Rest and Rest of Season More Important to Angels

Joe Torre, the Angels’ radio and television commentator for six seasons, did his old friends a favor Wednesday.

The New York Yankee manager selected only one of them, rookie pitcher Jason Dickson, for Tuesday’s All-Star game.

First of all, who wants to spend a day off in Cleveland?

Second, maybe Torre’s snub will give the Angels added incentive against his team. Not only are the Angels chasing Seattle in the American League West but the Yankees in the wild-card race.

Then there is the matter of noblesse oblige.

In this case, that means Torre can choose anybody George Steinbrenner says he can because their team won the American League pennant last season.

Although they both have been stellar in center field and have roughly the same excellent numbers at the plate, New York’s Bernie Williams was selected as a reserve ahead of Jim Edmonds.

That wasn’t because the Yankee manager prefers pinstripes to periwinkle.

If the Angels want more than their guaranteed one All-Star representative, they’ll have to win the pennant. Then Terry Collins can choose the team.

“It’s truly an honor to be named to the All-Star team,” Collins said Wednesday night. “But it’s a bigger honor if you can make a run at the pennant. This will give us three days off so we can rest up and get after it in the second half.”

That’s the reason Collins would like to thank Torre.

All the fallen Angels will have time to heal. No one needs it more than Edmonds, who is one more diving catch from the disabled list. That’s why he was the designated hitter against the Dodgers.

Wouldn’t you know it? In his first at-bat, he was hit by a pitch.

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The really nice thing about this baseball season, other than interleague play, is the continuing recognition of Jackie Robinson. . . .

Irv Kaze adds to the tributes during his Friday night radio show on KIEV (870). . . .

Even the Dodger Stadium scoreboard operator is trying to unload Eric Karros. After he hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning Tuesday night against Texas, the runs were momentarily attributed to the Rangers. . . .

I can’t make a case for Karros on the All-Star team after his slow start, but that trade rumor out of Cincinnati that has him going to the Reds for Bret Boone and Hal Morris surely isn’t something Fred Claire is considering. . . .

I can make a case for Raul Mondesi over Moises Alou, but I don’t feel strongly about it. . . .

That fourth-inning scrum Wednesday night finally added a little heat to the rivalry between the Dodgers and Angel. . . .

It was nothing like the old Pacific Coast League wars between the Hollywood Stars and Los Angeles Angels, though. . . .

According to a 1995 Sports Illustrated article by John Schulian, one of the more memorable donnybrooks started when Angel pitcher Tommy Lasorda dusted the Stars’ Spook Jacobs. . . .

Jacobs bunted the next pitch up the first-base line so he could meet Lasorda fist-to-face. . . .

The most intense grudge match between Los Angeles and Orange County teams occurred in Huntington Beach on Sunday night, when recently graduated preps met in an all-star basketball game. L.A. won, 124-112. . . .

Recruiting experts believe that class of seniors, including Baron Davis, Schea Cotton, Kenny Brunner, Chris Burgess and the Collins twins, is the best in this area since the 1975 class of David Greenwood, Roy Hamilton, Brad Holland, Bill Laimbeer and Reggie Theus. . . .

One of the nation’s best seniors-to-be is Dominguez High’s Tayshaun Prince, who, at 6 foot 8, played point guard during a tournament last weekend. . . .

Then there’s Wimbledon’s teenage wonders. Martina Hingis is proving herself a spoiled brat and Anna Kournikova, says Pam Shriver, is “wearing out the mirrors.” . . .

With behavior like that, the American women are hardly missed. . . .

Before Kournikova, the last Eastern European teen to create that kind of sensation was Ukrainian figure skater Oksana Baiul. . . .

She’s coming to the Pond, the Long Beach Arena the Sports Arena next week with the tour of Olympic and world champions. . . .

Baiul, reportedly contemplating a move to Los Angeles, says she’s trying to slow down after crashing her Mercedes last January while driving 100 mph in a 45-mph zone...

The fastest filly in Southern California is Bent Creek City. The undefeated 2-year-old will be heavily favored in Saturday’s Landaluce Stakes at Hollywood Park.

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While wondering if the Dodgers and Angels will use gloves next time, I was thinking: not in the fight but on the field, the only angry players should have been the pitchers, it is a wonderful life.