Dog days of spring

The Angels quickly extinguished a little dust up in the clubhouse this morning as Darren Oliver took exception to the actions of fellow reliever Justin Speier. Call it that time of the spring when players are ready to break camp and have been stuck in a room with each other for far too long. Speier picked up a box of items belonging to Oliver and ceremoniously dumped them on the floor. His actions drew one or two awkward laughs at best. Oliver picked up his things quietly but then yelled an expletive at Speier as the two stood face to face. A couple of teammates, including Dustin Moseley and Gary Matthews Jr., separated the two. They then proceeded to sit next to each other in silence before the doors were closed for the morning meeting.

Manager Mike Scioscia was not present for the incident but downplayed it as expected, saying that the two were even laughing about it in the meeting. Scioscia said Oliver and Speier are as close as brothers and when told about the matter he thought the pair must have been joking.