BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : Torre: Abbott Lacks Confidence

The motion looked familiar, as did the repertoire of pitches, but that wasn’t the same Jim Abbott that New York Yankee Manager Joe Torre recalled from his days as an Angel television commentator in the late 1980s.

“He does look like he’s lost a little bit of velocity, but I think it’s more of a confidence thing,” Torre said of Abbott, who was hit hard in the Angels’ 16-5 loss to the Yankees Monday night.

“You can hear him in the dugout when he misses a spot. He gets down on himself. It’s just frustration. I still think all he needs is a couple of wins, and that would help him relax.”

Abbott’s struggles--he fell to 1-8 with a 6.82 earned-run average--have been as difficult for teammates to bear as Abbott.

“We’re trying to go the extra mile for him, and sometimes you make mistakes because of that,” said Rex Hudler, who dropped a fly ball in center field that aided the Yankees’ three-run third Monday.

“I’m going to go through a fence for him, and to drop a fly ball like that . . . it’s very painful for me and him. But sometimes the lessons you learn from the difficulties of the game make you stronger.”

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Pitcher Mark Langston said he was “shocked” at how fast he recovered from May 8 knee surgery, which was supposed to sideline him six to eight weeks but will knock him out for only 23 days. He’s scheduled to start Friday night against Baltimore.

“It just says I’m a good healer,” Langston said. “I can’t explain it. I don’t know why or how this happened. I pushed it hard, and it responded.”

Langston spent some time Tuesday afternoon pushing pedals. He rode his bike from Anaheim Stadium to the beach and back, via the Santa Ana River bed, a 24-mile round trip.

“I’ll watch a couple waves break and come back,” Langston said. “It beats riding the exercise bike. It’s better to see some trees go by and smell that river bed.”

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A young woman jumped onto the field during the fifth inning of Monday night’s loss and gave Hudler a hug. “She was scared to death,” Hudler said. “She said, ‘I’m gonna be grounded for life, can I at least have a hug?’ To tell you the truth, I could have used a hug right then.” Hudler then advised the woman to “go peacefully, because there’s a [security] man here who will hurt you.” . . . With catcher Don Slaught unavailable Tuesday because of a bruised left thigh, who was the Angels’ emergency catcher behind Jorge Fabregas? “Me,” said bullpen Coach Bill Lachemann, 62. Actually, it was infielder Jack Howell, who has caught in spring training. . . . Center fielder Jim Edmonds missed his third consecutive game because of an abdomen strain. . . . Pitcher Steve Ontiveros, sidelined all season because of elbow problems, could begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment this weekend.