COMMENTARY : Opening-Night Critics Aren’t Kind

It was opening night at Anaheim Stadium, and the rockets glared red.

The fireworks were sent skyward during the first inning, the bombs bursting in air, celebrating an event more rare than opening nights themselves--a home run by Von Hayes, his first in 337 at-bats, his first since September of 1990, his first since before opening night, 1991.

This happy occasion for the Angels gave them a 2-0 lead over the Chicago White Sox and nearly wiped out the singer of the national anthem. Davis Gaines, the Music Center’s Phantom of the Opera, was being whisked away by helicopter for his nightly performance when his pilot cruised over center field and was ambushed by a maelstrom of red flashes and white smoke.

The helicopter was jostled, but the pilot, apparently a veteran of military duty, veered away from the explosions and then crossed back over the stadium. Along the way, Gaines waved to the crowd, assuring all that everything was OK.

Back on the ground. . . .

It is going to be this kind of season, so the Angels might as well brace for it. Nothing, not one thing, is going to come easily for them.

Not games against the White Sox.

Not games against the rest of the American League.

Not even supposedly safe-and-sane home run jubilees.

That two-run home run was eventually followed by another, by Bobby Rose, the Angels’ new second baseman. That gave the Angels four runs for the night.

That meant they would lose by only six.

Step One of this journey to who-knows-where was 10-4, over and out, and it delivered a sampler of what to fear about the 1992 Angels--and then some.

The new-look infield? New shortstop Gary DiSarcina skipped one throw over to new first baseman Lee Stevens, whose failed scoop left DiSarcina with his first error of the season. It also marked the first cheers for former Angel Wally Joyner, whose soft hands are now digging out balls skidding across Kansas City AstroTurf.

The Anaheim Stadium crowd noticed his absence. WALL-EE! WALL-EE! the cry went up.

The old-look outfield? Luis Polonia did his best copter-pilot impression in left field, dodging line drives as if they were exploding devices. Second-inning double over his head. Third-inning double into the corner. Fourth-inning triple to his left and to the wall.

“I thought I was going to have to run and leap all game,” Polonia said once the ringing in his ears subsided. “I guess I got all the line drives tonight.”

Polonia half smiled and half winced.

“Maybe tomorrow they’ll hit some I can catch.”

Second that order for Hayes. His home-run trot, rusty after all these months, was as good as new, but his trot into right-field foul ground left something to be desired. Hayes stumbled and slid as his chased after Tim Raines’ second-inning bounding ball, turning the play into a two-base hit and an error. Throw in third baseman Gary Gaetti’s swing and a miss at Lance Parrish’s throw on a stolen-base try, and the Angels ended Round 1 with three errors.

“Opening-night jitters,” was Angel Manager Buck Rodgers’ best explanation. “We handed them a few gifts and our starter (Mark Langston), who threw good all spring, didn’t have his good stuff tonight. It was a 10-4 loss. Not much you can do to dress it up.”

Dress it down? The 32,160 in attendance took a few cracks at it, with boos and Bronx cheers interrupting the Great Moments of Angel Yesteryear--yes, a grand slam by Dick Schofield in 1986--that were given air time on the left field video screen.

When in doubt, break out the nostalgia.

Polonia heard the catcalls.

He frowned when he was asked what he thought about them.

“I don’t even care about the fans,” he said. “We’re out there putting on a show. We’re doing the best we can. Let the fans boo. It doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t bother my teammates.”

But boos on opening night, at least a week ahead of schedule?

“Hey,” Polonia retorted, “I played for the Yankees. That’s all I have to tell you.

“This is opening night and we need all the support we can get, but it doesn’t seem like there’s much support for us out there. Maybe we can turn the fans around. Maybe we can make those boos into cheers. “

Maybe.

In the meantime, the happiest man at Anaheim Stadium on Tuesday night must have been the one wearing the gray jersey and the black No. 25.

His name is Kirk McCaskill.

He pitched for the Angels last season.

He will pitch for the White Sox on Thursday night.