Hill Is Not Down for the Count

Almost every time Glenallen Hill came to bat in the first six games, the Angel designated hitter fell behind in the count.

Pitchers threw first-pitch, off-speed pitches, which Hill often took for strikes, and got Hill to fish for the next two or three pitches out of the strike zone. The result: A .136 average entering Tuesday night’s home opener, with three singles, eight strikeouts and no walks in 22 at-bats.

The Angels released Jose Canseco to make room for Hill, who was acquired from the Yankees in March because of his power. But the Glenallen Hill who accompanied the Angels on their first trip seemed like an impostor.

“There is a certain amount of anxiousness that I have within myself to be myself,” Hill said. “And how I’ve played up to this point is really not me.”

In an effort to rediscover himself, Hill spent hours Tuesday watching tapes from 2000, when he batted .293 with 27 homers and 58 runs batted in for the Cubs and Yankees. He concluded his timing is off--he’s starting his hands, hips, stride and weight shift a shade too soon.

It must have helped. Hill singled in the third, his 1,000th career hit, and blasted a solo home run in the sixth Tuesday night.

“I’ve pinpointed what I’m doing wrong, now it’s a matter of not forcing it, letting it happen,” said Hill, who was dropped from sixth to seventh in the order. “I just haven’t gotten into my rhythm yet. The good thing is once I feel it, it’s not one of those things that just goes away.”

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Like Hill, Angel right fielder Tim Salmon entered Tuesday night’s game with a .136 average, but that’s not shocking. Salmon is a notoriously slow starter who has a .217 career average in April, and it didn’t help that he sat out 2 1/2 weeks of spring training because of a strained stomach muscle.

“We just have to turn the calendar to May,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “In fact, we told him it’s May, and he didn’t buy it. Maybe next year we’ll send him to spring training in January.”

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Shawn Wooten got his second start in a row at first base Tuesday, and Scott Spiezio, who was expected to platoon with Wally Joyner and start against lefties, was on the bench. Spiezio said he is not hurt, that it was simply a managerial decision, but Scioscia said he has not lost faith in Spiezio.

“Spiezio is going to get his at-bats--we know he’ll be productive,” Scioscia said. “It’s a nice dilemma when you have some big bats to choose from. We just want to see what Wooten can do against left-handed pitching.”

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Left-hander Jarrod Washburn, who threw 7 2/3 innings in a rehabilitation start for triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday, will throw in the bullpen twice this week before returning to the rotation Monday night against Oakland.

Ramon Ortiz and Matt Wise will start the final two games against Texas, Scott Schoeneweis will pitch Friday night against Seattle, and Pat Rapp and Ismael Valdes probably will pitch this weekend against the Mariners.

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Adam Kennedy, out since March 8 because of a broken bone in his right hand, doubled and walked twice in his first rehab start for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Monday. Kennedy was scheduled to play seven innings Tuesday and nine tonight. He could rejoin the Angels by Thursday. . . . Canseco is weighing an offer from the Toronto Blue Jays to play outfield for their triple-A team at Syracuse. Canseco’s agent, Jeff Borris, said the deal would include a provision granting his release if Canseco is not called up to the big leagues within 30 days.

ANGELS’

RAMON ORTIZ

(1-0, 2.57 ERA)

vs.

RANGERS’

RYAN GLYNN

(0-1, 8.44 ERA)

Edison Field, 7

* TV--Fox Sports Net. Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

* Update--Ortiz carried the momentum he gained during an impressive spring (3-1, 2.84 earned-run average in six starts) with an outstanding regular-season debut, giving up two runs on four hits and striking out a career-high 10 in a 10-3 victory over Texas on Thursday. The Angels roughed up Glynn, the Ranger right-hander, for five runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. Angel left fielder Garret Anderson entered 2001 with 918 hits in the last five seasons, fifth best in baseball and third-best in the American League behind Derek Jeter (996) and Alex Rodriguez (922).

* Tickets: (714) 663-9000