NOTES, QUOTES

Posted on 2010 under Angels | Comments are off

3 Mar

--RHP Scot Shields (knee surgery) has begun participating in defensive drills and flat-ground throwing sessions and could be cleared to start throwing off a mound this week. Shields was shut down in May of last season and had surgery to repair a tear in his patellar tendon in June. --1B Kendry Morales missed the first four days of full-squad workouts while dealing with immigration paperwork. But Morales has other issues to deal with as well. According to an ESPN.com report, the police department in Coral Springs, Fla. and the MLB players' union are investigating a former employee of Hendricks Sports Management regarding unauthorized withdrawals from Morales' bank account totaling $300,000. Morales dropped Hendricks as his agent recently, switching to Scott Boras. --RHP Fernando Rodney was limited to long-toss throwing sessions and limited conditioning work because of some minor leg issues. He was expected to be cleared for full workouts soon. --Manager Mike Scioscia has decided on at least one thing about his 2010 batting order. "(Bobby) Abreu is going to hit second right now," Scioscia said. "It would take some dynamics of the lineup not working to move him to third." Abreu made 50 starts as the No. 2 hitter last season and 95 in the third spot. --DH Hideki Matsui will be given a chance in spring training to prove that his knees are strong enough to handle occasional duty in left field. If Matsui can play in the outfield, it would allow Scioscia to rest Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu at DH at times. "Versatility breeds depth," Scioscia said. "It's something we'll explore. But we need him (Matsui) swinging the bat, first and foremost." BY THE NUMBERS: 7.5 -- Strikeouts per nine innings for LHP Brian Fuentes in 2009, the lowest rate of his career. QUOTE TO NOTE: "I don't want to say I'm the leader. Maybe I'm a Shaolin monk. I'd watch it on all those karate movies when I was a kid. They're the old monks with the long eyebrows and the long mustaches, the ones you train, and then they come back and try to kill you later on, like these young guys (on the Angels). You train them, and they try to get you out of the game after awhile." -- CF Torii Hunter, explaining his role on the club this season.