Victory for Some Followed by Defeat : Angels: Many of the players are glad to see Rodgers go because of his public criticisms. The White Sox are oblivious, winning by 10-2.

By BOB NIGHTENGALE

May 18, 1994 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

The Angels were pounded, 10-2, Tuesday night by the Chicago White Sox in yet another dismal defeat before 15,684, but the players were able to go home with one comforting thought.

They wouldn’t have to wake up this morning and read any caustic comments from Manager Buck Rodgers about the pitching staff or any other facet of their game.

Rodgers was fired Tuesday, and as unpopular a move as it might have been publicly, many players weren’t choked up with emotion.

They respected him as a manager, but he was never popular with many of his players. They resented reading comments from him in the morning newspapers.

He was a reporter’s dream, but he could be a player’s nightmare.

“You didn’t have to worry about getting real close to him,” Angel starting pitcher Phil Leftwich said, “because you couldn’t. I didn’t think it was fair because he said a lot of things through the media that shouldn’t have come out.

“He was just not a real good communicator with the players.”

If Rodgers had been around Tuesday at Anaheim Stadium, he might have bolted out of the dugout a few times, chewed out starter Mark Langston and reliever John Dopson, and wondered how they could allow White Sox designated hitter Julio Franco to drive in a career-high fives runs. After all, Langston (2-1) yielded eight hits and seven earned runs in four innings, and Dopson yielded five hits and three runs in 2 2/3 innings and the Angels trailed by 8-2 by the fifth inning.

But those days are over.

Marcel Lachemann, who was hired to replace Rodgers and will begin his new job Thursday against the Kansas City Royals, is considered a pitcher’s best friend. He was instrumental in developing starter Chuck Finley and former Angel Bryan Harvey, and the pitching staff couldn’t contain its excitement about his return.

“He was the one responsible for my success,” Finley said. “There were times when they wanted to ship me out of here, but he fought to keep me around.

“I’ve never experienced him as a manager, but I know how good he is as a pitching coach. I just want to get into his head before he tells us the rules.”

Did Rodgers’ critical comments about player performance really have such an adverse effect?

“Personally, I don’t care for that,” Finley said. “There’s certain rules that are not written, but ones you live by. I think it’s just a sense of respect.

“We’ve been playing so bad, up and down, you don’t have to tell anybody you’re playing that way. We could figure that out ourselves.”

But while Rodgers’ criticism bothered players to such an extent that several would voice their displeasure to the front office, others thought it was immature of players to take it personally.

“I don’t have nothing but respect and great memories of the man,” said Angel second baseman Rex Hudler, who also played for Rodgers in Montreal. “I know there were guys who didn’t like what he said in the papers, but hey, a lot of guys have to grow up.

“If these guys are crying about what he says about them, try a different job. This is the big leagues. Our job is to perform. If we deserve the bashing, bring it on.

“Buck should not be hanging his head over this, we’re the ones who should be hanging our heads.”

The Angels, 16-24 after losing four consecutive games, could not have saved Rodgers’ job even if they had been in first place. Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi and President Richard Brown would not divulge the specific reasons for the firing, and Rodgers isn’t planning on talking until today.

But it’s no secret they had conflicting ideas, and the bottom line was that although Bavasi has been on the job for only four months, he still is the boss.

“I think a lot of us are still in shock,” said left fielder Dwight Smith, who was informed of the decision at a 2 p.m. team meeting. “I liked his style because he was straight up with you. He believed in us. To me, this is a sad day.”

Said left fielder Bo Jackson: “There were a lot of us who liked him, but what can you do, this was out of our hands. He was a good manager. No one can say differently.”

The Angels now will be managed by a man who has four games’ experience. Lachemann was an interim manager for four games during the 1992 season in the aftermath of the bus crash in which Rodgers was injured, going 3-1.

But for this game, and tonight, first base coach Bobby Knoop was responsible. He still remained in the first-base coaching box while the Angels were at-bat, but he still could tell the Angels weren’t ready to play.

“There are distractions when something like this happens,” Knoop said, “and I can honestly say there was a distraction.”