GHOST OF OCTOBERS PAST MATTER OF TIME ANGELS NEED AGING ANDERSON TO STEP UP ONCE AGAIN.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

Garret Anderson's bases-loaded, line-drive double up the right-field chalk for the club then known as the Anaheim Angels at the park then called Edison Field will forever be remembered as the moment a sad-sack franchise became a winner.

David Eckstein raced home to break a tie in the third inning, followed by Darin Erstad, chased by Tim Salmon, and the Angels had broken the Giants in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series.

Remembering that big hit from Anderson is one thing. Picturing it like it was yesterday is another thing. Seeing it again is the thing the Angels need now.

The Angels need Anderson to be a hero again if they're going to catch the Athletics and win the division.

The stars of that old October batting order are almost gone now. Eckstein has moved on, as have Troy Glaus, Bengie Molina, Brad Fullmer and miracle-worker Scott Spiezio. Erstad is trying to get his bad ankle in shape for part-time duty down the stretch, Salmon is pining for enough swings to hit three home runs and reach 300 before retiring, and Adam Kennedy is serving his final days as an Angel before Howie Kendrick takes over second base for good.

They're down to one. Anderson, creaky-limbed and blank-faced, carries a live bat and a simmering torch for Los Angeles of Anaheim's greatest sporting hour. Anderson, 34 and half a lifetime removed from Kennedy High in Granada Hills, will always be a tough read. His effortlessness is easily mistaken for lack of effort, the mystery enhanced by his caution amid constant injuries. Seemingly passionless, the left fielder is summed up by Steve Dilbeck's description of Anderson in the eye of the human storm that followed his World Series double:``He stood on second like a man who had just taken out the trash.''

But I ask you: Who would you rather see at the plate the next time the Angels load the bases with a huge game on the line?

The Angels play the first of three games against the Boston Red Sox tonight. One of these clubs will get out of this series alive for the pennant.

If it's the Angels, the schedule doesn't let up. The next three weeks bring the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox. Then, in September and October, there are those seven games in the regular season's final 10 days against Oakland, which went into play Monday (an off day for the Angels) with a 4 1/2-game lead over their downstate rivals.

The Angels' ``now'' generation has little autumn success from which to draw inspiration or confidence.

Orlando Cabrera won that World Series with Boston, and indeed he was one of the few Angels to make noise with the bat in the 2005 playoffs. Juan Rivera had a couple of playoff turns with the Yankees, and he did all right last fall. But too many of the Angels' young players are new to this pressure. Chone Figgins' bat turns to mush -- and his glove to copper -- in the cool air. And even Vladimir Guerrero is a .180 career hitter in two postseasons.

Anderson's power numbers have slipped, but last September he summoned up 21 RBIs, leading the Angels in that column as they blew open the race with the A's.

Can they get that kind of leadership from him in the six weeks that will tell if the Angels' remaining World Series heroes have one more round of magic? With the proper deployment of a man whose aches and pains have ridden up from his feet to his hamstrings to his back -- he has yet to suffer from a cracked expression -- can Mike Scioscia coax one more big finish from that crucial left-handed bat? If it really makes a difference in his hitting if Anderson is playing left (he's hitting .304 in August when he starts in the outfield) or designated hitter (.350), can we figure it out sooner rather than later?

At the All-Star break, Anderson was hitting .261, with a home run every 42 at-bats and an RBI every 6.2 at-bats, and there was talk he'd soon be sleeping downstairs at No. 7 in the order. Since then, he's hitting .311, and the homer and RBI rates have doubled. He's made a couple of nice running plays in the outfield.

In the past 10 games, the Angels are 7-0 when Anderson has scored or driven in a run, 0-3 when he hasn't. Two Angels hitter have that perfect correlation of individual and team success. The other is Guerrero.

The Angels catch the Red Sox at the right time at Angel Stadium, the locals coming off a sweep of the Mariners while the visitors are coming off their five-game sweep by the Yankees -- likely to be the subject of 14books out of Boston by month's end. In the playoff-race game, this week is a bases-loaded situation for the Angels.

Another moment for Garret Anderson to show 'em how it's done.

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(color) In order to make it into the postseason, the Angels are hoping for a big final month from Garret Anderson.

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images