ANAHEIM, Calif. — Torii Hunter grabbed his hat, tied his spikes and headed out of Los Angeles' home clubhouse into the abundant sunshine and cool breezes of Angel Stadium.
"Now I can work on my tan again," the Angels' unofficial captain said with a grin Sunday.
His Angels are undeniably in trouble after two nights of horrible weather and messier baseball in New York, where the Yankees took a 2-0 lead over their error-prone opponents in the AL championship series.
Yet the Angels say they're far from finished going into Game 3 Monday, insisting they can warm back up with the fundamentally sound play that got them here after a difficult season.
"We've got to calm it down and have some fun," Hunter said. "You've got to have amnesia, and you've got to let the past go. ... (Against the Yankees) you can try to play too much. You can let that history get in your mind, and their payroll, and you really try to do too much. We have to block that out and play our game."
If the Angels don't quickly reclaim that California cool, the Yankees could be headed to the World Series by Tuesday night.
On an afternoon expected to feature near-perfect baseball weather, New York's Andy Pettitte will attempt to win his major league-record 16th postseason game against Jered Weaver, specifically chosen for this start by Angels manager Mike Scioscia because of the southern California native's prowess at home.
"We know this thing can turn in a heartbeat," Scioscia said. "If we win Game 3, we've got a different vibe in this series, and that's what you want to create."
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