AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES : Notebook : Welch Will Have to Wait His Turn in A’s New Rotation

It doesn’t take higher math to determine the pecking order of the Oakland Athletics’ rotation.

Just a higher number of victories.

Dave Stewart won 21 games, Mike Moore and Storm Davis 19 each and Bob Welch 17.

“I’m low man on the totem pole,” Welch, the former Dodger, said Sunday when the A’s concluded the regular season and Manager Tony La Russa changed his previously announced rotation for the American League playoffs with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Stewart would still pitch today’s opener, La Russa said, but Moore would go in Game 2 Wednesday, with Welch, who had been scheduled for Wednesday, going in Game 4 Saturday in Toronto and Davis in Game 3.

La Russa explained that Welch, who pitched three times on three days’ rest in September and would have had to pitch Game 2 on three days, had shown signs of fatigue.

“They’ve got to say something. Why not tell you my arm’s fatigued?” Welch said in response.

“It doesn’t feel any worse today than it did after my last start, or it did after the start before that . . . “

Welch’s comments Sunday concerned La Russa to the point that he met with Welch after the A’s worked out Monday.

“Bob is an emotional guy,” La Russa said. “I’m not sure that he understood what I meant yesterday and I wanted to clear it up.

“This has nothing to do with being low man on the totem pole and everything to do with his arm being tired.

“I mean, Wednesday’s game was his slot. He’s been dynamite in day games here. But there’s a lot of pressure in these games and I want to be fair to the athlete.

“Bob is a competitor. He may say his arm is fine, but it’s not. He’s not 100%, but I know he will be by Saturday.”

Welch conceded Monday that September had been tough and he should benefit by the extra time.

“Tony wanted to be sure I understood there was nothing else involved,” Welch said of the Monday meeting, adding that he never had a problem with the decision.

“We’re fortunate to have the kind of depth where there’s no need to send someone out short (of rest),” he said. “This makes us that much stronger overall.”

Welch’s 3.00 earned-run average was superior to both Stewart (3.32) and Davis (4.36). He was also 10-2 at home this season, but Moore was 10-1.

Davis, presumably, was held back for Game 3 because he has a 9-3 night record and was 10-4 on the road, 4-1 in his last five starts.

“I just want to pitch somewhere, anywhere,” Davis said.

There is speculation that if the A’s are behind by Game 4, Welch may not pitch at all. He has a 7.71 ERA in 11 2/3 playoff innings and 5.79 for 9 1/3 World Series innings, indicative of a frequently chronicled struggle to gain control of his emotions.

However, if Welch is skipped in Game 4, Stewart would have to pitch on three days’ rest, and the A’s ace has admitted to tenderness in his right shoulder and the need for rest.

But Monday, Stewart was at his cocky best. Asked about the impression that he had been outpitched by the Kansas City Royals’ Bret Saberhagen in the second half, Stewart said:

“I won 62 games over the last three years. I was overshadowed by nobody. Saberhagen had a good four months. I had a good whole season. I know how to take control of a game when my team needs a win.

“When my team needs a win, Dave Stewart will be there.”

La Russa joined the gamesmanship battle being waged by playoff managers Don Zimmer of the Chicago Cubs, Roger Craig of the San Francisco Giants and Cito Gaston of the Blue Jays.

“Zimmer can talk about how they’re not supposed to be here, and Roger can talk about how everybody said they backed into the playoffs and Cito can talk about how they struggled all year,” La Russa said.

“Our edge, if we’re going to try to come in from left field, (is that while) we’re not actually forgotten or a second-class citizen, we don’t feel as if we’re the darling of this area or any area.

“We’re not America’s team. We’re not anybody’s favorite or the media’s favorite. We’re just a good ballclub.

“I think our fans proved we have very good support here. We drew 2.7 million, but as far as in the local polls. . . . I read a story the other day that 200 fans met them at the airport and the story read, ‘ . . . the fans went wild.’ Two hundred fans? We just don’t feel we’re a big deal to a lot of people.”

Toronto first baseman Fred McGriff won the American League’s home run title with 36, but did not hit any after Sept. 4. McGriff, in fact, had only 12 hits in his last 78 at-bats and two in his last 29.

He did drive in three runs with a pair of singles in the last two games against the Baltimore Orioles and said he was doing a better job of remaining patient and keeping his weight back.

“I haven’t lost confidence because I know it’s just a matter of bad mechanics,” he said.

Teammate Lloyd Moseby took a slightly different approach.

“The way Fred swung the last two games should be a tremendous lift for him,” Moseby said. “None of us have lost confidence in him, but Fred has to get his own confidence back and the only way to do that is with base hits.”

A’s third baseman Carney Lansford lost the American League batting title to the Minnesota Twins’ Kirby Puckett by going hitless in three at-bats Sunday while Puckett was two for five.

Puckett hit .339, Lansford .336.

“I’ve never had a more consistent year,” Lansford said. “I’m very happy with it. The way I hit in this park is not easy to do.

“The foul territory is probably the biggest in the league and the ball doesn’t carry in the gaps anymore. It’s almost impossible to drive an extra-base hit through the outfield.”

Merv Rettenmund, the A’s batting instructor, also cited the soft nature of the infield grass in Oakland, saying it’s almost impossible to ground a hit through it.

Added Lansford: “If I had won, great, but it was won by a great hitter. Kirby has been putting up 200 hits a year. It’s more important that we pop some corks again.”