ANGELS APPEAR TO HAVE UPSTART QUALITY.

Byline: JOE HAAKENSON

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - They were the ``other'' team when matching up against the powerful Oakland A's. They had no chance to beat those A's, who took the league by storm.

The 2002 Angels? How about the 1988 Dodgers?

The 1988 A's were heavily favored to beat L.A. in the World Series that year, only to be upset by the upstart Dodgers, who featured pitcher Orel Hershiser, outfielder Kirk Gibson and a bunch lesser-known players.

One of those was Mickey Hatcher, who replaced the injured Gibson in the Series and hit two home runs. Now he's the Angels' hitting coach, and he sees a lot of similarities with this year's Angels. And not just because again it's the A's grabbing the headlines with their American League-record 20-game winning streak.

``One reason is it takes every man on the team to stay in it,'' Hatcher said. ``The bench guys have done a great job when a starter's gone down. That's the way it was with the '88 team, too. Whatever lineup we put on the field, we feel we can win. That's what this team's all about this year.''

Hatcher noted the contributions of Orlando Palmeiro in the absence of right fielder Tim Salmon, as well as Shawn Wooten and Benji Gil coming off the bench. In '88, Hatcher was one of those bench guys, who called themselves the ``Stunt Men.''

``We had (Rick) Dempsey when (Mike) Scioscia got hurt,'' Hatcher said. ``And we had (Mike) Sharperson and Mike Davis and Danny Heep. Dave Anderson filled in when Alfredo (Griffin) was hurt for a while. Everyone on the team, you could go back over the season and find a game that they did something to win it for us.''

Last Wednesday, after a victory over Tampa Bay and as the Angels finished dressing before heading back to their hotel, a few stuck around in the clubhouse long enough to watch the A's bat in the bottom of the first inning on TV.

Six runs later, they shrugged and walked out. The A's were on their way to their 20th consecutive victory.

Many observers, it seems, have eliminated the Angels from contention in the American League West, leaving them to fend for the AL wild-card spot. But the Angels have eight games left against the A's, starting with a four-game series at Edison Field beginning Monday night.

``I don't think anyone in here thinks we're underdogs,'' Hatcher said. ``Oakland's on a great streak, but we went on a good streak, too, winning 21 of 24.

``What everybody looks at is that we've played those guys good and we've played Seattle good. In the past we've struggled against them, but we know we can compete with them. That's what has made a difference.''

The Angels believe because Scioscia and his staff have instilled that confidence. Some players' confidence might have begun to waver after a 6-14 start. But Scioscia preached his faith in the team, and his patience was rewarded.

``Whether people want to compare us to the mighty Oakland A's or the mighty Seattle Mariners, it's really irrelevant to what the challenge is,'' Scioscia said. ``I don't feel slighted, and I don't think the guys do, either. The only thing that matters is what level of play you are bringing every day. And we've got a great group of guys that have played very good baseball.''

Scioscia doesn't mind comparisons between the '88 Dodgers and this year's Angels. After all, the '88 Dodgers won the World Series. But Scioscia said there are differences.

``As the season's gone on, I've seen a lot of good characteristics about this club you can definitely compare to the '88 team,'' Scioscia said. ``But I think this team has its own personality. The expectations this club has are built around the confidence level, which is high. They've evolved into this.''