Deal Schoeneweis Out

Scott Schoeneweis packed his bags and headed off to join this year’s pennant race. His teammates are left with memories of last year’s.

The Angels traded Schoeneweis to the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, for a long reliever, two relief prospects with mixed reviews and a few bucks in savings. Then they got hammered by the New York Yankees, 6-2, leaving Kevin Appier teetering in the starting rotation after failing to survive a four-run first inning.

The loss ensured that the Angels will finish July trailing by at least 10 games in both the American League West and wild-card races. The complete list of teams who have overcome a deficit of at least 10 games at the end of July and qualified for the playoffs, according to the Elias Sports Bureau:

The 1930 St. Louis Cardinals.

The 1973 New York Mets.

And, with apologies to the Angels for stirring the memory of the colossal collapse that made this possible, the 1995 Seattle Mariners.

As the Angels looked to 2004, they had offered Schoeneweis in trade since the All-Star break. However, even as late as Monday, they weren’t sure whether they would move him, because most teams willing to pick up his modest contract were unwilling to surrender a prospect too.

In talks Monday night and Tuesday afternoon, the White Sox agreed to trade Gary Glover, who will replace Schoeneweis in the Angel bullpen, and minor leaguers Tim Bittner and Scott Dunn.

“It’s probably a neutral deal for this team right now,� Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman said. “It’s not going to make us better. It’s not going to make us worse. Our motivation to do it involves the two guys who won’t be here. If you pulled one of those guys out of the deal, we don’t have a deal.�

The White Sox trail the Kansas City Royals by three games in the AL Central. The Sox plan to use Schoeneweis in relief now, but General Manager Ken Williams said he would get his long-awaited chance to return to starting next spring. Schoeneweis, who has a 3.96 earned-run average in 39 innings and a 1.08 ERA since June 15, had met with Angel Manager Mike Scioscia last month.

“I never asked for a trade,� Schoeneweis said. “I did say that, if he wasn’t planning on using me, why am I here?�

During batting practice, the Angels pulled him off the field to inform him of the trade. As he cleaned out his locker, he spoke of mixed emotions.

“This is the only team I’ve played for,� he said. “We won the World Series. I made a lot of friends here.

“There comes a time when your team moves one direction and you need to move one direction and each side is at the end of its rope with the other. I have nothing but good things to say about everyone here.�

Stoneman said financial considerations did not drive the deal. Schoeneweis makes $1.425 million this season, and the Angels were unlikely to offer him salary arbitration next season. Glover makes $330,000, and by prorating the salaries over the final two months of the season, the Angels save about $365,000.

Glover, 26, had a 4.54 earned-run average in 36 innings for the White Sox. He’ll have two months to convince the Angels they should offer him arbitration.

The trade leaves the Angels without a left-hander in their bullpen, although they had limited their use of Schoeneweis against left-handed hitters because of the success of their other relievers.

Bittner, 23, with a 3.47 ERA at Class A, gives the Angels a sorely needed left-handed relief prospect. Dunn, a 25-year-old right-hander traded from the Cincinnati Reds three weeks ago, has a 3.35 ERA at double A, with 68 strikeouts in 51 innings. Baseball America did not rank Bittner among the White Sox’ top 30 prospects this spring and did not rank Dunn among the Reds’ top 30 prospects.

To complete the deal, the Angels sent triple-A reliever Doug Nickle to Chicago.

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Playoff Races

*--* AL EAST LEADER Team W L GB New York 64 40 -- AL CENTRAL LEADER Kansas City 57 47 -- AL WEST LEADER Seattle 64 42 -- AL WILD CARD Boston 63 42 -- Oakland 61 45 2 1/2 Chicago 55 51 8 1/2 Toronto 54 52 9 1/2 Angels 52 53 11

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*--* NL EAST LEADER Team W L GB Atlanta 70 36 -- NL CENTRAL LEADER Houston 57 49 -- NL WEST LEADER San Francisco 67 39 -- NL WILD CARD Philadelphia 58 47 -- Florida 58 49 1 Arizona 56 51 3 St. Louis 55 51 3 1/2 Dodgers 54 51 4

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