They’re Getting Down to Business : Angels: Beginning with a brisk four-hour workout, Rader and his players get serious in spring training.

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 the Gene Autry Park complex Tuesday to watch the team’s first workout feared that poetic justice would be the only justice they would get in this 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.”

The fans can choose to forget the lockout, but 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 focused 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. None was sanctioned and all are expected in Mesa today.

General Manager Mike Port viewed the robust attendance as a sign of the players’ enthusiasm, 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 on Monday and the season opener less than three weeks away. 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. “It’s a big thing, living around here, to see the players come in every spring.”

Manager Doug Rader was pleased with the team’s first workout. “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 the players weren’t smiling when they greeted each other. “Good to see you,” Kirk McCaskill said to Rader, who pretended not to recognize McCaskill. “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.”

Mark Langston, the Angels’ major off-season addition, met many of his teammates for the first time since accepting his five-year, $16-million contract in December.

The addition of 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 after the lockout, as “simmering, bubbling, not boiling.” With pitching sure to be at an even higher premium than usual because of pitchers’ short preparation period, it’s likely Port will allow his bankable commodities to gather interest for a while.

“We’d like to make some moves, with an eye to making us better than we are,” Port said. “But if we had to open with the cast we have and no moves, I’d be happy with this. If we don’t do something we still have an extremely capable club.”

Good enough to unseat the World Series champion Oakland Athletics?

“To focus on one club is foolish. We’ve got our hands full with everyone. I feel we’ve got the best division in baseball,” Rader said.

Focusing on the Angels, Rader said he hopes solid preparation will compensate for a relatively weak run production.

“(The club didn’t change) from a body standpoint,” he said, “but I think we’re going to do a better job in preparing. There’ll be less emphasis on mechanics and more on mental preparation. How to approach each at-bat in specific situations . . . We haven’t made advances in changing personnel but I have a good expectancy that we’ve added maturity and we’ll improve our approach.”