SPRING TRAINING ’87 : ANGELS : Team Hopes It Can Wake Up From That Nightmarish Playoff Series

A new day has, indeed, risen for the Angels, an event that may have been impossible to comprehend for the bowed heads and drawn faces last seen in the Fenway Park visitors’ clubhouse four months ago.

Winter has come and gone, and another spring training camp has opened. Time to forget about the pitch that hit Rich Gedman. Time to forget about the pitch Dave Henderson hit. Time to forget about the World Series trip that was canceled by catastrophe in Game 5 and consecutive Boston massacres in Games 6 and 7 of the American League playoffs.

But will it be that easy? The Angels are a team seemingly forever linked to its past, a self-fulfilling prophecy in double-knits and cleats. Bad things happen to this franchise, and October 1986, with its incredible meltdown from a 3-1 playoff advantage, may have been the baddest yet.

During the off-season, however, the Angels have done their damnedest to cut the ball andchain from that dark episode. Attempting to purge themselves of the sins of October, the Angels have purged several Angels.

Gone is Reggie Jackson, once the legendary Mr. October but only 5 for 26 with 7 strikeouts in the last one.

Gone is Rick Burleson, the former Red Sox shortstop who should have known what was coming in Boston.

Gone is Bobby Grich, who announced his retirement after batting .208, committing 3 errors and making his most postseason noise by screaming at third base coach Moose Stubing for a botch-up on the basepaths.

Gone is Doug Corbett and his 5.40 earned-run average in the playoffs.

Gone is Terry Forster, who didn’t even pitch well enough to make the playoff roster.

And gone, most recently, is Bob Boone, the ancient catcher. This separation, though, did not comply with General Manager Mike Port’s master reorganization plan. Boone batted .455 against Boston and caught in 144 regular-season games. He won a Gold Glove.

The Angels wanted Boone back. The Angels need Boone back.

But Boone was a free agent after the 1986 season. And for want of $10,000-- the “token of appreciation” Boone sought on top of the $883,000 the Angels were offering--the catcher and the ballclub went their separate ways.

At least for the time being.

Because Boone did not come to terms with the Angels by the Jan. 8 deadline, he cannot re-sign with the team until May 1. And in this bear free-agent market, offers from other teams have not been pouring in for the 39-year-old catcher. The Angels have kept the door open . . . and their fingers crossed.

“I don’t have a clue about what might happen,” Angel Manager Gene Mauch said. “But I’m sure Bob Boone would be welcomed back.”

Mauch, who won the only two divisional titles of his 25-year managerial career with Boone as his catcher, was disturbed to see the relationship severed. Boone has long been a favorite of Mauch--the two are cut from the same strategy-counts, defense-first cloth--and Mauch was stunned when the contract talks fell apart last month.

“I was taken aback,” he said. “I thought for sure he would sign. But I didn’t know he had the attitude he did.”

Stubbornness, on Boone’s part or the Angels’ part or both, has left the catcher position open this spring. Barring a May return by Boone, Butch Wynegar, who was acquired in a December trade with the New York Yankees, figures to be the man behind the plate.

Or, at least, he’s the man on the spot in March. Last season, Wynegar batted .206 and did not play the final two months because of psychological problems.

A winter of attrition has turned the Angels’ camp into a spring of transition. Including catcher and designated hitter, the Angels expect to open April with five changes in the batting order.

The next six weeks will determine if rookie Devon White is ready take over in right field, if rookie Mark McLemore can hit enough to claim second base, if Jack Howell can make the switch from third base to left field, and if Brian Downing can make the switch to full-time designated hitter.

Also to be filled: that chasm known as the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation and at least two spots in the bullpen behind Donnie Moore, Gary Lucas and Chuck Finley.

Pitchers and catchers have already reported to the Angels’ training complex, beginning drills Saturday. The first full-squad workout is scheduled next Friday.

At that point, Mauch and the Angels will attempt to find answers. Position by position, here are the foremost questions of the spring:

Catcher--Can Wynegar, a disappointment with the Yankees and an apparent washout at 30, turn in a reasonable resemblance of Boone? Will an escape from New York be enough to revitalize his career? Can Wynegar gain the confidence of a pitching staff that leaned so heavily, and thrived so well, on the direction of Boone?

“What Boone does, he has no peer,” Mauch acknowledges. “By that, I mean controlling the strike zone and calling a ballgame. At that, he’s the best.

“But he didn’t invent it. He just refined it.”

Wynegar played the first five seasons of his career under Mauch at Minnesota. “I saw him take David Goltz all the way to a 20-win season,” Mauch said. “I saw him go through the learning process with an unproven Geoff Zahn. Butch Wynegar is a bright young man. If Boone’s not there, (catching) will be different, but it will still be first class. I feel comfortable with Wynegar.”

Mauch also claims to be comfortable with Wynegar’s medical history. Wynegar underwent psychiatric testing last year for depression that stemmed, doctors said, from the pressure of playing in New York. Mauch believes a change of scenery is what Wynegar needs.

“I’ve seen a few players who didn’t handle the Apple too good,” Mauch said.

First base--Will Wally ever be that wonderful again? Does Wally Joyner need to be introduced to the words sophomore jinx ?

“That’s a lot of nonsense,” Mauch said. “Sometimes, a (second-year) player will forget how hard he worked the spring before, and it doesn’t happen for him. Wally will just have to work hard again.”

Joyner hit 22 home runs as a rookie, although only 2 after the All-Star break. If Joyner doesn’t match those power numbers again, Mauch said: “I wouldn’t be surprised. But it wouldn’t bother me, either.”

At least, as long as Joyner approaches his other 1986 numbers--100 runs batted in and a .290 batting average.

Second base--Can McLemore show enough at the plate to warrant a job on the infield?

That’s the big concern with the 22-year-old player who has been heralded as the Angels’ second baseman of the future since 1984. He can run and he can field, but two out of three will only get McLemore another summer assignment in Edmonton.

“If he can hit .240,” Mauch said, “he’ll be a hell of an addition.”

If not, look for a platoon between Rob Wilfong and another rookie, Gus Polidor, whom Mauch would prefer to use as a utility infielder.

Third base--Can Doug DeCinces wrench another 95-RBI, 25-home run season out of his fickle 36-year-old back?

Mauch said he is counting on DeCinces and Downing to compensate for the expected power loss brought on by the departure of Jackson (18 home runs) and the diminished roles of Ruppert Jones (17) and George Hendrick (14)?

“I think the focus on those two guys will be ‘must do,’ ” Mauch said.

Shortstop--Will Dick Schofield take up where he left off in the playoffs (.300, a game-winning home run) and become the shortstop Mauch has long envisioned?

Schofield was the most improved Angel last season, batting .249 with 57 RBIs, 13 home runs and 23 stolen bases--all career highs. Mauch wants to see more. He has said Schofield is capable of hitting 25 home runs and stealing 30 bases a season.

Left field--Is this where Jack Howell finally gets his chance?

Howell, a minor-league marvel at third base, failed in both 1985 and 1986 to unseat DeCinces. Left field is open, and Mauch wants Howell in the everyday lineup, so this is one of the major experiments of the spring.

“I’ve got to believe Jack Howell is ready to hit,” Mauch said. At Edmonton, Howell has batted .373 and .359 the last two seasons. “Now, we have to see if he can handle left field.”

Center field--Can Gary Pettis cut down on his strikeouts and make enough contact to challenge Rickey Henderson as the American League’s premier base stealer? Despite striking out 125 times in 1985 and 132 in 1986, Pettis has stolen 106 bases the last two years.

Right field--Is the world ready for a Pettis clone named Devon White in right field for the Angels? Or, more to the point, is White ready for right field?

Last season, Jones and Hendrick combined for 31 home runs and 96 RBIs at this position, but White has too much speed and defensive ability to keep him down on the farm any longer. He was voted the Pacific Coast League’s top base stealer and best defensive outfielder in 1986.

“With White in right field, our defense will be so much better, without question,” Mauch said. “The power potential will not be there as it has in the past, but the most stimulating thing in baseball is speed. And with Pettis, White and McLemore, we’ll have a bunch of it.”

Designated hitter--Can Downing make the move from crash-and-burn left fielder to the sedentary role of DH without driving himself nuts through inactivity?

Downing comes packaged so tightly, wound up so intensely, that four at-bats a game seem hardly enough to keep him occupied. Maybe he’ll lift weights or bench press the whirlpool between innings.

Yet, listen to this from Mauch:

“I think he’d enjoy (DH) more than any player I’ve met.”

Why?

“He’s proud of his improvement on defense, but if he played there another 10 years, he’d never feel comfortable with it,” Mauch said. “He got to be good at it, but it was such hard work. It took its toll. He should be more productive in this role.”

Pitching--Has time healed the sore pitching arms of John Candelaria and Donnie Moore? Can Stewart Cliburn come back? Is there a fifth starter in the house?

The injuries of Candelaria and Moore dominated spring training news in 1986, and by season’s end, both pitchers were still working at less than capacity. Candelaria had to sit out several September starts because of discomfort in his elbow, and Moore had to receive cortisone injections in his shoulder and rib cage after Game 5 of the playoffs. Both insisted four months’ rest was the proper prescription.

Cliburn, also missing in action all season, will try to return to the Angel bullpen after splitting 1986 between the disabled list and Edmonton. In 1985, Cliburn was 9-3 with 6 saves and a 2.09 earned-run average.

The four-man rotation of Mike Witt, Kirk McCaskill, Don Sutton and Candelaria was the best in the AL last year. But Mauch runs a five-man rotation--and ran Jim Slaton, Ron Romanick, Vern Ruhle, Mike Cook and Ray Chadwick in and out of the rotation all summer with virtually no success.

This spring, Chadwick and Cook are back for second looks, but the leading contenders for the fifth berth are Urbano Lugo and rookie Willie Fraser. Lugo threw a no-hitter during winter ball, and Fraser was voted the Angels’ minor league co-player of the year after combining for a 13-3 record at Palm Springs and Edmonton.

Finally, there remains one lingering question: Can the Angels truly forget about October ‘86?

Past playoff failures have floored this franchise. After losing to Baltimore in 1979, the Angels went 65-95 and finished sixth in 1980. After losing to Milwaukee in 1982, the Angels went 70-92 and tied for fifth in 1983.

When confronting this question, Mauch prefers to consider another historical precedent.

“In 1962, the Dodgers lost the playoffs to the Giants, and people were highly critical of that team,” Mauch said. “They had a 4-2 lead in the final game with the Giants and couldn’t hold it. But then the Dodgers came back in ’63 and won it easily.

“I don’t think you can generalize. It comes down to the type of people you have.”

And what type of people does Mauch have? The next six weeks will begin to provide an indication.