Pete Rose/Associated Press file photo by Al Behrman

Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels is like any other manager in the big leagues in that he’ll sometimes dance around an issue for the good of his team. Scioscia on Monday afternoon did nothing of the kind when the subject of the newest information regarding Pete Rose was broached.

A report on ESPN.com detailed information in a notebook from 1989 that showed Rose allegedly bet on the Cincinnati Reds when he was their player-manager in 1986. When

Scioscia was asked if Rose belongs on the Hall of Fame ballot, he pulled no punches. Not one.

“Well, I think the one thing that’s different from a lot of the guys who, you know, I’ve heard the argument about PEDs and things that are kind of, I think, holding people now from being voted into the Hall of Fame,” Scioscia said prior to his team’s series-opener against the Houston Astros. “We’ve survived PEDs. This game will never survive gambling, will never.

“That rule is very clear. If there’s an illusion that anybody in this game is making bets on performance, whether it’s pro or con, baseball will just unravel. That’s why the penalties are very stiff and if all the allegations are true against Pete, that’s the price he has to pay.”

The same question was posed to Scioscia’s superstar centerfielder, Mike Trout, who didn’t want to touch it.

“I haven’t really even thought about it,” Trout said. “I don’t know all the details, so I can’t really answer that question.”

Albert Pujols watches his two-run home run in the sixth inning of Tuesday’s 4-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Angel Stadium/Photo Alex Gallardo, Associated Press

It’s highly doubtful Albert Pujols will get voted into the 2015 All-Star game by fans. As of Monday, he was well down the list at No. 5 among American League first basemen. He had 931,985 votes, far behind the Kansas City Royals’ Eric Hosmer, who had 5,777,363 votes. Of course, Royals fans are stuffing the ballot boxes in shameful fashion as Royals led at every infield position, designated hitter and two of the three outfield spots; the Angels’ Mike Trout right now would be the only non-Royals starter.

But even without Hosmer, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers had 5,301,216 votes at first base.

The good news is Pujols can still be selected as a reserve by managers and players, and Angels manager Mike Scioscia believes Pujols should be picked. Pujols on Tuesday hit his league-leading 19th home run. He has 36 RBIs and is batting .273, a whopping .370 this month.

“Whether he gets selected for the team or not, he’s one of the top players in baseball,” Scioscia said. “I don’t know how you leave him off the team. But we’ve seen that selection process be sketchy at best, and I think Albert would have fun going to the game, he belongs there.”