ANGELS : Rader’s Bunch Springs Into Serious Mode

That the first day of spring training fell on the first day of spring seemed poetic justice, of sorts. The Angels were too busy stretching and straining to notice the coincidence, but the fans who flocked to Gene Autry Park Tuesday to watch the team’s first workout feared that poetic justice would be the only justice they’ll get in this lockout-tainted season.

“I think all baseball fans will probably forgive, but they won’t forget,” said Mesa resident Sam Hartzler, a lifelong fan. “That’s the way I am now. You don’t forget something like this.”

While the fans can choose to forget the lockout, the Angels can’t. Forced to cram the customary six weeks’ work into three, they began Tuesday with a four-hour session that set the tone for a brisk and intense camp.

Only six players were absent Tuesday--second baseman Johnny Ray, designated hitter Brian Downing, outfielders Chili Davis and Claudell Washington, pitcher Chuck Finley and Tony Armas, a non-roster invitee. All are expected in Mesa today.

General Manager Mike Port viewed the robust attendance as a sign of the players’ enthusiasm for the season and said his eagerness to get going matched theirs. “It’s nice to have things under way,” he said. “The bats, the balls, the weather--this is the essence of the whole thing.”

Time is of the essence, too, with the exhibition opener next Monday and the season opener less than three weeks away, and that sense of urgency translated into a businesslike attitude among the players.

Even the fans felt it. “I wish the players were friendlier,” said Cathy Haught of Mesa, whose 4 1/2-year-old son, Houston, was distraught when Wally Joyner didn’t stop to give him an autograph on the way to the field. “It’s a big thing, living around here, to see the players come in every spring.”

Manager Doug Rader was pleased with what he saw.

“It was awfully serious out here,” said Rader, who plans to streamline the team’s drills to eliminate seldom-used pickoff plays and other unnecessary exercises. “There wasn’t really a whole lot of time to do anything but work. We had a full day and we utilized all the fields. Everybody involved on each field got a full day. . . . I don’t think anybody had the energy to goof around too much.”

That’s not to say there weren’t smiles displayed when players greeted teammates they hadn’t seen over the extended winter. Rader himself had a handshake or a joke for many as they filed out of the clubhouse and onto the field for a team meeting.

“Good to see you,” pitcher Kirk McCaskill said to Rader, who pretended not to recognize McCaskill at first. “Good to see you ,” Rader said. “Hey, did you let your hair grow? You look like that guy . . . Kevin Costner? No, better than that. That Australian guy--Mel Gibson. It looks good. Don’t cut it.”

Meanwhile, the addition of Mark Langston gives the Angels depth they can use to obtain the leadoff hitter or power-hitting outfielder they have long sought. Port described his ongoing trade talks, which resumed when baseball resumed after the lockout, as “simmering, bubbling, not boiling.”

Angel Notes

Manager Doug Rader said that the second base job belongs to Johnny Ray “at the moment,” and that he may use Mark McLemore elsewhere. Ray and McLemore have competed at second the last two several springs: McLemore opened the season at second in 1987 and 1988 but Ray won out in 1989, despite McLemore’s .345 spring batting average.

“The main thing we need to address is we’ll never know the capabilities of Mark McLemore if he continues to get so much playing time in the minor leagues and gets shuffled around,” Rader said. “He needs to pass the test at the majorleague level. We need to have Mark on the major league club and give him quality at-bats to see if he’s the player we think he is. One of our real goals this year is that we provide that for Mark.”