This has not been a good year for Gary Matthews Jr. He lost his job as the Angels' starting center fielder when they signed Torii Hunter as a free agent over the winter, slumped badly in the first half and then lost most of his playing time to Juan Rivera starting in late June.

But Matthews has tried to keep his disappointment from becoming a distraction in the Angels' clubhouse.

"I've said it before—this is not the time to talk about my displeasure about playing time," he said after going 4-for-5 in a rare start Thursday against the Tigers. "This is the best team I've ever played on, the best opportunity I've ever had to play in the post-season and be successful and I truly don't want to take anything away from that.

"We have a really good thing going ...More