Finley’s Hand Is Still Swollen, Next Start in Doubt

X-rays on Chuck Finley’s injured left wrist revealed no ligament or tendon damage, but the back of his hand was still extremely swollen Wednesday, making the Angel ace questionable for his next start.

“The doctor said to do what I think I can do, so I’m going to act like I’m pitching in four days,” said Finley, who hurt the wrist when he fell while backing up home plate in the second inning of Tuesday night’s 12-4 victory over the Yankees. “If it’s not ready, it’s not ready.”

Finley’s wrist and hand were heavily bandaged, and he said his range of motion was limited because of the swelling.

“It looks like I have a big bee sting on the back of my hand, like my knuckles have disappeared,” Finley said. “But if the swelling goes down [today] I’ll try to limber it up a little.”

Manager Terry Collins said he has no plans to put Finley on the disabled list, but he’ll have to wait at least another day or two before determining when Finley will pitch again. Finley had won a franchise-record 10 consecutive starts before Tuesday.

“Nothing is broken, nothing is torn, but it’s pretty stiff,” Collins said. “Once the swelling goes down, he should be OK.”

One problem: The forkball and curve, two of the three pitches Finley relies on, are more taxing on the wrist than the fastball.

“I have to be honest with myself,” Finley said. “If it doesn’t hurt to throw the fastball and the forkball, I can go with that, but to think I could get them out with one pitch wouldn’t be smart.”

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Much to the dismay of the Japanese media, Collins didn’t even consider starting Japanese right-hander Shigetoshi Hasegawa against countryman Hideki Irabu in the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader.

When Jason Dickson, who was supposed to start Wednesday, relieved Finley and threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings Tuesday night, Collins needed an emergency starter for Wednesday.

But unlike June, when Collins said he considered starting Hasegawa against Dodger right-hander Hideo Nomo, Collins “didn’t even think about it” Wednesday.

“He’s too durable,” Collins said of Hasegawa, a long reliever. “I’d hate to use him up and not have him for three or four days.”

Collins then brought in Hasegawa to replace Mark Langston with the Yankees leading, 5-0, in the second inning.

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Collins has moved Dennis Springer up in the rotation, and the knuckleballer will start tonight against the Yankees on two days’ rest. Allen Watson was scheduled to go on three days’ rest, but the left-hander’s arm was tired, so Collins didn’t want to risk injuring him. . . . Speaking of knucklers, everyone in the Angel dugout got a kick out of Yankee third baseman Wade Boggs’ scoreless relief inning Tuesday night. “I’m glad he had fun--I’ve done that before, and it is fun,” Collins said. “You just hope he doesn’t get hurt, that someone doesn’t hit a bullet right back at him.” . . . Yankee coach Don Zimmer, feeling light-headed from a bad reaction to his gout medication, left the stadium before Tuesday’s game and was admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Orange. But Zimmer returned after the game and was fine Wednesday. “I imagine when Don was at the hospital and looked up and saw Wade Boggs pitching he must have thought he was hallucinating,” Yankee Manager Joe Torre said.

TONIGHT’S GAME

ANGELS’ DENNIS SPRINGER (8-6, 5.03 ERA) vs. YANKEES’ ANDY PETTITTE (14-7, 3.16 ERA)

Anaheim Stadium, 7 p.m.

TV--Channel 9. Radio--KTZN (710).

* Update--Manager Terry Collins likely will give Jim Edmonds, the team’s ailing center fielder, the night off against left-hander Pettitte. The strained lower back that sent Edmonds to the disabled list Aug. 1 doesn’t appear to bother him much swinging, but Edmonds is definitely having problems defensively. “Running hurts him a lot more than reaching to catch a fly ball,” Collins said. “And he’s still not ready to cut it loose throwing-wise, but 90% for him throwing is enough.” Springer threw 135 pitches against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday, giving up only one earned run and eight hits in 8 1/3 innings of a 2-1 loss. But considering most of his pitches float in the 55-mph range, he should have no trouble bouncing back on two days’ rest.