ANGEL PREVIEW : For Rodgers, It Begins, May End With Pitching

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

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

But rarely in his managerial career, not in Montreal and not in Milwaukee before that, has Rodgers faced the challenge he will 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. Together, the two 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 whose talents have faded.

Rodgers, who balances straightforwardness with staunch optimism, recognizes the enormity 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 had a 520-499 record in seven-plus seasons with the Expos.

“We have position players here coming off poor years, but in Montreal we never had position players coming off poor years. 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 . . . got some years left. Whether it’s one year, two years we don’t know. Alvin Davis is 31, Hubie Brooks is 35, but you can’t go by sheer age. . . . I don’t know how good we can be. I don’t know yet. I know there’s a lot of good character on this club. I’m banking that will carry over into the season, and we’ll be a pretty good ballclub.”

Most predictions place the Angels last in the AL West. Rodgers, who succeeded Doug Rader last Aug. 26, says he often confounded similar forecasts in Montreal.

Of the 1987 season, he said: “We were picked to lose 91 and some people picked us to lose over 100. I knew if we could stay close to .500 until the middle of May, we were going to be a good club. We were four games below .500 in mid-May and then ended up winning 91 games.” Rodgers was the National League’s manager of the year that season.

“If we can hold our own for the first 50, 60 games and these guys execute, they’ll start to believe in themselves. 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 won 55 games last season, supported by American League save leader Bryan Harvey. “People say we have no name players,” said Whitey Herzog, the club’s senior vice president for personnel. “Well, we’ve got Abbott, Finley and Langston, and if we could just get lucky with a pitcher we’d be set.”

Last season the Angels won more games than any last-place team ever. 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 alternatives to produce runs.

Herzog didn’t like what he saw when he arrived Sept. 16. “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 by outfielder Chad Curtis, who stole 46 bases at triple-A Edmonton last season; second baseman Bobby Rose and shortstop Gary DiSarcina. Rodgers has tried to spice the offense by emphasizing aggressive baserunning and fundamentals.

“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 contract. “You’ve got guys who have got to come back, and the pitching’s got to come through. It means absolutely nothing, what anybody says.”

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 personal best with 19 victories. Finley was 18-9 for the second consecutive season, and Abbott set personal bests with 18 victories, a 2.89 earned-run average, 158 strikeouts and 243 innings. Harvey set a club record with his 46 saves, holding opposing hitters to a .178 batting average. Mark Eichhorn remained an ideal setup man, baffling hitters with his submarine delivery.

The dropoff from there is dramatic. Joe Grahe, 3-7 with a 4.81 ERA in 18 games, 10 of them starts, opens as the fourth starter. Don Robinson, with railroad-track scars across his shoulders and 34-year-old knees, will be the fifth starter. He was 5-9 with the San Francisco Giants last season, and the Angels hope to get as many as 25 decent starts from him.

Chuck Crim, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers 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. And if the Angels trade for another starter, as Herzog would like, Robinson could move to the bullpen.

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 had his third consecutive 100-plus strikeout season, was slowed by a tender right shoulder. The Angels tried to trade him, but his $2.25-million contract is an obstacle, and they would have to pay it all if they released him. Instead, Parrish was named the opening-day catcher. Orton probably will open the season on the disabled list.

Their infirmities 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. However, he hasn’t completely eliminated a loop in his swing that makes him prone to striking out. His wrist is too tender for him to play every day, so Rodgers plans to spell him with Davis two games a week. Davis, signed as a free agent, slumped to .221 and 12 homers last season with Seattle after hitting .283 with 17 homers in 1990.

Rose, 25, is not a rookie, but he has played only 43 games with the Angels over three seasons. DiSarcina, 24, has played only 38 games. Rodgers realizes the risk of putting the inexperienced duo 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 go and give them a free hand and see what they can do--see which ones make the best of their opportunity and which ones don’t.”

Although Rodgers said he planned to use Schofield as a backup at short and second, it’s more likely he 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 play in the outfield occasionally, but he will primarily be the designated hitter. He had a good spring but is not completely fit after an operation to repair a herniated disk in his neck. His neck is fine, but his hip is still sore after a piece of bone was taken from there and grafted onto his neck.

Luis Polonia returns in left field after playing in a personal-best 150 games and hitting .296. He’s an excellent leadoff hitter when he’s patient at the plate--he doubled his walks from 25 in 1990 to 52 in 1991--and he was fourth in the AL with 48 steals. He has improved defensively but must still increase his concentration and consistency.

A recurring calf injury and strained rib cage limited Junior Felix to 66 games. A strong spring enabled him to hold off Curtis’ challenge, but Felix can’t afford to let up. 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 Herzog 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 at St. Louis, will be a left-handed-hitting reserve 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. Curtis 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 those of Rose and DiSarcina. “We’ve seen last year, it worked for the Twins and Braves. Hopefully, this year it will work for the Angels.”

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.”