Angels Get By as Erstad Gets a Bye

While the Angels were regaining a measure of respectability with Wednesday night’s 4-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals before 13,998 at Edison Field, center fielder Darin Erstad sat and watched.

While Ismael Valdes threw 61/3 solid innings, giving up one run on five hits, and Scott Spiezio hit a two-run home run in the second inning, and Tim Salmon enjoyed his first three-hit game since May 29, and Jeff DaVanon made several fine defensive plays in Erstad’s absence, Erstad did not so much as lift a bat.

For the first time since April 29, Manager Mike Scioscia’s lineup did not include Erstad, who has been mired in a season-long slump that has not been as horrendous as Salmon’s but has been just as staggering considering the depths to which Erstad has fallen. Erstad’s batting average (.259) is almost 100 points lower than his 2000 average (.355), the largest drop-off of any major leaguer from 2000 to 2001.

Erstad had 240 hits last season; he has 142 this season. He had 121 runs, 39 doubles, 25 home runs and 100 runs batted in 2000, a major league record for RBIs for a leadoff batter; he has 76 runs, 28 doubles, eight home runs and 60 RBIs in 2001. Erstad had a .541 slugging percentage and .409 on-base percentage in 2000. He has a .358 slugging percentage, which is less than that of slap-hitting David Eckstein (.365) and second baseman Adam Kennedy (.397), and a .330 on-base percentage in 2001.

“He’s at a point where it will be good for him to sit and watch a game,” Scioscia said. “He needs to relax, to recharge.” Scioscia said Erstad has “been on a roller coaster this year,” but it’s been more playground slide than amusement-park ride. Since peaking at .295 on June 20, Erstad’s average has been in steady decline, his frustration level on the rise.

“He’s as driven as anyone I’ve played with or against, and sometimes that’s a double-edged sword,” Scioscia said. “He will do anything to help the team, but the flip side of that is he takes it harder than others when things don’t go the way they should.”

Erstad, whose string of 113 consecutive starts was snapped Wednesday, has been bothered all season by a ligament strain in his right knee, an injury sustained over the winter but not diagnosed until May 1.

Though Erstad, who may need off-season surgery to clean up the knee, refuses to use it as an excuse, Scioscia said the impact of the injury is “significant.” The weaker front leg has reduced the torque Erstad can generate; as a result, there has been more of a sweeping arc to his swing than the compact, explosive stroke he had last season. Weeks of compensating for the injury early in the season also produced some bad habits that Erstad has struggled to overcome.

What effect will this season have on Erstad’s future? Erstad is in the final year of a four-year, $7.25-million contract and is eligible for arbitration this winter before gaining free-agent rights after 2002.

Should the Angels explore another long-term deal at a possible financial risk, or sign him for one year in hopes they’ll have a better handle on Erstad’s true talent level after 2002?

“That’s an element we’re going to look at after the season,” General Manager Bill Stoneman said. “We want him to finish the year well. We’ll worry about the other stuff later.”

Is the real Erstad the 2000 model who tore up the American League or the 2001 model who has been shredded by opposing pitchers. ‘Somewhere in between is probably the norm,’ Scioscia said. ‘I’m not going to look at this year and say it’s an abomination. Though his average and run production are down, what he brings to the park every day is vital to the club.”