Ortiz Off to Flying Start as He Eyes Rotation Spot

Ramon Ortiz threw a no-hitter in his first live batting practice session Friday. Or maybe it was a perfect game. All Angel Manager Mike Scioscia knew was that few hitters made solid contact against Ortiz’s blazing fastballs and snappy sliders, which resemble those thrown in June.

“I guess he’s 1-0,” Scioscia joked.

Scioscia would prefer that Ortiz shoot for a no-decision, as in, there will be no decision on whether he makes the rotation this early in spring training.

But Ortiz is young, he’s competing for a rotation spot, he wants to make an impression, and he feels so good it’s just difficult to contain himself.

“My fastball feels better this year,” said Ortiz, whose pitches have been clocked at 95 mph. “I worked hard in the Dominican Republic every day this winter, running and lifting weights, and I feel like I’m in the best shape of my career.”

If his fastball has a little more bite this spring, it could be because Ortiz has fewer teeth. The 24-year-old right-hander spent much of last spring in pain before undergoing thousands of dollars’ worth of dental work, including the removal of four teeth.

The Angels believe Ortiz’s dental problems were the reason he lost his first four starts at double-A Erie last season before winning nine consecutive decisions and earning promotions to triple-A Edmonton and eventually Anaheim, where he was 2-3 with a 6.52 earned-run average in nine starts.

Reflecting on his brief big league stint in 1999, Ortiz, long considered the Angels’ top prospect, admitted he lacked confidence, was somewhat tired and was “kind of in awe.” After a smashing debut, a 9-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 19, Ortiz pitched tentatively and made many mistakes.

But Ortiz did not throw much over the winter. In turn, he feels refreshed, he took classes to improve his English and makes a point of watching at least one movie a day in Arizona to brush up on the language.

“Now,” he said, “everything is better for me.”

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Outfielder Darin Erstad, who replaced Mo Vaughn at first base for about half of the 1999 season, will continue to take ground balls and participate in fielding drills there this spring, but he will not do any throwing from the position.

Moving from the outfield to the infield, which requires a different throwing motion, has caused some of the shoulder problems that Erstad has experienced in recent years, and Scioscia wants to reduce the stress on Erstad’s already inflamed shoulder this spring.

If Scioscia were to draw his lineup today, the first six batters would be Erstad, Jim Edmonds, Vaughn, Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson and Troy Glaus. Scioscia plans to keep Vaughn in the third spot, “because we think he’ll be our most productive hitter,” he said. Vaughn and Salmon often switched spots last season when opponents started a left-hander.