Injury Stops Anderson for at Least a Few Days

TEMPE, Ariz. —  A minor injury to center fielder Garret Anderson sent a slight ripple through the placid waters of the Angels’ spring training camp Thursday.

Anderson, the All-Star cleanup batter who hit .315 with 29 home runs, 49 doubles and 116 runs batted in last season, was held out of Thursday’s workout and will miss today’s Cactus League opener against San Diego because of inflammation of the biceps tendon in his right (non-throwing) arm.

The injury -- near Anderson’s shoulder -- is not believed to be serious, and it is not expected to sideline Anderson for more than a few days, but the Angels were concerned enough about it that they shut down Anderson before it got any worse.

“It just flared up,” said Anderson, a nine-year veteran who usually experiences minor inflammation in his throwing shoulder each spring. “These things happen. You’re always going to have soreness, so it’s no big deal. Since it’s early, I might as well take a couple of days off and let the swelling go down.”

Though the inflammation is not in Anderson’s throwing shoulder, “Your lead [right] shoulder is important when you swing,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “That’s why we want to hold him back for a couple of days. This isn’t going to inhibit him from doing anything he needs to do, but it’s a little more [serious] than your typical spring-training soreness.”

Anderson, who has hit .300 or above in five of nine seasons, has never hit below .285 and has never been on the disabled list, is not concerned about missing a few at-bats early in the exhibition season.

“Missing games here and there is not going to affect my swing,” Anderson said. “One spring I missed a week and a half [of games] because of my throwing shoulder, and I didn’t have any problems with my swing [when the season started]. The biggest thing for me is running, getting my legs in shape. My swing will take care of itself.”

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A Cactus League championship is not among the Angels’ goals this season, but as the team opens exhibition play today against San Diego in Tempe Diablo Stadium, Scioscia believes it’s important the Angels play well.

A variety of injuries to a number of starters and a lack of execution led to some “ragged” play last spring, Scioscia said, and the manager believed that spring performance had a carry-over effect in the regular season, which the Angels opened with a 13-17 record.

“The way you play in spring training is extremely important,” Scioscia said. “Does it have to translate to wins? No. But as guys play deeper into games the last week and a half of camp, with opening day in sight, you need to see certain components of your play in place, and if you don’t, you’re going to see some losses early in the season.”

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Pitcher John Lackey, who is scheduled to start today’s game against the Padres, agreed to terms on a one-year contract that will pay the right-hander $375,000. Pitcher Kevin Gregg also agreed to terms, bringing all of the Angels under contract for 2004. ... Ben Weber and Francisco Rodriguez are among the relievers who will follow Lackey today. ... Bartolo Colon is scheduled to start Saturday against Oakland, and Aaron Sele and Jarrod Washburn are scheduled to start split-squad games against Oakland Sunday (Sele) and San Diego Sunday night (Washburn). ... Rain washed out much of the Angel workout Thursday, forcing the team into the indoor batting cages.