Comeback No Longer a Signature

The Angels erased a 9-0 deficit in a game against the Chicago White Sox last July 31, and though they eventually lost, 14-12, the comeback epitomized the way the Angels played in 1997.

Those Angels came from behind to win 44 games, including 22 in their last at-bat. They won seven games when trailing after seven innings and five when trailing after eight.

But that never-say-die attitude of 1997 has not been apparent much in the first 50 games of 1998.

With almost a third of the season completed, the Angels have only 10 come-from-behind wins, three in their last at-bat.

“There was a sense last year that we could win a game late,” Manager Terry Collins said. “That isn’t there right now.”

There’s plenty missing from this Angel team: Consistent starting pitching, capable middle and short relief and timely hitting are merely a few shortcomings for a club that has lost four in a row going into a seven-game trip that begins tonight in Minnesota.

Have the Angels also lost their confidence?

“I don’t know, but the minute we don’t think we’re good enough, the minute we think we’re out of a game, we’re going to be in for a long year,” Collins said. “Last year, we never felt a team could beat us. Even when we were down, we hit line drives, ran the bases, got two-out singles.

“It’s real easy when you’re not going well to say you don’t think you can come from behind. . . . We’re just not using the whole field to hit. You’ve got to go up with a game plan, put a good swing on the ball. We’re hitting a lot of mediocre ground balls to the middle infielders. If you hit line drives, the home runs will come.”

The Angels have scored only 10 runs on 23 hits, including one homer, in their last four games, losses to the lowly Twins and Kansas City Royals, but right fielder Garret Anderson isn’t convinced confidence is an issue.

“We’re just not functioning well as a team,” he said. “It’s great to develop that [comeback ability] as part of your makeup, but coming from behind is not easy to do.

“We’re just struggling up and down the lineup. We pitch well one night and don’t hit. We hit well one night and don’t pitch. That’s just the way things go sometimes over the course of a 162-game season.”

*

Twin Manager Tom Kelly is both looking forward to--and dreading--the sight of Angel left fielder Darin Erstad in the Metrodome this weekend.

Kelly does not relish the thought of facing Erstad, who is being mentioned as one of baseball’s new generation of stars.

But as a longtime manager, Kelly has a certain appreciation for Erstad’s rapid progression from No. 1 pick in 1995 to budding star.

“Erstad is going to be a most valuable player in the future,” Kelly said.

“He’s one of the up-and-coming players in the league, and he looks like he’s going to get better.

“He’s versatile, he can play first base and the outfield, he can run and hit, he’s got some power, and he can certainly steal a base. He can do a lot of things that are very special.”

Erstad went on a tear last week, going 17 for 33 in an eight-game stretch to raise his average to a season-high .344, and he ranks among the league leaders in hits (67), doubles (17), extra-base hits (30) and multi-hit games (21).

But a 0-for-12 slide in the last three games dropped his average to .324.

“I keep saying, it’s still early,” Erstad said. “I’ve got to show I can put up big numbers season after season.

“I’ll take [Kelly’s comment] as a compliment, but I still have a lot of work to do.”

*

Mark Gubicza, who spent the bulk of his career pitching for Kansas City and started two games for the Angels last season before succumbing to a shoulder injury, attended Wednesday night’s Angel-Royal game and visited the radio booth for a few innings.

Asked if he had any regrets after retiring in February, Gubicza said: “When you’re throwing batting practice to your kids and your 3-year-old is hitting rockets off you and you’re still feeling discomfort in your shoulder, you know you made the right decision.”

ON DECK

* Opponent--Minnesota Twins, three games.

* Site--Metrodome, Minneapolis.

* Tonight--5 p.m. PDT

* TV--Channel 9 tonight and Saturday night.

* Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090).

* Records--Angels 25-25, Twins 23-27.

* Record vs. Twins--1-2.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ CHUCK FINLEY (4-2, 2.45 ERA) vs. TWINS’ LaTROY HAWKINS (3-4, 5.43 ERA)

* Update--How bad is the American League Central? The Twins are four games under .500, but their four-game win streak has vaulted them into second place, 6 1/2 games behind Cleveland. Todd Walker leads the Twins with a .372 average, and designated hitter Paul Molitor (.278, 25 RBIs) continues to defy his age (41). Molitor is the toughest batter to strike out in the league, averaging 20.3 at-bats between strikeouts, and he stole home in a game against Detroit last week. “He’s playing as if he’s 20 years younger,” Tiger Manager Buddy Bell said. Speedy center fielder Otis Nixon, out since April 28 because of a broken jaw, hopes to return this weekend. Finley has not won a decision since his 14-game win streak ended April 27.

* Saturday, 5 p.m.--Ken Hill (7-3, 4.32) vs. Brad Radke (6-3, 2.99).

* Sunday, 11 a.m.--Jack McDowell (1-2, 4.00) vs. Mike Morgan (2-1, 3.98).