BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Dismal Outing Doesn’t Help Farrell

John Farrell sat slumped in front of his locker, his voice flat and lifeless.

He has spent the last three years trying to save his baseball career, despite two reconstructive elbow surgeries.

He began pitching in mid-December to prepare himself for spring training, knowing it would be the most critical camp of his career, that he would be judged solely on performance and results.

That is why his outing in the Angels’ 11-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers was so traumatic for him Tuesday.

Farrell, 31, was unable to complete his scheduled three-inning stint, yielding five hits and seven earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. The crowning blow was a three-run homer by Tom Brunansky in the sixth inning.

“I don’t think this is the end but I realize this was not the step I was looking for,” he said. “I’m not going to panic, but they need results from me, and this was not good.”

Farrell is one of five candidates for the last two spots in the Angel rotation, and if there’s any reason for hope, it’s that no one else is doing much better. The Angels have yielded 49 runs in their five games, posting a 9.86 ERA.

“I felt like this was a chance for me to move ahead of the pack a bit,” Farrell said. “Now, I’m right in the middle of the pack.”

Farrell is expected to get at least one more opportunity but another poor performance could exhaust the Angels’ patience. They will begin making roster cuts next week, and will be required to pay only one-sixth of a player’s salary if he’s released by March 15.

“Every time John Farrell goes out there, it’s critical,” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said. “You try to give veterans a full shot, but we went quite a ways with him last year. In about another week, it gets serious.”

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Pitcher Andrew Lorraine, who has only six games of professional experience, has been so impressive this spring that Rodgers says it’s no longer a certainty that Lorraine will start the season in the minors.

“He’s as good as advertised,” Rodgers said. “Realistically, you’d say that he’ll start out in double-A or triple-A. But realistically, you say, ‘How much does this guy have to learn?’

“He’s a guy we’re going to have to keep our eye on because he’ll move fast.”

Lorraine, the Angels’ fourth-round selection from Stanford in the 1993 draft, yielded only one hit in three innings in the Angels’ 4-3 victory in the B game. He probably will start pitching soon in A games, Rodgers said.

“Right now, it’s a process of elimination, going the other way,” Rodgers said. “If that continues, there will be new guys coming into play, and Lorraine is one of them.”

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Although left fielder Eduardo Perez played only two innings before leaving Tuesday’s game, he said the move was by design to protect his right elbow. “I was scared two months ago,” he said. “But the three hours a day of (rehabilitation) paid off big-time. I feel fine.” . . . The Angels took advantage of the Mighty Ducks’ being in town, ordering 30 tickets for Tuesday night’s game. . . . First baseman J.T. Snow put in full day’s work, playing every inning of each the A and B games. . . . Rod Correia, vying for a utility infield job, continues his impressive spring. He went two for two and scored three runs in the B game. . . . The lanky veteran playing first base for the Brewers in the B game was Von Hayes, who was released by the Angels in 1992 but is trying to make a comeback.