Colon Is Knocked Off Roster

Bartolo Colon will undergo an MRI test today to determine the severity of the damage in his right shoulder, but the early returns on the Angel ace, who was pulled from Monday night’s division series Game 5 against the New York Yankees in the second inning, were not very encouraging.

Colon felt so much discomfort Monday night and Tuesday that the Angels left the right-hander off their American League championship series roster, replacing him with reliever Esteban Yan.

It seems doubtful Colon will pitch if the Angels advance to the World Series, and there’s a chance he’ll need some kind of surgery that could affect his 2006 season.

Asked before Tuesday’s game how he felt, Colon said, “No good.” Did he feel any better Tuesday than he did Monday night? “No.”

Colon has experienced lower-back stiffness since early September and may have hurt his shoulder by altering his mechanics to compensate for the injury.

“Bart is a horse, this guy doesn’t complain about anything, so when he says he’s hurt, it’s significant,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “We’re hoping it’s short-term. We’re not ruling out him pitching if we’re fortunate enough to move on. But we won’t jeopardize him for the long term.”

Rookie Ervin Santana, who gave up three runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings in relief of Colon to earn the clinching Game 5 win over the Yankees, will replace Colon in the rotation and start Game 4 Saturday.

“Any time you take a No. 1 starter, a probable Cy Young Award winner, out of the rotation, it can’t help but affect how you match up,” Scioscia said. “But we have enough pitching depth to reach our goal.”

The Angels didn’t exactly receive any sympathy cards from the White Sox.

“Obviously, when you’ve got Colon off your roster, you have the best pitcher who’s not going to perform,” White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen said. “That’s something you feel good about.”

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The Angels got one piece of good pitching news Tuesday: Jarrod Washburn, scratched from Sunday’s game against the Yankees because of strep throat and questionable for the championship series, has recovered quickly enough to start Game 2 tonight, eliminating the need to activate a rookie such as Joe Saunders.

Washburn, who went about two days without eating solid foods, appears to have lost between five and 10 pounds. “I haven’t weighed myself; I don’t want to,” he said. But Washburn “did get some good soup in me” Monday and has gotten a few good nights of sleep.

“I’m still a little tired and weak, but I’ll be ready to go,” Washburn said. “I’ll give them exactly what I do every time I’m out there, which is everything I’ve got for as long as I can.”

Washburn was essentially quarantined for the last two games of the division series, watching the games from private rooms away from the clubhouse.

“I can’t think of anything that would be worse torture for a baseball player to go through,” Washburn said. “I really didn’t feel like part of the team. I felt kind of like an outcast.”

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Contrary to several published reports, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have not formally asked to interview Angel bench coach Joe Maddon for their vacant managerial job. “I haven’t got a call from any club about anyone,” General Manager Bill Stoneman said Tuesday. But the Devil Rays have informed Maddon’s agent that they are interested and plan to interview Maddon when the Angels have completed postseason play, and Maddon said he’s interested in the job.

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Guillen already has nudged ahead of Scioscia in the Pregame News Conference Division.

Having once raised the possibility he would quit if the White Sox were to win the World Series, Guillen might have believed he’d have other things to do -- such as run the city.

Lobbed a question that put a potential White Sox championship in the context of what the Red Sox title did for Boston, Guillen said yes, there would be big changes in Chicago.

“Watch out, Mayor [Richard] Daley,” he said, laughing, “I might be the next mayor.

“Believe me, I’ve never seen so much enthusiasm and so many people around Chicago so excited about it. I don’t care if you’re a Cubs fan, a Bulls fan, a Bears fan. The name we wear on the chest says, ‘Chicago,’ not ‘South Side.’

“I want people to say, ‘Outstanding game,’ or, ‘Keep managing.’ ”

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The Angels’ 5-3 series-clinching victory over the Yankees on Fox recorded an 8.9 national rating with a 14 share of the audience.

The Monday night football game on ABC between the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers got a 10.2 national rating. The share was not available.

In Los Angeles, the Angel game got an 18.6 rating with a 30 share, the football game a 10.3/16.

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Times staff writer Larry Stewart contributed to this report.