Anaheim Angels Baseball Team

In an open letter to Anaheim citizens, city officials vowed to continue their court fight against the Angels' name change but urged fans to support the team and its players. "They are not a part of this misguided marketing effort and should not be punished or faulted for the decisions of the front office," read the letter, signed by the mayor and city council. The letter appeared Thursday as a full-page advertisement in two weekly newspapers, the Anaheim Bulletin and Anaheim Hills News.

Attention, actors and baseball fans: The biggest casting calls in town this week will be held at Angel Stadium and Dodger Stadium. In the newest installment of its "I Live For This" ad campaign, Major League Baseball will feature fans instead of players. The Angels and Dodgers will be represented in a commercial by the fan, or group of fans, who best shows passion and dedication to the home 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."

Although the Anaheim Angels name is almost certainly lost, the city of Anaheim could pursue its longshot lawsuit against the team, hoping to win hundreds of millions of dollars in damages in a jury trial, sports industry analysts said Monday. The Anaheim City Council meets today to discuss its legal strategy, four days after Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter Polos refused for the second time to stop the team from calling itself the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

After six months of little dialogue and virtually no progress toward an agreement, the Angels and the representative for first-round pick Jered Weaver are in "serious discussions" that both sides hope will result in the former Long Beach State ace's signing before the start of spring training in February.

The Angels now face legal opposition from both of the cities in their new name. The city of Los Angeles lined up behind the city of Anaheim on Wednesday, arguing in a legal brief that the Orange County Superior Court "should reject the Angels' attempt to profit from the Los Angeles name they abandoned long ago."

The Angels cited the precedent of Jackie Robinson in a legal filing supporting their new marketing strategy, a move that "trivializes" Robinson's landmark journey to becoming the first black player in the major leagues, a noted author on race and sport said Wednesday. The city of Anaheim has filed suit against the Angels, alleging the team has violated its stadium lease in part by dropping the Anaheim name from 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.

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.

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.