Phillips Tells A’s They Don’t Hold All Aces

The Oakland Athletics, who may be a year ahead of schedule as a contending team, are always the disregarded factor when people talk of the American League West race involving three teams: the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners and Angels.

Tony Phillips, who has provided the young A’s with veteran leadership, fire and consistency, isn’t angered by it.

“That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” he said. “What the hell have the A’s done in the last five years? You have to earn your keep.”

Phillips said he wasn’t suggesting that the A’s aren’t capable of winning--”I don’t want anyone on this team thinking we can’t win”--or that they aren’t capable of playing better than they have, but “the motivating factor is knowing that we aren’t that good, that we don’t have the number of all-star and quality players that a lot of teams do, so we have to play harder than the other team.”

It’s a daily learning process, a humbling experience at times.

“I like what I see of the young players on this team, but I keep reminding them that this isn’t triple A,” Phillips said. “There are guys out there being paid $5 million, and not just because their club liked their personality. They are being paid to beat your brains in, so you have to battle hard every day. People say we’re going to fold in time, and we may. But it’s still early, and I tend to think we’re going to get a whole lot better.”

The semi-resurgence of the Baltimore Orioles has left the club in a quandary as to whether to dump salaries at the July 31 trade deadline or keep the roster intact.

The Orioles were fooled by a 30-8 run after last year’s All-Star break and failed to get anything in return for tradable free-agents-to-be Rafael Palmeiro, Roberto Alomar and Eric Davis. Clubs are already calling to ask about catcher Lenny Webster, starters Juan Guzman and Scott Erickson and reliever Arthur Rhodes.

Rhodes is one of the few left-handed relievers with power stuff. Kevin Malone is known to be one of the suitors, but the price is high and the Dodger general manager doesn’t have much to offer in the prospect category.

One of the tightest All-Star races involves balloting between Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra for American League shortstop. There is more than pride at stake, particularly for Garciaparra.

As part of the five-year, $23.25-million deal he signed with the Boston Red Sox last year, he has club options for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. His salary in each of those years could escalate by $500,000 if he makes the All-Star team--by fan vote or managerial selection--four times during the contract’s first five years, meaning he could have $1 million at stake. Since Cleveland Manager Mike Hargrove left him off last year’s team, he has to make the All-Star team in every year through 2002 to trigger the bonuses. He would figure to be a lock--by either vote or managerial pick--for this year’s game, since it is being played at Fenway Park on July 11. So would Jeter, since his New York Yankee manager, Joe Torre, is selecting the players that the fans don’t.

In the same week that he hit his first grand slam in the majors, former Dodger Paul Konerko, now with the Chicago White Sox, won a trip for four to Ireland with a hole in one at a benefit golf tournament. “I thought the ball had bounced off the green, but my partners started yelling and the officials at the hole started pointing,” he said. “I suddenly had a lot of friends in the clubhouse claiming they were Irish.”