Small hit, large consequences for Anaheim

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© St. Petersburg Times
published October 25, 2002

SAN FRANCISCO -- It rolled no more than 50 feet. Off the grass, down the line and, eventually, it curved just this side of lore.

In an era of sluggers, in a game ruled nowadays by power, this World Series turned on a bunt.

This is what history will remember. This is what the Angels will lament. San Francisco took control of the World Series in the fifth inning of the fourth game with the weakest hit.

And now the Angels appear doomed. They simply don't know it yet.

Just like their predecessors when Donnie Moore gave up Dave Henderson's home run in 1986. Just like another group of Angels in 1982 when they failed in three straight games to clinch a pennant.

All that's left is the gruesome details. Much like Game 5 Thursday when the Giants moved one win from their first championship in San Francisco.

Anaheim is out of starting pitchers. It is out of answers to San Francisco's bullpen. Mostly, it is out of luck.

Looking back, we should have realized it sooner. In retrospect, we should have anticipated the fallout. From the second Kenny Lofton's bunt took a right turn toward fair territory, Anaheim's good fortune was left behind.

The Angels were up 3-0 in Game 4. The team of ghosts and mysterious collapses was four innings from taking a 3-1 Series lead.

That was when a ball hit by Kirk Rueter hit the plate and took a crazy bounce for an infield single.

That was when Lofton's bunt crossed from fair to foul and back again before Angels third baseman Troy Glaus grabbed it.

The Giants have tied the World Series record for home runs with 12, but Lofton's wayward roller will be the moment to remember.

"When those things start happening and the crowd gets into it, you start thinking good fortune," Giants manager Dusty Baker said. "And, usually, good fortune follows."

San Francisco followed Lofton's bunt with a stream of line drive hits to tie the score. Three innings later, the Giants took the lead.

They have since owned the Series.

A day later, the Angels still were reeling. They looked like a parody of themselves.

Jarrod Washburn, an 18-game winner, lasted no more than four innings. It was the shortest of his 37 starts this season.

The offense, which led the majors in getting runners home from third with fewer than two outs, twice stranded runners in that exact situation.

The team that refused to yield during a frantic September pennant race simply gave in Thursday. Though Washburn was clearly struggling, manager Mike Scioscia was reluctant to go to his bullpen because he knows how precarious his pitching looks for Games 6 and 7.

You want to know how desperate the Angels are today?

They should be kicking themselves for not including Mickey Callaway on the postseason roster. That, folks, is desperate.

Callaway, once designated for assignment by the Devil Rays, would actually look more attractive as a Game 6 starter than Kevin Appier.

Appier was once the dependable one. From Kansas City to Oakland to New York, he was a quality, middle-of-the-rotation pitcher.

Now 14 years into a career, at a moment when a team needs him most, Appier has begun pitching like a has-been.

He is 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA in his past seven starts, including four in the postseason. Appier has averaged less than five innings a start.

"For the most part, we've got confidence in what Kevin will be able to do for us," Scioscia said.

For the most part?

Does that mean as long as they don't count on him surviving past the fourth commercial break?

"Starters this time of year are not going to be as fresh as they were," Scioscia said. "I think the same thing can be said for the guys on the other side, for the Giants. That's why the end of the season, to get to this level, is such a test. We have enough gas in our tank.

"Our guys will be able to do what we need to do."

The answer for the Angels is not around. He is off the roster and out of their minds. Aaron Sele was supposed to be the staff ace but struggled most of the season before being shut down last month with a bum shoulder.

The Angels did not miss him in the regular season when they won 99. They did not miss him in the division series or the League Championship.

Only now, facing perhaps their final game of the season, do the Angels truly need Sele.

Instead they are stuck with a starter on a downhill slide. Instead they are reminded of the memories of similar Anaheim misfortunes.

Instead, after 42 years of preparing for this moment, for this Series, they are slowly losing faith.

For these Angels, heaven can wait.

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