Tigers’ Collapse Seems Familiar

This Tiger season should have a familiar ring to some of the Angels. It’s beginning to look like a rewrite of the Angels’ 1999 season, when mounting losses and clubhouse turmoil tore the team apart after the All-Star break.

The Angels lost 11 consecutive games in late July 1999 to fall out of the playoff race. The Tigers have lost 11 of 14 games and are 20 games under .500.

A bench-clearing brawl with the Cleveland Indians on Aug. 31, 1999, did more to divide than unify the Angels--several players were miffed that Mo Vaughn did not participate in the fight, and Vaughn ripped closer Troy Percival for hitting David Justice with a pitch to spark the brawl after Cleveland scored 10 runs in the eighth inning for a 14-12 victory.

The Tigers are experiencing similar fallout from Friday’s brawl with the Kansas City Royals, which started when Mike Sweeney charged Detroit pitcher Jeff Weaver. Weaver, who will start against the Angels today, accused some teammates of backing Sweeney in the fight.

“When you’ve got only two or three [position players] fighting behind you, it kind of irks you,” Weaver said.

Several Angels voiced their displeasure with then-manager Terry Collins in 1999. Though the Tigers haven’t been as critical of Manager Phil Garner, one player, catcher Robert Fick, tried to fight Garner in the dugout during a game in July.

And like the Angels in 1999, the Tigers have had several team meetings to air their beefs--they had another one before Wednesday night’s game that lasted more than an hour.

“It was a very good meeting,” Garner said.

Why?

“Because the alternative is bad,” Garner said. “I didn’t say everything is solved. It’s good that it was a long meeting. The worst thing that can happen is no one cares, when you call a meeting and everyone is asleep in there.”

Left-hander Scott Schoeneweis will look to join Ramon Ortiz and Jarrod Washburn in the 10-win club when he starts for the Angels today. The Angels have not had three 10-game winners on the same staff since 1997, when Chuck Finley, Jason Dickson and Allen Watson combined for 38 wins.

Ismael Valdes (8-6) is also nearing double figures in wins. The Angels have not had four 10-game winners on the same staff since 1991, when Finley, Jim Abbott, Mark Langston and Kirk McCaskill combined for 65 wins.

“That’s indicative of how hard these guys have worked to stay healthy and how well they’re throwing the ball,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Hopefully, they’ll fly by 10 wins, but to put yourself in position to win 10 you’ve got to throw the ball well consistently.”

The loss of Jose Nieves because of a shoulder injury and the recall of outfielder Jeff DaVanon on Tuesday leaves the Angels with only three middle infielders, David Eckstein, Adam Kennedy and Benji Gil.

That could present problems on the nights Scioscia starts all three, as he did Wednesday when he used Eckstein at designated hitter, Kennedy at second and Gil at shortstop.

If Scioscia pulled Gil or Kennedy for a pinch-hitter, he would have moved third baseman Troy Glaus to shortstop, first baseman Scott Spiezio to third and center fielder Darin Erstad to first.

TODAY

ANGELS’

SCOTT SCHOENEWEIS

(9-8, 4.74 ERA)

vs.

TIGERS’

JEFF WEAVER

(10-11, 3.86 ERA)

Comerica Park, Detroit, 10 a.m. PDT

Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

Update--Schoeneweis won his last two starts, over Boston and Toronto, giving up five earned runs in 15 1/3 innings. Weaver, who has a nasty slider to go with a good fastball, limited the Angels to two runs and seven hits in eight innings of an 11-2 Tiger victory on May 5. Angel starters have logged 751 2/3 innings, an average of 6 1/3 innings a start, second in the league behind Oakland.