Michael Ventre

In the classic Western, “High Noon,” Gary Cooper is a stoic, tight-lipped marshal of a small town. He’s about to retire and go off to live in peace with his new bride, but news comes that villains are on the way. The townspeople desert him, but his overwhelming sense of duty makes him stay and take on the bad guys single-handedly, even though it means certain death.

Substitute Vladimir Guerrero for Cooper and you have the Los Angeles Angels’ version of “High Noon,” except this saga never ends. It just keeps recreating itself with different bad guys. In each case, Guerrero — like Cooper — is quiet and humble, but determined. He feels an obligation to stand tall and face each challenge.

Of course, an argument can be made that Guerrero has even less help than Cooper did.

Guerrero is in his fourth season as an Angel. Each year fans of the team clamor for management to bring Vlad some deputies. Or even some town drunks. Anybody.

Instead, the Angels stand pat, hoping and praying that a fertile farm system will produce The Next Vlad. Alas, it never happens. The best they could do this past offseason is sign Gary Matthews Jr. to a free-agent deal, but almost immediately that move was criticized after it was reported that Matthews once accepted a package with human growth hormone, even though there is no evidence he actually used it. Because I bought a pair of shoes once online but have yet to wear them, I suppose Matthews should be given the benefit of the doubt.

And he’s doing all right. Thus far in ’07 Matthews is batting .285, with 10 homers and 42 RBIs. Since his ’06 numbers with the Texas Rangers — .313 average,  19 homers, 79 RBIs — are achievable again, and because he plays a fine center field, maybe his signing won’t seem like such a boneheaded waste of $50 million after all.

There also has been some support provided by shortstop Orlando Cabrera (.334 average, 44 RBIs), and first baseman Casey Kotchman (.264, 36 RBIs) in his first season as a full-time regular. So Vlad isn’t exactly standing alone in the dust, outnumbered.

But he isn’t exactly spearheading a marauding posse of expert gunslingers, either. The Angels are in first place because of the relative weakness of their American League West brethren, and because of their pitching.

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They're also in first place because of Vlad.

Guerrero, hitting .330 with 69 RBIs and 14 homers, has consistently been among the AL’s top 10 in those three categories. The same can’t be said for the grab bag of names that has joined him in the lineup.

No matter how much owner Arte Moreno postures about wanting to wrest control of the Southern California baseball market away from the Dodgers, the fact is that Guerrero is the only real marquee star they’ve actively sought in recent years.

In 2005, they made a half-hearted run at Paul Konerko before he re-signed with the Chicago White Sox. Moreno and Angels’ GM Bill Stoneman made it sound as though they did their best to add a stick to the roster, but it was more of a dog-and-pony effort to appease antsy fans.

During the winter of 2006-07 there were rumblings that they were pursuing a trade for Manny Ramirez, although that proved to be more talk show and Internet blather that actual fact.

What is clear is that the Angels use Guerrero to bolster their image as a World Series contender, but they do so while they hope that one or two prospects among Kotchman, Howie Kendrick, Mike Napoli and now outfielder Reggie Willits, among others, pan out.

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