AFTER A WILD OFFSEASON, THE PRETENDERS ARE SEPARATED FROM THE AMERICAN LEAGUE'S... BIG SPENDERS.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

Remember the National League, that quaint group that has been organizing baseball games since 1876?

In the four-plus months since the Florida Marlins successfully represented the ``senior circuit'' in the World Series, the National League seemingly has been rendered antique, the victim of a financial game of one-upsmanship between two regional rivals and the emergence of a revived threat from the West.

There is a new power trio of teams in baseball, and it comes from the American League. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees managed to keep sports fans interested in baseball during the normally drab offseason and once again are expected to meet in the American League Championship Series.

But a few thousand miles away, under a cloak of relative anonymity, the Angels and free-spending owner Arte Moreno arguably did more to improve themselves than any other team in either league. Nobody, outside of the Northeast, would be surprised to see the Angels supplant either the Red Sox or Yankees.

``With all the moves we made, we're struggling to get attention back (in the East),'' Angels designated hitter Tim Salmon said. ``No matter what you do, there's always the East Coast media you can't satisfy. It just seems that, as players, we recognize the impact this club has made.

``It's a new concept, for sure. Not very many teams go out and make the impact we did in the offseason. Typically, it's New York and Boston, maybe Atlanta. To do what we did this year, it was exciting to see.''

Not to say there isn't anything to see in the National League. The Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros upgraded significantly and should put forth an exciting and dramatic Central divisional series, but the NL East has weakened significantly and the NL West might be, top to bottom, the worst division in baseball.

Barry Bonds' quest to pass his godfather, Willie Mays, on the career home-run list will make for an interesting subplot, as will the first season of Frank McCourt's thus-far disastrous tenure as owner of the Dodgers, but the Angels, Red Sox and Yankees should command baseball's attention in 2004.

``There are going to be some battles on the field, and it will live up to expectations,'' Boston second baseman Pokey Reese said. ``You've got the best rivalry in baseball and a great team like the Angels, too. Who wouldn't want to see this? Every game should be on TV, and it's going to be fun to be a part of it.

``When you have the guys we have and the staff we have, everybody is going to come gunning for us, just like everybody is going to be gunning for the Yankees and the Angels. Baseball is hot.''

Almost before the champagne had dried in the Marlins' clubhouse, the power plays began.

Within a two-week span in early December, the Red Sox traded for Curt Schilling, the Angels signed Bartolo Colon and the Yankees traded for Kevin Brown and Javier Vazquez.

Then, during a 10-day stretch that seemed to be a game of ``Can you top this?'' the Red Sox signed Keith Foulke and nearly landed Alex Rodriguez, the Angels signed Jose Guillen and the Yankees signed Kenny Lofton and Gary Sheffield, and 27 other general managers simply seemed to be watching the show.

The Angels saved their biggest blow for last, when they signed Vladimir Guerrero on Jan. 12, but naturally, the Yankees had to get the last word and finalized a trade with Texas for Rodriguez on Feb. 17.

``I have to be honest with you,'' Rodriguez said. ``There was about three-quarters of my body that I thought was wearing a Boston uniform. That was the reality of it.''

But now how will it all shake out? Do the Angels' upgrades put them in the upper echelon?

``You can certainly put (the Angels') lineup up against anybody's and you can make an argument that they are as good or better than us and the Yankees,'' said Boston outfielder Gabe Kapler, a Taft High of Woodland Hills graduate. ``I don't know that you will find better 3-4-5 hitters in baseball.

``It's hard. The game isn't played on paper and yet people make all these predictions and projections based on what they see on paper. The fact is that I can't remember the last time an 'All-Star team' won it. All you have to do is point to the last two Series, with the Marlins and Angels. So that stuff only matters to some extent. You could have an explosive lineup, like we had in Texas, and still get hammered.''

Naturally, all the attention will be focused on the 19 games played between the Red Sox and Yankees, who battled to Game 7 of last year's ALCS and now have added the polarizing figure of Rodriguez to the already intense rivalry. In an exhibition game in Fort Myers, Fla., a standing-room only crowd, primarily made up of Red Sox fans, jeered Rodriguez's every at-bat and fielding attempt.

``Last year we were definitely a better team than the Yankees, but they came back and got us at the end,'' Boston reliever Scott Williamson said. ``That's the way it goes, and that's what makes baseball such a great sport to watch. We're obviously coming into this year with high expectations and we need to go out there and prove it.''

The showdowns begin April 16, when the Red Sox host the Yankees in a game that has been hyped on television commercials for the past month.

Boston pitcher Derek Lowe already has gone on the record as saying the Red Sox-Yankees season series will be split 10-9 in one team's favor, but each team also plays the Angels nine times, and they would be wise not to overlook the new-look Angels.

Should the Oakland A's put things together and win the AL West, then suddenly there could be a colossal struggle between the Angels and either the Red Sox or Yankees for the AL's only wild-card playoff spot.

``People always ask, 'What are you going to do to overtake the Yankees?' '' Garciaparra told Boston reporters. ``And I'm like, 'Overtake the Yankees? We've got to overtake everybody.' You can go 19-0 against them, but if they're in the playoffs and we're not, it's not good.''

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- 3) Curt Schilling, right, will team with Pedro Martinez to give the Boston Red Sox a pair of aces in their bid to overtake the Yankees in the AL East. New York also upgraded by trading for Alex Rodriguez (top right), who moves to third base and will play alongside shortstop Derek Jeter. Darin Erstad (above) will move to first base for the Angels this season after they acquired outfielders Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Guillen.

Associated Press

Box:

(1) OFFSEASON SHAKEUP 

(2) PAYROLLPALOOZA

Source: Associated Press

Source: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel