Hollins Not Too Bothered by Glaus

It happened in Philadelphia with Scott Rolen, in Minnesota with Todd Walker, in Seattle with Russ Davis, and it’s happening in Anaheim with Troy Glaus.

“It’s unfortunate that the next Babe Ruth is coming up in my position,” Angel third baseman Dave Hollins said of Glaus, the Angels’ highly regarded triple-A third baseman.

“It’s happened before, but that doesn’t make it any easier. You can let it bother you for a while, but eventually you have to block it out and play ball.”

Hollins said he hasn’t felt pressured by Glaus, who had 19 homers and 51 RBIs in 50 games at double-A Midland before being promoted in late May to triple-A Vancouver, where he’s hitting .252 with eight homers and 22 RBIs in 39 games.

But when you see that Hollins was hitting .250--and .222 with runners in scoring position--with only 29 RBIs entering Thursday night’s game against Seattle, it’s only natural to think Hollins may be pressing a bit.

“I don’t think I’m pressing,” Hollins said. “The problem is when you’re not hitting, it’s no fun. I’ve been grinding for a while. I think it was a positive thing getting to .250 by the break. Hopefully things will start going my way in the second half.”

Seeing his name in trade rumors hasn’t made things any easier for Hollins, who needs 45 plate appearances for his 1999 option to kick in at a guaranteed $1.9 million.

There has been speculation the Angels want to move Hollins in a deal to make room for Glaus, if not this season then for 1999. General Manager Bill Bavasi, though, said Thursday that there “is nothing” to those rumors, adding that he believes Glaus isn’t ready for the major leagues yet.

Glaus has committed 10 errors in Vancouver and is struggling to hit a wider variety of breaking pitches, striking out 38 times and walking 15 times. The Angels would like Glaus, a former UCLA star, to get a full season in the minor leagues before promoting him.

“I’d like to stay here, but I’m not ignorant to the fact that the guy at triple-A is a good hitter,” Hollins said. “But I don’t understand why they’d want to change the mix of a club in first place.”

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Manager Terry Collins has shuffled his rotation for this weekend, moving knuckleballer Steve Sparks from Sunday to Saturday and Jason Dickson from Saturday to Sunday. . . . Allen Watson, recovering from an elbow injury and a deep gash on the outside of his left wrist, felt better after throwing in Seattle on Wednesday, and the left-hander is scheduled for a bullpen workout today. Collins said Watson would likely be activated Sunday or Monday. . . . The game against the Boston Red Sox in Edison Field on Saturday, Aug. 1, has been moved from 7 p.m. to 1 p.m. to accommodate Fox, which will broadcast the game nationally. . . . Randy Velarde, continuing his never-ending comeback from elbow reconstruction surgery, has been cleared to begin throwing again this weekend.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ CHUCK FINLEY (8-4, 3.16 ERA) vs. MARINERS’ JAMIE MOYER (5-7, 3.64 ERA)

Kingdome, Seattle, 7 p.m.

TV--Channel 9. Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090), KIK-FM (94.3).

* Update--Finley has a 9-4 record and 2.93 ERA in the Kingdome and is 17-7 lifetime with a 2.56 ERA against the Mariners.