TRUST NEVER SLEEPS

Jose Guillen says “Trust me,” and intends those two words to be reassuring. Or defiant. Even confrontational.

He says them enough, so they’ve come to suit the moment, the circumstance, the object of his persuasion, his eyes too narrow to interpret, his grin too fleeting to be sincere.

“Trust me,” he says to begin sentences, he says to begin a career in a uniform never worn before, in a baseball city that has seen good times come and get up and leave, that once believed in second chances and now has to believe in a third.

“Trust me,” the Washington Nationals told their public and their taxpayers. “Trust me,” Jose Guillen said, to play ball, to play it well, to follow orders and respect authority and keep his mouth shut, most of the time, if it suits him.

Guillen needs only to look around. The organization belonged to Montreal a year ago, and the town belonged to the long-gone -- and twice-gone -- Senators. The only entities more temporary than the stadium he plays in are the club officers he plays for, a decent enough handshake for the man who has worn seven uniforms in a little more than eight seasons.

The Nationals told him Friday they would have him back for next season, at a fraction of his talent’s worth, $4 million, or less than they’ll pay their shortstop, who can’t hit at all.

But it is home, such as it is, a rented place not far from RFK Stadium, just as he once believed Anaheim would be, and Cincinnati before that, and Oakland, Arizona, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh. He actually did Cincinnati twice, in consecutive seasons, before he arrived in Southern California, fed Vladimir Guerrero fastballs and an MVP trophy, and was thrown out again.

Whether these things chase Guillen or he stalks them depends on the perspective, and the Angels made their call in the thick of a pennant race, which led to the suspension, the trade and finally Guillen’s return to Los Angeles tonight, when he will hit again in the heart of the Nationals’ order.

It is all he has ever asked for, to play every night. And, well, to get a little protection from his pitchers, if that isn’t too much of a bother. And maybe for some respect, for what he’s done and for what he plans to do, because he’s only 28. And then, trust him, you’ll hardly know he’s here, and he won’t ever be mad.

“So far, so good,” Guillen said. “Now I’m a Washington National. I just have to make the best out of it now that I’m here.”

The Nationals have played 25 games. So has Guillen. So far, so good. He is batting .315. He has six home runs, two of them game-winners, and 15 runs batted in. The mix-and-match Nationals -- originally Montreal Expos, occasionally San Juan Expos, near-contracted Expos, mutts of the National League and surprisingly competitive in the Eastern Division -- have their star. Guillen, gladly passed from organization to organization, a talent with the burden of a temper, appears to have his place.

He trusts Manager Frank Robinson, because, he says, Robinson is “old school.” He understands General Manager Jim Bowden, because they once were together in Cincinnati. He appreciates President Tony Tavares, because he did not object to Guillen.

Perhaps he once felt the same toward Mike Scioscia, Bill Stoneman and Arte Moreno, and perhaps he still does, as he insists. But this is different, he says, because there is no other way to view it. He must believe it, just as his teammates must.

“We all have our skeletons in our closets,” National reliever Joey Eischen said. “We don’t worry about those things here. We all have those dark places. The only difference is, some of his have been put in the paper.”

Carlos Baerga, the veteran infielder, met Guillen five years ago in spring training, when both were in Tampa Bay’s camp. He said Guillen has matured since then and was mildly surprised that he had, after what he’d read about him at the end of last season. Guillen, who had put up 27 home runs and 104 RBIs, had stalked off the field after Scioscia replaced him with a pinch-runner in a late-September game. The two had words in the clubhouse afterward, and the next anyone knew, Guillen was suspended for the final eight games, then left off the Angels’ postseason roster.

In November, Guillen was traded to the Expos for Juan Rivera and Maicer Izturis, and Bowden had another reclamation venture.

“A lot of stuff we heard, we thought we’d see a different guy,” Baerga said. “But he’s been one of the leaders here, keeping everybody loose. He comes to work every day. Actually, the way he’s working, he reminds me a little of Manny Ramirez. Same stuff. Very focused.

“You learn from your mistakes. I heard him talking to some other guys. He saw the anger-management counselor. He said he’s working to learn, to listen to people, to not react right away. Different people have their ways to react.”

Often, it was about playing time, about his name on the lineup card, day after day. Once, when it wasn’t, he put a bat through a clubhouse wall in Cincinnati. Sometimes he’d simply sulk, but only until it was time to play again, and then he would smile and grab a bat and aim at something more constructive.

“I know Jose,” Bowden said. “I know he overreacted. He made a mistake. It was a big mistake and he paid a huge price.

“He’s a great team guy. Go ask his teammates what they think. He actually reminds me of Deion Sanders, in terms of the difference between reputation and reality. Guys loved playing with Deion. Please go talk to the people who play with him and see what they think.”

A month in, they think Bowden is a pretty smart guy, and that Guillen is a pretty good hitter. Guillen thinks they’re all right.

“Trust me,” Guillen said, “I have good relationships so far with these guys; Frank, the coaching staff. I really learned a lot last year; just play the game, forget about what happened in the clubhouse. Play the game. Work hard. Go home. Take care of your family. That’s it. Trust me, I’m not worried about what’s going to happen in the clubhouse. That was part of my problem, trying to get involved in what happened in the clubhouse. I see so many things that were wrong. As a player, I was going to lose, to the coaches and the staff. They’re always going to be right, and the GM is going to believe the coaches.”

Over a 15-minute interview in a dank hallway that connects the Nationals’ dugout to their clubhouse, Guillen says he is unburdened by his Angel crash and burn, and that he remains “hurt” by it. He says he holds no grudges, and that former teammate Jarrod Washburn is “two-faced,” because he believes Washburn sold him out to management. “The only guy I got a problem with,” he said, “is Washburn.” He says he has no problem with Scioscia, and that Scioscia could have saved the relationship had he simply asked him into his office, rather than air him out in a crowded clubhouse.

“I have no idea what put that idea in his head, but I never said a word [to upper management] and obviously, something didn’t need to be said by a player,” Washburn said. “I wasn’t afraid to speak my mind about it, though, and maybe that gave him that idea, but it’s not true.

“He’s an incredibly talented player, and most of the time he was a very positive aspect of our team. He played hard, he put up numbers, he did his job. But there were a few negative things.”

Plainly, these are complicated issues for Guillen, who rushed to manhood at 16 when he was signed by the Pirates out of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, and four years later was playing every day in the big leagues. In his last two seasons he has averaged 29 home runs and 95 RBIs, but he can’t shake the problem-child reputation.

So far, Tavares said, “He’s been a delight.... He’s one of my favorite players, and I love Mike Scioscia. My philosophy with Mike, if you can’t get along with Mike, you can’t get along with anybody. But [Guillen] knew what he did was wrong and he’s dealing with it.”

Trust him, he says.

“I just can’t have that stuff happen again,” he said. “I still think about it. ... People in the street, fans, when I’m in the outfield, people start screaming, saying, ‘Be careful, he’s no good.’ That’s bothering me. It’s bothering me, to tell you the truth. I’m a really lovable guy, and people think so much negative stuff about me. And it’s not true. And it kind of hurts me sometimes that people think that way.

“It was weird, because most of my teammates, I don’t know what they think about me. Do they think I’m bad? Am I going to have to start all over again with these people? I kind of let them know I’m not the guy they’ve heard about. They’re my teammates right now. They know I just want to play every day and I’m all about winning. I told them, ‘You see me with a serious face in the clubhouse, don’t worry about it. Come to me, talk to me.’ Because sometimes I see people scared to come talk to me. I don’t want them thinking that way. ‘When you see me this way, I’m just thinking about my game, thinking about tonight. Don’t think you can’t come and talk to me. You can come and talk to me.’ It was pretty much all that stuff in Anaheim last year. I was so serious. That’s me. I have a different personality.”

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Times Staff Writer Mike DiGiovanna contributed to this report.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

WHERE JOSE GUILLEN RANKS IN NATIONAL LEAGUE

*--* Avg Rank Runs Rank HR Rank RBIs Rank Slug % Rank 315 20 17 8 6 3 15 17 576 13

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Production Numbers

The Angels replaced Jose Guillen in their lineup with Steve Finley. A look at how the two did last season, and how they compare so far this season:

*--* Player Year AB R H 2B HR RBIs AVG OB% SLG% * Finley 2004 628 92 170 28 36 94 271 333 490 * Guillen 2004 565 88 166 28 27 104 294 352 497 * Finley 2005 87 8 13 3 4 12 149 227 322 * Guillen 2005 92 17 29 4 6 15 315 346 576

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