Anderson Eager for Outfield to Mesh

When Garret Anderson joins the lineup for the first time this spring, which could happen as soon as today, he will get his first look at outfielders Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Guillen since their signings in the off-season.

Anderson, who suffered biceps tendinitis near his right shoulder before spring training and experienced swelling in both hands, typically leaves Tempe Diablo Stadium midway through games after receiving treatment in the clubhouse. He has not accompanied teammates to other Cactus League venues.

“I haven’t seen anything,” Anderson said Thursday after taking live batting practice for the first time since spring games started. “I’ve seen what they’ve done in the past; I know what they’re capable of.”

Anderson, who is slated to play center field between Guerrero and Guillen, said he would like to acquire the same familiarity with his new teammates that he had from playing for years alongside Tim Salmon and Darin Erstad.

“I don’t have that [familiarity] with the other two guys, but they’re good outfielders,” Anderson said. “Good outfielders seem to mesh together pretty well.”

Anderson said that speculation that he might not return in time to make the transition from left to center field was premature and that he didn’t expect any problems manning the position he played full time during 2000.

“The only question is if I’m healthy,” Anderson said. “If I’m healthy, I’m fine.”

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David Eckstein is resisting the urge to use his newest Topps baseball card as kindling even though it has a picture of Adam Kennedy on the front.

“It doesn’t bug me whatsoever,” Eckstein said. “I think it’s kind of funny.”

The shortstop initially resisted fans’ pleas to autograph the card before relenting. Topps officials apologized to Eckstein but did not offer to redo the card.

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On a day when his players received a memo from Major League Baseball announcing its decision to ban THG, the steroid at the center of the case against Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, Manager Mike Scioscia recalled the negligible effect steroids and supplements had on the game when he played.

The manager said that the only supplements he took were “cheesecake and fettuccine Alfredo,” which “gave you an incredible amount of strength.”

Scioscia said he had never heard of steroid use coming up through the Dodger system in the late 1970s and had thought that the Nautilus strength-building system “was a boat.”

“The way we trained was to play,” he said. “It was around-the-clock baseball. That was what you did.”

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Outfield prospect Brian Gordon helped his cause by hitting a two-run home run off Carlos Zambrano during the Angels’ 12-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs at HoHoKam Park..... Brendan Donnelly, who was expected to pitch Thursday for the first time since suffering a broken nose March 9, continues to have nosebleeds and was sidelined.... Guillen was scratched from the lineup because of a strained right chest muscle, his fifth consecutive missed game.... The Angels reassigned third baseman Dallas McPherson and outfielder Gary Johnson to minor league camp .... More than two weeks before Opening Day, the Angels have broken the record they set last year for season ticket sales. The Angels have sold almost 22,000 season tickets, an increase of merely 400 from 2003, and have sold 2.2 million tickets for the season.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Hitting the Top 10

Selected statistical categories in which Garret Anderson finished in the top 10 in the American League the last three seasons:

AT BATS

*--* Year No. Rk. 2001 672 2 2002 638 5 2003 638 6

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HITS

*--* Year No. Rk. 2001 194 5 2002 195 6 2003 201 4

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TOTAL BASES

*--* Year No. Rk. 2001 321 7 2002 344 4 2003 345 5

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DOUBLES

*--* Year No. Rk. 2001 39 8 2002 56 1 2003 49 1

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RBIs

*--* Year No. Rk. 2001 123 6 2002 123 4 2003 116 5

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