Angels : Rojas Is Still Undecided on His Pitching Staff

The Cookie Rojas regime, just two days old, finds itself already faced with the task of roster shearing. With the regular season only a week away, Rojas and his coaching staff must make decisions and make them soon.

Most of the positions are easy to fill: Wally Joyner at first, Dick Schofield at shortstop, Jack Howell at third, Bob Boone at catcher, Chili Davis in right field and Devon White in center. Even the experiment with Johnny Ray in left field and Mark McLemore retaining second base appears set.

Then it’s on to the pitching staff, where, with the exception of Mike Witt, there is uncertainty at almost every corner.

“We’ve got to decide on 10 guys who are the best,” Rojas said Sunday.

Witt, the No. 1 starter, may be the only sure thing. The rest of the four starting spots are less clear.

--Kirk McCaskill: McCaskill, nearly a year removed from elbow surgery, earned his second victory of the spring Sunday, allowing 3 runs and 5 hits in 5-plus innings against the San Diego Padres. “He pitched well, very well,” Rojas said. “He wanted to stay in the game, but I felt that he had enough.”

Actually, Rojas said that had it not been for some unusual Padre hits, the day’s score would have 7-0, not 7-3.

“They shouldn’t have scored any runs,” he said. “In my opinion, (McCaskill) pitched five innings with no runs.”

McCaskill’s status--Improving nicely.

--Dan Petry: Petry, hampered by a bad back earlier in the spring and now two weeks behind everyone else, is struggling. He is 0-3 with a 15.26 earned-run average.

“We have to see how Petry is doing,” Rojas said. “We’ve only given him 7 innings, so we have to make a couple of decisions there.”

If Rojas has his way, Petry will pitch once more in Palm Springs and another time at this weekend’s Freeway Series against the Dodgers. Then, Rojas said he’ll decide what to do.

“Petry has been backed up because of the injury he received in spring training,” Rojas said. “(Petry) was out while everyone else was already up to 30-some innings, and he only got about 7. With 7 innings of pitching, you don’t expect a guy to be sharp. We want to give him more innings as we can.

“Yes, (Petry is) a concern, no question about it.”

Petry’s status--You heard Rojas: Difficult to judge.

--Willie Fraser: Fraser, by his own grading system, was having a fine spring until a few days ago, when he gave up eight runs, all in one inning, against the San Francisco Giants. Otherwise, Fraser said all is well. Angel coaches, disturbed by the outing, tend to agree.

Fraser’s status--Should be OK.

--Chuck Finley: The No. 5 starter had a game to remember Saturday against the Seattle Mariners. Finley allowed eight runs without recording an out. He was mercifully pulled.

“You’ve got to make a hitter think about something,” Rojas said that day. “You’ve got to move the ball around, and he didn’t do it.”

Finley’s status--Still a project, what with his off-season switch from reliever to starter. The Angels need a left-hander, though.

The bullpen, Rojas said, is under observation, too. The most pressing problem is whether Greg Minton will be ready in time. All he has to show for spring training is two innings of work and a tender right elbow.

“We have a question on Minton,” Rojas said.

Minton throws every other day on the sidelines. Each time, he tries to prepare his elbow for the strain of throwing breaking pitches.

“The closer we get (to the start of the season), obviously the less likely it looks,” said Angel physical therapist Roger Williams of Minton’s opening-day status. “I’m not saying he won’t be ready, but he has to be able to throw pain-free on the side, and we’re not there yet. He throws a fastball and feels nothing. He throws a curveball and there’s something there.”

Donnie Moore’s status is more encouraging. Despite giving up two hits, Rojas said Moore pitched well. It was the second time in two appearances that Moore, bothered by an injured elbow, threw effectively.

“It was the same as the last time out,” Moore said. “It felt good.”

Stewart Cliburn, on the strength of his 1.46 ERA, appears to have secured a prominent place in the Angel bullpen. DeWayne Buice is expected to be included, despite his usual poor spring showing. The remaining spots will be filled by Joe Johnson, Jack Lazorko, Bryan Harvey, Ray Krawczyk, a non-roster pitcher, or Frank DiMichele.

Angel Notes

Manager Cookie Rojas said that the Angel coaching staff would meet Sunday night to determine the exact breakdown of the 24-man roster. Yet to be decided is the number of infielders and outfielders kept. . . . General Manager Mike Port said Rojas and the Angels have agreed on contract terms. Signing, he said, “is just a formality.” . . . Second baseman Mark McLemore left Sunday’s game after injuring his left hand in the ninth inning while diving for a ground ball. Precautionary X-rays were to be taken, though McLemore said he expected to return to the starting lineup today. . . . Chili Davis hit his third and fourth home runs of the spring and added 5 more RBIs to his total, giving him a team high of 18. The victim: Padre starter Eric Show. “I don’t think I was supposed to hit the first one,” Davis said. “That was a pretty good slider. The second one . . . (Show) said he was working on it. I told him I was working on hitting it.”