Angels Seem Open to a New Approach

Jim Abbott slipped into a dark corner of the Anaheim Stadium Club a few moments after the press conference began, eager to hear what new Angel Manager Terry Collins had to say Monday morning.

Mike James and Mark Gubicza were already there, standing in the back, behind the reporters and camera crews.

For the most part, they liked Collins’ pitch.

They were pleased to see Collins show his passion for the game as he spoke to the packed room.

They said they didn’t mind playing for an intense manager and were eager to know more about Collins, a man they hadn’t met and knew little of until Monday.

“I don’t know too much about him that’s why I came,” Abbott said. “I don’t really follow the National League that’s why I wanted to be here.

“It’s nice to see a manager who seems eager to be here.”

Collins came across as intense as billed, his voice often rising several octaves to drive home a point.

In his first meeting with reporters, he seemed a radical departure from Marcel Lachemann, who resigned as manager Aug. 6. Unlike Lachemann, who tended to bottle up his feelings, Collins’ appeared willing to let his emotions show.

That firebrand approach reportedly angered some Houston players. It also produced a blowup with Tommy Lasorda when Collins managed the Dodgers’ triple-A club at Albuquerque in 1988.

Collins and Lasorda spoke before a game last season, their first meeting since the argument, and Collins apologized.

“I’m happy for Terry,” Lasorda said Monday. “I think he served his apprenticeship in the minors and deserved a major league job with the Angels. I’ve always liked Terry personally. He knows how to handle a ballgame. The thing he needs to do is make sure he gets the most out of the players.”

James, an emotional sort himself, said he had no problem playing for an intense competitor like Collins.

“I don’t think that’s a bad thing--playing for an intense manager,” said James, who had a 2.67 earned-run average in a team-leading 69 appearances as setup man for closer Troy Percival. “He said he doesn’t want everybody to like him. That’s OK. He didn’t come here to make 25 new friends.”

Added infielder Rex Hudler: “I’m excited. I like what I’m reading about this guy. We need some fire. A guy like that pumps me up.”

James dismissed the notion that Lachemann’s lack of emotion produced a casual attitude in the clubhouse.

“I don’t think we took on Marcel’s personality,” James said. “There was no hiding it. We were just flat. And I couldn’t tell you why. The whole team felt that way.”

James isn’t certain the hiring of Collins will instantly turn the Angels into World Series contenders, but he hopes it’s a start.

“He’s not going to be the savior here,” James said. “He’s not going to come here and all of a sudden we’ll be a whole different team.

“But maybe it will be the push we need.”

Gubicza, acquired in a trade that sent designated hitter Chili Davis to Kansas City last week, watched the Angels closely the last few seasons and wondered why they weren’t better. He knew they had the talent, but believed something was missing.

“[Collins] has the mentality to get us over the hump,” Gubicza said. “All the talent, all the ingredients to get over the hump are here.”

Gubicza said Collins reminds him of former Royal managers Dick Howser and Hal McRae.

“He seems to have the personality to get the most out of his players,” Gubicza said of Collins. “I heard some concerns of players not getting along with him.”

And that may account for this tepid reaction from Mark Langston:

“My gut feeling is I know these guys did their homework. Hopefully, it’s the right decision. If he can keep us focused on what we have to do . . . that’s what we didn’t do last year.

“Whatever it takes to get the maximum out of players is what has to be done. Some players you have to light a fire under. Some you just have to let play. As a manager you have to find out what makes players click. The bottom line is you have to make the unit click as one.”