Reveling in Their Moments

Angel Manager Mike Scioscia calls it the “happy zone,” an area that ranges from Vladimir Guerrero’s shoe tops to the lettering on his Angel jersey in height, from a foot inside the plate to a foot outside in width.

When opposing pitchers tread into this territory, it makes Guerrero and the Angels very happy, because the free-swinging right fielder has shown a remarkable ability to hit just about anything around home plate with authority.

But Guerrero has been on such a tear lately, batting .463 in his last 15 games with nine home runs and 15 runs batted in, making a strong push for the American League most valuable player award, that the Boston Red Sox might give him the Barry Bonds treatment in the AL division series, avoiding him like a curse.

Whether they’re extremely careful with Guerrero or choose to pitch way, way, way around him, Boston’s approach could have a significant impact on Angel fortunes in this best-of-five series, which begins with Angel left-hander Jarrod Washburn opposing Red Sox right-hander Curt Schilling in Game 1 today in Angel Stadium.

“You can’t let him beat you,” Red Sox right-hander Bronson Arroyo, the probable Game 3 starter, said during Monday’s workout. “We’ve talked about him all year, not just this series. He has hurt us time and time again.

“I can’t speak for the entire staff, but for me personally, when I’m pitching, he’s a guy who can’t see a strike. You have to be careful because he reaches stuff up, down, in, out. I’ve even seen him reach things that were in his face.”

Guerrero had four hits, including two home runs and a double, and a franchise-record nine RBIs in a 10-7 win over Boston and pitcher Pedro Martinez in Angel Stadium on June 2.

He had one homer in 15 at-bats during a four-game series against the Red Sox in Anaheim July 15-18 and went four for 12 when the Angels were swept in a three-game series Aug. 31-Sept. 2 in Fenway Park, where the Angels were outscored, 26-17.

But Guerrero almost single-handedly carried the Angels across the finish line of the AL West race, batting .371 with 10 homers, 23 RBIs and 24 runs in September.

“He’s Barry Bonds with less patience,” said Schilling, who won 21 games this season. “ ... You have to make great pitches to get him out and you have to do that in different locations and different spots with different velocities on a consistent basis, and keep the barrel of the bat away from the ball.”

That barrel shows up in the oddest places. Last week in Texas, Guerrero yanked an inside pitch deep over the left-field wall and blasted a pitch that was about eight inches outside over the center-field wall.

Saturday in Oakland, with the Angels trailing, 2-0, in the sixth inning, Guerrero launched a first-pitch, shin-high curveball from Barry Zito -- the A’s left-hander didn’t think it was that bad of a pitch -- over the wall in center to spark the Angels’ division-clinching 5-4 victory.

“The only way to pitch around him,” Angel first baseman Darin Erstad said, “is to throw four balls with the catcher’s arm out.”

Pitching coach Dave Wallace said the Red Sox would base their approach toward Guerrero on the situation and score and on how Guerrero is swinging. Asked if Boston would avoid Guerrero like National League teams avoid Bonds, Wallace said, “It wouldn’t surprise anyone if that were the case.”

If Guerrero starts walking, there would be more pressure on leadoff batter Chone Figgins and No. 2 hitter Darin Erstad to get on base in front of Guerrero, and cleanup batter Garret Anderson and Troy Glaus to produce behind Guerrero.

“Boston might really try to expand the zone on Vlad, but he’s starting to take his walks, and we have other guys around him who are dangerous,” Angel batting instructor Mickey Hatcher said.

“In San Francisco, if you worry about Bonds and the rest of the guys don’t get the job done, it’s not going to work out. Our guys aren’t looking at Vlad as the savior. They’re all ready to make it happen.”

Erstad said he hoped the Red Sox pitch around Guerrero, “because the more guys we put on base, the more chance we have of scoring,” he said. “Plus, there’s a guy named Garret Anderson back there, and he’s one of the best clutch hitters I’ve ever seen.”

Anderson delivered the game-winning, three-run double in Game 7 of the World Series in 2002 and the game-winning RBI single in Saturday’s division-clinching win in Oakland.

“There’s no pressure playing this game -- I welcome the opportunity,” Anderson said. “The only way you can do things is when you get an opportunity.”

Schilling can be pretty stingy this time of year, though. The right-hander, who gave up three runs and nine hits in 7 2/3 innings of the 10-7 win over the Angels on Aug. 31, is 5-1 with a 1.66 earned-run average in 11 postseason games, striking out 91 in 86 2/3 innings.

“The higher the stakes, the bigger the stage, I think he gets more excited,” Red Sox Manager Terry Francona said. “I joked with these guys all year, it could be bobble-head day, and that’s enough to make the game more important for him. He wants to make every game important.”

Schilling, acquired from Arizona last winter, is on a mission -- “Anything short of being in the World Series this year will mean we’ve fallen short of where we should go,” he said -- and the Angels, and Guerrero, stand in his way.

Do the Red Sox attack Guerrero? Do they pitch around him and make the other Angels beat them? It’s a difficult task, either way.

“There is not a pitch you throw that he doesn’t think he can hit,” Francona said. “You make great pitches down that are almost bouncing, and he hits them off the wall. He covers in, out, up, down. He may not do it once, and you think you’ve got him, and the next one goes 450 feet. He’s a special, special player.”

*

BOSTON vs. ANGELS

TODAY’S GAME 1 STARTERS

Angels’ Jarrod Washburn (11-8, 4.64)

Red Sox’s Curt Schilling (21-6, 3.26)

Time: 1 p.m. TV: ESPN, Ch. 13

OTHER SERIES

* Minnesota vs. New York

Game 1, Today, 5:15 p.m. PDT, Ch. 11