Crowd Sounds Off on Angels

And so it has come to this: Vladimir Guerrero got booed by the home fans Friday.

Nothing personal, just fans fed up with the Angels’ sloppy play. When you sell yourself as a perennial contender and you don’t play like it, your fans will let you know, even in Anaheim.

The Angels slid back into last place in the American League West, with a shove from Jarrod Washburn. The Angels alum held his old mates to one run over six innings, lifting the Seattle Mariners to a 4-1 victory at Angel Stadium.

Guerrero doubled home the lone Angels run, and for that he heard cheers. He also committed an ugly error to account for two of Seattle’s runs, and for that he heard boos. He is the Angels’ best player, and he is one season removed from AL most valuable player honors, but this crowd did not exempt him from jeers in this season worth jeering.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Washburn said. “A guy like that, with all he’s done here, there’s no way he should ever get booed. I realize the fans are probably a little frustrated, but the last thing he wants to do is let the ball go between his legs and to the fence.

“That’s fans for you.”

The Angels’ defensive transformation has been stunning, and horrifying.

They gave up 45 unearned runs last season. They are not halfway through this season, and they already have given up 41, most of any team in the major leagues. They rank second-to-last in the league in errors and fielding percentage.

“It’s 180 degrees different from last year,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “It’s been a struggle at times to make the plays we usually make, but we still have a lot of confidence in our defense.

“We’re going to have to play better, no doubt about it.”

Tell it to Kelvim Escobar (5-7), who pitched well, but not well enough to overcome his defense. He gave up four runs -- two earned -- in eight innings.

Yet he lost his fifth consecutive start. In his last two starts, he has given up eight unearned runs. In those five starts, the Angels have scored two runs or fewer in all but one.

“It’s tough,” Escobar said, “with how well I’m throwing the ball, and the winning record is not there. I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it. If I keep throwing like that, things will turn around.”

With the Mariners up, 1-0, and one out in the fourth inning, Jeremy Reed singled to right field, rather routinely. Carl Everett, who had walked to lead off the inning, headed to second base.

Guerrero leaned down to retrieve the ball, but not far enough. The ball skipped under his glove and past him. By the time he recovered the ball and returned it to the infield, Everett had scored and Reed had reached third base.

The crowd booed loudly. Escobar then threw a wild pitch, so Reed scored. The two runs in the inning were unearned, because of Guerrero’s error.

Guerrero declined to speak with reporters.

Scioscia said he believed Guerrero misplayed the ball when he momentarily took his eye off it to see whether he had a play on Everett, the lead runner. Scioscia criticized Chone Figgins earlier this week for not running hard after a stray ball in the outfield, but he said Guerrero “busted after the ball.”

Scioscia acknowledged that Guerrero appeared to pause for a moment after missing the ball, saying the outfielder might have needed a split second to regroup. After that, Scioscia said, “He ran like he was stealing a base. He ran 100% after that ball.”

Angels shortstop Orlando Cabrera singled twice, extending his club record for reaching base to 39 consecutive games.