Stoneman likes his job

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Bill Stoneman has the option of remaining as general manager for a ninth year or beginning a three-year term as a team consultant next season.

He claimed Wednesday that he hasn’t made up his mind, but when asked if his job was still fun and rewarding, he sounded like a man who would return as GM.

“How can you not enjoy this season, especially with the way we’ve played -- how can you not enjoy being part of this?” Stoneman said. “We’ve had a special year, and it’s been exciting. But I don’t want any speculation on it. We’ll figure it out when the time comes.”

Stoneman has been criticized for not making a major trade to bolster the offense, but many of the youngsters who were discussed in trades -- Howie Kendrick, Casey Kotchman, Jeff Mathis, Joe Saunders, Erick Aybar -- have made significant contributions to the Angels’ division-winning team.

Does the GM feel any sense of vindication?

“If people haven’t figured out by now that I make my own decisions, and I’m not afraid to stick with them, then they probably won’t figure it out,” Stoneman said. “Every GM is criticized. It comes with the job.”

The emergence of so many young players, Stoneman said, “is the payoff you get from patience. Young guys are going to make mistakes, but if they’re really talented, the highlights will outnumber the mistakes. . . . To me, experience is sometimes overrated.”

Under a new rule this season, teams in the playoffs, with commissioner’s office approval, can replace injured players during a series. In the past, once a team set its roster, there were no substitutions. Another new wrinkle: Though teams must submit 25-man playoff rosters by 10 a.m. local time the day of Game 1, rosters can be changed if Game 1 is rained out.

Vladimir Guerrero, relegated to designated hitter since early September because of an elbow injury, played catch at a distance of 90 feet for the second straight day and said through an interpreter that “it’s the best I’ve felt since Chicago,” when he had to cut a Sept. 14 throwing session short because of discomfort.

“There’s still no timetable for returning to the outfield,” he added.

Manager Mike Scioscia confirmed that John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar and Jered Weaver will start this weekend against the A’s, putting them in line to start the first three games of the division series. . . . Michael Young’s seventh-inning RBI single gave the Rangers shortstop 200 hits for the fifth consecutive season, making him the third player since 1940 to have 200 hits or more in five straight seasons. The others are Wade Boggs (seven) and Ichiro Suzuki (seven).

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com