Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Baseball Team

Quick (answer in next paragraph) quiz: Name the only American League team whose projected starting outfielders each hit at least 20 home runs last season. Answer: The Angels, a team perennially in search of a big bat. "I've looked at that," center fielder Torii Hunter said. "If we stay healthy, I definitely think it can be one of the best-hitting outfields in the game."

The spring version Freeway Series might be nothing more than the Next Game on the Schedule these days, but the crowd at Dodger Stadium could get plenty riled up tonight. Manny Ramirez is back. And he'll play. With opening day only four days away, Manager Joe Torre said he wanted to get his team reacquainted with its home ballpark, which is why Ramirez and the other starters are scheduled to play at least seven innings tonight against the Angels.

Left-hander Joe Saunders, a 17-game winner last season, threw 40 pitches in the bullpen Thursday and declared himself ready to take the ball in Monday's season opener. Only problem is, Manager Mike Scioscia doesn't appear ready to hand it to him yet. At least not publicly. "We're in the process of doing that," Scioscia said Thursday when asked whether he had selected an opening day starter. Barring a major surprise between now and Monday, however, the choice will be Saunders.

Hope springs eternal throughout Major League Baseball in early April, but for the Dodgers and Angels, the end of spring training carries not hopes but hefty expectations. Both clubs are approaching Monday's opening day not only as the defending champions in their respective divisions, but also as odds-on favorites in many corners to reach the playoffs again.

Kelvim Escobar faced a major league lineup for the first time in 18 months in the Angels' 6-5 exhibition win over the San Diego Padres on Friday. And though he looked impressive, touching 95 mph with his fastball while holding the Padres hitless over his final 2 2/3 innings, not everything went according to plan. Take his fourth-inning at-bat, for instance, when Escobar drove in a run with a line-drive single to center. "They didn't want me to swing the bat," Escobar said with a smile.

Bobby Abreu tied a career high with five hits in the New York Yankees' 9-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles last Aug. 22, but that wasn't even the most memorable part of the evening for the Angels' new left fielder. That came after the game, when Abreu stepped out of a Camden Yards elevator and was swarmed by more than a dozen Little Leaguers from his native Venezuela.

The Angels made their final cuts of the spring after Saturday's 4-3 exhibition win over the San Diego Padres, and there were no surprises. Infielders Sean Rodriguez, Brandon Wood and Matt Brown will all start the season in triple-A Salt Lake, with Brown's demotion coming only hours after Manager Mike Scioscia presented him with the Fred Haney Award as the team's outstanding player in spring training. Brown hit .468 and led the team with 19 runs batted in.

That big bat the Angels craved for years finally materialized last July 29, when the team that always seemed reluctant to pull the trigger on a trade deadline deal acquired slugger Mark Teixeira from the Atlanta Braves. And what do the Angels have to show for it? Nothing, really. They led the major leagues with 100 wins and had a nice middle-of-the-order threat to pair with Vladimir Guerrero, but the Angels lost to the Boston Red Sox -- again -- in the first round of the playoffs.

Jeff Mathis has modest offensive goals for this season. The Angels catcher is not looking to hit .300 with 25 home runs and 100 runs batted in. "After the last couple of years," Mathis said, "I just don't want people to think of me as an out." While Mathis has developed into an above-average defender, an extremely athletic receiver with a good arm and game-calling skills, he has struggled offensively, batting .195 with a .

Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar each drew walks in an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday. Play was not halted so the Angels could present game balls to the two infielders, but a momentous occasion it was. Here was Kendrick, who drew all of 12 walks in 340 at-bats last season, and Aybar, who drew 14 walks in 346 at-bats, showing good enough eyes to draw free passes in the same game, a testament to the Angels' renewed emphasis this spring on plate discipline.