BASEBALL : Angels’ Rodgers Leading Cheers for Old Club

The long summer continues for the Angels and their manager.

Buck Rodgers remains sidelined by the knee and elbow injuries he suffered in the team’s bus accident May 21.

It has been the most frustrating season of his professional career, but it could be worse.

Rodgers could allow himself to be tormented by the sudden and surprising success of his former team, the Montreal Expos.

He could wonder about the maybes and what-might-have-beens if he hadn’t been fired by then-General Manager Dave Dombrowski on June 3 of last year after seven-plus seasons at the Expos’ helm.

Instead, Rodgers said he is strictly an Expo fan who will always feel close to the impressive array of young players he helped develop.

“I might feel differently if Dombrowski was still there, but I’m rooting for (new General Manager) Dan Duquette and (Manager) Felipe Alou,” he said, relaxing at his Yorba Linda home the other day.

“I may have been backsided by Dombrowski and felt animosity for a while about the way he handled my situation, but they’ve got good people there now, and it was probably time for me to move on anyway.”

The Expos made their move this year after the relaxed Alou replaced the rigid Tom Runnells on May 22. Runnells, a one-man regulatory agency, was the inevitable heir once Dombrowski got his way and fired Rodgers, who had never been Dombrowski’s man. Dombrowski moved to Florida as general manager of the Marlins at the end of the season and was replaced by Farm Director Duquette, about the only Montreal executive who didn’t go to Florida with Dombrowski.

Duquette dumped Runnells amid deteriorating hope and attendance. Alou, who paid his dues by managing at the lowest levels of the Montreal system, has helped regenerate both with calmness and patience. The Expos began a weekend series in Philadelphia tied for the National League East lead, having gone 36-27 under Alou.

“Runnells ran a pretty tight ship from what I hear,” Rodgers said. “Felipe has been like a breath of fresh air. The young players went dormant for a time, but they’ve started to blossom again. The tension and turmoil of the last couple years is gone.”

Montreal and Minnesota have proven it can be done by developing from within. Atlanta, too. More than half the Expos’ roster came off the farm, many the result of compensation picks obtained from the free-agent defections of 1988-89.

That yellow brick road runs only south from bilingual Montreal, or as Rodgers, who helped keep the Expos competitive, said, “The only way a free agent will sign there is if the other 25 clubs don’t want him.”

Andre Dawson, Kevin Gross, Mark Langston, Hubie Brooks, Pascual Perez and Bryn Smith ware among the players who left in those years.

Scouting may be an inexact science but a staff headed by Gary Hughes, who went to Florida with Dombrowski, seemed to have the right idea.

The entire Montreal infield of Arci Cianfrocco, Delino DeShields, Will Cordero and Tim Wallach came out of the system.

So did Bret Barberie, the No. 1 utility player; starting outfielders Marquis Grissom and Larry Walker, starting pitchers Brian Barnes, Mark Gardner and Chris Nabholz, and middle relievers Mel Rojas and Jeff Fassero.

“I’m not surprised the Expos are playing so well,” Rodgers said. “It’s been recognized the last couple years that they have the best young talent in baseball and it was only a matter of breaking it in, but it’s not all farm system. Dan Duquette deserves a lot of credit. He made great trades for John Wetteland and Ken Hill. He’s been able to pull off selective deals while doing the one thing that’s mandatory there, keeping the payroll down.”

Former Dodger Wetteland has 22 saves. He was obtained from Cincinnati for Dave Martinez and Scott Ruskin. Hill is 12-4. He was obtained from St. Louis for Andres Galarraga. The Montreal payroll of $16 million is about $5 million less than Darryl Strawberry’s contract.

Can the Expos win the title in the East?

Rodgers said yes. He cited the deteriorating nature of the division, the club’s talented mix of youth and veterans--including Gary Carter and Dennis Martinez--and the catalytic potential of Montreal’s speed.

“The only question is pitching, but right now I’d say the Expos’ pitching is as good as there is in the division,” Rodgers said, lounging in an easy chair, crutches at his side.

His shattered right elbow allows him only six inches or so of lateral range. He remains hopeful of regaining full use, but it will take another year of therapy.

There are two screws supporting the shinbone in his left leg, but it is not certain when and if it will support his weight. He hopes to try again this week and return to the Angels’ helm on the next home stand.

“It’s been an agonizing year,” he said of his physical misfortune and the Angels’ struggle.

The Expos? That pain is gone.

REYNOLDS RAP

The last two months of their nightmare season will be a time of experimentation for the Dodgers. Among those facing the microscope is second baseman Eric Young.

The lab results will be of interest to Seattle Mariner second baseman Harold Reynolds, who is eligible for free agency when the season ends and keeps hearing his name mentioned in connection with the Dodgers.

“I’d like to see what happens with the Mariners first, but after that the Dodgers would definitely be at the top of my list,” Reynolds said in Anaheim the other night.

“It’s going to be interesting to see what unfolds over the next few months, but I’d look on the Dodgers as an ideal team for me.”

It might be an ideal fit on several counts:

--Defense: Reynolds offers stability to a porous infield. He won three straight Gold Gloves before losing out to Roberto Alomar last year when Reynolds led American League second baseman in putouts, assists, chances and double plays.

--Speed: Reynolds goes from first to third on singles and stole 60, 35, 25, 31 and 28 bases in the last five seasons for a team generally behind in the score, limiting his opportunities to steal. He has 13 for this year’s American League West cellar dwellers.

--Contact hitting: Reynolds uses the whole field. He had 24 or more doubles in each of the last five years, drove in a career-high 57 runs last year and began 1992 with a batting average of .262.

Reynolds is 31. Some scouts believe he has lost a step in the field and on the bases. Others believe he has simply been unable to stay focused this year because of the uncertainty over the club’s ownership situation and how it might affect his future in Seattle, where he has often been the only oar on a rudderless ship and always active in community work.

He had been thrown out stealing 11 times through Thursday, was batting only .245 and admitted to being disappointed by the lack of an offer and distracted by it at times.

“I’d love to have had it done by now, but I feel like I’ve adjusted and want to finish the year off strong,” Reynolds said.

“There have been so many times in Seattle where all of us have been forced into a situation of playing individual baseball because the club wouldn’t step forward and make a commitment.

“I mean, it’s tough to play under those conditions. The new owners have the liquidity to build a quality team, but they’re still evaluating where they’re going and I’m not they only guy they’ll have to deal with.”

Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez and Randy Johnson are among several Mariners eligible for arbitration. Reynolds makes $2.166 million this year, and the Mariners seem intent on moving Bob Boone’s son, Bret, in at second next year.

There has been some thought that Reynolds could be dealt to a contender for the stretch run--Atlanta has been mentioned--but it’s doubtful he could clear waivers or that any club would trade a prospect to rent a player who can leave as a free agent at the end of the season.

Dodger scout Gary Sutherland watched Reynolds during Seattle’s recent visit to Anaheim Stadium. Reynolds, a two time All-Star, laughed when he thought of the recognition he would receive in Los Angeles.

“Seattle is still a secret,” he said. “People say, ‘Harold Reynolds? Is he a rookie?’ ”

NAMES AND NUMBERS

--Darryl Strawberry will have missed 147 games in his first two seasons with the Dodgers. He missed only 187 in his eight seasons with the New York Mets.

--The Chicago Cubs have the financial resources to wage a legal fight against Commissioner Fay Vincent, but they have informed Andre Dawson that they lack the money to re-sign him.

“It’s more than a slap in the face,” Dawson said. “I realize it’s a business move, but that doesn’t mean I respect it.”

As a player with 10 years in the majors and five or more with the same team, a re-signed Dawson would have to be among the 15 players that the Cubs protect from the expansion draft. Ryne Sandberg must be protected for the same reason, even though it’s doubtful that either expansion team would pick up his $7-million a year salary that kicks in next year.

--On the resurgence of the Cubs in the National League East, manager Jim Lefebvre said: “Pitching and defense win games, and right now we have the best infield in baseball.” He alluded to Mark Grace at first base, Sandberg at second, Steve Beuchele at third and either Rey Sanchez or Jose Vizcaino as Shawon Dunston’s replacement.

--New General Manager Ted Simmons continues to keep the Pittsburgh Pirates’ payroll in line, but the revolving door may finally be eroding Manager Jim Leyland’s magic. The Pirates have used 41 players this year, three of whom made their major league debuts in the same game. Pitchers Steve Cooke and Blas Miner and outfielder Al Martin all broke in Tuesday against the Cubs.

--Curt Schilling, a spot starter with the Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles, has done a big job since being thrust into the Philadelphia Phillies’ rotation on May 19 by a wave of pitching injuries. He was 5-2 with a streak of 24 straight scoreless innings before a scheduled Saturday night start against the Montreal Expos.

Schilling credits pitching coach Johnny Podres for improving his curveball.

Said Manager Jim Fregosi: “Curt is a horse. The hotter the weather, the better he pitches.”

Makes sense. Schilling comes from Anchorage, Alaska.