BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : White ‘Was Happy’ Rader Was Fired

Devon White and Dave Parker aren’t rejoicing that the Angels are last in the AL West, but the two are less charitable toward their former bosses.

White, who hit .217 for the Angels last season but is hitting .286 for Toronto, said former Manager Doug Rader had an inaccurate impression of him that Rader never explained.

“Everything was fine between me and Doug Rader until the last month of the season, then he just turned on me,” said White, who was traded to Toronto with Willie Fraser for Luis Sojo and Junior Felix. “He thought I threw the towel in, and I told him that was (untrue) and people in the organization should know I’m not that kind of person.

“I was happy when Doug got fired. I’m not going to lie. When (Mike) Port (was fired as general manager), I was sad. He’d always been fair with me.”

White said the Blue Jays also have been fair to him, keeping him in the leadoff spot. “They took a lot of pressure off me coming in when they said, ‘Just play center field.’ It’s not like they said, ‘Devon, we need this, this and this,’ ” he said. “When I was traded, I was very happy. It’s a first-class organization. Everyone treats you well and takes care of you. The only down side is the taxes. Those (Canadian) taxes are bad.”

Parker was hitting .232 with 56 RBIs when he was waived Sept. 7. Signed by Toronto for the remainder of the season, he has hit .278 in seven games as the designated hitter against right-handed pitchers. Not playing for the Angels spurred him to ask for his release. He claimed not to be bitter, only regretful that he sat when he might have continued his pursuit of 3,000 hits.

“If they want to look at young talent and I’m not in your future plans, just come and tell me out of respect,” he said.

Although Angel officials have said they want to re-sign free agents Dick Schofield and Wally Joyner, they have said nothing about Dave Winfield’s future. The Angels can pick up his option at $3 million or buy him out for $450,000; a buyout is possible because of his salary, his age--he will be 40 on Oct. 3--and his second-half fade. Winfield was hitting .280 at the All-Star break with 18 home runs and 57 RBIs, but entered Monday’s game against Toronto at .258 with 23 homers and 78 RBIs.

Winfield’s agent, Jeff Klein, said Monday the Angels haven’t discussed their plans for Winfield since Buck Rodgers replaced Rader as manager and Whitey Herzog became the club’s senior vice president and director of player personnel. However, Klein said he has “no reason” to think they don’t want Winfield back.

...First baseman Wally Joyner missed his third consecutive game because of a sprained right ankle.