Rader Status Still in Talking Stage : Angels: Jackie Autry, hoping the team will turn things around, says no decision has been made concerning the manager.

Jackie Autry, executive vice president of the Angels and wife of owner Gene Autry, said Thursday that no decision has been made on whether Manager Doug Rader will be fired but acknowledged that “we’ve talked about it.”

“Suffice it to say that Doug is having some difficulties on the field that could affect what type of action we take in the future,” she said. “We keep hoping the team will turn itself around. If that happens we’ll have to examine the situation.”

Club President Richard M. Brown released a statement, reiterating that speculation on the imminent firing of Rader was “a non-issue.”

“It’s unfortunate that it has received so much attention,” Brown said.

Angel spokesman Tim Mead said no announcement is planned for today, and that Rader is prepared to depart with the team on an 11-game trip Monday.

The Angels, in first place in the American League West for one day, July 3, plummeted to last place on Aug. 4, and had lost seven consecutive games before an 8-1 victory over division-leading Minnesota at Anaheim Stadium Wednesday.

The team opens a three-game series against defending American League champion Oakland tonight.

Jackie Autry said that any decision on Rader’s future would be reached by the Autrys in consultation with Brown and Dan O’Brien, senior vice president for baseball operations.

“I really can’t give you a definitive idea as to when we’re going to make a decision,” she said. “At this point in time we still have somewhat of a chance the team could get hot. Obviously, if we’re in first place it would be very difficult to get rid of the manager.”

Jackie Autry, who acknowledges that she has second-guessed some of Rader’s managerial decisions, had said Wednesday that this Angel team was put together by the Autrys and former General Manager Mike Port, who was fired in April. She expanded on those remarks Thursday.

“I didn’t want the perception to be that the manager wasn’t responsible,” she said. “The manager always has input.

“All the players, with absolutely no exception, came with the input of Doug Rader. We provided to Doug Rader every player he asked us to get: (Dave) Parker, (Luis) Sojo, (Junior) Felix, (Dave) Gallagher, Jeff Robinson. The new faces that you see on the ballclub this year are a result of a joint conference with Mike and myself and Gene getting input on how he felt about specific players.”

She also included Gary Gaetti among the players Rader was involved in evaluating, and said Rader pushed for the trade of Dante Bichette to the Milwaukee Brewers for Parker.

Parker, 40, the designated hitter who has batted cleanup much of the season, is hitting .235 with 10 home runs and 47 runs batted in. He hit .289 with 21 homers and 92 RBIs last season.

Some more recent personnel moves have not borne Rader’s stamp, such as the signing of Fernando Valenzuela, who went 0-2 with a 12.15 earned-run average. “Fernando was not a Doug move,” she said.

Jackie Autry also said that there may be validity to theories that Rader, always supportive and protective of his players, has coddled them instead of spurring them on.

“If Doug has turned out to be too nice a guy, that may be part of the problem,” she said.

Rader received a two-year contract extension last September, and is signed through the 1992 season. He also sought and received assurance that he would have additional input in scouting and player development, including a commitment to expand the team’s Latin American operation.

Speculation on potential replacements for Rader centers on Buck Rodgers, who was fired as manager in Montreal early this season and is a former Angel player and a friend of the Autrys.

Although Gene Mauch, a former Angel manager, is a friend and adviser of the Autrys, Jackie Autry said she does not think he wants to return to baseball.