Rapp Does All Anyone Can Expect

Buried under the deluge of the six runs that the Seattle Mariners scored off the usually reliable Shigetoshi Hasegawa and the Angel bullpen in the eighth inning Sunday was a reassuring performance by Pat Rapp, who worked seven strong innings in a 7-5 defeat.

This followed a reassuring performance by Ismael Valdes in his Angel starting debut Saturday, and maybe reassuring is really all that should be expected of the two veteran additions to an otherwise young rotation.

Maybe, in fact, we’ve had it backward.

Maybe Rapp and Valdes will turn out to be bargain investments as the fourth and fifth starters behind Ramon Ortiz, Scott Schoeneweis and Jarrod Washburn.

Maybe, if those three young pitchers continue their development and maturation, they’ll be the ones providing the rotation with leadership and reliability, taking the onus off Rapp and Valdes to be something they aren’t: No. 1-caliber starters. Maybe, in the process, they also can take the onus off an Angel management that went the inexpensive route to a fringe group of free-agent pitchers in signing the two veteran right-handers.

A rotation of maybes gets its next test tonight when Washburn, 7-2 in 14 starts last year and scheduled to pitch the 2001 opener until sidelined by strep throat, debuts against the Oakland Athletics.

With Valdes having come off the disabled list to pitch six solid innings Saturday, the rotation is back to what it was expected to be from a personnel standpoint. Now, we can find out what it can be from a performance standpoint.

One thing is certain: As club president Tony Tavares noted the other day, no one is trumpeting Rapp and Valdes to be Mike Mussina or Mike Hampton.

“To be a No. 1 or No. 2 pitcher for me, you have to earn it over a number of seasons,” pitching coach Bud Black said. “Rapp and Valdes have proven to be capable major league starters. It’s not fair to expect them to pitch like Randy Johnson or Curt Schilling or Pedro Martinez or Greg Maddux. We think we have five solid starters. If they make all of their starts, we’ll see what emerges over a period of time.”

After giving up 10 hits, 13 runs and eight walks in the nine innings of his first two starts, Rapp emerged Sunday to yield only five hits and one run in the seven innings against the Mariners, walking one and striking out four. He threw 99 pitches, made the required mechanical adjustments from his previous starts, called it a positive reversal, and didn’t argue with Manager Mike Scioscia’s decision to summon Hasegawa to pitch the eighth, with a 3-1 lead.

Since Rapp is now with his sixth team in the last five years, he, too, knows what he is, knows he can’t be something more.

“I just pitch with what I’ve got,” he said. “All I can do is try and keep us in the game and win with what I’ve got.

“I know they could have signed some bigger names, but you can only pay so many guys.”

A $57-million payroll was reduced to the mid-$40 million range this year. Disney had the resources to go after a higher tier of free-agent pitchers, but it’s mid-April, and the Angels are where they are--a rotation by committee and devoid basically of a proven No. 1 or 2.

“I don’t think there’s been any misunderstanding,” Scioscia said. “When you look at the makeup of our starting staff, we need those three young pitchers to step up if we’re going to be successful. That’s not to say we’re looking for any one or two guys to carry us. To get where we want to get over a marathon of 162 games, we need all five. If the recipe was one guy, the Red Sox [with Martinez] would be in the playoffs every year. In the big picture, these last two starts by Valdes and Rapp were very encouraging.”

In the glow of spring, Scioscia had said that he was confident his trio of Ortiz, Schoeneweis and Washburn could outpitch Oakland’s touted Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder. The three young Angels will face the A’s in the series that opens at Edison Field tonight. Ortiz has made two dominant starts and Schoeneweis has kept the Angels in each of his three starts.

Said Black, referring to the three young starters: “We’re starting to see their maturity level come around. They’re not rookies anymore. They understand what’s expected. They know how to adjust to game situations and to hitters. Their game plan is much more refined.”

The Mariners lost much of their offense with the departures of Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr., over the last two years, but pitching has been the foundation of a 9-3 start. The Angels are 6-6, and Scioscia is hopeful that the return of Valdes and Washburn from the disabled list will enable the rotation to settle in, allowing the offense to do its job.

Rapp did his job Sunday, giving the Angels innings and stability. His performance was worthy of a No. 1, but labels can be misleading.