Vaughn Has a Message: Get Serious

While the Oakland Athletics continued their march toward the playoffs, beating the Angels, 9-7, Wednesday before a crowd of 23,333 at Network Associates Coliseum, Angel first baseman Mo Vaughn continued his march to . . . where exactly?

Vaughn said he likes Manager Mike Scioscia and the coaching staff and has enjoyed playing on the West Coast after eight seasons in Boston, but it will take more to satiate the Angel slugger in Anaheim.

“I want to get ourselves in the best position to win as soon as possible,” said Vaughn, who went hitless in five at-bats Wednesday and struck out three times, increasing his American League-leading total to 176.

“Winning starts at the top, and things permeate down from there. If you want to be a team that just competes, you can do that. If you want to be a team that can win it all, you can do that. Hopefully they understand we’re not very far off and that they can do some things to help.”

Vaughn plans to meet with Angel President Tony Tavares after the season to discuss the future of the team. He believes the Angels are one or two top-notch starting pitchers away from winning the division.

Tavares and General Manager Bill Stoneman said the Angels will be aggressive in their pursuit of pitching, but the free-agent market is thin, and pitching-hungry teams will probably overpay for what little is available.

Most believe the top two pitchers, Met left-hander Mike Hampton and Oriole right-hander Mike Mussina, will re-sign with their teams. Dodger right-hander Darren Dreifort is another possibility.

If the Angels get outbid for free agents, they’ll have to consider a trade. Their two biggest chips may be right fielder Tim Salmon, who is entering the final year of a four-year, $22.5-million contract, and Vaughn, who is entering the third year of a six-year, $80-million contract.

Vaughn, who grew up in Norwalk, Conn., does not seem opposed to the idea of a deal, especially to an East Coast team.

“I miss the intensity of playing on the East Coast--I’d be lying if I didn’t say that,” Vaughn said. “But it can get done here. I don’t make demands or try to force the action. I’ve been through that before [in Boston]. But I understand how salary structures work and that organizations will do what they feel is best in the long haul. And I know things can happen.”

Nothing good happened for Vaughn Wednesday. He struck out with two on in the fourth and popped out with the bases loaded to end the fifth during a frustrating afternoon in which the Angels left 14 on base.

Plenty went right for the A’s. Leadoff batter Terrence Long broke a 5-5 tie with a two-run homer in the fifth, as Oakland maintained a 1 1/2-game lead over Cleveland in the wild-card race and stayed one-half game behind Seattle in the AL West.

The A’s, who have baseball’s best record (19-6) this month, tacked on two more runs in the sixth on Eric Chavez’s sacrifice fly and Angel right fielder Orlando Palmeiro’s error for a 9-6 lead.

Oakland right fielder Matt Stairs continued his September surge with a two-out, two-run double in the second. Stairs is 22 for 71 (.310) with 17 RBIs in September after hitting .216 the first five months.

“Your concentration gets a little higher, and your intensity gets a littler higher in September,” Stairs said. “I’ve had young players say to me, ‘This is amazing, this is the best experience I’ve ever had.’ Well, this is what you play for.”

The Angels, mathematically eliminated Tuesday night, have nothing to play for, but they didn’t act like it Wednesday. Darin Erstad and Garret Anderson each had four hits, and Erstad homered in the second, giving him a major league-record 99 RBIs from the leadoff spot.

Manager Mike Scioscia started all of his regulars except for catcher Bengie Molina.

“I don’t care if you’re out of it or not, or if it’s a pickup game in the backyard, that’s the way I’m playing,” Erstad said. “That’s where the joy comes from.”

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Chicago is in and has home-field advantage in the playoffs. New York needs one win to clinch a spot, while Seattle is one-half game ahead of Oakland in the West. The A’s lead the wild-card race by 1 1/2 over Cleveland.