| Moritz Wollert. 13th October, 2005 - 4:21 pm
 It?s been an exciting postseason 2005 for the LA Angels of Anaheim.
First, they finished off the Yankees in a deciding Game 5 at Angel Stadium despite losing their ace, Bartolo Colon, to a shoulder injury.
After travelling through the whole country in two days, they came into US Cellular Field and beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2 in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.
After losing Game 2, thanks to a mysterious strikeout or whatever it was, the Angels still have all the chances to advance to the World Series.
When you think of the Angels, you think of the 2004 MVP, Vladimir Guerrero. The Angels are his team, he is the big bat in the middle of the lineup, their All Star outfielder with the arm like a rocket.
Now he must have been the reason the Angels came so far this postseason, right??
Well, not really.
Guerrero is always considered the X factor for the Angels. It was seen as a weakness that the team of manager Mike Scioscia is so dependant on one player.
Guerrero was definitely a part of the Angels win against the Yankees in the ALDS but he wasn?t deciding.
He was pretty quiet actually.
Vlad was batting .333 with 2 walks and 1 stolen base. He also came in to score 5 times. You might think ?Pretty good? if you look at those numbers. But now let?s take a look at the encouraging numbers for Angels fans: 0 HRs and 0 RBIs.
Yes, I?m talking about Vladimir Guerrero.
In the first two games against the White Sox Guerrero really fell into a slump, batting 0-8 with one RBI.
No what is the reason for Vlad?s problems. Well, he might know it the best. We saw him doing what he did all season, swinging at everything from his head to his toes.
But the postseason is a different story. There?s more pressure on you and you are facing a lot of good pitching.
The interesting note is, Guerrero also had problems last postseason against the Boston Red Sox, who swept the Halos 3-0. He only averaged .167% throughout the series.
He woke up in Game 3, hitting a Grand Slam, but David Ortiz late game heroics proved too much for the Anaheim team.
Now who gives Vlad the wakeup call this season??
The Angels are doing an outstanding job this postseason as a team. They are playing great defense, get a lot of clutch hits and their pitching has been as good as it was during the season.
But will that be enough against the hot White Sox??
Offense already became a problem in Game 2 for the Halos. Only 1 run? not enough. Period.
In order to advance the Angels need Vladimir Guerrero to wake up and produce runs or atleast start the offense by getting hits. He is their leader, their power bat and without his production, it will be very tough for them to advance.
Will he adjust? Is he capable of putting the pressure aside and hit the baseball?? Or is the playoff pressure too much for the likeable giant from the Dominican Republic.
We are talking about one of the best hitters of our generation.
My personal feeling is he will have a deciding role in this series. Either he will carry his team to victory or his no show will doom them.
He will have a deciding role.
That?s what great players do, they decide games and a series.
And it?s out of question that Vladimir Guerrero is a great player.
He just has to show it now in the ALCS. Make or break.
It's time Vladdy. Step up, now. |
