BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Crim Puts Bus Crash in Perspective

While Angel reliever Chuck Crim certainly can understand his teammates commemorating the one-year anniversary Friday of their bus crash, it simply did not have the same significance for him.

Crim lost his sister in a car accident when he was 14 years old. He was playing for the Milwaukee Brewers when their spring-training clubhouse exploded. And he helped persuade his close friend, Tim Crews, to buy the boat that was used in his fatal accident this spring.

“The difference,” Crim said, “is that no one died in our bus accident. I think I appreciated life ever since my sister died when I was 14. And then when our clubhouse in Chandler, (Ariz.), blew up, well, that’s something I’ll never forget as long as I live.

“I saw coaches running out with skin burning off their faces, our pitching coach with his hair on fire, and people screaming. When you smell burnt flesh, it changes your whole perspective of life, believe me.

“Our accident could have been tragic, but it wasn’t.”

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Angel third baseman Rene Gonzales, found to have tendinitis in his right knee, will sit out at least until Sunday. Gary Gaetti made his first start at third since June 5, 1992.