Scioscia Doesn’t Figure to Risk Playing Ace

It has been done before. A team has won a World Series without its ace. But you have to go back to 1941, when the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers without injured No. 1 pitcher Lefty Gomez, to find the last team to do it. And those Yankees were the only team in the 100-year history of the World Series to do it.

It appears the Angels, if they can beat the White Sox in the American League championship series, will try to be the second. An MRI test Wednesday revealed a strain, or a slight tear, in the back of right-hander Bartolo Colon’s shoulder, and it seems highly unlikely the Angel ace will pitch again in the playoffs.

The long-term prognosis for Colon, who went 21-8 with a 3.48 earned run average this season and is the leading AL Cy Young Award candidate, is good. He is not expected to need surgery that would jeopardize his 2006 season; the injury can be treated with therapy and rest.

But if the hard-throwing Colon, who has two years remaining on a four-year, $51-million contract, tries to pitch with the strain, he will risk a major shoulder blowout that could require surgery and sideline him for a year or more.

“He’s not going to go out there if there’s any risk at all to his long-term future,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “If he’s healthy and can pitch, we’ll consider it. If that’s not the case, we’re not going to do anything to put his health at risk.”

Colon, who has had lower-back stiffness since early September, had to leave Monday night’s division series-clinching victory over the Yankees in the second inning because of the shoulder injury, and the Angels left him off their ALCS roster.

The World Series starts on Oct. 22, and General Manager Bill Stoneman said any speculation on whether Colon would recover in time to pitch would be “premature.” Stoneman said the tear does not appear to be in the rotator-cuff area.

“It doesn’t seem that serious, but we don’t want to send a guy out with a strained muscle; we don’t want to put a guy in that position,” Stoneman said. “Any risk to Bart’s future is not one we’re willing to take.”

Even without Colon, who declined comment Wednesday, the Angels have a dominant right-hander in John Lackey, a poised rookie in Ervin Santana, who replaced Colon and beat the Yankees on Monday night, and two solid starters in Paul Byrd and Jarrod Washburn.

“Bart has been a vital player for us the last couple of years,” Stoneman said. “While I say that, this team has been as resilient as any in terms of stepping up to challenges. This opens the door for Santana, and he stepped up big time the other day. It’s a team game. It takes 25 guys.”

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Lost in the controversial ending of Wednesday night’s game was a brilliant effort by White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle, who went the distance on a five-hitter, striking out four and walking none, and a memorable evening by Angel third baseman Robb Quinlan, a part-time starter who played a superb all-around game.

Quinlan hit a solo home run off Buehrle in the fifth inning for the Angels’ only run and saved a run with a remarkable defensive play in the second.

Aaron Rowand had led off with a double into the right-field corner, where Vladimir Guerrero bobbled the ball before firing a throw that bounced past shortstop Orlando Cabrera and rolled about 30 feet behind the third-base bag.

Rowand steamed into third and was waved home by third-base coach Joey Cora, not the wisest choice with none out. Quinlan sprinted toward the outfield, slid as he scooped up the ball, scrambled to his feet and fired to catcher Jose Molina, who applied the tag on the head-first diving Rowand for the out.

Two other Angels helped bail the team out of jams.

Reliever Brendan Donnelly relieved starter Jarrod Washburn with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and struck out No. 3 batter Jermaine Dye on three pitches, the last one a nasty split-fingered fastball.

And left fielder Garret Anderson caught Juan Uribe’s liner in the seventh inning and fired a bullet to second base to double off Joe Crede.

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Before games, White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen spends nearly as much time with the opposing players as his own, a habit that would irritate baseball’s anti-fraternization types if Guillen weren’t so charming.

During introductions before Game 1 of the ALCS, Guillen gestured pointedly at Guerrero, just as he had at Boston Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez a week before.

Later, in the eighth inning, Guerrero was coming to the plate when Guillen went to remind starter Jose Contreras not to throw Guerrero anything good to hit. He threw a wad of gum at Guerrero on his way to the mound, which Guerrero nudged to the grass with his bat, and another piece at Guerrero on his way from the mound.

“Yeah,” Guillen said Wednesday, “I tried to hit him.”

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If, indeed, A.J. Pierzynski was caught stealing in the seventh inning of Game 1 because he thought he saw a hit-and-run sign -- and not because the Angels weren’t holding him at first base, daring him to run -- it wasn’t because of a new set of signs.

The White Sox used the same set of signs all season and did not alter them for the postseason.

“We’re not that smart,” Guillen said. “We have 165 games and we still missed one [Tuesday] night.”