It Might Be Cliche, but It’s Another Game Closer to the Playoffs for Angels

Because Angel Manager Mike Scioscia barely even acknowledges the fact that there are any more games scheduled beyond tonight, we’ll break the New York Yankee series down for him: Thursday night’s game was the one they had to win.

If you’re going to focus on one game, then it’s smart to focus on the one in which you’re facing Jeff Weaver. He had given up 24 runs and nine homers in 29 innings since the Yankees traded for him.

It sure wouldn’t make sense to worry about winning a series from a team that had hadn’t lost one since June, with a record of 7-0-3 in its last 10 series. Especially with Andy Pettitte, Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez and David Wells (and their ERAs of 3.53, 3.31 and 3.66) coming up next. Too daunting.

But they awake this morning one-up on the Yankees in this four-game set.

Weaver gave up only two runs Thursday night. But he did serve up another home run, this one to Brad Fullmer, and that turned out to be the difference in the Angels’ 2-1 victory in the first game of the series ... I mean, the game.

“We’re not talking about a series, we’re talking about a game,” Scioscia said. “That’s where our focus is. That’s where we’re going to apply ourselves. We’re not looking at a four-game series with the Yankees.”

Today, tonight, right here, right now. Those are the themes Scioscia keeps hammering home, and it’s working. By staying focused on the present, they’ve stayed in the hunt in the division and wild-card races. They didn’t abandon the season when they started off 6-14, they didn’t fret when closer Troy Percival went to the disabled list during a crucial stretch of games.

Scioscia’s so low-key, not a lot of things jump out about him. But this one emphasis is becoming his trademark.

“It’s big,” shortstop David Eckstein said. “If you start looking down the road, without fully concentrating on what you’re doing that night, you’re bound to have lapses. Taking it one game at a time it eases that pressure.”

Sounds so simple. Take the most overused cliche in sports, turn it into a mantra and proceed to rack up victories. What it lacks in creativity, it makes up with results.

“I just really believe in that short focus,” Scioscia said. “If you talk to Dusty Baker--I talk to Bake about this a lot--Bake’s big on looking at clumps of games and saying, ‘We really should target these games [as games] we’re going to win.’ It’s been very successful for him. I don’t do it that way. Our philosophy is the one game we’re playing right here and that’s it.”

Next, Scioscia needs to experiment with cloning, because this game was almost a genetic blueprint for a perfect Angel victory: Great starting pitching from Jarrod Washburn (four hits and one run in seven innings). Darin Erstad hustling to advance two bases on a bloop single by Tim Salmon, then Garret Anderson taking care of business with a sacrifice fly. Solid defense all around. A 1-2-3 save for Percival in the ninth.

They stuck to their ways, they weren’t deterred by the Yankees, their powerful lineup or their legions of fans.

“The only way to do this is go out and play,” Scioscia said. “We’re certainly not intimidated by anybody that would come in here, or any city we go in and play. We respect them, we know they’re an incredible team, but our confidence level is very, very high.”

With the Yankees, confidence comes with the pinstripes. It also filters down from the front office, which has the authorization to make whatever big acquisitions it has to during the season, with money not a factor.

The Angels don’t operate that way, and their players can’t feel the executives will do anything possible to help them.

You didn’t hear them pestering reporters about trade rumors before the deadline, because it would probably only set them up for a letdown. It passed with no major changes in the clubhouse, and the Angels went about their business.

That’s why I was caught off-guard when Adam Kennedy walked up and asked: “What do you think about the trade?”

What trade? Was there some last-minute deadline deal I missed? He couldn’t be talking about the Angels sending Jorge Fabregas to Milwaukee for Alex Ochoa, could he? Was that one even worth analyzing?

Sensing the confusion, he clarified: “The trade the Clippers made.”

Oh, that trade. Like it a lot. Andre Miller is one of the top five point guards in the NBA. Kennedy likes it too, although he said: “I hate to see Darius Miles go.”

As if paying tribute to Miles, Kennedy made a highlight play in the sixth inning, with his diving stop to rob Bernie Williams of a hit.

A day after making a costly error against Boston, Troy Glaus was locked in at third base. With two outs, one run in and runners on first and third in the top of the seventh, he hopped across the line to nab a grounder by Alfonso Soriano and gunned it over to first--even though the umpire called it foul. So when Soriano ripped a shot toward the hole a couple of pitches later, Glaus grabbed that one and fired to second for the forceout.

Maybe Glaus’ bat is coming around as well. He followed up Wednesday’s homer with two hits in four at-bats. They’ve been doing a lot of this without Glaus. If he can round into form, the Angels get that much better, Anderson gets more dangerous in the spot ahead of him, the Angels get that much closer to the playoffs ...

Excuse me, to tonight’s game against the Yankees.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at [email protected].