Final Month Crucial to Belcher’s Future

Tim Belcher admits he has been a little cranky this summer, the frustration of his elbow injury and the constant questions about it causing him to occasionally snap at reporters.

Belcher seems in better spirits this week, though, in part because he finally has something different to talk about. After a two-month absence, the 38-year-old right-hander will start Thursday for an Angel team that needs a strong pitching performance the way Montana needed rain this summer.

“Yeah, I’d like to help us get to the playoffs, but by the same token, the addition or subtraction of one player rarely makes a difference,” Belcher said. “With the youth in the rotation, I can be a nice addition if I pitch well. If I don’t, it won’t matter.”

Belcher, limited to four starts this season, knows what he does in a few starts this month could determine whether he returns in 2001 or retires. The Angels have a $5.1-million option on Belcher for next season, which they will almost certainly buy out for $1 million.

“I can’t lie and say I’m not thinking about how this will effect next year,” Belcher said. “But I’m not going to make it an issue right now.”

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The Angels Tuesday signed Johan Quezada Santana, a highly touted 16-year-old pitcher from the Dominican Republic whose fastball has already been clocked at 93 mph and whose changeup, according to Angel scouting director Donny Rowland, “is surprisingly advanced for his age.”

Santana, a 6-foot-2, 155-pound right-hander who turns 17 in November, received a considerable signing bonus, though a baseball source said it was not as high as the $900,000 the Angels gave to Francisco Rodriguez in 1998.

“He’s very athletic, he has a clean arm action and a good feel for pitching,” Rowland said. “He’s an exciting kid.”

Will Santana’s signing diminish the Angels’ chances of signing first-round pick Chris Bootcheck?

“I don’t think so,” Rowland said, “but if we can’t come to terms [with Bootcheck], then we’re going to enter into more negotiations with Latin American kids.”

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Only $150,000 is separating the Angels and Bootcheck, the pitcher who has left Auburn and is in the process of enrolling at California, where classes begin next week.

Bootcheck, according to family sources, was originally seeking a $2.2-million signing bonus, and the Angels were offering $1.6 million. Bootcheck’s offer to sign for $1.9 million this week was rejected by the Angels, who countered with $1.75 million.

Bootcheck, a 6-foot-5 right-hander, was the 20th overall pick in the draft. The four college pitchers from 1-17 who have signed have received bonuses between $2.2 million and $3 million.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ SCOTT SCHOENEWEIS (6-7, 5.15 ERA) vs. TIGERS’ STEVE SPARKS (6-2, 3.51 ERA)

Comerica Park, Detroit, 4 p.m. PDT

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

* Update--Sparks, the former Angel knuckleballer, did not have a spot in the Tiger rotation or any victories entering August. Tuesday, the right-hander was named American League pitcher of the month after going 5-0 with a 1.69 ERA in August. The well-traveled Sparks, who has pitched for four different organizations in four years, struck out 24, walked eight and held opponents to a .188 average. Asked if he received any kind of bonus for winning pitcher-of-the-month honors, Sparks said: “Yeah, I get to stay.” Schoeneweis, the Angel left-hander, has pitched into the sixth inning in 17 of his last 18 starts.