It’s been a growing problem in Southern California for half a decade now. Out 0-3 to the Red Sox in the ALDS in 2004. Hopes dashed again, 0-3, in 2007. Finally, in ’08, the Angels win a game, only to be torched 3-1 in the end.
Of course, they’re getting sick of it. You could ask Vladimir Guerrero, John Lackey or Chone Figgins, and they’d tell you that the losing has gone too far. That they’ve had enough.
But it’s the new guy in town who’s more vocal than anyone.
Torii Hunter, who came to Anaheim as a $90 million free agent last season, hasn’t had to endure as much of the Red Sox-induced misery as a few of his teammates. But that hasn’t stopped him from lashing out.
“You don’t change nothing because it’s the Red Sox, or the Yankees, or whoever it may be,” Hunter said three weeks ago, after a tough Angels loss to the Red Sox at Fenway. “You play nervous, you’re going to make mistakes.
“Show some nuts.”
The Angels had just choked in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Red Sox, coughing up an 8-7 lead with two outs and their closer, Brian Fuentes, on the mound. The Angels had the game in hand, but under the unfriendly lights of Fenway, they let it slip away. According to Hunter, the reasons were more mental than anything else.
Maybe he’s right. Is there any other explanation? Ten postseason games, nine losses. The Red Sox have always had good teams, and fluky streaks happen in baseball all the time, but still — at a certain point, all that losing has to get to you. And the Angels, who on paper have had one of the AL’s best teams for years, need to stir things up a little bit if they want to be taken seriously.
Maybe Hunter is exactly what they need.
On the field, it’s hard to question his value. Hunter put up a .366 on-base percentage, 22 home runs and 26 doubles at the plate for the Angels this season. He’s a lock to win his ninth consecutive Gold Glove. He’s a spark in the middle of the order for one of the AL’s best lineups.
But off the field, he seems to be giving the Angels exactly what they need. Some competitive fire.
It’s hard for the Angels not to play scared. When Hunter first signed with the team on Thanksgiving in 2007, the Angels had just come off of an ALDS loss to the Red Sox, who were the eventual World Series champions. The Halos were swept that year, and swept the time before that. They needed a jolt.
Hunter gave them a nudge in the right direction. He went 7-for-18 in the Angels’ four-game loss to the Red Sox in the 2008 ALDS, driving in five runs. For an offense that largely struggled, he was a bright spot.
And that was in his first try. Now what? What will he do when he really wants it?
Hunter has indicated that now, he’s really had enough. He’s ready to do something about it. So now, this series will be a true test of Hunter’s leadership abilities. If he really wants to win this thing, he’ll have to rally his teammates around him and make it happen.
This is October. There’s no time for playing scared anymore. If you do, only bad things can come of it.
The Angels have already learned that the hard way. Three times.
