Opener Is Not Just Any Game : Angels: Parrish, and several of the new faces in the lineup, are eager to see how team will fare after successful spring.

ANAHEIM — Every opening day has been a day to remember for Lance Parrish, who revels in the fuss and fanfare of the occasion. But he will especially enjoy tonight’s opener against the Chicago White Sox at Anaheim Stadium, because not until Sunday was the 35-year-old catcher sure he’d still be in an Angel uniform.

“I always get excited about opening day,” he said. “It’s the start of a new season, the end of spring training, a community event. Everybody who plays the game has to be excited to be part of it all.

“I don’t think from here on out, any game is going to be just another game for me.”

Tonight’s game will be the first major league opening day Gary DiSarcina has attended. He’ll have a good view--from shortstop, alongside second baseman Bobby Rose.

“This is all new territory for me,” said DiSarcina, one of six Angels who were not in last year’s opening-day lineup. “I’m sure after the first couple of innings, it’ll be just like any other game. I think I’m ready. I’ve just got to carry over what I’ve been doing in spring training and I should be all right.”

The same, he said, applies to the Angels, who finished spring training with a 16-13 record after sweeping the Freeway Series from the Dodgers.

“The way we played against the Dodgers kind of summed up our team, using the hit-and-run, taking the extra base, solid defense and good pitching,” DiSarcina said before the Angels’ final preseason workout Monday at Anaheim Stadium. “Everyone’s calling us scrappy and blue collar, and we don’t have a Jose Canseco, but we showed in the Freeway Series we don’t need that.”

The Angels do need solid defensive performances from DiSarcina and Rose, who replace Dick Schofield and Luis Sojo. They also need good outfield defense, an area Manager Buck Rodgers was impressed with throughout the spring.

“I’m as pleased with the way our outfield defense has come along as with any aspect coming out of spring training,” he said. “Luis (Polonia) made a game-saving catch (Friday) and Junior Felix and Chad (Curtis) threw out guys at the plate (Friday), all in a 1-0 game. After that everybody let out a big breath and we started playing much more relaxed . . .

“There’s been a lot of speculation that we didn’t get a lot of name players, and we didn’t, but if you get those big-name players, you’ve got to give up too much. Whitey (Herzog) and I feel the nucleus for our future is our pitching . . . and for us to make a big trade we would have had to give up some of our pitching. We didn’t do that.

“Now we go to Plan B. Let’s find out what we’ve got in our (farm) system, and if we’re of the opinion the kids are competitive and can play, let’s give them a chance. We started playing them last September and continued this spring. In Bobby Rose, Gary DiSarcina and Chad Curtis we’ve got three guys who we think are able to handle it.

“(First baseman) Lee Stevens is a different story. His wrist is still not 100% and we’re going to have to give him some days off. We have to have patience and we hope he has patience in himself.”

Stevens will start at first despite a tender right wrist. Of the infielders, only third baseman Gary Gaetti was in last season’s opening-day lineup; Polonia returns in left field and Felix in center, but Von Hayes replaces Dave Winfield in right.

Dave Parker was the designated hitter in the Angels’ season-opening 3-2 victory at Seattle last April 9, but the Angels released him in September. Hubie Brooks will be the DH today.

Parrish is eager to see how well all of these elements will come together.

“We ended spring training with a winning record and I think this ballclub has proven it’s capable of winning games,” he said. “We beat some tough pitchers. We played pretty well at times, and it’s a matter of how often we can do that over a 162-game schedule and seeing how good a ballclub we really have.”