At Least Wild Card Is Still Out There

When the Seattle Mariners were 13 games behind the Angels in early August 1995, they gave up all hope of winning the American League West and focused only on the wild card.

A wise approach, it was. The Mariners staged one of baseball’s greatest comebacks, and the Angels suffered one of baseball’s greatest collapses, as Seattle pulled even with the Angels and beat them in a one-game playoff for the division title.

No one has raised the pennant above Safeco Field or a white flag above Edison Field yet this season, but the Angels might do well to shift their focus as the Mariners did in 1995.

Seattle has won 11 consecutive games and is 16 games ahead of the Angels, who have won seven of 10 but may need a few doubleheader sweeps to pull closer to the Mariners. The Angels have gained ground on Seattle only once in the last 28 days, when the Mariners lost and the Angels were rained out May 22.

Asked if the Angels would be wise to shift their attention to the wild-card race, where they trail the Cleveland Indians by nine games, right fielder Tim Salmon said:

“You almost have to. You can’t scoreboard-watch Seattle, because it’s so frustrating. Let’s just play for ourselves as a team and win as many games as we can. Maybe that will help us relax a bit, and teams that are loose usually win. There is a wild card out there.�

Salmon is not quite ready to deliver a concession speech, though.

“Seattle is putting together one of those special seasons, like the Yankees did in 1998,� Salmon said. “They never seem to lose. But that’s why you play the whole season. I do remember a team that had an 11-game lead going into August and lost it, so anything can happen.�

A recent spate of injuries to several of the Angels’ top pitching prospects will not affect the team’s approach to its first pick--No. 13 overall--in Tuesday’s draft, scouting director Donny Rowland said Sunday.

“We’re not leaning any way,� Rowland said, when asked if the Angels preferred to use their top pick on a pitcher or position player. “We’re going after premium, high-tool, high-impact players.�

The Angels, who have five of the draft’s top 89 picks, have narrowed the pool of players they believe will be available at No. 13 to four, two pitchers and two position players.

Rowland did not want to reveal the entire list but did confirm that Casey Kotchman, a high school first baseman from Florida, and Colt Griffin, a high school pitcher from Texas, are among the four.

Kotchman is a power-hitting prospect who is the son of Angel scout and minor league manager Tom Kotchman. He was a teammate of pitcher Joe Torres, the Angels’ top pick in 2000, on the U.S. junior national team last summer.

Griffin, one of the draft’s top power-pitching prospects, is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound right-hander whose fastball has been clocked in the 95-mph range.

Rowland estimates it will cost between $1.7 million and $1.9 million to sign the team’s top pick.

Mo Vaughn, out for the season after undergoing surgery to his left (non-throwing) elbow in February, paid a brief visit to the Angel clubhouse before Sunday’s game. “He looks like he’s in great shape,� Manager Mike Scioscia said. “I’m impressed with his strength in his left arm. It’s like night and day from the first day he started rehabilitating.�