Bench Stint Didn’t Cool Off Curtis : Baseball: Angel center fielder returns to form after being out of lineup for a night.

From Buck Rodgers’ point of view, it was a well-deserved rest. But not the kind that comes with a pat on the back. From Chad Curtis’ spot on the bench, it seemed like cruel and unusual punishment.

The Angels’ center fielder--and hottest hitter--was caught stealing Wednesday in the eighth inning of a game the Angels trailed, 5-1. Rodgers couldn’t understand Curtis’ thought process in that situation. Curtis said aggressive baseball is the only brand of baseball he knows.

The Angels had Thursday off.

Curtis had Friday off, too.

The guy who fills out the lineup card usually has the last say in these matters.

Rodgers said Curtis’ holiday was not to be construed as punishment per se, merely the opportunity for a youngster to reflect on his role as part of a team.

So Curtis stewed some, contemplated a bit and returned Saturday night looking very much like his old, go-for-the-gusto self.

And this time, Rodgers wasn’t complaining.

Let’s check the scorecard:

--Curtis doubled to right in the first inning.

--He was hit by a pitch and scored on J.T. Snow’s home run in the third.

--In the fifth, he made a leaping catch and slammed into the center-field wall, robbing Kansas City shortstop Greg Gagne of a home run or extra-base hit.

--In the bottom of the fifth, he beat out what appeared to be a routine ground ball to third and stole second.

--In the seventh, he turned another bouncer into an infield hit, outracing the throw from second baseman Jose Lind. One out later, he stole second again, took third on a wild pitch and eventually scored on Tim Salmon’s infield single.

So you can give Rodgers big points for the expert use of motivational benching.

“That’s what he was supposed to do,” Rodgers said, still able to smile after being ejected in the second inning of the Angels’ 5-3 victory. “Chad’s a very aggressive ballplayer, but he can get too excited at times. He’s gone a long way in using good judgment, but sometimes it goes awry.

“He knows that I’m not mad at him. It’s just that I expect certain things and I’m not going to settle for less.”

Chalk it up as a lesson learned . . . but don’t expect Curtis to sit on his heels.

“It felt good tonight, but it wasn’t like it was a response to my night off,” Curtis said. “I was not reprimanded for being too aggressive. It’s just a case of picking my spots a little better.”

Curtis’ five-game hitting streak ended Friday night when he flied out as a pinch-hitter in the 10th inning--obviously, his one-game sentence meant only nine innings--but he’s hitting .500 for the home stand and .315 this season.

And he has 18 stolen bases, which ties him for the major league lead with Cleveland’s Kenny Lofton, Atlanta’s Otis Nixon and Florida’s Chuck Carr.

“I’m not going to ease off being aggressive because that’s what my game is,” Curtis said. “Yeah, yesterday was difficult. I don’t like watching baseball. But today I got to play, had fun, had some success and we won.”

So all is right with Curtis’ world again and Rodgers can nod and say he told you so. But he will also admit that he couldn’t be sure his Curtis wouldn’t slip out of this groove, maybe even fall into a slump. Still, it wouldn’t have changed Rodgers’ mind about his one-night stand.

“Chad’s not the kind of guy who would come out hanging his head, but his reaction to it was not what’s important,” Rodgers said. “The fact that we got that point across, that’s important.

“I have no qualms about sitting a guy. Sometimes, you have to be willing to lose a battle to win the war.”

In this game, it’s a war of attrition and there are still 129 battles to be fought this summer. At least Rodgers knows now he has one warrior who will check the scoreboard before he thinks about stealing.