Willits isn’t kept busy in center field

BOSTON -- Reggie Willits had enough on his plate, with his first career playoff start -- in place of injured center fielder Gary Matthews Jr. -- coming Wednesday night in Fenway Park, a stadium whose quirky dimensions can be a challenge for the most experienced of center fielders, let alone a rookie making his second start there.

So instead of spending hours during Tuesday’s workout and Wednesday’s pre-game knocking balls off the wall and into the Bermuda Triangle-like, 420-foot gap in right-center field so Willits could get a better feel for the place, the Angels took a minimalist approach.

The day before Game 1 of the American League division series against the Red Sox, “We didn’t do much on the field” with Willits, Angels bench coach Ron Roenicke said. Willits, asked before Wednesday’s game how many balls he had hit to him in center field, replied, “None.”

This, strange as it seems, was by design.

“It’s a difficult outfield, and if you start doing too much . . . I want him to relax and just play,” said Roenicke, a former big league outfielder. “If you start worrying about all the things that can happen out there, you have way too much on your mind. . . .

“I just thought, what if I was in his shoes and playing, because that’s what I did, I wasn’t an every-day guy. All of a sudden they throw you in there. You know, he’s a good center fielder. When he’s confident and just playing relaxed, he’s a very good center fielder.”

Willits’ defense wasn’t a factor in Game 1; he had one ball hit to him, Mike Lowell’s run-scoring single in the third, and fielded it cleanly. And Willits might not be a factor in Game 2. He flied out and struck out twice Wednesday night, and Manager Mike Scioscia said he might start Chone Figgins in center on Friday.

When Boston came to Anaheim for a three-game series in August, a large contingent of Red Sox fans procured enough tickets to make Angel Stadium sound at times like Fenway Park West.

A repeat in Game 3 of the division series in Anaheim on Sunday would be a little embarrassing for a team that considers itself one of baseball’s elite franchises, but owner Arte Moreno isn’t taking any measures to prevent fans from selling tickets to Red Sox fans.

“It’s supply and demand -- we price the tickets, and if they want to pay the price, they pay up,” Moreno said. “We have 30,000 season-ticket holders, and we really can’t control what they do with their tickets. And Major League Baseball has distributed tickets. I’m focused on other stuff.”

Scioscia and Game 2 starter Kelvim Escobar, who was sporting large diamond studs in each ear, were side by side in the interview room Wednesday, and the manager was asked to describe Escobar’s maturation as a pitcher.

“I think with Esky, he’s got bigger earrings as he’s had more success,” Scioscia said. “My wife is really upset with me every time she sees him walking around the ballpark. They’ve got to be six carats apiece, so with success comes bigger earrings.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com