Sele Not About to Concede Starting Role

Mike Scioscia won’t shy from the unorthodox; the Angel manager has occasionally employed a five-man infield in an effort to prevent the winning run from scoring when the score was tied in the bottom of the ninth inning.

But Scioscia does not consider himself the revolutionary type, so despite the plethora of pitching in Angel camp, he will not become the first major league manager to use a six-man rotation.

“There’s too many of us -- we can all do the math,” left-hander Jarrod Washburn said. “It’s up to the coaches. Hopefully we all stay healthy and pitch well this spring, and they’ll have a tough decision to make.”

Bartolo Colon, Kelvim Escobar and Washburn are considered locks for the rotation, which leaves Ramon Ortiz, John Lackey and Aaron Sele to compete for the final two spots.

The odd man out of the rotation mix could move to the bullpen, giving the Angels insurance in case of injury to a starter, and depending on the makeup of the bench, Scioscia could open the season with 12 pitchers. That would eliminate the need for a trade or the release of a veteran such as Sele, who makes $8.5 million but is coming off two injury-plagued seasons.

Because Sele was slow to recover from his post-2002 shoulder surgery, going 7-11 with a 5.77 earned-run average and throwing only 121 2/3 innings in 25 starts in 2003, he is the starter most often targeted for relegation to the bullpen or beyond.

“But that’s not fair,” Scioscia said. “The reality is, we’re going to go with the five starters who are throwing the ball the best. If there’s no trade, someone is going to be moved. That decision will be made down the road.”

Sele, 33, would not seem to be a prime bullpen candidate. In 293 big league games over 11 years, the right-hander has made only one relief appearance. Five days into camp, he wasn’t about to concede a rotation spot.

“The only people talking about [a starter going to the bullpen] are you guys,” Sele said of the media. “You win with pitching and defense, and you have to have arms. You never know what’s going to happen -- just look at the health [of Angel starting pitchers] last year and two years ago.”

Spring training in Arizona is rarely fun for curveball specialists such as Sele because their breaking balls don’t break as sharply in the thin, dry air. “My springs are usually horrible,” Sele acknowledged. But in Scioscia, Sele has a manager who is willing to grade him on a curve.

“Am I going to judge him on wins and losses or ERA? No,” Scioscia said. “I’m going to look at the break on his pitches, the command of his fastball. Arizona doesn’t always bring results -- it’s a hitter-tilted league here. You can project [regular-season] results by how he is throwing the ball.”

Sele is encouraged after three bullpen workouts, not so much by his pitches but by the strength and soundness of his shoulder.

“The first year after [major shoulder] surgery there’s a lot of ups and downs, and the doctors say the second year things are a lot better,” said Sele, who opened 2003 on the disabled list. “So far, it’s going just as they said it would. I’m back to having a normal spring this year, working on the basics, trying to repeat pitches.”

As for having to win a job in camp, Sele said, “I have nothing to prove except that I’m healthy. I’ve been doing this too long to worry about anything. I’m just going to go out and pitch.”

But unlike veterans who are a lock to make the rotation and treat spring starts as a chance to “get their work in,” Sele must do something to impress Scioscia.

“I think it serves every pitcher well to go out with the idea of having to win a job every spring, whether you just won the Cy Young Award or had a bad year,” Scioscia said. “The guys who keep achieving go out there with that mind-set.”

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Angel position players, including new outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, reported to camp Tuesday and underwent physicals, and the team will hold its first full-squad spring training workout today. Pitchers will begin throwing live batting practice to hitters today, and the Angels will open the exhibition schedule March 5 against San Diego.