He still looks a little like the 20-something-year-old who came in off the Olympic Stadium turf to hit in the middle of the Angels’ order and play their right field almost six years ago.

He still smiles like that guy, still waves his bat like him, still goes after a fastball like he’s trying to fell a redwood with a single swing of his broadax.

Then he trudges across the room at the end of the day, and Vladimir Guerrero looks like he should be pushing a walker. Postgame, both legs are encased in ice bags, the daily maintenance that extols the old Montreal ballpark’s hard-pan outfield and his seven jarring years on it.

Every day could be his last as an Angel. He’s at the end of his six-year, $85 million contract, at the end of a year in which injuries limited him to 100 games, a year in which it was discovered he was not 33, but 34, and sometimes seemed 44.

He is the best player in franchise history, an MVP and an annual All Star and a sure Hall of Famer. Mike Scioscia is devoted to him, too. Through prosperous times and slumps, through wild swings, singles on bounced pitches and at-bats of admirable recklessness, Guerrero bats cleanup, in the heart of an Angels’ order that for years has been their October flaw.

“We look at it in the aspect of what a player is capable of doing,” Scioscia explained. “What is a realistic expectation of what he can bring in a situation. And Vladimir still brings a presence that is extremely important in our lineup.”

So, presence.

There is no at-bat quite like a Vladdy at-bat, not for its ferocity or spirit or expertise or theater. Every pitch is potentially in play, for Vladimir Guerrero is not choosy. Among big leaguers with at least 300 plate appearances in 2009, only San Francisco’s Bengie Molina saw fewer pitches per plate appearance than Guerrero, who averaged 3.24.

And yet, the Angels are alive after five games of the American League championship series in large part because of Guerrero, who has taken two huge at-bats in these playoffs, has gotten two 95-mph strikes in those at-bats, and has twice hit them through the middle for run-scoring singles.

Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon threw him a first-pitch fastball in Game 3 of the division series and Yankees reliever Phil Hughes got ahead, 1-and-2, in Game 5 of the ALCS before throwing a down-the-middle fastball.

As postseason renaissances go, Alex Rodriguez certainly leads the parade. But, Guerrero, who had been unproductive in his first three postseasons with the Angels, the only postseasons of his career, and had one RBI in his last 17 playoff games before this October, is again a factor. He’s not the wall-banging, wall-clearing Guerrero he once was, but he batted .400 (with two RBIs) in the division series and he’s batting .304 (with four RBIs) in the ALCS.

Asked why, Guerrero said Thursday night he shortened his swing, not an insignificant adjustment – and admission – for a guy who never talks mechanics and, legend has it, rarely thinks mechanics. He’s also being more patient. He is seeing more pitches per plate appearance in the playoffs than teammate Juan Rivera or Yankees Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano. Hey, he’s not Kevin Youkilis, but it’s progress.

“I think I’ve gone back to cutting my swing down,” he said through translator Jose Mota. “I’m trying to put more balls in play.”

His intent against Hughes – two were out in the seventh inning, the Angels were down a run – was to make hard contact. Typically he aims for, like, cataclysmic contact.

“It’s good enough,” he said. “I’ve learned that contact is also good, especially when it comes to pressure situations. I was pulling off the ball early in the playoffs, maybe trying to hit the ball too hard, trying to hit the home runs.

“Now I’ve let the pitchers throw me pitches. So, yes, I’ve been seeing more strikes, because I’m laying off more pitches.”

He seems good with that for now, hunting strikes, putting the bat on the ball, pushing the Angels’ season along another couple days. But, you know he’s just stringing this along, waiting for the moment to swing big again. It’s who he is, after all.

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