One Witt Isn’t Enough : Pitching Is a Big Question Mark for Mauch, Angels as Spring Training Opens

Unlike most gentlemen his age, 62-year-old Gene Mauch has not come to this part of the desert at this time of the year for his health, his backswing or a new condominium investment.

He has come to find some pitching.

Considering what Mauch has at his disposal on this, the opening day of the Angels’ 1988 spring training camp, it might be more realistic to wish for a good suntan. At this point, relying only on track records and medical histories, Mauch’s starting rotation recalls the Boston Braves days of the late ‘40s and early ‘50s of Spahn (Warren) and Sain (Johnny) and two days of rain.

With the Angels, it’s Mike Witt . . . and then you name it.

Behind the reliable Witt, whose value is best measured by the $2.8 million he will be paid through 1989, the Angels have managed to assemble mainly a group of maybes, what-ifs, hope-he-cans and remember-whens.

Maybe Kirk McCaskill can regain the 17-victory form he displayed in 1986--and lost to elbow surgery in 1987.

Maybe Willie Fraser can successfully build upon the foundation (10-10, 3.92 earned-run average) he established as a rookie last season.

Remember when Dan Petry ranked among the premier starting pitchers in the American League, back before the arm operation?

What if Joe Johnson is healthy and fulfills the potential suggested by his 13-9 record with Atlanta and Toronto in 1986?

And if he doesn’t, will Chuck Finley be able to make the conversion from middle relief to the starting five? Hope he can.

Mauch, beginning his fifth full season as the Angels’ manager, doesn’t pretend to have any answers. He tried that last spring, when he directed all early doubters toward the pitcher’s mound, home of the esteemed firm of Witt, McCaskill, Candelaria & Sutton.

He wound up the summer tied for last place.

“There’s what analyzing a pitching staff will do for you,” Mauch says. “Last year, I was never more secure with a pitching staff in my life. Not even close.

“We had a definite plan last year with our pitching, a plan that couldn’t be argued with. At least I couldn’t argue with it.”

Mauch thought he had four potential 15-game winners, at the very least, and with some help from the bullpen, he figured the Angels would win 85 games, at the very least.

Eighty-five victories won the American League West for the Minnesota Twins in 1987. The world champion Minnesota Twins.

“Eighty-five wins, “ Mauch says with near-disbelief. “I’d have bet everything I owned we’d win 85 games.”

But if he had, Mauch would have been left with one baseball record as his sole possession. The 1987 Angels managed just 75 victories and finished tied for seventh place with the Texas Rangers--becoming the first team since the 1914-15 Philadelphia A’s to fall from first to last in the span of one calendar year.

Along the way, Mauch lost starting pitchers almost by the month.

In late April, McCaskill underwent bone-spur surgery and didn’t return to the rotation until late July. His comeback was laced with inconsistency and more arm pain, resulting in a final record of 4-6 and a 5.67 ERA.

By the end of May, Urbano Lugo, the great hope for No. 5 starter, was back in Edmonton, sent north to search for a curveball that went south.

John Candelaria lost half of June and all of July to a rehabilitation program after being arrested twice for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. By September, he was a member of the New York Mets.

One month later, Don Sutton, winner of 321 major league games, was also gone. After setting a club record for most home runs allowed in one season--a mind-boggling 38 in 34 starts--Sutton was granted his unconditional release.

By the time the Angels had completed their 7-19 September collapse, Mauch was left with the prospect of bringing back just one ’87 starter--Fraser--in 1988. During the off-season, free-agent Witt had to be re-signed, McCaskill had to be rested and rehabilitated, and Candelaria and Sutton had to be replaced.

At the winter meetings in Dallas, Angel General Manager Mike Port scrounged up two possibilities for Mauch--trading Gary Pettis for Petry and spending $50,000 to pluck Johnson off Toronto’s unprotected list. Petry, a year after arm surgery, went 9-7 with a 5.61 ERA. Johnson, also bothered by arm ailments, finished 3-5 with a 5.13 ERA for the Blue Jays.

Here are your pitchers, Gene. Have a nice season.

With his options limited, Mauch prefers to keep his thinking positive.

“Am I excited about Dan Petry? You bet,” Mauch said. “Petry has won before; he’ll win again. Usually, it takes a guy over a year to get psychologically adjusted after having his arm cut on. For Petry, that was last year.

“That’s one of the reasons we shut down McCaskill after the season. He was psychologically unprepared to pitch (after surgery). McCaskill was scared, which is understandable.”

McCaskill has resumed throwing off the mound this month. Port says his early reports from pitching coach Marcel Lachemann, who has been supervising McCaskill’s Anaheim Stadium workouts, have been good.

And as for leading candidates for the fifth spot in the rotation, Mauch remains bubbly over the possibilities represented by Finley and Johnson.

“If Finley brings his best stuff, with added control and composure, why couldn’t he help our rotation?” Mauch asks. “If Joe Johnson brings his best stuff, why couldn’t he be a part of it?”

Just in case, however, Port says long looks will also be accorded Lugo, Jack Lazorko and Mike Cook--who combined for six Angel victories and three trips to Edmonton last season.

Compared to the starting staff, the Angel bullpen enters spring training a bastion of stability. Here, only one pitcher--Donnie Moore--is coming off surgery.

Moore had a bone spur removed from his lower back after his washed-out 1987 season. After saving 52 games in his first two Angel seasons, Moore managed five last summer amid two lengthy stays on the disabled list, but he believes the problem has finally been corrected.

“If he’s well, he’ll pitch well,” Mauch said of Moore. “If not, he and I will have the same aches and pains as last year--although mine will be in a different area than his.”

The rest of the bullpen will be filled by last summer’s surprises, DeWayne Buice and Greg Minton, who combined for 27 saves, and maybe two rookies. Bryan Harvey and Vance Lovelace, both 24, will be given extended trials in Mesa and Palm Springs, with Harvey virtually assured a berth on the 24-man roster. Harvey was this winter’s Puerto Rican League most valuable player, saving 17 games and striking out 39 batters in 30 innings. Lovelace, working in the same San Juan bullpen, went 0-1 with a 2.95 ERA.

Pitchers and catchers begin workouts today, with the balance of the squad reporting next Tuesday. And, with the arrival of the position players, Mauch will be faced with different questions, different dilemmas.

If everyone was happy, Mauch could conceivably welcome a set lineup to Arizona. Think about that one for a moment. A set lineup --from the man who made platoons famous long before Oliver Stone. What in the world would Mauch do in his spare time?

Yet, on paper, there it is:

--Bob Boone, winner of back-to-back Gold Gloves, at catcher.

--Wally Joyner at first base, Mark McLemore at second base, Jack Howell at third base and Dick Schofield at shortstop. “The best young infield in baseball,” Port says.

--Johnny Ray, Chili Davis and Devon White in the outfield. Two former .300 hitters and another with that kind of potential.

--Brian Downing, freed from the mental anguish of left field, at designated hitter.

Life with the Angels could be that simple.

But, is everybody happy?

No way.

Joyner, the team’s most valuable player last summer, is locked in a contract dispute that could delay his arrival in camp until March. Joyner believes the 34 home runs and 117 RBIs he produced in 1987 are worth more than the $281,000 the Angels are offering--at least $300,000 more. Joyner says he wants to have his contract signed before he reports to camp--and he can take until March 1 before officially being considered a hold-out.

Ray, a second baseman by chosen trade, is reportedly not keen on the Angels’ idea to move him to left field. The Angels’ thinking: Ray in left field keeps his .290 bat in the lineup, along with the slick-fielding McLemore. Ray’s thinking: I’ll play in left, but you better pay me.

Tom Selakovich, Ray’s agent, has requested a contract extension to compensate for his client’s impending position shift. Selakovich contends Ray’s bargaining power--he becomes a free agent after this season--will be diminished at a new position.

Mauch contends otherwise.

“I read some squeak from (Ray’s) agent about the transition and my mouth flew open,” Mauch said. “If he plays in the outfield, it will probably prolong his career three years as a top-flight hitter--and that will mean a couple million bucks for him.”

Mauch paused.

“It makes me glad,” he added, “that Johnny’s wearing the uniform and not the agent.”

And then there are the crowded conditions at designated hitter--Downing or Bill Buckner. Downing bats right-handed and if he plays every day, may hit 30 home runs and drive in 90 runs. Buckner bats left-handed and if he plays every day, the Angels might have a full-time .300 hitter in their lineup. Last season, in 183 Angel at-bats, Buckner hit .306.

In this case, however, the Angels would prefer to go with power.

“Ideally, we’d like the designated hitter, first and foremost, to be Brian Downing,” Port said. “That’s not a slight to Bill Buckner. This is a pleasant predicament for us at this point. But we feel it’d be best to have Brian Downing play more on a regular basis.”

Buckner does not enjoy sitting, which makes him a candidate for an early season trade, which Port does not deny.

“If it would be positive for him, and for the club, we would pursue other things,” Port said. “We appreciate the great pride Bill takes in his work.”

Port would also appreciate some pitching help and maybe a package including Buckner could pry some loose. Then again, Port might want to keep Buckner as first base insurance against the Joyner negotiations reaching their worst-case scenario.

“We’re continuing to look for pitching,” Port said. “We’d like to find a left-hander (Finley is the Angels’ only potential left-handed starter), but if the proper right-hander pops up, we’ll look at that as well.”

Either way, this much is sure: The Angels will have five starting pitchers by April 4--Opening Day in Chicago. Mauch insists on that many.

Whether they’re good enough, or healthy enough, to challenge Oakland, Kansas City and Minnesota in the AL West is something to be decided in the desert during the next six weeks.