Baseball’s Angels changed their name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim because they wanted some of what the Los Angeles Dodgers have. They got their wish, sort of.

They’re the targets of scorn.

The Angels and their carpetbagging marketing department have somewhat underachieved. The Dodgers and their debt-laden ownership have somewhat overachieved. And entering their Freeway Series beginning Friday at Dodger Stadium, they will boast remarkably similar records. As of Wednesday, each team was 22-17.

But this is the first time the clubs have met for real in 2005 since the name change, and their rivalry on the field can’t possibly be as testy as the one off it.

The Dodgers refuse to acknowledge the Angels as the Los Angeles Angels on their press releases and stadium scoreboard. The public address announcer refers to them as the Angels of Anaheim.

Matt York / AP Angels owner Arte Moreno is much more free with his money than his Dodgers' counterpart.

This is an infantile dispute. These days Dodger fans spend most of their time snarled in traffic trying to get into Chavez Ravine, or streaming toward the exits in the seventh inning, or waiting in long lines in the too-few bathrooms, or, if they’re patrons of the club’s “$2 Tuesday” promotion, brawling in the pavilions. So it’s highly unlikely they even notice that Dodgers owner Frank McCourt is giving Angels owner Arte Moreno the business equivalent of a wedgie.

And who is to say what Moreno will do for revenge when the Dodgers come to their park for a three-game set beginning June 24? Maybe he’ll erect a faux Los Angeles skyline beyond the fences complete with a “HOLLYWOOD” sign.

Right now, the battle on the diamond is important because bragging rights are worth more than they used to be.

The Dodgers broke out to a 12-2 start. Then, as if collectively admitting, “You know, we’re really not this good,” they dropped three in a row in easing back to the pack. They’ve struggled against the NL clubs they would contend with in the postseason (if they make it there), losing three of four last week in St. Louis and following that by dropping two of three at home against Atlanta.

McCourt and his boy genius of a general manager, Paul DePodesta, have managed to avert disaster, at least so far. They chose not to re-sign third baseman Adrian Beltre, which so far looks like a cost-efficient decision since Beltre is batting .237 with the Seattle Mariners. But they handed the job to 35-year-old Jose Valentin, who suffered torn ligaments in his right knee and is out until August.

They chose not to re-sign Shawn Green and instead handed over first base to Hee-Seop Choi, which has brought mixed results. Choi is hitting .313, with six homers and 18 RBI. But he reacts to a hard ground ball like a small child reacts when a firecracker is thrown nearby.

Even the starting pitching is spotty. Derek Lowe (3-4, 3.07 ERA), Brad Penny (2-2, 4.40) and Jeff Weaver (4-2, 5.15) have been sharp at times, brutal at others. And Odalis Perez is suffering from shoulder stiffness.

What has saved the Dodgers thus far is clutch hitting from veterans Jeff Kent, Milton Bradley and Cesar Izturis. If one or more goes cold for any length of time, there is little in the way of a Plan B.

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