Following a Different Blueprint

Los Angeles, City of Angels? The Dodgers think not.

The Angels had their magical run to the 2002 World Series title, turning Edison Field and much of Southern California into a sea of red, but any hopes the Orange County upstarts had of knocking the Dodgers down to the No. 2 slot in the Southland baseball market have been wiped out by their disappointing first half of 2003.

And, just to be sure Southern California baseball fans were still thinking blue, the Dodgers returned to the forefront of the region’s baseball consciousness with a first-half surge that had pushed them into a first-place tie with arch-rival San Francisco in the National League West, before a 2-0 victory Thursday enabled the Giants to leave town with a one-game lead.

When the Dodgers and Angels resume their Freeway Series rivalry tonight with the first of a three-game interleague set at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers’ primary motivation will be to keep pace with or move ahead of the Giants in their division.

But there is added incentive for the Dodgers, who can reclaim some of the fans they lost last October and reaffirm their king-of-the-hill status in Southern California with a strong showing against the Angels this weekend and next, when the teams play three more games at Edison Field.

“I tip my hat to the Angels, they’re the world champions, but it’s a new year, and I think this is going to be our year,” Dodger center fielder Dave Roberts said. “If there were some fans who wavered, who jumped ship or changed sides, we’ve got to find a way to get them back, and the only way to do that is to win.”

For decades, the Angels looked longingly up the 5 Freeway, wishing they had the winning tradition and bedrock fan base of the Dodgers, the model franchise with six World Series championships, annual attendance in excess of 3 million and the legacy of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Duke Snider and Jackie Robinson.

But this year, it is the Dodgers who are looking south with envy.

“They have something we want,” Dodger catcher Paul Lo Duca said of the Angels. “Defending your title is always tough. They want to prove they’re still the top team in Southern California, and they are until we knock them off.”

Though some Dodger executives privately seethed at all the attention the Angels got last fall, and some players admitted it was tough to stomach watching the Angels win the World Series, the company line, for public consumption, was that the Dodgers were happy for the Angels.

After all, the Angels are managed by a popular ex-Dodger catcher, Mike Scioscia, and there are three former Dodgers on their coaching staff -- Mickey Hatcher, Alfredo Griffin and Ron Roenicke.

They played an unselfish, team-oriented style of baseball last season, and their World Series victory came over the Giants, the Dodgers’ hated rivals going far back to the days of Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds in New York.

“Would we have rather been in the World Series? No question,” said Derrick Hall, the Dodgers’ senior vice president of communications. “But [the World Series] was exciting for us to watch. We have very loyal fans, as do the Angels, and I don’t think one team’s success has an impact on fans of the other team.

“I think true Dodger fans were happy to see the Angels win because they’re a Southern California team and they were playing the Giants.... Because of their success, it has added to the overall interest and excitement of the interleague series. If both teams do well, both will benefit.”

Tonight’s game in Dodger Stadium is a sellout, a large crowd is expected Saturday, and Sunday’s game is close to being sold out. The Dodgers won’t be surprised if a few of those red noise sticks and red-clad fans make their way into their stadium this weekend.

“There might have been a few Dodger fans go their way last fall -- I don’t know about the true Dodger fans -- but we owe the Dodger fans here something,” Lo Duca said. “They’ve been on a roller-coaster ride the last three years; we’ve gotten close and fell short. We won 92 games last year [and didn’t make the playoffs]. I don’t care if it takes 85, 90, 95 or 100 wins to make the postseason, as long as we get it done. Dodger fans are a little upset, and they have a right to be.”

Dodger fans are still a little uneasy about this season, mostly because of their team’s anemic offense. But the best pitching staff in baseball, a superb defense and just enough timely hits have propelled the Dodgers back into playoff contention and fueled an eight-game win streak that ended with Thursday’s loss.

The Angels, by comparison, are a mess. Their starting pitchers have been roughed up frequently, the offense hasn’t been nearly as consistent and persistent as it was in 2002, and with a .500 record (35-35), they are in danger of falling out of the American League West race by July.

Even with Thursday’s 2-0 victory over Seattle, which ended a four-game losing streak, the Angels are 12 1/2 games behind the Mariners in the West and six behind Oakland in the wild-card race.

Sobering fact of the day: The Milwaukee Brewers (11 games back in the NL Central, 28-43 on the season) are closer to first place than the Angels.

“The Angel season is not over by any means -- they have too great a team [to fall out of contention so early],” Lo Duca said. “Every year we play the Angels, they’re good, tight games. It’s a good rivalry.”

It probably will never rival the Dodgers-Giants, though, at least for the players. The Dodgers and Giants have been bitter rivals since the early part of last century, the teams often battling each other for NL pennants and division titles, the players and even managers sometimes brawling, and the fans seemingly in a contest to see who can heap more abuse on the visiting team.

“It’s exciting, and it’s great to pack the house here and in Edison Field, and you always want to beat the team that’s closest to you,” Dodger second baseman Alex Cora said of the Dodger-Angel series, which is even, 16-16.

“But at the same time, nothing compares to San Francisco-Los Angeles. There’s a long history between the teams, and they’re usually among the top teams in the division.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Take I-5

*--* The Angels play a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. The pitching probables for the weekend: TODAY -- 7 p.m., Ch. 13 * Angels’ Jarrod Washburn (6-7, 3.61 ERA) vs. Hideo Nomo (7-6, 2.64 ERA) SATURDAY -- 1 p.m., Ch. 11 * Angels’ John Lackey (4-6, 5.78 ERA) vs. Andy Ashby (1-4, 5.82 ERA) SUNDAY -- 1 p.m., Ch. 13 * Angels’ Kevin Appier (4-4, 5.05 ERA) vs. Kevin Brown (10-1, 1.97) Of note: The all-time interleague series between the teams is tied, 16-16

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*--* How They Compare Comparing the Dodgers and Angels this season and how they have done against each other since interleague play began in 1997: 2003 STATISTICS DODGERS ANGELS Record 42-29 35-35 Batting Average 245 272 Runs 254 352 Doubles 127 110 Triples 10 14 Home runs 41 79 Stolen bases 39 62 Errors 55 43 ERA 2.85 4.22 Starters’ ERA 3.23 4.97 Bullpen ERA 1.99 2.96

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*--* THE RESULTS 1997: Dodgers won series, 4-0 2002: Tied, 3-3 1998: Angels, 3-1 Overall: Tied, 16-16 1999: Dodgers, 4-2 Dodger Stadium: Dodgers, 9-7 2000: Angels, 4-2 Edison Field: Angels, 9-7 2001: Angels, 4-2

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ON DECK: ANGELS VS. DODGERS

Site -- Dodger Stadium.

TV -- Channel 13 today and Sunday, Channel 11 on Saturday.

Radio -- KFWB (980), KLAC (570), KWKW (1330), XPRS (1090).

Records -- Dodgers 42-29, Angels 35-35

Angels’ 2002 record vs. Dodgers -- 3-3.

Tonight, 7 -- Dodgers Hideo Nomo (7-6, 2.64 ERA) vs. Angels’ Jarrod Washburn (6-7, 3.61 ERA)

Saturday, 1 p.m. -- Dodgers’ Andy Ashby (1-4, 5.82) vs. Angels’ John Lackey (4-6, 5.78).

Sunday, 1 p.m. -- Dodgers’ Kevin Brown (10-1, 1.97) vs. Angels’ Kevin Appier (4-4, 5.05).

-- Jason Reid