Streak Ends, and Vaughn Vows He’s Staying Put

First baseman Mo Vaughn has made no secret of his unhappiness with the Angels about a number of issues, ranging from a lackadaisical attitude to his disappointment with how the front office handled the Terry Collins controversy in June.

But Vaughn stated unequivocally Tuesday that no matter how frustrated he has been in his first season with the Angels, he has no plans to bail on them by asking for a trade. Not now, and not during the course of his six-year, $80-million contract.

“We are going to get it done right here in Anaheim, Calif.--I’m not going anywhere,” Vaughn said before the Angels ended an 11-game losing streak with a 10-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays before 15,702 at Tropicana Field.

“This is how things were in Boston. We went from 24 players/24 cabs to one unit. But it takes time. I’ve done it before under more stressful situations, I can do it here.”

Vaughn, who had three hits and two runs batted in Tuesday night, plans to sit down with Angel executives after the season for a frank discussion about the direction of the team, the changes he thinks should be made and the types of players the Angels need.

“I don’t think anything drastic needs to be done,” Vaughn said, “just a few things to restore order.”

Some changes could come soon--the non-waiver trading deadline is Saturday, and General Manager Bill Bavasi has been discussing possible deals involving several players, including pitchers Chuck Finley, Omar Olivares and Ken Hill.

But despite batting instructor Rod Carew’s suggestion Monday that the Angels “clean house,” don’t expect a flurry of activity this week.

“There will not be a fire sale, that’s not the approach we’re taking,” Bavasi said. “We know we have a lot of good players who suffered injuries, who haven’t had the years they can have. To have a bad year is not a crime. But if people think we’re going to dump every player here, that’s not true.”

With players criticizing the Angels for being “soft,” and for not placing winning above all else, many believe the Angels need to address the mental makeup of the team. Bavasi says character has always been an issue when evaluating present and potential personnel.

“There have been players we’ve turned down [in possible trades] in the last two or three days because we don’t like the makeup of the player,” Bavasi said.

“I also think the characterization of some of our players as being non-caring is wrong. Teams that play well and win always look like they’re playing hard and having more fun.”

The Angels had their first fun in almost two weeks Tuesday night, ripping rookie starter Mickey Callaway for four runs in the second inning and three Devil Ray relievers for four in the eighth for their first win since July 15.

Garret Anderson equaled a career high with his 16th home run, a two-run shot in the fifth, and left-hander Mike Magnante threw two critical scoreless relief innings, striking out Wade Boggs to end the fifth with two on to preserve a 6-4 Angel lead and earn the win.

The Angels caught a huge break in the eighth when, with runners on first and second, reliever Norm Charlton couldn’t get the ball out of his glove on Darin Erstad’s bunt. Charlton went from having a play at third to having the bases loaded with no outs.

Randy Velarde walked to force in a run, Vaughn looped a two-run single to right-center, and Tim Salmon’s run-scoring fielder’s choice made it 10-4.

The Angels had only 22 hits in their last four games, prompting Carew to say that “maybe some of them aren’t capable of being big league hitters,” but they had 12 hits Tuesday night, including Gary DiSarcina’s two-run single and Velarde’s RBI double in the second.

“It’s a very hardheaded team,” Vaughn said. “If you [stink], you’ve got to admit you [stink]. That’s the only way to get better. You don’t want to make excuses. You can talk about preparation and all that other stuff, but until you admit that as a player, you’re not going to change.”

There has been so much angst and frustration around this team the past two weeks, the Angels seemed like they needed some sort of program to snap out of their funk.

Perhaps step one came Tuesday night.

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Comparing the Angels during their 11-game losing streak versus their season averages:

Runs scored per game: 2.9 (4.3)

Runs allowed per game: 6.4 (5.1)

Hits per game: 7.3 (8.8)

Hits allowed per game: 10.5 (9.1)

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