Associated Press
The baseball notebook …
ANAHEIM, Calif. ó Justin Speier dashed through the Los Angeles Angels’ clubhouse Thursday, wearing a wetsuit and toting a boogie board, with his flippers slapping against the carpet.
“Coach, is there practice today?” he yelled to manager Mike Scioscia, who couldn’t help but smile and wave his arm dismissively in the pitcher’s direction.
The rest of the Angels laughed out loud, with Speier’s monkeying around clearly having the desired effect of loosening up a team coming off its record-tying 10th consecutive playoff loss to the Boston Red Sox.
“He probably did just come from the beach, knowing Justin,” Scioscia said, pausing a beat before tossing out his own one-liner. “I expressed to him the next pair of flippers he wears will be cement flippers.”
With their AL division series taking a break Thursday, the Angels had plenty of time to contemplate ó or forget ó their 4-1 loss in Wednesday’s opener against the same team that swept them in their last two playoff series.
“A lot of guys have to have amnesia and let that go,” said Torii Hunter, who urged his teammates to “get the dog in you.”
NERVOUS ZIM
Rays senior adviser Don Zimmer won four World Series rings as the New York Yankees bench coach and two more during his playing career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers.Yet “Popeye” was nervous before the start of the Rays’ AL division series against the Chicago White .
Zimmer was talking with two sons of Tampa Bay principal owner Stuart Sternberg near the batting cage and the topic came up.
“I said, ‘How do you guys feel?’ ” Zimmer said. “One said, ‘I’m nervous,’ and I looked at the other one, and I said, “How do you feel? And he said, ‘I’m nervous.’ One asked me how do I feel. I said ‘I’m 77 and I’m nervous.’ It’s just fun, that’s all. We should all have fun and let the best team win.”
JOLLY CHOLLY
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has endured quite a bit of criticism from fans and some media since replacing Larry Bowa after the 2004 season. But players love playing for the folksy skipper.
“The most important thing that he brings to the table is the fact that no matter how big the game or the situation, you’re going to get the same guy,” left fielder Pat Burrell said. “There’s frustration and there’s excitement at times for different things, but over the long haul, you’re going to get a pretty steady guy. He seems to keep a pretty even keel.”
HELTON SURGERY
Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton had surgery on his lower back and is expected to be ready for spring training.
Helton, a career .328 hitter, batted just .264 with seven homers and 29 RBIs in 83 games this season.
METSThe New York Mets have given general manager Omar Minaya a new contract that runs through the 2012 season.The deal contains club options covering 2013 and 2014.