Angels Look Past Devil Rays and Lose

In all their preparations for the showdown series against Texas and a possible playoff berth, Angel Manager Terry Collins felt his players left one thing off their agenda Tuesday night: Tampa Bay.

After an uninspiring 8-1 loss to the Devil Rays sliced the Angels’ lead over the Rangers to one game in the American League West, Collins lashed out at reporters for focusing so much pregame attention on the two-game series that begins tonight at the Ballpark in Arlington.

He also was upset about the confusion stemming from an inter-office memo regarding playoff tickets that was distributed to players before the game. The Angels reacted angrily when they thought they would have to pay for tickets--which cost from $742 to $926 per block--but the memo didn’t state the offer was for tickets in addition to the two complimentary ones they receive for each postseason home game.

Players complained to Tim Salmon, the team’s union representative, and after phoning General Manager Bill Bavasi, Salmon held a brief team meeting in an effort to smooth out the misunderstanding.

The problem was resolved, but Collins was still fuming after Tampa Bay right-hander Rolando Arrojo pitched seven strong innings, limiting the Angels to one unearned run and four hits, and Angel starter Jeff Juden was cuffed for six runs in five innings before a crowd of 24,347 at Tropicana Field.

“We can quit talking about anything but the Texas Rangers now,” Collins said, his volume rising with every sentence. “Every radio show, every writer, no one cared about anything but Texas. Well, [today] we play them. There’s no secrets, no hidden agenda, we don’t have to worry about playoff tickets.

“We’ve got 12 games left, and that’s what it’s all about. I don’t care where we park. I don’t care who’s the usher above the dugout. You can forget about how hot it’s going to be, how big the crowds are going to be, whether the buses are going to be cool enough.

“I don’t care about anything else but winning baseball games, that’s it.”

Collins felt there were too many distractions Tuesday night. “They should have picked up that memo and thrown it away and just worried about winning,” he said.

“If we don’t win the next 12 days, we won’t have to worry about any extra playoff tickets.”

Opinion outside the manager’s office was much different, though.

“That’s just an excuse to keep everyone’s mind off the fact we’re flat,” center fielder Jim Edmonds said after the Angels mustered only five hits and fell to 1-4 on the trip. “I have no answers. I’m tired.”

Said Salmon: “We’re all grown men, we’re supposed to be able to deal with this. Let’s face it, their guy pitched a great game tonight.”

While the outcome of the game was decided by the sixth inning--the Devil Rays blew the game open with a four runs in the sixth that included Rich Butler’s two-run homer off reliever Mike Fetters--Texas was busy mounting a dramatic comeback from a five-run deficit at Baltimore.

When the Angel-Devil Ray game ended, the Orioles held a 5-4 lead going into the ninth. Soon after the Angels reached their clubhouse, they learned Ranger catcher Ivan Rodriguez had hit a two-run home run to give Texas the win and a good chunk of momentum going into an eight-day stretch in which they’ll play the Angels five times.

“Enough talk about it, let’s get it on,” Angel shortstop Gary DiSarcina said. “These games will probably decide the division.

“May the best team win.”