Angels Looking Like a Team That’s at the End of Its Rope

Dead Team Walking, a.k.a. the Angels, turned in another uninspiring performance in an unsightly 6-2 loss to New York before 49,408 in Yankee Stadium Saturday night.

The Angels’ sixth consecutive defeat included center fielder Garret Anderson dropping Paul O’Neill’s routine fly ball in the second inning, giving the Yankees their first run, and another pathetic night at the plate, where the Angels managed three hits, one of them Todd Greene’s solo home run.

Other than Darin Erstad, who made two headfirst slides and a diving stop of O’Neill’s shot in the third, the Angels seemed to play with little emotion or fire, prompting the Oliver Stone in some to wonder: Is this some twisted plot among the Angels to get Manager Terry Collins fired?

Or is it just coincidence that since several players went to General Manager Bill Bavasi on June 2 to air their concerns about Collins, the Angels have lost 11 of 14 games?

The Angels, who remain 10 games behind first-place Texas, have scored 20 runs in the last 11 games, a span in which they’re batting .204 (74 for 363), and they’ve been held to four runs or fewer in 22 of the last 24 games.

If the Angels truly want their manager ousted--and no player would ever admit to such--they’re doing a pretty good job of it.

“We haven’t quit on Terry--I don’t see that at all,” Angel pitcher Chuck Finley said. “I know this team, and that’s not happening. If the manager gets fired, they ought to fire a load of players along with him. Terry’s got nothing to do with this.”

Finley may not have much to do with it for much longer. Though he has remained neutral--at least publicly--on the possibility of renouncing his right as a 10-year veteran to veto a trade, Finley, in the last year of a four-year contract, has told friends he would be open to the idea of being dealt to a contender if the Angels are well out of the division race in July.

In fact, Finley said he plans to discuss the possibility of a trade in a meeting with Bavasi when the Angels return from this trip.

“It’s not totally up to me,” Finley said. “I’ll have to wait and see what Billy thinks.”

The idea of dealing Finley has merit, because if he goes on the market before the July 31 trading deadline, he could spark a bidding war between the Yankees and Cleveland Indians to acquire the left-hander. And that could be very good for the Angels.

The Indians would want Finley because he has a 16-9 career record against New York, and that could give Cleveland the upper hand in the anticipated American League championship series showdown against the Yankees.

Bavasi should be able to get three quality players from the Indians, such as power-hitting utility man Richie Sexson, second baseman Enrique Wilson and young pitcher Willie Martinez, for Finley.

The Yankees would pursue Finley to bolster their rotation and to prevent the Indians from getting him. New York might be willing to part with three of its top double-A prospects: Alfonso Soriano, a 21-year-old, power-hitting shortstop from the Dominican Republic, Dick Johnson, a hard-hitting first baseman who is the nephew of Angel third base coach Larry Bowa, and right-handed pitcher Luis De Los Santos.

With any luck, Finley would win the World Series ring he so craves and re-sign with the Angels as a free agent, giving the Angels their ace and a few more quality players from another franchise for 2000.

“That would be a perfect world, wouldn’t it?” Finley said.

Much better than the one Collins is living in. It’s as if he’s in a bad scene from the movie “Groundhog Day,” where every night he comes to the park, the opposing starter pitches what many say is his best game of the season, the Angel starter pitches well, the Angels don’t hit, and they lose.

Bernie Williams had a homer and two doubles to lead the Yankees Saturday night, and Hideki Irabu gave up two runs--one earned--on three hits in seven innings to improve to 6-5. Omar Olivares, who gave up five runs--four earned--on 10 hits in five innings, took the loss, falling to 6-5.

The only deviation from the Angel script was an awful play by the normally sure-handed Anderson, who took his eye of O’Neill’s fly ball just before he was about to catch it, and dropped it.

“I just messed it up,” Anderson said. “There’s no excuses. I’m too good an outfielder to make a play like that. I butchered it.”

Just like the Angels have this season.