Game Three

By Staff

It took me most of the playoffs to figure this out, but while rubbing my eyes during Game Three I finally recognized who the Anaheim Angels really are. Maybe it was the swirl of red uniforms dancing around the bases, but I'd swear on the White Rat's crew cut that it was the St. Louis Cardinals of the mid-1980s that was playing baseball tonight.

OK, laugh if you will, but the flow of the Angels' offense really did remind me of the Astroturf enchanced speed merchants that powered beertown about twenty years ago. They have a name shortstop at the top of their order and they are very good at getting on base. They go from first to third on almost every hit to the outfield, and the pitcher and catcher always have to be aware of the steal. Note that their manager, Mike Scioscia, was behind the plate for a lot of Cardinals games in the days. He understands better than most the pressure that this kind of offense puts on the pitchers. He knows how if one man gets on, the threat of a running game can throw the pitcher out of rhythm, and how all of a sudden, an aggressive team willing to take advantage of mistakes can score runs in bunches. It would be interesting to look at the types of teams that catchers put together as managers. Perhaps wearing the tools of ignorance sell you on the concept of speed and daring on the basepaths.

The Cardinals in the days of old had a good solid pitching staff. No Randy Johnsons or Roger Clemens in the mix, but a bunch of guys who could go out, eat a lot of innings and be confident that their team would put up a crooked numbers on the scoreboard for them. This Angels staff seems the same way. No, you don't look at anybody they have (outside of that Rodriguez kid, who had his analog in the young Worrell) and think that they will shut you down. You might nick and scratch them for some runs, or you might put together a good rally, but more often than not they come out still standing in the end. Again, a good lineup does wonders for your pitchers.

Those old Cardinals had great defense. Ozzie just went to Cooperstown on the strength of his glove. Two thirds of the world is covered by water, and in St. Louis they believed that Willie McGee covered the other third. The Angels don't have anyone who stands out with the leather nearly as much as those two (then again, who does?), but they have played very smart baseball, and haven't made mental mistakes or physical errors. They've mastered the fundamentals and you won't get four outs in an inning against them. But if you slip up and give them four, there'll be some scoring.

Last night started with Livan Hernandez getting his typical wide playoff strikezone. But the Angels quickly adjusted to Hernandez and the umpire, and then let the Giants pitcher fall behind in the count. When he came in with hittable pitches, they made him pay. Before you could say Willie Mays, the Angels had eight runs on the board and the game was out of reach.

The treatment of Bonds was interesting. In the first inning with men on first and third and only one out, Barry got an intentional walk. Moving a runner into scoring position rather than facing Barry seems a little nuts, but it did work, only the runner at third came in to score. Sometimes the Giants will turn this into a big inning, but this is up to the likes of Santiago and Snow, rather than the second coming of Ted Williams. In the third inning the Angels went right after Bonds, and struck him out on three fastballs. Up by six runs in the fifth they challenged him again, and he crushed the ball to deep center. He became the first man to hit a home run in his first three World Series games. In the seventh he got a four-pitch excuse-me walk, his 20th this post-season, a record he now shares with Gary Sheffield.

The Angels have the Giants back on their heels, and with the pitching matchup in Game Four, might put themselves in a position to win the whole enchilada in San Francisco.