Candiotti Old Enough to Know Better

TEMPE, Ariz. — Tom Candiotti remembers running wind sprints next to Don Sutton in his first major league spring training camp in 1983, when Candiotti was 25 and Sutton 38.

“I watched him run,” Candiotti said, “and thought, ‘God, look how old that guy is. I can run circles around him. He should quit.’ ”

Seventeen years later, Candiotti has a different perspective on aging ballplayers.

“Now I think, ‘How could I have said all those things about him?’ ” Candiotti said. “What’s that old saying? What goes around comes around.”

These days, it’s Candiotti who has been around the block so many times he’s older than his manager, Mike Scioscia.

Not only that, the 42-year-old knuckleballer was a Dodger batterymate of Scioscia, the former catcher.

The prospect of Candiotti’s being reunited with Scioscia this spring seemed farfetched last year, because retirement looked probable for Candiotti, who underwent knee surgery in August and spent several months on crutches.

But by late October, Candiotti felt his rehabilitation was going well enough to try to return.

The knuckleball-friendly Angels--they had Dennis Springer in 1996 and ‘97, Steve Sparks in 1998 and ‘99--were the first team he called, and he found a land of opportunity.

With no ace and a wide-open race for rotation spots, Candiotti signed for a $250,000 base salary and has a decent chance of making the team.

“One of the things that motivated me to rehab was, I didn’t want my career to end on a sour note,” said Candiotti, who has a 99-100 record.

“I wanted to fight it, to see how far I could push myself.

“If it works out, tremendous. If not, it will be sad, but by the same token, I’ve played a long time and had a good career.”

Candiotti will have at least one fellow starter rooting for him--38-year-old Tim Belcher, another former Dodger.

“He’s got to make the team, so I don’t get all the old-guy jokes,” Belcher said.

*

Talks between the Angels and Yankees about a Jim Edmonds-for-Ramiro Mendoza deal are ongoing, but the Rockies, A’s, Brewers and Cardinals are also pursuing Mendoza.

There has also been speculation about a possible three-way deal that would send Edmonds to the Yankees, Mendoza to the Rockies and Colorado prospects--possibly pitcher Jose Jimenez and outfielder Edgard Clemente--to the Angels, but sources with the Rockies and Yankees downplayed that possibility.

*

Here’s a new one--an Angel trade rumor that doesn’t involve Edmonds.

The Seattle Mariners, rebuffed in their attempts to trade for Al Martin and Edmonds, have inquired about Angel outfielder Garret Anderson and might be willing to part with one of their starting pitchers--Brett Tomko, John Halama or Ken Cloude.

*

Darin Erstad, who has an inflamed left shoulder, participated in some drills Thursday but won’t begin throwing until next week.