ANGELS NOTEBOOK: BELCHER ON HIS WAY BACK TO THE MOUND.

Byline: Gordon Verrell Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - Right-hander Tim Belcher, sidelined since July 3 with recurring problems with his surgically-repaired right flexor muscle, will make a rehab start today for Single-A Lake Elsinore and figures to make an immediate return to the big leagues.

``I'll take what I'm throwing now out there on the mound,'' Belcher said Saturday. ``It feels pretty good.''

Manager Mike Scioscia isn't quite as optimistic - ``More likely, he'll need one more (rehab start),'' said Scioscia. ``You can't rule anything out with Tim. He's worked very hard. And he's maintained his stuff more than at any time this season.''

Belcher, who will have a limit of 90 to 100 pitches today, has pitched a handful of simulated games and thrown in the bullpen since his latest setback. He's started just four games this season, going 2-2. But he's allowed 14 earned runs in 13 innings, a 9.69 earned-run average.

``My goal is to get back on the mound and pitch,'' said Belcher, 38, who has 144 wins in the big leagues in 12 seasons. ``I want to help this team win. We've got a chance to be playing in October, and I want to be a part of that.''

The Angels wouldn't mind either. Belcher has a 3-1 record in League Championship play and a 1-0 World Series record.

``Beyond that, I'm not worried,'' said Belcher, who's signed through this season and the Angels have an option for 2001. ``If I finish September strong, and I'm productive, that's enough for me. I'd rest a lot easier in the winter.''

--No closer, yet: Don't look for reliever Troy Percival to return to his closer role just yet.

Two reasons: One, he only returned to the active roster Saturday after 18 days on the disabled list because of tendinitis in his right elbow, and, two, Shigetoshi Hasegawa has done well in his absence (2-1, five saves, 0.51 ERA, 21 strikeouts his last 22 appearances).

``We'll work him in slowly,'' Scioscia said before Saturday night's game. ``We'll try to get him an inning that's not a save situation and go from there.

``(Percival's) anxious to pitch,'' Scioscia said. ``I don't think he's that concerned about whether or not he closes.''

--Candy Man: Former big leaguer Candy Maldonado, who's working tonight's game for ESPN's Spanish-language telecast, dropped by both clubhouses before the game.

Maldonado and Scioscia were teammates with the Dodgers in the '80s.

--Hair today . . .: Someone wondered if Scioscia had ``grayed'' much during the course of his first season as a big-league manager.

``I don't look at the color so much,'' he said, doffing his Angels cap and revealing an increasingly receding hairline, ``but I am counting the strands of hair I'm losing.''