Angels wait to see on Howie Kendrick
To play in the American League division series, the injured second baseman will need to return to the lineup soon, Manager Mike Scioscia says.
OAKLAND -- If Howie Kendrick is to play in the American League division series, which begins Oct. 1 or 2, the Angels' injured second baseman will have to return to the lineup by Tuesday or Wednesday, Manager Mike Scioscia says.
Kendrick, out since Aug. 28 because of a left hamstring strain, picked up the pace of his running workouts today and is scheduled to run at about 80% Friday, mixing in some curves. He will need to run the bases aggressively before being activated.
If he can return by Tuesday or Wednesday, Kendrick would have five or six games to prepare for the postseason, not the optimum rehabilitation period, but just enough.
"The dilemma with Howie is not only getting him healthy but getting him into game shape, and that's a bit of an issue," Scioscia said today. "He hasn't played in four weeks. You can't just throw him out there for five straight days and say, 'Here's your 20 at-bats, you're ready.' He has to work his way back into baseball activities."
Ideally, the Angels would like to bring Kendrick back slowly, as they are with shortstop Erick Aybar, who missed three weeks because of a left hamstring strain. Aybar played three innings Tuesday, five innings Wednesday and took today off. He is expected to start Friday in Texas.
If Kendrick can play Tuesday or Wednesday in Seattle, Scioscia said he would probably have him bat leadoff so he can get at least three at-bats before coming out of the game.
If he makes enough progress by next weekend's regular-season-ending series against Texas, the Angels could send Kendrick to Arizona the Monday or Tuesday before the playoffs to get some extra at-bats.
"We'll have to make a determination next week," Scioscia said. "If he can get out there in a game by Tuesday or Wednesday, we'll feel better about it. If not, we're going to have to look at some things very closely."
The Angels have been formulating contingency plans if Kendrick can't play in the first round. They could move third baseman Chone Figgins to second, assuming he recovers from a sore elbow and is able to throw, and start Brandon Wood or Robb Quinlan at third.
They could start Sean Rodriguez at second and keep Figgins at third, or they could start Wood at shortstop and move Aybar to second, a position he played superbly for a month in 2007.
Or they could start a less-than-100% Kendrick at second, a decision that would cause considerable angst.
