ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Angels pitcher Kevin Appier is worried enough about the threat of severe acute respiratory syndrome that he wants his team's series against the Blue Jays in Toronto from May 2-4 shifted to Anaheim.

"I'd say there are enough cases up there for it to be a concern,'' Appier said Wednesday.

SARS has been linked to 16 deaths in Toronto, and the World Health Organization has advised against traveling to the city. There are now 136 known SARS cases in metropolitan Toronto.

"I think we should just switch and play that series here and move the one scheduled later in the season up there,'' said Appier, who is on the disabled list with an arm injury. "I believe there are some people talking about that.''

Major League Baseball's medical adviser says there's very little risk.

"I'm trying to separate fact from fiction," Dr. Elliot Pellman told the New York Times on Wednesday.

Pellman will conduct conference calls with the trainers of the teams that will play in Toronto up through the All-Star Game break in mid-July.

"The fact is SARS is there," Pellman said. "The other fact is there are 11½ million people in Ontario, 2½ million in the greater Toronto area. Take those figures and it's not an epidemic or the black plague. With proper precaution there is very little risk. Is there some risk? Yes."

The Blue Jays are scheduled to play in Anaheim on Aug. 1-3.

Angels spokesman Larry Babcock said he was not aware of any official discussions about switching the two series around.

The New York Yankees, who beat the Angels 9-2 Wednesday night, opened the season in Toronto.

"The medical staff of the Blue Jays instructed us to be careful about not taking a whole lot of public transportation, like the subways, and avoiding very crowded places,'' Yankees trainer Gene Monahan said. "You don't have to alter a whole lot of things about your lifestyle up there, but you should avoid large crowds, keep your windows open and the room ventilated, and just go about your regular routine.

"We were told not to get into large groups of autograph people with a lot of things thrust in your face and things like that. I think it's a good idea. It's not as much a scary-type thing as a lot of people are making it out to be.''

Dr. Pellman told The Times that he would tell the trainers that players, coaches, and team officials traveling to Toronto should be "fastidious," wash their hands frequently, be careful in sharing food, use their own pens to sign autographs and not handle the object being signed, and stay away from health care centers.

Dr. Pellman told the newspaper he would also suggest to the trainers that "if someone on your club develops a temperature after leaving Toronto, that person should be quarantined."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.