Garret Anderson hasn’t been a key cog in the Angels’ offense for most of 2007, as he has been sidelined on and off by a hip flexor strain. It’s a pattern that has repeated itself in recent years.

Anderson’s last three seasons have been marred by a back ailment that dates to 2005, when Anderson also battled knee and hamstring injuries for much of the summer. His back and hamstring were issues again in 2006. This year he missed all of May and the last two weeks of June while rehabbing his hip. Anderson turned 35 near the end of his second DL stint in June, and with his injury history, he was looking like an old 35.

In his most productive four years, 2000-03, Anderson batted .299 and averaged 46 doubles, 30 homers and 120 RBIs a season. The numbers have been down the last four years. He was batting .273 with just six homers and 40 RBIs when he broke through with a franchise-record 10-RBI game on Aug. 21. The left fielder connected on a three-run bomb and a slam in an 18-9 win over the Yankees.

Five days later, Anderson began a team-record streak of 12 consecutive games with at least one RBI. The streak stalled Saturday night, but not before he had driven in 22 runs and helped the Angels on a 9-3 surge that has all but buried the struggling Mariners in the AL West race. Since Aug. 21, Anderson is batting .394 with nine home runs and 32 RBIs in 18 games.

We’ve been seeing the Anderson of old during this stretch of good health. Will it last? We’ll know in time, but his recent history suggests it may not for long.

No matter how long Anderson plays before he’s sidelined again, his recent run production is a welcome sign for the playoff-bound Angels. This lifelong Angel, one of the few holdovers from the 2002 club that won the World Series, is once again healthy and on his game for this year’s postseason run.