He wasn't grinning a few hours earlier, when his new car was rear-ended at a stop light near the ballpark.

"My Bentley!" he shrieked in mock horror while talking to reporters. "I tried to treat myself a couple of weeks ago, and look what happened. I think somebody was trying to tell my something - that car's not that important."

The accident took place about 2:15 local time while Hunter was waiting for the light to change on Katella Avenue.

"I saw him in the rearview mirror, but I didn't know what he was doing," Hunter said. "He put his signal light on to go into the right lane, which was stopped already, then he turned around and looked to see if anybody was coming from behind. Then he turned back around and had to jam on the brakes, and I caught the tail end of the stop.

"His bumper hit my bumper and messed up my rims," Hunter added. "My Bentley's pretty much in bad shape. She's going to have to go in the hospital for a while. You would think some lawyers would pull up after seeing a Bentley on the side of the road. It would be like, 'Aw, hell, let me go represent him.' "

No one in either vehicle was seriously injured. Hunter, who signed a 5-year, $90 million contract with the Angels in November, exchanged insurance information with the other driver and drove his damaged car into the stadium parking lot. Manager Mike Scioscia didn't even know about the accident until one of the Angels' radio broadcasters asked him for reaction after Hunter spoke about it on the air.

"I was so upset, I couldn't feel nothing right away," Hunter said later. "I feel a little stiffness coming on now in my neck and my back, but I'm all right. It was like hitting the [outfield] wall. I haven't had an accident in 15 years. Then I come to LA."

Noteworthy

In a settlement filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, both sides agreed that Lewis E. Rothgeb can promote a film he made about Mantle on his Web site with merchandise that includes the name or logo of the movie. But he must limit sales to items related to the film, "Mickey Mantle: The American Dream Comes to Life," under the deal.

Among items to be removed from the site as part of the settlement are a page displaying Mantle's 1961 World Series ring, quotes of eulogies delivered at a funeral after his August 1995 death and a page showing Mantle's Hall of Fame induction speech.

Rothgeb, of San Francisco, created his Web site to promote the film he made after signing a contract with Mantle in 1988. The documentary resulted from a lengthy interview Rothgeb conducted with the baseball star at the outfielder's Dallas home.

* Tampa Bay ace lefthander Scott Kazmir felt good after his first minor league rehab start, and is on target to return to Tampa Bay on May 3. In another Rays matter, rookie third baseman Evan Longoria agreed to a $17.5 million, 6-year contract with the team, a deal that could be worth up to $44.5 million over nine seasons.

* The father of Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain is breathing on his own and feeling better, no longer needing a ventilator but still in critical condition and awaiting more tests. Chamberlain missed his fifth consecutive game last night while attending to his stricken father in Nebraska. *