A Sobering Visit to Ground Zero

With the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaching, first baseman Scott Spiezio and broadcaster Rex Hudler visited Ground Zero on Tuesday.

“It was very sobering,” Hudler said. “For a change, there wasn’t a lot coming out of my mouth.

“To think about how many thousands of people died is mind-boggling. It makes you grateful to be alive.”

Said Spiezio: “You see it on TV, but to see how big it is when you’re there just fries your brain. You just can’t grasp it. It’s too huge to even comprehend.”

The duo also visited the American Stock Exchange, where Hudler was booed after telling the assembled traders that the Angels were here to beat up on the Yankees.

Spiezio then rang the opening bell and was cheered.

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If fans weren’t sure why players might strike Aug. 30, two owners all but spelled it out in recent days. Players want to act now to prevent owners from installing a salary cap in the off-season, a threat unspoken until Texas Ranger owner Tom Hicks told the Dallas Morning News a strike could prompt owners to withdraw the current proposal and replace it with a cap. San Diego Padre owner John Moores told the New York Times he is one of several owners prepared to shut the doors for the 2003 season without major cost-controlling reforms.

Scott Schoeneweis, the Angel player representative, said he wondered whether those owners had spoken out in frustration over the setting of a strike date. The owners are mistaken, he said, if they believe such threats might induce players to settle for a deal with a high luxury tax that the union believes acts as a cap.

“We’re unanimously behind not accepting that,” he said. “We’ve made strides in their direction on revenue sharing and a luxury tax. If it’s all or nothing for them, that’s a different situation.”

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Outfielder Tim Salmon said he hoped to return Friday, 13 days after his left hand was hit and badly bruised by a pitch. On Tuesday, he visited an orthopedic specialist affiliated with the Yankees, who took a second MRI and second set of X-rays to confirm there was no broken bone. Salmon took batting practice Tuesday and said he still felt pain and weakness in the hand.

Pitcher Kevin Appier, forced from Sunday’s game by a strained groin and hip flexor, said he felt fine Tuesday. Assuming no discomfort in his between-starts workout today, he is expected to make his next scheduled start Saturday.

TODAY

ANGELS’

RAMON ORTIZ

(10-9, 4.22 ERA)

vs.

YANKEES’

ORLANDO HERNANDEZ

(6-3, 3.54 ERA)

Yankee Stadium, 10 a.m.

TV--ESPN, Channel 9

Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

Update--Ortiz is fired up. His brother lives in New York and will join several dozen friends and family members at today’s game, and Ortiz said his father was discharged from a Dominican Republic hospital Tuesday after treatment for emphysema and will watch on television back home.