BASEBALL 1992 PREVIEW : Rodgers’ Managing Skills Put to the Test

He’s experienced at managing rookies and retreads, the hopefuls and castoffs who were his lot in Montreal.

Because few free agents choose to play for the Expos, disliking the heavy taxes and cultural differences in French-speaking Quebec, Buck Rodgers rarely had much talent, With players stamped undesirable kids who would flee when they were able, he coaxed an improbable number of victories from motley teams.

But rarely in his managerial career, in Montreal and in Milwaukee before that, has Rodgers faced the challenge he will encounter this season with the Angels.

From a team that ranked 13th in the American League last season in most offensive categories and finished last in the AL West with an 81-81 record, the Angels lost 49 home runs and 182 RBIs when they bought out Dave Winfield’s contract and lost Wally Joyner to free agency. Unable to lure free agents Bobby Bonilla or Danny Tartabull to Anaheim, they traded for 35-year-old Hubie Brooks and 33-year-old Von Hayes, who are coming back from injuries. In 1991, they produced 16 home runs--all by Brooks--and 71 RBIs.

Surrounding them, Rodgers has an assortment of youngsters with unexplored potential, role players and veterans with faded talents.

Rodgers, who balances straightforwardness with staunch optimism, recognizes the enormousness of his job.

“The difference with this club is we’re at the mercy of some veteran players who are coming off some poor years. In Montreal, we had young players, and I’m comfortable breaking in young players because I did it every year,” said Rodgers, who was 520-499 in seven-plus seasons with the Expos.

“We have Gary Gaetti, Dick Schofield and Lance Parrish coming off poor years, and you add Brooks, Alvin Davis and Hayes, and that’s a whole lineup.

“We feel some of them have all got some years left. Whether it’s one year, two years we don’t know.”

Most predictions place the Angels last in the AL West. Rodgers, who succeeded Doug Rader last Aug. 26, is undaunted, because he often confounded similar forecasts in Montreal. His 1987 Montreal team was picked by many to lose 100 games; it won 91, and Rodgers was the NL manager of the year.

“If we can hold our own for the first 50, 60 games and these guys execute, they’ll start to believe in themselves,” Rodgers said. “Nobody likes to be told he’s (incompetent).”

The Angels’ saving grace is their starting pitching. Left-handers Mark Langston, Jim Abbott and Chuck Finley together won 55 games last season, supported by AL save leader Bryan Harvey. Also in their favor is the lack of a dominant AL West rival.

“This is probably the best division in baseball,” Rodgers said. “Anybody in the division is capable of putting on a drive. Everybody’s got problems of one type or another, most of them pitching. Whoever solves their pitching problems and has pitching depth will win.”

The ’91 Angels won more games than any last-place team before them. But from July 3, when they led the division by .001, until Aug. 4, when they hit bottom, they were 8-19. When their home run hitters stopped hitting, they had neither the speed nor the offensive alternatives to produce runs.

Whitey Herzog didn’t like what he saw when he arrived on the scene Sept. 16 as the club’s new senior vice president for personnel. “They were a white collar, laid-back group of people with a few youngsters who wanted to show people they can play,” he said. “You’re not going to change people like Wally Joyner and David (Winfield), who’s an old pro. It just seems to me somewhere, you need a couple of pepper-pots.”

The pepper has been added in the form of outfielder Chad Curtis, who stole 46 bases at triple-A Edmonton last season, scrappy second baseman Bobby Rose and shortstop Gary DiSarcina. Rodgers has tried to spice up the entire offense by emphasizing aggressive baserunning and execution.

“Last year we had a team that should have been awesome, and it flopped. This year, you can look at it any way you want,” said third baseman Gary Gaetti, who hit. 246 with 18 homers and 66 RBIs in his first season of a four-year deal.

Said Brooks: “I don’t think Buck’s going to have to pull rabbits out of hats if we play as well as we can. With the pitching we have, we know we’re going to be in mostly every game.”

Anything the Angels accomplish will begin with their pitching.

Langston last season equaled his career high with 19 victories. Finley was 18-9 for the second successive season, and Abbott set career bests with 18 victories and a 2.89 earned-run average. Harvey set a club record and led the AL with 46 saves. Mark Eichhorn remained an ideal setup man, baffling hitters with his submarine delivery.

They’re a superb foundation, but the drop-off is dramatic. Joe Grahe, 2-7 with a 5.37 ERA in 10 starts last season, opens as the fourth starter. Don Robinson, he of the railroad-track scars across his shoulders and 34-year-old knees, will be the fifth. He was 5-9 with the Giants last season, and the Angels hope to get 20-25 decent starts from his creaky body.

Chuck Crim, acquired from Milwaukee in December, will share the setup work with Eichhorn. Left-hander Scott Bailes did a good job in the bullpen, where he will be joined by either Scott Lewis, who struggled as a starter last season, or Chris Beasley. Steve Frey, purchased from Montreal last week, is waiting if someone falters.

The catching situation is muddled. John Orton’s sore right shoulder shelved plans to make him the starter, but Parrish, who hit .216 in 1991 and endured his third consecutive 100-plus strikeout season, was slowed by a tender right shoulder. The Angels have tried to trade him, but his $2.25-million contract is an obstacle, and they’d have to pay it all if they released him. Orton is likely to open the season on the disabled list.

Their ailments sustained the hopes of Ron Tingley, a solid defensive catcher but weak hitter. Mike Fitzgerald, who played for Rodgers in Montreal, will be the third catcher and will fill in at first, third and in the outfield.

Rodgers’ decision to replace Schofield with DiSarcina and Luis Sojo with Rose leaves Gaetti the only returning infield starter. Gaetti’s production didn’t approach his prime last season, but he was outstanding defensively and maintained a high level of enthusiasm.

Lee Stevens, bothered by a chronically sore right wrist, hit .314 with Edmonton and .293 in 18 games with the Angels. But he hasn’t completely eliminated a loop in his swing that makes him prone to striking out, and his wrist is too tender for him to play daily. Rodgers plans to spell him with Davis two games a week. Davis, signed as a free agent, slumped to .221 and 12 homers with Seattle in 1991 after hitting .283 with 17 in 1990.

Rose, 25, is not a rookie but has played only 43 games with the Angels over three seasons. DiSarcina, 24, has played only 38. Rodgers realizes the risk of putting them in the crucial middle-infield positions, just as he takes a risk by playing Curtis in the outfield.

“I feel reasonably comfortable,” Rodgers said. “You go with young players, and they can jump right out and go (well), and some will go the other way. The only way to find out is to give them a free hand and see what they can do.”

Although Rodgers said he planned to use Schofield as a backup at short and second, it’s more likely Schofield will be traded as soon as someone offers Herzog a prospect or two. Sojo, who has played short and third, will be utility backup.

The outfield has a new starter in right in Hayes and new backups in Curtis and John Morris. Brooks might also play the outfield occasionally but will primarily be the designated hitter. He had a good spring but is not completely fit following surgery to repair a herniated disk. His neck is fine, but his hip is still sore after a piece of bone was taken for a graft.

Luis Polonia returns in left after hitting .296 in a career-high 150 games last season. He’s an excellent leadoff batter when patient--he doubled his walks from 25 in 1990 to 52--and was fourth in the AL with 48 steals. He has improved defensively but must concentrate and be more consistent.

A recurring calf injury and strained rib cage limited Junior Felix to 66 games last season. A strong spring enabled him to hold off Curtis’ challenge, but he can’t afford a letup. When he’s fit, Felix has shown speed and a good batting eye: he hit .325 in his last 23 games last season to finish at .283.

Hayes, according to Herzog, “is a young 33. He doesn’t have an ounce of fat on him.” Herzog acknowledged he expected to re-sign pitcher Kirk McCaskill when he traded pitcher Kyle Abbott and outfielder Ruben Amaro to the Phillies for Hayes, but he needed Hayes after losing Winfield. Hayes was the Angels’ top spring hitter, which he welcomed “to get my confidence back.” He’s in the final year of his contract, another incentive for him to have a good season--or a way for the Angels to minimize their losses if he flops.

Morris, who played for Herzog in St. Louis, will be a left-handed bat off the bench and a late-inning defensive replacement. Rodgers said he knew nothing about Curtis until spring training, when Curtis’ daring baserunning and respectable hitting (in the .270s) told him Curtis could be the offensive spark the Angels needed. He can play all three outfield positions.

“It says something for this organization that they’re starting to recognize the talent they have in their system,” Curtis said of his promotion and that of Rose and DiSarcina.

Rodgers will make sure his players work at maximizing their talents.

“You never look back and you never place blame,” Rodgers said. “You take the problem you have and you solve it. The coaching staff and I, we never look back. You waste time feeling sorry for yourself.”