Angels Are a Real Bargain--for Indians

Just what the Angels needed . . . more turmoil.

Just what the Cleveland Indians needed . . . the Angels.

The Indians, struggling because of injuries and trying to regain their punch, scrapped out a 4-0 victory before 22,013 at Edison Field Monday. The Angels, meanwhile, struggling because of injuries and watching for the next haymaker, merely put up a good fight.

Their 20th loss in 25 games since the All-Star break came a day after a baseball source said Disney officials have discussed the possibility of selling the team.

It was one more thing for players to deal with on top of the injuries and finger pointing that have helped unravel the Angels’ season.

“I can’t let it bother me right now,” outfielder Tim Salmon said. “We can’t let anything like that affect us. Like everything else that has happened this year, we can’t take our focus off what it should be on.

“If they sell the team, they will find another owner. It doesn’t matter. It’s not like baseball would let them sell the team to some flake. If they sell it, fine. There will still be a team here and I will still be playing.”

The Angels may have been focused, but they were also shutout for the third time in 10 games.

Cleveland’s Bartolo Colon gave up seven hits and struck out five for his first shutout. He didn’t exactly finesse Angel batters. He registered 98 mph on his last pitch, when he caught Salmon looking for a called third strike.

“It was one of the best jobs I have seen,” Angel Manager Terry Collins said. “He was hitting 97, 98 in the ninth inning. I don’t even think he used his curveball that much.”

It gave Colon (11-4) five victories in six decisions.

The Indians are 11-14 since the All-Star break. In the last two weeks they have lost center fielder Kenny Lofton (hamstring), outfielder Jacob Cruz (torn ligaments), pitchers Jaret Wright (shoulder) and Dwight Gooden (shoulder).

They were already playing without third baseman Travis Fryman (knee), outfielder Wil Cordero (broken hand) and catcher Sandy Alomar (knee).

Don’t look for the Angels to shed any tears, not with the five months of triage they’ve been through. The Indians may be hurting but they came into the series leading the Central Division by 14 1/2 games.

The Angels have not weathered injuries so well.

“We’re getting out our guys back now, but we need them back and playing well,” Collins said. “It’s been a tough year. A bad year. Just give me two players having good years, not career years.”

It has left the Angels, long out of the pennant race, looking for quality moments in games. They had two Monday, catching two Indian runners at the plate.

“For myself, it doesn’t take a lot of motivation to get me to play,” shortstop Gary DiSarcina said. “But when you have a first-place team in town, you don’t want to embarrass yourself. It adds a little extra to your drive.”

The Indians lead the American League in batting and runs, and had loads of opportunities Monday. They capitalized on a few.

Roberto Alomar had a sacrifice fly in the first and Enrique Wilson had another in the third, although it was all the Indians got from a bases-loaded, one-out situation. Jim Thome had a run-scoring double in the fifth and Manny Ramirez hit a solo home run in the eighth, increasing his major league in runs batted in to 114.

Angel pitcher Ken Hill lasted six innings, giving up three runs (two earned). He threw 122 pitches, the second most he has had in a game this season.

“It has been a while since I threw that many pitches,” Hill said. “We’ll see how it feels tomorrow.”