Angels May Be in a Hole Without Ace

On the one hand, Jarrod Washburn says, it would be best for everybody if his routine stayed the same, if he got all his rest between starts, if he waited until Game 5 to pitch again for the Angels.

On the other hand, Washburn says, he saw what Curt Schilling did last year in the World Series, pitching three times, going as hard as he could for as long as he could in Games 1, 4 and 7. That’s what you do if you’re the ace, the man, the dude who wants to establish himself as one of the game’s elite pitchers.

“I could go,” Washburn says. “I’ll do it if I’m asked. It’s what you should want at this point of the season, to be out there for a Game 7 if it’s necessary.”

The World Series can be a great proving ground or a big dumping ground. It can make stars, it can wreck spirits.

Angel Manager Mike Scioscia knows that.

Scioscia has made so few wrong moves this season, it seems silly to doubt him now.

And Monday, Scioscia said quite emphatically that John Lackey would be starting Game 4 against the Giants on Wednesday.

It’s not that Scioscia hasn’t thought about changing his rotation.

There is a big pro. And, of course, there’s a con.

“It’s obvious,” Scioscia said. “You have your best pitcher pitch three games in the World Series. You have him on the mound if there’s a Game 7. It’s certainly something we’ve looked at. But there is another side. Do you have confidence in your other pitchers? We do.”

And there it is. The big question.

Does it give you nightmares, Angel fans, to think about Kevin Appier (playoff ERA, 6.23) pitching again in this World Series? Does it make your stomach jump to picture Ben Weber (playoff ERA, 7.50) coming in to relieve Appier again? Would you tremble a little if Ramon Ortiz (playoff ERA, 10.13) started Sunday in Game 7?

Do you want the fate of your team in the timid hands of Appier? Do you want to see him nibbling around the plate, enticing hitters with non-sinking sinkers, non-curving curves, non-sliding sliders, frittering away five-run leads? Do you feel secure with Ortiz -- who can be brilliant or awful, or both; who can be stoic or unfocused or emotionally fragile, or all three in the same inning -- if this World Series comes down to a Game 7?

In the playoffs so far, Washburn (playoff ERA, 3.65) and rookie Lackey (playoff ERA, 1.46) have been the most reliable Angel starters, the most aggressive and fearless.

If neither has always been brilliant, both have been at least adequate and mostly more than that. Lackey was unfazed at being called into emergency relief duty Sunday when Appier fell apart.

“Of course I can still start Wednesday,” said Lackey, who made 32 pitches in his 2 1/3-inning relief stint Sunday. “Why wouldn’t I? I’d throw that much on the side anyway, so what’s the difference if it’s in a game or not?”

If Lackey does start Wednesday, one can rightfully expect he will be nonchalantly tough, uncommonly serene and will relentlessly challenge hitters with his best and hardest stuff, as he has done so far in the playoffs. Even his Sunday experience, the unexpected appearance, could benefit Lackey, reinforce his belief in himself.

But then what? If Washburn sticks to his schedule, he’ll start Game 5 on Thursday and wouldn’t be able to start Game 7 on Sunday.

“I could do that,” Washburn said. “And if I didn’t start, I could absolutely come out of the bullpen.”

Washburn is the Angel ace, the man who should want the ball as often as possible, whenever possible. And he does. But he is conflicted. He has pitched on three days’ rest twice lately.

Once, he was brilliant, beating Oakland, 1-0, Sept. 17, lasting eight innings and displaying overpowering pace and control.

The other time, he was tenacious and determined but also on the edge of being knocked around. This was against the Yankees in Game 4 of the American League division series. Washburn went five innings, gave up one earned run and six hits and said afterward that he was “gassed.”

But the Angels won the game, the clincher of the series.

“And I got through five innings and kept us in the game,” Washburn said. “So it’s not like I was awful.”

Even while Scioscia was saying that Lackey would be pitching Wednesday, he also said that no decisions were unchangeable.

“Things could happen between Games 3 and 4,” he said.

Perhaps, then, if Ortiz has the same kind of awful night tonight that Appier had Sunday, things will be different.

Pitching coach Bud Black said, “Look, the pros are that by pitching him in Game 4, you get Wash out there two more times. The cons are whether he’s physically able to come back on three days’ rest at this point in the season. You just don’t know.

“How does his arm feel? Are we better off with a weaker Wash twice or a strong Wash once? A lot of times, Wash needs his full complement of rest.”

Scioscia said he had confidence that Appier had one more good start left in him and that Ortiz only needed to “channel his energy into something positive that will keep him focused.” And Ortiz might be comfortable at hitter-unfriendly Pac Bell and very focused.

But Appier hasn’t had a really good start yet in the playoffs, and whoever figures out how to get Ortiz to “channel his energy” consistently should get a big World Series share.

If there were a way to get an enthusiastic endorsement from Washburn, if Washburn felt certain that his arm was up to the strain and that his mind was too, maybe Black and Scioscia could be persuaded to give their ace the ball as often as possible this week.

This is only a suggestion, though, maybe a wish, not a demand.

And whichever way it goes, the Angels have to make it work for them even if they go with pitching by committee in a Game 7.

Diane Pucin can be reached at diane.pucin@latimes.com.