BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Line Drive Scare for Guetterman

Reliever Lee Guetterman saw his career flash before his eyes when catcher Mark Dalesandro hit a sharp liner off Guetterman’s left biceps. He immediately left the field, but the injury was diagnosed as only a deep bruise. He is expected to return Wednesday. “I never saw it coming,” Guetterman said, “but I sure felt it.”

Mark Langston, who is expected to be the Angels’ opening-day starter for the third consecutive season, will also open their Cactus League season Friday against the Colorado Rockies. Chuck Finley, Phil Leftwich and John Dopson will follow in the four-man rotation, each scheduled to pitch two innings in their initial starts.

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The sound came from behind the batting cages Monday, startling players and coaches at the Angel complex in Tempe, Ariz. It was a man singing--during their spring workout.

Players looked around to see the trespasser who had sneaked onto the field, but the voice turned out to belong to outfielder Dwight Smith.

Smith, as the Angels quickly realized, has quite a voice. And soon, the rest of the world may find out. Smith has just completed his first album, ‘R U Down,’ due out in June.

“That was the great equalizer for me this winter,” Smith said. “I had my music, so I didn’t have time to focus on all the bad things with my contract.”

Smith’s singing career was inspired by his former teammates on the Chicago Cubs. They were the ones who would turn off the stereo in the clubhouse and coerce Smith to serenade them. He even sang the national anthem three times at Wrigley Field.

This is why it was so painful, Smith said, when the Cubs refused to tender him a contract this winter, severing their 10-year relationship. Although Smith, 30, batted .300 and became their all-time leader with 50 pinch hits, the Cubs wanted to avoid arbitration.

Yet, to prove there was no resentment or lingering bitterness, Smith climbed into his sports car after practice Sunday and visited the Cubs at their hotel. He laughed and joked with his former teammates, teased his former coaches and even visited management.

“I know people were saying that Dwight should be bitter,” Smith said. “But I came back with a smile. I wanted to show them that I was man enough to go on.

“Man, I still love that organization and I hope they win the pennant. I told them, ‘Now, if you need someone to help you down the stretch, don’t be afraid to come get me.’

“I want to be there the day they finally win it all because when it happens, that whole city’s going to erupt. No one deserves a championship more than those fans.”

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The Angels provided a new contract proposal Monday to right fielder Tim Salmon that would make him the highest-paid second-year player in baseball history. Salmon is expected to accept a four-year offer by Thursday that will guarantee him at least $7 million.

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The best drama of the day unfolded on the main practice field when reliever Troy Percival pitched to a hitter for the first time since undergoing elbow surgery last May.

Guess who was at the plate?

“Can you believe it?” Percival said. “The first live hitter I see in eight months, and I’ve got to face Bo Jackson.

“All I can think of is, ‘Please, God, don’t let me hit Bo. I don’t care what happens, but don’t let me hit Bo.’ ”

Percival didn’t hit Jackson, but his first pitch sailed just under Bo’s chin, dusting Jackson off the plate. That was all Jackson needed to see.

“I threw the next six pitches for strikes,” Percival said, “and he watched all of them. He never swung again.”

Said Jackson: “Once he threw that first pitch, that was enough for me. Believe me, I want no part of that guy.”