Hanson is back after much-needed hiatus

LOS ANGELES -- For seven days in late April, Tommy Hanson was away from the team while grieving the sudden death of his younger step-brother. But he needed more time. He came back, made a couple of starts, and then the Angels' coaching staff realized he wasn't fully back yet. So, on May 9 in Houston, they told him to go back to his family in Georgia and placed him on the restricted list.

Nineteen days later, Hanson was back.

"I don't think his death had set in," Hanson said from the visiting clubhouse at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. "And when it did, it hit me hard. I was having issues in my head that I had to deal with. And now that I did deal with it, I feel a lot better.

"This isn't something that just goes away, but I do feel better. I think kind of healed things a little bit. So, I'm good. I miss the team. I miss being around all the guys."

Hanson threw a five-inning, 75-pitch simulated game on Saturday in Arizona and would be on five days' rest if he starts on Friday, though Angels manager Mike Scioscia hasn't provided a specific date.

Hanson, 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA in five starts this season, feels he's "ready to get back to work."

But he needed the additional time off.

"When I did go home for the funeral, I was trying to keep it together for my family," Hanson said. "So when I got back, it hit me. I was having a hard time before the Oakland game [on April 29], before the Oriole game [on May 4]. I thought I was flying to Chicago [to start May 10], and then they told me they wanted me to figure this out and work this out because they knew I wasn't my normal self."