Baseball ’90 PREVIEW : ANALYSIS : Royals and Angels Armed to Challenge Oakland’s Power

By signing free-agent reliever Mark Davis to a four-year, $13-million contract last winter, the Kansas City Royals issued a resounding call to arms.

Their AL West rivals scrambled to meet that challenge by strengthening their own pitching staffs, all part of a game of high stakes and even higher salaries.

Adding Davis, who won the 1989 National League Cy Young Award with the San Diego Padres, to a staff that already included 1989 AL winner Bret Saberhagen gave the Royals a unique set of reigning Cy Young honorees. The Angels met the Royals’ bet and raised it when they signed left-hander Mark Langston for $16 million over four years. The Oakland A’s gave Dave Stewart, the most valuable player in their World Series triumph, $7,850,000 over two years to keep him happy as he tries for a fourth consecutive 20-win season.

“We have to have quality pitching, each of us, to stay with Oakland and Kansas City,” Angel General Manager Mike Port said. “The division is going to be a dogfight.

“Pitching depth is usually in great demand because of the injury factor, and I think there’ll be a lot more emphasis this season from a standpoint of quality and depth. Those are the two things most people are after.”

Three of the five AL teams that recorded 90 or more victories last season were in the West, and that figures to be the case again.

“It looks like three and maybe five (AL West teams) are going to win 90 games,” said A’s Manager Tony LaRussa, who counts his own team, the Angels and Royals among the sure 90-game winners and believes Texas and Minnesota could join them. “I hate to get into comparisons, because if you don’t boost your club, it sounds like you’re not confident, and if you boost another club, it ends up on someone else’s bulletin board.”

Pitching also will be the story in the AL East, but the quality doesn’t come close to the level of the West. Forget superstars: finding starters who are merely capable could be the key for several teams that have good offensive punch, such as the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees, and the Baltimore Orioles will rely on highly touted rookie Ben McDonald to help prove that their long stay at the top of the division last season was no fluke.

The East has more than its share of superb relievers. Boston signed former Twin closer Jeff Reardon for $6.8 million over three years, and still has premier closer Lee Smith. Toronto’s Tom Henke (20 saves) and Jim Acker are among the tops at their trade, and the Brewers’ Dan Plesac led AL East relievers last season with 33 saves.

Still, the A’s loom as the best not only in the West, but in the entire league.

“I think on paper, we’re going to be better,” LaRussa said. “We’ve got guys here for the whole season who weren’t here for the whole season last year.”

His biggest problem could be keeping his team motivated for the whole season now that the A’s have the title to their credit.

“Look at the competition in the division and the league, and we know that we’d better be concentrating,” LaRussa said. “We can’t be comfortable with anything we’ve done. We can enjoy it, but we can’t be comfortable or take it for granted that everything will happen right for us this season. We have to just keep pushing each other along.”

Here’s how the division races shape up, in predicted order of finish:

THE WEST

* Oakland: Jose Canseco, who had 17 home runs and 57 RBIs in the 65 games he played after his wrist injuries healed, is healthy this season--and he gets to play with Rickey Henderson from the outset. The potential for offensive mayhem is staggering. Did someone mention a 50-50 season for Canseco? It’s not impossible after his 40-40 feat in 1988. And Henderson has the incentive of eclipsing Lou Brock’s career stolen base record (he needs 68). Mark McGwire hit only .231 last season, but he had 33 home runs and 95 RBIs.

The A’s top three starters-- Stewart, Mike Moore and Bob Welch--were a combined 57-28 last season. Scott Anderson, 11-9 with the Cubs last season, should be a solid No. 4 starter, and Todd Burns has promise as the fifth starter. Setup men Rick Honeycutt and Gene Nelson are among the best at their business, and closer Dennis Eckersley (4-0, 1.56 ERA, 33 saves) is nearly impeccable.

Losing Storm Davis could hurt a bit; losing Dave Parker to Milwaukee could dent morale more than it hurts the offense, even though Parker had 97 RBIs last season as the DH supreme. The A’s have a large enough margin to lose both players and scarcely feel the pain.

* Kansas City: The Angels’ best hope may be that Saberhagen, who was 23-6 with a league-leading 2.16 ERA last season, continues his pattern of having sub-.500 seasons after big seasons. Maturity probably has taken care of that, however. The starting staff of Saberhagen, Storm Davis (19-7 with Oakland), Mark Gubicza (15-11, 173 strikeouts) and Tom Gordon, who won 17 as a rookie last season, will take care of just about everything else. What they leave, Mark Davis (4-3, 1.85 ERA, 44 saves), Steve Farr and Jeff Montgomery (18 saves each) will finish off.

Offense? Bo Jackson drove in 105 runs and hit 32 home runs, but he also struck out a league-leading 172 times. Danny Tartabull wasn’t far behind at 132, which could make him expendable despite his 18 home runs and 62 RBIs. George Brett is nearing 37, but shows no signs of letting up. Expect Jackson to hit longer tape-measure shots and the Royals to close the gap on the A’s, but there will still be a gap at the end.

* Angels: Their pitching should keep them level with the A’s and Royals, but their hitting won’t lift them above their prolific rivals. “I don’t see much difference in the three teams,” Angel pitcher Bob McClure said. “The only difference I see is McGwire and Canseco are able to hit 40 or 50 home runs. That’s the only difference.”

That’s some difference.

Mark Langston adds depth and durability to the starting rotation, two traits evident last season when the starters led the AL with 32 complete games and tied the A’s for the lead with 20 shutouts. The seven pitchers who started last season led the AL with an average of 6.65 innings per start, helped to no small degree by a defense that had more assists (1,887) than any other in the league and the second-best fielding percentage, .985.

But the Angels ranked near the bottom of the AL in runs, RBIs, batting average and walks, and they’ve added no offensive punch since last season. Manager Doug Rader did an excellent job last season, when the team won 91 games, but even he can’t pull RBIs out of his Angel cap.

* Texas: Nolan Ryan’s pursuit of 300 victories (he needs 11) will be the big story, but second baseman Julio Franco (.316, 92 RBIs) and outfielder Ruben Sierra (.306, 119 RBIs) will earn headlines for their heavy hitting. They’ve got a few solid players in DH Harold Baines and first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, and one standout in reliever Jeff Russell, who had a 1.98 ERA and 38 saves last season.

Starting pitching is a question, though. Beyond the apparently ageless Ryan, who had 301 strikeouts last season at age 42, the only shot that’s semi-sure is Kevin Brown, who was 12-9 as a rookie last season.

* Minnesota: The offense is so strong that Greg Gagne, who hit .272 last season, could hit ninth. But the Twins are pitching-poor following the losses of Reardon and Frank Viola. Only Allan Anderson, 17-10 last season, can be counted on. Kevin Tapani, acquired from the Mets in the Viola deal, could be the No. 2 starter, and if they can get a stopper, they’ll make Rick Aguilera the third starter. Free agent signee John Candelaria could be a key, though it may not be wise to expect too much.

If hitters are ahead of pitchers following the lockout-shortened spring, the Twins could get a fast jump and hope to hold on. Gary Gaetti, Kent Hrbek and Kirby Puckett are a scary offensive trio, but the Twins may give up more runs than those three produce.

* Seattle: The three pitchers they got from Montreal for Langston last season were a combined 16-23, but they do have promise. So does Ken Griffey Jr., who could be a 30-30 man. But the infield, which committed 63 errors last season, was a nightmare. Practice and patience are the bywords here.

* Chicago: They’ll be better than last season’s 69-92, but not enough to go anywhere in this division. Bobby Thigpen earned 34 saves last season on a team that rarely had any leads to preserve, and catcher Carlton Fisk remains a natural wonder, still going strong at 42. Second baseman Scott Fletcher and shortstop Ozzie Guillen are solid, but they need Sammy Sosa and Dan Pasqua to energize the offense and produce runs.

THE EAST

* Boston: Reardon and Smith are similar players, and trading Smith could bring the Sox the starter they need. Roger Clemens, Mike Boddicker and John Dopson are a terrific top three, but the dropoff after them is precipitous. But with Wade Boggs--going after an eighth consecutive 200-hit season--Mike Greenwell, Ellis Burks and ageless Dwight Evans there to generate offense, the Sox can play with anyone.

* Milwaukee: Signing Parker away from Oakland for $2.8 million for two years and shelling out $9.6 million over three years to keep MVP Robin Yount showed that the Brewers are serious about winning this year. With that duo leading the offense, Plesac in the bullpen, Paul Molitor ($9.1 million over three years) at DH and Ted Higuera and Chris Bosio as starting pitchers, they could do it. Improvements are needed in last season’s AL-low team fielding average of .975 and in Gary Sheffield’s production, which was a modest .247 with 32 RBIs despite rich potential.

* Toronto: Excellent bullpen, promising infield, potential superstar in Fred McGriff, who hit 36 home runs last season. But the starting pitching thins out after Dave Stieb (17-8). Jimmy Key has to do better than 13-14 and John Cerutti better than 11-11. The Jays like Manager Cito Gaston, who took over for Jimy Williams early last season, but that won’t be enough.

* Baltimore: They’ll probably regress a bit after last season’s dramatic upswing, but they’re a future power. Their superb fielding (.986, best in the league) was an immense help to the pitchers, who were led by AL rookie of the year Gregg Olson (1.69 ERA, 27 saves) and 18-game winner Jeff Ballard. Third baseman Craig Worthington led all rookies with 70 RBIs, and catcher Mickey Tettleton chipped in with 65. They need more left-handed hitting and another starter besides Ballard and Bob Milacki (14-12 last season).

* New York: Lots of talent but too many ifs. If Dave Winfield returns to his old form after missing a year because of back surgery, and if Pascual Perez can find his way to the Stadium, and if Bucky Dent can create a decent starting rotation from an undistinguished group that includes Chuck Cary and Andy Hawkins, then the Yanks could be competitive. Don Mattingly, Steve Sax and Roberto Kelly will hit and run, but so will opponents off the Yanks’ pitching.

* Cleveland: Good pitching, no hitting. Right-hander Tom Candiotti and left-handers Bud Black and Greg Swindell are established, and the bullpen of Doug Jones, Jesse Orosco and Cecilio Guante is good. But the Indians ranked last in runs scored last season at 604 and traded away Joe Carter, who scored 84 of those, for prospects Sandy Alomar Jr. and Carlos Baerga. Cory Snyder slumped to .215 with 134 strikeouts, and he must rebound for the Indians to get anywhere.

* Detroit: The venerated double-play duo of Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell still form the heart of this team, which has nowhere to go but up after a league-worst 59-103 record last season. They’ve got little speed, but they do have some veteran pitching in Jack Morris and Frank Tanana, which could count for something. They’ll need more from free-agent signee Lloyd Moseby than the .221 he hit last season with Toronto. Former Oakland supersub Tony Phillips was signed to play third, but the closest the Tigers will come to a title is looking at Phillips’ 1989 World Series ring.