Crowded in the Desert

Pitchers and catchers begin spring training workouts today, position players join camp Tuesday, and with the season opener still 6 1/2 weeks away, the Angels have already recorded a major upset: Jim Edmonds is still wearing periwinkle blue.

Many figured the center fielder would be going, going, gone within days of the Nov. 25 Mo Vaughn signing, a six-year, $80-million acquisition that pushed Darin Erstad into a crowded outfield picture that includes Edmonds, Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson.

Who better to attract a front-line starting pitcher than Edmonds, a Gold Glove outfielder who can hit .300 with 30 homers and 100 runs batted in a year?

The rumors took flight shortly after the World Series--Edmonds to the Yankees for Andy Pettitte; Edmonds to the Padres in a three-way deal that would send then-San Diego outfielder Greg Vaughn to Toronto and Blue Jay ace Roger Clemens to Anaheim.

Edmonds’ name was bandied about the media, with story after speculative story predicting his departure. The lead to one Internet report boldly proclaimed: “The Jim Edmonds reign in Anaheim is over.”

Who stopped the reign?

“In my opinion, we have the best center fielder in the American League,” Angel Manager Terry Collins said. “We weren’t going to give Edmonds away unless we got a heck of a pitcher back, and that’s hard to do. If Edmonds can’t bring you one, they’re unavailable.”

This wasn’t exactly uncharted territory for Edmonds, the focus of trade rumors since the Angels used the first pick of the 1995 draft on Erstad.

“But it was even more pronounced this winter,” said Paul Cohen, Edmonds’ agent. “The names were bigger, [a trade] made more sense . . . and any time you get the Yankees involved, it takes on a life of its own.”

A wonderful life, it wasn’t. Though he understands he will always come up in trade talks as long as the Angels have a surplus of quality outfielders and a shortage of quality pitchers, Edmonds was still stung by the latest rumors.

“What was written didn’t bother me; it’s more bothersome that I have to live my life here, and I couldn’t go out of the house without someone asking me about it,” said Edmonds, who grew up in Diamond Bar and lives in Yorba Linda. “I heard so many rumors, it was just a big blur.”

Just as important was what Edmonds didn’t hear. General Manager Bill Bavasi insists the Angels don’t actively shop Edmonds, that they only listen to inquiries, but perhaps that message could have been passed along more loudly, more clearly.

It also might have comforted Edmonds to know how much the Angels value him. Example: The Cincinnati Reds were believed to have offered the Angels their choice of Denny Neagle, Pete Harnisch or Brett Tomko, the top three starters in a solid rotation, for Edmonds. Bavasi turned them down.

“They’re on the phone saying they’re not going to trade me, and I have 14 million people telling me another thing,” Edmonds said. “They could have stepped up when all this was going on.

“I know they’re rumors, but I would think you’d try to protect the player because he has feelings, a family, and it’s not a good situation for the human side of the player.”

Edmonds said this winter has “changed my whole personality, my attitude toward the game.” He’s 28 now, beginning his sixth full year in the big leagues, and the emotional calluses from years of trade speculation are fully formed.

“I’m going to go to work, do my job, and that’s it,” Edmonds said. “They’ve treated it as a business. Now I am.”

What about that happy-go-lucky attitude, that trademark Edmonds grin?

“I’ll still be smiling, but on the inside,” Edmonds said. “I’m happy. I have a great life. It’s a great job, I make good money, I have a nice family. What more could you ask for?”

The Angels could not have asked more from Edmonds last September. While the offense sputtered toward the finish line of an American League West race won by the Texas Rangers, Edmonds hit .340 with five homers and 20 RBIs in the final month.

Clearly, the Angels could have used another explosive bat, in 1998 and ‘97, but they addressed that need with Vaughn, the 1995 AL most valuable player who has hit .320 and averaged 39 homers and 120 RBIs the last four seasons.

Remember all that grumbling in the Angel clubhouse when the front office failed to bolster the team before the trading deadline last July? With one $80-million stroke of a pen--Vaughn’s signature on an Angel contract--redemption was Bavasi’s.

“Mo is an impact guy, and because of him, the frame of mind has changed going into this season,” Collins said. “We got a big stride better bringing this guy in.

“You can say what you want about all his intangibles, the leadership he brings, but he produces runs with homers and RBIs, and that alone makes us better. It lets guys relax a bit. Instead of guys saying, ‘I’ve got to get it done, I’ve got to get it done,’ they know Mo can do it.”

Collins is envisioning a lineup with Erstad leading off, Vaughn hitting third, Salmon fourth, Edmonds fifth and Anderson sixth. If Todd Greene’s shoulder is strong enough for him to catch, and if second baseman Randy Velarde and whoever plays third, Troy Glaus or Dave Hollins, are productive, the Angels could have a prolific offense.

The Rangers, with Juan Gonzalez, Rafael Palmeiro, Rusty Greer, Ivan Rodriguez and Royce Clayton, are just as potent, and Seattle should have no problems scoring with Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner and David Segui, so the division probably will be decided by pitching.

The Angel rotation will feature Chuck Finley, back for his 14th season; Ken Hill, who needs to rebound strongly from an injury-plagued 1998, and Tim Belcher, the 37-year-old workhorse who signed with the Angels this winter.

Knuckleballer Steve Sparks is the leading candidate for the fourth spot, and Omar Olivares, Jason Dickson and Jarrod Washburn will contend for the fifth spot.

Of course, that could change. The Angels could finally turn those rumors to reality by trading Edmonds--or Anderson--for a starting pitcher this spring. Then again. . . .

“It would be funny if, 10 years from now, Jimmy is still the starting center fielder for the Angels,” Cohen said.

Maybe then, the rumors would stop.

Angel Facts

First Workout

(Pitchers, Catchers)

Today

Full Squad Reports

Tuesday

Spring Opener

March 5 vs. Oakland

Season Opener

April 6 vs. Cleveland

at Edison Field, 7 p.m.