DiSarcina’s Injury Leaves Angels Short

The Parade of Agony marches forward. The long list of Angel misfortune took another hit with the loss of Gary DiSarcina for the season.

It is basically the second in a row that the reliable and valuable shortstop will have missed, creating the possibility that DiSarcina has played his last game for the Angels and a need the team must quickly address.

Given the likelihood that they can continue to slug their way through a .500 division that is the American League West, they still require stability at the most important infield position, and while they continue to voice support for Benji Gil, many AL scouts and officials question whether Gil can carry the load over a full season.

In fact, Gil already has shown signs of weakening. A career .215 hitter before this season, he is batting .195 with 11 errors through only a quarter of the 2000 schedule. The Angels speak glowingly of the progress that former second baseman Justin Baughman is making in his minor league return to his original position of shortstop, but with Adam Kennedy at second base, they can’t be serious about putting two rookies in the middle of the infield in the middle of a division title race.

The problem, of course, is that there are few available shortstops.

Kevin Stocker, released by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays after also making 11 errors in 40 games with limited range, is one possibility.

Chris Gomez, operating behind Damian Jackson in San Diego, is a better one, according to most scouts.

Gomez is owed about $5 million through 2001, but with DiSarcina’s $3.45-million option now in doubt, the financial price isn’t that great. In addition, Gomez probably could be acquired for one or two low-level prospects. The larger concern is the stability of his knees. Both were operated on last year and he continues to receive lubricating injections, the Padres getting a two-for-one discount on servicing since Tony Gwynn gets the same injections.

The issue here isn’t an eye-popping acquisition. The Angels only need an upgrade during a year in which their division can be had with a modest number of wins. That they are a viable contender despite employing 19 pitchers before June 1 underscores the nature of the division.

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With former Wal-Mart chairman David Glass having emerged as the Kansas City Royals’ owner after several years of uncertain direction, Manager Tony Muser was given a two-year extension through 2002 on Wednesday. The players applauded the decision, although first baseman Mike Sweeney said that Muser initially “ruffled some feathers” with his no-nonsense approach, which forbids players from wearing caps backward or bringing cellular phones into the clubhouse.

“Now you can really see the harvest of what he’s sown,” said Sweeney, a major weapon on a young and resilient team that has enough offense to contend in the AL Central but remains short of pitching.

“The discipline of this team and the way we play the game is nothing like the way it was when he started here,” Sweeney said. “We listen to him, we respond to him and we work hard for him.”

Managers seldom receive that kind of testimonial, and Muser is a baseball lifer who knows it can change. Predecessor Bob Boone, after all, was fired only eight months after receiving a contract extension.

Muser also knows he still has a lot of work to do in restoring the small-market Royals to their previous glory, if that is even possible.

Said team President Dan Glass, in announcing the extension: “I don’t know if you know this, but his contract comes with a two-year supply of Excedrin as his young players continue to develop.”