Rotation

It begins today when Bartolo Colon, the 2005 American League Cy Young Award winner, starts the Angels' season opener against the Mariners in Safeco Field. The ball will then be handed to John Lackey, a young but seasoned right-hander who is looking to build on his breakthrough 2005 season, and Lackey will pass it to Jeff Weaver, a veteran innings-eater and control specialist known for his ability to keep his team in games.

Freshmen arrived at Caltech last week with a question more pressing than the problems of game theory or physics: Where are they going to live? In a tradition known as rotation, freshmen spent their first week of classes living in randomly assigned rooms while they visited the eight dorms on the Pasadena campus for meals and conversation. They ranked their preferences, and in turn the upperclassman rated the freshmen to sort out housing assignments, which were being announced today.

The Angels added some much-needed rotation depth Friday, acquiring right-hander Tommy Hanson from the Atlanta Braves for reliever Jordan Walden, a trade General Manager Jerry Dipoto believes will "help both teams. " How much it helps the Angels will hinge on how well Hanson, 26, rebounds from a subpar 2012 in which his earned-run average (4.48) went up and the average velocity of his fastball (89.7 mph) went down for a third straight season. "I was more worried about staying healthy and felt a little tired down the stretch after the All-Star break," said Hanson, who was slowed by a rotator-cuff tear and a back injury in 2011.

If pitching is 90% of the game, then a number of teams went into the season's second half with a starting rotation that gives them an arm up on the competition. Others? Well, not so much. The team / The pitch No arms limitations here 1. Philadelphia A baseball-best 11 complete games, 13 shutouts and 2.93 earned-run average. 2. Seattle: Rotation has two All-Stars, AL-low 3.19 ERA and is averaging baseball-best 62/3 innings a start. 3. Atlanta: Jair Jurrjens (12-3, 1.87)

PHOENIX - Clayton Kershaw spoke about his contract situation with the Dodgers on Tuesday, but there wasn't much to reveal. Negotiations on a possible long-term deal haven't started, he said, adding that he doesn't intend to bargain once the regular season begins. "I don't think I'm going to let it go into the season," said Kershaw, who will be eligible for free agency after the 2014 season. Kershaw's long-term future was one of several uncertainties about the rotation that were discussed on the first day pitchers and catchers reported to the Dodgers' spring-training facility.

In less than four seasons as a big league pitching coach Mike Butcher has already made a name for himself, having helped the Angels win consecutive division crowns, a league strikeout title and guiding Francisco Rodriguez to a single-season saves record. But he has done his finest work through the first month of this season. The Angels, after all, started the year with three starters on the disabled list, then lost two more in the first 11 games.

NEW YORK - Manager Mike Scioscia and General Manager Jerry Dipoto said they were "very encouraged" by Dan Haren's full bullpen workout Thursday in Angel Stadium, a session the veteran right-hander, on the disabled list because of lower-back stiffness, will repeat Saturday with Class-A Inland Empire. Barring a setback, Haren, who has been bothered all season by the injury, could make a minor league rehabilitation start Tuesday and join the Angels rotation for a July 22 game against the Texas Rangers in Anaheim.

The Angels won't face stiff competition for Zack Greinke from the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and Chicago Cubs, big-market teams that traditionally drive up the bidding for marquee free agents but who aren't good fits for the right-hander this winter. But it will still take a Brink's-like haul to sign Greinke, who was 6-3 with a 3.53 earned-run average for the Angels after his July 27 trade from Milwaukee and who is crucial to the team's rotation rebuilding efforts.

CLEVELAND -- At the top of their rotation, the Angels have two All-Stars in Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson. After that, they have ... well, not much. And the situation is getting more dire with each passing game. On Wednesday, just hours after Dan Haren and his balky back moved a big step closer to joining Jerome Williams on the disabled list, Ervin Santana became the latest member of the rotation to self-destruct, giving up eight runs in 1 1/3 innings of a 12-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians.

Ervin Santana declared himself fit to return to the rotation after giving up three hits, striking out seven and walking none Sunday night in a 3 1/3 -inning rehabilitation start in an Arizona Summer League game. "It felt very, very good," said Santana, sidelined since June 12 because of an inflamed triceps. "There's no discomfort. I feel I'm ready to go." Of the 45 pitches Santana threw against an Oakland Athletics rookie league team, 33 were strikes. His fastball was clocked from 91 to 93 mph.