Spring Training / Angels : This Is a Hot One: It Says Cubs May Trade Larry Bowa for Tommy John

PALM SPRINGS —  The rumor was as hot Sunday as the sun.

It had Larry Bowa, the Chicago Cubs’ veteran shortstop, going to the Angels for Tommy John.

Angel General Manager Mike Port said he knew nothing about it.

Cub President Dallas Green said: “No, that hasn’t come up, but I plan to sit down with Mike tomorrow.”

Asked if he is interested in John, Green paused for several seconds, then said:

“I think in the right situation Tommy can do a good job and I know he’d be good on the club.

“We’d have to run him out of the bullpen and I don’t know if he’d be happy with that.”

The Cubs have a set rotation of Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Trout, Dennis Eckersley and Dick Ruthven. The fifth starter, Scott Sanderson, is nursing a groin pull, the latest in a series of Sanderson injuries that reportedly have the Cubs concerned.

It’s uncertain how Chicago would employ John in relief. A winter trade with the Yankees brought left-hander Ray Fontenot as a middle reliever or set-up man for bullpen stopper Lee Smith.

John, meanwhile, has said he wants to pitch regularly or be traded. He is certain the Angels intend to start a young pitcher, presumably left-hander Bob Kipper.

He refused the Angels’ recent request to waive his no-trade clause because of his determination to maintain control over a possible trade.

Asked Sunday about the Cub rumors, John said he had not heard them. He said that with a week to go before the season opens it might be best if the Angels simply release him. John said he suggested that to Port and Port told him: “We don’t want to do anything that will embarrass you.”

Bowa, 39, is in a comparable situation after batting only .223 last year.

The Cubs are going to start the touted rookie, Shawon Dunston. Bowa has questioned Dunston’s skills and said it was a determination made even before the Cubs went to camp. Third-base coach Don Zimmer recently blasted Bowa’s selfishness.

“We’re really not anxious to trade Larry,” Green said Sunday. “One reason we think this is the right year to go with the kid is because we still have a veteran we can bring in in the late innings. Young players tend to make mistakes. We know Larry can catch the ball, at least.”

The Cubs could trade Bowa and still have two veteran backups--Tom Veryzer and Chris Speier, who is operating without a contract in a bid to extend his career. There was speculation Sunday that a John deal could swing towards Veryzer rather than Bowa. Port has also said he is willing to take a prospect for John.

Bowa’s contract calls for a 1985 salary of $500,000, which may be more than the Angels are willing to pay for a backup shortstop considering their new cost-conscious direction.

Angel Manager Gene Mauch reiterated Sunday that he may not even carry a backup shortstop, providing he is convinced by Schofield’s spring play that it won’t be necessary to hit for him in the late innings. Schofield, who hit .193 last year, is now batting .292 based on 14 hits in 48 at-bats.

It has been thought that if the Angels do carry a backup it will be rookie Craig Gerber, who is hitting .400 this spring and won a Silver Glove as the best fielding shortstop in triple-A last year. Gerber, 26, hit .230 at Edmonton.

The interleague trading deadline is at midnight tonight, but the Angels have secured major league waivers on John, meaning he could be traded after the deadline.

The man booked on an assault-with-a-deadly-weapon charge in the Saturday morning incident involving Reggie Jackson here was released from the Palm Springs jail late Saturday after posting $10,000 bail. Tim Williams, 20, of Glendora must reappear here April 22 for arraignment.

Jackson reflected on a career of controversy and said: “I know I’ll have a good year if one more thing happens to me.”

Said Mauch, on the incident: “It’s not easy being Reggie Jackson and there may be times he doesn’t make it any easier.

“That fish bowl must be a bitch 24 hours a day every day of the year.”

Mike Witt pitched six shutout innings in the Angels’ 2-1 win over Chicago Sunday, then was named by Mauch to pitch the April 9 season opener against Minnesota

Witt, 15-11 last year when he finished the season with a perfect game, said he had been informed about the opening-night start several days earlier.

“I was expecting it considering the way I pitched last year,” he said. “I mean, I was our best pitcher, wasn’t I?”

Angel Notes Manager Gene Mauch said Geoff Zahn will pitch the second of three games against Minnesota and that Ron Romanick would open against Oakland two nights later. Mauch said he was not prepared to name his starter in the series finale against Minnesota, presumably because of the uncertain physical status of Ken Forsch and the uncertain trade status of Tommy John. . . . Forsch, who threw all out for 15 minutes Saturday, said Sunday his ailing elbow felt fine. He will pitch a simulated game Tuesday, then work against the Dodgers in the Freeway Series Saturday or Sunday. . . . Mike Witt will pitch two or three innings as the Angels’ starter in Friday night’s Freeway Series opener.