Ortiz Wants to Make Big Pitch to Guerrero

The phone call Ramon Ortiz wants to hear this fall: We want to sign Vladimir Guerrero, so please go give him your best recruiting pitch.

“I’d go right away,” Ortiz said Tuesday. “If the Angels sign this guy, my God, watch out.”

Guerrero lives in the Dominican Republic town of Bani, near some of Ortiz’s family and three hours from his hometown of Cotui.

Guerrero, this year’s prize free agent, would solve the Angels’ biggest need. The power-hitting right fielder, currently with the Montreal Expos, is believed to prefer a quiet, out-of-the-limelight environment.

The Angels intend to pursue free agents, and their wild card could be owner Arte Moreno. He made his millions selling billboards, so he has mastered the art of the sales pitch, and a Spanish-speaking owner could help put Guerrero at ease.

“He’s the owner,” General Manager Bill Stoneman said. “He’ll be as active as he’d like to be.”

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The Angels’ postgame flight today could head to Kansas City, not California. The commissioner’s office might not approve the Royals’ plan to make up Sunday’s rainout on an if-necessary basis Sept. 29, the day after the regular season ends. With the possibility that such a game could force the Royals into an American League Central tiebreaker Sept. 30 and thus delay the start of the playoffs, officials were considering two alternatives.

Since the Royals play in Anaheim this weekend, the game could be made up as part of a 4 p.m. doubleheader Saturday. The Angels also could fly to Kansas City today and play the game on their off day Thursday, giving the Royals a doubleheader on a day they already are scheduled to play a makeup game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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Reliever Derrick Turnbow had a 5.73 earned-run average at triple-A Salt Lake, but the Angels recalled him for a look before next spring, when they must keep him on the major league roster or risk losing him on waivers. Turnbow, 25, clocked at 98 mph Tuesday, is scheduled to play winter ball in Puerto Rico.

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Minnesota utility player Denny Hocking, 33, a free agent this fall, is unsure whether the Twins are interested in bringing him back and extremely interested in signing with the Angels. Hocking lives in Orange, and his wife just took the couple’s 4-year-old twins back home for the start of preschool.