Collins’ Relievers Won’t Be Typecast

If Angel Manager Terry Collins had his way, there would be no setup men, middle relievers and long relievers--only relief pitchers.

“I’ve been in the bullpen before, and there is a thought process--if your job is to pitch the eighth inning and the eighth goes by, you’re no longer in the game, and that mental edge is gone,” said Collins, a former Pittsburgh Pirate bullpen coach.

“That’s especially true with middle relievers. They get past the sixth and seventh, and they think they’re done. So I don’t label them anymore.”

What Collins did not come out and say was that his bullpen philosophy provided a tactful means for him to confirm that Mike James, normally closer Troy Percival’s primary setup man, has temporarily lost his job--well, his usual role--to Rich DeLucia.

James had an awful spring, with a 9.82 earned-run average in 11 innings, while DeLucia, showing no effects of 1997 surgery to remove an aneurysm from his shoulder, had an 0.71 ERA in 12 2/3 spring innings.

“If the game is close, and Chuck [Finley] is done after seven, there’s a good chance DeLucia will pitch the eighth, because he’s been on a roll,” Collins said before Wednesday night’s season opener against the Yankees. “But James is feeling good. The ball has been coming out of his hand great this week.”

Collins stressed that simply because DeLucia may pitch the eighth inning Wednesday night or tonight, that does not mean the right-hander will be confined to a traditional setup role.

“The only guy with a defined role in our bullpen is Percival, who will pitch the ninth,” Collins said. “Otherwise, the situation will dictate what we do. Their job will be to get guys out, whether it’s the fifth, seventh or ninth innings.”

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Injured second baseman Randy Velarde, on the disabled list because of a sore elbow, hit off a pitching machine for the fourth consecutive day Wednesday and said he was “very encouraged” by his progress.

“We’re even talking about taking the next step--I’m optimistic I’ll be able to start throwing Sunday or Monday,” said Velarde, who sat out all of 1997 because of elbow reconstruction surgery. “The main thing is I don’t want to take a step backward. I could do a lot of damage if I came back too soon, and that’s not going to help the team.”

Velarde is targeting late April for a return, but catcher Todd Greene, on the disabled list because of a sore shoulder, did not want to peg a specific week for a return. “If I’m not ready, then it will look like a setback,” said Greene, who is expected to be out all of April. “So I don’t want to predict.”

Greene has begun taking soft toss and will continue his rehabilitation in Anaheim. “He said he’s been hitting bombs, off the tee, in the cage,” Collins said. “That guy is something.”

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Tim Salmon discovered a little problem with the out-of-town scoreboard, which also doubles as the top half of Edison Field’s new right-field wall. Just about every time a ball hits the board, a light bulb or two is shattered. “It’s one of the little quirks that has to be ironed out,” Salmon said. “There’s a wire mesh over the scoreboard, but it’s just not protecting it well enough.” . . . On the drive from Phoenix to Anaheim last week, Greene’s wife, Vanessa, pregnant with the couple’s second child, went into labor just outside Blythe. Greene took her to a hospital, where doctors gave Vanessa medication to stop her labor. It must have worked. Another week went by, and Vanessa still hasn’t had the baby. . . . Matt Walbeck was the Angels’ seventh opening day catcher in seven years. Dave Hollins became the first Angel third baseman to start in consecutive season openers since Gary Gaetti in 1991-92.

Today’s Game

ANGELS’ KEN HILL (9-12, 4.55) vs. YANKEES’ DAVID WELLS (16-10, 4.21)

TV--Fox Sports West.

Radio--KRLA (1110).

Edison Field, 7 p.m.

* Update--If you’re a Yankee fan, you have to be happy that Kentucky won the NCAA basketball championship Monday night. The last five times that Kentucky won the national title, the Yankees have gone on to win the World Series, in 1996, 1978, 1958, 1951 and 1949. Hill was the Angels’ best starting pitcher this spring, with a 2-2 record, 3.66 ERA and five walks in 32 innings, and the right-hander developed a good working relationship with catcher Phil Nevin, who will start in place of Matt Walbeck. It will be the sixth game the converted infielder has caught in his major league career. “He caught him all spring, and Ken had a great spring,” Collins said. “It will be good to get him under the gun a bit.”