Angels (make that: angels) pick a bad time to go lower case

Watching the Angels surrender this first-round playoff series to the Boston Red Sox in three swift but hardly pain-free games reminded me of watching the Angels during the 1971 and 1972 seasons. (I was only a kid, of course.) That’s not to compare anybody on the current roster to Art Kusnyer or Winston Llenas -- although the ’71-72 Angels had just as many postseason home runs as the ’07 edition. Zero.

The 1971-72 Angels wore a lower case “a” on their caps and their jerseys. It was a sartorial gaffe that created a think-small subliminal message for the Angels -- I mean, “angels” -- and their fans for two highly undistinguished seasons. I don’t think it was any coincidence the ’71-’72 angels finished a combined 43 1/2 games out of first place.

Compared to what the ’07 Angels could have had in these playoffs, we were definitely stuck with the lower case angels during this October. The team that lost Sunday’s eliminator, 9-1, literally bore little resemblance to the squad that left the Seattle Mariners dog-paddling in Puget Sound in August and September.

Remember them?

Remember those late-summer Angels? The ones who had the majors’ most productive second-half RBI man (Garret Anderson) . . . and the majors’ best right fielder (Vladimir Guerrero) . . . and a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder (Gary Matthews Jr.) . . . and a just-emerging 24-year-old prospect (Casey Kotchman) with potential to be the Angels’ best first baseman since Wally Joyner?

On the first Sunday of October 2007, this was the answer to “Where Are They Now?”

-- Matthews was a no-show all series, left off the playoff roster because of knee tendinitis, a condition that flared up during the regular season’s final week.

-- Anderson was pulled after the first two innings of a must-win Game 3 because of an eye infection that left him squinting at a succession of All-Star pitchers.

-- Guerrero, pulled in the eighth inning of a still-tied Game 2 on Friday after being hit by a pitch, was trying to play with two sore arms and precious little protection behind him in the lineup.

-- Kotchman, who batted .298 with 68 RBI during his first full big-league season, ended this playoff series against the Red Sox in a hospital bed, which was sticking a little too close to the “next Wally Joyner” story line. Joyner was an All-Star during his 1986 rookie season, but only played in three ALCS games against the Red Sox before being hospitalized with the most ill-timed staph infection in club history. Joyner batted .455 in those three games, two of them Angels victories. Without him, the Angels lost the last three games and, with it, the pennant.

(Angels historical footnote: That was a staph infection in Joyner’s skinned shin. Which is quite different from the staff infection that plagued the angels’ bullpen in 1971 and 1972.)

Guerrero, Matthews, Anderson and Kotchman were the Angels’ top four home-run hitters. Is it any wonder the Angels struggled to produce runs against Boston? Turn the tables and envision how the Red Sox would have fared had similar conditions struck David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, Manny Ramirez and Jason Varitek.

This lower-case version of the ’07 Angels had no chance against the Red Sox. That wasn’t Arte Moreno’s fault. Moreno has spent the money to make what was once one of the most hapless franchises in professional sports a consistent contender. It wasn’t Mike Scioscia’s fault, either. Name another man you’d rather have running this team. Would you trade Scioscia for Grady Little?

For Lou Piniella (see his Game 1 NLDS decision to pull ace Carlos Zambrano after six innings)?

For Joe Torre (see the 2002 and 2005 playoff defeats he suffered against Scioscia)?

The Angels are all right in the owner and manager positions. General manager, of course, is another point of contention around Los Angeles Of Anaheim. Bill Stoneman takes the “even-keel” approach -- usually much admired in clubhouses and boardrooms -- to maddening extremes. Stoneman is content to counter-punch and keep his team in the ring with a chance rather than go for the knockout when the situation juts out its jaw.

The 2007 season was one of those chances. Stoneman and the Angels had the American League on the ropes -- and let the pennant wriggle away. Stoneman stuck to his medium-range guns, which was OK when it came to overtaking the AL West. But it proved a crucial mistake when the Red Sox came rumbling along, rolling in the howitzers and the missile-launchers.

Sunday night, I was talking on the phone about the Angels’ demise with longtime friend who closely follows the Dodgers and the Angels. We agreed that the Angels had a good starting lineup, good enough to beat at least half the 2007 playoff field.

“Just not good enough to beat the Red Sox,” my friend said.

And that’s as good an epitaph for this Angels season as you are apt to find.

christine.daniels@latimes.com

Comments

[Jerry]

NO LOVE FOR RUDY MEOLI?

LOSING BARTOLO COLON SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOKED EITHER!

NOBODY LOVES THE RED SOX MORE THAN I DO...BUT EVEN I WILL ADMIT THAT THIS WASN`T A FAIR FIGHT DUE TO ALL THE INJURIES THE ANGELS HAD TO DEAL WITH. THE HEART OF THEIR TEAM WAS MISSING.

IT WAS VERY SIMILAR TO THE LAKERS BEATING A CRIPPLED CELTIC TEAM IN 1987. IT`S NOT FUN WHEN IT HAPPENS TO YOUR FAVORITE TEAM.

[Lache]

The Angels wore the lower case "a" on their jerseys in both 1971 and 1972, but wore the lower case "a" on their hats in 1971 ONLY. See the link that I've provided.

http://exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org/dressed_to_the_nines/uniforms.asp?league=AL&city=California&lowYear=1970&highYear=1973&sort=year&increment=9