BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Palmeiro Sent Down to Open Roster Spot

The Angels optioned outfielder Orlando Palmeiro to triple-A Vancouver after Sunday’s game to open a spot on the roster for John Habyan, the pitcher they acquired in a trade with St. Louis on Saturday.

But General Manager Bill Bavasi, assistant general manager Tim Mead and Manager Marcel Lachemann met for 10 minutes in Lachemann’s office after giving Palmeiro the news. Then Lachemann issued a cryptic comment.

Asked how long the team might go with 12 pitchers, Lachemann said, “Well, there’s probably going to be a lot of things happening over the [All-Star] break. This might just be the first.”

Asked if he was referring to more roster moves or a trade, he said, “You might want to keep your ear to the ground over the next few days.”

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J.T. Snow, who is hitting .305, had a first half that projects to a 20-homer, 100-RBI season, but he doesn’t want to talk about final numbers.

“I don’t even want to think about what projects out to what,” he said. “It will just mess you up. You have to keep doing the things that got you to this point, but don’t try to do anything extreme.

“You have to treat every game the same, approach it like it’s the seventh game of the World Series and remember that every game, every at-bat, every pitch is important.

“But don’t get me wrong. That’s a whole lot easier to say than it is to do.”