Tavares Strengthens His Resolve

ANAHEIM â€”  It’s nights like Wednesday that make Tony Tavares’ blood boil and his stomach churn.

As his first year as Angel president drones on, Tavares finds the club’s uninspired play no easier to take now than he did back in June or July.

It grates on his nerves, to be sure. But it also has strengthened his resolve to turn the Angels into winners.

He’s certain he doesn’t want to come to Anaheim Stadium next year, see it more than half empty and hear those who are there rooting for the opponents.

“I hate to lose,� Tavares said while watching the Angels lose, 7-4, to the Boston Red Sox before 20,894 Wednesday at Anaheim Stadium.

“I guess [what makes the Angels’ 1996 season so frustrating] is that the expectation level was so high and the performance levels have not come close to matching expectations.�

In other words, look for Tavares to make dramatic moves during the off-season.

There will be a new manager, certainly, but you can count on a number of roster changes next year too.

Tavares said hiring a manager is a priority, but denied a report in the Sporting News that the club has spoken to Arizona Diamondback Manager Buck Showalter about the vacancy.

Fact is, the club has not contacted any candidates yet, Tavares said.

“We haven’t put together a profile yet of whom we’d like to hire,� he said. “We want to wait until the season’s over to see who’s out there. I want to see somebody who gets results.�

That goes for players as well.

Instead of taking a vacation before diving headlong into his winter job as Mighty Duck president, Tavares is keeping a well-focused eye on the Angels. It’s not easy to watch an underachieving team many figured would contend for the American League West title, but Tavares has his reasons.

“I’m looking at individual performances by players,� he said. “I’m looking at the game itself. What’s working and what’s not. Who’s clutch on the field and who’s not.�

With the expansion Ducks, Tavares and General Manager Jack Ferreira assembled a team filled with what they called “character guys.� Tavares inherited the ’96 Angels, warts and all.

“You hate the term chemistry because it’s a difficult term to zero in on, but you’ve got to think about that more often,� Tavares said. “They [baseball and hockey] are two different sports. In hockey if a player takes a night off, so to speak, he pays the price. He gets checked hard along the boards or something. If you go from 100% to 50%, you get hurt.

“In this sport [baseball], how does a guy overpower a team one night, then give up 10 runs five days later?

“It’s frustrating. It’s a tough adjustment for me to make. I probably have the wrong personality for this. I take the losses too much to heart. I’ve got to make adjustments.�

Tavares admits he has learned not to get as wound up as he does during hockey games. The slow pace and daily grind of baseball serve to relax him a bit.

But that doesn’t make losing any easier to accept.