Meet Vlad and the Impalers

The Angels have marveled at their new right fielder since his first batting-practice session in Arizona, when he launched ball after ball far beyond the outer reaches of Tempe Diablo Stadium, and they watched in awe for weeks as he mashed his way through the Cactus League.

That, they hope, was only a sneak preview.

The Vladimir Guerrero Show hits the big screen today, amid the brighter lights and considerably higher stakes of the 2004 opener against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. With this $70-million man as the centerpiece of a revamped offense, the Angels say they can win the American League West.

“It’s exciting,” designated hitter Tim Salmon said. “I can tell you as a player that when Vlad comes up to hit, you stop what you’re doing, get a good seat and check it out.

“You hate to use the term ‘Murderers Row,’ but we’ve got a lot of offense.”

Indeed, scoring runs shouldn’t be a problem for the Angels. Leadoff batter David Eckstein and No. 2 hitter Darin Erstad appear poised to set the table after suffering through subpar, injury-plagued 2003 seasons.

Guerrero, one of baseball’s most dangerous hitters, will bat third, and he’ll be followed by Garret Anderson, who has averaged 30 home runs and 120 runs batted in the last four years, and slugger Troy Glaus, who is healthy after being limited to 91 games because of injury last season.

And there’s more.

Once he recovers from a bruised left wrist, new left fielder Jose Guillen will follow Glaus. Guillen hit .311 with 31 homers and 86 RBIs with Cincinnati and Oakland in 2003.

Then comes Salmon, a 25-homer, 90-RBI threat; catcher Bengie Molina, who had 14 homers and 71 RBIs in 2003 and is recovering from a slight hamstring strain; and second baseman Adam Kennedy, who had 13 homers and 49 RBIs last season.

“If we get on base for those guys to do what they can do,” Eckstein said, “we’re going to have a chance to generate a lot of offense.”

To contend for a playoff berth, though, the Angels will have to pitch a lot better than last season, when their starters were 57-71 with a 4.90 earned-run average.

The rotation received a significant boost with the free-agent signings of Bartolo Colon, who will start today, and Kelvim Escobar, and no starter looked better this spring than left-hander Jarrod Washburn, who appears recovered from the shoulder injury that slowed him in 2003.

But for the Angels to beat out Oakland and Seattle in the division and contend with the likes of New York and Boston for the pennant, they will need bounce-back years from Ramon Ortiz, who went 16-13 with an unsightly 5.20 ERA last season, and John Lackey, who went 10-16 with a 4.63 ERA. Both struggled this spring.

“The track record of our guys is strong, and it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to see Lackey return to form and Ramon be a consistent winner,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “And the track records of Colon, Washburn and Escobar point to guys who are going to give you what you need to get through a tough division. There’s no wishing or hoping here. We’re very confident they’ll give us the pitching we need to contend.”

Many have picked the Angels to win the West, “but it’s not going to be a cakewalk, by any measure,” Salmon said.

Seattle has a balanced lineup and a quality rotation led by Jamie Moyer, Joel Pineiro and Freddy Garcia. The A’s have three of baseball’s best young pitchers in Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito.

“There’s just no easy game in our division,” Erstad said.

Ditto for much of the rest of the schedule. The Angels could go to New York and face pitchers Mike Mussina, Kevin Brown and Javier Vazquez, plus a lineup that includes sluggers Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and Derek Jeter. They could face Boston’s Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling and Derek Lowe in a three-game series, or a Baltimore lineup bolstered by Miguel Tejada, Javy Lopez and Rafael Palmeiro.

The Angels also have interleague series against the pitching-rich Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros.

“There won’t be many walk-throughs,” Washburn said.

The Angels needed 99 victories to earn a wild-card berth in 2002, the year they won the World Series. How many wins will it take to reach the playoffs this season?

“That’s a good question,” Washburn said. “With the scales more even, it’s hard to say you’ll have to win 100 games to get into the playoffs. Ninety may get the job done.”

Despite their power, the Angels will have to find a way to scratch out runs on those nights they’re facing the elite pitchers. They may also have to occasionally out-slug opponents.

“As exciting as it is to have such long-ball potential, it’s putting the ball in play, and running the bases hard, and taking the extra base that wins games,” Salmon said. “I hope with all this great hitting, it doesn’t become a contest to see who can hit the ball the farthest.”