Anderson's Game Never Gets Out of the Slow Lane

By T.J. Simers

Oct. 5, 2005 12 AM PT

I was going to wait around and talk to Garret Anderson after the Angels’ opening playoff loss, but you know how slow he is. I had a deadline to make.

It’d be an interesting race, starting Anderson and Bengie Molasses from home plate -- giving everyone a chance to go get lunch, make a few phone calls and send some e-mail -- getting back just in time to see one of them maybe cross first base.

There is one significant difference between the two, of course: Molasses is chugging as fast as he can; Anderson is just cruising.

I’d imagine the Yankees’ scouting report began something like this: Try to make Anderson move to catch the ball, and don’t stop running, even though it’ll look as if he has.

Fast forward to the top of the first, and Robinson Cano, a left-handed hitter, has two strikes. The bases are loaded, and so wouldn’t it have made sense to play deeper and keep everything in front of the Angel outfielders so the Yankees didn’t clear the bases?

“We were where we were supposed to be,” said Manager Mike Scioscia, but then if that were true, Anderson would have been on the bench. “The spray chart has Cano hitting the ball to left field with a tendency of hitting it short.”

That should have been enough data right there to make Juan Rivera the starting left fielder and Anderson the designated hitter, especially taking into consideration that Anderson has been in left only twice since Sept. 20 because of injuries, old age and an inability to shift it into high gear.

But then when is the last time someone around here criticized Scioscia? (I’m just trying to stay sharp, of course, until the Dodgers get a new manager.)

“Anybody out in left is not going to catch that ball,” Scioscia said. “I thought Garret moved well. The ball just beat him.”

Cano’s ball sailed over Anderson’s head, and by the time he retrieved it, the Yankees had three runs and a one-game advantage.

But that’s OK, because as I’m sure Anderson would tell you, the Angels are just slow starters.

JARROD WASHBURN knows he probably won’t be back with the Angels next year, so how funny would it be if it comes down to his start in Yankee Stadium to determine whether everyone returns to Anaheim to play some more baseball this season?

Well, Washburn isn’t laughing. He’s a competitor, “maybe more so than anyone in this room,” said teammate Scot Shields, and Washburn finds nothing funny with the odd decision to start Paul Byrd in Game 3 against Randy Johnson.

Washburn, a free agent at season’s end, finished fourth in earned-run average in the American League with the second lowest ERA in road games, and he is scheduled to start Game 4 -- if he pitches at all, knowing the Angels might bring Bartolo Colon back on three days’ rest. (The Yankees have to like that.)

“They did it with me in 2002 -- pitching me on three days’ rest,” said Washburn, “so I have something to base it on.”

If the Yankees play as they did in Game 1, and the Angels continue their season-long hitting drought, there might not be a Game 4.

So what explanation did the Angels offer Washburn?

“No explanation,” Washburn said.

“None.”

So what does Washburn think about the decision?

“I have too much respect and admiration for Paul Byrd to tell you what I think,” Washburn said. “I’m not going to cause any controversy or distraction. That’s all I’m going to say about that.”

Pitching coach Bud Black said the decision was made because “we liked Washburn in the fourth game and we liked Paul in the third,” which tells you how scientifically they approach these things.

I just hope they didn’t consult a pitching chart put together by the same guy who came up with the Cano spray chart.

Scioscia said he wanted to give Washburn as much rest as possible for his sore elbow, while Washburn said his elbow was fine.

When I told Scioscia that Washburn didn’t seem particularly thrilled with the team’s playoff rotation, Scioscia didn’t seem particularly thrilled to hear that.

“In our conversations together, that never came up,” he said before going to the Angel clubhouse to have another conversation with Washburn.

WASHBURN SAID he had hoped to be an Angel for life, but “no” he doesn’t expect to be back now.

“I understand it perfectly,” he said. “They have a lot of youth ready and are pretty set, but none of that changes how I feel about the Angels. I would love to finish my career here with a World Series championship and will do whatever I can to help this team. Right now life hasn’t changed; I’m still an Angel and committed to winning.”

Might the Angels be showing confidence in Byrd with an eye on signing him again to a one-year deal, while knowing Washburn is already a lost soul?

“That’s not a question for me,” Scioscia said, which means I’d have to talk to General Manager Bill Stoneman and I’d rather not know than go through that painful, unproductive process.

If Washburn keeps the Angels’ season alive, well then maybe I’ll give it a try.

If Anderson is in no hurry to get anything done, why should I be?

THE ANGELS had former New York City policeman Daniel Rodriguez sing the national anthem, apparently unable to find someone from Southern California to perform. I’m sure the Yankees felt right at home.

T.J. Simers can be reached at

[email protected]. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.