Chuck Finley

Pitcher Chuck Finley, who pitched a shutout in the Angels' 6-0 victory over Baltimore Tuesday, has been selected The Times' Orange County Edition Player of the Week. Finley (5-2) pitched a three-hitter with six strikeouts and stopped a five-game losing streak. It was also the first complete game by an Angel pitcher this season. A check for $250 in Finley's name will be given to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Orange County.

No hits,no regrets Philadelphia's Cole Hamels and the Angels' Jered Weaver were born a year apart, Hamels in San Diego and Weaver in Northridge. Each made his major league debut in May 2006. The career numbers are strikingly similar. Hamels has pitched 1,194 innings, Weaver 1,176. Hamels is 77-55 with a 3.38 earned-run average, 297 walks and 1,127 strikeouts. Weaver is 86-47 with a 3.24 ERA, 315 walks and 1,022 strikeouts. Yet one number will be dramatically different, the number following the dollar sign.

The law of averages at last treated an Angel starting pitcher with mercy. That, and the always cooperative Baltimore Orioles. Not since May 9--14 games ago -- had an Angel starter recorded a victory. In accordance, the Angels slipped easily into the AL West cellar, far out of sight of the division--leading Oakland Athletics. Then came Chuck Finley and his performance of Friday evening against the hapless Orioles.

This is why some think the Angels can be as dangerous in the postseason as San Francisco was last fall, when the pitching-rich, hitting-poor Giants won their first World Series title since 1954. Dan Haren crafted a masterpiece Saturday night, throwing a four-hitter with seven strikeouts and no walks to lead the Angels to a 6-0 victory over the New York Yankees in Angel Stadium. His fastball rarely touching 90 mph, Haren used a nasty split-fingered fastball and sharp-breaking cut-fastball to retire 18 batters in a row from the second through eighth innings.

The Angels had grand designs for Chuck Finley when they sent him to Mayaguez of the Puerto Rican Winter League last off-season. The plan was to convert Finley, a 6-foot 6-inch hard-throwing relief pitcher into a starter by teaching him to throw out of a full windup. Visions of a left-handed Mike Witt danced through the Angels' heads. One month later, that vision, as Finley put it, "kind of faded out."

Every night, the world comes to West Monroe, La., courtesy Charles and Sue Finley's satellite dish, but in recent weeks, the featured programming has turned almost other-worldly. For the past four years, the Finleys have spent their prime time monitoring the progress of their son, Chuck, a young plugger on the pitching mounds of the American League. Rather uneventful through its first three seasons, The Finley Report is now keeping Charles and Sue up well past their bedtime and on the edge of their sofa.

He bought a new Mercedes to satisfy a dream, but Angel left-hander Chuck Finley insists he will never give up his old truck. And although he owes no one an explanation, he is quick to say--in tones more than faintly apologetic--that he acquired the shiny white Mercedes before he signed the $2.5-million contract that could buy him a fleet of cars. "I bought it because I can't find a car big enough to hold me," he said, stretching his 6-foot-6 frame to prove his point.

Throughout his career, Dave Winfield wore uniform number 31. Always. Through Little League, the University of Minnesota, National League, nine years in the American League. So, when the New York Yankees traded him to the Angels a few weeks ago, he naturally asked for 31. Winfield, baseball's active leader in runs batted in and a 12-time all-star, wanted it. Pitcher Chuck Finley, who has 11 fewer all-star selections to his credit, had it. Finley still has it.

There is nothing wrong with Chuck Finley's numbers or his health. But something seems a little off lately. While most Angels have been clicking over the last month, Finley hasn't quite been himself. The Angels won a team-record 22 games in June, but the staff ace for most of the past decade won only two. Since opening with a 6-2 record and a 2.22 earned-run average, Finley has failed to pitch into the eighth inning of his last five starts.

Chuck Finley squints through the rippling heat waves outside Tempe Diablo Stadium, the Arizona complex where the California Angels train in the spring, and sees the vision of a young player throwing pitches. He sees himself. "When I first came up to the big leagues, my mechanics were so bad I looked like two pigs rasslin' in the mud when I pitched," Finley says. "Everythin' goin' every which way. I'm tellin' you, man, I was all whacked out.

Bert Blyleven came to grips with his best pitch inside his Garden Grove home. It was a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house stretched to capacity by seven children and two parents who managed to put meat and potatoes on the table every evening despite their meager means. After dinner, young Bert often listened to Dodgers broadcasters Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett describe a pitch thrown by Sandy Koufax called "the drop. " "I visualized it and found a grip on the baseball that I could utilize the seams to get that tight spin," Blyleven recalled last week.

John Lackey celebrated the century mark today, with a victory party at the expense of his favorite opponents. The Angels' ace earned his 100th career victory, scattering five hits over eight innings in a 9-1 triumph over the Oakland Athletics. The Angels scored four runs in the fifth inning and five more in the eighth, highlighted by three-run home runs from Torii Hunter and Kendry Morales. Morales' home run was his 30th, making him the first Angel to hit 30 since Vladimir Guerrero in 2006.

Left-handed pitcher Chuck Finley and outfielder Brian Downing were inducted into the Angels' Hall of Fame in a ceremony Thursday night at Angel Stadium before the team's game with the Oakland Athletics. Both the game and ceremony had been postponed from April 9, when they were canceled after the death early that morning of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two friends in a traffic accident. Finley, who played for the Angels from 1986 to 1999, holds the club record for wins (165)

All-time franchise pitching victory leaders *-active with team: NATIONAL LEAGUE *--* Dodgers Don Sutton 233 Arizona Randy Johnson 103 Atlanta Warren Spahn 356 Chicago Charley Root 201 Cincinnati Eppa Rixey 179 Colorado Jason Jennings* 55 Florida Dontrelle Willis* 52 Houston Joe Niekro 144 Milwaukee Jim Slaton 117 New York Tom Seaver 198 Philadelphia Steve Carlton 241 Pittsburgh Wilbur Cooper 202 St.

As the Angels search for a starting pitcher with a track record of throwing lots of innings and avoiding injury, few meet those criteria better than Chuck Finley, who never has had a significant arm injury and has pitched at least 190 innings in all but one non-strike season since he became a full-time starter in 1988. Finley pitched 191 innings last year, split between the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals, with 174 strikeouts and a 4.14 earned-run average.

Free-agent pitcher Chuck Finley, who recently rejected an offer to rejoin the Angels as a reliever, said Wednesday he worked out for the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday and has received offers from several clubs. The Angel mainstay from 1986-99 said he would like to return to his former club, "but I've always been a starter and I want to remain a starter. "My whole thing has always been building up for four days and letting it go on the fifth.

Left-handed pitcher Chuck Finley and outfielder Brian Downing were inducted into the Angels' Hall of Fame in a ceremony Thursday night at Angel Stadium before the team's game with the Oakland Athletics. Both the game and ceremony had been postponed from April 9, when they were canceled after the death early that morning of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two friends in a traffic accident. Finley, who played for the Angels from 1986 to 1999, holds the club record for wins (165)

"They might get a triple-A guy for me now, or maybe a player and a pitching machine." Chuck Finley, Cleveland Indian pitcher, on his trade value.

Chuck Finley has rejected an offer to return to the Angels as a relief pitcher, and one of the most popular players in team history is expected to resume his career with another club as a starting pitcher. General Manager Bill Stoneman said Thursday he had spoken with Finley and explained that the Angels' starting rotation had no vacancies. "I asked him if he would pitch in the bullpen, and he said no," Stoneman said. "We've got a full rotation now. We've got more than a full rotation.

Actress Tawny Kitaen agreed Wednesday to a plea bargain on spousal abuse and battery charges alleging that she attacked her husband, Cleveland Indians pitcher Chuck Finley. Under the deal, Kitaen did not admit guilt but agreed to enter a spousal-battery counseling program. If she completes the program and meets other conditions of the deal, the charges eventually could be dropped.