Anaheim Angels Baseball Team

LAS VEGAS 51S (Dodgers) The 51s wrap up their season today, and despite a poor record (65-76), several players had good seasons. First baseman James Loney was named to the All-PCL team, and with a .380 average, is assured of winning the batting title. Outfielder Matt Kemp spent the latter part of the season with the 51s, batting .368 and slugging .560 in only 182 at-bats. Third baseman Andy LaRoche hit .319 with nine homers and 30 RBIs in his seven weeks with the team.

When Darin Erstad was first called up to the big leagues in 1996, he played for the California Angels. From 1997 through 2004, Erstad played for the Anaheim Angels. And this spring, barring a trade of the first baseman or a legal ruling against Angel owner Arte Moreno, Erstad will suit up for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Confusing?

The Angels could experience their next victory or defeat in court as soon as Thursday, when the city of Anaheim hopes a judge will grant its request to stop the team from renaming itself the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. City attorneys plan to notify the Angels today that they must defend themselves in Orange County Superior Court, as the city seeks a temporary restraining order that would force the team to remain the Anaheim Angels for now.

A day before a hearing on the team naming issue, the Angels filed court papers Thursday contending that the city belatedly sought to rewrite a stadium lease "to reflect what the city wants the lease to say instead of what the lease actually says." The team, seeking to change the name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, also claimed in the filing that owner Arte Moreno "would not have bought the Angels ... had the lease precluded the name change."

The Angels can operate as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, at least for the next two weeks. The city of Anaheim lost its bid Friday for a temporary restraining order that would have immediately blocked the Angels' name change. Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter Polos set a Jan. 21 hearing on the issue and ruled the city would not be irreparably harmed if the team used its new name until then. "We're disappointed, but we're certainly not dismayed or defeated," City Atty. Jack White said.

A thumb injury that will sideline American League most valuable player Vladimir Guerrero for the rest of the Dominican winter league playoffs is not considered serious. The Angel right fielder, hurt on a headfirst slide into second base in a game Dec. 26, was diagnosed with a sprained right thumb and is expected to recover fully by the time spring training begins in February.

The Anaheim City Council should demand explanations for the vague language that the Angels say permits them to change their name and should consider how much taxpayer money to spend if the city continues to lose in court, Councilman Richard Chavez said Monday. "I hate to start spending all this money if we're not going to win," Chavez said.

This isn't exactly the kind of national recognition Anaheim (that city south of Los Angeles) was craving. And it sure didn't seek the global ridicule it is receiving. In the span of a couple weeks, the place once designated by Sporting News as Best Sports City has become comic fodder for everyone from Jay Leno to the Financial Times of London as they weigh in on the decision by the Angels baseball team to rename itself, despite Anaheim's protest.

The city of Anaheim tried -- and failed -- to rewrite its now-controversial stadium lease agreement with the Walt Disney Co. even after the two sides had agreed on terms, the Angels argued in a court filing Tuesday. The Angels also claimed they would lose "millions of dollars" if forced to stop doing business under its new name -- the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim -- and dismissed as "frivolous" Anaheim's contention that the team must use the city's name prominently in its marketing efforts.

Left-hander Jarrod Washburn, who has had his share of contract squabbles with the Angels, avoided arbitration Tuesday by agreeing to a $6.5-million deal for 2005. Reliever Scot Shields and backup catcher Jose Molina also avoided arbitration, Shields agreeing to a $925,000 contract and Molina signing for $725,000. Washburn made $5.