Erstad’s Move Could Push Vaughn Aside

Give the Angels some credit--at least an ounce or two--for moving Darin Erstad from center field to first base last weekend. With Erstad at first and Garret Anderson capable of playing three outfield positions, the Angels should have more flexibility to make trades or acquire free agents to bolster their offense this winter.

Too often in the past, the Angels shunned trade talks concerning potential outfielders, because with Erstad, Anderson, Tim Salmon and former Angel Jim Edmonds, they always considered their outfield set. That, in light of horrendous 2001 seasons by Salmon and Erstad, is obviously no longer the case.

But Erstad’s move is also a clear message to Mo Vaughn that he shape up or ship out to the designated hitter spot in 2002. Vaughn, who missed this season after surgery to repair a ruptured biceps tendon, was seen in Fenway Park last week, and he did not appear to have shed any of the 270 or so pounds he carried in 2000. Unless he drops a few pounds and shows better defensive range, his chances of playing first base next season are, well, slim.

The Angels wouldn’t mind shipping out Vaughn entirely. Though they’d never admit it, they would be very open to trading Vaughn and are willing to eat a portion of the remaining $50 million on his contract.

The Angels caught a break this season because insurance covered about $5 million of Vaughn’s $11-million salary, but they owe Vaughn $10 million in 2002, a total of $23 million in 2003 ($15 million in salary and the remaining $8 million of a $13-million signing bonus), $15 million in 2004 and $2 million to buy out his 2005 option.

Even if the Angels swallow a chunk of that contract, it’s still a big bite for any team interested in the erstwhile American League most valuable player. Of course, Vaughn must prove next spring that he can hit and field and run and provide legitimate power before any team even considers a trade for him, so don’t expect a deal this winter.

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Chuck Finley’s 15-year wait will finally end this week. The Cleveland left-hander and former Angel ace is scheduled to start Game 2 of the division series against Seattle, Finley’s first playoff appearance since he pitched in relief for the Angels in the 1986 league championship series against Boston. Finley was a rookie at the time and figured the postseason was his birthright.

“You think that’s just the way it is,” Finley told the Akron Beacon-Journal. “But then you miss [the playoffs] by one game, then two, then 10, then back to one and two again.”

If the division series goes the distance, Finley will start Game 5 on three days’ rest. Last season, Finley made two starts in September on three days’ rest, going 2-0 with a 3.46 earned-run average in 13 innings.

“I also did it a number of times with the Angels,” Finley said. “Actually, I usually feel the best on my fourth day [rather than the fifth] for some reason.”

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The Mariners’ pennant hopes were dealt a considerable blow last week when shortstop Carlos Guillen was diagnosed with tuberculosis.

Guillen, who played superb defense in place of Alex Rodriguez, committing only 10 errors, will not be medically cleared for this week’s division series after undergoing a surgical procedure Tuesday to insert an artificial clot to stop bleeding in his lungs.

Guillen, who hit .259 with five home runs and 53 runs batted in, will be replaced by Mark McLemore, who sat out several games last week because of a strained tendon behind his left knee but was expected to return by the weekend.

McLemore is a capable defensive player whose .991 fielding percentage at shortstop (one error in 109 chances) is actually better than Guillen’s .980 mark (10 errors in 510 chances), but McLemore doesn’t have the range or arm Guillen has. With McLemore at short, the Mariners also lose a valuable insurance policy should third baseman David Bell aggravate his rib-cage injury.

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The Mariners hope Guillen can recover in time for the AL championship series, should they defeat Cleveland, but the chances of Guillen playing again this season seem remote.

In May 1997, while in the New York Mets’ farm system, Oakland closer Jason Isringhausen was stricken with tuberculosis. The pitcher, who was recovering from arm surgery at the time, lost 30 pounds during the illness and sat out most of the season.