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ALCS notebook Twins face uphill challenge with 2-1 deficitPosted: Friday October 11, 2002 10:01 PMUpdated: Saturday October 12, 2002 12:53 AM
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- It's been four years since a team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win the AL Championship Series. That's the task now facing the Minnesota Twins, who lost 2-1 to the Anaheim Angels on Friday night. Games 4 and 5 are in Anaheim this weekend. "I'm not worried," Twins center fielder Torii Hunter said. "As long as we've got games left, we've got a chance. We've just got to keep pushing." The game was tied 1-1 in the eighth inning until Anaheim's Troy Glaus hit a leadoff homer. "I felt like I was going to get high blood pressure out there," Hunter said, grinning. "There was a lot going on. It was loud." The New York Yankees, who lost to the Angels in the division series, came back from a 2-1 deficit in the 1998 ALCS to beat Cleveland 4-2. Since the ALCS expanded to a best-of-seven series in 1985, a team holding a 2-1 lead has advanced to the World Series 10 out of 13 times, most recently the Yankees last year. Monkeying aroundAnaheim's "rally monkeys" were out in force. Minnesota outfielders Jacque Jones, Torii Hunter and Dustan Mohr definitely noticed. Hunter turned and watched the monkey hopping up and down on the video screen. The monkey was subbed into scenes from such movies as Risky Business, Animal House and Star Trek late in the game. "When the rally monkey comes out, the whole outfield is laughing," Twins first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz said. "You get tense, you make mistakes. If you're loose, you're going to make plays you're accustomed to making." Mientkiewicz believes the Twins' ability to laugh has sustained them this season. So 44,234 fans whacking inflatable Thunder Stix together didn't create enough noise to bother them, either. "There's not enough upstairs with this team to rattle us," he said. Thunder Stix arrive in timeThe 10-day lockout at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach had cargo stacked up for days. It nearly derailed delivery of the Anaheim Angels' most popular giveaway: Thunder Stix. The 24-inch inflatable red tubes, which fans whack together, create extra noise during the game and are as in demand as the Rally Monkeys sold for $20 at Edison Field. Additional orders of Thunder Stix weren't placed until after the Angels defeated the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series. The lockout ended Wednesday, but cargo has been moving slowly since not enough dockworkers are showing up and many are arriving late. The Thunder Stix came from China, making Robert Alvarado, director of marketing and promotions for the Angels, nervous about getting them to Anaheim in time for Game 3 of the AL Championship Series Friday. Not wanting to take any chances, Alvarado had the vendor hand-deliver the tubes to the ballpark. They were available in time for fans streaming into the park, and many killed time before the game beating the tubes, which read "YES WE CAN," against any available surface.
Salmon returnsAnaheim right fielder Tim Salmon was in the lineup Friday, having recovered from a tight right hamstring that forced him to leave Game 2 in the third inning. Salmon tested his leg by running in pregame warmups. "It's very encouraging from where he was a couple days ago. He feels very strong on it," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "It's good to have him in there, especially if he can play the field. That allows us to get the right-handed bats that we want to get lined up against a very tough left-handed pitcher." Scioscia said Salmon's injury wasn't serious enough to consider using him as the designated hitter. "A hamstring is a different animal," he said. "It's not like a twisted ankle or a ball you foul off your foot."
Carew on the moundHall of Fame infielder Rod Carew, who played for both the Angels and the Twins during his 19-year career, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Carew had 3,053 hits over 12 seasons with Minnesota and seven in Anaheim, where he helped the Angels win division titles in 1979 and 1982. He also played on Minnesota's 1969 and 1970 ALCS teams. Until Friday, he hadn't attended an Angels game since his stint as the team's batting coach ended in 1999. Having a life outside of baseball has been important to Carew since his 18-year-old daughter, Michelle, died of leukemia six years ago. He works with the Leukemia Society in the search for a cure.
Shadowy startMinnesota right-hander Brad Radke knows he'll have an early advantage when he starts Game 4 about 4:30 p.m. local time Saturday. "The shadows between the mound and home plate, I don't think the hitters can pick up the spin as well," he said. "So it's definitely an advantage to the pitcher." Two years ago, when the Twins were a losing team, Radke signed a four-year contract. The team later faced elimination, which temporarily put Radke's future in doubt. "He was the first pitcher we had that signed the contract to stay here with the Twins, and what Brad wanted was this organization to be competitive again," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I was concerned he might think about leaving, but I really didn't think Brad wanted to go anywhere. He loves Minnesota." Radke is glad he stayed.
The Buck factorAnaheim manager Mike Scioscia thinks the AL West will be even tougher next year because of Buck Showalter. Showalter, who formerly managed the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees, took the Texas Rangers job on Friday. Both the Yankees and Diamondbacks won the World Series the year after he left them. "I think he'll show that he can put a winner together and that's obviously going to factor into the future of the American League West, the fact that Texas has talent over there that is incredible," Scioscia said. "You put their team stepping up with the other three teams in the division and you can see what a challenge it will be." Around the bases
Minnesota third baseman Corey Koskie tied a
league championship series record with four strikeouts. It was the
sixth time a player has fanned four times in an LCS, and the fifth
time in ALCS play. ... Jones snapped an 0-for-12 skid in the series
with an RBI double in the seventh inning. ... The teams combined to
score just three runs Friday, the sixth time since 1989 that an
ALCS game has had three or fewer runs scored.
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