Rodriguez Chooses to Save His Breath

On the rare occasions when he blew a save opportunity, Troy Percival would always wait in front of his locker for reporters to arrive in the Angel clubhouse and patiently answer every question, no matter how difficult the experience might have been.

After blowing his first save in four chances as the Angels’ new full-time closer, Francisco Rodriguez left the clubhouse Friday night without speaking to reporters. Then he declined to comment when approached Saturday before the Angels played the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium.

“I think every player takes it hard in their own way, but he’ll be fine,” pitching coach Bud Black said. “I’ve got no concerns about Frankie’s ability to bounce back.”

But what about his failure to address the media? Isn’t that part of moving ahead?

“I think Frankie lives up to his responsibilities” with the media, Black said. “From what I’ve seen over his three years here, he’s been great with the press.”

A bigger test for Rodriguez, who had pitched seven scoreless innings before giving up Scott Hatteberg’s two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning of the Angels’ 4-3 loss Friday, will come the next time he’s entrusted with a late lead. His fellow relievers said they could predict the outcome.

“The next time he gets out there, I don’t think there’s going to be any question whether he’s going to be on his game or not,” Scot Shields said. “His mental toughness is pretty good.”

Said Brendan Donnelly: “It’s business as usual. He’s not always been perfect. He’s had bad games before and come back fine. This is the first blown save of 2005, it won’t be the last, and he’ll probably have 60 more in his career. How many saves is he going to get, though?”

While Percival was the leader of the Angel bullpen before signing with Detroit in the off-season, it appears his successor has yet to fill that role.

“I don’t really know if there’s a leader that’s come out of the bullpen,” Shields said. “All of us are doing the same thing we’ve done in the past, and we’ve been successful in the past. We’re just going to keep our same mentality.”

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Bengie Molina, recovering from a strained right quadriceps, has resumed squatting and throwing and could return around May 3, the date he is eligible to come off the disabled list, Manager Mike Scioscia said....The Angels optioned pitcher Chris Bootcheck to triple-A Salt Lake to make room on the roster for pitcher Kelvim Escobar, who makes his season debut today.

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ANGELS TODAY

ANGELS’

KELVIM ESCOBAR

vs.

ATHLETICS’

JOE BLANTON

*--* THE MATCHUPS 2005 2004 VS OPP TEAMS/PITCHERS W-L ERA TEAM W-L IP ERA Oakland/Blanton (R) 0-1 2.04 1-2 -- -- -- ANGELS/Escobar (R) --- ---- --- 1-3 33.0 6.00

*--*

Angel Stadium, 5 PDT

TV --ESPN. Radio --710, 1020.

Update --The Angels are eager to see Escobar, their most reliable starter last year, make his season debut after being forced onto the disabled list because of a sprained elbow. Escobar threw 74 pitches in his final rehabilitation start for triple-A Salt Lake and could throw close to 100 pitches tonight if he is effective. Blanton has given up only one earned run in two of his three starts but fell victim to a lack of run support in his last outing, a 3-0 loss to the Texas Rangers.

-- Ben Bolch