ANGELS NOTEBOOK: DIFFICULT START FOR CABRERA.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - He is replacing a local icon, has the weight of a massive multiyear contract on him for the first time and, in his first games as an Angel, heard boos rain down from the crowd.

But Orlando Cabrera insists he's cool with it all - the four-year, $32 million deal, the specter of replacing David Eckstein and the fact a few fans have let him know he's not Eckstein.

``They boo everybody here,'' Cabrera said Friday. ``You don't know if they're booing the guy who hit the home run, the umpire who made the call. I don't even know. I know sometimes people do it for a reason. They pay for a ticket. They do what they want to do.''

Cabrera has gently assimilated into the Angels' world, collecting a pair of walks in his first game and a pair of hits Thursday. In recent weeks, he has avoided reporters, saying he only talks on Friday. So, Friday he discussed the delicate act of balancing expectations.

``I signed here for a reason,'' he said. ``I guess they signed me because of the way I play, not because I play like somebody. I can only be myself. At the same time, there's expectations.''

Still, he insists it is going to be ``a fun summer'' in Anaheim, even if it takes awhile to find a comfort level.

``It's a slow process. You can't see it after two or three games,'' he said. ``Hopefully, it pays off at the end.''

For now, since he spent six years in Montreal before hitching a ride on Boston's title train last year, he relishes the fact he's playing for the consensus favorite in the American League West.

``I love it. I've never had that challenge before,'' he said. ``Everybody comes here and wants to beat the Angels. I like that.''

--Mechanical failure: It took reliever Brendan Donnelly just two games to give up two home runs, matching his total for all of 2003. While the stadium radar gun clocked Donnelly consistently around 88 mph, he insists his velocity isn't down much from his usual 91 to 92, and attributes the drop - and homers hit by Richard Hidalgo and Alfonso Soriano - to early-season mechanical woes.