Mercker Struggles With Transition

One reason the Angels opened the season with Kent Mercker in the bullpen instead of the rotation is because Mercker has had considerable success as a reliever, and the team preferred to have at least one left-hander available in the late innings.

But it has been seven years since Mercker pitched in relief on a regular basis, and his transition from starter back to reliever has not gone as smoothly as some in the Angel organization anticipated.

Mercker has given up four earned runs and four hits, including two home runs, over 5 2/3 innings in four appearances. In the only game he wasn’t charged with a run--against Toronto on Tuesday night--Mercker hit one of two batters he faced.

“My arm isn’t sore, but it feels a little heavy, kind of dead,” Mercker said. “It’s like I’ve lost a foot and a half on my heater. Once I get used to getting up more, not having as much time to warm up, I’ll adapt.

“The mental part is easy. I’m not afraid to come in with the bases loaded in a tie game. It’s the physical part. That’s the adjustment. Your body is a creature of habit, and I’m used to doing things a certain way.”

As a starter, Mercker loved throwing long toss on the day he pitched and sometimes between starts. If he wanted to work on a certain pitch between games, he’d spend as many as 20 minutes throwing it in the bullpen.

He can’t do that now, because there is always a chance Mercker could pitch that day or night, and he can’t wear himself out. As a result, he said he has lost the feel to his changeup.

“I’m going to have to throw more in between [appearances] to stay loose,” said Mercker, who expressed his displeasure with not making the rotation. “Ideally, it would be nice to pitch six innings of relief every five days. . . . I’ve made it clear what my preference is, but what are you gonna do?”

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Kent Bottenfield’s seven-inning, five-hit, no-run gem against Chicago was not the first time White Sox Manager Jerry Manuel had seen Bottenfield dominate an opponent.

Manuel was the manager at double-A Jacksonville when Bottenfield, then a Montreal Expo prospect, threw a no-hitter for him in a 1-0 win over Orlando on June 16, 1990.

“He’s always been an intelligent pitcher, he never gives in,” Manuel said. “He is just a little more experienced than we are right now. He was just a better pitcher today.”

Bottenfield threw a lot harder in 1990 than he does today. His fastball rarely tops 86-mph now, but he’s often able to locate it where batters cannot hit it too hard.

“It doesn’t matter how hard or soft you throw,” Angel third baseman Troy Glaus said. “The bottom line is he gets people out.”

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Tim Belcher was impressive Saturday night for Class-A Lake Elsinore in his first rehabilitation start since undergoing off-season shoulder surgery.

The veteran right-hander pitched three scoreless and hitless innings against High Desert. Belcher struck out four of the nine batters he faced. He threw 30 pitches, 21 for strikes.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ SCOTT SCHOENEWEIS (2-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. WHITE SOX’S JIM PARQUE (1-0, 9.00 ERA)

Comiskey Park, Chicago, 11 a.m.

TV--Fox Sports Net. Radio--KIK-FM (94.3), KCTD (1540).

* Update--Schoeneweis’ primary pitch, a fastball that sinks, has been working well since the beginning of spring training. The left-hander threw a three-hit shutout against the Blue Jays on Monday night because he incorporated an effective changeup into his repertoire. Schoeneweis likes to start the pitch toward the bottom of the strike zone and then have it drop to a batter’s ankles as it nears the plate, a trajectory similar to his sinking fastball but at a much slower pace. Parque, the former UCLA left-hander, has an 0-3 career record and 8.04 ERA against the Angels.