Helping Angels Is a Royal Pain

Ross Newhan’s wish to insert extra lumber in the Angel lineup (“Some Advice Angels Can Bat Around,” Sept. 7) misses the forest for the trees.

Trading for Royal first baseman Mike Sweeney may or may not make the Angels a contender. Selling the team to a committed owner or moving it to a city where it can escape its past of tragic player deaths, blown pennants and the Dodgers’ long shadow is a far better bet.

When signing Mo Vaughn turned into disaster two years ago, Michael Eisner and his minions moved on to other things. Disney has been at best a custodial owner since then, willing only to allocate for little fix-ups that don’t require major investments, such as scouting in Latin America or locking up home-grown players at a discount. Neither is a bad investment, but it’s unlikely to put the team over the top anytime soon. And if the recently re-signed Tim Salmon and Troy Glaus don’t get their averages above .250 next year, you will hear the ratchets tighten on the already pinched Angel pocketbooks like handcuffs.

Because it’s cheaper and easier to make the Angels into the Kansas City Royals rather than execute a trade with them, their few remaining fans shouldn’t get their hopes up anytime soon.

Ron Shinkman

Sherman Oaks