It’s a Tough Choice, but Someone Must Make It : Angels: Rader has to decide who will be Schofield’s replacement at shortstop. It looks as if Anderson has the edge.

MESA, Ariz. —  Choosing between Kent Anderson and Mark McLemore to replace the injured Dick Schofield at shortstop is a tough call, one that Angel Manager Doug Rader is considering carefully. And he’s not about to narrow the field just yet.

“Those are our two options,” Rader said. “The third is Mother Teresa.”

Her good deeds may make her eligible for sainthood, but what kind of range does she have?

“Not too good laterally ,” Rader said, “but vertically, she’s outstanding.”

In that field of three, Anderson may have an edge because, as Rader has pointed out, Anderson was the Angels’ shortstop during much of the time they spent atop the American League West last season. Anderson helped himself Friday when he went three for four with a run batted in in a 15-7 rout of the Chicago Cubs at HoHoKam Park.

To Rader, it’s more than sheer coincidence that Anderson started at shortstop when the Angels were in first.

“There were so many variables, it’s impossible to determine why. The only thing we need to concern ourselves with is fact,” Rader said. “You think of a lot of things--whether we were getting enough hitting, was the pitching staff doing well. But the bottom line is that we were in first place when he played there.”

Anderson downplayed his part in the Angels’ early success.

“I had an opportunity to do well, and as a fill-in type of player, winning is the key,” said Anderson, who also played three games at second base, three at third base, one in right field and one as the designated hitter. “It’s just too bad we couldn’t stay in first. We had a pretty good year all year long, but we had some unfortunate injuries.”

He would gladly play second if asked, but Anderson acknowledged that shortstop is his preference. He might get time at both positions, one of the many interchangeable pieces Rader has in the infield puzzle.

“I’ve always played mainly short and I’m more comfortable there,” said the 26-year-old native of Florence, S.C. “I like playing anywhere. Wherever they tell me to play, I’ll go. . . . Any time you have players who can fill different spots, the better it is for the team. The more variety, the better off you’ll be in the long run. A 162-game season is long.”

Anderson has always been solid defensively, a trait that Rader, a five-time Gold Glove winner at third base, weighs heavily. “He’s an average, steady major league shortstop, which should be appreciated,” Rader said. “It takes talent to do that.”

Anderson knows his chances would be better if he can refine his offensive talent. He hit .229 in 86 games last season, and his professional best was .279 at Class-A Palm Springs in 1986.

“I think I need to pick it up at the plate, and if I’m playing until Schoey gets (sound), I think the year’s experience I had will help me,” he said. “As far as team offense (goes), I think we’ve got some good pitching, and good pitching will stop good hitting. We’ve got to go out and try to win a lot of 1-0 games.”

Mark Langston was effective Friday in his second start, pitching four solid innings and earning his first victory. He gave up five hits and two runs, both on Rick Wrona’s third-inning home run to left field.

“I was able to concentrate a little more on throwing strikes today,” said Langston, who gave up one run in two innings in his previous start last Monday. “I threw 44 pitches today, which was the same I threw in two innings the other day. I wanted to throw strikes and get ahead of guys. Then I just let the unbelievable defense (do it).”

The Angels pounded Cub starter Rick Sutcliffe for eight hits and eight runs in 1 1/3 innings and had 19 hits overall. Their only home run was Ron Tingley’s three-run shot in the seventh, which sailed 350 feet down the line in left.

Angel Notes

In Friday’s other split-squad game, Mike Witt pitched 3 2/3 innings--and singled in the third inning--and Lee Stevens had a three-run home run as the Angels defeated the San Francisco Giants, 10-4, at Scottsdale. The two victories gave the Angels a 4-2 record.

Having seen all his starters in at least one outing, Manager Doug Rader said the lockout may have affected Jim Abbott more adversely than any other starter. He said Bert Blyleven had the most arm strength and noticed that Mark Langston made a dramatic improvement in that area from his last start to Friday’s. . . . “(Today) down in Tucson is a very important game for Jim,” Rader said. “The gains Langston made in four days, hopefully Jim will, too. Of all our pitchers, (Abbott) is the one who’s suffering the most. His arm strength isn’t good right now. He needs to locate the ball much better against left-handed hitters and develop an off-speed pitch, whether that’s a slower curveball or a changeup.”

Langston said he never thinks about his $16-million contract when he’s on the field, but fans haven’t forgotten it. He took some ribbing about his new wealth in Yuma, during the Angels’ four-game series against the San Diego Padres. “There weren’t many people there,” he said, “and I heard one person, when I went to pick the ball up and it fell out of my glove, say, ‘That’s a $3-million error.’ I heard it when I wasn’t making this kind of money, but I was just a bum then, and now I’m a $3-million bum.”

Abbott, Rich Monteleone, Cliff Young and Jeff Richardson are scheduled to pitch today against the Cleveland Indians in Tucson. In the other split-squad game, Kirk McCaskill, Greg Minton, Bob McClure and Bryan Harvey will pitch against the Oakland Athletics in Phoenix. . . . The Angels set a team record for season tickets, 18,517. They sold 18,513 in 1987.