He Says Playing in Pain Preferable to Not Playing

Randy Velarde tried everything short of a witch doctor in an effort to expedite his recovery from reconstructive elbow surgery.

The Angel second baseman took anti-inflammatory pills and cortisone shots. He was given ultrasound treatments and electronic stimulation pads. He even used horse liniment, a topical oil used to strengthen the muscles, tendons and ligaments of racehorses.

“I figured if it works for horses, it ought to work for humans,” Velarde said. “You name it, we tried it.”

Nothing provided the perfect elixir. Velarde’s elbow is not 100%. He still experiences some pain. But that didn’t prevent him from returning to the Angel starting lineup Wednesday night for the first time since Sept. 27, 1996.

“We sat down with Dr. [Lewis] Yocum [team physician], and once he told me that my elbow would never be 100%, that there’s always going to be some pain, I said, ‘Let’s go, why wait?’ ” Velarde said.

“I’ve never had this type of injury, so I didn’t know what to expect. You have surgery and you think you’re going to get back to 100%. We were on different pages. When I realized there was going to be pain to deal with, I had no problem with that.”

Velarde, 35, will continue to take anti-inflammatory medication, and he’ll probably need a cortisone shot now and then.

“I’m going out there as if the injury never occurred,” Velarde said. “If you’re cautious, you’ll get hurt. I want to do things instinctively.”

*

To make room for Velarde on the roster, the Angels placed infielder Carlos Garcia on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained right hamstring, an injury so minor (but convenient) that Garcia will go on a minor league rehabilitation assignment by this weekend or early next week. That beat the alternative for the Angels, who would have had to designate Garcia for assignment had they not put him on the disabled list. . . . Bullpen coach Joe Coleman went to a Chicago-area emergency room late Tuesday night because of a kidney stone, which had not passed as of Wednesday night. “They call it the male equivalent of labor pains,” Collins said. “That hurts.” Bullpen catcher Mick Billmeyer handled Coleman’s game duties Wednesday night. . . . During batting practice Wednesday afternoon, White Sox shortstop Chris Snopek asked a reporter if he could borrow a pen. Snopek then had Angel batting instructor Rod Carew, a Hall of Famer, autograph a baseball for him.

ON DECK

* Opponent--Toronto Blue Jays, two games.

* Site--Skydome, Toronto.

* Tonight--4 PDT.

* TV--Channel 9 tonight and Friday night.

* Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090).

* Records--Angels 20-17, Blue Jays 17-21.

* Record vs. Blue Jays--0-2.

ANGELS’ CHUCK FINLEY (4-1, 2.41 ERA)

vs.

BLUE JAYS’ WOODY WILLIAMS (3-2, 2.48 ERA)

* Update--Those Rocket-dodgers did it again. The Angels went the entire 1997 season without facing Toronto ace Roger Clemens, who has a 25-7 career record and 2.37 ERA against the Angels, and they’ll miss him again this series for the second time this season. But it’s not as if the Angels will be facing a couple of slouches--Williams has been one of the Blue Jays’ best pitchers this season, and Hentgen won the American League Cy Young Award in 1996. The Angels will counter with their two best pitchers, Finley and Ken Hill.

Friday, 4 p.m.--Ken Hill (6-1, 3.16) vs. Pat Hentgen (4-3, 5.56).