Glaus Now Cooling on This Corner

The comparison starts and ends with the fact that they both play third base.

Otherwise, the Dodgers may like to think that they still know what Adrian Beltre can do, but there’s no doubt, no wishful thinking for the Angels.

They can attest to and document what Troy Glaus can do.

It’s just that now, with Brad Fullmer out for the season and the Angels still looking for their offensive form of last year as they opened another Freeway Series weekend with the Dodgers, Glaus has been mired in a struggle reminiscent of those that have plagued Beltre.

“It’s been bad,” Angel batting coach Mickey Hatcher said, summing it up succinctly. “Troy is going through a very tough time right now.”

Strange business.

There was Glaus, the most valuable player of the World Series, appearing to not miss a beat as he got off to one of his strongest starts, hitting 13 home runs through early June, driving in more than 40 runs, sharing the American League’s player of the week award with Melvin Mora in late May, surging into a runaway lead among third basemen in All-Star voting, and then....

Well, Glaus took the field Friday night without a home run in his last 18 games, hitless in his last 16 at-bats and four for his last 56, a 14-game slump in which his average fell from .309 to .256.

The span raised suspicions about his physical status, and the two looping, opposite-field singles he would collect in a 3-0 victory over the Dodgers were not quite enough for anyone to suggest the worst was behind him.

Frustrating?

“It’s always frustrating when you’re not doing as well as you can,” Glaus said. “People are lying when they say otherwise. Everybody goes through it, but it’s obviously not fun.”

Just as obviously, there are mixed views on whether Glaus -- “a stubborn mule at times,” Hatcher said -- has tried to play through a series of nicks and bruises, his mechanics disrupted by an unwillingness to leave the lineup or be as forthcoming about his physical status as he might be.

Is there truth in that?

“Nobody’s business,” Glaus said. “If I feel like I can help the team, I’m going out there. If I feel like I can’t, I won’t.

“The bottom line is, I feel good. I’m as close to being 100% as anyone is at this point of the season. There’s no problem physically.”

Perhaps, but there was a wrist problem in spring training, hamstring and foot issues in April, ongoing shoulder and arm problems that the Angels believe have impacted his defense (his 13 errors are the most among American League third basemen), back spasms that caused him to miss a game last weekend and a bruised left shin suffered when he fouled a ball off it June 10.

Although Manager Mike Scioscia said he did not think the recent struggle was injury related (“Troy has great ability to play through injuries and to play well,” Scioscia said), Hatcher believes otherwise, and Glaus admitted that the June 10 bruise, while fine now, settled for a time in his left foot -- his landing foot when he strides at the plate.

“It’s the injury to his foot that got him out of whack,” Hatcher said. “I can see it in how he lands on that foot and the swings he’s taking. It’s a matter of him getting healthy and being honest with himself. He wants to be out there and be the guy, but sometimes you’ve got to back off and not let those injuries create bad habits. Troy tends not to say anything to anybody.”

Well, there is a bit of old school to the 26-year-old Glaus, who joined the Angels in 1998 and was educated by such hard-nosed players as Dave Hollins, Gary DiSarcina and Darin Erstad.

If the tendency is for Glaus not to say anything, the preference would be to have him play hurt than shirk playing.

After all, exhibiting what Scioscia described as “incredible growth,” his 132 homers since 2000 are the most by any major league third baseman, he is the only third baseman in American League history to have three consecutive seasons of 30 or more homers and he is on pace -- despite his recent struggle -- to become the first Angel with 30 or more homers in four consecutive seasons.

Now, said Hatcher, the aim is to simplify things and rebuild his mechanics and confidence “because neither are really there right now.” The foot injury and back spasms have restricted the amount of batting practice Glaus has been able to take recently, compounding the slump, and “no matter if he’s swinging good or bad, nobody in baseball gets pitched tougher than Troy does,” Hatcher said, “and he’s got to understand that.”

What Glaus said he understands is that with Fullmer out “some guys are going to have to step in and some will have to step up because Brad was an integral part of our offense.”

Well, Jeff DaVanon stepped in Friday night and had three hits and drove in a run and Glaus, although neither swing could be described as pretty, had those two hits and scored once.

It wasn’t a breakout setting considering Kevin Brown was pitching for the Dodgers, but then Glaus is now 6 for 11 in his career against Brown, and maybe the two hits were a start on the road back.

“I don’t feel any differently now than when I’m swinging good,” he had said before the game. “I’ve been seeing good pitches and either fouling off the mistakes or hitting them at someone. That’s the way it goes when you’re in one of these things, and I just have to battle through it. It’ll turn around.”

The Angels can be sure it will for their third baseman.

The Dodgers? It’s been a long wait.