ANGELS NOTEBOOK: ORTIZ BACK, BUT ANGELS WILL TAKE IT SLOW.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

SEATTLE - Ramon Ortiz spent tens of thousands of dollars to keep his ailing father alive, paying out of his own pocket to ensure that Alfonso Urena would have the best medical care available in the Dominican Republic.

Ortiz's father died of emphysema last week at age 64 shortly after his son's most recent start.

Ortiz rejoined the Angels on Saturday after a weeklong absence, flying from the Dominican Republic to Miami, then Dallas and finally to Seattle. He landed at 9:45 p.m. Friday and was chagrined to discover the Angels had already lost to the Mariners.

He threw a side session Saturday and lobbied unsuccessfully to make his scheduled start today. Instead, Kevin Gregg will start and Ortiz will re- enter the rotation Monday against Oakland at Edison Field.

Ortiz wants to resume pitching quickly, because that's what his mother wants him to do. His parents were married 40 years.

``My father said, `How did my son pitch?' '' Ortiz said, recounting his father's final moments as relayed through his brother. ``Then, he took off his ring, handed it to my mother and said, `That's good.' And that was it. Forty years, my mother and him together.

``My mother said, `Go work. Do what you do. You gave everything to your father. Go work. You gave your father all the power.' ''

Ortiz said he threw two side sessions at a stadium in Cotui, his hometown, in hopes of making his start on time. But manager Mike Scioscia wanted to see him throw here before putting him back in the rotation. Ortiz, 15-11 with a 4.84 ERA, has had mixed results this season, and his father's deteriorating condition weighed heavily on him.

Now that burden is lifted, even if the emotional pain has yet to subside.

``It's not easy,'' Ortiz said. ``My father and me worked together for a long time. The only thing my father said to me was, `Pitch inside. Aim at the elbows.' Good father, man. I give everything to my father in my life. I say thank God to everything.''

--No Chone: For the first time in 24 games, Chone Figgins wasn't the Angels' leadoff hitter. He moved to the No. 2 spot so the Angels can further evaluate shortstop David Eckstein in that spot. Eckstein, who missed three weeks with nerve damage in his right leg, has hit .302 since the All-Star break.

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

ANGELS vs. SEATTLE

- Gabe Lacques