ANGELS NOTEBOOK: COLON'S TASK TO SET TONE IN START ON OPENING DAY.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

TEMPE, Ariz. - With a $51 million contract comes responsibilities beyond mere performance. Bartolo Colon has that contract, and Tuesday, he will have the responsibility of setting the tone for an Angels pitching staff expected to reverse itself from a subpar 2003 season.

Colon said it will be an honor to take the ball opening day at Safeco Field in Seattle.

``I'm very grateful to the whole team for the responsibility I have, to open the season,'' Colon said Thursday, after he struck out seven Milwaukee Brewers in six innings of the Angels' Cactus League finale. ``But regardless of that, from one to five, we're all No. 1s.''

Well, kind of. Colon was the favorite to get the opening-day nod from the start of camp, manager Mike Scioscia acknowledged Thursday, and nothing that happened this spring convinced the club otherwise. Colon finished with a 5.16 ERA in 22 2/3 innings, but with slipshod fielding behind him and thin desert air above him, the Angels aren't concerned with that number.

Colon struck out 20 in those 22 2/3 innings, and the Angels' first look at their new ace only reinforced the reasons why they signed him for four years last December.

``We knew the stuff was going to be there,'' Scioscia said. ``From the get-go, we wanted to see if (opening day) would work out with Bartolo. We've seen him up close enough, pitching against us, to know it would be there. And it has been.''

Colon used the spring to develop his changeup and slider. On Thursday, he struck out Ben Grieve on the changeup to end the fifth inning and also said he was able to ``find some extra juice on my fastball'' later in the game. A line drive off the bat of Scott Podsednik struck him in the shin in the second inning, but he shook that off to complete six innings.

``I think (Thursday) was proof that I feel ready,'' he said.

--Molina out for series: Hamstring injuries, even minor ones, tend to raise red flags when the injured player is catcher Bengie Molina. But Molina said the left hamstring twinge that drove him from Wednesday's game early is only a result of scar tissue and that he expects to start on opening day. He most likely will not play this weekend against the Dodgers.

Molina missed two weeks because of hamstring soreness. If he catches Kelvim Escobar on Thursday in Seattle, it will be just the second time he's caught Escobar this year. But Molina is confident he is familiar enough with his new pitchers entering the season.

``I know what they have, what they can throw,'' he said. ``I feel comfortable with them. We're always talking baseball, talking strategy.''

--Donnelly out of hospital: Reliever Brendan Donnelly was released from Scottsdale Memorial Hospital on Wednesday after a five-day stay to stabilize bleeding in his nose. Donnelly visited camp Thursday. He will remain in Arizona for several days, and his absence from the Angels' bullpen is expected to last at least through April. He was officially placed on the disabled list Thursday.

Reliever Greg Jones (inflamed right rotator cuff), who hasn't thrown this spring, also was placed on the DL.

--Numbers up, weight down: Jose Guillen had perhaps the most impressive camp, hitting .360 with six homers. He also got thinner. Guillen said Thursday he's down to 220 pounds after reporting at 234.

Gabe Lacques, [phone]

gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com

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Photo:

BRENDAN DONNELLY

The reliever is released from the hospital but is not expected to return to the Angels' bullpen this month.

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