He’s well-armed for this argument

Bill Stoneman didn’t exactly lash out at critics who have howled for two years about his inability to acquire a big bat, but the Angels general manager seemed to have a few words of caution for those clamoring to trade one or two front-line pitchers and possibly a top prospect for an established power hitter:

Be careful what you wish for.

The Angels had all the power a team could want back in 2000, a lineup featuring four players (Troy Glaus, Mo Vaughn, Garret Anderson and Tim Salmon) who hit 34 or more home runs and one (Darin Erstad) who hit 25 homers, and all that muscle could muster was an 82-80 record and third-place finish in the American League West.

The reason? Pitching, of course.

The 2000 rotation included the aging and ailing Tim Belcher and Ken Hill, one-year wonder Kent Bottenfield -- whose best season (18-7) came the year before he reached Anaheim -- reliever-to-be Scott Schoeneweis, soft-serving right-handers Brian Cooper and Seth Etherton and youngsters Jarrod Washburn and Ramon Ortiz.

The Angels slugged a franchise-record 236 home runs that season, but a 5.00 team earned-run average was the reason they finished 9 1/2 games behind Oakland and Seattle.

Seven years later the Angels have a rotation that features three of the game’s top young right-handers in John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Jered Weaver, the talented Kelvim Escobar, 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon -- who is recovering from a rotator-cuff tear -- and a top-tier relief corps led by Francisco Rodriguez, Scot Shields and Justin Speier.

With all that pitching talent reporting to spring training today and joining catchers for the team’s first workout Thursday, you can see why the Angels aren’t about to quibble about the absence of a booming bat.

“We had that one season when four guys hit 30 or more home runs, and we didn’t have a very good year,” Stoneman said. “It takes 25 guys and strong pitching to win -- that’s been proven over the years in this business.”

A solid defense doesn’t hurt. When the Angels’ top two targets in a thin power market, Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano, signed with the Cubs, the Angels fortified a weakness by signing center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., a standout defender, to a five-year, $50-million deal.

The rangy Matthews, who has a knack for turning potential extra-base hits into highlight-reel catches, improves the outfield and allows the Angels to move Chone Figgins, a natural infielder who struggled at times in center last season, to third base, a position he excelled at in 2005.

The return of first baseman Casey Kotchman, who missed most of 2006 because of mononucleosis, will boost the defense, and the return of Howie Kendrick to second, his natural position, should make the hard-hitting youngster who will replace defensive whiz Adam Kennedy more comfortable.

“Last year, our defense was as much of a culprit in our early-season struggles as the offense,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “With Matthews, Orlando Cabrera at shortstop and Kendrick, we have the range up the middle to support our pitching.”

The Angels also improved what was already a strength, signing Speier, the former Toronto setup man, to a four-year, $18-million deal, and veteran left-hander Darren Oliver, a long reliever, to a one-year, $1.75-million deal.

They replace declining Brendan Donnelly and left-hander J.C. Romero, who had a 6.70 ERA last season.

“Our bullpen,” owner Arte Moreno said, “is probably one of the best in baseball.”

If Colon bounces back from injury, the rotation also could be one of the best, perhaps a notch below Boston and Detroit, yet another reason the Angels kept their pitching intact.

They explored deals for Atlanta’s Andruw Jones and Adam LaRoche, Boston’s Manny Ramirez, Toronto’s Vernon Wells and Minnesota’s Torii Hunter but refused to part with the pitching -- most wanted a young starter, Shields, or both -- required to consummate those trades.

The one deal that wouldn’t have cost a front-line pitcher fell apart when Colorado first baseman Todd Helton refused to waive his no-trade clause to come to Anaheim.

“We planned to bring a big bat in,” Moreno said. “The question is, do you take two steps back in another area to make it look cosmetically better?”

The Angels settled for some medium-sized bats. They’ll be happy if Matthews comes close to matching a career year (.313, 19 homers, 79 runs batted in) he had for Texas and moved quickly to replace injured Juan Rivera, signing Shea Hillenbrand, who has averaged 18 homers and 82 RBIs for five seasons, to be their designated hitter.

Kendrick, who hit .285 with four homers, 21 doubles and 30 RBIs in 72 games last season, should be a considerable upgrade offensively over Kennedy, and catcher Mike Napoli showed power potential as a rookie despite his second-half slump.

Veteran left fielder Garret Anderson said he’s fully recovered from a foot injury that nagged him throughout 2006, and the Angels still have the prolific Vladimir Guerrero in right field.

They didn’t add that 40-homer threat to protect Guerrero, but in Anderson, Matthews, Hillenbrand, Napoli, Kendrick and Kotchman, they have six other players with the potential to hit 15 to 20 homers each, far more than they had the past two seasons.

Could a balance of power throughout the lineup compensate for the absence of one big bat?

“I think so,” Shields said. “Soriano would have been nice to get, but we’ve got a pretty good chunk of change. We might not hit as many home runs as some teams, but we’ll score just as many runs because we’ll run the bases hard. And with our pitching, we won’t have to put up 10 runs every night.”

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

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Angels at a glance

How the Angels look as they open spring training today in Tempe, Arizona:

*--* WHO’S NEW

*--*

* CF Gary Matthews Jr., DH/1B Shea Hillenbrand, P Justin Speier, P Darren Oliver, P Chris Resop, P Phil Seibel.

*--* WHO’S GONE

*--*

* 2B Adam Kennedy, 1B/CF Darin Erstad, DH Tim Salmon, P Brendan Donnelly, P Kevin Gregg, P J.C. Romero.

*--* BIGGEST QUESTION OF SPRING

*--*

* Will Bartolo Colon recover from his rotator-cuff tear? It’s doubtful the right-hander, limited to 10 mediocre starts last season, will regain his 2005 Cy Young Award form, when he went 21-8 with a 3.48 ERA and had a dominating fastball. But if Colon can pitch effectively with less velocity when he returns -- most likely in late April -- the Angels would have one of baseball’s best rotations, a group that includes John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, Ervin Santana and Jered Weaver. If Colon has another relapse, the Angels would lean heavily on young left-hander Joe Saunders, who had some success in 2006 but was erratic over the final six weeks of the season.

*--* JOB SEEKERS

*--*

* Kendry Morales crushed the ball in the Dominican Republic this winter and will challenge Casey Kotchman for the first base job. Catcher Jeff Mathis, demoted to triple A last May, could push incumbent Mike Napoli and reserve Jose Molina. The final bullpen spot will be a battle between Resop, a right-hander acquired from Florida, and Seibel, a left-hander acquired from Boston. Juan Rivera’s broken leg will open an extra outfield spot for either Reggie Willits or Tommy Murphy, but because they’re so similar -- small, speedy little-ball specialists -- it’s doubtful both will make the team. Morales and outfielders Nick Gorneault and Terry Evans will compete for reserve roles.

*--* KEEP YOUR EYE ON

*--*

* Kotchman and Matthews. Kotchman will need to regain his stroke to win back his first base job after sitting out all but 29 games last season because of mononucleosis; he got a good jump by playing two months of winter ball in Puerto Rico without missing a game. It will be interesting to see how Matthews responds to the pressure of the five-year, $50-million contract he signed in November, a deal that was criticized by many as extravagant, and if he can repeat a career year in which he, as a 32-year-old leadoff batter, hit .313 with 19 home runs, 79 runs batted in, 102 runs and a .371 on-base percentage.

*--* REASONS TO BE EXCITED

*--*

* Even without Colon, the Angels should have a very competitive rotation, but if Colon is sound, the starting staff could be excellent. The addition of setup man Speier and left-handed long man Oliver to a bullpen that already features closer Francisco Rodriguez, setup man Scot Shields and middle reliever Hector Carrasco could push the Angels relief corps from very good to elite. Howie Kendrick, who replaces Kennedy, gives the Angels more power potential at second base, and the addition of Matthews and the return of Kotchman should improve team defense.

*--* REASONS TO BE WORRIED

*--*

* The Angels were shut out again in their attempts to acquire a big bat to protect slugger Vladimir Guerrero, and the offense suffered another major blow when Rivera, the team’s second-best power hitter, broke his leg in a winter league game in Venezuela. Rivera probably won’t return until the All-Star break. The balance of power will have to be provided by veteran Garret Anderson, Matthews, Hillenbrand, Kotchman, Kendrick and Napoli, who hit .286 with 11 homers and 27 RBIs in the first half of 2006 but faded badly after the All-Star break, hitting .164 with five homers and 15 RBIs.

*--* PROJECTED LINEUP

*--*

Gary Matthews Jr....CF

Orlando Cabrera...SS

Vladimir Guerrero...RF

Garret Anderson...LF

Shea Hillenbrand...DH

Casey Kotchman...1B

Howie Kendrick...2B

Mike Napoli...C

Chone Figgins...3B

*--* PROJECTED ROTATION

*--*

John Lackey...RH

Kelvim Escobar...RH

Ervin Santana...RH

Jered Weaver...RH

Joe Saunders...LH

*--* PROJECTED BULLPEN

*--*

Francisco Rodriguez...RH

Scot Shields...RH

Justin Speier...RH

Hector Carrasco...RH

Darren Oliver...LH

Chris Resop...RH

*--* PROJECTED BENCH

*--*

Maicer Izturis...INF

Robb Quinlan...INF/OF

Jose Molina...C

Reggie Willits...OF

Nick Gorneault...OF

-- MIKE DIGIOVANNA