Angel Notebook : Schofield Under Pressure to Improve Hitting

Dick Schofield Jr., approaching his third major league season, remains the Angels’ shortstop, but he’s under pressure from veteran Rick Burleson, rookie Gustavo Polidor and Manager Gene Mauch.

“Schofield is my shortstop,” Mauch said Saturday, “but he’s not going to hit .215 and play again if I feel I’ve got somebody who can do a comparable job on defense.”

Schofield, 23, has hit .193 and .219 in his two seasons. He led American League shortstops in fielding percentage as a rookie and fielded well again last year.

“We know he can play, there’s no question about his defense,” Mauch said. “I just feel that we’ve got to get more production from that position.

“I really don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m going to find out what the options are.”

The Angels’ .251 team batting average of last year was last in the American League. Of 1986’s projected starters, Brian Downing’s .263 was 1985’s best. Mauch is obviously concerned. This is his first hint that Schofield’s status could be in jeopardy.

Pressure?

“There’s always pressure,” the soft spoken shortstop said. “You never know who’s coming or what the club is thinking.

“I feel that if I play like I know how, I’ll be all right. I don’t feel like I have to set the world on fire. I just have to do my job.”

Schofield, 23, did it best last September, hitting .286, his best month ever.

“To have been able to perform like that down the stretch gave me a good feeling going into the winter,” he said.

“It gave me a lot of confidence coming back this year. I’m not swinging that well right now, but it’s early.”

Said Mauch: “If .286 is Dick’s norm, then Polidor and everyone else is going to have a tough way to go (in beating Schofield out).

“All I’m saying is that I want more than .215 from that position. I think Burleson would outhit both Schofield and Polidor, but we don’t know if he can play shortstop (on a regular basis) yet.”

The Angels defeated the Cleveland Indians, 6-5, Saturday as Schofield went hitless in three at-bats. He is 3 for 12 (.250) after four starts.

Burleson maintained his hot hand, ripping three singles. He’s batting .421 (8 for 19).

More significantly, he’s started five games at second base and one at shortstop with no physical discomfort. His remarkable comeback from a series of shoulder injuries and two years of inactivity seems assured.

The question is: Which position will it be?

“I don’t think there’ll be any problem playing either position,” he said Saturday, “but I think there’ll come a time this spring when they’ll have to play me six or seven days in a row to find out if it’ll hold up.

“I’ll be no use to the team if I’m only available two or three days a week, but right now I’m excited. Right now I feel good about it.”

Polidor, meanwhile, is a 24-year-old Venezuelan who has spent five seasons in the Angels farm system, dazzling scouts with his glove but leaving doubts about his bat.

Last year, however, he batted .285 at triple-A Edmonton, impressing, among others, ex-Dodger Jim Lefebvre, an acknowledged hitting guru who manages the San Francisco Giants’ Phoenix farm club.

Said Lefebvre: “Polidor has really improved as a hitter, and he’s going to get better because he’s just starting to fill out physically. As for his defense, the kid can flat out play.”

Mauch agreed, saying he knew it the first time he saw Polidor play, which was in the Arizona Instructional League during the winter of 1984.

“He was a skinny kid with a sore back then,” Mauch said, “but there was still no doubt about his (defensive) ability.

“He’s come a long way since then. He’s become a tougher out and matured physically. The kids who play all year (Polidor plays in the Venezuelan Winter League) have a definite edge.

“Those that don’t are depriving themselves of an opportunity.”

That may have been another little shot at Schofield, but it’s too soon to predict how this will turn out. There’s Bobby Grich and Rob Wilfong and Craig Gerber to consider in the middle infield numbers game, and Mauch has just begun to test his options.

Angel Notes

Gus Polidor, given a look at third base, was 1 for 4 Saturday and is 4 for 15 after six appearances. . . . Brian Downing had three hits and an RBI while the impressive Wally Joyner was 2 for 5 with an RBI and is now hitting .393--11 for 28. . . . Stewart Cliburn made his exhibition debut, allowing two hits and one run in 2 innings. Cliburn, who had not faced live hitting in 17 days because of a sore shoulder, said he had no discomfort and “hopefully it will feel just as good tomorrow.” . . . Don Sutton pitched four shutout innings, then got wracked for two doubles, a triple and sacrifice fly in the fifth. “I’m still not where I’d like to be in terms of comfort on the mound,” he said, “but this was only my second time and I’ve still got four weeks to get ready.” . . . Reggie Jackson was a late scratch because of a sore right wrist suffered when hit by a pitch in Thursday’s game with the Oakland A’s. . . . Manager Gene Mauch said that John Candelaria, who received a cortisone shot Friday for a sore left elbow, will throw on the sidelines today and be ready to pitch by midweek. . . . Mauch said that Donnie Moore, sidelined by a muscle pull in the rib area, should also be throwing by midweek.