Callaway to Seek Ringed Victory

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Mickey Callaway did not pitch during the playoffs, but he is the probable starting pitcher for the night the Angels will receive their World Series championship rings.

The Angels have yet to announce the order of their starting rotation, but they are leaning toward using John Lackey on opening night and Callaway in the second game.

If the pitchers follow their current order, the Angels could use Ramon Ortiz in the final game of the season-opening series against the Texas Rangers. Ortiz is 9-1 lifetime against the Rangers, including a 3-0 record last year. The Angels could then line up Lackey, Jarrod Washburn and Kevin Appier for the next series, against the American League West champion Oakland Athletics.

Lackey was scheduled to face the Rangers today, but the Angels decided he should instead pitch in a minor league game. Manager Mike Scioscia said the decision reflected a desire to make sure Lackey could throw 90 pitches no matter what the game conditions, not a desire to keep the Rangers’ hitters from seeing Lackey before the season starts. Callaway will start against Texas today.

Callaway replaced the injured Aaron Sele in the rotation last August. The Angels won five of the six games Callaway started, but they did not need a fifth starter in postseason play. Although he was not on the playoff roster, he traveled with the team and cheered the Angels on.

“It was probably the most nerve-racking thing I’ve ever gone through,” he said, “knowing you can’t go out there and help the team out. All I could do was cheer.”

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After Friday’s 5-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox, the Angels are hitting .251, the lowest average of any Cactus League team. They are 7-15, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are the only American League team with fewer spring victories.

Darin Erstad is batting .500, but six key players are at or below .250 -- Shawn Wooten (.178), Tim Salmon (.188), Adam Kennedy (.206), Troy Glaus (.237), Brad Fullmer (.241) and Garret Anderson (.250). In the thin air of the Cactus League, robust averages are the norm.

“For a lot of teams, it’s a false sense of security because it’s spring training,” Scioscia said. “There’s no question our guys are going to be where they need to be.”

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The outbreak of war has prevented the Angels from securing a radio station to air every game in Spanish.

As expected, the Angels announced Friday that XKAM (950 AM) will air Spanish broadcasts this season, but the station could not commit to more than 113 games. The station originates in Mexico, and Mexican President Vicente Fox asked XKAM and several other major stations to keep the airwaves clear for war news on weekdays until 7 p.m., Angel broadcasting director Jay Lucas said. As a result, the station cannot air 49 games, most of them weekday road games outside the Pacific time zone.

If the war continues into next month and Fox’s request remains in force, Lucas said he hoped to find another Spanish station to carry those 49 games.

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First baseman Scott Spiezio, diagnosed Friday with a case of shingles after the trademark rash appeared on his right side, is expected to play today.... Shortstop David Eckstein is day-to-day because of a sore hip.... Fullmer returned to the lineup after missing six days because of an elbow infection.