BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Valera to Stay in the Bullpen

The Angels have decided to keep Julio Valera in the bullpen, and will put Scott Lewis in the starting rotation. Lewis is scheduled to start Friday against the Baltimore Orioles.

“Julio still has tenderness in his elbow after he pitches,” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said. “Ultimately, if it bothers him after three or 3 1/3 innings, what will it do after six innings? It’s something we might have to nurse for a year, or at least half a year.”

Lewis, who has failed to last longer than two months in the Angel rotation the last two seasons, will be afforded the opportunity to be the Angels’ fifth starter. Yet it’s possible that his return in the rotation could be delayed a week since a winter storm is threatening to postpone today’s game against Milwaukee.

“I’m just looking forward to pitching again,” said Lewis, who’s eligible to come off the disabled list Friday after recovering from a bruised elbow. “I think I’ve learned from my experience in the bullpen. I think it will make me more aggressive.”

Angel starter Mark Langston, who originally was scheduled Friday, will be moved back to Sunday. Recovering from a strained rib cage muscle, Langston pitched 15 minutes without pain before Wednesday’s game.

Dirty Trick Dept: The Brewers pulled their portable heaters out of the Angel dugout, leaving the Angels shivering most of a frigid night in which the temperature dropped as low as 41 degrees.

Infielder Torey Lovullo, the only player who had not played in the Angels’ first seven games, was inserted in the starting lineup Wednesday against the Brewers. “I’ve been going nuts waiting to play,” Lovullo said before the game. “I just hope to get my first hit out of the way now.” Lovullo went three for five with two RBIs, including a two-run double in the eighth. . . . Several of the Angels sported welts and bruises when they arrived in the clubhouse. What gives? Just the repercussions from their friendly “paint ball” game Tuesday in which they shot paint pellets at one another. . . . Fernando Valenzuela, who was shelled in his first start Tuesday night for the Baltimore Orioles, will not start against the Angels in their upcoming three-game series. He’s not scheduled to start again until April 28, according to Oriole Manager Johnny Oates.