He’s a Wizard on the Mound at Edison Field

John Wooden performed the evening’s first bit of inspiration by throwing out the first pitch.

Weak enough to require a cart to take him from the field, requiring a cane to walk from the cart to the mound, Wooden nonetheless threw the pitch without help.

He handed his cane to Angel Manager Mike Scioscia and fired a nice slow curveball to catcher Jose Molina.

Wooden, who turned 92 last week, then responded to a standing ovation with a bow.

If only Coach could have stuck around to pitch the second inning.

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STOLEN MOMENTS: Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, Monte Irvin, Jackie Robinson and ... Brad Fullmer?

By trotting home on the back end of a double steal in the first inning Sunday -- Benito Santiago had carelessly thrown the ball to second base -- Fullmer joined those players and others in recording the 14th steal of home in World Series history.

Not that he should feel too fleet of foot, though.

The last guy to do it, in 1984 for the St. Louis Cardinals, was that cumbersome TV announcer named Tim McCarver.

-- Bill Plaschke

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EMBRACE THE MOMENT: Tom Lasorda hugging Barry Bonds? It happened before Game 2 of the World Series at Edison Field as the all-time Dodger cheerleader embraced the player booed most at Chavez Ravine.

Talk about surprising sights.

“He and I have always been friends,” Lasorda said. “People said to me, ‘What do you think of Barry hitting 73 home runs?’ I thought he was the best player in the National League before that. He’s always been a great player.”

Bonds jokingly warned Lasorda “I’ll knock you out if you try to kiss me,” laughing with the Hall of Fame manager while reporters raced to chronicle the made-for-October-TV moment. Lasorda summoned Santiago to join the show.

No word yet on whether Lasorda plans to hug Angel players before Game 3 in San Francisco.

--Jason Reid

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X FACTOR: Aaron Sele and Fullmer were key acquisitions, and Francisco Rodriguez and John Lackey key additions to the Angels this season, but don’t overlook the impact of Jay Lucas, the Angels’ director of publicity and broadcasting.

Lucas, 45, got his first job in the sports field as a public relations assistant with the Lakers during the 1981-82 season; the Lakers won the NBA title that year. In 1988, Lucas took a job with the Dodgers as an assistant director of publicity; the Dodgers won the World Series that year.

Lucas joined the Angels in March, and now look at them.

“Everyone’s telling me I should market myself to the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox,” said Lucas, known now as “Voodoo Jay” to some friends. “It just so happens when I started my career or made jumps, it’s been at the right time. It’s weird.”

--Mike DiGiovanna

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FINDING A GROOVE: Don Baylor has never been prouder to be a former Angel. But he doesn’t want to remain a former manager.

“I would like to [manage],” said Baylor, who lost his job as the Chicago Cubs’ manager in July. “I enjoy doing it.”

Baylor said he would take a job as a bench coach if he can’t land a manager’s gig. He said the San Diego Padres contacted him about a job as hitting coach, but he wasn’t interested.

“The hitting coach ... I’ve done that,” he said.

Baylor, who played for the Angels from 1977 to ‘82, has attended the first two Series games.

“I’ve run into a lot of fans that were 8 or 9 years old for that ’79 team,” said Baylor, the American League most valuable player as the designated hitter for that team that won the AL West division. “That’s where ‘Yes we can’ got started. There’s a lot of fans from 23 years ago.”

--J.A. Adande