BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Poor Batting Habits Decried by Carew

While the Angels wondered why they have stopped hitting, no one appeared more agitated than hitting instructor Rod Carew.

“This is very, very frustrating to me,” Carew said after the Angels’ 2-1 defeat to Cleveland. “I may not get rehired because of this.

“I mean, I work my ass off to get these guys ready. I get them prepared, but then they walk to the plate and act like they never heard a word I said.

“We’re going through stages where they walk up to the plate and swing at anything they see. I’m seeing guys swinging at the fastballs over their head, breaking pitches in the dirt, everything.

“Sometimes you ask yourself, ‘What can you do?’ ”

Leadoff hitter Luis Polonia, who has been as guilty as anyone of impatience at the plate this season, says the Angels have quit acting like teammates the moment they walk to the plate.

“We used to work as a team, trying to move runners over, doing unselfish things,” Polonia said, “but you don’t see that anymore. We’ve stopped being aggressive. Everyone’s trying to get their hits, and do it on themselves.

“This is supposed to be a fun game, but I don’t see the fun out there. We’ve got to get it together pretty quick, or else we’ll be going home early.”

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Designated hitter Chili Davis, on if the Angels are slipping out of the American League West race: “We better not look at it like we’re out of it. That would be ludicrous. If we do, we’re going to regress in a hurry.”