DOWN THE LINE

It didn’t seem fair, really. When the Angels finally made the World Series in 2002, Jim Edmonds watched from the luxury seats at Angel Stadium, while all the guys he grew up with -- Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson, Darin Erstad, Troy Percival -- raised a trophy.

Edmonds got his ring two years ago, when the Cardinals won the World Series. In the eight years after the Angels traded him to St. Louis, he won six Gold Gloves and made three All-Star games.

But his body betrayed him as he got older, all those “web gems” catching up with him. His offense crashed, starting in 2004, his home runs falling from 42 to 29 to 19 to 12, his on-base percentage from .418 to .385 to .350 to .325.

He didn’t fare well, so is this farewell?

The Padres gambled on him in center field this year, but he hit .178 with one home run, and in spacious Petco Park all the world could see he had lost a step, or two.

He’s 37, and the Padres cut him Friday. This could be the end of a long and distinguished career, or not.

“He thinks he’s going to end up having a big year,” said his agent, Paul Cohen. “He’s sorry he couldn’t do it for the Padres.”

Pulling an ace out of the ‘pen

In the year the Cardinals won it all, their closer was rookie Adam Wainwright, a starter throughout his minor league career. He did not give up a run in the playoffs, working 9 2/3 innings and striking out 15.

He saved the clinching game of the World Series, but he has not saved another game since then. The Cardinals moved him into the rotation last year, and he has emerged as one of the elite starters in the National League. He has started 23 games since July 1, with an 11-6 record and 2.55 earned-run average, and almost three strikeouts for every walk.

How not to go out on your own terms

Roger Clemens returned from another retirement this time last year. He went 6-6, got roughed up by the Cleveland Indians and his own sore hamstring in the playoffs, and he’s gotten roughed up by George Mitchell, Brian McNamee, Henry Waxman, Andy Pettitte and Mindy McCready since then.

And Team USA General Manager Bob Watson said last week Clemens would not be welcome on this summer’s Olympic team.

“We don’t need that type of distraction,” Watson said.

Genius ideas of the week

If you weren’t in Lancaster on Saturday night, you missed out on the giveaway of the year. The Class-A JetHawks, affiliated with the Boston Red Sox, handed out “Big Poppy” bobblehead dolls, a wicked good play on the “Big Papi” nickname of slugger David Ortiz.

The doll resembled Ortiz, with the Red Sox uniform and helmet, except that a bright yellow poppy exploded from beneath the helmet, in place of his face. And, as the JetHawks happily note, the poppy is the California state flower.

Elsewhere in the California League, the Lake Elsinore Storm planned Dr. Seuss Night -- green eggs and ham at the concession stands, players wearing socks with red and white stripes, etc. No one outside Lake Elsinore would have noticed had the corporate grinches not demanded a royalty, prompting this priceless response from the Storm:

Dr. Seuss Enterprises didn’t see it as funny

They said we could do it, but we didn’t have the money

They didn’t appreciate our publicity ploys

So we have to inform all the sad girls and boys

Through the face of it all we thought we’d persist

Until we were served with a cease and desist

The theme has been canceled, but the game will go on

Perhaps it wouldn’t matter if we were in Taiwan.

-- Bill Shaikin