ANAHEIM – Joe Torre’s mind was made up yesterday. Before Orlando Hernandez took the Edison Field mound to face the Angels, Torre knew which pitcher was headed for the bullpen this coming week when Roger Clemens jumps off the DL.

“It’s pretty much made up,” Torre said of the decision to send either Jeff Weaver or El Duque to the pen.

Because Weaver is the new face and has pitched ineffectively in four of his five starts and Hernandez has a proven track record down the stretch and in October, Weaver is the favorite to be shifted even though he is in the first year of a four-year, $22 million deal.

Torre did let on that when he announces the decision today it’s something he is willing to live with for the remainder of the season, barring injury.

Asked if El Duque’s performance against the Angels last night could factor into the equation, Torre answered: “You will get more information, sure, but probably not.”

Torre must be a tough poker opponent because he gave away nothing yesterday. Even when he compared Weaver to a young Don Drysdale you didn’t get the impression Hernandez was being shifted to the pen.

“Whoever winds up in the bullpen, it’s not going to be an easy decision,” Torre said. “You have to add a lot of things into it. The main ingredient probably is physically, who can do it. Then you work on the mental part. Physically you want to make sure you don’t hurt anybody.”

Working against Torre is that neither hurler has an extensive relief resume. Weaver has appeared in 116 big-league games and started 114. Last night was El Duque’s 112th start in 114 games.

“First of all you have to understand that a starter going to the bullpen isn’t going to be used day in and day out,” Torre said. “You are probably going to use him as a starter. If he pitches a couple of innings you are going to give him a day or two off. We will not warm him up like we warm up [Steve] Karsay, [Ramiro] Mendoza and [Mike] Stanton, who get up, down and up, down.”