BASEBALL : Angels’ Big Picture Hasn’t Cleared Up That Much

So Terry Collins resigns as Angel manager, exposing the level of his exasperation with bickering players.

So Devon White becomes the latest Dodger to express frustration with the club’s leadership.

Just when it is thought that the Angels and Dodgers can’t hit a deeper and rockier bottom, the Collins and White developments seem to suggest that the renowned spelunkers are still exploring the black depths.

On the Labor Day weekend of this long, lost season, however, there was, at least, a brighter and roomier feel to the Angel clubhouse at Edison Field on Saturday.

The lighting in the previously dungeonlike quarters had been turned up a notch, and two large-screen televisions had been removed, a blow to Jerry Springer’s ratings but a possible boon to pregame preparations and focus. The TV dispersal had been discussed among some of the veteran Angels, and General Manager Bill Bavasi gave his approval this weekend.

Asked if it was done with focus in mind, interim Manager Joe Maddon smiled slyly and said:

“It definitely creates a more airy atmosphere. We consulted a couple of interior decorators and they liked the idea.”

The interior refurbishing has only begun, of course.

The Angels may soon have an entire new look, periwinkle and all. In addition to a new manager, there may be a new owner, president and general manager. The popular Maddon, a baseball lifer, will be a candidate for the full-time managing position.

But the selection process is clouded by the uncertainty that pervades the other positions.

Does Disney or a new owner make the key personnel and economic decisions of a critical off-season? Does Tony Tavares remain as president under a new owner and will he retain Bavasi after this season? Does Bavasi stay or go, and does he have authority over a managerial timetable and hire? Would a prospective manager and/or general manager come aboard if not sure the people who hired him were going to stay?

It may be a good thing that Henry Nicholas III, the prospective buyer, is into extreme sports because this seems to be an extreme emergency.

Consider that the Angels already face competition in what will soon be an even more crowded market.

The Milwaukee Brewers are looking for both a manager and general manager, and will soon be joined by the Colorado Rockies.

The Baltimore Orioles may wind up needing both, as may the Angels. The Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs are expected to have managerial openings.

Bavasi refused to discuss his status Saturday or speculate on how an ownership change might affect selection of a manager.

“Tony and I will approach this like we have to, with the long-range interest of the club in mind,” he said.

“In a day or two we’ll get down to business with the available names, but I don’t expect this to be lightning quick. The first thing is to solidify the situation in the short term. We didn’t expect Terry to resign.”

Neither did he expect to have a last-place team in September with critical problems of character and chemistry that could affect the type of manager he hires.

Can the Angels entrust the clubhouse to a first-time manager or a manager who never played in the big leagues--an apparently important issue with some players in regard to Collins--or is an experienced manager with a physical presence required? How does Maddon fit in beyond the fact that Bavasi says he definitely will be considered.

For Maddon, 45, in his third interim stint, his sixth year on the coaching staff and his 18th with the organization, that’s good enough for now. He has always wanted to manage, he said, but “right now I’m only looking at the next 30 days. If I do the best job I can, the future will take of itself. I know you’re always auditioning in this situation, but one thing I learned in the minors, if you worry about things you can’t control, you can’t do your job.”

Under Collins, a close friend he could only hug on Black Friday because his emotions would not allow him to verbalize his feelings, Maddon handled computer preparations, spending as much as six hours preparing data before each series, the material taped to the dugout wall.

That is a void now that Maddon has managerial responsibilities because none of the other coaches are into computers the way Maddon is, spending idle time at his keyboard with fantasy football or calling up the hometown Hazelton (Pa.) Standard Speaker “to check out the obits and police blotter to see if any of my old buddies got picked up.”

Hazelton is a former mining town of about 32,000. A grandfather worked the mines and died of black lung disease. Maddon’s father was a miner before recognizing the health hazard and becoming a plumber. Joe Sr. still works at 78, and Maddon’s mother, Albina, is still a short order cook at the Third Base Luncheonette, which advertises “the next best thing to home.”

Home for Maddon and family--wife Bette and children Sarah and Joey--is now Mesa, Ariz., but he said that he knew everyone in Hazelton, especially at his favorite Bell Hops’ Bar, would be excited to learn that he had been given this managerial opportunity, as excited as Maddon allows himself to be in the “difficult circumstances” surrounding the departure of Collins, who was devoured trying to motivate the underachieving Angels.

Maddon thinks that pride and the desire to take a strong finish into the off-season “should be motivation enough,” and in trying to dissipate the tension that continually festered under the tightly wound Collins, he has told the Angels to take chances and risks and not be concerned about mistakes.

How it plays out for the Angels and the interim manager in the uncertain atmosphere surrounding the organization isn’t certain, but now, at least, the players may be reaching for the Sporting News rather than the TV Guide.