He has a very good feeling about this

The arthritic upper-back condition that sapped much of his strength in 2004 has been managed to the point where he can go long stretches without medication.

The irritation in his lower back and left-knee tendinitis that hampered him in 2005, and the strained arch and bone spur in his left foot, painful conditions that contributed to hamstring and lower-back problems in 2006, have been rested and treated to the point where they no longer appear to be issues.

About the only thing that can slow Garret Anderson this season, it seems, is age, a foe no big league baseball player can outrun forever, but at 34, the Angels left fielder is not ready to concede.

“I don’t think my skills have depreciated,” said Anderson, who will open his 13th season with the Angels on Monday night against the Texas Rangers. “In fact, I know they haven’t. It will happen one day, but I’m not there yet.”

There is a spring in Anderson’s step this spring. You see it on the basepaths, the way he beat out an infield single Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, during the drills he has been able to fully participate in every day, and in his smile, the latter a dead giveaway for the usually stoic Anderson.

“It puts you in a good frame of mind, not having to worry about how you feel all the time as opposed to doing your job,” Anderson said. “If you’re not healthy, you’re not worried about doing your job, you’re worried about how you’re going to get through every day.”

After three injury-plagued seasons, in which one of baseball’s most potent hitters experienced a sharp decline in power and production, Anderson is feeling whole again, vigorous, pain-free. A man in full.

And that has the Angels thinking Anderson could regain his form of 2000-2003, when the career .297 hitter averaged 30 home runs, 46 doubles and 120 runs batted in.

“Garret’s physical skills haven’t been diminished by age as much as injury, and I think that will show this year,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “His strength is there, his bat speed there, he’s running as well as he ever has ... there’s no reason he can’t be as productive as he was for those three or four years.”

All these years the Angels have been searching for a power hitter to protect Vladimir Guerrero in the lineup, and the bat they were seeking may have been there the whole time.

Except this season, the middle of the order -- Guerrero batting third and Anderson fourth -- may actually line up the way the Angels envisioned when they signed Guerrero to a five-year, $70-million contract in 2004.

They’re hoping Monday’s exhibition against the Chicago Cubs is a preview: Anderson followed Guerrero’s first-inning homer with a double, and he followed Guerrero’s fourth-inning single by lining a two-run homer to center.

“For the first time, we’re putting Vlad and G.A. in the same lineup where they’re both healthy,” Scioscia said. “It will be exciting to see what a healthy Garret will do behind Vlad, because as many times as Vlad cleans the table, he sets it.”

About the closest the Angels have come to having that potent of a one-two punch was 2005, when Anderson played 142 games and hit .283 with 17 homers and 95 RBIs.

Anderson, who played in 150 games or more for eight consecutive seasons, played a career-low 112 games in 2004, batting .301 with 14 homers and 75 RBIs. He hit a career-low .280 with 17 homers and 85 RBIs in 141 games last season, spending more time in the designated hitter spot (176 of 543 at-bats) than he ever has.

“I don’t really like to project statistics, but I know if I’m on the field every day where my numbers should be at by the end of the season,” Anderson said. “Right now, I don’t have anything that’s bothering me, no injuries that would stop me from playing. Nothing’s fun if you’re not healthy.”

Anderson, whose 1,783 hits over the last 10 years are the third-most in the major leagues behind Derek Jeter (1,955) and Alex Rodriguez (1,808), has never been one to display emotion.

But no translator has been required to interpret Anderson’s body language during a spring in which he is batting .417 with two homers, four doubles and seven RBIs in 15 games and has spent more time in the batting cage fine-tuning his swing than in the trainer’s room getting treatment.

“When he feels good, it’s really fun for him to be playing and getting after it,” Scioscia said. “When you don’t feel good, sometimes it’s a chore to do some of the things you need to do. I don’t mean chore in a negative way; it just takes more effort. But now, it’s fun to see him run the bases, steal a base, go first to third.

“That’s something he hasn’t been able to do as much because of his foot and arthritic condition, but he has a renewed interest in playing this game. It’s fun for him to go out there and display his skills, throwing, getting to the line and cutting off doubles. He’s having fun, and a lot of it has to do with his health.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com