Glaus Makes Progress at Plate

In the eighth inning of last Tuesday night’s game against Oakland, Angel third baseman Troy Glaus slashed a run-scoring double inside the first-base bag and down the right-field line.

In the hundreds of Little League, high school, college, minor league and major league games he had previously played in, he said, “I don’t think I’ve ever hit a double down the first-base line.”

The maturation of Troy Glaus continues.

Asked what Glaus would have done with a similar pitch on the outer half of the plate last season, Angel batting instructor Rod Carew chuckled and said, “He would have tried to jerk it.”

But this season, “His whole thought process is different,” Carew said. “He’s using the whole field. He’s not trying to pull everything. If I see that he is, I jump him when he gets back to the bench.”

There have been few such scoldings this season. Glaus is batting .435 with three home runs, 10 doubles and 11 runs batted in and has made such strides it’s hard to believe he batted .218 with one homer, 23 RBIs and 51 strikeouts in 48 games as an overmatched rookie last season.

Extensive work last fall and winter with Carew and third base coach Larry Bowa, and continued reinforcement from Carew in spring training, have helped Glaus shed some of his bad batting habits.

He has spread his stance, shortened his stroke, and is much more discerning at the plate.

Both Carew and Manager Terry Collins acknowledge that Glaus’ true progress can’t be accurately measured until he endures--and emerges from--his first slump, but the early signs are encouraging.

*

The man deemed expendable because of Glaus’ rapid rise will not be able to face his former teammates this week in Toronto. Dave Hollins, traded to the Blue Jays in March, injured his left hand while swinging Saturday and is not expected to play against the Angels.

The initial prognosis was that Hollins broke a bone in the hand.

ON DECK

* Opponent--Toronto Blue Jays, three games.

* Site--SkyDome, Toronto

* Today--4 PDT.

* TV--none.

* Radio--KIK-FM (94.3) today and Wednesday, KLAC (570) Thursday.

* Records--Angels 6-7, Blue Jays 9-4.

* 1998 record vs. Blue Jays--4-7.

TODAY

ANGELS’ CHUCK FINLEY (1-1, 7.30 ERA)

vs.

BLUE JAYS’ KELVIM ESCOBAR (1-0, 5.40 ERA)

* Update--Perhaps Finley, the left-hander, can do something to slow the Blue Jays’ hottest hitters, left-handers Shawn Green and Carlos Delgado, who have combined to bat .397 in the last eight games. The loss of Jose Canseco was supposed to put a huge dent in Toronto’s power supply, but the Blue Jays are second in the league with 18 home runs, and they have homered at least once in the last eight games. The Angels might have caught a break in that they won’t have to face Toronto left-hander David Wells, who is 3-0, or hard-throwing right-hander Roy Halladay, who threw seven shutout innings against Baltimore Sunday.

Wednesday, 4 PDT--Omar Olivares (2-0, 0.63) vs. Chris Carpenter (1-1, 1.10).

Thursday, 4 PDT--Tim Belcher (1-1, 7.53) vs. Pat Hentgen (0-1, 6.06).