ANAHEIM, Calif. — The decision to put catcher Bobby Wilson on the seven-day concussion disabled
list was an easy one for the Angels. Wilson woke up Tuesday morning and still
hadn't shaken some of the symptoms he was feeling the previous night.
He was drowsy and fatigued ... "that feeling of being in a fog," he
said.
As a result, the Angels called up Hank Conger from Triple-A Salt Lake and
inserted him in the starting lineup Tuesday night against the Seattle Mariners.
Conger, who missed the first five weeks of the season because of an elbow
strain, resumed playing last Thursday at Salt Lake.
The Angels opted to take a cautious route with Wilson after he suffered a
concussion in April 2010 in a home-plate collision with the Yankees' Mark
Teixeira. Wilson, who was making his first major league start in that game,
missed three weeks because of a concussion and sprained left ankle.
"I had the same feeling I had from that last concussion," said
Wilson, who was hit by a hard foul ball that struck him in the facemask in the
second inning Monday. "My face felt like it was on fire. I've been dinged
up quite a bit, but this shook me in a different way."
Wilson finished the inning but said, "I felt like I could've fallen asleep
behind the plate." He was removed for a pinch hitter.
Conger, who played at Huntington Beach High, appeared in 59 games last season
for the Angels but has spent time in the minors to work on his defensive
skills. He hit .209 with the Angels, but was batting .338 at Salt Lake with two
homers and 11 RBI.
Major League Baseball and the players union instituted a concussion DL last
year to help teams deal with head injuries, something that wasn't done in the
past.
No one knows that better than Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who said, "I (once)
spent the night in a hospital with a concussion and came out and played the
next day.
"You have to be cautious. (Wilson) was feeling it last night, and he feels
better, but not the way he should be."
In other Angels injury news:
— Pitcher Jered Weaver, on the 15-day DL with a lower-back
strain, is long tossing a ball 200-plus feet. Scioscia said. "Once he can
repeat that and then get back to where he recovers the next day, it won't be
too long before he's on the mound. When that is, I don't know."
— Disabled catcher Chris Iannetta (broken right wrist) has
begun swinging a bat and expects to start throwing to bases this week. But
Scioscia said Iannetta will probably need a rehab stint in the minors.
— Relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins was scheduled to throw one
inning Tuesday night for Salt Lake and will likely pitch again Thursday. It's
possible the right-hander, who is recovering from a broken pinky finger in his
throwing hand, could join the team this weekend in Colorado.
