Glaus Moves to Short; Hollins Injured

With Gary DiSarcina’s left forearm in a cast, the Angels decided to give Troy Glaus--the former UCLA All-American shortstop turned professional third baseman--some playing time at short against the Padres Sunday in Peoria, Ariz.

But the already unsettled left side of the Angel infield became less stable back at Tempe Diablo Stadium when Dave Hollins, who is battling Glaus for the starting third base job, pulled up lame rounding second base in the first inning of a split-squad game against the Giants and left because of a tight left hamstring.

“It’s just sore,” Hollins said. “It’ll probably be a couple of days.”

Hollins, who was bothered by tightness in the same hamstring earlier this spring, was complaining about how soft the infield was before the game. “I don’t remember it being this soft last year,” he said.

Glaus had no trouble with the infield in Peoria, handling four routine grounders cleanly at shortstop during the Angels’ 6-4 loss to San Diego.

“I felt all right out there,” he said. “I took a few ground balls warming up just to remember what it’s like.”

But Glaus figures any stay at short will be short-lived.

“This team needs DiSar there,” he said.

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Todd Greene will test his surgically repaired right shoulder behind the plate for the first time Tuesday against the White Sox. He’s scheduled to catch three innings.

“To be dead serious, I’m just hoping he gets out of next Tuesday,” Manager Terry Collins said. “If they get some guys on base, they might just say, ‘Let’s see if we can blow this guy’s arm out.”’

The shoulder certainly hasn’t impaired Greene’s ability to swing the bat. He smashed a two-run homer in the first inning of the Angels’ 7-6 victory over the Giants that cleared the left-field wall, 80 feet of grass area and a six-foot chain-link fence, landing on a service road about 460 feet from home plate.

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The Edison Field outfield dimensions will be altered for the 1999 season, with the center-field fence moved in from 408 feet to 400 feet and the power alley in left-center moved in from 396 feet to 387.

Four existing banks of lights at the park have been upgraded. The number of lights has been reduced from 720 to 405 higher-wattage bulbs, which should help outfielders track fly balls. Two auxiliary scoreboards have been added and the Jumbotron system has been upgraded.

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First baseman Mo Vaughn, who missed two games a week ago because of sore hamstrings, was a late scratch Sunday because of tightness in his right hamstring. “He was tight all morning,” Collins said. “He didn’t even get on the field. With [today] an off day, we decided to give him an extra day.” . . . No. 4 starter Steve Sparks gave up four hits and one earned run in five innings of the loss to the Padres; Jason Dickson, battling for the No. 5 spot with Omar Olivares and Jarrod Washburn, was smacked around for seven hits and four runs in two-plus innings by the Giants. “I’m a little concerned,” Collins said of Dickson’s performance. “I know what this guy can do when he keeps the ball down, but he just had too many balls up in the zone.”. . . . Outfielder Norm Hutchins, who Collins called the most improved player in camp, is expected to be optioned to Edmonton today. . . . The Angels returned five players to minor league camp Sunday and released pitcher Reid Cornelius. Reassigned were pitchers Scott Brow, Kevin Lomon and Paul Menhart, infielder Chuck Abbott and catcher Ben Molina.