What Was Missing? Defense, Speed, Luck : Angels: Several injuries compounded problems that left them in fourth place.

Touted to challenge the Oakland Athletics in the American League West, the Angels instead challenged only the ingenuity of their manager and the patience of their fans.

Misplays, missed games and miscalculation doomed the Angels to finish near .500, a disappointing result after they held the division lead for much of last summer. Not building on that success was their first miscalculation.

For the Angels to think they were close to the Athletics’ talent level based on last summer was a huge mistake. A year ago, the A’s didn’t acquire Rickey Henderson until late June and lacked Walt Weiss for 80 games, Dennis Eckersley for 40 and Jose Canseco until mid-July. With those players in the lineup and back in sync, Oakland easily shot to the top.

The Angels’ major move was to strengthen their strength--pitching--with the $16-million signing of Mark Langston. The offense never consistently supported the pitching, and the Angels never climbed more than three games above .500 and seemed destined for fourth place.

Games missed by injured players totaled more than 800, forcing Manager Doug Rader to devise a new lineup almost daily. He used eight players at second base, seven at first base, six at short and six at third. Those missed games led to misplays by fielders at unfamiliar positions and countless missed double plays and force plays that were not ruled errors but were just as costly. With two games left, the Angels had committed 139 errors, 43 more than last season, when their .985 fielding percentage ranked second in the league. This season they’re second to last. They’ve given up 91 unearned runs, compared with 48 last season.

“Our defense, No. 1, has to be the very most disappointing thing,” Rader said in assessing the season. “I can understand because of the different combinations we had to employ. There hasn’t been a whole lot of continuity as a group. That’s done more to adversely affect us than anything else. . . .

“I don’t know if (in 1989) we had a disproportionately fine year defensively or an unusually poor year this year. We’re going to make 50 more errors this year and the pitching staff has suffered.”

They also suffered from a lack of speed, ranking 13th in stolen bases. They are in the bottom half of the league in batting average, runs and runs batted in but near the top in strikeouts and runners left on base.

“I said last year in spring training that it would take 100 (victories) to win this thing, and it would have,” Rader said. “I think the same thing is going to hold true for next year. Look at the White Sox this year--they’re going to win 95 games. They did it with youthful exuberance, pitching and defense. There’s a lot to be said for those three areas.”

That Rader was able to keep the Angels near .500 says a lot for his managerial skills. “That’s a good trick and quite an accomplishment. That much can be said positively,” General Manager Mike Port said. “(Former Yankee GM) George Weiss once said there is no such thing as second place. It’s either first place or nothing. We may not win it, and with this franchise we haven’t won the ultimate, the World Series, but we’ll keep trying.”

It was a trying season for Rader, who often couldn’t hide his exasperation over the porous defense and inconsistent offense.

“God knows I would have loved to use a set lineup every day, have continuity, have people understand their roles, but this amount of juggling was necessary because of a roster that wasn’t balanced the way I hope it will be next year,” said Rader, who was rewarded with a two-year contract extension. “So you try to keep as many people involved as possible. Egos were suffering.

“Knowing that, day in and day out, you couldn’t put your best lineup out there because of injuries was difficult. It hasn’t been the easiest of years, but a lot of good has come out of it.”

The best development to come out of this season was Chuck Finley’s performance in claiming a place among the pitching elite. He finished near the top of the AL with 18 victories, 236 innings and 177 strikeouts and in ERA at 2.40. “He’s been terrific,” Rader said.

There were several other outstanding efforts. Lance Parrish rebounded from an injury-marred 1989 to have his most productive season since 1985 and become the first catcher to lead the Angels in home runs, with 24. Bryan Harvey broke Dave LaRoche’s club record of 65 saves for a career, and Willie Fraser became a solid setup man after retooling at triple-A Edmonton. Kirk McCaskill won 12 games despite painful bone spurs and was among the league’s ERA leaders at 3.25, and Jim Abbott matured in a painfully inconsistent season.

Both of Port’s key trades worked to the Angels’ advantage. Luis Polonia, acquired from the New York Yankees on April 29 for Rich Monteleone and Claudell Washington, hit over .320 and provided a singular spark; however, he must prove himself against left-handers, use his speed more effectively than to be caught stealing 14 times in 32 attempts and be better defensively.

Dave Winfield needed time to regain form after losing a year to surgery, and his impressive second half belies his 39 years. As he predicted, his production soared after it was announced that his old foe, George Steinbrenner, would be removed as the New York Yankees’ general partner. After July 30, Winfield hit well over .300 with 38 RBIs.

“If it could have been a regular season and there wouldn’t have been all the turmoil, I could have done excellently what I felt I could do,” he said. “I’m pleased with what I’ve done. In the second half I’ve played strong, and it was like starting with a clean slate.”

Though the trades have been favorable, they come out as a near trade-off in offensive production from 1989 because injuries cut Chili Davis’ RBI total from a team-high 90 to 58 and Wally Joyner’s from 79 to 41. Jack Howell was hitting .248 when he injured his left knee May 21 and hovered near .220 the rest of the season, and his RBI total fell from 52 last season to 30. Johnny Ray, hampered by shoulder problems, drove in nearly 20 fewer runs than his 1989 total of 62.

“Run production is an area we want to try and address over the winter to the best of our capabilities,” Port said. “We need to score more runs.”

They scored successes with free agents Donnie Hill and Mark Eichhorn. Hill’s versatility and competitiveness were remarkable, but he shouldn’t have had to play in nearly 100 games. Eichhorn was the mainstay of the bullpen during Harvey’s early struggles and had 13 saves by June 19. He hasn’t had another since.

Brian Downing had a splendid second half after fighting a chronic back-muscle pull, but his inability to play anywhere but designated hitter limited Rader’s options. Downing probably will retire, leaving DH duty to Davis and Winfield. Lee Stevens was a qualified success, showing bursts of power but often appearing overmatched. That makes it risky for the Angels to trade Joyner, a marketable player who could be traded for a big hitter in a package deal.

Whether to deal Joyner is one of many questions facing Port and Rader. Another is which Dick Schofield they get in 1991: the one who pulled a hamstring March 27, didn’t play until June and failed to drive in a runner from scoring position from June 9 until July 31, or the Schofield who hit over .310 in August and September?

And can Langston (10-17) build on winning five of his last seven decisions--victories gained after the Angels were long out of contention? Rader thinks so.

“The newness of going somewhere else, the tremendous expectations, all those burdens will be off his shoulders and will make it easy to deal with the business at hand, which is getting people out,” Rader said of Langston, who came within two losses of the club record. “A fresh start for Mark next spring is going to be the best elixir.”

Langston has yet to prove he can win pressure games. The Angels were 7 1/2 games out of first on June 24; his loss to the White Sox June 25 was his third in a streak that reached eight. By the time he won again, the Angels were 14 games behind the first-place A’s.

The Angels have customarily considered time an enemy, justifying free-agent signings and trades of youngsters for veterans by saying they wanted a quick championship for 83-year-old owner Gene Autry. Only rarely have they given their farm system the time and resources to nurture players, a plan they vowed to adopt when Rader’s contract was extended.

The farm system’s top products are already in Angel uniforms, and Rader acknowledged there’s little likelihood of additional help next season. He still believes it imperative that the development of players and blending of personalities be accomplished rapidly.

Several components are likely to change next season. A demotion to Edmonton didn’t jar Devon White into displaying the potential he has shown in brief spurts, and he may be gone after a sub-.220 season and his third 100-plus strikeout season in the past four. Dante Bichette fell out of favor and the lineup after Winfield’s arrival, and his casual defensive play late in the season did little to enhance his status. Middle relief needs shoring up, and Bert Blyleven, at 39, must be considered a question after an 8-7 season and shoulder surgery.

“We need to pinpoint specific areas where we need improvement and have a plan, and we’re doing just that,” Rader said. “I really do believe we have enough people here that can get things very solidly under way.”

WHERE THE ANGELS BROKE DOWN Defensive and pitching statistics help show how the Angels fell from a 91-71 record in 1989 to a below-.500 team with two games remaining this season. ERA 1989: 3.28 1990: 3.78 HITS ALLOWED 1989: 1,384 1990: 1,455 UNEARNED RUNS ALLOWED 1989: 48 1990: 91 RUNS ALLOWED 1989: 578 1990: 694 ERRORS (BY ANGELS) 1989: 96 1990: 139 Source: California Angeles