Relief in Short Supply for Weary Halos

SAN FRANCISCO -- Angels general manager Tony Reagins said the answers for the Angels' uncharacteristic bullpen struggles are "in-house."

Unfortunately for the Angels, one of those answers, maybe the only one, just went on the disabled list.

Kelvim Escobar, who represents the Angels' best hope to settle their tattered bullpen, went on the disabled list on Monday with a recurrence of the shoulder problem that cost him the first two months of the season.

The Angels' company line is that Escobar had only a mild setback, similar to one he had in April, and he'll be ready to go in a week. Since he hasn't pitched since June 6, he's eligible to come off the DL next Monday. When he does, he'll try to get the Angels bullpen righted.

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"In a perfect world, we'd like to use him in the eighth," manager Mike Scioscia said before the start of a series against the Giants. "I want him to be an any-inning guy from now 'till the end of the season. He's got a power arm that's going to be really important for our bullpen. ... We desperately need that kind of arm in the 'pen."

One of the constants for the Angels during their run of success under Scioscia has been a strong bullpen. The Angels led the league in bullpen ERA in 2002, '03 and '04. They have been in the top five in the league, with an ERA under 4.00, in six of the past seven years.

This year, though, the Angels' 'pen has a league-worst 5.84 ERA. They lead the league with 11 blown saves. They have lost six games when leading after seven innings, equaling their total from all of 2008. In 2003, they lost only three games all season when leading after seven.

These are clearly not the Angels of the Troy Percival-Francisco Rodriguez era. The knee-jerk reaction is that the Angels have suffered from the loss of Rodriguez, who signed a free-agent deal with the Mets after setting a big league record with 62 saves.

But the Angels' problems have not been in the ninth. New closer Brian Fuentes has 16 saves in 19 opportunities, an acceptable ratio. The troubles have mostly been in the seventh and eighth.

"If Rodriguez was here we'd be having problems getting to him," Scioscia said. "That's not really as much of an impact as guys like Scot [Shields] and [Jose] Arredondo."

Shields, one of the best setup men in the majors for the past seven years, started the year badly and then got worse as he tried to pitch through a knee problem. Shields went on the DL, and over the weekend the Angels announced that he was having season-ending surgery.

"He definitely impacts us because he's a guy we've counted on," Reagins said. "He's been so good over the years, not having him pitch to his level of expectation has been tough for us."

Shields' struggles created an opportunity for Arredondo, who was so good last year that he looked like a potential replacement for Rodriguez. Arredondo, though, got his mechanics out of whack and pitched his way back to the minors.

"He's been pretty good in one-inning stints but when we've asked him to go multiple innings, he hasn't had the success," Reagins said. "He's going down to the minor leagues to work on some things with his delivery that weren't quite as sharp. We've identified some things with his arm slot that will hopefully get him back."

The Shields injury and Arredondo's struggles have resulted opportunities for plenty of other relievers in various roles, and none of them have had much success.

"We've put guys in some unfamiliar roles and some guys haven't pitched particularly well," Reagins said. "We've got to get guys doing what they are capable of doing. If we do that, we'll be fine."

There has also been more pressure placed on the bullpen by a starting rotation that had had a revolving door as injuries have caused pitchers to shuffle in and out. Just Monday the Angels had to scratch Ervin Santana from Tuesday's scheduled start because of tightness in his forearm. (MRI results are pending.)

Reagins added that the solutions are "in-house," which most likely means Escobar. In 2004, Escobar came off the disabled list as a reliever in September and had a 1.89 ERA and .169 opponents batting average in nine games down the stretch.

"He's done it before," Reagins said. "We've just got to get healthy and back into that role we know he's capable of doing."