McNamara’s Second Look Same as First

Just in case he wasn’t paying close attention, the Angels showed their new manager why their old manager quit.

They didn’t pitch well, couldn’t hit in the clutch, made physical and mental errors and looked like the last-place team they are.

The Angels got it all wrong again, losing to the Minnesota Twins, 4-0, before 18,611 Wednesday night at Anaheim Stadium. It was the Angels’ eighth loss in the past nine games, holding nothing back for interim Manager John McNamara in another dismal performance.

“This is only my second game, but obviously we haven’t got the key hits,” McNamara said. “When a team is going like this, it’s because they’re trying too hard.”

Perhaps that’s the way it looked to McNamara, but the Angels’ listless play drew nothing but boos from the crowd at game’s end.

McNamara asked reporters if they would skip their usual postgame interviews with the players.

“They’ve been under enough pressure lately,” he said. “Please. As a favor to me, guys.”

This latest Angel pratfall couldn’t be pinned entirely on starter Chuck Finley. He gave up four runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts, two walks, one hit batter and one wild pitch.

But once again, there were plenty of gaffes to go around at Anaheim Stadium.

McNamara started Finley instead of Shawn Boskie, following through on what proved to be Lachemann’s final move as manager.

Lachemann, who announced his resignation Tuesday, wanted the right-handed Boskie to break up the left-handed trio of Finley, Mark Langston and Jim Abbott.

So, Boskie will pitch today against Minnesota’s Rick Aguilera.

McNamara said he won’t consult Lachemann further.

“I think he’s had enough of it,” McNamara said. “I think I’ll just let him get away from it [managerial decisions].”

Instead, McNamara will continue to rely on the advice of his coaching staff. First base coach Joe Maddon has been helpful in filling out the lineup card and with statistical information. Bill Lachemann aided McNamara by suggesting which relief pitchers to use.

It all did little to make the Angels look better on the field, however.

They couldn’t score with the bases loaded and less than two out for the second consecutive game. They bungled easy plays, committed mental errors and made Minnesota starter Rich Robertson look like an all-star.

Robertson improved to 5-10 by throwing his third shutout this season. He gave up only four hits and allowed only one runner past second base.

The Twins helped ease Robertson’s burden by making the most of the least in building an early, 2-0, lead against Finley.

They scored their first run on a double steal in the third inning. A heads up play by rookie catcher Todd Greene might have saved Finley a run.

But instead of letting Pat Meares have second base with two outs and Chuck Knoblauch at third, Greene decided to throw to second.

Knoblauch broke for home when Greene threw to second base.

To underscore the mistake, Finley then got the batter, Marty Cordova, to pop up on the next pitch to end the inning.

“[Greene] said he looked at third [to check Knoblauch], but said the hitter blocked his view,” McNamara said. “As soon as he cocked his arm, he was going.”

When Tim Salmon couldn’t cleanly field Knoblauch’s single to right field in the fifth, Matt Walbeck scored easily from second for the Twins’ second run.

And there was more.

Jim Edmonds struck out and Greene flied out with the bases loaded and only one out in the first.

The Angels got the leadoff runner on base in the fourth, but Greene grounded into a double play on Robertson’s first pitch.

After third baseman George Arias committed a fielding error, Dave Hollins dropped a bunt down the third-base line for a single in the sixth.

After Walbeck walked to load the bases, Rich Becker and Knoblauch delivered run-scoring singles for a 4-0 lead.

And so it went.