Oh, they might have caught some glimpses while the New York Yankees methodically dispatched them four games to two, securing their first trip to the World Series since 2003 with Sunday night's 5-2 victory at Yankee Stadium.

But that was not nearly enough for the Angels to overcome the exploits of series MVP CC Sabathia, Alex Rodriguez, et al.

Whether it was because of the fits and starts built into the postseason schedule, and exacerbated by Saturday's rainout, the Angels were not offering that excuse.

The Yankees could have been just as responsible for disrupting their game, holding them to a .300 on-base percentage in the ALCS and squelching their running game.

But this was clearly not Angels baseball, and before the game manager Mike Scioscia expressed his displeasure with playing only eight games since the season ended Oct. 4.

"It does have an impact," Scioscia said of the irregular schedule, mostly dictated by television. "I don't know if it has an impact so much on who wins and loses, but it has an impact on the quality of play. And I think that's very, very important to the integrity of our game.

"Eight games in 21 days is something you never expect in a baseball season."

Neither do you expect the club that led the majors with a .297 average with runners in scoring position to hit .229 in those situations in the ALCS.

Or the second-highest scoring team in baseball averaging 3.2 runs, more than two below its regular-season output.

Or the third-best fielding team in the league committing eight errors in the series, by far the most of any team in the whole postseason.

"We didn't play Angels-style baseball," center fielder Torii Hunter said. "We might have played one game, two games, the Angels way. We just kind of got away from that and they capitalized on all our mistakes."

Los Angeles made physical and mental mistakes, uncharacteristic for a club that prides itself on execution.

With the Angels down 3-2 in the eighth, second baseman Howie Kendrick (fielding error) and reliever Scott Kazmir (throwing error) botched easy back-to-back bunts.

Before that, Vladimir Guerrero was inexplicably caught off first base on a short but easy fly to right, and he also trotted to first on a ball three in the top of the eighth inning before being apprised of the count. And Angels pitchers combined to give the Yankees nine walks.

The Angels did show a feisty side. In that same at-bat, Guerrero singled to right to drive in a run, closing the visitors' deficit to 3-2. It was the first earned run Yankees closer Mariano Rivera allowed at home in the postseason since Oct. 26, 2000, and it broke a streak of 36⅔ scoreless innings.

Ultimately those instances were too few and far between.

"Their pitchers threw great," said leadoff man Chone Figgins, who batted .130 in the series. "They kept us from playing the game we wanted to play, which is getting on and running. Their pitchers didn't miss too many spots.

"They just had the right mojo going on both sides of the ball."

Enlarge By Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Angels pitcher Scott Kazmir, rear, reacts after throwing away a bunted ball to over the head of Howie Kendrick in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Yankees scored on the error.