Anderson may be key to Angels' postseason hopes

	Garret Anderson says he's healthy and ready to bounce back after a disappointing 2006 season. AP
	Heaven Sent Garret Anderson's numbers rank among the best in team history. Category No. Rank Games 1,760 1 At-bats 7,015 1 Runs 891 2 Hits 2,081 1 Doubles 431 1 Triples 31 5 Home Runs 241 2 Total Bases 3,297 1 RBIs 1,128 1 Average .297 2

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Watching the Angels take some light batting practice on another blindingly perfect Valley of the Sun kind of morning last weekend, the thought occurred to me that maybe we all were wrong about this team in the first place. We, of course, meaning the ever-critical media and those who expertly examine things like the Angels and their chances in the upcoming season.

I know. The experts might have screwed up something else. Hold the cyber-presses, huh?

But, really, most everybody spent the last year crying for the Angels to get some big-bat help for the middle of the lineup, something to spice up a team that clearly has had its problems scoring runs. And, on that point, we were right. The Angels needed help. They scored 766 runs last year, which worked out to 4.73 a game, 11th in the American League.

What we missed, though, was that the much-discussed answer for the run-needy Angels may have been with them all along. In fact, the answer has been with the Angels longer than any other player, the manager, the coaches, the general manager and the owner. He was there before the Angels were the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, before they were simply the Anaheim Angels, back when they were called the California Angels.

It's easy to forget about Garret Anderson. It always has been. He's not very flashy. He doesn't talk much. He's not cozy with outsiders. He doesn't wow you, like his free-swinging outfield-mate, Vladimir Guerrero, does. But what he does for the Angels, when he's healthy, is just about everything you'd want from a middle-of-the-order hitter.

"He's kinda like their secret weapon, you know?" said Giants pitcher Barry Zito, who played against Anderson for many years when Zito was with the A's. "I say secret because he hits .300, and it's a quiet .300. But guys around the league always knew -- he's a major threat at the plate. When he's going well, he's the spark in that team's lineup."

The problem is, Anderson has been beat up lately. Over the last three seasons he's struggled with inflammation and arthritis in his joints, and last year his problems were aggravated by a bone spur in his foot. The Angels' left fielder had a disastrous 2006, by his standards, posting a career-worst .280 batting average. His .433 slugging percentage was the worst it's been since 1997.

But watching him the other morning in Tempe, Anderson looks good, maybe as good as he has in years. He's running well. His swing is still there. He's fit. He looks like he did back in '02 and '03.

Anderson was a huge part -- maybe the biggest -- of the Angels' run to the 2002 World Series title. He hit .306 that year, with a .539 slugging percentage, ripping 29 homers and driving in 123 runs. The next season he was, not too arguably, even better (.315/.541, with 29 homers and 116 RBIs).

"He made everything look so easy," recalls Giants catcher Bengie Molina, part of the Angels' '02 team. "He knows the strike zone. He knows the pitcher. He knows what the pitcher is going to throw to him. When he's hitting, he's as good as anybody in the game."