BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Easley Replaces Curtis at Leadoff

The Angels never bothered to ask Damion Easley if he wanted to move back to third base this winter, so the way he figures it, why should anyone solicit his viewpoint now?

“I’ve learned not to ask any questions,” Easley said, “I just show up, make sure my name’s in the lineup, and try not to be surprised by anything.”

For the first time since he has been in the major leagues, Easley is being presented with a unique responsibility.

He is the Angels’ new leadoff hitter.

Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said Easley will bat leadoff and Chad Curtis will be dropped to second against left-handers, and sixth against most right-handed pitchers.

“I’m not saying that it will stay this way permanently,” Rodgers said, “but I have to experiment, too. They’re all young players who don’t have a track record. I’m trying to find out where we are the best offensively.

“Damion can hit any place, and Chad hit second most of last year and had a good year (.285, 48 stolen bases, 94 runs). I thought that he felt leading off, his hands were tied.”

Said Rod Carew, hitting coach: “Damion is going to be more consistent. It’s tough for him to get into any bad slumps. Chad, right now, is trying to hit every ball nine miles.”

Curtis, who was batting .149 until he was dropped from the leadoff spot on Saturday, says that he has no problems with the change. And for Easley, well, what’s another challenge?

“I really don’t know what my role is,” Easley said, “so it’s hard to get excited because I don’t know how long this will last. I know I’ll have to be more disciplined because the leadoff guy has to set the tone for the game.

“I know Damion Easley can hurt another team and help our team by either hitting, playing defense or running, and hopefully I can do that in at least one category every night.”

*

Angel reliever Mike Butcher reluctantly went into the bullpen before the game to work on his pitching mechanics, and after his 25-minute workout, pronounced himself a new man.

“I was teed off when I went down there,” Butcher said, “because it wasn’t like I’ve been pitching that bad (1-0, 9.82 ERA). I wasn’t going to sit here and panic, and I didn’t want everybody else to panic.

“But after I was done today, I felt it was the best thing that happened to me all year. I feel 100 times better. I know now that I was pitching like a robot. I’ve got to quit over-analyzing everything.”

*

This will be the third season that Rodgers has gone without smoking, he said, adding that he no longer even craves a cigarette.

His secret?

He was hypnotized.

“I haven’t had a cigarette for two years, and I don’t even think about it anymore,” Rodgers said. “It cost me $100, and it probably saved me $10,000.

“Of course, I’ve also gained 20 pounds in the process.”