Visit with the Angels can lead to an identity crisis

Yes, the Angels really did need to wear their jerseys Saturday as they moved around the team’s FanFest in the Angel Stadium parking lot. This isn’t the same collection of familiar faces that seemed as much a part of the regular background as the 57 Freeway.

Now that Tim Salmon has retired and Darin Erstad and Adam Kennedy have moved on, it feels as if that World Series era is gone too. Garret Anderson, Chone Figgins, John Lackey, Jose Molina, Francisco Rodriguez and Scot Shields are the only players left from the 2002 team.

“There’s a lot of new faces,” owner Arte Moreno said. “But they’re not new to us, because they’re coming from the organization.”

So now the shop belongs to the likes of Howie Kendrick and Jered Weaver. But they have yet to stamp their identity on the team. The best player and the guy whose name is on the most new jerseys, Vladimir Guerrero, doesn’t do interviews in English. The ace apparent, Weaver, admits he’s best known as Jeff Weaver’s little brother. And new acquisition Gary Matthews Jr. will always be Sarge’s son.

Who embodies the Angels?

“Now, Garret Anderson,” Figgins said. “Because he wants to win. He’ll give himself up, even though he’s one of the main guys in the lineup. He will give himself up to help the team win. If Vladdy hits a double, he’ll hit a ground ball to second to get him over for [Shea] Hillenbrand and whoever’s hitting behind him. That solidifies why [the Angels] been a consistent, winning program. Because we do anything it takes to win.”

One thing, though. When I asked Anderson if he feels like he has to carry the flag for the old-school Angels who’ve moved on, he said, “No, I don’t. All I can do is do my part.”

What, you expected him to grab that flag like Denzel Washington at the end of “Glory”?

Anderson has always been one to just show up for work, then leave as quietly as possible. At least now he says he’s more capable of doing the job, because the foot injury that threw off his whole game last year has healed.

Most production increases for a team that finished eighth in the American League in runs last year will have to come from within, since new additions Matthews and Hillenbrand aren’t heavy hitters.

That reminds me of another identity issue the Angels will have to solve: Are they going to write checks with the big boys or stay on the shopping sidelines?

Moreno said the Angels enjoy positive cash flow and “all the economics for us are working,” and that cost would not be an impediment to getting a player.

But this winter the Angels were outspent by the Chicago Cubs, surprisingly (at least to those of us who receive those Tribune Co.-wide e-mails about the need for cutbacks and tightening).

And when it comes to making big trades, General Manager Bill Stoneman said, “I sit down too much.”

Actually, he said that when asked if he would like to take a seat while he addressed the media Saturday. But it seemed like a pretty good metaphor.

Meanwhile, he isn’t fretting about the lineup in house.

“I don’t think we’re as weak offensively as some people have said,” Stoneman said.

And it’s pretty obvious he does not want to diminish the pitching staff to improve. Who knows, the Angels might need even more pitching if Bartolo Colon can’t come back from his shoulder injury. He’s the big mystery right now. All they know is they don’t expect him to be ready for the start of the season.

The other mystery is how these newer players will produce in the pressure moments. Not only are there a scant number of guys remaining from 2002, some of these guys weren’t even around for the division-winning teams of 2004 and 2005.

“That’s just the way baseball moves on,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “It’s great to have that presence in the clubhouse of guys that have won, but in 2002 there was nobody in that clubhouse who had won.”

And with that, I promise, I’ll say goodbye to the old days.

“The world championship was in ‘02,” Moreno said. “That’s five years ago.”

An eternity in baseball. Just look how drastically the Boston Red Sox roster has turned over since winning the World Series in 2004.

So we’ll look ahead to this 2007 season, and as we wonder how the Angels will score, let’s not forget Matthews’ observation on the overstated value of offense.

When he played with the Texas Rangers, they had one of the best offenses in the league on a regular basis, then “October rolls around and we’re chilling at the house.”

So give him pitching. And the Angels think that with Matthews’ glove saving runs in the outfield, they won’t need to score as much.

“I might be one of the only guys that believes our pitching is more important than anything,” hitting coach Mickey Hatcher said.

Yes, the hitting coach was emphasizing pitching. Things are still a little confusing with the Angels. But what would you expect from a team in Orange County that calls itself Los Angeles?

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j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read more by Adande go to latimes.com/adandeblog.