The ability to clone human beings may be decades away from becoming a reality, but Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter suggested Los Angeles Angels leadoff man Chone Figgins would be the perfect candidate to experiment on.
“You ever see that movie `Multiplicity,’ with Michael Keaton?” Jeter said. “It’s like they keep making a bunch of Chone Figginses and putting them all over the field. He comes up with a lot of big plays no matter where you put him.”
Figgins, the Angels’ 5-foot-7-inch spark plug, was seemingly everywhere in their first-round playoff win over the Yankees, making huge defensive plays at third base and in center field, two of the six positions he plays.
Slugger Vladimir Guerrero, the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 2004, is obviously the man the White Sox need to contain if they hope to beat the Angels in the AL Championship Series. But the 27-year-old Figgins is the glue to the Angels’ offense, and keeping him off the bases will be just as important as stopping Guerrero.
Coming into his own
The switch-hitting speedster came into his own last year with the Angels, and had his most productive season in 2005 with 10 triples, 57 RBIs and a major-league-leading 62 stolen bases. He was also productive in the clutch, hitting .577 (15-for-26) with a runner on third and less than two outs.
Figgins is basically the Angels’ version of Scott Podsednik, the catalyst of the Sox’s attack.
It will be up to Sox pitchers and catcher A.J. Pierzynski to keep him from wreaking havoc on the bases if they hope to slow down their proficient small-ball-ready offense.
Sox pitchers did the job during the regular season, limiting Figgins to a .231 average in their 10 games. He still managed to score eight runs and steal four bases in five attempts in the season series but was not the roadrunner he was against most other teams.
Aside from his innate ability to annoy catchers, Figgins is above average defensively in both the infield and outfield. In the fifth inning of Game 2 of the division series in Anaheim, Figgins made a sterling back-handed play at third to rob Hideki Matsui of a run-scoring, extra-base hit down the line. In the fourth inning of Game 3 at Yankee Stadium, he made a diving catch in center to take away a hit from Gary Sheffield.
“That was the play of the game,” Angels first baseman Darin Erstad said. “Sheffield crushed that ball. If it gets past Figgy to the wall, who knows what happens?”
Yankees manager Joe Torre had finally seen enough of Figgins.
“I’d like to see him play in the bullpen so he wouldn’t be on the field,” Torre said afterward.
Involved in key plays
But Figgins also was involved in one of the key plays in Game 4 that extended the series to five games. His poor one-hop throw to the plate from third on Jeter’s seventh-inning grounder allowed Jorge Posada to score the go-ahead run in the Yankees’ 3-2 win, knotting the series at two games apiece.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Figgins rushed the throw, though Figgins said it was a do-or-die play that was more difficult than it appeared.
“You react the best way you can,” he said. “I thought I made a good play on it. I got off the best throw I could.”
After the way Figgins has played all season, Scioscia was not about to put the blame on the kid for the loss.
“Figgy has just played terrific defense for us all year,” he said. “That was not an easy play.”
Offensively, the Yankees were able to keep Figgins off the bases for most of the division series. He was only 3-for-21 with one walk and two runs scored in the ALDS.
The Sox will gladly take those kind of numbers in the ALCS, knowing that if Figgins is not on base, pitching to Guerrero will be a much easier option for manager Ozzie Guillen.
– – –
At home on the road
In six games at U.S. Cellular Field this season, Chone Figgins has scored five runs on five hits and six walks. He also has four stolen bases. Figgins’ line:
%%
G AB R H HR RBI BB SO SB OBP SLG AVG
6 23 5 5 2 5 6 2 4 .367 478 .217
%%
%%
%%
SCOUTING
One major-league advance scout’s view of the Angels:
They finished the regular season playing some of their best baseball, just like the White Sox. . . . I think (pitcher) Ervin Santana is a sleeper. . . . (Paul) Byrd has been good for these guys as a No. 4 pitcher, but you don’t worry too much about him or (Jarrod) Washburn. . . . The Angels’ bullpen is as good as anyone’s in baseball, and they got even better when they moved (Kelvim) Escobar there. He and (Scot) Shields are nasty. But Escobar is the key person. . . . (Center fielder) Steve Finley is killing them. He is a notorious streak hitter, but he hasn’t shown me much. His bat is very slow. . . . (Left fielder) Garret Anderson had has some back luck with injuries, but they need the same one or two guys to carry them. . . . There’s something different this year about Vladimir Guerrero, but he finds a way to get a big hit. . . . Chone Figgins is going to get his stolen bases. . . . And (first baseman) Darin Erstad can still run. . . . They still seem much better now that Shields has gone back to pitching the seventh inning. There’s little pressure now on him, especially with Escobar going to the bullpen. (Shields) looked good in the final week against Oakland, so maybe his arm isn’t tired. . . . Bengie Molina is playing like it’s his contract year. I think after Ramon Hernandez, he’s going to be the top paid catcher. He knows how to stop a running game. . . . This is all setting up the way it should be.
ROSTER
STARTERS
THE BENCH
ROTATION
BULLPEN
Source: Inside Edge
– See microfilm for complete graphic.
