Pray for the Angels; Bray for the Dodgers

I wanted to wait until the Dodgers left town to update the “Save Our Season” (SOS) campaign that began here on Page 2 on April 20.

At that time my favorite team (to pick on) was 6-11, a mile behind the Giants and seriously in need of a kick in the you know where, which gave me an idea. That’s when I suggested making the donkey the Dodgers’ mascot, and you could look it up: Ever since then, our heroes have compiled an amazing 22-9 record to make the baseball summer interesting again.

As you know, I couldn’t be happier for the guys, but of course we can never let them know.

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I GIVE all the credit for the Dodgers’ success to Andy Ashby.

The Dodgers’ starting pitching has been beyond brilliant, every guy pitching his heart out so there’s no chance of handing the ball over to Ashby and losing the chance to win the game.

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YOU KNOW what happens when I turn soft on a team: Just look at the way the last-place Angels were playing, Garret Anderson going 0 for 17, before I showed up Saturday to put everyone back on track.

To be honest, I learned my lesson with the Lakers. I pounded them all season for being underachievers, poked and prodded Coach Phil Jackson to get the guys to play harder, but when the playoffs began I went mushy and wrote: “In Phil we trust.”

I should have written: “In Jim Cleamons we trust.”

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IT HURTS me more than it does the Dodgers to come down so hard on them, or any other team in town. (My car has been keyed twice.) And the truth is I love what donkey power has done for the Dodgers, but someone has to remind our local athletes they still have something to prove no matter how well things are going.

Take Saturday at Edison Field. The Angels’ John Lackey had been giving up a home run to seemingly every other hitter this season. But against the mighty Devil Rays he pitched seven innings without a ball leaving the park, and Anaheim won, 7-2.

“You must be pretty excited about getting through a game and not giving up a home run,” I told Lackey, and I just got this dumb look in return. I thought he might still be shell-shocked from all the home runs he has given up this year.

“I’m not ever going to be excited about not giving up a home run,” Lackey said, and he wasn’t happy. Now I’d think a pitcher would be thrilled not to give up a home run, especially a guy like Lackey, who gives away more baseballs than the Angels’ goodwill ambassador, Rex Hudler. I mentioned this to Lackey so there’d be no secrets between us.

In a nearby locker Mickey Callaway swore, and made it clear he couldn’t believe I’d say such a thing. I had no idea Callaway was still on the team. It was nice to see him make a contribution. Then Kevin Appier stepped forward....

You can see where this was going. I had irritated some of the Angels’ pitchers, which bodes well for the team’s improvement. I’d like them to be waiting for that next home-run question from you know who. As a group, they’ve given up 46 home runs, which explains in part why the Angels are still one game below .500.

The starting pitching, which is going so well for the Dodgers, has to improve for the Angels or they have no chance of catching Oakland and Seattle. The Rally Monkey is already exhausted.

Before meeting with Lackey, I had stopped by Manager Mike Scioscia’s office, and he had told me about the team’s pitching woes. So I asked him, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Scioscia laughed, and said, “Well, you can go out there, talk to the guys and then write some of that stuff you write.”

That’s when I went to Lackey; the things I do to help our local teams.

I just wish I had known they were passing out new bats to fans in the parking lot after the game. I would have brought the wife’s car just in case someone didn’t understand how much I was trying to help the Angels.

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THE NEW Angel owner got a lot of attention for dropping beer prices, making it easier for fans to drink more and, the way the Angels have been playing, to cry in their beers. But I think the proper thing to do, given incidents of fans running onto the field, would be to raise the price of beer and, if anything, drop the price for a bottle of water, which is $4, and $4.50 for soda.

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TWO OF the hottest athletes in all of sports are playing in our backyard. Eric Gagne is unhittable, and that guy who plays goal for the Ducks is unbelievable. I’d actually pay money to watch Gagne pitch.

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ANNIKA SORENSTAM ties for 96th place, and headline writers around the country call her a winner. It really is a great country.

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GREEN BAY defensive end Joe Johnson was charged with marijuana possession after his car was stopped; New York Giant defensive tackle Keith Hamilton was charged with cocaine and marijuana possession after his car was stopped; and Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair was stopped for drunk driving and charged with illegal possession of a firearm. Makes you wonder if they stopped all NFL players if there’d be anyone left to play the games.

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TODAY’S LAST word comes in e-mail from Greg Spencer:

“The Dodgers have won [nine] in a row.... What do you have to say for yourself? I don’t see you bashing the Angels, who have every player -- except for Garret Anderson -- performing below expectations. You are a joke, T.J.”

So why are you taking everything so seriously?

T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com.