Different Look to Batting Order

Manager Marcel Lachemann said he would consider shaking up the lineup after Sunday’s loss to the White Sox, but Monday night’s batting order looked as if it had gone through a Cuisinart.

Catcher Don Slaught, who normally bats eighth when he starts, hit second. Right fielder Tim Salmon dropped from third to fifth. First baseman J.T. Snow fell from fifth to eighth, left fielder Garret Anderson fell from sixth to seventh, and center fielder Jim Edmonds and third baseman George Arias fell out of the starting lineup entirely.

“I totally agree with it,� said designated hitter Chili Davis, one of the few Angels who has been hitting lately. “Sometimes it takes a move like this to get things going, as long as it’s done for the right reasons, and you’re not panicking.�

Lachemann, however, said there was some method to this madness. Arias (sore wrist) and Edmonds (sore arm) were held out because of nagging injuries, and he wanted the right-handed Hudler, who had three hits, ahead of the left- handed Anderson because Chicago started left-hander Wilson Alvarez.

But Snow’s descent was definitely a demotion. Though he had two hits Monday night, he’s batting .256 with no homers and seven runs batted in in 82 at-bats after a breakthrough 1995 season, in which he had 24 homers and 102 RBIs.

Making Snow’s start even more frustrating has been the proliferation of power around the major leagues. Seven American League players entered Monday with eight or more homers, and 16 players had 21 or more RBIs.

“It’s amazing,� Snow said. “Everyone’s talking about the balls being juiced . . . they don’t seem juiced to me.�

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Of the Angels’ 11 strikeouts Monday night, five were on called third strikes. Davis and Salmon went down looking with a runner on second in the sixth inning, and Edmonds, who replaced Hudler in the seventh, and Anderson looked at called third strikes with a runner on first in the eighth. “You go back and forth on that when you’re slumping,� Lachemann said. “Sometimes there’s a tendency to swing at everything, sometimes you can be over-selective. If I had my choice, I’d rather they were overly aggressive.� . . . The White Sox pitching staff leads the league with a 3.92 earned-run average; starters are 8-0 with a 2.99 ERA in the past 11 games, and the bullpen, led by closer Roberto Hernandez, has not given up a run in the last 13 innings.