Big Mac Takes a Big Hack at Southland Fans

A good number of boos were heard from the grumpy segment of the Southern California baseball public when Mo Vaughn struck out for a third consecutive at-bat at Edison Field.

It is, of course, understandable that the Angel first baseman’s Wednesday night performance would be the object of such derision. After all, he played on a mangled ankle for 138 1/2 games last season, and hit 33 home runs and drove in 108 runs, the slacker.

And, at midweek, Vaughn had five home runs, a team-leading 19 RBIs and was batting .322. The Angels were winning games at the unfathomable rate of half the time, in part due to Vaughn.

We bring this up because of a recent conversation we had with Mark McGwire, who reflected on his crowd experiences while playing baseball at La Verne Damien High and USC, and then as a visiting player with the Oakland A’s and St. Louis Cardinals.

“The fans in [Southern California], they don’t appreciate sports very much there,” McGwire said. “It’s unfortunate. I was one of those people. When you’re born and raised like that, you don’t know. Here [in St. Louis], season tickets are handed down through the family. You’re raised loving a team, respecting the players. It’s something you don’t see in L.A.”

Rainy days and Pedro:

Pedro Martinez is baseball’s most ferocious pitcher.

But consider Martinez, commenting on the rain, after it postponed his start for a fourth consecutive day: “I think it’s romantic. It’s nice to cuddle in. I like cloudy days and storms when I’m sleeping. But that’s if I’m sleeping. Not to play baseball.”

Now, close your eyes and try to envision Bob Gibson saying that.

Unkindest cut: The eye surgeon who performed a successful LASIK procedure on Tiger Woods was named Mark Whitten.

He shouldn’t expect much business from the baseball community.

Even if it’s not the Mark Whiten, nobody nicknamed “Hard Hittin’ ” is ever getting near their eyeballs. He is, however, free to come break up the cement on their driveways.

Leading him to slaughter? Mike Lamb, who played four seasons at Cal State Fullerton, was called up by the Texas Rangers this week, prompting two observations by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

One, that Lamb was the latest Ranger with “animal instincts,” following Randy Bass, Eric Fox, Shawn Hare and Jim Panther.

Two, that Lamb was the latest “culinary delight,” after John Butcher, Dennis Cook, Jeff Frye, John Grubb and Johnny Oates.

Lamb might also have an observation: that the Star-Telegram is really goofy.

What about us? The Angels were saddened to learn this week that Gary Gaetti, upon his retirement eight years after they bought out the final 1 1/2 years of his contract with them, did not mention them in his impromptu farewell address.

Gaetti referred to George Brett and the Kansas City Royals, Kirby Puckett and the Minnesota Twins, Mark Grace and Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs, Nomar Garciaparra and the Boston Red Sox, and the 1996 Cardinals.

But not one mention of Von Hayes and the California Angels. Some guys have absolutely no sense of loyalty.

Blue light special: They haven’t yet slapped two bricks together for the new ballpark in Cincinnati, but already there are concerns about what it might look like, said Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty:

“On Tuesday, we ran a story about the Reds’ new playfield, complete with an artist’s rendering. The drawing didn’t evoke comparisons to the Louvre. Let’s hope appearances are deceiving. Because this looked like Kmart with bases. Or worse, the new Comiskey Park.”

They can call it “Marge’s Revenge.” Of course, then they’ll have to refer to the team as something else.

Star Trek: Of all the theories on home runs the size of Rhode Island and runs in triplicate, the best has come from Philadelphia outfielder Doug Glanville. His revelation to ESPN.com: “A solar flare from the star Betelgeuse caused disruptions in the earth’s gravitational field, thus reducing the strength of the field by a factor of 1.3.”

Glanville graduated from Penn.

His Ivy League solution?

“Pump pseudo gravity into every stadium--Just don’t drop your hot dog on your foot.”

Good eye: Who says you can’t walk off the island?

Actually, most believe it was Rafael Ramirez, the Dominican shortstop, who most aptly explained why he and his countrymen are such free swingers.

A month into the season, however, Jose Offerman is among the American League leaders in walks and Luis Castillo is among the National League leaders. Both were raised in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic.

Armed and dangerous: Phenoms Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder already are in the Oakland Athletics’ rotation, and former USC Trojan Barry Zito, perhaps the best of the bunch, is not far away. All of this young, home-grown, decent pitching is an unusual recent trend for the A’s.

“We’ve developed more groundskeepers than pitchers,” GM Billy Beane admitted.

But, they were darned good groundskeepers.