All He Needs Is 15 Wins

To secure his spot in the Angels’ starting rotation, Scott Schoeneweis figures he needs to win 15 games this season. In his third season in the rotation, he believes, potential must blossom into performance.

“Every year from now on is critical,” he said. “You get to a certain point, and you’re not a young guy any more. There’s really no excuses. The expectations should be met at this point in my career.

“My expectations, the organization’s expectations and my teammates’ expectations are for me to be able to be a 15-game winner.”

Schoeneweis, 28, is the same age as Chan Ho Park and the Dodgers’ newly signed Japanese left-hander, Kazuhisa Ishii. But Schoeneweis, who played four seasons at Duke and another four in the minor leagues, has yet to deliver a consistent season in the majors.

Two years ago, he went 7-10 with a 5.45 earned-run average. Last year, he went 10-11 with a 5.08 ERA, showing durability by pitching 205 innings but ranking among the bottom 10 in the American League for runs, hits and walks given up. Manager Mike Scioscia, noting the Angels’ sluggish offense last year, said Schoeneweis should not allow his won-lost record to obscure his progress.

“I don’t think this is anything like a critical year,” Scioscia said. “He’s shown he’s a major league pitcher, and I think he’ll get better.”

If he trusts his changeup enough to use it more often, and if he pitches inside more often, he should get better. If he does not, the Angels have options they did not have a year ago. Matt Wise is ready for the rotation, and John Lackey and Chris Bootcheck could be by season’s end.

In addition, Schoeneweis is eligible for salary arbitration--and a fat raise--after the season. If he posts another ERA above 5.00, the Angels might let him go rather than pay up. But if he wins 15 games--something no Angel has done since 1996--the team probably will happily pay up.

“When there are expectations, sometimes there are excuses like, ‘You’re younger,’” Schoeneweis said. “Those are out the window now.”

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Disney merchandisers hailed the 1999 arrival of Mo Vaughn as “The Beginning of a New Mo-llennium” and sold a T-shirt with that slogan for $23, a cap reading “Mo-llennium” for $20 and a “Little Mo” toddler T-shirt for $10.

The Mo-llennium ended in December, not with a championship but with the disgruntled slugger shipped to the New York Mets. And now Vaughn merchandise is just another item on the Angels’ clearance rack: The team Web site offers a T-shirt with Vaughn’s name and uniform number, marked down from $19.95 to $4.95.