No Deal Keeps Four-Man Rotation Alive

Another day passed and the Angels did not make a trade to bolster their pitching staff, which means Manager Terry Collins will stick with his four-man rotation a bit longer.

And even if the Angels do swing a deal for a veteran pitcher, Collins might not give up on the four-man rotation. In fact, he is considering using it to start next year.

“In all seriousness, when we go to spring training next year, I’m thinking of going to it,” Collins said. “If we go to spring training and we have five quality starters, we’ll go with five. If we have four and we’re looking for a fifth, we’ll go with four.”

Collins credits the four-man rotation with giving the injured and fatigued bullpen a needed break and keeping the starters a bit sharper. It didn’t hurt while the Angels won 12 of the past 14.

“It’s not that big a deal,” Collins said of the workload for Jason Dickson, Chuck Finley, Dennis Springer and Allen Watson. “I could do it all year, but I’m not sure I’m going to.”

What’s more, the four-man rotation craze apparently has swept the organization. The Angels’ triple-A affiliate at Vancouver and double-A club at Midland each have adopted it.

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The return of reliever Mike James is on hold. James, on the disabled list because of an inflamed right elbow, probably won’t be activated until next week at the earliest.

With Kevin Gross and Matt Perisho scheduled to start when the Angels play doubleheaders Friday at Boston and Monday at Cleveland, the bullpen is a bit thin. But Collins would rather not rush James.

“He’s doing fine . . . but we’re going to wait,” Collins said.

TODAY’S GAME

ANGELS’ ALLEN WATSON (8-6, 4.82 ERA) vs. YANKEES’ DWIGHT GOODEN (3-3, 3.89)

Yankee Stadium, 10 a.m. PDT

Radio--KTZN (710).

* Update--The Angels had their pick of either Watson or William VanLandingham in the November trade that sent J.T. Snow to the San Francisco Giants. Earlier this season, there was good reason to believe the Angels made a mistake in opting for Watson. But no longer. Watson rebounded after starting the season with a 1-3 record and 6.46 earned-run average. He is 7-3 in his last 10 starts, including 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA in his last four. VanLandingham was 4-6 with a 5.11 ERA when the Giants sent him to triple-A Phoenix two weeks ago. “I felt all along we took the right guy, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned early in the season,” General Manager Bill Bavasi said. Gooden has lost three consecutive starts, including a 6-4 defeat against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. Right-handed hitters are batting .218 (17 for 78) against Gooden.