BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Finley Untroubled by Trade Possibility

The Angels aren’t shopping pitcher Chuck Finley as vigorously as they were Chad Curtis, but they’ve told the left-hander if someone makes an offer they can’t refuse, they would consider trading one of the team’s most popular players.

All of which fazes Finley about as much as a junior varsity player in the batter’s box.

“None of that bothers me,” said Finley, who gave up six hits and five runs Friday in an 8-6 exhibition loss to the Colorado Rockies in Tucson. “I don’t pitch for scouts or other managers, I pitch for my team and myself.”

Finley, 32, who has played 8 1/2 seasons for the Angels--longer than anyone else on the roster--is entering the final season of a four-year, $18.5-million contract, and he understands the budget-conscious Angels’ dilemma.

If they can’t afford to re-sign Finley after 1995, why not trade him this season for some prospects?

But Finley, who will make $4.5 million this season, may counter with a pleasantly surprising proposal to Angel owners: He’s willing to stay in Anaheim for less money.

“I’m not one who thinks the grass is always greener on the other side,” said Finley, who has a career 99-86 record and 3.50 earned-run average. “If I like it here, why go somewhere else? My first choice is to stay.”

*

The comeback of Angel left-hander Ken Patterson, who underwent a complete reconstruction of his elbow ligament last May, was dealt a severe blow when he gave up three runs on four hits in only one inning of Friday’s game.

Patterson, a non-roster invitee to camp who spent the 1993 season with the Angels, was not as concerned with giving up a three-run homer to No. 9 hitter Pedro Castellano as he was with his lack of arm strength.

“I had a dead arm--I had nothing behind the ball,” Patterson said. “I may have been throwing 75 m.p.h. I had no velocity or snap on my slider. I reached back and there was nothing there.”

Patterson, who has played with eight organizations in 10 years, said his elbow feels fine, but he has not built up enough strength in his shoulder because of the layoff.

“I’ve always had crappy springs, that’s why I’ve been released so many times,” Patterson, 30, said. “But once I get going in the season, I usually feel better.”

*

The best Angel performances Friday came from players battling to make the roster. Left fielder Garret Anderson had three hits, two runs and two RBIs, center fielder Kevin Flora singled and tripled in two at-bats, and first baseman Carlos Martinez had two hits, including a home run in the second.

Relievers Mike James and Russ Springer each pitched two scoreless innings, and Bill Simas pitched one. Andres Galarraga keyed the Rockies’ 15-hit attack with a three-run homer off Finley in the third. The game drew 4,462 in Hi Corbett Field.

*

Outfielders Jim Edmonds and Anderson, infielders Damion Easley and Rod Correia and pitchers Jeff Schmidt, Shad Williams, Mark Ratekin and Simas have signed one-year contracts.

Easley’s package, with incentives, could be worth about $250,000 and Edmonds could make just under $200,000. The other six signed for the major league minimum $109,000.

*

Edmonds was scratched from Friday’s game because of a sore knee, which has been bothering him for a few days. Ken Edenfield, who was supposed to pitch Friday, remained in Tempe because of the flu. . . . Tony Phillips, acquired in Thursday’s trade for Curtis, was expected to arrive in Phoenix Friday, and Lachemann said he will start and lead off today against the San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale.