Angel Notes / Ross Newhan : Mauch Thinks Angels Can Handle Any Pitch Except Strike II

The Angels are 17-12 against the West, 16-16 against the East and a respectable 33-28 overall.

Manager Gene Mauch remains convinced that his team can play with anyone anywhere.

But what if there is no one to play?

The thought troubles Mauch.

“Because of the age on our club, we can less afford a strike,” he said.

“A prolonged spell would be injurious because it’s tougher for our guys to get in a groove.”

The likelihood of a player strike in response to stalled negotiations between the union and the owners over a new collective bargaining agreement seems to be increasing.

A boycott of the All-Star game July 16 and/or a strike beginning in mid-July are known to be among the options under consideration by the union.

Mauch has been this route before.

His first tenure as Angels’ manager began when he replaced Jim Fregosi May 28, 1981. The Angels were 22-25. They won 8 of 10 in early June and were 31-29, six games behind Oakland in the West when a 50-day strike began.

After the strike, the season was split in two, the A’s winning the first half.

The Angels never recovered in the second, going 20-30 and finishing 8 1/2 games behind Kansas City.

Mauch, who has encountered some significant disappointments in his career, said of ‘81: “That was as disappointed as I’ve ever been. We were on the move, we were right where we wanted to be (before the strike). We sure as hell stunk after it. We couldn’t find the groove again.”

Mauch said he cannot manage now on the basis that there may be another strike. He said he has to assume that all 162 games will be played, or that if there is a strike, there will be a better way of determining standings than splitting the season.

“That whole thing was farcical, but I haven’t been thinking about it, and I don’t want to get started,” he said.

The Angels remain last in the American League with a team batting average of .232. Eight of the most frequently used players are hitting .245 or less.

Mauch is still certain, however, that proven hitters will eventually reach anticipated levels, which raises a question.

Has Dick Schofield, hitting .188, reached his level?

Is this all there is for the touted shortstop who hit .192 last year?

No one has a definitive answer, least of all the 22-year-old Schofield, who said: “This isn’t a whole lot of fun. It’s easy to say, ‘Forget it,’ but I go home with nothing else to think about it and it clicks back in.”

Schofield has clicked only with his glove, which is a disappointment for the Angels, who thought he was on his way with the bat in March and April.

Working on a hit-to-all-fields approach, Schofield batted .277 during spring training, then carried it into the season. He was batting .254 on April 29, then went 0 for 6 in a game at Boston and has hit .149--17 for 114--since.

Schofield, whose words tend to be as scarce as his hits, admitted that he is confused.

“When you have to think about how you should do something, rather than just doing it, it generally doesn’t come out right,” he said. “I’ve been fighting it mentally. I really don’t know what to do.

“Do I hit it up the middle? Do I hit it to right field? When you go to the plate without a specific plan, you end up lost. And I’ve been lost for quite a while.”

The inability to develop a game plan is what plagued Schofield last year, his manager and coaches say. They also believe that the five home runs he hit in April erased the lessons of spring and redeveloped in Schofield a tendency to pull, to swing for home runs.

“I have a natural pull swing so that I have a tendency anyway to pull my (front) shoulder out,” Schofield said. “The result is that I hook a lot of balls foul or take balls I should be driving and pop them up.

“I keep thinking that a couple bloop hits will get me started, but I’ve been saying that for eight months and it hasn’t happened. I mean, I’m not about to give up, I never think the worst has happened, but it has. All I can do is keep going out there, keep trying.”

Said Mauch, agreeing with Schofield’s view that his problem is more mental than physical: “He’s known how to swing a bat since he was 9 years old, but his confidence level isn’t where it should be.

“It’s not easy to explain, but his approach is kind of iffy. Instead of going up there looking for a fastball and whaling away, he keeps thinking to himself, ‘Will it really be a fastball or will it be a curve?’ Therefore, he’s not putting a real good swing on anything.

“There’s a lot expected of him and it’s just going to take time. He’s been wrestling with the new approach. Something will trigger it.”

In the meantime, Schofield continues to play well in the field again, having led the league’s shortstops in fielding percentage last year.

“He’s a wonderful athlete, which is why I’m not overly concerned,” Mauch said. “I’m going to try and be as patient with him as I can.”

Said Schofield: “It’s a good feeling to know I can still help the club in some ways but there’s a lot of good fielders out there and a lot of good fielders who can hit.”

Opinion:

General Manager Mike Port replaced Buzzie Bavasi at a difficult juncture. The Angel farm system is developing at a faster rate than ever before, but the varsity still displays an aging nucleus tied to multiyear, no-trade contracts.

If Port is to trade, he must sacrifice the future. There is considerable interest in many of the club’s prospects, as was evidenced by the recent negotiations for Cleveland pitcher Bert Blyleven.

The Indians are believed to have wanted second baseman Mark McLemore and either of two pitchers, Kirk McCaskill or Urbano Lugo.

Blyleven is among the game’s best pitchers. He might have ensured a division title in Anaheim. Port could have taken the easy route, making himself look good--at least for the present. What about next year and beyond?

The Angels have operated on a patchwork basis for too long. Port’s decision to protect the future should be applauded, which is the response Port is getting from the architects of that future, scouting director Larry Himes and farm director Bill Bavasi. There is a new spirit in the Angel organization, and Port has kept it going.

There is also the possibility he may yet land Blyleven before the season ends, although Blyleven would have to clear waivers first. The Indians, it is suspected, remain determined to trade the Orange County resident before he becomes a 10 and 5 player--10 years in the majors, five with the same club--and has the right of approval over a trade. That will happen next year. The closer Cleveland gets, the less it may demand.