Location a Big Problem for Finley

His 1996 spring debut was so routine that pitcher Chuck Finley barely remembered where it occurred.

“Hey, you’ve got to start somewhere--why not Yuma?” Finley said after pitching two scoreless innings in the Angels’ 5-0 exhibition victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday. “Wait a minute. Where are we? Peoria, that’s right. Wherever. Same thing.”

Finley doesn’t care where he pitches this time of year--just give him a mound, a catcher and a big-league opponent, and the 10-year veteran knows what he has to do to prepare for the season.

But the left-hander did have a keen sense of where he was in the top of the second inning because it was unfamiliar territory: the batter’s box. Finley took three good hacks, fouling one off and missing two others for a strikeout.

“At least I got to feel a little wood on it,” said Finley, who hit because the designated hitter was eliminated against the National League Padres.

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The Angels and first baseman J.T. Snow are closing in on a three-year deal with an option for a fourth year and are waiting ownership approval of the package. . . . Steve Ontiveros’ first spring start, scheduled for Wednesday, has been delayed because of tightness in his forearm, which forced him to cut a weekend workout short. . . . Reliever Bryan Harvey, trying to come back from reconstructive elbow surgery last May, is experiencing tightness in his biceps, but is scheduled to pitch in an exhibition game by mid-month. . . . Owner Jackie Autry is scheduled to be admitted to a hospital this week for what a team spokesman said would be minor surgery.