AMERICAN LEAGUE AROUND THE HORN: RANGERS ARE WONDERING IF IT'S TOO LATE.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - It's that time of the season when teams must decide if it's time to keep plugging away for a possible playoff berth or start looking toward the future.

The Texas Rangers are among those teams. They are in last place in the American League West and have been there for the past month. But a recent hot streak had them 7 1/2 games out of first place entering Saturday. More importantly, they were only 5 1/2 out of the wild-card spot.

``I don't know how far is too far back,'' outfielder Rusty Greer said. ``Over the years, a lot of strange things have happened. Teams have overcome 10-game deficits. You don't ever want to lose faith. You can't count yourself out, because we still have the whole second half.''

It would be surprising to see the Rangers throw in the towel on the season, considering they have won the division three of the past four years.

``What's frustrating is we've shown signs we can be a good club,'' manager Johnny Oates said. ``We played well in May and played well when we won three in a row (last week). We just haven't played well consistently.''

If the Rangers do decide to make moves and aim for the future, there are a few players who might be dealt. Closer John Wetteland and first baseman David Segui are eligible for free agency at the end of the season. Pitcher Esteban Loaiza can start or relieve and has drawn interest.

``We need to try and keep winning games. That's only fair,'' general manager Doug Melvin said. ``Unless I get overwhelmed by an offer, I'm going to give the benefit of doubt to everybody.''

--Play time's over: Chuck Finley must be wondering if it's him.

Last season when Finley was with the Angels and things were going badly, management decided to yank the two 60-inch screen televisions from the clubhouse.

Now with the Indians, Finley watched as manager Charlie Manuel decided to take the pingpong table and two leather couches out of the clubhouse. Manuel also banned clubhouse card games.

Of course, in both cases the moves were not ``punishment,'' according to management, but a way to get the players to improve their focus.

--Cycle-less: Hitting for the cycle is a rare feat for a hitter, but the Blue Jays' Brad Fullmer missed a perfect opportunity in a game last week.

Fullmer, a former Montclair Prep of Van Nuys star, had singled, tripled and homered when he came to bat in the seventh inning against Tampa Bay. He sliced the ball to left field for a hit but stayed at first after rounding the bag, and was booed.

``Everybody was on him,'' Blue Jays manager Jim Fregosi said.

Fullmer, though, didn't second-guess his decision to stick with a single.

``You can't make a mockery of the game for personal glory,'' he said.

--Going deep: Both the Angels and Blue Jays are trying to become the first team in major-league history to have four players hit 20 homers each before the All-Star break.

So far, both teams have three. The Angels have Garret Anderson, Mo Vaughn and Troy Glaus with 20-plus, and the Blue Jays have Raul Mondesi, Carlos Delgado and Tony Batista. The Angels' fourth is Tim Salmon, who has 18. The Blue Jays' fourth is Jose Cruz Jr., who has 19.

Not so coincidentally, the two teams rank 1-2 in the American League in homers.

--Short hops: Through Friday, the Angels had more victories (45) than all four 1999 AL playoff teams - Yankees (43), Indians (43), Red Sox (42) and Rangers (42).