Scioscia, Zen Master: Peas in a Pod?

No one has ever called Mike Scioscia a Zen Master, or a Zen anything. But, after watching Phil Jackson coach the Lakers to the NBA championship, Mo Vaughn is more convinced than ever that Scioscia is the right manager to lead the Angels into the playoffs.

The Angels’ good young nucleus is no longer young, after all, and Scioscia wears the championship rings that none of the home-grown Angels do. That success breeds confidence and unity among his charges, Vaughn said.

“Shaq and Kobe were together a few years in L.A., but they didn’t come together until Phil Jackson came here and led the show,” Vaughn said.

“Talent is one thing, but you have to be on the same page. That can only come from one person, the manager. Definitely, this team is one the same page.”

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The Lakers’ championship was the first by a Southern California team since the Dodgers won the 1988 World Series, with Scioscia as their catcher. Long time ago? Not to Tim Belcher, who vividly remembers the day the Dodgers clinched.

“I remember that game more than the games I pitched,” Belcher said. “I remember sitting in the dugout in Oakland, Orel [Hershiser] making the last pitch, running on the field, our wives running on the field . . . “

That was Belcher’s rookie season. He has played for seven teams, including the Angels, but has not returned to the World Series.

“I didn’t think it would take this long,” he said. “Then you look at all the great players, like Ernie Banks, that never had a chance to play in the World Series, and you realize how fortunate you are.”

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Ken Hill struggled to throw strikes in his third rehabilitation start Tuesday. Hill made 85 pitches in 5 2/3 innings for triple-A Edmonton, walking six, striking out one and throwing 11 consecutive balls at one point. He gave up three runs, two earned, and seven hits.

General Manager Bill Stoneman said Hill, the Angels’ opening-day starter, will not return simply because he is a veteran.

“He’s going to be back when we’re comfortable that he’s performing at a significant major league level,” Stoneman said. “If he’s back, it’s because we’re confident he’s going to contribute.”

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The Angels have agreed to terms with four of their top six draft picks and are close to signing a fifth, scouting director Donny Rowland said. That leaves Auburn pitcher Chris Bootcheck, whose advisor is Scott Boras.

The Angels had two first-round draft picks, Bootcheck and Joe Torres. Boras isn’t shy about advising players to sit out the summer, or longer, while waiting for what he considers an acceptable contract offer. With Torres signed, would the Angels challenge Bootcheck with a take-it-or-leave-it offer, comfortable that they already have a first-rounder in the fold?

“If we can’t sign a first-round selection, we get compensated [with a supplemental first-round pick next year], but that isn’t factored into my thought process,” Rowland said. “My thought is that we can get Chris under contract.”

TONIGHT

ANGELS’

JARROD WASHBURN

(2-1, 3.92 ERA)

vs.

ROYALS’

MAC SUZUKI

(3-0, 3.78 ERA)

Edison Field, 7 p.m.

* TV--Fox Sports Net.

* Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

* Update--Kent Bottenfield, on the disabled list because of shoulder tendinitis, pitched a simulated game Tuesday. The Angels plan to activate him to start Saturday.

* Tickets--(714) 663-9000.