Vaughn Struggling in Arizona Glare

Mo Vaughn welcomed a change of scenery this spring, from Boston to Anaheim, but right now, the Angel first baseman would like nothing more than another change of scenery.

He came into the Tempe Diablo Stadium clubhouse Wednesday after another hitless exhibition game, tossed his St. Patrick’s Day green cap into the trash can and complained about the glare in the bright Arizona sky.

“Man, they ought to put a dome up here,” said Vaughn, who is struggling with a .192 average (five for 26), eight strikeouts and three RBIs. “I’m not picking up the ball real well. I figure the ball will look as big as a pumpkin in big league parks.”

Vaughn, slowed by a sore hamstring, has played extremely well defensively, but when he hasn’t been striking out, he’s usually grounding out to second base. He hit a few balls to the warning track but is still looking for his first home run.

“I’ll hit one before it’s over, and I’ll be set,” said Vaughn, who has averaged 39 homers and 120 RBIs the past four seasons. “The one thing I don’t worry about is my offense. I usually worry about defense, and my defense is fine, so I should be OK.”

Is Manager Terry Collins concerned about Vaughn?

“I’m really, really worried about Mo,” Collins said, before breaking into a grin. “No, absolutely not. He’ll be fine.”

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Troy Glaus returned to third base Wednesday after starting two games at shortstop, and it appears the Angels have dashed any plans to use Glaus as a temporary replacement for injured shortstop Gary DiSarcina.

While Glaus handled all of the routine plays at shortstop, the consensus among Angel coaches is that the 6-foot-5, 225-pounder doesn’t have the range to play the position on a regular basis.

Jeff Huson, who is hitting .438 and has made excellent defensive plays, remains the front-runner for the utility infield job--and potential season-opening shortstop if DiSarcina isn’t ready--over Andy Stankiewicz and Luis Rivera.

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Angel pitcher Tim Belcher threw five innings Wednesday, giving up one run on eight hits and striking out one. Reliever Mike Holtz recovered from two rocky outings by retiring the three batters he faced in the sixth, and reliever Mike Fyhrie threw his fourth and fifth scoreless innings of the spring. . . . Tempe Diablo Stadium will be renamed Gene Autry Field today in pregame ceremony.