ANGELS NOTEBOOK : ROOKIE GREENE IS EXPECTED TO GET PLENTY OF PLAYING TIME.In his bid to place some kind of stamp on the Angels, John McNamara There are different people named John McNamara:
McNamara, who stepped in Tuesday in the wake of Marcel Lachemann's resignation, positioned Greene in Wednesday night's lineup and indicated the 25-year-old power-hitter, considered one of the top prospects in the Angels' system, will get plenty of playing opportunities over the remainder of the season. Veteran Don Slaught Donald Martin Slaught (born September 11 1958 in Long Beach, California) is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who had a 16-year career from 1982 to 1997. He played for the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, California Angels and Chicago White Sox, all of , a favorite of Lachemann, will move into a third-string role, McNamara said, as Greene shares time with Jorge Fabregas, 26. ``He's going to get a chance to play,'' McNamara said of Greene, who had started only two games behind In sports, the phrase games behind, often abbreviated as GB in tables, is a common way to reflect the gap between a leading team and another team in a sports league, conference, or division. the plate since joining the big club July 28. Greene's increased playing opportunities can be attributed to either or both of these factors: According to the new Disney bosses, the Angels resolve to make a close inspection of their prospects as they prepare for the offseason. The Angels may bluster about their chances for getting back into the playoff race, but more realistically, this remaining time can best be used for development and evaluation of young players. Personal stake. Greene's conversion in the minor leagues from outfield to catcher was undertaken, in part, under McNamara's guidance in his role as roving catching instructor. McNamara undoubtedly would like to give Greene every opportunity to make progress at this level. ``He has improved remarkably from the first day I ever saw him put on a catcher's glove,'' said McNamara, whose eyes twinkled as he related an anecdote from his minor-league travels. ``(Greene) called a pitch once and crossed himself up. He caught a fastball barehanded bare·hand·ed adv. & adj. With no covering on the hands: barehanded boxing. bare .'' Familiar face: Several Angels pitchers are welcoming the presence of Joe Coleman as the successor to fired pitching coach Chuck Hernandez. Coleman was the Angels' bullpen coach in 1988-90 and tutored pitchers in their farm system in the four years before that. ``To me, Joe is able to work with everybody,'' said injured reliever Bryan Harvey. ``That's very important. You can't get caught up in doing one thing to try to get everybody to pitch a certain way. He adjusts very well to the person.'' Coleman, who admits he is as mystified mys·ti·fy tr.v. mys·ti·fied, mys·ti·fy·ing, mys·ti·fies 1. To confuse or puzzle mentally. See Synonyms at puzzle. 2. To make obscure or mysterious. as anybody over the shoddy work of the Angels starting rotation this year, said, ``What I'm going to try to do is something Marcel and Chuck tried their damnedest damned·est adj. Superlative of damned. n. All that is possible; the utmost: did my damnedest to deliver the term paper on time. to do - instill in·still v. To pour in drop by drop. in  stil·la tion n. some confidence in these guys. Sometimes a new face, a
new voice, somebody you haven't seen in a long time is able to do
that.''
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