|
03/31/2004 4:36 PM ET
Sele doesn't make the cut
Right-hander in bullpen to start season
|
By Doug Miller / MLB.com |
 |
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Mike Scioscia called it the toughest decision he had made in his five years as Angels manager.
Aaron Sele probably had other ideas of what to call it.
But the bottom line Wednesday was that Scioscia set his five-man rotation for the beginning of the 2004 season and for the first time in his 11-year Major League career, Sele will break camp as a relief pitcher.
Aaron Sele
/ P
|
|
|
The spring-long battle for the fifth and final spot in the rotation went to Ramon Ortiz, who will be the fourth man in a staff that leads off with Bartolo Colon and is followed by Jarrod Washburn and Kelvim Escobar as the top three. John Lackey is the No. 5 man.
And Sele, whose first two years of a three-year, $24 million deal with the Angels were clouded by shoulder problems, will become the most highly paid long man in the big leagues, with $8.5 million coming to him this year.
|
Scot Shields
/ P
|
|
|
|
Scot Shields, the long man the last two seasons, will ease into more of a middle- to late-game role as the Angels wait for setup man Brendan Donnelly to return from complications from a severely broken nose.
Sele didn't go into details about his reaction to the news in the meeting with Scioscia early Wednesday morning, but he didn't hide his feelings, either.
"I'm obviously not happy about it," Sele said.
When asked if he felt there was as much of a competition as had been advertised at the beginning of camp, Sele said, "They told me there was. I don't know."
If the decisions were made on spring statistics alone, it wouldn't have been much of a competition.
Going into Wednesday, Sele had compiled a 1-0 record and a 3.21 earned-run average -- the second-best ERA of any Angels starter this spring. He gave up 14 hits in 14 innings and struck out eight batters while walking one.
"I'm on an upswing," Sele said. "Not a downswing."
|
Ramon Ortiz
/ P
|
|
|
|
Ortiz was 1-0 with a 7.23 ERA, having given up 28 hits through 18 2/3 innings, including 11 strikeouts and seven walks. Ortiz gave up four home runs. Sele didn't give up any.
But as Scioscia explained, Spring Training stats had very little to do with the eventual decision.
"It didn't really come down to one guy against another," Scioscia said. "It came down to who we thought the best five guys were for our rotation.
"We know how disappointed Aaron is and it's tough, but we know he's a professional. He wants to contribute to the club. Coming out of the chute it might not be as a starter, but he'll do it to the best of his ability."
The determining factor in the decision might have been the fact that Ortiz led the team with 16 wins last year and put up 15 victories the season before.
Sele pitched with an injured shoulder in 2002 and went 8-9 with a 4.89 ERA. Last year, he came back from surgery to repair his torn rotator cuff and went 7-11 with a 5.77 ERA.
"More than anything, we just felt that what Ramon has done the last couple of years as far as winning games is going to continue in the future," Angels pitching coach Bud Black said.
"Sometimes Spring Training (numbers) can be misleading to a certain extent if you really break it down."
What the Angels will have to break down now is how to use Sele.
Scioscia said he wasn't privy to any trade talks that general manager Bill Stoneman might be having. He seemed to be comfortable with the starting pitching depth guys like Sele, Shields and Kevin Gregg can provide.
"Aaron can start in the Major Leagues," Scioscia said. "We know that. I thought he threw the ball well this spring. ... Things sometimes change in this game. We want Aaron here. We've said that.
"We love Aaron. He's as professional as any player I've been around. We haven't told Bill to flat-out go trade Aaron, no. I think he understands that things can change in this game."
Sele wouldn't say if he wanted to be traded and claimed to be in acceptance of the situation. He even showed a sense of humor about it.
"I went out and competed," he said. "I'm not happy about the situation, but right now there's nothing I can do about the situation.
"I'll take my glove down to the pen and take it from there. I hope that I can contribute. I doubt it with the pen we have, but maybe I can carry extra food down there for the guys."
Doug Miller is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
|
print this page