Collins Doesn’t Want Player Psyches Injured

TEMPE, Ariz. — Angel Manager Terry Collins overheard some players in the training room lamenting the franchise’s latest curse-extender, the broken forearm shortstop Gary DiSarcina suffered Sunday when he walked into the swing of fungo-hitting coach George Hendrick, and the thought hit Collins like, “Well, Hendrick’s bat hit DiSarcina: It’s got to stop right here, right now.”

“We came into this camp with an upbeat attitude, we cannot let this get us down,” Collins said. “We can’t start saying, ‘Here we go again, here we go again.’ I am not going to let that happen.”

So, that will be one of the first subjects Collins addresses when the Angels, $80-million man Mo Vaughn and all, hold their first full-squad workout today.

“I didn’t sleep very well last night--I had a horrible night, mainly because I saw a change in attitude [Sunday],” Collins said. “ . . . If we get down about this, and start moaning about it, by the time Gary is ready, we won’t be.”

DiSarcina was reexamined Monday by team physician Lewis Yocum but the diagnosis remained the same. The broken bone in DiSarcina’s left forearm will need about six weeks to heal.

The arm is in a cast and will remain immobile for 10 days. DiSarcould resume some workouts in two or three weeks. He hopes to condition his legs and throwing arm in March, so by the time he’s ready to hit and field grounders, he’ll be in good shape.

“My whole routine has been broken,” DiSarcina said. “I used to want to peak at the end of camp. Now, I just want to be able to swing a bat by the end of camp.”

Having recovered quicker than expected from a broken thumb in 1993 and a torn thumb ligament in 1995, DiSarcina is confident he’ll be ready for the regular season.

Meanwhile, Collins will have third baseman Troy Glaus, an All-American shortstop at UCLA, play some shortstop, and he’ll get plenty of time to evaluate Craig Shipley, Jeff Huson, Andy Stankiewicz and Luis Rivera, the candidates for utility infielder.

And Collins told DiSarcina to drink a lot of milk, since calcium builds strong bones.