Escobar Says Injury Is Mending Fast

Kelvim Escobar said Sunday the soreness in his right elbow that landed him on the disabled list had significantly subsided and he hoped to return after missing only one or two starts.

“The good thing is, I haven’t thrown in three days and it already feels good,” said Escobar, who is eligible to return April 15. “The soreness is going away quick.”

Escobar, who could begin throwing again in a few days, might miss only one start because the Angels will not need a fifth starter again until April 19.

Kevin Gregg, the reliever who is scheduled to take Escobar’s place in the rotation and start Saturday against the Kansas City Royals at Angel Stadium, will throw between 65 and 70 pitches today in an intrasquad game at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga.

Today’s outing should allow Gregg to throw as many as 90 pitches in his season debut, Manager Mike Scioscia said, meaning he could pitch five or six innings. Gregg made three spot starts for the Angels in 2003, going 2-0 with a 1.35 earned-run average.

Escobar said he didn’t know the cause of his injury, which he initially felt the morning after his most recent start, a six-inning outing Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants. The right-hander, whose spring debut had been delayed by shoulder tightness, had a 4.41 ERA in 16 1/3 innings in four exhibition appearances.

Escobar underwent surgery to remove bone chips from his pitching elbow in 1996 but said he had never experienced sensations similar to his current injury.

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General Manager Bill Stoneman clarified the Lou Merloni situation, saying the reserve infielder could respond to a minor league demotion by either accepting the assignment or becoming a free agent. He could not solicit offers from other major league teams while still employed by the Angels, Stoneman said.

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The Angels have asked the New York-based officials who control major league websites to restore the “Anaheim Angels” name on pages that list career statistics, spokesman Tim Mead said.

The team played as the Anaheim Angels from 1997-2004, but player statistics from those years now identify the team as the Los Angeles Angels. Although the team now bills itself as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the team was warned in a January court hearing that dropping the “of Anaheim” in any context could subject the Angels to legal sanctions.

The city of Anaheim is contesting the name change in court, and city attorney Andy Guilford cited the website listings in a hearing last week.

“Not only have they done away with the ‘of Anaheim,’ ” Guilford said, “they’ve also claimed credit for the entire history of the Anaheim Angels.”

The team-issued media guide does use the Anaheim name in references to the last seven seasons.

Also, the Angels have dismissed Marty Sewell, the publicist whose e-mail asking opponents to refer to the team as “LA” instead of “ANA” has been cited by the city as key evidence to counter the Angels’ claim that it cannot control whether media outlets drop the “of Anaheim” suffix.

Mead said the dismissal was unrelated to the lawsuit and that his position was eliminated.