With Appier, Less Is More in Discussing His Former Team

SURPRISE, Ariz. —  Some of Kansas City Royal pitcher Kevin Appier’s shortest answers provided the most insight into his feelings about being released by the Angels on July 30 with $15.67 million remaining on his contract, the largest severance check in major league history.

Does Appier still feel any ill will toward the Angels? “Yes.”

Did he plan on saying hello to Angel Manager Mike Scioscia before Thursday night’s exhibition game in Surprise Stadium? “No.”

Yes, it’s fair to say that Appier, who will be the highest-paid player on the Angel payroll ($11.7 million) this season despite pitching for the Royals, still has issues with the Angels.

Appier had been critical of Scioscia’s handling of the pitching staff and had disputed Scioscia’s oft-stated contention that inconsistent starting pitching was the primary reason for the Angels’ struggles last season. The right-hander believes those comments contributed to his release, a claim Scioscia denies.

“Scioscia did bring [those comments] up in the meeting when I got released,” Appier said, “so it was obviously on his mind.”

Appier also believed that his last act as an Angel -- practically refusing to give Scioscia the ball when the manager yanked him from a game in the first inning at Yankee Stadium on July 29 -- was a factor in his release, another claim Scioscia denies.

“Words were exchanged,” Appier said of that meeting on the mound. “He didn’t like it. He thought I was trying to show him up, which I wasn’t trying to do.”

Scioscia, who seemed a bit taken aback by Appier’s comments Thursday, said the decision to release Appier -- and swallow his enormous contract -- was based on performance.

The 36-year-old, who had surgery to repair an elbow tendon last fall and was expected to open this season on the disabled list, was 7-7 with a 5.63 earned run average with the Angels in 2003 and failed to survive the third inning in three of his last five starts.

He was not sound -- Appier pitched with elbow tendinitis for much of the season, and after signing with Kansas City and making four August starts, the injury was diagnosed as a tear -- and Scioscia believed reliever Scot Shields was a better rotation option.

“What it came down to was Kevin was not throwing the ball that well, and Shields looked lights out,” Scioscia said. “If you look at where Kevin’s elbow was and what happened to him afterward, obviously he wasn’t 100%.”

Scioscia said Appier’s critical comments in the media last season “had nothing to do with his release.” He didn’t fault Appier for wanting to pitch deeper into games, nor did he believe that Appier showed him up that day in Yankee Stadium, when Appier gave up four earned runs on five hits in two-thirds of an inning.

“Here’s the deal -- you’re not going to find a better competitor than Kevin Appier,” Scioscia said. “When push came to shove, he wanted to be out there to win or lose a game. In 2002, he was, but he struggled last year, and when you combine that with the strength of our bullpen, there were some decisions made that we thought would help us win games.”

On one point, Appier and Scioscia agreed: The Angels’ decision to cut Appier loose was warranted.

“As it turned out, they were correct,” Appier said. “I went down pretty quickly [after being released]. But it still stunk.”

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Tim Salmon hit a home run, a triple and a single; Troy Glaus hit a prodigious two-run home run, and Shane Halter hit an opposite-field home run to highlight the Angels’ 8-8 tie in 11 innings with the Royals on Thursday night. Pitcher Ramon Ortiz had another rocky start, giving up four runs on six hits in four innings. The right-hander, who is competing with Aaron Sele for the final rotation spot, has a 7.50 spring earned-run average. Asked how he would feel if he opened the season in the bullpen, Ortiz said, “Whatever Scioscia says, I go. He’s the manager. I wouldn’t have any problem with that.”