Call-Up a Surprise to Moseley

Forgive pitcher Dustin Moseley for his naivete, but the newest Angel was in uncharted territory and didn’t know protocol. Approached by a group of reporters before Sunday’s game, Moseley, who will make his major league debut tonight against Cleveland, seemed a little puzzled.

“Should I stand up?” Moseley asked. “Should I sit down?”

Confused on Sunday. Dazed on Saturday. That was the day Moseley came to the park in Sacramento expecting to pitch, only to be told by triple-A Salt Lake Manager Brian Harper he had been scratched.

“Then he told me why,” Moseley said. “I was like, ‘Are you serious?’ ”

Moseley knew Salt Lake left-hander Joe Saunders was heading to Anaheim to replace injured Kelvim Escobar on Tuesday night. He had no idea Jered Weaver had been diagnosed with a mild case of biceps tendinitis and would be unable to pitch tonight.

“At first, when I was called into the manager’s office, I thought I was being traded,” said Moseley, who is expected to make one or two starts for the Angels before returning to Salt Lake. “Then, when he told me I was going up, I was very excited. It’s awesome, a dream come true.”

Moseley, a 23-year-old right-hander from Texarkana, Ark., will try to keep those emotions in check tonight to be effective against the Indians.

“These guys have such a good thing going, I just want to contribute, do something to benefit the club,” said Moseley, who was acquired from Cincinnati for Ramon Ortiz in 2004. “I’m getting an opportunity. I want to make the most of it.”

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Darin Erstad will travel to New York to visit a renowned foot specialist before deciding whether to have surgery on his right ankle, and, if he chooses to undergo an operation, what kind of procedure to have.

Erstad, limited to 27 games this season because of an inflamed, arthritic ankle joint and two bone spurs in his foot, met Saturday night with Lewis Yocum, the Angels’ team physician, who referred him to William Hamilton, the orthopedist for the New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.

Surgery would sideline Erstad for the rest of this season but would probably increase his chances of being ready for 2007. The center fielder is in the final year of a four-year, $32-million contract and is not expected to be retained by the Angels.

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Bartolo Colon’s fastball topped out at 93 mph Sunday, but the right-hander, who missed two months because of an inflamed shoulder, was still effective, allowing three runs and seven hits in six innings, striking out six and walking two.

“I’ve come to understand that my fastball from the past isn’t there,” Colon said through an interpreter. “It makes you realize you have to use other pitches and find new ways to get guys out. But I keep working hard to try to find my fastball, trust me.”

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After going hitless in seven at-bats in three games for Salt Lake, first baseman Casey Kotchman, on the disabled list since May 9 because of a viral syndrome, was recalled from his rehabilitation assignment Sunday because of light-headedness and dizziness. He will be examined by a team physician today.... To make room for Moseley, the Angels optioned infielder Erick Aybar, who scored the winning run as a pinch-runner in the eighth inning Sunday, to Salt Lake.