Glaus Does Launch

Amid the hype and the hope, on a clear, crisp Northwest afternoon, the Angels opened their 44th season with a roster billed as the best in franchise history.

Well, with only 161 games remaining, the real thing looks even better than it did on paper.

In a calling-card victory over a team that figures to compete for the American League West title, the Angels defeated Jamie Moyer and the Seattle Mariners, 10-5, and deflated a Safeco Field crowd of 46,142.

Of course, not everyone in the house was deflated.

Owner Arte Moreno, here with his family and depleted wallet, saw expectation become reality for his Angels in more ways than one -- and that’s the thing about this 2004 edition.

It’s potentially more complete any of the 43 predecessors.

“This was just another indication that it’s going to be a fun year,” said Jarrod Washburn, who starts tonight. “We have a lot of weapons in every department, but we have to remind ourselves that it isn’t automatic.”

Maybe it is. The Angels won 10 of their last 13 exhibition games, routing the Dodgers in their Freeway Series sweep, and were routing the Mariners, 10-1, before middle relievers Scot Shields and Kevin Gregg got careless in a four-run Seattle eighth.

Either way, 10-5 or 10-1, it was an auspicious start.

Bartolo Colon restricted the Mariners to an unearned run through the 100 pitches of his six innings, and Troy Glaus brought combustion to Moyer’s 83-mph craft by rocketing a pair of home runs to dead center, driving in four runs.

Call it big for both.

Colon carries the burden, and reward, of his four-year, $51-million contract.

A year ago he shut out the Angels in the first game of the 2003 season for the Chicago White Sox. He would have shut out the Mariners in a debut that was going to be limited to 100 to 115 pitches had it not been for his own throwing error. With the adrenaline pumping and several members of his family watching him pitch for the first time, he consistently registered in the mid to high 90s on the speed gun.

“He gets stronger as he goes, but we weren’t going to let him run up the pitch count at this time of the year,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

“We’re not looking for one guy to lead the staff, but Bartolo definitely has the ability to make the others better, and he established that tone today.”

The 2003 season ended after 99 games for Glaus, who rejected surgery in favor of therapy to repair his right shoulder.

If he appears to have made the right choice, there is evidence he also opted correctly for optic surgery.

Freed from the consistent distraction of his contact lenses, he slugged the two home runs off a pitcher who won 21 games last year and in a park in which he was hitting .155 with no home runs in 116 at-bats.

Closer Troy Percival, who also had laser surgery during the off-season, encouraged Glaus to try it.

“I had it done at 11 in the morning,” Glaus said. “By eight that night I could see the clock for the first time in years.

“I mean, I don’t see any better than I did when the contacts were right, but there are enough variables in this game that you don’t want to be fighting your vision when there’s dust and wind.

“It’s a relief not to go through that anymore. I’m a lot more comfortable at the plate.”

Now 27, the MVP of the 2002 World Series averaged 39 homers and 107 runs batted in over the three years prior to 2003.

The Angels are confident he can surpass those figures if his improved vision and comfort in the batter’s box helps him reduce the average of 155 strikeouts during those seasons, but they are as reluctant to put any numerical expectations on him as they are to get too high in April.

Of course, that has been a hard fight ever since Moreno spent $146 million to improve the team in the off-season.

Even for Glaus, it goes beyond a healthy shoulder and clearer eye chart.

“Adding guys like Vladimir [Guerrero] and Jose [Guillen] is obviously going to make any team better,” the third baseman said. “I won’t say it takes the pressure off, but it’s tougher for a pitcher to get through the lineup. If we stay healthy, we have all the confidence in the world that we have a chance.”

Is that putting it mildly, or what?

The Dodgers have talked about how the acquisition of Milton Bradley lengthens their lineup. The Angel lineup is end-to-end productivity.

In the opener, the Angels collected 12 hits even though Guillen and Tim Salmon didn’t have any, and Guerrero wasn’t heard from until launching a two-run double in the eighth. Five Angels had two hits each, and slimmed-down catcher Jose Molina, possibly accelerating brother Bengie’s recovery from a hamstring strain, homered, doubled and stole a base (you can look it up).

“We obviously feel we have a deep lineup,” said Scioscia, “but we have to stay aggressive on the bases. If we do, we have the potential to score a lot of runs.”

The next 161 will test the potential, but the opener reaffirmed the probability that this isn’t just a paper chase.

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ANGEL OPENER BY THE NUMBERS

10

Runs scored by the Angels, second in team opening-day history only to a 12-0 victory over Milwaukee in 1970

2

Career home runs for Troy Glaus at Safeco Field after he hit two Tuesday (he was 18 of 116 at Safeco before Tuesday)

8

Different starting pitchers on opening day in last eight seasons (Mark Langston, Chuck Finley, Tim Belcher, Ken Hill, Scott Schoeneweis, Jarrod Washburn, John Lackey, Bartolo Colon)