Mo Boils Over After the Angels Take Another Loss 

Andrew Baggarly 

c.1999 San Bernardino County Sun 

   ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Anaheim Angels had just concluded another pratfall-filled loss Sunday, this one in especially embarrassing fashion to the equally troubled Tigers. And Mo Vaughn responded by going into turbo-clean mode in the Angels clubhouse. 
   After Detroit routed the Angels 12-3 at Edison Field, a game that included a sloppy six-run ninth inning, Vaughn started slamming boxes, throwing out old clothes and tossing used equipment. 
   “Just get it out - get it all out,'' Vaughn said as he slumped forward in his chair. “When I clean things, it's like snapping for me.'' 
   From two stalls down, Jim Edmonds interjected: “Then just imagine how dirty his house must be when he's going good.'' 
   No need for domestic help at the Vaughn compound. Not this season. Sunday's debacle was another horrific rerun - the Tigers scored early, then the Angels' major-league-worst offense found itself in a position in which it had to rally. 
   The Angels came up with three runs in the seventh, boosted by Troy Glaus' two-run homer, but it wasn't enough. In Vaughn's view, it hasn't been enough all season, and he accepted personal responsibility for the team's limp attack. 
   “When this is all over, I definitely take the blame for this year's lack of offense,'' Vaughn said. ``I don't know if that's right or that's wrong. That's just the way I am. I don't have any excuses to give you and I won't make any.'' 
   Vaughn, signed to a six-year, $80 million contract in the offseason, has been slowed by a badly sprained ankle and a staph infection. He was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and two groundouts Sunday. 
   His mates up and down the lineup have also fallen victim to injuries, but Vaughn sees only the loss column and his own lack of productivity. 
   “It's almost like I can't wait for spring training to start,'' he said. 
   “I still love to play and I come to play because I love this game. 
   “But I'll take responsibility and I'll definitely do something about it in 2000.'' 
   His teammates can't wait for the season to end, either. Two different golf tournaments were on the clubhouse televisions before the game. 
   Emanating from the coaches' room was a conversation about the advantages of graphite rather than steel shafts. 
   No, the end can't come fast enough. Even recording mop-up outs has become a challenge. The Angels had cut it to 6-3, but hopes for a rally were quashed in a miserable ninth that included an error, five hits, a hit batsman and a walk. 
   Angels reliever Mark Petkovsek was hammered for six runs (five earned) without recording an out. Shortstop Jeff Huson didn't help the cause, fielding a Brad Ausmus grounder and botching the force play at second when he threw the ball over Trent Durrington's head. 
“It was a terrible situation and I let it steamroll,'' Petkovsek said. 
   Tigers center fielder Juan Encarnacion hit a three-run homer off Angels starter Steve Sparks (5-10) in the first inning and added RBI singles in the sixth and ninth. His five RBI were a career high. 
   Mlicki (9-10) won his fourth consecutive start, striking out six in six-plus innings. 
   The right-hander, who was traded by the Dodgers for right-hander Robinson Checo and two minor-leaguers on April 16, has a lower ERA than Darren Dreifort and Chan Ho Park and a higher victory total than Ismael Valdes.