Disappointed Angels move on

Club left to lament 'ifs' in wake of season-ending loss

Tim Britton / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- The Angels had a uniform posture in the moments following their loss to the Yankees in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Sunday. In a locker room quieter than their offense this series, the Halos sat with their shoulders slumped, their heads balanced on tense fingers and their eyes staring vacantly toward the carpet.

In the five stages of grief, Los Angeles had quickly moved beyond denial, anger and bargaining, and had settled into depression and, eventually, acceptance.

"That's a good team over there. We battled," center fielder Torii Hunter said. "They beat us fair and square. But it's frustrating right now."

The Angels' frustration derives first from the end of a memorable and melancholy season -- one that saw them overcome the loss of a teammate to advance their furthest in the postseason since 2005. But there also exists the lingering thought that perhaps Los Angeles didn't play its best in these last six games -- a thought provoked by the unfathomable eight under the column marked "E" on the series box score.

Following a season in which they set a franchise record for fewest errors with 85, the Angels seemingly lost the ability to play a clean game on the infield, committing those eight errors at inopportune times.

The tone was set from the opening inning of Game 1, when Juan Rivera made a throwing error and Erick Aybar and Chone Figgins allowed a popup to drop just beyond the infield dirt. Two of the Yankees' four runs that night were unearned, as was the winning run in the 13th inning of Game 2.

It was only fitting, then, when the Angels closed the series with two errors in their last defensive inning, both on sacrifice bunts.

"I would have laughed in your face," pitcher Joe Saunders answered when asked if he thought his team were capable of so many errors in the series.