Green Was a Big Part of Formula

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Steve Green didn’t throw a pitch last season, but the Angels wouldn’t have won the World Series without him.

Green spent the season on the disabled list, recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery. Since baseball rules permit a minor leaguer within the organization to replace an injured major leaguer on a playoff roster, the Angels submitted a roster that included Green and replaced him with Francisco Rodriguez.

“Pretty good move by them, eh?” Green said.

As Rodriguez wowed the world, winning five postseason games at age 20 and striking out 28 in 19 innings, a chorus of commentators and even rival general managers grumbled that the Angels’ Bill Stoneman had taken unfair advantage of a loophole in adding Rodriguez to the playoff roster.

However, at the general managers’ meetings after the World Series, Stoneman said that no general manager proposed a rule change. Teams might simplify matters, he said, by agreeing that all players in an organization as of Aug. 31 are eligible for a playoff roster.

But Stoneman also said he still didn’t understand the fuss, considering Green was on the major league disabled list all season. His predecessor, Bill Bavasi, once promoted injured minor leaguers to the major league roster in August, solely for the purpose of flexibility for a potential playoff roster.

“I see all these backflips everyone else has done. You see it every Aug. 31,” Stoneman said. “I didn’t think it was a big deal. I still don’t.

“What made it a big deal was that Francisco pitched lights-out in the postseason.”

Green, 25, is scheduled to make his spring debut today, marking his first appearance since his right elbow blew out two years ago. He is expected to start the season at triple-A Salt Lake.

Green lives in Montreal, where he said the World Series attracted little attention. He watched Game 7 at a sports bar. “No one was there,” he said, “except for me, my best friend, my cousin and two drunks at the bar.”

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Not all Angel players have received this week’s union memo urging them to “be extremely reluctant” to take products containing ephedra, but utilityman Shawn Wooten said he would pay close attention. He has used such products in the past without ill effects but has not taken them this year.

“If it’s a health risk, you have to think of your family first,” he said. “If they come out and say there’s a serious problem and it’s wise not to use it, I’m not going to use it anymore.”

The union memo cited a federal government warning last week that such products, although currently legal, could subject users to “potentially serious risks.” A dietary supplement containing ephedra has been linked to last month’s death of Baltimore pitcher Steve Bechler.

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The unprecedented demand for Angel tickets continues unabated. The Angels have shattered the franchise record for season tickets, with 19,600 sold as of Friday and the hope of hitting 20,000 by opening day. And, during the first six days fans could buy single-game tickets, the Angels sold another 108,000 seats.

With demand surging and the World Series champions playing in a 45,000-seat ballpark, no longer can fans wait until the last minute and assume tickets will be available.

“I think people are feeling that urgency,” said Kevin Uhlich, senior vice president of business operations.

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Tim Salmon and Jose Molina homered in a 7-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Angels’ first four pitchers -- John Lackey, Ben Weber, Troy Percival and Rodriguez -- limited the Brewers to five hits over the first seven innings. “We got world champion-ized,” Milwaukee Manager Ned Yost said.... Percival pitched one perfect inning in his spring debut but said his delivery remains a bit rusty. “I didn’t really want to work on it during the inning,” he said, “or I would have walked everybody.” ... Darin Erstad, who singled twice and tripled, said he expects to play with some discomfort in his surgically repaired right hand throughout this season.... The Angels are close to announcing that XEK (950 AM) will serve as their new Spanish radio station.