BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Rainout Doesn’t Impress Lachemann

Manager Marcel Lachemann is not sentimental. Asked Friday night what he was going to do with the lineup card from the first June rainout in Anaheim Stadium history, he said: “It’s right here, you want it?”

Persistent rains forced the cancellation of Friday night’s game between the Angels and Chicago White Sox, the first Anaheim Stadium rainout since April 14, 1988, and only the 10th rainout in the team’s 29-year Anaheim Stadium history.

A makeup date hasn’t been set, but it probably will be Sept. 11 or 14, the days before and after the White Sox are scheduled to be in Anaheim.

Fans who hoped to see Friday night’s pitching matchup between the Angels’ Mark Langston and Chicago’s Jim Abbott, the former Angel, will have their chance tonight. Lachemann and White Sox Manager Terry Bevington said both left-handers will pitch in the 7 p.m. game.

Lachemann will simply push his starting rotation back a day, meaning Chuck Finley will pitch Sunday, Shawn Boskie will go Monday against Kansas City, and Brian Anderson will return Tuesday night after a five-week absence because of an arm injury.

Langston said the rainout was “unbelievable--I’ve never seen weather like this”--but hoped it was an omen of sorts in a season of oddities, including the Angels being in first place in the American League West and the favored New York Yankees in last in the East.

“Hopefully something else we’ve never seen before will happen this year,” Langston said, alluding to the fact the Angels have never played in a World Series.

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Starting catcher Greg Myers will be activated early next week, backup catcher Andy Allanson will come off the disabled list Friday, and fill-in catcher Jorge Fabregas has made next week’s roster moves all the more difficult for Lachemann and General Manager Bill Bavasi.

Fabregas has hit .275 with five runs batted in in 11 games since replacing Myers June 5 but has been even more impressive defensively, throwing out six of 13 attempted base-stealers.

“The only thing I can do is make the decision as tough as possible,” Fabregas, 25, said. “I would love to stay here. I feel ready. I feel the pitching staff is very confident in me, and I think I’ve shown Lach and Bill that I can play up here and produce here, first defensively, then offensively.”

Chris Turner, who replaced Allanson, probably will be sent back to triple-A Vancouver when Myers is activated, but by the end of next week, the Angels must choose two backups between the trio of Allanson, the veteran who has been outstanding defensively but is hitting .205, Fabregas and Mark Dalesandro, who has only nine at-bats but can also play infield and outfield.

“He has definitely made us think about it more,” Lachemann said of Fabregas. “He’s a lot more comfortable behind the plate, he’s confident, and he doesn’t look like he’s questioning himself as much.”

Fabregas said he would rather remain in Anaheim, even if he plays only once a week, rather than return to Vancouver, where he could play every day.

“If that’s what it takes to win here, if that’s my role, that wouldn’t be a problem,” Fabregas said. “I feel like I’m part of this team already. I’ve contributed. There’s a winning atmosphere here and there’s nothing better than being part of that.”

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When Angel closer Lee Smith recorded his 16th save in 16 consecutive save opportunities Sunday in Baltimore, it was believed to have been a major league record, breaking the previous mark of 15, set by Cleveland’s Doug Jones in 1988.

The Elias Sports Bureau discovered Monday that Smith had 17 consecutive saves for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1993 and reported the error. But Smith, who picked up his 17th consecutive save Thursday night against the White Sox, said he was aware of the mistake Sunday.

“This way I got congratulations from my teammates twice,” Smith said. “I knew in Baltimore that I had done it before, but I didn’t want to seem like a guy who walks around with his stats in his back pocket, so I didn’t say anything.”

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The Angels tonight will try to move 10 games above the .500 mark for the first time since July 4, 1991. . . . Boskie is the sixth Angel pitcher to post a 5-0 record, and Monday he’ll try to become the first to go 6-0.