This Winter, Angels Feel Left Out in Cold : Some Players Concerned, Disappointed by Club’s Austerity Program

A winter of discontent?

Some Angel players seem to think that Mike Port’s first as general manager has become just that.

Their understanding of the need for financial responsibility and farm system development yields to their greater concern for the team’s 1985 title hopes.

Those contacted by The Times attempted to be diplomatic but didn’t always succeed.

They talked about the failure to re-sign free agents Fred Lynn, Don Aase and Bruce Kison, and the failure to pursue free agents Rick Sutcliffe and Bruce Sutter. They talked about the ifs and hopes the club will take to its Mesa, Ariz., training base, where pitchers and catchers will begin spring drills Thursday.

“I’m gearing up to be as positive as I can, but we definitely have some ifs, some concerns,” catcher Bob Boone said.

“I’m definitely disappointed that we lost some quality people and I think that some of it was ridiculous. I mean, to lose Don Aase was a crime, but then that’s not my department.

“I can only worry about Bob Boone. Hopefully, by the end of spring training, I’ll feel we can win the weaker of the two divisions.”

Said Reggie Jackson:

“I don’t like what happened this winter but it’s not over and it doesn’t really mean a thing until we see the results of summer.

“The black and white says we’re an old, below-average club, but I’ve played 18 years in the big leagues and never played one game on paper.

“If Doug DeCinces hits 30 home runs. If Mike Witt wins 18 games. If one of the kids comes to fruition. Who knows?”

Said DeCinces, after long consideration:

“I go to spring training with the idea of getting myself ready. I can’t concern myself with the team.

“Sometimes you can put a lot of things on paper and it doesn’t mean that much. Things can also change in spring training. It’s just too early to think about what the team will look like.”

Boone and Jackson expanded.

“We have to hope that Donnie Moore and Doug Corbett and Luis Sanchez can cover up for what we lost in Aase and Kison,” Boone said.

“We have to hope that Mike Brown and Ruppert Jones and Juan Beniquez can cover up for what we lost in Fred Lynn.

“We lost known qualities and are now dealing in unknowns, which you don’t like to have going into a pennant race.

“Last year we were strong enough to win if we had stayed healthy. Give us Ken Forsch (who dislocated a shoulder in his second start of the season) and we’d have cakewalked in that division.

“I look for positive things from Forsch and Tommy John this year and I look for a young pitcher to blossom like Ron Romanick did.

“I share Gene Mauch’s expectations that Gary Pettis, Dick Schofield and myself will hit better, and that Rod Carew will play more simply because he’ll be healthier.

“The talent is there, but I have to be realistic. My concerns are with the depth and our ability to compensate for the people we lost.”

Said Jackson:

“I definitely believe Mike Port has a plan. I like his style. He’s conservative, organization oriented. If he makes a mistake it’s by being too cautious, not by being foolish. There’s a certain merit in that. He could work for me.

“He’s committed to the farm system and I won’t be surprised to see him move some more veterans around. I wouldn’t be surprised if they came to me and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a chance to place you with a contender, what do you think?’

“I don’t think they wanted to sign Freddie because $1.5 million is not the way they’re going now. I don’t think you’ll see them sign anyone for that anymore.

“I think they swung and missed at Aase and that was a mistake, an error on Mike’s part.

“I also hated to lose a guy with Kison’s character and personality in the clubhouse. I understand that he’s still a question physically, but he has the personality of a Don Baylor. He represents a lot of glue, a lot of cement.”

Jackson paused, then said:

“Sure, it doesn’t look good. No one’s going to pick us to win. If pitching isn’t our biggest question, age is. Our advantage is that we know that. We know we’re not what we once were, and I think we may be a closer unit because of it. We have enough guys like Jackson, Grich, Downing and DeCinces who can say, ‘Hey, we lost some guys and we’ve got to kick it up a notch.’ Don’t take away our No. 3 hitter in June and tell us to do it, but we’ve had all winter to think about this, to get ready.”

Said Geoff Zahn, 38:

“I think if they were going to move toward youth, this was the time to do it. The last few years we’ve had an overbalance of veterans. We did fine in ’82 (winning a division title), but there comes a time when you can’t keep going out and signing older players.

“They’ve been burned with guys getting hurt and they’re trying to eliminate the chances of that recurring. I’m sure that was their thinking (with Lynn, Aase and Kison).”

Asked if the youth movement might provide a spiritual lift, Zahn said: “No question. It’s a healthy situation for the whole organization. If you constantly let your young players sit, it stagnates the system. Now a kid in Double-A sees Lynn go and says, ‘Hey, I’ve got a chance.’

“I honestly don’t see it as a bad move. If you were to tell me that Lynn’s loss meant we’d give Mike Brown a chance and pick up Donnie Moore and Ruppert Jones, I’d say there was a good possibility it would work out well. I was more surprised about the club’s decision on Aase and even more surprised about Kison.”