In one corner of the Angels' clubhouse, Francisco Rodriguez all but counts down the days to free agency. In the opposite corner, so does Mark Teixeira.
In the middle of the clubhouse, the best player on the team sits on a shelf inside his locker so you can sit on his chair. As Vladimir Guerrero talks, softly, he wants to make his position perfectly clear.
He has no desire to test the market, to solicit bids from far and wide, to count down the days until he can become a free agent. He wants to sign a contract extension and finish his career with the Angels.
"That's something I'd like," Guerrero said through translator Jose Mota, "to stay here and not have to move again.
"I'm a human being. I have feelings. I'm very comfortable here. But I understand that's not my decision."
At first glance, this should be a no-brainer for the Angels. You keep your best player. You keep the customers happy. You keep the sellout crowds coming, and the pennants too.
But, on second glance, this is not a no-brainer. If the Angels keep Guerrero at any cost, they might look good now and not so good later.
So the Angels roar toward October, with the hint of a winter chill to follow. If Guerrero and the Angels do not agree on an extension this winter, the team is expected to exercise its $15-million option for the 2009 season, and he could exercise his option to become a free agent thereafter.
"I'd love to have Vladdy," owner Arte Moreno said. "My intention is to keep him here."
If the Angels keep him, and if he keeps hitting, the Angels might finally have someone wear their cap into Cooperstown.
He is the ultimate low-maintenance player. He plays hard, every day, without prompting. He shows up on time, without clogging the clubhouse with an entourage, sometimes with a pot of his mother's Dominican specialties to share.
He wears a blue T-shirt with the Superman logo, hangs out on the couch with teammates and never bothers Manager Mike Scioscia -- unless Scioscia puts up a lineup without him in it.
"The guy is the most unassuming superstar I have ever been around," Scioscia said.
In his first season in Anaheim, he won the American League most-valuable-player award. In his first four, he started in the All-Star game. He is batting .320 in his career with the Angels, the best in club history.
The only players with a better career batting average and more home runs: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams and Stan Musial.
