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Same old story for Angels: Falling short
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NEW YORK — They just can't return to the World Series.
They may be among baseball's most consistently excellent teams, praised throughout the sport for doing all the little things right, but the Los Angeles Angels can't find a way to reach the final two again.
At the time of year when mistakes always seem to cost, they bungled plays large and small throughout the AL championship series, which ended with a crushing 5-2 loss to the New York Yankees in Game 6 on Sunday night.
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That Vladimir Guerrero resembled a high school player when he got doubled up at first base on a fly to short right field was only one in a series of fundamental mistakes in a series full of them. When Chone Figgins bunted, he ran into the ball and was out.
Then, after the Angels clawed back within a run, Howie Kendrick and Scott Kazmir turned consecutive eighth-inning bunts into playground farce. Kendrick couldn't catch an easy throw, and Kazmir turned a 45-foot toss into a parabolic shot put over first base,
In the end, when they were dropping to 0-3 in the ALCS in the Bronx, their biggest spark was nowhere to be found: Unfortunately, the Rally Monkey doesn't make road trips.
The Angels were outplayed by the Yankees, outscored 33-19 and held to one run in two losses and two runs in another. They batted .236 with just three homers and 18 extra-base hits — five of them doubles by Jeff Mathis.
Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu had just two RBIs each. Juan Rivera had none.
Instead of setting the table, Figgins hit .130 in the series, going 3 for 23 out of the leadoff spot. Abreu batted .160 (4 for 25) in the No. 2 hole.
Los Angeles' hyped speed on the bases never materialized: The Angels swiped just four bases in the ALCS.
And the defense? After making just 85 errors during the regular season, Los Angeles had eight in six games.
So here's the bottom line since the Angels beat San Francisco in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series:
—The Angels failed to make the playoffs in 2003 and 2006.
—They lost to Boston in the first round in 2004, 2007 and 2008.
—They lost to the Chicago White Sox in the ALCS in 2005.
Despite five division titles in the last six seasons, there can't be much satisfaction.
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