ANAHEIM, Calif. — Dumb and dumber. The Yankees have a way of bringing out the worst in opponents.
The Twins couldn’t run the bases. The Angels gave away the first two ALCS games at Yankee Stadium, making terrible decisions, none worse than the 0-2 fastball away to Alex Rodriguez that was lined to right for a game-tying home run in the 11th inning of Game 2. The Yankees won in the 13th, 4-3, on a terrible error by second baseman Maicer Izturis.
Torii Hunter knew the Angels were asking for trouble, working A-Rod away.
“Oh man, right before the pitch I wanted to just call timeout,” Hunter admitted yesterday before the team’s optional workout at the Big A in preparation for Game 3 today.
Give Hunter credit for being honest. He admitted the Angels are trying to do too much. He sent a message to his teammates loud and clear: Let’s play smart.
Yankees opponents are trying so hard to beat the Bronx Bombers that they are making a mountain of mistakes. Hunter said the Angels have done just that.
“I feel like we are beating ourselves,” he explained.
“We’re playing great games, and right when we make a mistake, they take advantage of it.”
Playing the Yankees is like playing against history, and so far the Twins and Angels let themselves get beat by the ghosts, combined with the greatness of this Yankees team.
“I think you can let that [Yankees] history get in your mind — you look at the payroll, you look at Yankee Stadium and the fans and you try to do a little too much sometimes,” Hunter admitted.
“When I was younger, I tried to do too much. I tried to shut the fans up, tried to hit homers and call my friends and tell them I hit homers off the Yankees, stuff like that.”
That A-Rod home run sure left an impression.
“That’s why he’s one of the greatest in the game — that’s one guy you don’t want to beat you like that,” Hunter said.
“I saw fastball away, I saw [the catcher’s] glove go up, and I was like, ‘No’ in my head. But my body reacted a little too slow.
“We throw two fastballs in, and he didn’t even budge, then we throw one away. That was weird.”
The pitch selection was made by Brian Fuentes and catcher Jeff Mathis.
“We had plenty of opportunities to score runs. It just didn’t go our way,” Hunter said.
But that’s what the Yankees do — they make you try too hard, and before you know it, you’re getting yourself out.”
The Angels left 16 men on base in Game 2.
In the Angels’ 4-1 Game 1 loss, shortstop Erick Aybar and third baseman Chone Figgins misplayed a popup that scored what turned out to be the winning run. In the Game 2 loss, Izturis tried for a high-risk double play when he could have gotten an easy out at first. He threw the ball into leftfield, allowing Jerry Hairston to score the winner.
One more critical mistake today at Angel Stadium and the Yankees will be one win away from going their first World Series since 2003.
Essentially, opponents have brought into the Yankees hype. The Yankees are good, but they can be beaten. You can’t make the game too difficult.
“We’ve got to calm it down a little bit and go out there and have some fun,” Hunter said of the Angels’ approach for today’s game. “Now, cold weather is no excuse. We’ll see what happens. Everybody’s warm. There is nothing but positive energy going on.”
Being back in the sunshine should put the Angels back in the groove. But, just like the Twins, they blew their chance to beat the Yankees. Now they must play perfect baseball.