They Were in a State of Animated Suspension

Terry Collins is not a big fan of baseball on the radio . . . especially when his team is being featured.

After discovering the hotel in which he was staying did not carry the television station broadcasting Monday night’s game against Texas, the Angel manager listened to six innings in his room and then--before he punched any holes in the walls--checked out and caught the last three innings in a hotel van in the stadium parking lot.

“It was the toughest night I’ve ever spent,” said Collins, who served the eighth and last day of his suspension Tuesday night. “I didn’t know if we were making good pitches or bad pitches. I didn’t know what the heck was going on.

“The guys on the radio would say things like, ‘Fly ball to right, Garret Anderson . . . Oh! It’s over his head,’ or ‘[Darin] Erstad hits a deep fly to right, that’s out of here . . . but it’s foul by 20 feet.’

“I was going crazy. The only thing that has saved me so far is that we’ve gone 5-2 [during his suspension]. If we were 1-6, I’d be crazy.”

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Reliever Rich DeLucia, who was not required by the league to leave the stadium while serving his two-game suspension, sat just above the bullpen Monday night in Texas.

“It was kind of hard to watch,” he said, “especially starting about the seventh inning. It was really weird.”

DeLucia had a much more enjoyable evening planned for Tuesday night. He was sitting in the Edison Field stands with his 2 1/2-year-old son, Tanner.

“I don’t like the circumstances, but it will be fun to take my little boy to a game for the first time,” he said.

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The Angels have hit 24 home runs in the last 14 games, but batting instructor Rod Carew--a longtime proponent of the line drive--isn’t taking any of the credit.

Has he decided to start teaching the home run swing these days?

Jim Edmonds, standing nearby, couldn’t help but answer the question for Carew. “Are you kidding?” he asked. “He’s fining all those guys for hitting the ball in the air.”

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Allen Watson, on the disabled list since May 24 because of tendinitis in his left forearm, made his first rehabilitation start Tuesday, pitching for double-A Midland in El Paso. Watson pitched four innings and gave up six hits and one earned run. He struck out three, hit a batter and had one wild pitch. . . . Someone asked Collins how Phil Nevin, who had never caught a knuckleball pitcher before, fared while trying to handle Steve Sparks’ floaters Monday night. “How the heck do I know?” he said. “All I know is the Texas radio announcers made him sound like Johnny Bench.” . . . Erstad was named American League player of the week after batting .438 with seven runs, two doubles, a triple, two home runs and four runs batted in. . . . The Angels passed the 1-million mark in home attendance Tuesday night, 11 dates sooner than they did in 1997.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ OMAR OLIVARES (4-2, 2.75 ERA) vs. MARINERS’ JEFF FASSERO (5-3, 4.22 ERA)

Edison Field, 7:30 p.m.

TV--Fox Sports West. Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090)

* Update--UPDATE-- Since moving from the bullpen to a starter’s role six weeks ago, Olivares has given up three or fewer runs in all nine starts and has pitched into the seventh inning or later six times. During his last two outings, he held the heavy-hitting Rangers to one run in 6 2/3 innings and the potent Rockies to one run in eight innings.