Dodgers, Angels in Need of a Break

Thankfully shrouded by the purple-and-gold haze that has enveloped this Laker metropolis, the Dodgers and Angels began the final week before the All-Star break Monday with big-time troubles.

The Dodgers, at least, have been displaying spunk. The Angels? Well, the odor is that of a skunk.

The weekend sweep by the Seattle Mariners in Anaheim illustrated again that the Angels, who have lost 10 of 13 games to the American League West’s runaway leader, aren’t in the same league. The division race, of course, is already over, but given a chance to make a statement, to sustain their fading wild-card hopes, to give fans more to celebrate than the Rally Monkey’s birthday, the Angels displayed a disturbing lack of heart and focus, not to mention clutch hitting, consistent pitching and major-league caliber defense.

No matter how many positive spins Manager Mike Scioscia puts on it or how pleasantly impassive that General Manager Bill Stoneman is in dealing with it, the Angels have far more problems than the absence of Mo Vaughn.

The Dodgers, meantime, faced the San Francisco Giants Monday night with a six-game winning streak that included two wins in San Francisco and four in San Diego, a display of fortitude missing at times in recent seasons.

They are still alive in the division and very much alive in the wild-card race, but whether they can sustain their resiliency amid the oft-chronicled flaws in a $110-million roster and the probable loss now of Darren Dreifort, along with Andy Ashby, for the season is a question that would make pragmatists howl.

Beyond that, it is a question that interim General Manager Dave Wallace and assistant Dan Evans are pondering in Dodger Stadium’s executive offices.

How do they approach the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline?

Do they decide that the Dodgers have a legitimate playoff chance and try to trade for a starting pitcher?

Do they decide, with Dreifort and Ashby down, this would be the right time to take a step back, lower the payroll and rebuild a farm system that is barren at the top by trading, perhaps, Gary Sheffield and/or Mark Grudzielanek for prospects?

Tough questions that spawn others.

Do Wallace and Evans have the authority to make decisions and moves of that magnitude or are they simply caretakers for John Hart or Billy Beane?

Is chairman Bob Daly, now that his five-year, $55-million signing of Dreifort has possibly gone up in flames, willing to leave personnel decisions to his baseball people--be they Wallace/Evans or an established successor?

In the hallowed name of Branch Rickey, it is hard to believe that Mike Piazza, possibly the most popular player and best hitter in Dodger history, was traded surreptitiously by a media executive, Chase Carey, or that the physically suspect Dreifort, with a career record of 39-45, was signed to another industry-numbing contract by a movie man still learning the baseball game--and signed at a time when the impetus should have been on the long-term signing of the more proven Chan Ho Park.

Make no mistake: There is no dismissing the series of traumatic trades and signings under Sheriff Kevin Malone.

However, it was Carey’s trading of Piazza that triggered much of the chaos that has followed--financial and otherwise--and it was Daly’s treacherous signing of Dreifort that helped send the payroll soaring again and compounded the roster’s inflexibility.

Times change, of course. The money is bigger, the issues more complex.

Can the Dodgers, for instance, think about trading Sheffield and taking that step back without thinking about what impact it would have on Park’s desire to re-sign as a free agent next winter? Can they risk losing Park with Dreifort’s and Ashby’s status in doubt and Kevin Brown having been on the disabled list twice at 36? Can they fall back in the habit of trading a young player to reacquire Pedro Astacio?

The nature of the game now forces ownership to have a stronger voice in even the most mundane decisions, but is Daly willing to cede any of that spotlight? Can he be happy, as he put it recently, if his general manager is reporting to him only 15 minutes a day?

Do Wallace and Evans have that kind of autonomy?

Which route do they travel now--add, subtract, stand pat?

On a day that the Dodgers set an international record by signing Irvin Joel Guzman, a 16-year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic, for a $2.25-million bonus, Wallace reflected on the complicated hand he has inherited. He said the one certainty is that an organization already boasting baseball’s top payroll and paying the released Gregg Olson, Carlos Perez and F.P Santangelo $10.1 million can not take on more salary.

“It’s tough,” he said. “Every time you talk about acquiring a pitcher, the other club wants a pitcher back. You either have to give up players you can’t part with or take on a hell of a lot of money.”

Wallace is also limited in who he can deal by no-trade clauses and the high salaries of his front-line players, reducing market interest.

“Would we trade an upper echelon player?” he said, not specifically talking about Sheffield or Grudzielanek. “If the right pieces were involved you’d have to look at it just as you have to look at everything.”

In Anaheim, the Angels continue to have faith in a nucleus that is signed to multiyear contracts under market value, but questions are rising faster than their 21-game division deficit.

The loss of Vaughn and the annual absence of a productive DH has had major impact on an offense that has outscored only the Tampa Bay Devil Rays among the 14 American League teams, but . . .

Is Darin Erstad the player who hit .253 two years ago, .355 last year or is hitting .284 now? What is with Tim Salmon, who begins a four-year, $40-million extension next year and went on the disabled list Monday with a .206 overall average and .108 with runners in scoring position? Isn’t Troy Glaus’ .254 overall average and .185 for June an indication that the league’s home-run champion and a .284 hitter last year has regressed in his development?

In addition, only Jarrod Washburn among their young starters is winning consistently, and the Angels, as anticipated, have paid a big price for the absence of a dependable veteran at the head of their rotation--with apologies to Pat Rapp, who has deserved better than a 2-8 record.

The best measure of the Angel situation may be their willingness to hear overtures for Troy Percival, arguably baseball’s best closer. The St. Louis Cardinals are among several clubs showing interest in Percival, whose closing opportunities may be limited if the Angels continue to operate on a treadmill.

Skunk or spunk? It’s a question for both the Angels and Dodgers coming up to their summer recess.