Finley Would Prefer Stable Lineup

Pitcher Chuck Finley has heard it all before, how having four good outfielders and a glut of quality designated hitters “are good problems to have,” but he’s not so sure.

“When they say that, they’re buying time before they do something else,” Finley said. “These things can cause distractions. I believe you put your best nine guys out there, and I think you have to have something set in stone, because that’s when you get the best results.”

Manager Terry Collins said Tim Salmon, Jim Edmonds, Darin Erstad and Garret Anderson will all play the outfield, and it appears Anderson and Erstad will spend the most time at DH.

But if Troy Glaus beats out Dave Hollins at third base, the Angels will have two more attractive DH candidates in Hollins and Todd Greene. Some have drawn comparisons to the New York Yankees, figuring if they could thrive with a bench that includes Darryl Strawberry, Chad Curtis, Jorge Posada, Shane Spencer and Ricky Ledee, so can the Angels.

“But New York has some older guys who are OK with sitting on the bench,” Finley said. “We have young kids who need to play, guys who have proven they can play every day. A lot of times, the young ones don’t know how to adjust to coming off the bench.”

Finley isn’t necessarily endorsing a trade of an outfielder. Not when you consider the Angels’ history of injuries to key players at the worst times.

“You’ve got to hold on to as many guys as you can,” he said, “because as soon as you get rid of one good one, something happens.”

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Collins said he was “sicker than a dog,” Thursday, and an ugly, 3-hour, 45-minute exhibition game against the Oakland Athletics in Tempe, Ariz., provided no relief.

The Angels built a 16-3 lead in the sixth inning on Glaus’ two hits and four RBIs and Jeff Huson’s three hits and two RBIs, but relievers Reid Cornelius, Darrin Winston and Geoff Edsell combined to give up 12 runs in the seventh and eighth before Toby Borland came on for the save.

Angel right fielder Matt Luke preserved a 16-15 victory by throwing out Mike Neill at the plate on a single in the ninth.

The teams combined for 37 hits and five errors, and at one point, Cornelius, Winston and Edsell, none of whom are expected to make the team, combined to throw 100 pitches in 1 1/3 innings.

“That was an ugly game,” Collins said.

Greene, the Angel catcher who has been slowed for 1 1/2 years by a weak shoulder, gave Collins a scare when he went head-first into second on a sixth-inning double.

“I could see him calling time, coming off the field, packing his stuff up and saying, ‘I’m done,’ ” Collins said. “When I saw him start to dive, I said, ‘Oh, please.’ But he plays one way, all out.”

Greene came away unscathed.

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Finley, sidelined for more than a week because of muscle spasms in his upper back, threw again Thursday and will throw off a mound Saturday. Collins has him scheduled for his first Cactus League start Tuesday against the White Sox.