Time Is Now for Angels

The third-place Angels lost five of seven games to Seattle and the Dodgers to drop 12 1/2 games behind the Mariners in the AL West and 7 1/2 games behind the Oakland Athletics in the wild-card standings.

As they open a six-game stretch against Seattle and the Dodgers tonight at Edison Field with a game against the Mariners, the Angels might be wondering whether the rally monkey's powers extend to the gaping deficit in the division standings.

While winning the wild-card now seems the most realistic route into the postseason, the sputtering Angels say they have not abandoned their quest to overtake Seattle in the division, though pitcher Kevin Appier admitted he's not optimistic.

"We're not swelling with confidence in our ability to catch them now," Appier said of the Mariners, who won three of four games between the teams last week at Safeco Field. "We know we're a considerable ways back, but we also know it's within our potential -- albeit very difficult -- to catch up.

"Hopefully, Seattle cools down and we get hot and we can switch places with them."

So far, the Angels (36-37), beset by streaky starting pitching and untimely lapses on offense, have been lukewarm at best. They have spent 19 days with a .500 record and haven't moved more than three games over the break-even mark. Their longest winning streak is five games.

Last year the Angels moved over the .500 mark for good on May 9. They put together two winning streaks of six games, two of eight games and one of 10 games. When Oakland won 20 consecutive games late in the season, the Angels kept pace by winning 21 of 27.

"Oakland winning 20 in a row last year and us right behind them? That's the beautiful thing about this game," reliever Ben Weber said. "We have three and a half months left, and anything can happen. At the end, if the wild card is all we get, that's fine too. As long as we get in there."

The Angels appeared on the verge of a positive push as recently as June 11, when they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to move a season-high three games over .500 and closed to within nine games of the Mariners. Next up was an interleague series against the hapless New York Mets, while Seattle faced three games against the National League-leading Atlanta Braves.