ALL-STAR GAME

Angel left-hander Chuck Finley received a $50,000 bonus for his fourth All-Star selection, but he seemed as unexcited during Monday’s American League workout as he seemed when he first got the news.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I suppose it’s because I’ve only pitched once in my three previous [All-Star] games, and it’s a long flight if I’m not going to pitch.”

Asked how he expects the disappointing Angels to perform in the second half, Finley (9-7, 4.95 earned-run average) said, “It’s a big mystery. The way we’ve played the last two weeks, we’d have a tough time catching anybody. The pitching has been kind of horrific the last two weeks. We need to get that together.”

Finley said the second half should prove whether last year’s pennant bid was a fluke.

“We have some things to overcome but [we] can do it if we get our head out of our . . . ,” he said. “We have to stop looking at the problems and think about the solutions. It will be interesting to see what team shows up [in the second half]. I think the three-day break will do a lot of the guys good, give everyone a chance to sit back and say, ‘What do I need to do to help the team and myself?’ ”

Asked how he felt Manager Marcel Lachemann handled the inconsistency, Finley said, “I think he was two or three losses away from a padded room.”

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Of teammate Anderson’s 30 homers at the break, Baltimore shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. said, “Anyone would be surprised. It’s a superhuman accomplishment. We all get locked in at different times, but it’s been amazing to sit and watch Brady lock in for an entire half season.”

How locked in?

“Brady has always had power to all fields [although he never hit more than 21 homers in a season], but he’s been hitting fastballs and breaking balls that were down, up, in and away,” Ripken said. “It hasn’t mattered where or what the pitch is, Brady has hit it hard.”

Anderson, however, said he remains unconvinced that he belongs among the league’s top sluggers. As for challenging the 61 homers Roger Maris hit in 1961, Anderson said, “C’mon. Thirty-two more homers after the All-Star break when I’ve never hit more than 21 in a year?”

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Piazza wouldn’t disclose how many tickets he had to buy in his All-Star game homecoming, but he said, “I think I’ve lost a lot of friends because most of them are up on the top level.” . . . Johnny Podres, the honorary National League captain, on Ozzie Smith, appearing in his final All-Star game: “I played with Pee Wee Reese and saw some great shortstops, but Ozzie was the best.” . . . Mike Hargrove, Cleveland and American League manager, said he selected his own Charles Nagy (11-2) to start ahead of the New York Yankees’ Andy Pettitte (13-4) for two reasons. Pettitte has some tenderness in his arm, but “the overriding factor is that I’ve got to live in Cleveland,” Hargrove said. . . . Nagy on the NL lineup: “Getting through that lineup would be something like Houdini.”

Baltimore second baseman Roberto Alomar, who injured a finger Sunday, didn’t attend Monday’s workouts and won’t know until today if he’ll be able to play in tonight’s game, Hargrove said. Minnesota’s Chuck Knoblauch would replace him. . . . Anderson will replace the injured Ken Griffey Jr. in the AL outfield, and Chipper Jones will replace the injured Matt Williams at third base for the NL.