ANGELS NOTEBOOK: FINLEY IN SAME SPOT AS IN 1999.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - One of the reasons pitcher Chuck Finley, the Angels' all-time leader in victories, left the team after the 1999 season was that he perceived the Angels to be in a rebuilding mode, having just hired general manager Bill Stoneman and manager Mike Scioscia.

So Finley chose the Cleveland Indians, one team he thought could win right away, and signed a three-year, $27 million contract.

Finley and the Indians went to the playoffs last season and lost a division-series matchup with the Seattle Mariners. But the Indians didn't go to the playoffs in Finley's first year in 2000 and it seems they won't go this year either.

The Indians traded Roberto Alomar before the season started, recently traded their top pitcher in Bartolo Colon and currently are shopping first baseman Jim Thome.

``I just don't believe we have the tools to compete with these big teams,'' Finley told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. ``We don't have the depth, we're not playing well and now we're getting into the tough part of the schedule.

``We've got to play teams like Oakland and Seattle. We have to play well or we may wake up one day and be 20 games out. Teams like us, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Detroit might have to form a league of our own.''

Finley realizes every Indians player could be traded, but he also realizes his age (39) and his salary (about $8 million this year) don't make him an attractive option. He met with Indians GM Mark Shapiro recently, but said he did not ask for a trade.

``Mark said the phone wasn't ringing for anybody except (Colon),'' Finley said. ``I said I'd appreciate it if he could give me a warning, a heads up, if anything was about to happen.''

Beside his age and salary being a deterrent, Finley also hasn't won this season. He has a respectable 3.97 ERA, but is 4-11 thanks to a lack of offensive support in most of his games.

``This is like a nightmare,'' he said. ``I know I'm pitching better than 4-11, but when I go to sleep at night, I'm still 4-11. I'm going to have to have a Cy Young second half just to get back to .500.''

--Williams memory: Angels manager Mike Scioscia said he met Ted Williams, who died Friday, early in his major-league career.

``The numbers he put up were incredible considering the two stints in the military, which probably tells you more of the story of what he was about in his life than anything he did as a ballplayer,'' Scioscia said. ``The passion he had and the fearlessness he had made him a great player and separated him from a lot of the very good players at that time.''

--Eventual bonus: Garret Anderson doesn't get a direct bonus directly for his All-Star selection, but he eventually will be paid $700,000 for it. Anderson's salary for the 2003 and 2004 seasons will increase by $350,000 each year by being named to the All-Star team.

Anderson now will make $5.35 million next season and $5.85 million in 2004.

ANGELS vs. TAMPA BAY

Time: 7:05 p.m., Edison Field.

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net; 570-AM, 1090-AM (Spanish).

Matchup: RH John Lackey (1-1, 2.77 ERA) will start for the Angels against Tampa Bay RH Jorge Sosa (0-1, 6.84). Lackey is making his third career start and the first since he defeated the Dodgers last Sunday for his first major-league victory. Through their first 43 home games, the Angels averaged 24,598 fans per game, down 605 fans per game from their average at this time last season.

- Joe Haakenson

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ANGELS vs. TAMPA BAY (see text)