Angels Finally Removing Curse of Past Seasons

It is Friday the 13th, but why should the Angels be spooked considering they continue to scoff at the ghosts of so many other Septembers?

They did it again Thursday night.

They did it with the depth that is imperative for a championship club.

They did it with big hits from people named Scott Spiezio, Alex Ochoa, Orlando Palmeiro and Shawn Wooten, and with clutch relief from Al Levine, Scott Schoeneweis and Brendan Donnelley (who would give up a tying home run in the ninth inning but refuse to fold) and with Benji Gil coming off the bench to flash some leather.

They came back against Mark Mulder and ultimately defeated closer Billy Koch and the Oakland A’s, 7-6, to emerge from this four-game showdown with their third straight win, a tie with the A’s for the American League West lead and a bulge of seven games over the Seattle Mariners in the wild-card race.

There are 16 games left, and while neither the Angels nor the A’s are making any claims or tallying magic numbers, it is safe to assume both will be playing in October.

The three-way race is basically down to two, and the only real question is whether the A’s or Angels will win the division and avoid the Yankees in the opening round of the playoffs.

For now, the Angels have the ghosts and doubters on the run.

Jarrod Washburn, who has had other things to think about, thought about that and said:

“Maybe, when we were beating all those teams we should have been beating, there were still some people who thought we’d fold, but the way we played against the A’s, I’d have to guess that any doubters now realize we’re for real.”

Washburn can enhance that perception tonight.

He no longer faces prosecution for alleged sexual assault, but he must deal with Alex Rodriguez and the Texas Rangers, who pushed the Mariners further down the plank with a four-game sweep while the Angels were winning three from the A’s.

Washburn started twice while under investigation, but that was before the alleged incident became public. How the young ace handles the increased notoriety could be pivotal to the Angels’ long-term hopes.

“Physically,” Manager Mike Scioscia said, “I don’t think there’s any question.

“Mentally, he’s been through an ordeal. It could still weigh on him, but I think he’s strong enough to go out there and focus on his pitching.”

Washburn agreed.

“I’m ready to go,” he said. “I’m very much looking forward to going out there with a clear mind.”

He will go out there with a 17-5 record, but the clear mind?

“This has been something I hope to forget,” he said of the investigation by Anaheim police, “but I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do that soon.

“I’ve certainly learned that I have to be a lot smarter with things and put myself in less vulnerable positions.”

That will also be a goal against the Rangers, who have won seven of their last eight games and homered in 29 of their last 30.

“They’ve got a great lineup,” Washburn said. “When they’re hot, as they have been, they’re absolutely scary.

“Hopefully, I can cool them down, keep A-Rod in situations where he can’t hurt me, but I know I’ve got my work cut out.”

As the Rangers move into Edison Field, the A’s go home to play Seattle.

Asked who he would be rooting for in that series, Scioscia took the expected course.

“We have our hands full with our own business,” he said. “We have an opportunity to control our own destiny. We’re not in position to take notice of what happens outside of that bubble. Our challenge is in-house. Whatever happens in those games, we still have to win.”

The Angels left a crowd of 31,304 roaring with their win Thursday night, but they refused to stray from Scioscia’s one-game-at-a-time script and refused to bite on some bulletin board fodder from Minnesota Twins’ center fielder Torii Hunter.

Hunter told the St. Paul Pioneer-Press that he would prefer to play the Angels or Mariners rather than the A’s in the first round.

“One reason: pitching, period,” Hunter said, meaning he thinks Oakland’s pitching is better than the Angels or Mariners.

Tim Salmon shook his head and said: “That doesn’t take away from what we are or the Mariners are, and I don’t take offense. The A’s have three horses [Mulder, Tim Hudson and Barry Zito] who get a lot of air time. It’s legit. They have three guys capable of being No. 1. I mean, what he said is obvious. If I was in the National League it would be like me saying I’d prefer to play anybody but Arizona because of Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson.”

The Angels coped with Mulder and lost to Hudson this week, and will play the A’s four more times, starting next Monday in Oakland.

In the meantime, Washburn and his colleagues have to start fresh again tonight, dealing with a Texas team, Salmon said, “that is playing like one of the best in baseball. We have to stay on top of it.”

He meant on top of their game, but he could have meant the top of the division.

“I don’t know if people expected us to be in this position,” Salmon said, “but it’s a testament to our character and ability. I don’t know if it’s a matter of feeling we had something to prove, but we’ve been able to block out a lot of the things people have said about us.

“The atmosphere is definitely better than in the past.”

A division lead in mid-September is heady atmosphere, indeed.