An acquaintance in the East commented on our Angels recently with this: “They’re the worst of the contending teams.”

My response: “Really? Worse than the Twins, Tigers, Chisox, Yankees, Rays, Cards, Cubs, Astros, Brewers?”

No answer has been landed. Not while the Angels win every bloody day.

If the answer ever comes back yes, I say: Good.

Let the masses miss the Halo heat. The fewer the fans who catch on, the better. By the time they do, Anaheim will own a second championship.

Take 2002. That summer while the Angels played in Boston, I wrote a pal in D.C. about Troy Glaus’ greatness. My friend’s take: Who him?

After Glaus finished with 111 RBIs and the Angels their title, I didn’t bother asking my friend again. Didn’t matter.

Kinda like the stock market. When hardly anyone has heard of a company, that’s the one that rockets. If you check out STEC and FUQI, it’ll probably be the first time. Yet they’re scorching. By the time Main Street invests in them, Wall Street will have seriously cashed in.

So let most of baseball’s gazers wallow in all things Boston and Philly. I’m keeping my eye on the best ball.

Come in, Dave Smith. Two years ago he resurfaced on L.A. radio as the drive-time voice of KLAA. He gave the Angels’ station the edge it needed.

Now he’s gone. Smith turned into dead air this summer, and that’s a drag for these parts. He’s the self-professed Sports God for a reason. He’s been here all his life and shares a sharp passion for our teams that no other broadcaster matches.

I asked a few people connected to the Angels what happened. Was Dave fired? Where is he? No one is clear. Not even Smith, who has nothing on TheSportsGod.com about his whereabouts.

Come back, Dave. You were wrong about Mitch Kupcake. And wrong about running pitchers’ arms ragged. But you had a point about Sissy Vujacic. And it was tough to change the channel.

I have the perfect spot for Smith. 570 KLAC in the afternoon. Replace the screamers who turn their points into turbulence. Angel fans would stick with Jeff Biggs at KLAA. Aside from that, Smith would crush ESPN’s Mason and Ireland.

Now we have the Rev calling Steve Physioc the worst announcer in baseball.

Why? Because the broadcaster has the gall to call attention to the biggest offensive night of the season. Or would've been if Andruw Jones had parked No. 4.

What, was Fizz supposed to scintillate us with a breakdown of the No. 1 Angel Stadium experience? Because if you wanted homer musings from the booth, that was the only thing left in that Ranger series.

Or could Physioc reach for a homer of substance, one that ties history? Good for him that he announced the news.

Which adds to his credentials as the worst announcer in baseball? Against what list? Worse than John Sterling, whom Yankee fans and the Post's Phil Mushnick are trying to ditch? Worse than voices for the Marlins, Royals, Twins? I doubt if the Rev has a clue. About the only listeners who do are those of American Forces Network, which airs games from every market for our troops around the globe.

I used to be one of those AFN listeners. And knew that despite L.A.'s love affair with Vin Scully, he was not the best. Certainly not better than the Giants' Hank Greenwald, the Orioles' Chuck Thompson and the White Sox combo of Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall.

No, Physioc isn't the worst. Not even among Angel play-by-play guys. His voice far surpasses the tone of Markas and Smith. And the Fizz has more fun playing off Rex.

As far as our Orange County ears can figure, he might be one of the best.

Quit this fire-Physioc campaign. It's childish.

We'd be better off bitching about something of substance: Angel players who don't speak English. At least not with a mic in from of them.

This Morales ignoring our language for Spanish the way Vlad does is outrageous. This is an American team with American fans paying them American millions.

Learn to speak to us without a Mota dictionary, for crying out loud.

Follow hockey's lead. Guy Lafleur and Mario Lemieux were two French Canadians who entered the NHL knowing hardly any English. The Habs and Penguins made sure they learned it. Simple marketing. They knew their fan base spoke English, so get with the program, guys.

The Angels should do the same. So should every team in baseball, which has crashing attendance as it is.

Fans want players they can relate to. It sure would help if they could understand them.

If Magic and Nugget fans were bummed by those LeBron and Kobe three-pointers, they have nothing on 1986 Angel loyalists.

When it comes to the depression meter, that Game 5 of the pennant series spins off the dial.

So it was painful to watch Saturday as MLB Network replayed all 11 innings of the Angels' 7-6 loss to Boston. Still, a wild time warp.

• Anaheim Stadium. Blue wall. No ads. Just an Angel logo. Natch, no rocks. Seats throughout, explaining the attendance that was 20,000 more than today's capacity. And the light grass. Ag technology had to be weaker back then.
• The batters. ABC showed that the bottom third of the lineup was carrying the Angel load. The trio was Dick Schofield, Bob Boone and Gary Pettis, although Schofield hit second in Game 5. Missing was a graphic called Miss October. Reggie's DH stood for Didn't Hit. The one time he singled, he was picked off. TV's Al Michaels evidently wasn't tuned in. With Jackson leading off the bottom of the 10th, Michaels thought it was 1977. He said with excited anticipation: "Who wrote this script?" Answer: Boston.
• The pitcher. Mike Witt was a winner. Or should've been. No walks in 8 and two-thirds. One strike away from a pennant. Somewhere in there, ABC noted, "No pitcher has ever thrown two complete games in a championship series." In the fifth, an MLB Network historical note posted his perfect-game numbers of 1984 at Texas: 94 pitches, 10 Ks.
• The broadcast. Good timing. While this 1986 gem aired, so did a look at the 1986 New York Giants on NFL Network. And MLB Network followed with Mets-Boston, exactly the World Series match-up after the Angels fell.
• The hero. Dave Henderson almost wasn't. After Tony Armas hurt his leg in center, Henderson replaced him and pulled a goat of play in the sixth. Leaping for a Bobby Grich drive, the center fielder had the ball in his mitt, then ice-cream-coned it over the fence. Having given the Angels a 3-2 lead, Grich set a record for celebration. Michaels: "It may be one of the more memorable plays of the '80s." Unfortunately, not quite.
• The banners. "The Sox are at Witt's end." "Yes We Can" (did Obama steal that?).
• The slammer. With Boston's Mike Greenwell up in the eighth, MLB Network added an amazing note: He had two inside-the-park grand slams in his career. Against the same pitcher, Greg Cadaret. Once when Cadret was with the A's, once with the Yankees.
• The seer. "Remember that man, Gedman," said Michaels in the eighth. Indeed, the Sox catcher who had homered and doubled would draw the hit by pitch in the ninth to set up Henderson's shot.
• The traitor. Seven years after winning the Angels' first MVP Award, Don Baylor stuck it to his old team. Now DHing for Boston, he nailed a one-out homer in the ninth to cut the Angels' lead to 5-4. And he scored the winner on Henderson's sac fly in the 11th.
• The pitches. Moore was thisclose to closing the door with two out in the ninth. He had Henderson at 1-2, 2-2, two fouls. Then goodbye, 6-5 Sox.
• More timing. Just as Henderson parked Donnie Moore's forkball on MLB Network, A-Rod was hitting his dramatic homer in the ninth against the Phillies in real time.
• The out. Grich was inches from winning it with two out in the ninth. With the game tied at 6 and the bases full, Bobby pushed a 2-0 count against Steve Crawford. Two balls away from triumph. The next pitch looked outside, but the ump said strike. Bobby eventually lined out to the mound. Michaels would point out that Crawford was on the roster because Tom Seaver got hurt.
• The coach. Pitching coach Marcel Lachemann went to the mound for Angel pitching changes, not manager Gene Mauch.
• The look. The Angels played one guy born outside the country: Jamaica's Devon White. Now Latin Americans dominate the roster.
• The shots. Pettis was a foot from handing the Angels the flag in the 10th. Jim Rice said no way, leaping and hauling in his drive at the wall. The next frame, Angel left fielder Brian Downing kept the deficit at one by grabbing Ed Romero's rocket at the fence. Michaels: "Wow! Are we really seeing this game?"
• The call. Michaels: "Anaheim was one strike away from turning into fantasyland."

Rev, since you're checking the site while you're with Jeff on 830, here's a follow to that call about pitch counts.

Pretty sure they started after Bill James got rolling. His research showed that for every Feller and Seaver, piles of pitchers' arms died early because of overuse.

Take Mark Fidrych. After he died, stories zeroed in on his sad, quick finish. Had 24 complete games in his rookie 1976. And was basically done by the next spring.

So hell yes count the pitches. Bring in the relief. And keep Lackey and Santana pitching for years.

Bobby Grich had the Cantina Lounge across from Cal State Fullerton hoppin' Friday aft.

http://buckyfox.blogspot.com/

While sharing his voice with Jeff Biggs and the 830 audience, he recalled:

1. How when he joined the Angels in 1977, he fell in love with Anaheim's weather after years of trading Florida spring training sun for Baltimore chill.
2. Celebrating retirement after the 1986 season by finally enjoying his summers with adventure treks all over the globe.
3. Getting a mandate from the Angels' front office in the past decade to ignite the alumni association, helping the organization create the family feeling that the Orioles had.

When he wasn't chatting for the radio, Bobby graciously signed autographs and posed for photos.

It turned into quite a weekend for Grich. The next day, MLB Network showed the Angels-Yankees game of June 17, 1978, when Ron Guidry struck out 18.

Bobby avoided being victim No. 17 in the eighth inning by flying out on a two-strike pitch to Reggie in right. That after Grich fouled a shot through the net behind him and laid off a close pitch.

Leading off the ninth, Dave Chalk, with his drastic choke on the bat, swung for the 17th strikeout. The 18th came when Joe Rudi swung on a 1-2 pitch. The call came Phil Rizzuto on the radio feed: "Holy cow! Eighteen strikeouts!" Natch, Yankee Stadium went nuts.

Don Baylor with a single and Ron Jackson with a fielder's choice kept the Louisiana Lighting total at 18. Hope Bobby was watching.

Fans in Southern California are riding a crest.

Phil Jackson’s Lakers surfed to the NBA Finals in June and are ready to dive into another season.

The Dodgers are sailing into the pennant series, which surprised plenty of pundits, but not this one. Way back in April I wrote at TheColumnists.com that the boys in blue would win the National League title. Why? “Joe Torre’s in Los Angeles.”

You see the connection. Los Angeles is making a splash because of two of the greatest bosses in history:

Jackson, whose nine titles tie him with Red Auerbach for No. 1 among NBA coaches.

Torre, whose four World Series crowns put him near Casey Stengel and Joe McCarthy among the greatest managers.

Speaking of winners, the other baseball team that goes by Los Angeles — the Angels — has Mike Scioscia calling the shots. He won it all in 2002 and entered October with his cross hairs on a second title. His gang entered the playoffs with the best record in baseball, boasting top power, speed and pitching.

And yet.

The Angels are out.

Out in the first round.

Out against Boston for the third time in five years.

Out on a suicide sqeeze in the ninth inning of the deciding game at Fenway Park.

Scioscia called for the bunt. Erick Aybar missed. Goodbye, season.

Hello, suicide watch.

Angel fans are bashing thunder sticks against their heads. Some want to do the same to Scioscia.

A squeeze play when all the Angels needed was a fly ball? Another horror in Angel lore.

No question Scioscia is the right skip for Anaheim’s ship. This is a high-water mark in Angel history, thanks to his grabbing the tiller in 2000: four division titles to go with that glorious 2002 trophy, plus a packed Angel Stadium every summer.

So the Angels will weather this fan storm and keep Mike manager.

Where I’d like to see a change is at brand-new Citi Field in New York. Time for the Mets to match their new digs with a new helmsman: Gary Carter.

Mets fans — and I’m one — are seasick over the 2007 dive under Willie Randolph and 2008 replay under Jerry Manuel.

We’re about to jump overboard after the nightly blown leads.

We’re looking for ballast: A Hall of Famer who was superior to fellow catchers Torre and Scioscia. A hero on the champion Mets of 1986. A winner who just managed the Orange County Flyers to the top of the Golden Baseball League.

Bring back Gary Carter.

Message to Mets:

Carter manages just up the road in Fullerton, Calif. I’ll get him for you.

Bucky Fox is an author and editor in Southern California who runs BuckyFox.com

What do we call these guys if they win it all the way they should have in '06?

How about the Swingin' Mets? Which if Beltran had done it at nut-cuttin' time two years ago, we might've stuck Louis and swept Detroit.

But that's wallowing in the old.

How about now against the Cards? Can you believe Armas turning Wright and Church run production into a victory? After that lousy game Monday? Ya gotta.

That's the way the Mets meander. One night they look like lazy slobs while Philly and the Flyin' Hawaiian hustle like a banshee. The next day we have a solid staff and robust power. And Church comes back and halleluja.

I'm still not totally sold. This bunch looks a lot like  the 1990 Mets. We all thought they would pick up from '88. Instead, Davey gets fired and Bud can't do it.

Then again, I'm still rooting. The Carlos boys turn it on, and here we come.

miss the Nationals already.

For their play, yes; should’ve swept em.

But mostly for their caps. That script W is the coolest logo in baseball.

Brings back memories of the pastime in Washington. Ted Williams takes over in 1969. Nixon tosses the first ball. Bench, McCovey, Howard, Freehan homer in the All-Star Game at RFK. It's baseball's centennial, and the OC's  finest  greets the greatest living players at the White House by breaking down the game like no prez in history.

After the Nat hat, here's the sharp logo lineup:

2. Mets

3. Giants

4. Tigers

5. Yankees

6. White Sox

7. Angels

8. Phillies

9. Cardinals

Great to slug and sprint past the Fightin' Phils.

Even better to outhustle a team with the Flyin' Hawaiian, Shane Victorino.

Is that one of the coolest nicknames in sports or what?

Right up there with K-Rod and AK-47.

My favorites:

World B. Free

The King Fish

The Galloping Ghost

Hopalong Cassidy

The Babe

Broadway Joe

The Yankee Clipper

Stan the Man

Wilt the Stilt

The Say Hey Kid

Hammerin' Hank

Baby Doll Jacobson

Amazing how baseball makes your prognosticating head spin.

One day you're thinking Boston repeat, that no one can touch Papelbon.

Then you're considering the Cubs on the 100th anniversary of their last trophy.

Then here comes Philly and that megainfield.

Now we're back to the Angels, fresh off two beltings of PA pitching. We can thank their patience for this status. While some shook over Vlad's start, Lackey's disappearance, the middle infield's injuries, Team Scioscia kept forging. And winning.

I still think the Phils will win it all, but the Halos sure are trumping them.

The Angels' triumph in Philly last night was:

1. Just another June victory on the way to the AL West title.

or

2. A major handling of a big league contender.

I pick No. 2.

For a month now I've been picking the Phillies to win it all. That realization came during a rout of Houston on a Fox TV Saturday game. Between Victorino and Howard, the Fightin ones showed raw hustle and power. This team simply wants it. As opposed to their only serious divisional opposition, the Mets.

Then game Friday. The Halos treated PA like purely average. Best, Santana regained his grip on his Cy Young pitch.

So right now: Philly over L.A. in the World Series.

We’re live in the City of Angles.

How about this angle: The Laker No-Show.

Such was the stamp an ESPN radio caller voted to stick to the Lakers after their 39-point crash in Boston.

More flooded the air: A Kobeat-Down. A Euro Trashing.

I could’ve added El Lay Down.

Yes, the steam was rising after L.A.’s Game 6 compression.

But for good old dark depression, that NBA Finals finish paled vs. Game 4 -- when the Lakers led by 24 points and lost.

That fall from joy to jaded cast a pall over every L.A. sports bar. Suddenly a team jammed with youth and hope looked skinny and dopey. A club full of bright Europeans played like lightweights.

And when the lights came up, left standing was a Celtic lineup of 12 blacks coached by a black clinician, Doc Rivers -- the first all-black NBA champs.

Couldn’t blame L.A. radio’s Dave Smith for pushing the Lakers next season to suit up “less Euro, more ghetto.”

I trumped him by calling in for “no Euro, all ghetto.” Simply, Phil Jackson better muscle up with Ron Artest types and fight back or he’ll never see title No. 10.

That’s next season. Right now Laker fans feel like moping. Kind of like previous dark days in L.A. sports history:

Angels 1986. The standard for gloom. One strike away from their first American League title. No way they could blow it: 3-1 series lead, 5-2 lead in the ninth, Anaheim Stadium partying. Then before you could say Boston sucks, Donnie Moore surrendered Dave Henderson’s homer. The Angels were doomed, losing the pennant series in seven games.

Lakers 1969. With Wilt Chamberlain joining Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, the Lakers had it in the bag. They would sack the Celtics after going 0-6 against them in NBA Finals. Instead they blew a 2-0 series lead and blew up in seven games. Again.

Lakers 1970. The Chamberlain-Baylor-West bunch couldn’t lose a Finals Game 7 for the second straight year. Oh yes it could. This one came in a capitulation to a New York Knick team that barely used its MVP, injured Willis Reed.

Dodgers 1962. They had the Most Valuable Player in Maury Wills, the Cy Young winner in Don Drysdale, the greatest lefty in Sandy Koufax, a three-game lead with six to go, a 4-2 lead in the ninth inning of the deciding playoff game. And lost to their nightmare, the San Francisco Giants.

Lakers 1984. This time they would surely shake the Celtic curse. This was Showtime starring Magic Johnson, Kareem Jabbar, James Worthy. Instead, L.A. lost two overtime games and the series 4-3.

Angels 1982. No team had blown a 2-0 series lead in the American League playoffs. Until the Angels did to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Rams 1969. At 11-0 they looked like NFL champs. Come playoff time, they had a 20-14 fourth-quarter grip on Minnesota. Then lost 23-20.

Angels 1995. They had the AL West wrapped up. Up by six games as late as Sept. 12. Then, bam: nine straight losses. A 9-1 tiebreaking loss at Seattle put the Halos out of their misery.

Rams 1979. L.A.’s champions of the ’79 NFL season entered the January 1980 Super Bowl a sure thing: They would lose. Still, they led the dynastic Pittsburgh Steelers 19-17 in the fourth quarter. Upset? Not Terry Bradshaw, who bombed away to John Stallworth to lock in a 31-19 L.A. loss.

Dodgers 1978. They decked their old World Series rival Yankees the first two games. Then let ’em off the mat. New York took the next four and raised baseball’s trophy.

A submission to an L.A. antagonist would replay 30 years later.
See more from Fox at BuckyFox.com

My take on KLAA's Dave Smith and rest of L.A. radio.

http://thecolumnists.com/fox/fox66.html

Just caught Smith's act between the helmets at the stadium. Cool guy in real life. Hardly into himself. So you wonder how he made it in the biz.

Hope the AM 830 signal picks up. We get it easily in OC, but friends in the Valley have no chance. And they're dying to hear Dave's Man Card Violation act.

And is Smith a workaholic or what? Morning show, drive time in the aft. He never quits.

Wait till the Angels land in the World Series. Smith will rise to national Angel voice.

Called this Boston T-off party two months ago.

Will say it again: Scioscia won't go extra innings in Anaheim. Time for him to return to his old position: home in Dodger blue.

From Aug. 20:

http://thecolumnists.com/fox/fox54.html

Bring Back Mike: When Little leaves, the Dodgers will bring back the man they should have hired in 1999: Mike Scioscia. He'll be available when his Angels don't reach the World Series--Rally Rat or no.

Scioscia has been terrific since he landed in Anaheim in 2000. With him providing the fiber, the Angels are producing the finest era in team history.

Still, Scioscia stands for Dodgers. He caught for them from 1980 to 1992, helping them to two world titles. He coached their minor league catchers two seasons, then in 1998-99 was their bench coach at Dodger Stadium--near where he lives today.

And like the Dodgers, the Angels don't have the lumber to make it far enough. As popular as Scioscia is in Anaheim, fans will let him feel their frustration of failing to win it all. which he did in 2002.

So get ready for Iron Mike moving his office up the highway and making the Dodgers win at once in 2008.

Now that the Angels are out of it, Mike Scioscia should make the fun call:

Let Chone Figgins play all nine positions in one game.

Heck, he played six spots last year. He could easily join the short list of those who manned every post through nine innings:

Bert Campaneris of the Kansas City Athletics against the Angels in 1965.

Cesar Tovar of the Minnesota Twins in 1968.

Scott Sheldon of the Texas Rangers in 2000.

Shane Halter of the Detroit Tigers in 2000.

And you thought there was nothing left to play for?

Slumpin' Spiezio in 2005: .064 BA, one homer, one RBI. Simply hitless in Seattle.

Swingin' Spiezio in 2006: .274 average, eight homers, 35 RBIs. Nothing screwy about him in St. Looie, especially after he banged up Cincy last night.

Can this be the guy who hit the Scott Heard Round the World?

If so, it's one of the great rises from the dead in history.

Let's just hope the Halos don't face him at nut-cuttin' time in the Series.

When Pierzynski came up for Chicago's last breath, every Angel fan had a message for Frankie: bean him.

It's a wonder A.J.'s helmet stays on against Scioscia's gang after last year's Black Sox II.

Speaking of the game at the Cell, what a change from May, when the contest was rained out.

When the Angels were in Chi back then, they were wallowing at 14-20 and had lost eight straight games to the White Sox -- four in the 2005 ALCS and four in '06.

The culprit? Hitting. Or swinging and missing, since the Angels weren't connecting. When Vlad  came up with the bases loaded in the third inning, Rex noted that the Angels had nine situations with the bases full up to that point in the season. How many did the White Sox have? Thirty.

As if responding to that stark gap, Guerrero smashed an infield single to score one run. Then with the bases still jammed, Garret Anderson just missed a grand slam. His double off the fence cleared the bases, and the Angels were soaring toward a 12-5 rout.

The Angels picked it up Monday as if they had never left the Windy City.
 

RIVERA'S FLOOD

Just when you think the Angels swing nothing but limp bats, up steps some stout muscle.

Namely:

Juan Rivera with homer No. 19 in a 10-3 rout of the Rangers Saturday.

And Vlad Guerrero with his 23rd blast in another Texas tattering, this time 9-1 Sunday.

Such artillery made for better sparks than Friday night's fireworks.

Suddenly the Angels look like studs again. If Rivera keeps complementing Guerrero -- and if Chone Figgins gets a leg up on the enemy like last year -- Anaheim's finest will stand first on October 1.

And I'll be rewriting "The Highflying Angels" (BuckyFox.com) to update the Rivera chapter, which looks like this in the current book:

Rivera Flows

Juan Rivera sure traveled upstream to make a spash with the Angels.

He was born in Venezuela, started with the New York Yankees, went farther north to the Montreal Expos, then finally west to Los Angeles.

He made serious waves amid the pennant heat of August 2005. In the first game of a big series with the defending world champion Boston Red Sox at Angel Stadium, Rivera ripped two three-run homers as L.A. coasted 13-4.

Rivera was filling a power void in left field, where Garret Anderson was missing because of an injury.

At 27, Rivera suddenly surfaced as a life raft for a drifting offense.