Quinlan Shouldn’t Give His New Role a Second Thought

No one expects Robb Quinlan to turn into Scott Rolen overnight, but the Angels are confident he’ll be capable on defense at third base in place of the injured Dallas McPherson -- as long as Quinlan, a converted first baseman, doesn’t think too much.

“Last year, he wasn’t thinking, he was just playing,” Angel first-base coach Alfredo Griffin said. “It’s easy to play that way because if you mess up, you say, ‘It’s OK, because I’m not supposed to be here.’ Now, if you start thinking, it can mess with your mind a little. But I’m not worried about him.”

Quinlan has looked a little shaky at third this week, losing a popup in the sun Wednesday and misplaying a grounder for an error Thursday, but he says there’s plenty of time to get comfortable before the April 5 season opener against Texas.

“The biggest thing for me is getting my footwork and timing down, making sure I make the plays,” Quinlan said. “Once I start reading pitches better, anticipating better, I’ll start increasing my range. I keep learning every day I’m out there.”

Before 2004, Quinlan’s body of work at third base consisted of playing “a little” in high school, “a tad” in college and “a tad” after signing with the Angels in 1999.

Quinlan, 6 feet 1 and 200 pounds, had never played third in the big leagues until last June, when he started three games against Houston. His hot bat forced Manager Mike Scioscia to find a lineup spot for him -- third base -- in late July.

Quinlan hit .344 with five home runs and 23 runs batted in and was chosen American League rookie of the month in July before suffering a season-ending rib-cage injury Aug. 17.

Quinlan has limited range and an average arm, and his glove work won’t land in many television highlight packages. But Quinlan was solid last season, making plays on the balls he could get to. In 32 games at third, he made one error in 58 chances.

If Quinlan struggles defensively, Scioscia could move second baseman Chone Figgins to third and use slick-fielding Maicer Izturis at second. Izturis, a natural shortstop, started at second in the Angels’ 6-4 exhibition victory over Texas on Friday and will get more time there this spring.

But Scioscia is hesitant to break up the double-play combination of Figgins and shortstop Orlando Cabrera, so his preference is to keep Quinlan at third.

“He showed enough last year that we have confidence in him,” Scioscia said. “For us to have good starting pitching, it’s going to need to be supported by solid defense.”

*

Bartolo Colon continued his mastery of the Rangers, allowing no runs and four hits and striking out five -- four looking -- in a crisp 4 2/3 -inning, 52-pitch start. Colon, who went 6-0 with a 2.14 earned-run average against Texas last season, is in line to start opening day against the Rangers at Angel Stadium.

“I’ve been feeling well all spring, and the way I threw today, I feel even better,” Colon said through a translator. “I’m controlling the strike zone better, throwing to both sides of the plate and getting ahead of hitters. I’m ahead of schedule from where I was last year.”

Colon, who has given up one run and six hits in 6 2/3 spring innings, looks comfortable and confident -- an injury to his left ankle led to mechanical difficulties that contributed to a poor first half in 2004, when he went 6-8 with a 6.38 ERA before the All-Star break.

Though he finished strong last season, ending up 18-12 with a 5.01 ERA, Colon wants to be more pitch-efficient in 2005 -- he averaged six innings and 100 pitches in 34 starts in 2004, about 16 pitches an inning.

“There’s a fine line between making pitches and getting guys to swing, but when you have a count to put hitters away, make a pitch and put him away,” Scioscia said. “Don’t let an 0-2 count go to a 2-2 count.”

*

Garret Anderson had two hits and an RBI Friday, and shortstop Erick Aybar had two hits. Scott Dunn, competing for the final bullpen spot, threw a hitless ninth for the Angels. ... First baseman Darin Erstad, running a temperature and suffering flu-like symptoms, was sent home Friday morning and did not participate in workouts. ... Playing catch before Friday’s game, Vladimir Guerrero threw a ball from the right-field foul line over the fence in left-center, a toss of about 350 feet.