AMERICAN LEAGUE: AROUND THE HORN ANGELS IN SUPPORT OF SALMON.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

DENVER - Angels right fielder Tim Salmon is at home in Orange County nursing a sore shoulder and a bruised ego.

Salmon is on the disabled list with strains to his left shoulder and neck because he had been working so hard taking so many extra swings in the batting cage trying to break out of a season-long slump.

His .206 batting average this season, well below his .291 career average heading into the season, has confounded everyone but no one more so than Salmon himself. He has analyzed and overanalyzed for many sleepless nights.

With Mo Vaughn out for the season recovering from arm surgery, Salmon probably felt an added responsibility to produce this season. And there also is the four-year, $40 million extension he signed during spring training. The deal doesn't kick in until next year, but Salmon seems to have put pressure on himself to live up to the deal.

Whatever the reasons, a player having an bad season is not unusual. Salmon needs only to look across the clubhouse to see teammate Darin Erstad, who struggled through 1999, batting .253. He rebounded to hit .355 in 2000 but said there's nothing he can say to help Salmon fight through it.

``Everybody's different,'' Erstad said. ``As a team, we're in Tim's corner 100 percent. I know the feeling and it's no fun. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. But at the same time, it's not time to analyze it. It's not my place to say, 'Do this and do that.' ''

Angels manager Mike Scioscia agreed.

``You support a player, but the waters can easily get muddied with too many opinions,'' he said. ``You want the player to work on a simple game plan with the hitting instructor and it pays off most of the time.''

When it doesn't, the manager has to step in, and Scioscia has done his best to play psychologist when called for.

``You have to temper where his frustration level is with the fact that he needs at-bats to get where he needs to be,'' Scioscia said. ``Patience is called for and Tim knows we'll give him that patience.''

--Boo burbs: Indians starter Dave Burba has lost four decisions in a row, and when he was removed from a game earlier in the week after giving up eight runs in a loss to the Red Sox, the Jacobs Field fans booed him.

Burba responded by sarcastically tipping his cap, which resulted in a meeting with Indians manager Charlie Manuel.

``I talked to Dave about it,'' Manuel told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. ``Dave is not a hothead. Once or twice a year, though, he will go off.

``Booing is part of the game. I've been booed plenty. The advice I give is that he should not be so sensitive. The modern player is sensitive. He takes criticism as an attack. The fans here are looking for the day we win the World Series. They won't be satisfied until then.''

Burba said he simply wants the fans to know he's doing the best he can.

``I usually don't let the fans get to me,'' he said. ``But they have to realize that I am trying. My competitive nature got the best of me the other day.''

--Fly away: Mariners closer Kazuhiro Sasaki won the Rookie of the Year award last season, and this year he's in the All-Star Game. It's such a big deal that his mother, Nobuko, will leave Japan for the first time to watch.

Nobuko has a fear of flying but will make the trip along with Sasaki's wife and children.

``She has flown in Japan before but never outside the country,'' Sasaki told the Seattle Times through an interpreter. ``But she regards this as a special event, so she is taking up the challenge of traveling this far.''

--Double trouble: Kansas City's Mike Sweeney continues to be one of the most underrated players in the league. Going into the weekend, the Royals first baseman was hitting .337 with 21 homers, 35 doubles and 65 RBI.

Sweeney remains on pace to challenge Boston's Earl Webb's single-season record for doubles (67). Sweeney is on pace for 66.