-handers.