Angels need to overcome their fear of Barry Bonds

So survival in the World Series now basically comes down to this for an Angels team whose pluck has been cut down to the size of one of David Eckstein's extra-small shirts:

Mike Scioscia's club needs to come home and win two games in a row when the first one is being pitched by -- gulp! -- Kevin Appier.

It needs to find someone, anyone, who can go past the fifth inning as a starter, and some middle relievers who haven't turned as soft as San Francisco's famous sourdough bread, allowing Troy Percival -- remember him? -- to do something more than stand up and occasionally stretch.

And maybe most of all, after that 16-4 mauling by the Giants in Game 5, the Angels need to discover some way to get their general groove, and pride, back before coming home for Game 6 at Edison Field on Saturday.

"It was tough to look at that final score; it was a whupping, no doubt about that," said Scioscia, after his team fell behind 3-2 in this best-of-7 adventure. "But we had the tying run at the plate a couple times there before the game got out of hand. And I think that says a lot about our team."

But it doesn't say much for the pitching staff and its ugly 6.91 ERA. At the moment, that's the real problem.

It's tough to win a World Series without a victory from your No. 1 starter. And Jarrod Washburn is 0-2. Appier and his 22.50 series ERA get the Game 6 start after blowing a 5-0 lead in Game 2. And Ben Weber and poor Scot Shields are probably still a little shell-shocked after what occurred here in the late innings Thursday night.

But this was a game that was lost early.

And more and more it seems, the Angels pitchers are struggling with the specter of No. 25 for San Francisco.

When Barry Bonds is not in the batter's box, he is in their heads.

Currently hitting .500 with three home runs in the Series, Bonds alters everything Scioscia's pitchers do, every way they think. They aren't concentrating on the hitters in front of him. They're already worrying about him two or three spots before he is even due to come up in the batting order.

The best home-run hitter in baseball got to Washburn immediately in Game 5, playing with his mind, then toying with his fastball.

And before the first two innings and his first two at-bats were over, the Angels had fallen hopelessly behind in a game they desperately needed to win.

"I don't think our guys are worrying about Barry," pitching coach Bud Black said. "They're taught to take it one pitch at a time and one batter at a time."

You'd never know it watching them work. In the first inning Thursday night, after Kenny Lofton singled and Rich Aurilia walked, Washburn looked down to see Jeff Kent in the batter's box and maybe Bonds, standing nearby in the on-deck circle.

With his concentration wavering, he walked Kent. And Bonds promptly drilled an RBI double into the right-field corner setting up a three-run burst.

One inning later, after Lofton singled and Kent doubled, Washburn was forced to intentionally walk you-know-who, igniting another three-run inning.

Later, in the sixth, after the resilient Angels closed the deficit to 6-4, Weber was pitching to Kent with Aurilia on first and Mr. Bonds again lurking close by.

When Kent slugged a two-run homer, it left you wondering once more how much Weber was zoned in on the power-hitting second baseman and how much his mind was wandering ahead to the hitter nobody wants to face with runners clogging the basepaths.

Either way, the Angels need to shake this Bonds phobia and try to recapture the momentum that allowed them to actually lead this series 2-1 just a couple of days ago.

"It's a must-win for us," first baseman Scott Spiezio said of today's Game 6. "But it's nothing new for this team. We know how to fight back."

Scioscia's plan, apparently, is to hope that his pitching staff, as a whole, can combine to even this series and force a Game 7 on Sunday.

"I think it's a no-brainer," Scioscia said. "We'll look to get as many guys available today as we can, in case we do have to go to the pen early. I think we'll have enough guys to have some options if Kevin gets off to a rough start."

If? Or when? It's been awhile now since Appier has had the kind of solid start that made him so valuable for much of the season.

While the Angels have been thrilled merely to be a part of this extravaganza, the Giants seem to have more of a sense of urgency. Scioscia's club is young and figures to be in playoff contention for the next several years.

San Francisco doesn't know where it will be. Kent, who delivered a pair of two-run homers to lead their hit parade in Game 5, is a free agent. And the rumor is the Dodgers, among others, are extremely interested in talking to him.

Same with Dusty Baker, the manager who might win his first World Series and promptly leave for, oh, Seattle or some other town where he might feel more wanted by ownership.

So while Bonds, Kent and Baker already are dreaming of how sweet this championship would be, the guys from Orange County are merely trying to get over the nightmare of these past couple of nights.

At least it will be warmer and cheerier in Anaheim.

If they could just import a new starting pitcher or two, the Angels might actually make it to Sunday.

Steve Bisheff is a sports columnist for The Orange County Register.