ANGELS NOTEBOOK: SCHOENEWEIS KEEPS PRIORITIES IN FOCUS.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - Scott Schoeneweis is in a groove, so please, please, don't disrupt him.

The left-handed pitcher doesn't want to know that he's tied for the American League lead in victories with four, or that he ranks eighth in the league in ERA (3.15), or that he's fourth in innings pitched (34 1/3 innings).

Opposing batters are hitting .222 against Schoeneweis this season, and he wants to keep it that way. And the only way he feels he can remains on this roll is to look straight ahead and don't get distracted. Don't change a thing.

``I want to stay focused and not get carried away,'' he said. ``I don't read the sports section. I read the money section and the front page.''

Schoeneweis' attitude is the same when he's on the mound - look straight ahead, focus, execute.

``This guy is really impressing me with his ability to stick with his game plan,'' manager Mike Scioscia said. ``He's not afraid to throw his fastball in, he uses both sides of the plate real well, he changes speeds and he uses his slider effectively. He has tunnel vision.''

Maybe Schoeneweis is afraid this is a dream, and he doesn't want to wake up.

``(The Angels) put a lot of faith in me,'' he said. ``They went out on the line for me. I'm glad I could return the favor.''

--Then again: On the other end of the spectrum is Ramon Ortiz.

Ortiz has better stuff than Schoeneweis but is more likely to lose focus on the mound.

``He's got to let his emotions be his ally,'' Scioscia said. ``When he does that, he'll take huge steps quickly. He's shown better stuff than the results (1-2, 5.06 ERA) would indicate. But he's not going to reach the level we all want him to reach until he can bottle those emotions.''

Tim Belcher is expected to join the rotation in less than two weeks, and someone will have to go to make room for him. If Ortiz is the odd man out, he'll be headed back to the minors, not to the bullpen.

``(The bullpen) is not an option,'' Scioscia said. ``He's been trained as a starter, and we don't want to mess with his shoulder (small cartilage tear).''

--Controlled arguing: So far, Scioscia has not been shy about leaving the dugout to argue with umpires. However, the discussions have been tame. Scioscia hasn't gone nose-to-nose with an ump yet, like his former manager Tommy Lasorda often did.

``There are going to be times when it's more heated than others, it depends on how bad the play was,'' Scioscia said. ``For the most part, you want to be rational. Certainly, you're going to have flare ups with umps, that's inevitable. But the nature of my position is to fight for the 25 guys. I can't worry about the feelings of an umpire.''

--Numbers game: Darin Erstad's 44 hits in April (going into Friday's game) are an American League record. The previous record of 43 hits was set in 1998 by Kansas City's Hal Morris. The major-league record for hits in April is 47, set in 1998 by Colorado's Dante Bichette.