Vaughn Defends Himself : Angels: Before team loses again, he takes verbal shots that seem aimed at Percival and pitchers in aftermath of brawl.

Mo Vaughn didn’t play in the Angels’ 8-1 loss to the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night, but he sure made his presence felt, his angry voice booming through the team’s Jacobs Field clubhouse in two pregame outbursts that brought to light further divisions on this dysfunctional team.

The first was in response to an insinuation that Vaughn didn’t back his teammates in Tuesday night’s eighth-inning brawl, which started after closer Troy Percival hit Indian outfielder David Justice with a pitch and Justice charged the mound.

A television camera caught Vaughn, who was the designated hitter and was not on the field when the fight erupted, in the corner of the Angel dugout, watching as order was being restored.

“I’ve been in brawls all my career, I don’t give a . . . about what someone else said,” Vaughn said loudly, alluding to Percival’s comment that he gained respect for certain people in the fight but had to question others.

“If I was down on the bench, I would have been in the brawl. But I was in the clubhouse watching the game on TV. I was in the Twilight Zone.”

The second, and more harsh, outburst seemed directed toward Percival, who gave up Richie Sexson’s three-run home run that capped a 10-run eighth inning in the Indians’ wild, 14-12, come-from-behind victory Tuesday night, the rest of the Angel pitching staff and to his teammates in general.

“I want them to . . . hear me,” Vaughn screamed, as many of his teammates, including Percival, played cards nearby. “I’ve been telling these . . . the same thing all year, keep that . . . out of the papers.

“Be like a man. If you get rapped around, don’t throw at a guy, get the next guy out and get out of the inning. I’ve been getting drilled all year. Is anyone protecting me? We’ve been getting drilled all year, and [no opponents] have been on their backs once. You call that a . . . team?”

For the record, Vaughn has been hit by pitches a team-high nine times, and the Angels have been hit 37 times. The Angels have hit opposing batters 46 times, but nine of those are by knuckleballer Steve Sparks.

As for how many times an Angel has publicly ripped his teammates and how many times tensions have run so high in the clubhouse it seemed like some players might come to blows, statisticians have lost count.

In this case, batting instructor Rod Carew intervened on the behalf of Vaughn and Percival, bringing the players together for a 10-minute conversation that seemed to smooth out matters.

“Mo and I are fine, there’s no problem there,” Percival said. “Mo was up here [in the clubhouse] when that fight started, and it ended quick. To me, it’s a non-issue.”

It could be an issue for the Angel front office, though. The Angels have lost eight in a row and are 10-36 since the All-Star break, and they have crumbled as much in the clubhouse as they have on the field.

“I am disturbed by this whole picture,” General Manager Bill Bavasi said. “We are involved in some very intense evaluations . . . and we’re seeing how people react in adverse conditions. We need to put a team together with the heart and ability to be a championship club. . . .

“We have a team of talented guys in the middle of some horrors, and they are not handling it well. None of us are handling it well.”

Asked if all the tension and angst of the past month and a half reflected poorly on Manager Terry Collins, Bavasi said: “Terry is not the issue here.”

What about Vaughn? The Angels have invested $80 million over six years in this player who was signed to be a team leader, and he has seemed out of sorts for the last month, lashing out at teammates who have aired their beefs in the newspapers and questioning whether teammates approach the game properly.

Is there a danger in having your marquee player, the player you were hoping to build your franchise around, being so disgruntled this early in a long-term contract?

“I don’t think so,” Bavasi said. “But this is something that has to be solved between Mo and his teammates. To talk about long-term relationships, you’re assuming every one of these guys is going to be back year after year. That’s a big assumption.”

There has been speculation--especially after last weekend’s trip to Boston, Vaughn’s home for the previous eight seasons--that Vaughn regrets signing with the Angels, that if he had the chance, he would rip up his contract right now.

“That’s absolutely not what he thinks,” said Mark Gillam, one of Vaughn’s agents. “Any time you play for a new organization, you’re not guaranteed immediate success.

“It’s not his style to ask for a trade. One reason he came to Anaheim is he wanted to see another side of baseball. He moved a long way to come here, and he’s not going to do that frivolously. He doesn’t do knee-jerk things.

“Mo is a warrior who hates to lose. He’s not a quitter, and he knows he was brought here to be a leader. This is not going to damage his relationship with the Angels. He’s a very emotional guy, he’s been through a lot of . . . but he hasn’t lost sight of what he was brought here to do.”