ANGELS NOTEBOOK: SCHOENEWEIS ENJOYS NOT BEING PENNED UP.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

CHICAGO - A group of fans called out to Scott Schoeneweis as he slipped into the Chicago White Sox dugout Saturday afternoon. Schoeneweis politely declined their autograph requests but exchanged pleasantries before sitting down for an interview.

It's always nice to be wanted.

After three inconsistent years in the Angels rotation, Schoeneweis was demoted to the bullpen in June 2002, where he stayed for 13 months before the Angels traded him here last July 29. The White Sox promised he'd get a chance to start this season, and he's taken advantage, using a recently developed cut fastball to post a 4-2 record with a 3.77 ERA.

Today, he makes his first start against the team that decided he wasn't a starter anymore, against John Lackey, who supplanted Schoeneweis in the rotation and went on to World Series glory.

Schoeneweis has never badmouthed the Angels, saying his beef wasn't with being in the bullpen but rather his lack of work last summer. But when he appeared in relief for Chicago last August in Anaheim, he was roundly booed. And taken aback.

``I'd been there a long time and heard people get booed, but I didn't hear the fury of the boos until they were booing me,'' he said. ``I definitely didn't ask to be traded. I was surprised by the fans' reaction. I felt they had something personal. This is baseball. Guys get traded all the time.

``You can't let that stuff bother you. The guys I know over there agreed with me.''

As the Angels' union representative, he was the public face of the club during the 2002 labor standoff, and after fans showered the field with trash the day before the union's strike deadline, Schoeneweis said ``when 4-year-olds get frustrated, they throw stuff.''

But the time in Anaheim set the stage for his current success. He was just 23-27 as a starter, but while in the bullpen, he learned how to attack hitters rather than fiddle around trying to set them up, only to set himself up for more trouble.

With a second year of salary arbitration looming, the Angels traded Schoeneweis, and it worked out for both parties. The Angels let major leaguer Gary Glover go but netted left-handed starter Tim Bittner, who is 5-1 at Double-A Arkansas and 10-1 since joining the organization.

And Schoeneweis is in the role he always figured he was suited to fill. On Saturday, he chatted for about 20 minutes with good friend Jarrod Washburn and fraternized with Darin Erstad and Adam Kennedy. Today, he will try to beat them.

``It's something I wanted to be in the back of my mind when I got put down in the 'pen,'' he said of returning to a the rotation. ``I felt I still had some starting in me. I could get the most out of the game, the game could get the most out of me, by starting.''

--In the mix: Manager Mike Scioscia figures Raul Mondesi's right-handed bat will be available against Schoeneweis today. Mondesi officially signed a $1.75 million contract Saturday, and the club designated utilityman Adam Riggs for assignment.

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- Gabe Lacques