Injuries Continue to Surface

The Angel training room should have a revolving door.

The day catcher Bengie Molina finally returned after sitting out the first seven games, third baseman Troy Glaus was scratched because of tightness in his left hamstring, and right fielder Vladimir Guerrero was limited to designated hitter because of a sore knee.

“Vlad is a little nicked up, but he should be OK,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “We need to give his legs a chance to re-charge.

“This schedule has been crazy with the times we’ve gotten into cities and all the day games. It takes a toll.”

Guerrero hobbled into the clubhouse after Monday’s 7-6 loss in Texas with a large ice pack on his right knee. He said he ices after every game as a precaution, but Scioscia acknowledged that Guerrero’s knee has been sore.

The good news: Guerrero’s lower back seems fine. Guerrero sat out 50 games last season because of a herniated disk.

“It’s his knee, not his back,” Scioscia said. “Knees are important too, but it’s a relief that he’s feeling better. If [Tuesday] was a day where we needed him to play right field, he could have played.”

Glaus, who hit three homers in the Angels’ first four games, sat out his second straight game Tuesday night after tweaking his hamstring Sunday in Texas. He was in the original lineup against Seattle on Tuesday.

“He felt good when he came to the park, but when he tried to swing and get out of the box, he realized it was still a little sore,” Scioscia said. “It’s not the right time of year to take a chance.”

A strained left hamstring prevented Molina from playing on the season-opening trip to Seattle and Texas. Scioscia said he would ease Molina back into his starting role, playing him every other day for at least a few days.

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The giant banners of pitcher Jarrod Washburn and David Eckstein on the walls outside Angel Stadium were replaced this season by banners of Guerrero and pitcher Bartolo Colon. Banners of Garret Anderson, Darin Erstad, Troy Percival and Tim Salmon remained.

Percival, the Angel closer, couldn’t resist the chance to rib Washburn: “At least we know who’s better looking now.”

Neither Eckstein nor Washburn were crushed. “He’s getting paid more than me, so he deserves to get on the big board,” Washburn said of Colon.

Washburn was curious what would be done with the banners. Tim Mead, Angel communications director, said they would be placed elsewhere or auctioned for charity. The switch, Mead said, “was just to change things up, mix in the new.”

Asked if he would like the banner as a memento, Washburn said, “The thing’s 40-50 feet high--where would I put it? I’d have to build a big barn and put it on the side of the house.”

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Angel fans looked toward right field Tuesday night and saw a familiar sight: Salmon, the Angels’ opening-day right fielder for the previous 11 years. Only it suddenly didn’t seem so familiar to Salmon.

“I’ve been preparing to play DH all spring,” Salmon said before the game. “This is the scenario we talked about -- be ready, because you know you’re going to play some outfield. But it is a different feeling.

“From a performance level, I haven’t played the outfield in two weeks, and that was in left field.... I’m just going to relax and enjoy it, because it’s not going to happen a whole lot.”