Finley Feeling No Regrets

There is more difference between spring training in Arizona and Florida than the humidity here. The difference for Chuck Finley after only two days in the Cleveland Indians’ camp is that he already has confirmed that his new team is a “well-oiled machine” compared with his former Angels, a potential clunker.

“It’s obvious the Indians are very organized and serious about one thing, winning the World Series,” Finley said. “They know what it takes.

“The [Angel] situation is like on-the-job training, trying to determine strengths and weaknesses as they go along and then trying to decide what to do about it, if anything.

“The Indians are strong at every position, and if they need something, they go out and get it.”

In the wake of the Indians’ division series meltdown against the Boston Red Sox, General Manager John Hart decided a veteran pitcher--preferably left-handed--was needed for his predominantly young rotation.

As a free agent Finley received a three-year, $27-million contract after 14 years--the longest stint in club history--as the Angels’ winningest pitcher.

The Angels made no offer, but Finley said there is no bitterness and certainly no regrets as he embarks on a new beginning with baseball’s most potent offense and best up-the-middle defense--plus the adrenaline rush of a sold-out season at Jacobs Field.

“I lick my lips two or three times a day thinking about it,” he said. “If I go out and do what I did over the second half of last year [he was 7-1 with a 2.16 earned-run average in his last 11 starts], I’ve got to win 18 or 19 games, maybe more.”

The Angels, meanwhile, have been left with a shell of a rotation as they begin what Finley believes is a major rebuilding project.

“They keep talking about getting younger and younger, which means cheaper and cheaper,” he said. “They probably should rename their stadium Fisher-Price Stadium.

“I’m not the Amazing Kreskin, but I guarantee that team is going to look different [after the July 31 trade deadline] and maybe even before the end of spring training. [Jim] Edmonds is surely gone. Maybe [Tim] Salmon, [Garret] Anderson, [Gary] DiSarcina. I know they’d like to dump Mo [Vaughn, which General Manager Bill Stoneman denied]. What they’ve had isn’t working and maybe they can get it right in two or three years. I hope they do. They definitely have a lot of things to answer for sooner or later.”

Since Angel President Tony Tavares is preaching patience, calling for a five-year plan as if his club hasn’t already heaped 40 years of frustration and disappointment on its fans, the perception is that it will be later rather than sooner.

In addition, Finley said, a rebuilding organization needs people who know how to do it and trust each others’ instincts. He seemed to suggest that may not exist in Anaheim.

He cited, in particular, the firing of coaches Larry Bowa, George Hendrick and Rod Carew, as well as pitching coach Dick Pole, now with the Indians.

“If you listened to guys like that you had a pretty good chance of developing a winner, but they went in with a Hoover,” Finley said, referring to sweeping changes throughout the organization. “I knew I was in the wrong place when there was nobody I recognized.

“Of course, I pretty much knew over the entire second half I wasn’t going to be back and I didn’t have any preconceived notion, just because I had been there 14 years, as to whether they would even offer me a contract. I think the only thing they had on their mind was not taking a bath from a PR standpoint. They had their orders and that’s fine.

“What put the nail in the coffin for me was when someone from the front office was quoted in the paper as saying what he thought it would take to sign me. When they started negotiating in the paper, that was it.”

Finley considered the Seattle Mariners, but the 37-year-old pitcher figured his best chance to return to the playoffs for the first time since his 1986 rookie season was with Cleveland and its continued dominance in the American League Central.

“If I was serious about fulfilling my dream of reaching the World Series, this is the place where I had the best opportunity,” he said. “I could have spent my career with the Angels, but if I was really honest about why I play the game, I knew I had to move.”

It almost happened at last July’s trade deadline except that Hart felt that Bill Bavasi, the Angel general manager then, overplayed his hand by asking for infielder Enrique Wilson and three young pitchers, David Riske, Willie Martinez and Jared Camp.

Said Hart: “I regret we weren’t able to get Chuck at that time because he might have made the difference against Boston, but now we have him and we still have the four players they wanted.”

The Angels? They got zilch for a pitcher who 1) will be the first left-hander to start regularly for Cleveland since Greg Swindell in 1992, 2) has a 16-9 career record against the New York Yankees, a potential playoff rival, and 3) figures to set an example for the young Bartolo Colon and Jaret Wright. The latter is the son of former Angel pitcher Clyde Wright and grew up in the shadow of then Anaheim Stadium.

“Guys like Chuck and Mark Langston were legends to me,” Wright said. “I’m hoping that even one-eighth rubs off.”

Langston, who was signed by the Indians last year, is vying for a bullpen berth that would reunite him with longtime Angel teammate Finley.

“Chuck is coming to a great team and great city,” Langston said. “I kept telling him it’s all about winning a world championship. I got a taste of it with San Diego two years ago [when the Padres lost to the Yankees in the World Series] and it’s absolutely addicting. We’re all blessed to do what we do, but when you go through a scenario like Chuck did last year it takes the joy out of it.”

Finley’s big second half, enabling him to finish second in the league in strikeouts and deliver his usual 200-plus innings, salvaged a season in which he started 5-10 and admittedly lost focus amid the pre-deadline trade speculation and the players lost what he called their professionalism amid the clubhouse turmoil that prompted manager Terry Collins to resign.

“There are some things I don’t want to talk about, but you need complete concentration to play the game and we had so many issues with each other or with the manager and organization that it was difficult to take the field at times,” Finley said of the players. “It was like a marathon runner who has a pebble in his shoe. It just kept eating at you.”

Nevertheless, Finley said he still smiles when he closes his eyes and reflects on 14 years with the Angels, still grateful for the chance they gave him and appreciative of the fan support. He also smiles when he looks ahead, feeling as if he is 10 years younger and licking his lips as he says it.