Anaheim Angels Baseball Team

Steve Finley had just completed a fourth season in San Diego and was about to turn 34 the winter of 1998-99. The Padres, figuring the outfielder was nearing the end of his career, offered him a two-year contract plus an option year, with an opportunity to move into the front office when the deal was done. "To do what?" Finley asked, recalling his reaction to then-Padre President Larry Lucchino's front-office overture. "I planned on playing a lot more than that."

There are no clocks in sight. No one hurries here. As the tropical breezes blow through this tiny town, the lively Caribbean music wafts through windows and into the street. No one is too busy that he cannot spare a few minutes to enjoy a drink, play dominoes or simply absorb the rhythms of music and of life. The homes are small and colorful, painted in bright pastels.

The Angels' 1-0, 17-inning loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night might have seemed like little more than a colossal waste of quality pitching, considering that it took the Brewers more than 4 1/2 hours to produce one run off five Angel pitchers.

The Angels plan to renew the contracts of any unsigned players Sunday, with the possibility of igniting a round of clubhouse grumbling. Until a player enters his fourth major league season, teams can pay whatever they like, at or above the minimum wage. But that minimum jumped from $200,000 to $300,000 under the new labor agreement, and many teams consider a raise to $300,000 sufficient.

Baseball was widely declared terminally ill earlier this week after the signing of Alex Rodriguez to a 10-year, $252-million contract by the Texas Rangers, but don't shut the coffin lid just yet. Rodriguez's contract exceeds the estimated value of 18 major league teams and that's what has so many calling for life support. The sport, they say, has finally choked on its own greed. But this patient has been receiving last rites for more than a century.

Walt Disney Co. has approached Orange County technology billionaire Henry T. Nicholas III about making a major investment in its Anaheim professional sports teams, highly placed business sources said this week. Against a background of shareholder discontent with Disney's declining performance, the discussions are the first sign that a possible sale of baseball's Angels and hockey's Mighty Ducks has moved beyond internal debate and into the realm of deal-making.

Bob Starr will not return as the Angels' radio broadcaster next season, a source said Thursday. Starr, who has had two stints as the team's broadcaster, will retire. He has been with the Angels the last five seasons. "We were surprised but want to do what's in Bob's best interest," said Angel spokesman Bill Robertson. "He's been a classrepresentative of the Angels and the organization over the years." Starr, 62, has been in broadcasting for 41 years, 27 of them in major league baseball.

He hits off a tee. He shakes his head. He hits in the batting cage. He rides the exercise bike. He hits some more. He runs. He watches video. He twitches. This is how Brad Fullmer prepares to hit. This is intensity personified. This is not a warmup routine, a drill or two completed hours before the game starts.

The owner wants to sell the team. The team qualifies for the playoffs. The community rallies around the team. The team stuns the baseball world with an upset in the first round in the playoffs, advancing within four victories of the World Series. And, yes, the owner jumps on the bandwagon, drenched in champagne. This is a team of destiny. This team is not the Angels.

Stephan Hagins has known his share of despair--when his father died, when doctors told him a valve in his heart was 89% blocked, when they told him after surgery he should never play baseball again, when school lawyers blocked his admission at Arizona State--but he was experiencing a new kind of emptiness last month as he drove down the freeway toward his apartment in San Diego.

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.

ANGELS' BARTOLO COLON vs. ROYALS' JOSE LIMA *--* THE MATCHUPS 2005 2005 VS OPP TEAMS/PITCHERS W-L ERA TEAM W-L IP ERA ANGELS/Colon (R) 10-4 3.02 11-5 1-1 13.2 6.59 Kansas City/Lima (R) 1-6 7.81 4-12 0-1 3.2 7.36 *--* Kauffman Stadium, 4 PDT TV --FSN West. Radio --710, 1020. Update --Colon, who is 7-2 in his last 11 starts, remained in the team hotel in Texas on Monday and Tuesday because of a stomach virus, and missed Thursday's game against the Rangers to fly to Kansas City.

ANGELS' JOHN LACKEY vs. DODGERS' JEFF WEAVER *--* THE MATCHUPS 2005 2005 VS OPP TEAMS/PITCHERS W-L ERA TEAM W-L IP ERA Dodgers/Weaver (R) 6-6 4.92 8-7 -- -- -- Angels/Lackey (R) 5-2 3.78 10-4 0-0 6.1 1.42 *--* Angel Stadium, 7 TV -- FSNW2, Ch. 9. Radio -- 710, 980, 1020, 1330. Update -- Lackey has been one of baseball's most effective pitchers since late April, going 4-1 with a 2.82 earned-run average in his last 11 starts, giving up only 22 earned runs in 70 1/3 innings.

ANGELS' BARTOLO COLON vs. RANGERS' CHAN HO PARK *--* THE MATCHUPS 2005 2005 VS OPP TEAMS/PITCHERS W-L ERA TEAM W-L IP ERA Texas/Park (R) 7-1 5.15 10-3 1-0 6.2 4.05 ANGELS/Colon (R) 8-4 2.90 9-5 1-0 6.2 1.35 *--* Angel Stadium, 7 TV -- Channel 9. Radio -- 710, 1020.

ANGELS' JOHN LACKEY vs. MARLINS' DONTRELLE WILLIS *--* THE MATCHUPS 2005 2005 VS OPP TEAMS/PITCHERS W-L ERA TEAM W-L IP ERA Florida/Willis (L) 11-2 2.06 11-2 -- -- -- Angels/Lackey (R) 5-2 3.99 9-4 -- -- -- *--* Angel Stadium, 12:15 p.m. TV -- Channel 11. Radio -- 710, 1020. Update -- The history of both pitchers against today's opposition is nothing but zeros, both making their first career appearance against the other side. Lackey is 4-2 in interleague games with a 3.

ANGELS' JARROD WASHBURN vs. MARLINS' BRIAN MOEHLER *--* THE MATCHUPS 2005 2005 VS OPP TEAMS/PITCHERS W-L ERA TEAM W-L IP ERA Florida/Moehler (R) 2-4 2.90 4-6 -- -- -- ANGELS/Washburn (L) 3-3 3.67 5-8 -- -- -- *--* Angel Stadium, 7 TV -- Channel 9. Radio -- 710, 1020. Update -- Washburn has not had a decision in his last three starts, but the left-hander has been effective in limiting the White Sox, Red Sox and Mets to seven earned runs and 19 hits in 18 1/3 innings.

ANGELS' JOHN LACKEY vs. METS' PEDRO MARTINEZ *--* THE MATCHUPS 2005 2005 VS OPP TEAMS/PITCHERS W-L ERA TEAM W-L IP ERA ANGELS/Lackey (R) 5-2 3.93 8-4 -- -- -- New York (NL)/Martinez (R) 7-1 2.45 8-4 -- -- -- *--* Shea Stadium, 10 a.m. PDT TV -- FSN West. Radio -- 710, 1020. Update -- Martinez took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Houston on Tuesday before giving up a home run. He finished with a two-hitter and 12 strikeouts. Martinez is 9-1 against the Angels.

Orlando Cabrera figured he'd get a warm reception in Fenway Park on Friday night, but this was more than even the Angel shortstop could have imagined. When Cabrera, who helped the Red Sox win their first World Series championship in 86 years after being traded from Montreal to Boston last July 31, led off the third inning, a sellout crowd of 35,328 rose in unison and gave Cabrera a rousing and lengthy ovation.

David Matranga's first big league stint, with Houston in 2003, lasted about 24 hours. He was called up from triple-A New Orleans one day and sent back to the minor leagues the next. "A cup of coffee?" the utility infielder said. "The coffee didn't even make it out of the pot." Later that season, after Jeff Kent had suffered a wrist injury, Matranga spent a week in the big leagues, collecting one hit in five at-bats.

Adjusting to a designated hitter role can be difficult for an outfielder not used to so much downtime between at-bats; moving to a part-time DH role, as Jeff DaVanon has discovered, can be an even tougher transition. DaVanon, a switch-hitter who shares the DH job with Juan Rivera, is batting .184 (seven for 38) with eight runs, one double and three runs batted in. Slotted in the second spot because of his .372 on-base percentage last season, DaVanon had a .