Angels Might Be Getting What They Pay For

Oh, yes.

The Angels.

Haunted again by injuries. Demonized by the Dodgers, who have stolen the summer spotlight with their aggressive dealings under a new owner.

The familiar story of a star-crossed franchise living in the shadow of the Dodger marquee.

Virtually erased from thought the last two weeks by the Mike Piazza trade and the Randy Johnson developments.

Far from dead in the American League West, but handicapped by the injuries and payroll parameters similar to those of the Dodgers before Fox extended them.

Will Disney follow?

Well, if not for Mark McGwire or Piazza, for whom?

If not for the impact player--on the field and at the gate--that this team has needed and needs--for whom?

It is one thing, of course, to invest poorly, as the Angels did for many years while overly concerned with that Dodger shadow.

It is one thing to be committed to the farm system after years of it being otherwise.

It is another, however, to neglect an opportunity, to fail to recognize that this impressive group of home-grown products needs assistance if it is going to turn the corner in a division the Angels could win.

A sound Tim Salmon and Todd Greene and Randy Velarde would help, but what of the magnitude of a McGwire or Piazza?

Did Disney have enough to trade for either? Did it make a vigorous enough effort?

The hint of an arrogant attitude pervades the philosophy. President Tony Tavares, who might be forced to say what Michael Eisner wants him to say, has said he doesn’t believe any player is worth $10 million and that he won’t be lured into a game of one-upmanship with Fox, a bitter rival.

What the Dodgers are doing, he has said, represents just one more club spending a lot of money.

Perhaps, but it is a sad reality in this era of the Big Buck Theory that it is difficult to win without a $10-million player.

It is difficult to win, as the Dodgers discovered, with even a $40-million payroll, which falls only into the current gray area of baseball economics.

Disney has raised it about $15 million since taking over, but its two key additions of the off-season--Cecil Fielder and Jack McDowell--came relatively cheap, and why not?

Both, of course, are in the twilight zone--age- and/or injury-wise--and both are representative of so many previous Angel acquisitions.

Make no mistake:

The Angels are to be applauded for the commitment to their system after many years when it was fallow from poor drafts and poorer trades, but the current nucleus has needed the type of kick-start that comes only at a price the Angels seem unwilling to pay.

Players of the Piazza and McGwire stature are available only so often, and both had reasons to accept less to play in Southern California with multiyear contracts, but it doesn’t have to be Piazza or McGwire. The New York Yankees are smoking because of their depth, the versatility of their bench, the difference in the standings the difference between payrolls of $40 million and $50 million-plus.

Inevitably, the philosophy seems to suggest the Angels are satisfied merely being a contender, a participant in the race.

That’s not to indict General Manager Bill Bavasi and staff, who aren’t afraid to pull the trigger and who obviously care, but they can only do so much if their hands are tied, the account frozen several floors upstairs.

That is the way it is now in the corporate dugouts, as Dodger Vice President Fred Claire discovered when Fox executive Chase Carey consummated negotiations in the trade with the Marlins.

Yet, one thing hasn’t changed.

For long-frustrated fans, the real accounting is in the win-loss records, and Disney needs to remember that.

THE DRAFT

J.D. Drew remains the most intriguing presence in Tuesday’s amateur selections.

Will any club draft him high in the first round, knowing agent Scott Boras continues to seek an $11-million signing package and might ultimately pursue legal action to get Drew, the former Florida State outfielder who is in his second summer with the independent St. Paul Saints, declared a free agent?

An arbitrator recently rejected that claim, forcing Drew to reenter the draft after he rejected the Philadelphia Phillies’ four-year, $6-million offer that included a record $2.6-million signing bonus. Drew was the second player selected in last year’s draft, but the Phillies, who draft first this time, have learned their lesson and won’t re-draft him. They are expected to select signable Miami third baseman Pat Burrell and move him to first base.

There has been speculation that the Oakland A’s or Chicago Cubs, who draft second and third, respectively, might pick Drew, but both have implied recently they won’t run that risk. The more likely possibilities may be the St. Louis Cardinals, who draft fifth, or the Yankees, who draft 25th.

Said a National League scouting director: “I think a lot of us are hoping that Drew does go high because it would mean that the rest of the top players would drop a notch, giving the clubs that draft lower a better shot at one.”

In what is being labeled a deep draft that is not overly abundant in talent at the top, the Angels draft 18th, and the Dodgers 23rd. The San Francisco Giants have three selections in the first round and seven in the first two, several coming as compensation for the free-agent loss of Wilson Alvarez, Roberto Hernandez and Doug Henry.

Long Beach Wilson third baseman Sean Burroughs, the former Little League star and son of former American League MVP Jeff Burroughs, is expected to be the highest drafted Southern California player, possibly in the top 10. Burroughs has committed to USC, but a $2-million signing bonus might be a powerful deterrent, although $6 million wasn’t enough to satiate Drew and the ever-hungry Boras.