‘Limited’ Work for Green, Velarde

Catcher Todd Greene and second baseman Randy Velarde head to Mesa, Ariz., today for an extended spring training where they will see game action . . . with some limitations.

Greene, recovering from off-season shoulder surgery, will bat and catch, but he won’t throw to second base. Velarde, coming back from reconstructive elbow surgery, will hit and play in the field, but he won’t be going out as the cut-off man and making relay throws.

Velarde won’t have to make those throws when he first returns to the Angels, either. First baseman Darin Erstad will follow balls down the line into the cut-off position and shortstop Gary DiSarcina will make the relays on balls hit to right-center.

“I’ve done it before, so I know it works,” Collins said.

Greene, of course, won’t be afforded the same luxury. He’ll have to wait until he can throw to second to return.

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Collins was almost as relieved to see Cecil Fielder hit a monster home run into the left-field bullpen area Tuesday night as was Fielder.

“It was a huge load off his shoulders and it was good for the fans, if their thought process was that he didn’t still have the power,” Collins said. “I’ve said all along he was going to be fine, but we have to have something to worry about every day and, for a while, Cecil was the worry du jour.”

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Jim Edmonds, who sprained his right wrist diving for a ball Saturday, was back in the lineup Wednesday night after he convinced Collins he was fit.

“Playing is one thing, but getting it done is the bottom line,” Collins said. “I asked Jimmy if he could get it done and he said, ‘Yes.’ You reach the point where you have to rely on a players’ integrity and honesty.”