Call them the Angels in the Out of the Field, as in out of the playoff field.
After four decades of losing and near-misses, heartbreak and frustration, Anaheim won the World Series last season. But there won't be a cute-as-a-button Disney ending to this season. In fact, the Angles have an outside shot of doing something that has been done only once. And it ain't a good thing.
Since the start of divisional play in 1969, only one team has won a World Series one season and finished last the next. And that team really doesn't count because it was the Marlins, who purposely tore up the team to cut payroll after winning in 1997.
The Angels, though, might pull off the dubious first-to-worst feat this season. One thing is for sure, they aren't going to finish first despite fielding pretty much the same lineup that won the Series last year. As of now, the Angels sit in third place with little hope of catching the playoff pack.
"I'd rather finish third than last," infielder Scott Spiezio said. "I'd rather finish first than third. But if we start thinking about that we're thinking about the wrong thing. Our goal all along was to make it to the playoffs. That chance is slim, but there's still a chance. We'll focus on winning as many games as we can. We just want to go out there and play the way we can play and not worry about what the final standings are going to be."
That's good, because the final standings likely will have Anaheim closer to last place than to first.
Unlike the Marlins, though, the Angels are not satisfied with one season in the sun. They are gearing up to hit the free-agent market hard in the offseason and might make a run at some big fish, including Montreal rightfielder Vladimir Guerrero, A's shortstop Miguel Tejada and pitchers Bartolo Colon (Chicago), Kevin Millwood (Philadelphia) and Sidney Ponson (San Francisco).
BIG MOUTH: You have to admit it was funny. Seattle reliever Jeff Nelson pops off, criticizing the Mariners for not making any trades. Then they turn around and make a trade, all right. They trade Nelson to the Yankees.
The Mariners swear Nelson's comments were not the reason for the trade.
"This was strictly a baseball decision," CEO Howard Lincoln said. "If the motives were anything else, I'd be the first to be upset. It had nothing to do with anything else but baseball - an attempt on the Mariners' part to improve our team."
ON THE MARC: Gary Sheffield probably is the Braves' most valuable player. And catcher Javy Lopez is having a stunning comeback season. But don't overlook the season second baseman Marcus Giles is having. He is batting . .316 with 14 homers and 56 RBIs, and with 37 doubles is closing in the on the Atlanta record of 42. It's probably the best season by a Braves second baseman since Davey Johnson had 43 homers and 99 RBIs in 1973.
He also is playing good defense, with a .982 fielding percentage.
"He has gone from maybe an average second baseman in the minors to well above average in the major leagues," manager Bobby Cox said. "He may be the standard right now."
MORE TRADES COMING: The nonwaiver trade deadline passed last week, but teams still can make deals with players who clear waivers. And several big names still could move.
The proposed trade that would have sent Brian Giles and Jason Kendall from the housecleaning Pirates to the Padres appears dead, but Pittsburgh still is looking to move those two with their heavy contracts, and San Diego might put together another package.
The Cardinals are shopping slugger J.D. Drew and the Marlins, in need of a left-handed hitter, are one of the teams interested. If they can't land Drew, they wouldn't mind settling for Pittsburgh's Matt Stairs.
The Ken Griffey trade rumors popped up out of nowhere last week, and there are rumors he could end up back with his old team, the Mariners. If that happens, it probably won't be until the winter.
ONE MORE RUMOR: The Cardinals remain on the prowl for a top-notch pitcher and still think they can land one.
"The one guy we had pursued probably the hardest, the one pitcher who we had identified as the one we really wanted, was not traded (before the nonwaiver deadline)," St. Louis GM Walt Jocketty told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "He's a high-level guy."
Jocketty wouldn't say who that guy was, but it could have been either Javier Vazquez or Livan Hernandez of Montreal or Kelvim Escobar of Toronto.
SEEING RED: Barry Larkin, an institution at shortstop for the Reds, is 39 and starting to think about retirement. He might consider sticking around, but the problem is he doesn't know who to talk to with the team.
After GM Jim Bowden was fired, his duties were turned over to assistant GMs Brad Kullman and Leland Maddox, but it's unlikely either will be promoted. Adding to Larkin's anxiousness is that the Reds won't start a search for a permanent general manager until after the season.
"I'm meeting my agent (Eric Goldschmidt) this weekend in San Diego to discuss my future," Larkin said. "But when we talked earlier we said, "Who are we going to talk to about this on the team? Who's in charge and who can make any decisions?' We don't know what they're thinking."
BIG MONEY: Here's the breakdown of the contract for Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks, who was selected No. 2 overall in this year's draft after the Devil Rays took Delmon Young:
He received a $3.6-million signing bonus that will be spread over the life of the contract, with $2-million due by January, plus a $100,000 salary for this season. If Weeks makes the majors by 2005, the contract escalates to $5.3-million. If he doesn't make it to the majors, he still will end up with $4.8-million.
His signing bonus was $100,000 more than the figure slotted by Major League Baseball for the No. 2 pick and certainly won't help the Rays in their efforts to sign Young.
SHORT HOPS: A group from Monterrey, Mexico, is trying to buy the Expos, but it's a long shot. ... Philadelphia's Jose Mesa has finished 40 games. If he finishes 55, the Phillies have to pick up a $5.5-million option for next season. ... Texas has used the most players this season: 50. The Indians have used 48, and the Rays 47. ... The Dodgers' slow-footed Robin Ventura said this after the first inside-the-park homer of his career last week: "Usually someone has to go on the disabled list for me to get even a triple."
- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.
