SPRING TRAINING PREVIEW : Their Nightmare Continues : For Angels, Things Go From Bad to Worse During Off-Season, and Fans Don’t Make It Any Easier

The hundreds of letters that poured into the Angel offices all winter carried the same theme. Only the way those sentiments were expressed ever changed.

There were Angel fans who exhibited their disgust by canceling season-ticket orders. Others wrote angry, profanity-laden letters. Then, there were those letters that were unsigned, with no return address.

Those, the Angels say, were the death threats.

Richard Brown, Angel president and chief executive officer, said that he has actually received threats on his life for the Angels’ moves this winter. Specifically, for trading starter Jim Abbott to the New York Yankees after the Angels declined to meet his demand for a four-year, $17.5-million contract.

“There are some sick people out there, and some dangerous people,” Brown said. “I took some seriously and turned (them) in to the police. Others, I balled up and made hook shots into the wastepaper basket.

“Fans are very emotional. Hell, I’m emotional, too, and I don’t like what’s happened anymore than anyone else.

“But that--that was scary.”

In a winter that has turned into one of the worst public-relations catastrophes in Angel history, who can fault the team for eagerly anticipating Monday’s commencement of its spring-training camp?

The Angels might not have any marquee players, and once again will be picked to finish last, but they need to switch the focus from the front office to the playing field.

“It’s been a winter,” Brown said, slowly exhaling, “that we’d all like to forget. Winters in Southern California are supposed to be mild, but I’ve never seen one as cold as this year’s.

“There have been a tremendous amount of bumps in the road for this organization, but unfortunately, some of those bumps have been created by ourselves.”

The Angels spent the winter trading their most popular player, Abbott, for three anonymous players; allowing bullpen ace Bryan Harvey to leave in the expansion draft; trading for one player (Jeff Tuss) who decided to retire from baseball for a college football scholarship and another (Kelly Gruber) who has a torn rotator cuff; staying out of the high-stakes free-agent market and being sued for racial discrimination and sexual harassment.

“If you have any pride or integrity,” Brown said, “you have to be embarrassed by some of the things that have happened. Certainly, circumstances like the Kelly Gruber (trade) come to the forefront.

“It’s been a tough, tough time, and I’m going to make damn sure we’ll never have another winter like this.”

It appears such sentiment comestoo late to resuscitate their summer.

The Angels, who have finished a combined 61 games out of first place the last three seasons, don’t have a soul believing they will win their first pennant.

“If we can finish 10 games over .500,” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers conceded, “that’ll be a hell of a season.

“Well, come to think about it, maybe .500 would be a hell of a season.”

The Angels, who have failed 32 years in their attempt to reach the World Series, are trying a different approach this year. It’s called a youth movement, seen often in such places as Cleveland and Houston, but an unusual sight in the Southland.

“To me, this is the way you build a ballclub,” Rodgers said. “Whatever you can’t develop, then you buy a free agent. Everybody else has done it backwards. I really think this will work.

“The thing that gets so frustrating is that everything we do always gets questioned. It’s like we’re wrong before we even start, and the Dodgers are always right before they start.

“Just give us a chance.”

The Angels are staking their reputation on players few people have heard of outside of Columbus, Ohio; Edmonton, Canada; and Richmond, Va.

Right fielder Tim Salmon was minor league player of the year, but he batted .177 in his first month with the Angels last season. First baseman J.T. Snow might have been the finest prospect in the triple-A International League for the New York Yankees, but his only claim to fame is being the son of former Notre Dame and Ram receiver Jack Snow. Damion Easley may have all the tools and talent to play second base, but he hasn’t played the position on a regular basis since high school.

The Angels’ youth movement has hit such extremes that left fielder Luis Polonia and reserve infielder Gary Gaetti are the only position players remaining in the organization from its 1991 opening day lineup.

The Angel lineup is so set that the only competition for a starting job will be at catcher.

“We believe in their potential,” Rodgers said, “but we really don’t know what to expect either. The biggest thing is that they have to convince themselves they can play in the big leagues.

“That could take a month, or it could take the whole season.”

The suspense of wondering when the Angels’ players will mature hardly has the general public intrigued, and they have abandoned the ticket window.

Ticket sales have plummeted by more than 10% from last year’s box-officer disaster, when the club claimed to have lost $7.5 million. The Angels have sold less than 11,000 season tickets, and officials concede this will be their worst season-ticket base since 1979.

Despite trimming their player payroll from $32.5 million to $26 million, they still are expected to lose money again this season. They need to draw about 2.2 million fans to break even, but have braced themselves for the possibility of drawing less than 2 million for the first time in a nonstrike season since 1978.

“The only way we’re going to convince anyone any differently about this team is to show them on the field,” said Whitey Herzog, Angel vice president/player personnel. “I think we’ve got the best young talent in the league. We’ve got some damn good ballplayers.

“I know everybody thinks they can win this thing in January. By Easter Sunday, doubts start creeping in. By July 4, they’re looking for jobs.

“Now, we won’t have that worry, will we?”

Angels’ Spring Schedule

All games in Arizona unless noted.

All times PST

MARCH 5

San Diego at Yuma, noon.

MARCH 6

San Diego at Yuma, noon.

MARCH 7

Oakland at Tempe, noon.

MARCH 8

Seattle at Tempe, noon.

MARCH 9

(Split squad)

Colorado (ss) at Tempe, noon.

Colorado (ss) at Tucson, noon.

MARCH 10

Chicago Cubs at Mesa, noon.

MARCH 11

San Francisco at Tempe, noon.

MARCH 12

Seattle (ss) at Tempe, noon.

MARCH 13

San Diego at Tempe, noon.

MARCH 14

Colorado at Tucson, noon.

MARCH 15

Chicago Cubs at Tempe, noon.

MARCH 16

Seattle at Tempe, noon.

MARCH 18

Colorado at Tempe, 6 p.m.

MARCH 19

Seattle at Tempe, noon.

MARCH 20

Milwaukee at Tempe, noon.

MARCH 21

San Diego at Tempe, noon.

MARCH 22

Seattle at Tempe, noon.

MARCH 23

Colorado at Tempe, noon.

MARCH 24

Colorado at Tucson, noon.

MARCH 25

Oakland at Phoenix, noon.

MARCH 26

San Francisco at Scottsdale, 6 p.m.

MARCH 27

Oakland (ss) at Tempe, 6 p.m.

MARCH 28

(Split squads)

San Francisco at Scottsdale, noon.

Colorado at Tucson, noon.

MARCH 29

Chicago Cubs at Mesa, noon.

MARCH 30

Milwaukee at Chandler, noon.

MARCH 31

Milwaukee at Tempe, noon.

APRIL 2

Dodgers (ss) at Dodger Stadium, 7:30 p.m.

APRIL 3

Dodgers (ss) at Anaheim Stadium, 7 p.m.

Falling Angels

A look at season-ticket sales and attendance since the team’s inception.

Season Total Year Tickets Attendance 1961 3,312 603,510 1962 2,602 1,144,063 1963 2,951 821,015 1964 2,134 760,439 1965 2,094 566,727 1966 5,658 1,400,321 1967 5,034 1,317,713 1968 5,525 1,025,956 1969 4,379 758,388 1970 3,301 1,077,741 1971 3,548 926,373 1972 3,169 744,190 1973 3,104 1,058,206 1974 3,273 917,269 1975 3,414 1,058,163 1976 3,718 1,006,774 1977 5,879 1,432,633 1978 6,530 1,755,366 1979 11,043 2,523,575 1980 17,514 2,297,327 1981* 16,970 1,441,545 1982 16,043 2,807,360 1983 18,075 2,555,016 1984 17,287 2,402,997 1985 17,164 2,567,427 1986 17,290 2,655,892 1987 18,513 2,696,299 1988 18,424 2,340,925 1989 18,001 2,647,291 1990 18,747 2,555,688 1991 17,229 2,416,236 1992 15,491 2,065,444

1961--Wrigley Field; 1962-65--Dodger Stadium; 1966-present--Anaheim Stadium.

*--26 games postponed by player strike