Cookie Bows to Umpire, Angels Bow to Yankees

That wasn’t The Wave those fans behind the New York Yankees dugout were performing during the final innings of the Angels’ 11-7 loss here Wednesday night. The New York baseball fan does have some style.

No, that was the dance step inspired by one of the more comical manager-umpire rhubarbs to ever play off-Broadway.

Throw your arms in the air.

Bow down and touch the ground.

Do it all again.

Do The Cookie.

To the misfortune of Angel Manager Cookie Rojas, Rojas never got the chance to get a look at the craze he created. The mocking homage he paid umpire Mike Reilly during a seventh-inning argument got Rojas ejected by not one, not two, but three umpires, synchronizing their thumbs impressively.

The argument began shortly after Angel catcher Darrell Miller misfired a pickoff throw up the third base line past Angel third baseman Jack Howell. Rafael Santana was the runner at third and Rickey Henderson was the runner on first, breaking toward second, when Miller unleashed his throw.

The ball bounded into foul territory and alongside the left-field box seats when a fan reached over and touched the ball. John Shulock, the third base umpire, immediately called fan interference. Home plate umpire Dale Ford waved home Santana, and Henderson.

Rojas did not concur.

“Usually with fan interference, the ball is dead as soon as it’s touched,” Rojas said, noting that Henderson was pulling into third when Shulock made his call. “How can you anticipate a guy scoring from first base on that play?”

Ford said: “I have to judge where the ball is, where the fielder is and where the runners is. Rickey Henderson is one of the quickest guys in the league. In my judgment, I think he would’ve scored easily.”

Rojas’ response?

“Very poor judgment.”

While Rojas was trying to get this point across, Reilly, the second base umpire, entered the debate. Gesturing broadly, Rojas waved his right arm out to the side and grazed Reilly on the shoulder.

According to Rojas, Reilly told him: “Hey, you hit me.”

And Rojas, feigning shock, told Reilly: “Oh, I’m sorry . “

Then, Rojas raised both arms above his head and bowed twice in front of Reilly, as if he were approaching the throne.

By the time Rojas completed his second bow, Shulock, Ford and Reilly were already winding up to throw Rojas out.

“He was trying to show us up,” Ford said.

Said Rojas to reporters, his voice still dripping with sarcasm: “If I touched him, I have to apologize.

“I wasn’t even talking to (Reilly). I was talking to Shulock. The play didn’t even concern Reilly. He came over and was standing off to the side. I didn’t even see him.”

Within minutes, a few dozen Yankee fans had picked up Rojas’ move, taunting the Angels by bowing and hooting in unison.

By the time Rojas left, a 7-7 seventh-inning tie had blown up in the Angels’ faces, the runs by Santana and Henderson giving the Yankees an 11-7 lead.

Even before the debate, the Angels encountered more trouble with the umpiring crew.

With one out and runners on first and second, Santana hit a grounder back at Angel relief pitcher Stewart Cliburn (4-2). The ball skidded between Cliburn’s legs and bounced toward second base.

But before shortstop Dick Schofield reached the ball, he collided with Reilly. No play, Santana was safe at first, the bases were loaded.

Then, Henderson drove in two runs with a bloop single.

Then came Miller’s pickoff attempt--and two more runs.

That’s how an inning, and another 13-hit offensive effort, unraveled for the Angels. The Angels trailed, 4-0, after the first inning, but came back to forge a 7-7 tie by the middle of the sixth inning.

Along the way, Jack Howell hit his 13th home run and Wally Joyner added his 10th. Joyner also drove in another run with a fifth-inning single, Thad Bosley had a sacrifice fly, Chili Davis a run-scoring double and Johnny Ray a two-run triple.

That gave the Angels a total of 22 runs in two games at Yankee Stadium.

And all they have got out of it is a split.

Angel Notes

It hasn’t been a great series for Angel backup catcher Darrell Miller. First, he replaced Bob Boone in Tuesday’s opener after a bruised thigh forced Boone out of the game in the third inning. At the time, Willie Fraser was working on a 4-0 shutout. In the next 4 innings, Miller called the pitches while Fraser served up five Yankee home runs. Then, Wednesday night, Miller settled in to catch Terry Clark--and Clark surrendered back-to-back home runs in the first inning to Dave Winfield and Mike Pagliarulo. Then, in the seventh inning, Miller throws away the pickoff attempt that leads to two more Yankee runs--and Manager Cookie Rojas’ ejection. Afterward, Miller refused with talk to reporters, ignoring one question and giving a terse “no comment” to another while hustling out the clubhouse door. . . . Clark lasted only 3 innings, allowing 7 runs on 10 hits. He fell behind, 4-0, after the first inning and trailed, 7-2, by the time he left the game in the fourth. In the fourth, Clark gave up a run-scoring double to Rickey Henderson, an RBI single to Winfield and walked Pagliarulo with the bases loaded.

Dick Schofield, on umpire Dale Ford’s decision to award Henderson home on fan’s interference in the seventh inning: “I don’t think he would’ve scored (without interference). By the time Thad (Bosley, Angel left fielder) got to the ball, Henderson was just reaching third base. But maybe he was stopping at third because he saw the fan grab the ball.” . . . Angel adviser Preston Gomez joined the club in New York after scouting Jim Abbott, the Angels’ No. 1 draft selection, last week in Richmond, Va. Abbott, currently pitching for the U.S. Olympic team, threw a complete game last Thursday against the Cuban national team and lost, 2-1. “He allowed only four hits, but two were home runs,” Gomez reported. “This was the third time he’s faced Cuba; the first was in the (1987) Pan Am Games. And the guys on the Cuban team say he’s throwing harder now.”