ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -Mike Scioscia stalked the clubhouse with a soaked T-shirt and a bottle of champagne, looking for somebody to hug. Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno was an easy target.
The Angels' two bosses reveled in another division title and another playoff berth Monday night, celebrating another year of success for a franchise with regular postseason reservations - and a few reservations about how they'll perform in October.
``It never gets tired, and it never gets old,'' said Scioscia, whose Angels are back in the playoffs for the sixth time in eight years after Monday night's 11-0 win over Texas.
The celebration was tinged with the bittersweet memory of Nick Adenhart, the young pitcher killed in a car accident in April. The raucous party also masked a discomfiting on-field fact: Although the Angels have become postseason stalwarts in Scioscia's decade running their dugout, winning five of the last six AL West titles, they've had precious little success once they reach the playoffs ever since their only championship.
Los Angeles has won just one playoff series since winning Game 7 of the 2002 World Series. The Boston Red Sox have knocked the Angels out of the first round in each of the past two years, and Los Angeles has won just one game in the clubs' three postseason series over the past five years.
So guess who is almost certain to be the Angels' opponent again in the division series opening early next week at Angel Stadium? Boston needs just one more win to clinch the AL wild card.
``We overcame a lot of obstacles, a lot more than anybody expected,'' Hunter said. ``I definitely feel we haven't played our best yet, and this year is different. But if you want to put your money on Boston, go ahead, do it. We believe in ourselves.''
The Angels have six regular-season games left to rest up for the playoffs, and Scioscia plans to give time off to all of his regulars before opening the playoffs in a week. That's still a much shorter frame than last season, when Los Angeles clinched the AL West on Sept. 10 - with 17 games to play - on the way to a major league-best 100 wins.
That 2 1/2-week stretch with little motivation was seen as a factor in Los Angeles' listless effort in its division series loss to Boston. Getting pushed by the Rangers down the stretch could benefit the Angels in October.
``We've had to play hard every day just to get ourselves in the playoff race,'' Scioscia said. ``Going down to the last days, you haven't been able to get some guys off their feet and do some things you'd like. The bottom line was to get there, and that's what we had to be focused on.''
Yet the Angels have stumbled down the stretch: Monday's win improved their September record to 14-12, which includes the club's only four-game losing streak of the season. Los Angeles dropped two of three both to Boston and the New York Yankees in September, along with losing two of three to Detroit in late August.
But after a productive, versatile offense carried the Angels through most of the summer, their starting rotation finally rounded into outstanding form late in the year when the offense finally faltered. Capped by Ervin Santana's seven-hit shutout of Texas in the clincher, the Angels' starters have produced a 2.60 ERA in their last 27 outings, throwing at least six innings in 22 of those games.
Los Angeles has every reason to believe it can contend with Boston, New York and the NL's best. The Angels' lineup is dotted with .300 hitters and power producers, with veteran Vladimir Guerrero alongside breakout youngster Kendry Morales. Longtime leadoff man Chone Figgins is having another strong year, while former Yankees slugger Bobby Abreu has been an ideal fit since arriving shortly before the season.
``I knew since I got here that this was a team I wanted to play for,'' said Abreu, the only player other than Albert Pujols with 100 RBIs in each of the past seven seasons. ``They're winners. They showed (Monday) that they own this field. This is a team you want to play for. ... I'll do whatever they need to get that ring. That's the only thing I need.''
That wasn't always the case with the Angels, who made just three playoff appearances in the franchise's first 39 seasons before Scioscia took over in 2000. Los Angeles has earned six postseason berths in the last eight years during the former Dodgers catcher's decade in the dugout.
And the men in charge believe these Angels are capable of going all the way again.
``After the last few years, everyone feels that it's time for us to go to the next level,'' said Moreno, who celebrated alongside his players amid the plastic sheets covering the clubhouse. ``We had a meeting about a week or 10 days after the end of last season, and we talked about what we needed to do to get better. Basically, that was our goal. I tell people all the time, 'Why should I be owning a team if I'm not trying to win?'''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
