A man of few words even in his native Spanish, Guerrero offers no alibi for his postseason failures - "I don't think I've put pressure on myself," he says. "Things just haven't worked out," - much like he refused to blame his troublesome right knee for his subpar production the first two months of the season.

Protection in the lineup

He won't mention that in the 2005 ALCS, when Guerrero was playing through a sore shoulder, the Angels as a team hit .175. Or that in last year's Division Series, with outfielders Gary Matthews Jr. and Garret Anderson sidelined or slowed by ailments, light-hitting infielder Maicer Izturis (16 career home runs) batted fifth.

Some of Guerrero's teammates see the difference extra power bats around him can make, and Teixeira's impact has been especially noticeable. The Angels averaged 4.5 runs a game before his arrival, 5.1 after.

"It's been huge ever since he got here. We needed somebody like that," Rivera says. "I think it helped settle down Vladimir. He started hitting when (Teixeira) arrived. Now he's got protection in front and behind him in the lineup."

Scioscia especially appreciates Teixeira's ability to get on base - he reached safely in 49 of his 53 regular-season games with L.A. - which forces opponents to either face Guerrero or pitch to Hunter with at least two runners on.

"The intentional walks get minimized a little bit," Scioscia says.

Not all of Guerrero's resurgence, after hitting .246 through May, was related to Teixeira's arrival. The eight-time All-Star started looking like his old self in June, when he hit .375 with six home runs, and didn't slow down much the rest of the way.

His stats for the last four months: a .337 average with 20 home runs and 63 RBIs.

Combined with Guerrero's diminished mobility in the outfield, his early slump led to whispers that he was starting to decline.

Guerrero says the talk didn't bother him.

"You're not always going to have the same kind of season," he says. "I know a lot of people were wondering, but I have no way of projecting how good a season I'm going to have. I just kept working, and here we are."

Where he might be after next season could be determined in the next few months. The Angels hold a $15 million option for 2009 that they're likely to pick up, and both Guerrero and owner Arte Moreno have expressed an interest in extending the relationship beyond that.

Despite the slow start and the aches Scioscia says his right fielder's bat speed has not diminished.

Neither has his ability to make contact at a remarkable rate for a slugger. Guerrero has never struck out 100 times a season and only twice more than 80.