BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : Will Local Teams Stick Necks Out for Big Names on Block?

The trade in which the Minnesota Twins sent Rick Aguilera to the Boston Red Sox may be only the first of several deals involving familiar names--pitching and otherwise.

The market, in fact, could hold the key to several races in the second half of the season, including those involving the (underachieving?) Dodgers and (overachieving?) Angels.

Bill Bavasi, general manager of the Angels, said he will turn over every rock in trying to strengthen his starting pitching.

“We’re good enough to win it as we are,” Bavasi said of the American League West race. “But even with a team firing on all 25 cylinders, it would be a sin to sit back and not try to improve it.

“We will break our backs investigating every big name, middle name and no name. I don’t know if we’ll be in position to take on the salary of one of the big boys, and I won’t mortgage the future [by trading every prospect], but how often do you get a chance to win?

“I’m proud of the way we’ve played, but I have a responsibility to try and build on it. And just because there may be financial parameters doesn’t mean I can’t try and be creative or am unwilling to run the possibilities by ownership.”

Gene and Jackie Autry are still the owners. The Walt Disney Co. is still going through the approval process and is not a factor in personnel decisions, Bavasi said.

It could still come down to an attempt to win one for the Cowboy in his final roundup, although Bavasi said:

“As well as we’ve played, we’re suffering the same attendance problems as just about everyone else.

“If we’re going to lose money, and we are, it’s hard to go to the owners and ask them to tack on more. All we can do is take it case by case.”

The Angels have a league-leading offense and defense. They think they know what to expect from Mark Langston and Chuck Finley. Brian Anderson is in his second summer and untested in a pennant race. The recycled Shawn Boskie and Mike Bielecki have provided unexpected consistency, but can they hold up down the stretch? David Cone, Bret Saberhagen and Kevin Tapani are among the available pitchers in a market complicated by economic and labor uncertainty.

In the competitive West, Bavasi said he won’t be forced into “keeping up with the Joneses,” although he knows the Texas Rangers are looking hard at Cone, Tapani and others.

Said Ranger pitcher Kenny Rogers: “Right now we have a good team. It is good enough to go the distance? I don’t think so. I’m not saying we can’t win, but we’ve had a lot of guys hurt. We’ve overcome so much to be where we are that if there’s a chance to make the team better, it should be done, one way or the other.”

Easier said than done. Who knows what system will be in place and which players will be free agents?

The non-contenders won’t take a chance. The market will be flooded with high-salaried possibilities, offered for prospects. The Twins, for instance, were down to the 11th hour with Aguilera, whose salary is $3.8 million. He was about to qualify for veto rights over a trade and wanted to stay in Minnesota. The allegedly strapped Twins had to get something while they could.

The acquisition of a proven closer by the team leading the American League East is certain to increase the intensity in the Cone sweepstakes. The New York Yankees will accelerate their pursuit of the Toronto Blue Jays’ right-hander as a replacement for Jimmy Key, out for the season after rotator surgery.

The Blue Jays, in fact, are a virtual warehouse of available talent. The San Diego Padres, thinking they may be only one hitter short in the competitive National League West, have been among those exploring the re-aquisition of Joe Carter or Roberto Alomar.

Dodger Vice President Fred Claire, while still committed to his internal youth movement, said the All-Star gathering in Texas this week should provide a hotbed of trade talks and he will listen to any proposal with an open mind.

“Right now the scales are well balanced,” Claire said of the West. “I don’t think any one club is above the others. I believe we can win it, but we’ve lacked consistency. We’ve played well, then haven’t. I’ve been hoping we’d get to .500 and open some ground above that mark. I’ve been hoping we’d be more consistent.”

Two areas trouble Claire more than his erratic defense and offense--lack of consistency in the setup role for Todd Worrell and from two-fifths of the rotation, Ramon Martinez and Pedro Astacio/Willie Banks. What he intends to do about it, if anything, isn’t clear.

“Every week carries its own importance now,” he said. “We’re always evaluating and re-evaluating in short-term increments.”

Like Bavasi, however, Claire is reluctant to mortgage the future.

“The most important thing in any year is winning, but the most important thing is to be in position to win every year,” he said. “We are where we are because we haven’t given up on the future.”

HONOR ROLL

One man’s mid-season awards:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Most valuable player--Mo Vaughn, Boston; Cy Young--Kevin Appier, Kansas City; Comeback--Mark McGwire, Oakland; Manager--Marcel Lachemann, Angels; Rookie--tie between Ray Durham, Chicago, and Marty Cordova, Minnesota; Rookie pitcher--Chad Ogea, Cleveland.

*

NATIONAL LEAGUE

MVP and Comeback--Ron Gant, Cincinnati; Cy Young--Greg Maddux, Atlanta; Manager--Don Baylor, Colorado; Rookie--Chipper Jones, Atlanta; Rookie pitcher--Hideo Nomo, Dodgers.

BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION

Cal State Fullerton’s Phil Nevin, the first player selected in the 1993 amateur draft, continues to tread a tenuous path with the Houston Astros.

Returned to triple-A Tuesday after an 18-game trial at third base, Nevin booted a clubhouse garbage can, cursed Manager Terry Collins and slammed the door to the manager’s office in the visitors’ clubhouse at Coors Field. Nevin ultimately called Collins and General Manager Bob Watson to apologize, but the Astros may be wearying of Nevin’s behavior.

Houston officials felt Nevin pouted after failing to make the team at the start of the 1994 season, delaying his development. And they were not pleased over his complaints when he wasn’t invited to spring training this year, Nevin thinking he was being punished for refusing to play in exhibition games with the replacement players.

“I understand that he was frustrated, but there was no reason to react the way he did,” Watson said of the latest incident. “One of the things he has to work on in order to be successful in the majors is being able to accept when things don’t go your way.

“Bob Watson, Terry Collins and the Houston Astros will not be treated, talked to or shown up the way he did.”

Nevin batted .117 with one RBI and no home runs in 60 at-bats after his June recall. He also made three errors in the 18 games.

The Astros will go with a platoon of Dave Magadan and Craig Shipley.

Said Michael Watson, Nevin’s agent, “Phil has always been an emotional kid, which is not to excuse what he did. But as recently as Sunday, he had been told to relax, that he would get 150 at-bats, and two days later, coming out of his best game [three for five], he’s sent down. He reacted out of frustration and is sorry about it.”

SPARKY’S REPLACEMENT

The Detroit Tigers reacted with class to this week’s arrival of former replacement pitcher Mike Christopher. Why not? They have crept back into the race in the American League East, and Christopher, leading the International League with 21 saves when recalled, figures to help.

In fact, the 31-year-old right-hander who had appeared in 22 previous major league games, including three with the Dodgers in 1991, came out of the bullpen to register his first and second major league victories in Tuesday and Wednesday decisions over the Seattle Mariners, after which several teammates shook his hand.

Said reliever Mike Henneman: “We’re going to treat him like a human being. I don’t condone what he did, and a hell of a lot of people don’t condone what he did, but it’s over and done with.”

Travis Fryman concurred, saying it was a difficult decision for players who thought their careers were at a crossroads and “I won’t begrudge some guys for deciding to play.”

Even Manager Sparky Anderson welcomed Christopher and told him not to feel sorry for what he did. This was the same Sparky Anderson who went home, rather than oversee a spring camp of replacement players.

“I was never against the players who were replacements,” Anderson said. “I was against the people who thought up the idea.”

NAMES AND NUMBERS

In a 12-game span through Wednesday, Andres Galarraga drove in 22 runs and hit eight home runs, lifting his season totals to a club-leading 51 RBIs and 16 homers. The formidable middle of the Colorado Rockies’ batting order--Dante Bichette, Larry Walker, Galarraga and Vinny Castilla--had a cumulative batting average of .314, with 59 home runs and 180 RBIs through Wednesday.

“It’s tough to pitch to any of us,” Walker said. I mean, who do you pitch to, or are you going to walk three of us to get to the other guy? There’s no way around it. Do you want an American to hit off you? Do you want a Canadian? Do you want a Venezuelan? Or do you want a Mexican? Make up your mind.”

Mike Perez, now with the Chicago Cubs after leading the St. Louis Cardinals with 12 saves last year, is the only Cardinal save leader of the last 10 years who was not selected for the All-Star game. Those who were: Todd Worrell of the Dodgers, who led the Cardinals in saves from 1986 through 1989; Lee Smith of the Angels, 1990 through 1993, and Tom Henke, their current leader.

How did Oakland Manager Tony La Russa try to ease the pressure on Cuban immigrant Ariel Prieto, who has moved into the A’s rotation after having been the fifth player selected in the June draft?

“I told him, ‘Remember when you pitched for Cuba and Fidel Castro said win or you’d disappear off the face of the earth?’ ” La Russa said. “I told him that was pressure and this is nothing.”