Not so clubby in the clubhouse

What had been a placid spring training camp for the Angels was interrupted by tension and hostility this morning when relievers Darren Oliver and Justin Speier nearly came to blows in the clubhouse.

Oliver, whose locker is next to Speier’s, was packing a box of belongings to be sent to Anaheim, and the box was in front of Speier’s locker.

Speier, known for his clubhouse pranks, picked up the box and dumped the contents on the floor, probably thinking he was playing another joke. Oliver didn’t think it was funny.

“Don’t dump my … all over the place!” Oliver yelled before going face-to-face and chest-to-chest with Speier in a threatening fashion.

Speier seemed stunned by Oliver’s reaction, saying, “I’m not going to fight a teammate.”

No punches were thrown as pitcher Dustin Moseley and outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. stepped in and separated the two.

Manager Mike Scioscia and Angels coaches and front-office executives were in a conference room down the hall from the clubhouse for their daily morning meeting and did not witness the skirmish.

But Scioscia, after learning of the incident during his regular morning meeting with the team, downplayed it.

“It’s really not an issue,” Scioscia said. “If you know anything about our team, you know those guys are like brothers; they’re tight, and when I first heard about it, I thought they were just screwing around, because they screw around so much. But they’re fine. They’re laughing about it now.”

mike.digiovanna

@latimes.com