ANGELS : Long Layoff From Game No Sweat for Chili

While many players spent the winter agonizing over the strike, enduring the emotional stress of labor negotiations and trying to motivate themselves for a season that might not be played, Angel designated hitter Chili Davis was having the time of his life.

He played golf. He traveled to Australia, Hawaii and Cabo San Lucas. And when he wasn’t tearing up the greens or winging off to exotic places, he hung around his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., doing what he does best: nothing.

“I love doing nothing,” said Davis, who reported to Angel camp Thursday. “I really enjoyed Aug. 12 (the day the strike started) to--what’s the date today?--April 6. I wish it didn’t happen the way it did, but you take it as it comes.”

As Davis, 35, has grown older he said he has learned to enjoy his time off, because he knows once the season starts there’s little time to do anything. Or nothing.

And as he nears the end of his career he has matured to the point where he’s not going to let a potentially sticky contract negotiation affect his play or mood.

The Angels and Davis had a tentative understanding on a three-year, $11.25-million deal over the winter, before the signing freeze.

But Davis, coming off two outstanding seasons, said Thursday he “doesn’t know” if that offer is still on the table. Davis and the Angels have exchanged arbitration figures for a one-year deal--Davis asked for $5.1 million, the team offered $4.3 million--so the switch-hitter will definitely play this season in Anaheim.

The question now is whether the Angels, who say they lost $10 million in strike-shortened 1994, want to make a long-term financial commitment to Davis, or pay him for one year and then let him and his huge contract go.

“I’ve dealt with (General Manager) Bill Bavasi and (assistant GM) Tim Mead, and if they had it to do their way, I think the offer would still be there,” Davis said. “But beyond them, I don’t know what the situation is. I’ll leave it to Bill and (agent) Tom Reich to iron it out.

“If we wind up going to arbitration, so be it. I’d rather have a three-year deal, but if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t. I have three or for more years to play, and I’m going to enjoy it.”

*

As Davis was talking to reporters in the Gene Autry Park clubhouse, a teammate interrupted Davis and said, “Congratulations, you weren’t traded today.”

The number of high-priced players in small markets seems to be dwindling by the day. The Montreal Expos began what appears to be a fire sale with Wednesday’s trades of pitchers John Wetteland and Ken Hill. The dealing continued Thursday, when the Expos dealt center fielder Marquis Grissom to Atlanta and the Kansas City Royals sent pitcher David Cone to Toronto.

Davis acknowledged that a handful of big-market teams will benefit from current market conditions, snatching the best players from the poor and throwing off baseball’s competitive balance. But he couldn’t muster much sympathy for teams that can’t afford to keep their stars.

“In any business there’s competition--IBM is not going to try to bail out Apple, they’ll try to buy them and get even bigger,” Davis said. “The solution to baseball’s financial problems is to force owners who can’t afford to manage clubs to sell them. If you can’t hang with the big dog, stay off the porch.”

*

Mission control: Angel reliever Mitch (Wild Thing) Williams threw off a mound for the first time in 10 months Thursday and quickly validated his nickname to his new teammates.

Williams, who was released by the Houston Astros May 31, had trouble finding the strike zone while throwing 10 minutes of live batting practice.

“I felt pretty awkward,” Williams said. “Today, I was just working on not killing anybody out there.”

*

Big Easy update: Reliever Lee Smith, who has been known to take his time walking from the bullpen to the mound, is apparently taking the same approach toward spring training.

The former Baltimore Oriole stopper, who signed a two-year, $4-million deal with the Angels over the winter, was one of only two Angels not in camp Thursday. But Manager Marcel Lachemann said he wasn’t concerned about Smith’s absence because he doesn’t have to report until today.

“He’s probably walking here from Louisiana,” Davis said. “He’ll be here by July.”

*

Angel Notes

Outfielder Luis Raven, a Venezuela resident who is awaiting a visa, could report as early as this weekend, Manager Marcel Lachemann said. . . . Kevin Flora, an infielder in the Angel system since 1987, was been switched to the outfield after playing in the Arizona Fall League. “He wasn’t comfortable in the infield, and if you’re not comfortable, you’re not going to play very well,” Lachemann said. “I think he could be an everyday outfielder in the major leagues.” . . . Pitcher Andrew Lorraine left practice Thursday morning because of the flu.