BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Futility in the West: It’s Embarrassing

The American League office can’t stand the thought of it, but here it is, the All-Star break, and the worst fears are realized.

There is not a team in the American League West with a winning record. The teams are a cumulative 46 games below .500. It is so bad that the Texas Rangers, who are in first place with a 42-44 record in the AL West, are 9 1/2 games behind in the wild-card race.

It brings back memories of the 1973 National League East race, when the New York Mets were 70-75 on Sept. 12 and won the division with an 82-79 record. Although the Mets were the only team to finish higher than .500, five teams finished within five games of first place.

“I don’t remember as much talk about the futility as there is right now,” said former Angel manager Gene Mauch, whose Montreal Expo team finished 3 1/2 games out in ’73. “There isn’t one team in that whole division that seems to have a personality.

“A lot of teams develop a personality as the year goes on, but I don’t see one from anyone.”

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Angel reliever Mark Leiter, on Ken Griffey Jr.’s pursuit of Roger Maris’ home-run record: “I find it difficult to believe that he’ll do it, but I wonder what they’ll say if he hits 63 homers and Frank Thomas hits 61. What if you have 10 guys hitting at least 50 homers?

“After the owners get done paying those guys, maybe then they’d do something for the pitchers. Believe me, this isn’t all about a lack of pitching.”

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Although Leiter still is perplexed as to why he was taken out of the starting rotation, and still would love a shot at the closer’s role, he says that he won’t go into Manager Marcel Lachemann’s office and request it.

“If the manager was so easy to go talk to,” Leiter said, “you’d have nine cleanup hitters on the team and everybody would be a closer or starter.”