Ambivalence Greets Angels : Baseball: Manager Marcel Lachemann torn over replacement team, but vows ‘to do the best we can with it.’

Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann felt mixed emotions as he looked out at the 47 would-be players who showed up Friday for the opening spring workout.

“I know a lot of people are not going to look at these people very favorably,” Lachemann said. “But they are keeping the game going. You’ve got to look at it both ways. This is the hand we’ve been dealt, and we’ve got to do the best we can with it.”

While replacement players went through drills in Arizona, Angel first baseman J.T. Snow sat home in Southern California and wondered what lies ahead for his striking union.

“When the owners took the salary cap off the table, I thought, ‘Wow, maybe now we can get this thing settled.’ But nothing happened,” Snow said. “Now it seems like we’re just in a holding pattern. I’m to the point where I don’t get excited when something breaks on the news, and I don’t get too down about it. But I’m ready to go.”

Some Angel players have been quietly working out in small, informal groups at various locations in Southern California.

The Angels actually brought their replacement team to Arizona one week ago for a series of clinics on fundamentals.

Veteran big-leaguers Pedro Guerrero and Leon Durham are not in camp with the replacement players. They signed triple-A contracts and will report with the rest of the Angels’ minor leaguers.

The most colorful name on the Angels’ replacement roster is Tookie Spann, a 28-year-old outfielder who last played pro ball for Chattanooga in 1993.