Bootcheck Is Sent Down

TEMPE, Ariz. — Chris Bootcheck went 3-0 with an 0.71 earned-run average this spring, giving up one run and 11 hits in 12 2/3 innings, striking out 10 and walking one in eight relief appearances, and pitching coach Bud Black said the 27-year-old right-hander has “thrown as well as I’ve ever seen him.”

But after striking out two of the three batters he faced in Wednesday’s 8-4 exhibition victory over the Chicago Cubs, Bootcheck, a 2000 first-round pick who signed for $1.8 million, was reassigned to minor league camp. He will open the season at triple-A Salt Lake, where he has spent most of the last four seasons.

“I feel like I’ve done everything I can do,” said Bootcheck, who shuttled between Salt Lake and Anaheim three times in 2005. “I feel like I’m ready for the big leagues.”

Just not with the Angels, who have one of baseball’s best rotations and a deep, veteran bullpen.

“It’s a classic case of a guy who is deserving but is caught up in a situation where he has good pitchers in front of him,” Black said. “What makes our staff so good is we have guys like Chris behind them. It’s good for the organization but tough for him.”

It’s natural for a player such as Bootcheck, in his sixth professional season with only 57 days of big-league service time, to think he’d be better off somewhere else.

But Bootcheck has suppressed those thoughts, concentrating instead on adjusting to a relief role, improving the sinking action on his two-seam fastball, the depth of his slider and his overall command.

“Other teams have different needs, and things can happen quick,” Bootcheck said. “You have to be ready. There’s no reason to be bitter about anything. It’s tough not to be, but as long as you have a uniform on, someone is always watching you.”

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Bartolo Colon, showing a more robust fastball and excellent command, gave up three runs and eight hits, struck out four and walked none in six innings.

In his final tuneup before Monday’s season opener, Colon gave up five straight singles and three runs to open the game before retiring 17 of 21 batters. He threw 83 pitches.

The right-hander, who admitted being a little tentative in his return from a shoulder injury that knocked him out of the playoffs in October, cut loose on a few fastballs and hit 94 mph on the radar gun.

With Colon and Kelvim Escobar, who missed most of 2005 because of shoulder and elbow problems, looking strong, any fears about the health of the rotation seem to have been alleviated.

“If you would have told me in the first 10 days of camp that we’d be at the spot we’re at right now with our starters, I’d be a happy camper,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “They’re stretched out, they’re healthy, and we want to keep it that way.”

Colon’s opening-day start in Seattle will be the sixth of his career and third with the Angels. He is 4-1 with a 2.41 ERA and one shutout on opening day.

“It will never be routine,” Colon said through an interpreter. “It will always be a privilege to take the ball on opening day.”

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Dallas McPherson hit a two-run single and Brandon Wood hit a two-run, inside-the-park homer to highlight a four-run sixth inning. J.C. Romero gave up an unearned run in 1 1/3 innings, and Scot Shields threw a one-two-three ninth.