Fans Not Cheering for Any Concerned

Ralph McCormick, finishing lunch at the Catch restaurant across the street from Anaheim Stadium, mused that perhaps it is the “Gene Autry curse” and not former team Manager Marcel Lachemann who is to blame for the California Angels’ dismal record this season.

“It can’t possibly be the manager when the slide happens every year,” said McCormick, a 43-year-old resident of Glendale. “You learn never to get excited when they are in first place at the start of the year.”

But other long-suffering fans having lunch at various restaurants near the Big A directly blamed Lachemann, who resigned on Tuesday, for the team’s last-place status and are still reeling from the 11-game lead the team blew last season.

“I think a change had to be made considering last year’s debacle and this year’s nose dive,” said attorney Rob Bergen at the National Sport Bar and Grill near the Big A. “The manager doesn’t do the hitting, pitching or fielding, but he’s the one who is expendable and has to take the heat.”

Ed Wheeler, 27, said of Lachemann’s departure: “It’s about time. They have so much young talent, and the guy is unable to win with all of that talent. They were expected to win their division, and they are performing very badly. A shake-up will get things rolling. They have new ownership and need to get the ship headed in a winning direction.”

Wheeler, a parking attendant at the Catch, said the Walt Disney Co.’s purchase of controlling interest in the team this year might be a distraction for the team.

Disney “is trying to create a positive energy on the field with cheerleaders and all the rest, but all that hoopla doesn’t mean anything if they don’t win,” Wheeler said.

Like others, 28-year-old Glenn Fullerton blamed the team’s pitching.

“Basically, pitching killed them,” said Fullerton, an account executive for UPS. “They’ve got a lot of other problems, but ultimately the manager gets the blame.”

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Sherry Findlay, 50, is a long-time season ticket holder who said that despite the many heartbreaks she has suffered with the Angels over the years--which include failure to ever reach the World Series and last year’s tailspin--she remains optimistic that better days are ahead.

“I always have high hopes,” Findlay said. “I think they have a lot of potential if they play together as a team. I think they need a better manager but they also need better pitchers.”

But not everyone was pointing the finger at Lachemann.

“I don’t know if anyone could do a better job,” said 23-year-old Steve Feeney. “I don’t think it’s a good move, because I don’t think it’s his fault. I think he’s the scapegoat. They need somebody to blame because they should be winning every game.”

Michael Dailey, 39, waiting outside Anaheim Stadium on Tuesday before the game against Minnesota, agreed.

“I think they needed to change something, but I’m not sure Lachemann was it,” he said. “They should have made changes before the trading deadline and went for a more established pitcher.”

But Larry Engler of Huntington Beach, a season ticket holder since 1980, said Lachemann was not a motivator.

“He’s a nice guy, but this team doesn’t need a nice guy,” Engler said as he waited for the game. Former Cubs Manager “Jim Lefebvre would be my choice. He’s not afraid to tell it like it is. They need someone with a lot of fire. There is no leadership on the field. They need someone to take the bull by the horns.”

The shake-up bothered Jerry Goldsmith of Corona, however.

“You can’t be a fan when they get rid of people all the time,” Goldsmith, 29, said. “There is no commitment from the office. How can you support a team that has a different manager, different players all the time?”

In the end, Dailey said, the players make the difference.

“The manager change may not do anything, but it may wake them up,” he said.