It’s Not Heavenly for All Angels : Baseball: Despite 5-4 victory over the White Sox and Langston improving to 9-1, Polonia is not happy.

Angel leadoff hitter Luis Polonia spent the morning talking with his agent. He cleaned out his locker in the afternoon. Once the Angels’ 5-4 victory Saturday over the Chicago White Sox was completed, the evening was used for pledging a new attitude.

Polonia, who burned his voodoo doll a week ago and changed lockers to the other side of the clubhouse where he was situated three years ago, has exhausted all of his superstitions.

Now, he says, it’s time to take matters in his own hands, and that began Saturday with a call to his agent, Chuck Berry.

“I told him that I don’t want to negotiate with the Angels until this is all over with,” Polonia said. “I’m just going to concentrate on the season. They had all of this time to sign me, but they don’t seem to appreciate what I’ve done the last two years, so that’s it. It’s over now. They’re going to have to wait along with everyone else.

“I still love it here, and this is my first choice to play, but now they’re going to have to bid along with everyone else.

“Believe me, I’m not afraid to go to another team.”

Polonia vented his frustration on a night when Mark Langston (9-1) won his fifth consecutive start by yielding six hits in eight innings, providing him with the best start of any pitcher in Angel history.

The White Sox only made life interesting after Langston left in the ninth. They made it 5-4 on Tim Raines’ two-out, run-scoring single, but reliever Steve Frey retired Craig Grebeck on a grounder, stranding the tying run at third base.

The victory moved the Angels (34-31) into sole possession of second place, one game behind the division-leading Kansas City Royals. It might also prove to be quite costly to the White Sox, who lost starting catcher Ron Karkovice for three to six weeks with a separated right shoulder.

Karkovice, whom Angel Manager Buck Rodgers says might be the most complete catcher in the American League and his choice as an All-Star, sustained the injury in the third inning. He was running to first base after striking out on a wild pitch, tripped over first baseman J.T. Snow and fell hard on his shoulder.

While the White Sox will be trying to sort out their woes, Polonia realizes that he must resuscitate his season if the Angels are to remain in contention. Believing that his pending free-agent status this winter has been nothing more than a burden, Polonia says it’s time to eliminate the distraction.

“I can’t keep going like this,” Polonia said. “I’m not having any fun at all. Every day I say, ‘Today is the day I turn everything around.’ And every day I end up going home feeling worse.

“It’s been hard getting this all out of my mind, so I decided it’s time to forget about it. I told my agent, ‘Don’t even talk to them before the year’s over, just let me play my game.’ ”

This year’s frustrations, Polonia says, are the greatest he has encountered. He is a career .299 hitter who has the opportunity to make big money on the free-agent market, but in perhaps the most important year of his career, his game is unraveling.

Polonia is batting only .255, and he has shown no signs of improvement. He’s hitting .136 the last two weeks, and has scored only 24 runs this entire season.

If it was any consolation to Polonia, who went hitless in three at-bats Saturday night and has failed to hit the ball out of the infield in his last nine plate appearances, he still was able to ignite the Angels’ winning rally.

The game still scoreless, Polonia drew a leadoff walk in the fourth inning off White Sox starter Scott Ruffcorn (0-1), who was making his major league debut. He then stole second, took third on Ruffcorn’s wild pitch and scored on Chad Curtis’ single to center.

The Angels went on to score three runs in the inning, and two more in the fifth. They stole six bases, one shy of the franchise record.