BASEBALL : Resigned to Failure : A beleaguered Collins took it upon himself to shoulder the blame when it became apparent that no one else would.

It seems appropriate that the Walt Disney Co. is thinking of selling the Angels. The masters of animation have seen little of it during a season in which finger pointing and back biting replaced batting practice as the Angels’ pregame routine, the most embarrassing season in the history of an organization that can choose from more than one.

On Friday, emotionally spent trying to cope with and respond to the constant turmoil of an incinerating clubhouse, the daily bickering among his players--much of it directed at him--Terry Collins resigned as manager, stepping up while stepping out, as club President Tony Tavares put it.

“Terry is one of the few people in the organization who came forward and said, ‘How can I make a difference?’ ” Tavares said of Collins’ decision. “I’m proud of him. He’s one of the few people who would even conceive of asking that question, and he paid the ultimate sacrifice. If more of our people showed the responsibility he did and had a quarter of his integrity, we’d be a much better team.”

The Angels were once thought to be a team capable of contending for a division title. Injuries hurt, but the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians are headed to the playoffs despite a siege of injuries. Organizational depth is a factor in that, but so is character and chemistry.

“Injuries, curse, I think that’s all just a bunch of excuses,” Tavares said. “We have to take a long look at the character of this team and decide if it can perform when the chips are down.”

The determination will come too late for Collins, who certainly knows the answer, as does Tavares.

“We’ve got a group of individuals here who function like a group of individuals,” he said. “They have no concept of team. I don’t think they quit on Terry, but they quit on themselves.”

The Angels are 11-37 since the All-Star break and headed for their first season of 100 losses.

Issues that should have remained behind closed doors became the stuff of headlines.

Energy and emotion needed for the field was wasted in clubhouse debate and complaint.

At one point, Tavares said, “we were considering having it stamped on all the clubhouse mirrors, ‘The answer to all your questions and problems is right here.’ ”

Collins looked in the mirror again Friday and decided, who needs it. The inmates can have the asylum.

“I tried everything I could think of to get them going,” he said, fighting tears. “I decided that if I’m the reason they haven’t, then I’m out of here.”

He shared his thinking with General Manager Bill Bavasi Friday morning, saying he would have stayed if Bavasi insisted on it, but Bavasi said he regards Collins too highly and the current play of his team too poorly to have attempted to talk him out of it.

“If you’ve watched the way we’ve played and how we’ve handled it the last month,” Bavasi said, “if he’s your friend, I’m not sure I’d want to ram this down someone’s throat. I just thought this was best.

“It was a mutual decision that should not be considered a poor reflection on Terry’s managerial skills, his work ethic or his loyalty.”

Bavasi had thought enough of Collins’ managerial skills to dismiss player concerns and give Collins an extension of one year and an option in June. He was the same manager who led the Angels to second-place finishes in 1997 and ’98 after three straight second-place finishes with the Astros, where he was subjected to the same complaints--he was too loud, too negative, too intense--he would suddenly hear from the Angels this year.

With all of that, Collins said, the Astros came to play and played hard. So did the Angels of ’97 and ’98. What happened to the dysfunctional and underachieving ’99 team is a mystery.

Said Bavasi: “‘We had every reason to believe that we had put together a club that would respond, but it didn’t. I take responsibility if there’s issues of composition.”

It’s a familiar story. You can’t fire 25 players, so Collins took it on himself to pay the price.

Ultimately, Bavasi’s own status could be in jeopardy--whether the club is sold or not.

This is the uncertain atmosphere in which the Angels begin another managerial search and bench coach Joe Maddon, in his third stint, assumes possession of the interim title. Will there be a September to build on? Will Collins’ resignation help produce a turnaround?

“Will it help?” Tavares said. “God only knows. So far, this team has known no bottom to this abyss.”

The dark hole finally swallowed Collins, a good man who deserved better from players he protected by never openly criticizing and who had a difficult time controlling his emotions Friday as he attended a news conference many in his position would have skipped.

“I love managing,” he said, hopeful of another chance. “I’ll miss coming to the park and putting on the uniform every day, but I won’t miss the bickering that went on this year. I kicked butts, patted backs and tried everything I knew to motivate them, but a manager today has only one hammer--the lineup card, that’s it. The players have got to want to win and have got to want to be successful.”

The Angels didn’t show that want, and an exhausted Collins decided it was time to let someone else try.

“Hopefully,” he said, “this is a bad dream we can all forget.”

Better, some would say, his former players remember it and do something about it.