BASEBALL NOTES

Angel second baseman Randy Velarde has consulted several players who underwent elbow reconstruction surgery, and he found a consensus on what his biggest hurdle will be this spring after missing the 1997 season.

“The hardest thing will be cutting loose on that first throw, that first relay or off-balance throw up the middle,” Velarde said. “I’ve talked to guys [who have had the surgery] and they say once you get past that, everything will be fine.”

Pitchers and catchers will hold their first workout today, but Velarde has been in Tempe, Ariz., for five days, throwing well enough to convince Manager Terry Collins that he is near a full recovery.

“He’s been turning double plays like crazy,” Collins said. “He’s been throwing from different angles, and he looks really good. He was throwing well over the top, but my biggest concern was whether he could come sidearm or from other angles. I think he’ll be fine.”

If Velarde starts at second, the Angels would be able to keep Norberto Martin in a utility role, thus strengthening their bench.

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One year it was a shaved head, the next a pierced tongue and mutton-chop sideburns. This spring, reliever Mike James is sporting a bleach-blond buzz cut with matching blond sideburns. James also added some muscle in the weight room this winter, but Chuck Finley was skeptical of Collins’ claim that James weighs 200 pounds. “He must have put a heavier dumbbell in that tongue of his,” Finley said. . . . Free-agent pitcher William VanLandingham won’t arrive in camp until Monday. He spent an extra day at home with his wife, who had a baby this past week.