Angels’ Trip Ends With Another Loss

All things must pass, even this interminable Angel trip through Kansas City, Arlington, Tex., Boston, New York and Hades. At last, it’s over--15 days, 15 games and 11 losses.

Shorter than a prison term but long enough to trash what had been, up until Aug. 21, a fine season.

How long was this trip, which ended Monday with a 2-1 Angel loss to the New York Yankees?

When it began, Chuck Finley was still in the Angel rotation.

When it began, four days in New York still seemed a great way to spend Labor Day weekend.

When it began, the Angels were still contenders in the American League West.

Leaving home tied for first place, the Angels return home in third, 4 1/2 games behind division leading Oakland and two games back of Kansas City with 25 games left.

“This trip was no picnic,” said Bill Schroeder, who caught Monday’s sweep-cinching defeat to the Yankees. “I don’t think anybody’s giving up. We’ve still got some games to play.

“But we’ve pinned ourselves into a corner. . . . We were in control of our destiny two weeks ago. We aren’t any more.”

Assessing the damage:

--At Kansas City: The Angels went 1-3. They lost the first three games, and Finley before Bert Blyleven temporarily resuscitated them with a 5-0 shutout victory.

--At Texas: The Angels went 2-1 . . . and needed a ninth-inning scratch single against a weary Nolan Ryan in 90-degree heat to squeeze out a 5-4 victory in the finale.

--At Boston: The Angels went 1-3. They were outscored, 21-9, in a doubleheader on Tuesday and overmatched by Roger Clemens on Thursday. Only Jim Abbott’s stunning Wednesday night shutout spared the Angels a four-game sweep.

--At New York: This time, the Angels weren’t spared. They went 0-4, swept by the sixth-place Yankees. Twice, they lost, 2-1. The winning pitchers in those games? Greg Cadaret and Clay Parker.

And who is Clay Parker?

Since the end of June, he had been New York’s nowhere man--winless since July 1, a span of 12 appearances. Shuttled between the Yankee rotation and bullpen, he was 0-3 with a 6.05 earned-run average in his last eight starts.

The only reason Parker was on the mound Monday was the torn middle fingernail on Chuck Cary’s pitching hand. Cary, New York’s scheduled starter, wound up a last-minute scratch and Parker (4-4) wound up stifling the Angels on six hits through 7 1/3 innings of floaters and fluffballs.

“You look at a guy like that,” Angel Manager Doug Rader said, “and you think you’re going to score some runs.”

Not the way the Angels are going. They scored a run on three singles in the first inning--and were silent for the next eight. In the third inning, they managed to put a runner on third base. After that, they nearly went down in order, with Parker and Yankee relievers Lee Guetterman and Dave Righetti retiring 21 of the Angels’ last 24 batters.

Consequently, two errors by Angel shortstop Kent Anderson and one swing of Don Mattingly’s bat would loom large Monday. Anderson botched two grounders in the third inning, leading to an unearned run, and Mattingly broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning with a solo home run, his 18th of the season.

That was enough to make a loser of Abbott (11-10), the only Angel pitcher to win a game on the East Coast phase of the trip.

“He pitched great,” Rader said, finally finding an occasion to trot out that superlative. “I’m very, very proud of him . . .

“He pitched well enough to win, but the way we’re swinging the bats, we don’t deserve to win that kind of game.”

Rader also absolved Anderson, who opened the third inning by booting Bob Geren’s ground ball, eventually letting him score from third when he misplayed a potential double-play grounder by Steve Sax.

“In defense of Andy, a lot of times when you make an error like that, it’s going to open the gates for a three- or four-run inning,” Rader said. “This one cost us one run. So don’t hang it on that kid. We’re just not scoring any runs.

“That fact of the matter is, the kid made a couple of errors. But to think he’s responsible for what happened today, I think, is unfair.”

As he spoke, Rader sat glumly behind his desk. He tried to ward off the questions he never wanted to hear with the sunniest words he could find.

“We’re in third place. We’re still within reach,” he said. “Obviously, it’s been a disappointing trip. We can’t be happy with a trip like this.

“At the same time, this is not going to knock our socks off. These players are resilient. They went through a tough period on a very tough trip. They’re human.”

But 4-11? When Rader looked ahead at this admittedly trying task, did he ever envision his team going 4-11?

“Do you look at the end of the month and think there’s not going to be any money in the bank?” Rader replied. “You think you’re going to go out on a road trip and be successful.

“These guys have been out there playing a long time. They’ve been competing at a high level for a long time. When they run into a dry spell, I don’t think it’s appropriate to get down on them.”

So now the Angels limp home, facing an uphill climb as steep as their ERA on this trip, with no games left against Oakland.

“Obviously, we’re going to see what kind of mental constitution we have now,” Schroeder said. “Are we going to come back, or are we going to give up?

“If I were a betting man--and I’m not--I’d think we’re going to play some pretty good baseball the rest of the way.

“We’ve got no choice.”

Angel Notes

Wally Joyner was back in the starting lineup Monday, having missed one game after his first base collision with Yankee pitcher Greg Cadaret Saturday--a remarkable recovery, considering first impressions. “Initially, I didn’t think he’d come back the rest of the year,” Angel Manager Doug Rader said. “But once they got him back to the clubhouse and examined him, I thought there was a chance he’d play this series. To Wally’s credit, he could’ve played (Sunday).” Joyner had two of the Angels’ six hits against New York starter Clay Parker, including a first-inning single that set up the Angels’ only run. Joyner’s hit advanced Max Venable from first base to third, from where Venable scored on a single by Chili Davis.

Until New York, the Angels had dealt reasonably well with the absence of regular shortstop Dick Schofield, out with a broken hand. But then came the last three games of this series. In Saturday’s 2-1 defeat, Kent Anderson failed to turn a double play and throw out Steve Sax on a run-scoring infield single. In Sunday’s 5-2 loss, Glenn Hoffman broke in the wrong direction on a grounder off the bat off Hal Morris, turning it into a single that triggered a five-run inning for the Yankees. And on Monday, there were Anderson’s two errors in the third inning.

“We miss Schofield a great deal,” Rader said. “But by the same token, we need to give Andy and Hoffy a great deal of credit for going out there and plugging along.” Anderson, however, was taking recent events a little harder. “I don’t know how many games we’ve got left,” Anderson said, “but we’ve definitely got to change what we’re doing now. At least me, any way.”

With Terry Clark 0-2 in two starts as Chuck Finley’s replacement, Dan Petry will take Finley’s next turn in the rotation, scheduled for Wednesday night against Milwaukee. Rader also considered rookie Mike Fetters and Willie Fraser, who hasn’t made a start since 1988, but opted this time for experience. “I think Petry’s got the best chance of doing the job,” Rader said. Petry is 1-1 with one no-decision in three starts this season.