BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Edmonds Down, Then Out of Lineup

Center fielder Jim Edmonds, in a four-for-26 drought, was dropped from third to sixth in the Angel batting order Friday and from the lineup Sunday, a move he believes shows the team might be losing confidence in him.

“I doubt it’s just a day off. I’ve had too many of those,” said Edmonds, who bats left-handed, is hitting .200 and has a team-leading 15 strikeouts. “I’ve played against left-handers all my life. After Saturday’s game (0 for 4) all I wanted to do was get back on the field again.”

Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann said Edmonds is having mental letdowns at the plate and is taking too many pitches, but that Lachemann hasn’t lost faith in him.

“He’s playing a great center field,” Lachemann said. “He’s been struggling at the plate, but he’s going to hit.”

Edmonds can’t help but think there’s more to his benching, though. Recent comments he has heard from coaches and veteran players have given him a sense that some are questioning his commitment to the game.

Designated hitter Chili Davis said that after Edmonds looked at three consecutive strikes against Texas pitcher Kenny Rogers last Thursday, left fielder Tony Phillips challenged Edmonds, saying, “Let’s go. You want to play or don’t you?”

But Edmonds says his reputation as a player who suffers concentration lapses is unjustified. “My approach is so carefree, I think they look at that in a bad way,” said Edmonds, who entered Sunday’s game in the sixth inning after the Royals replaced left-hander Tom Browning with righty Doug Linton.

“I look at it in a good way because I’m not putting stress on myself,” Edmonds said. “It’s almost like they think you’re not trying, that you’re lackadaisical on certain days. . . . To think that is ridiculous. If I play hard every day I should be left alone.”

Said Lachemann: “I’ve known Jim since he was a kid and he does things very easily. You do have a tendency to be misjudged because of that, but I’m more concerned that he’s not hitting.”

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Rex Hudler, who made his third start of the season, suffered a slight hamstring injury while beating out a bunt in the third inning, but he remained in the game and had a two-run double in the fifth to give the Angels a 4-1 lead.

When trainer Ned Bergert came out to check on Hudler in the third, Hudler told him, “I waited two weeks for these at-bats. I’d have to break my leg to come out of this game.”

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Phillips had a slightly embarrassing moment in the first inning. As he rounded first base on his drive that wound up in the left field bleachers, he realized he missed the bag.

Phillips stopped when he was about 15 feet beyond the base, returned to first, touched the bag and then continued his trot. “I had to go back,” Phillips said. “I wasn’t going to give up my knock.”