Unbelievable……As a manager, Mike
Scioscia makes it pretty hard
to criticize him and the decisions he
makes throughout the course of a game. On this
night though, this very night not even 15 minutes
ago, he’s made it ridiculously easy to go
ape **** criticizing him while running around the
house shouting obscenities!!! Seriously, if I
can sit at home and know what needs to be done in
a certain situation, how does someone like
Scioscia go against all common sense and make the
complete opposite decision?
Trailing 4 - 9 in
our half of the 9th, as has been consistent with
the series, the Angels refuse to go out without a
fight. After a game full of base running blunders,
including one to start off the inning to account
for the first out instead of a lead off double, we
still manage to bring the tieing run to the plate
in Juan Rivera. As scorching HOT as he’s
been, he smacks a 3 run oppo shot to tie the
game!!! Amazing!! Morales goes on to make the last
out and bring us to the bottom half of the 9th,
all tied up.
Enter Justin Spier,
who’s been somewhat consistent of late, to
keep us in it and give us another chance in the
10th. After a lead off hit by none other than
Young, and a sac bunt from Murphy to get him to
2nd, Justin goes on to strike out a smoking hot
Marlon Byrd. So, 2 outs with 1st base open and a
powerful yet struggling Hank Blalock steps up. 1ST
BASE OPEN!!!!!!!! with a rookie on deck who has 1
hit thus far!!!!!! I’m sitting at home
thinking it’s a no brainer to intentionally
walk Blalock and take your chances with the rookie
who owns 1 hit and a couple RBIs to his major
league name. Instead, and downright shockingly
instead, Scioscia opts to allow Justin to pitch to
Blalock, a lefty while lefties are hitting over
.300 against him so far this season. All the
variables in this scenario seem to suggest that we
either put Blalock on and pitch to the rookie, or
bring in Darren Oliver, given Hank’s career
.229 avg vs. lefties, with only 27 of his 141
career homers coming vs. lefties. The outcome
floors me! Blalock destroys the FIRST pitch out of
Justin’s hand to straight away center field
for a 2 run walk off homer.
Unbelievable.
What a time for one of the very few bad decisions
a manager can make to so devastatingly affect the
outcome of an awfully pivotal series. We
have 3 more coming up with them again starting
Monday though, at home. So maybe not extremely
pivotal, but the questionable decision still
stings nonetheless. Especially so because the team
fought so hard to come back to tie it.
Unbelievable.
2 Comments
The managerial decision is one to criticize. Perhaps the decision might have been over the bully workload or Blalock’s history vs Speier, but the Halos beat themselves by their own grain of salt base path greed.
Even Hunter’s 3B snag was foolish. Vlad at the plate, 1st base open, 1 out…he had been out on that in AZ before why Morales missed knocking him by his double, why is he doing it again there (though he got away with it)?!
The Halos are taking themselves out of big innings by their stupidity on the base paths, the bottom line!
The managerial decision is one to criticize. Perhaps the decision might have been over the bully workload or Blalock’s history vs Speier, but the Halos beat themselves by their own grain of salt base path greed.
Even Hunter’s 3B snag was foolish. Vlad at the plate, 1st base open, 1 out…he had been out on that in AZ before while Morales missed knocking him in by his double, why is he doing it again there (though he got away with it)?!
The Halos are taking themselves out of big innings by their stupidity on the base paths, the bottom line!
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Yankee Game (7/10/09)I figured it would be to
good to be true: The Yankees in first place. The
Yankees were tied for first for one day, but then
fell back to second place Friday night, as they
suffered a 10-6 loss to the Angels. Once again, it
was the Yankees pitching who faltered last
night allowing the Angels to pick up 10 runs on 13
hits. The Yanks were able to out hit the Halos,
slugging 14 hits of their own, but it turned out
to be not enough to take the first game of this
three game set.
Joba Chamberlain had another
“awful” night blowing a four run lead
for the Yankees in the fifth inning. Joba allowed
a fifth inning 3 run blast to the Angels, Morales.
Chamberlain left later in the inning, after giving
up 5 runs (4 earned) on 9 hits through 4.1 innings
pitched. However, the bullpen was also anything
but “spectacular” Friday as Melancon
and Bruney allowed 5 runs  (4 earned) on 4 hits
through 4 innings of, what I don’t consider,
relief. Bruney allowed a 3 run blast of his own to
the Angels shortstop, Aybar, in the seventh.
Well, on a good note, I can say that the Yankees
offense remained hot slugging 14 hits and scoring
6 runs. Now, in my opinion, I think 6 runs are
sufficient enough to win a game. So it
wasn’t the Yankees offense with the problem
last night. The Yankees almost had every one of
their starters collect a hit, but Ransom went 0-3
with 2 k’s. Ransom hasn’t been
swinging a hot bat this season, batting a weak
.176. Honestly, I would have thrown Ransom down to
triple A and kept Pena up to make room for Hinske,
but that would be too logical for Girardi and
Brian Cashman. Anyways, Jeter had his fourth
four-hit game of the season, boosting his AVG to
.321. Alex Rodriguez went 3-5 with a double and a
solo homerun, finishing the night with 2
RBIs. Swisher also collected a couple of RBIs,
going 1-5.
NY
YankeesABRHRBIB
BSOLOBAVGJeter,
DH-SS5140000.321Damon, LF4011112.279Teixeira,
1B5210004.280Rodriguez, A, 3B5232023.257Swisher,
RF5012002.238Cano, 2B5020002.306Cabrera, Me,
CF3011201.278Ransom,
SS3000022.176  a-Posada,
PH-C1000112.287Molina, J,
C3110010.277  b-Matsui, H,
PH1000003.266  Melancon,
P0000000.000  Bruney,
P0000000.000Totals4061464721ÂÂ
a-Walked for Ransom in the 7th. b-Flied out for
Molina, J in the 7th.
BATTING
2B: Rodriguez, A (7, Saunders), Jeter
(17, Saunders), Cano (24, Saunders).
HR: Rodriguez, A (15, 5th inning off
Saunders, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Jeter 5;
Damon; Teixeira; Rodriguez, A 7; Swisher; Cano 3;
Cabrera, Me; Molina, J.
RBI:
Rodriguez, A 2 (47), Swisher 2 (47), Damon (50),
Cabrera, Me (33).
2-out RBI: Cabrera,
Me.
Runners left in scoring position, 2
out: Rodriguez, A; Damon; Ransom; Matsui, H 2;
Posada.
GIDP: Damon.
Team
RISP: 4-for-11.
Team LOB: 11.
FIELDING
E: Rodriguez, A (5,
throw), Jeter (4, fielding).
DP:
(Rodriguez, A-Cano-Teixeira).
The Yankees will try to work their way back to the top of the division today, as Andy Pettitte (8-4) will face Jered Weaver (9-3) for the second game of the series. Today’s game looks pretty evenly matched with two great pitchers taking the mound for both teams. The offense for both teams are also very similar, with a threat in the lineup every batter. So, its hard for me to say who’s going to win today’s game. Obviously I’m hoping Yankees, but it looks like it’s, once again, anyone’s ballgame.
4 Comments
Yay, the Yanks are in first, good luck with the
season, and don’t get too excited, the Rays
and the Sox are looking to win also!
-birdland
http://balorioles.mlblogs.com/
The Yanks aren’t in first anymore. Since they lost last nite and Boston won, they are one game back. Ya but I know what you mean. The Rays are looking for a repeat of last year and so are the Sox. Hope the Yanks can AT LEAST win the wild card if not the division. Good luck to ur O’s tonite.
arodfan13.mlblogs.com
Thanks steve g. I hope the Yanks win the
division I hate the Rays and the Sox. Please
comment on my blog!
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Thanks you Steve G. Please keep commenting! I
will be here everytime you comment on my blog!
Thanks again
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Halos Bedevil Yankees Again “Get the hitter,” Girardi said he
told Chamberlain. “Let’s make sure we
concentrate on the hitter and not get caught up
with anything else. He left a curveball up and he
hit it out of the park.”
ANGELS 10,
YANKEES 6
Suggestion
to Joe Girardi: Petition Major League Baseball to
play the Los Angeles Angels in Boston Red Sox
uniforms.
It is obvious that the Yankees road
grays are not working at Angel Stadium as they
lost another game on Friday night 10-6 to a team
with it No. 3 and No. 4 hitters just placed on the
disabled list.
The Angels seem to play in
some alternate universe where Gold Glove
infielders make bad throws and drop easy popups
and No. 9 hitters hit three-run home runs.
At
the very center of it all was Yankees starter Joba
Chamberlain, who was handed a 3-0 lead before he
threw pitch and he was on the mound in the fifth
inning with a 5-1 lead when it all started for
fall apart.
In his last three starts,
Chamberlain has pitched 13 1/3 innings, given up
16 runs (10 earned) on 27 hits and five walks. His
“Halo House of Horrors” fifth inning
last night let the Angels back into the game and
left the Yankees offense with an impossible task
of catching up.
“It’s frustrating — I’m
letting my teammates down,” Chamberlain told
MLB.com. “It’s kind of embarrassing,
too. At the end of the day, we’ve got the
second half to get better and I still can’t
change the past. I can learn from it and just
continue to grow.”
Yankee nemesis
Chone Figgins hit a bloop single to left to start
the inning. He later stole second and, after one
out, he scored on former Yankee Bobby
Abreu’s single to left. Abreu then stole
second. But as bad as Chamberlain was Friday he
had some help from Alex Rodriguez.
Juan
Rivera followed with a routine grounder to
Rodriguez but Rodriguez threw the ball up the
first base line and pulled Mark Teixeira off the
bag. Giradi went to the mound with a message for
Chamberlain: not to think about the bad defense
behind him.
Girardi called on Mark Melancon, who was just
summoned from Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre to
help an overtaxed bullpen. Melancon did manage to
get the Yankees out of the fifth but he
immediately ran into trouble in the sixth.
A
bloop single by Erick Aybar started the inning.
Figgins followed with a triple to rightfield to
score Aybar. After one out, Abreu singled in
Figgins and it was 7-5.
Melancon did induce a
double play to get out of the sixth but even more
horrors awaited him and Yankees in the bottom of
the seventh after the Yankees had pulled a run
closer at 7-6.
With one out in the seventh,
Napoli popped up to shallow left-center. Derek
Jeter was camped under it and it looked like an
easy out No 2. But the ball hit off the heel of
Jeter’s glove and dropped to the ground for
a very embarrassing error.
That error would
prove as costly as A-Rod’s.
After
Melancon got Gary Matthews Jr. on a groundout,
Girardi decided to go to the bullpen for
struggling righthander Brian Bruney. Perhaps it
was a chance for Bruney to rebuild his confidence
after three horrible outings in his last four
appearances (4 innings, 8 hits, 4 walks and 5
earned runs for an ERA of 11.25).
Well, if
Girardi was trying to boost Bruney’s
confidence, it did not work in Anaheim.
Bruney walked — on four straight pitches
— Jeff Mathis, who entered the game hitting
.198. Aybar followed with a three-run home run
that barely made the seats down the rightfield
line. The Angles now led 10-6.
“I
don’t know how to fix it — I’m
trying,” Bruney told MLB.com.
“It’s the same thing I say every time.
It’s baseball — I don’t try to
give up runs, I don’t try to give up hits, I
don’t try to walk people. I’m doing my
best every time out there, but it’s just not
working.”
The Yankees did have a
great chance to come back with two out in the
seventh inning after Melky Cabrera had singled a
run to draw the Yankees to within a run, 7-6.
Girardi sent up Jorge Posada to face reliever
Kevin Jepsen.
Jepsen walked Posada to
load the bases and Angels manager Mike Scioscia
brought in lefty Darren Oliver to face
pinch-hitter Hideki Matsui. Matsui hit a hanging
breaking pitch and drove it to deep rightfield.
But it was caught on the short warning track by
Abreu to ended the threat.
In this alternate
Angel universe Yankees drives are caught and Angel
fly balls reach the seats. This to a team that
just placed star outfielders Vladimir Guerrero and
Torii Hunter on the 15-day disabled list. The
Yankees have now lost 15 of their last 20 games in
Anaheim.
The loss, coupled with the
Boston Red Sox 1-0 victory over the Kansas City
Royals, dropped the Yankees back into second place
in the American League East. They are a game in
back of the Red Sox.
They will try to battle
the “Angels in the Outfield” again
this afternoon in a nationally televised game by
FOX. Andy Pettitte (8-4, 4.53 ERA) will try to
improve upon his last start against the Blue Jays.
He gave up six runs and issued five walks in six
innings.
His mound opponent is Jered
Weaver (9-3, 3.15 ERA) went seven innings and gave
up four runs (three earned) and fanned nine
batters as the Angels beat the Rangers on Monday.
Weaver is 3-1 against the Yankees but his ERA is
6.11 in five career starts.
Gametime is 4:10
p.m. EDT.
1 Comments
I know. The Yankees have been having trouble
with the Angels, even with Vlad and Torii out of
the lineup. Imagine if they were in the lineup!!!
You want to talk about a blow-out!!!!! Anyway,
nice blog. If you get a chance, check out my blog
as I cover the Yankees and the 2009 All Star
Game/Homerun Derby. Thanks
Arodfan13
http://arodfan13.mlblogs.com
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Pitched with AngstIt’s been six days since my last post here, but it feels like ages ago.A lot had happened. I haven’t even written anything about the Yankees’winning sweep against the Twins.
I think I’ve been busy last week. There was also not much ESPN coverageso I wasn’t able to watch the game, thus couldn’t write passionately. Iwasn’t also able to watch the first game of the NY Yankees against theLA Angels. My fave team lost, and I feel sad.
The first four innings and a half of the game were in favour of the Yankees until they reached the bottom of the fifth.
As I saw the results, I felt disappointed. The Yanks were having a goodstart, but the fifth inning gave a lot of hits and runs for the Angels.I’m not saying that the latter are no good, that they can’t hit or run.But as a fan, you always hope that your team’s defense is invulnerable.
Baseball is Baseball. Anything can happen.
When the opposing team wins, one sometimes can’t help but put a little,if not all, blame to the pitcher.
There are pitchers who put me atease, and there are those who are capable of pitching uncertainty tome. But before I make my final “verdict” I make sure that I’ve readenough details and/or information and have watched enough videos of theparticular game.
It’s just not fair to judge someone without prior knowledge. It’s better to remain silent.
I hope there will be no more error in the next
game. And I hope the Yankees win.
1 Comments
Yeah, I just finished watching the Yankee game
today, and they lost 14-8 to the Angels. They
yankee pitching has been anything but
“spectacular” this series. The Yanks
offense, continues to remain hot as they blasted 5
homeruns today. otherwise another disappointing
loss for the Yanks. Check out my blog!!!
http://arodfan13.mlblogs.com/
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Wood gets crack at Pettitte
Brandon Wood was in the Angels’ lineup on Saturday against Andy Pettitte, getting a start at third base with Chone Figgins awarded a day off his busy feet to serve as designated hitter.
Wood welcomes any chance to face anybody, even if it’s one of the game’s premier southpaws. He made one of his two starts for the Angels this season at New York against CC Sabathia, collecting a pair of singles in three at-bats. He went the other way with a single to contribute to a decisive rally against the Yankees’ ace.
The slugging gem of the Angels’ system for four years, Wood also had a single in two at-bats against Pettitte during one of his appearances at home last September when he got his first taste of consistent Major League playing time at shortstop.
“I’ll go check with Torii [Hunter] and some of the guys about how to approach him,” Wood said of Pettitte, who is known to bring his cut fastball in on right-hander’s fists. “Two at-bats help, but Torii has seen him a lot longer than I have.”
Wood, hitting .333 for the Angels with nine at-bats, was batting .313 with 17 homers and 52 RBIs at Triple-A Salt Lake when he was recalled on Friday with Hunter (strained adductor muscle) and Vladimir Guerrero (strained muscle behind his left knee) going on the 15-day disabled list.
“Woody can help us,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “You don’t want him sitting around getting one start every 10 days. There’s a role for him to get at-bats and contribute.”
A natural shortstop coming out of Horizon High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 2003, Wood has made excellent strides at third base and lately at first in an effort to expand his horizons and make him more attractive to Scioscia.
He has sure hands, an accurate arm and an easy, gliding manner in the field calling to mind a young Cal Ripken Jr.
With a grin, Wood said, “All I can ask
for is a chance to play and contribute. It’s
exciting every time I get on the field.”
1 Comments
And helps chase Pettitte out in the 5th.
Reggie comes in and goes 1-2 with a steal. Yeah baby! . . .BeesGal
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Oh and the yankees lost to the
Oh, and the Yankees lost to the Angels
Coffee in hand, I did what I do every morning. I tuned into SportsCenter. My mission: to check on the score of the Yankees/Angels game. As the ticker went through the scores from the NL, I caught the highlights from the Boston/KC game.
Seems that Dustin Pedroia may sit out the All Star Game this year. He wants to be with his wife, Kelli, in Boston. As some of you may already know, Kelli Pedroia went into labor 7 weeks early. Doctors were able to stop her labor, but she is still in the hospital. There has been no official announcement of this, but it seems like a smart thing for Dusty to do. Kelli needs him more than the AL All Star squad. After all, what’s more important?
If Dusty stays in Boston, Aaron Hill should be taking his place as the second base starter. This will undoubtably set Toronto into an All Star frenzy. Hill is a fan favorite, especially of the younger fans.
*********************************************** ************************************************** *********
Player songs for the Red Sox pitchers:
Tim Wakefield: “How bad do you want it” Tim McGraw
Josh Beckett: “Living Hard” Gary Allan
Jon Lester: “I use what I got” Jason Aldean
Could country music be linked to great pitching? Could be. Look at these numbers.
Wakefield - 11 wins, 3 losses
Beckett - 10 wins, 3 losses
Lester - 8 wins, 6 losses
*********************************************** ************************************************** *********
It’s Concert/Throwback jersey night at the Trop tonight. Yep, going back in time tonight. The Rays haven’t lost a game on Concert Night in a couple of years. That’s always good news.
The concert tonight, after the game, is Smash Mouth.
UNTIL NEXT TIME,
GO RAYS!
18 Comments
Good luck to the Rays, I hate the Yanks!
Hopefully the Rays can win the division and win
the WS! I have my fingers crossed. And just to let
you know, everytime you comment on mine, I will
make sure to comment on yours so please comment
again! 
http://balorioles.mlblogs.com/
Country music is the best! And here’s to another Red Sox win and Yankees lose today!
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
You know, unless it’s a division rival, I don’t generally take much pleasure in watching another team lose. But after the series at the Dome, and at Yankee stadium, it was rather satisfying to watch the Angels do to the Yankees what they always do to the Twins.
I hope the Rays overtake both Boston and New
York and win the East again this year.
-Erin
http://plunking-gomez.mlblogs.com
Keep on posting, I am sure you will get alotta
comments! Please comment again!
http://balorioles.mlblogs.com/
Birdland - Just beat the Jays!!! Gotta bring them down!
Julia - I HAD to point out the music!
But I didn’t see anyone listed with Toby
Keith!
Erin - Watching the Yanks lose is a hobby in itself some days!
Hey-
I’m a Padres fan and saw your
comment on Kaybee’s blog. I’m not
giving up on my team. You probably know what
i’m going through right now. So, I really
hope this year the Rays can overtake the Yankees
and Red Sox! I think that would be
awesome!!!!!!!!!! If you could please comment:
http://adriangonzalez23.mlblogs.com
Hill would be a great selection for the ASG. It’s weird because 2B is typically not a strong position for the game. Yet this year you can put in Hill, Kinsler, Roberts, and Pedroia in there.
I am sure if Aki were healthy he would be in
the mix too.
http://raysfanboy.mlblogs.com
Ginny,
Did you have that quote from
“Mash” before!? Never noticed it! I
loved Mash! Klinger was one of my favorites
because of his lunacy and besides he was the
baseball fanatic. One of the hosts of Dodger Talk
was a writer for that show.
Emma
http://crzblue.mlblogs.com/
I know that the Padres have had a hard time of late, but don’t give up! I’d love to see the Rays come out in first place!
Raysfanboy - Seriously we need to shorten the
screen name…
Hill will probably get
the call since he is already on the reserve team.
But Kinsler would be a great replacement for
Hill’s open spot on the reserve team.
Emma - I just came across it - ok, I went
looking for it! You caught me! I’m a big
MASH fan, so it works for my blog.
You are so right. Dustin needs to be with his
wife. Family first. How are you anyway. Sorry for
not keeping in touch. Family stuff!!
http://catlovesthedodgers.mlblogs.com
Hey! “Raysfanboy” isn’t thaaat long, is it? My real name is short, but that would take away from the mystery that is Raysfanboy. Ha! Like anybody cares!
Crazy game tonight. They look like they might
have it, then BOOM, not so much. Big game
tomorrow.
http://raysfanboy.mlblogs.com
Rays are looking good, they should keep this up, the AL East is becoming interesting every day.
Matthew T.
http://matt7.mlblogs.com/about.html
What do the Rays have to do to shave some games
of that lead. Still 5 1/2 out!? Jeez! Ah, the
perils of being in the AL East.
http://raysfanboy.mlblogs.com/
Canuck, see you are starting to get a crapload
of comments like me! Keep it up, and you will be
on the top 100! comment again!
http://balorioles.mlblogs.com/
Cat - You’re back! Hi! Are you living the dream of being the best team in baseball right now?
Matt - AL East is becoming a nail biter every night!
Birdland - THANK YOU TO THE O’S!!! Nice work on taking down the Jays!!! You better be posting something about the win…
Raysfanboy - Yankees and Sox have to lose. Sounds easy enough right? HA! The only way to stop Boston will be to beat them ourselves. The Angels are going a good job of dealing with the Yanks. I’m blaming the Devil Rays jersey for this lose. It makes me feel better.
Canuck, thanks so much for commenting, and yes
I did post something on the win! Hhaa. please keep
commenting, I will be back soon to comment.
http://balorioles.mlblogs.com/
CARLOS IS IN!!!!
http://raysfanboy.mlblogs.com/
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Florida Today on the Angels
Florida Today, my new local paper, has an article today which suggests the Angels are setting a trend with their style of play.
“You can manufacture runs,” [former Florida Marlins manager John] Boles said. “The old Kansas City Royals, they developed a reputation, they were going first to third. You try to stop it. That’s what Mike Scioscia does now with the (Los Angeles) Angels. The Angels play a National League-style game. Their kids are taught from the day they sign: ‘We’re going first to third, we’re going from second to home.’ That’s a style of baseball that, if you have the ability to manufacture runs, you don’t have to rely on the home run.”
Click Here to read the article.
The photo in both the print and online versions is of Chone Figgins sliding into home plate. Who would have thought that Figgy would make the front page of the Florida Today Sports section? And I bet the author had no idea that Chone’s brother Demetrius scouts their customer service area.
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At the Break….
Here we find ourselves at the All Star Break, halfway through a season that’s shaped up to be nothing short of every adjective you can think of……tragic, enduring, forgiving, challenging, pleasant and painful yet alltogether encouraging…..and that’s speaking solely of the Angels. Just as in life, it seems the rest of the MLB world seems to play out like an action-drama, twisting and turning and emotional every step of the way. To me though, as an avid fan of the grand game, following your home team over the course of a season is more exciting and fullfilling than any movie experience. You love projecting personal player stats and team success in anticipation of the season…..you can’t help but look at the league’s standings even after the first full schedule of games…..you’re upset when the lineup doesn’t line up as you envisioned it all off season….you cheer your heros and boo your bums one week, and next week you find yourself booing your heros and cheering your bums.
As for the Angels, there’s been plenty to cheer and boo for so far, but all in all the team has perservered and actually made the season quite interesting. Expectations have been met, exceeded, and of course dissapointed. I think that, offensively, everyone’s realized and filled their roles really well, and even taken to unexpected roles surprsingly well. Figgins and Abreu at the top of the line up have been amazing, hitting for average, getting on base at an alarming rate, and pressuring the defense with great speed. Hunter, Rivera, and Morales through the heart of the order have impressed as well with great power numbers. All three could very well be on pace for 30 HR 100 RBI seasons, and Morales’ 24 doubles shows he’s capable of being a potential line to line power threat for years to come. Vlad is yet to be VLAD so there’s much to be desired when it comes to his HOF bat. Then there’s Napoli, who’s pop out of his respective backstop position comes as a welcome addition to the hit parading. Aybar has been just fine providing a good average and incredible speed out of the bottom of the line up, and Izturis’ ridiculous success hitting with runners in scoring position has been outstanding. You can plug him anywhere in that line up and he only makes it stronger. Throw in the rest of the bunch for good measure and Scioscia seems to have all the tools he needs from an offensive standpoint. Kendrick getting things going would be HUGE!
Then there’s the pitching. A whole lot needs to be worked out with regards to pitching. Aside from Weaver, starters have been injured and/or underperfomed. The ‘pen has sustained it’s share of injuries and also underperfomed. As of late they’ve straigtened out a little bit, but it’s never a sure thing getting the game to Fuentes in the 9th. I think pitching is the biggest concern for this club and until they right that ship, this can be anybody’s division.
So again, here we are at the Break leading said division by a game and a half. Vlad and Torii are expected to be out for the better part of a month. Lackey and Saunder’s need to improve to be considered a force in the rotation. Santana needs to improve to even remain in the rotation. Weaver needs to stay the course to continue to anchor the rotation. And depending on how all that plays out heading into the trade deadline, a major boost might very well be in order. Same goes for the ‘pen. Offense is of no concern, with a league leading .284 team batting average, and in the top 5 in OB%, SLG%, stolen bases, and runs scored, this has been a pretty fun team to watch. One of the better balances of OB%, speed, and power that I’ve seen from this team in years. Exciting ball club, exciting 1st half of the season, and what promises to be a rollercoaster ride of a 2nd half.
1 Comments
Great summary of the season thus far! I’m
concerned about Torii and Hunter but at the same
time, I never cease to be amazed at where the
clutch hits can come from…Mathis, Izturis,
Morales, Abreu, Figgins, etc. They all stepped up
very nicely this weekend and I’m sure they
will continue to do so. I, for one, am feeling
very good at the All-Star break!
Lori
http://luckylori.mlblogs.com
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Angels Sweep YanksWhat is it about the Yankees that brings out the best in the Angels? Missing the 3-4-5 meat of the order and they still win? Lackey’s gutty seventh inning performance was amazing, he IS the heart of this staff and I hope the Angels don’t lose him as a UFA. I always cringe when Figgy has to field a critical play (courtesy of flashbacks to the playoffs vs the Red Sox a few years ago) but he has stepped up big time as a steward of the Hot Corner. Props to Figgy. Speier’s performance was a nightmare, and why didn’t Scioscia go to Oliver to start the 8th? Oh well, the shaky bullpen kept it together long enough to get to Fuentes in the 9th. A good way to end the first half of the season, and for the first time in a long time there might actually be a race in the AL West with the Rangers AND the Mariners. As much as I would like to see the Angels win the AL West going away, I think a pennant race could keep the Halos fires stoked later into the season and keep them on the edge going into the playoffs. All for now, Go Halos!!
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The boxscore from my first mlb game
The boxscore from my first MLB gameI was 6 going on 7 and remember Reggie Jackson hitting the ball very far. I still have the original program from this game with Angels SS Dave Chalk on the cover.
Oakland Athletics 6, California Angels 3DayGame
Played on Monday, September 1, 1975 (D) at Anaheim
StadiumOAK A 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 - 6 10 0
CAL A
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 4 1
BATTINGOakland Athletics AB R H RBI BB
SO PO A
North cf 5 0 1 0 0 1 4 0
C.
Washington lf 4 2 3 0 0 1 4 0
Bando 3b 4 0 2
1 0 1 0 1
Hopkins pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Harper 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pitts 3b 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0
Jackson rf 3 2 2 3 1 0 3 0
Williams dh 4 1 1 2 0 1 0 0
Holt 1b 4 0 0 0
0 0 8 0
Tenace c 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 3
Garner
2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 2
Martinez ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
0
Tovar ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Maxvill ss
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Blue p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 36 6 10 6 1 5 27 7
BATTING
-
2B: Jackson (35,off Figueroa);
Bando (19,off Figueroa).
HR: Williams
(20,6th inning off Figueroa 1 on 0 out); Jackson
(30,8th inning
off Figueroa 1 on 0 out).
Team LOB: 4.
BASERUNNING -
SB: C. Washington (40,2nd base
off Figueroa/Etchebarren); Hopkins (16,2nd base
off Figueroa/Etchebarren).
California
Angels AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
Collins
lf 4 1 1 0 0 2 2 1
Remy 2b 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 4
Valentine ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Meoli 2b 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 1
Rivers cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Balaz dh 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Stanton rf 4 1 1 2
0 2 1 0
Bochte 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 11 0
Chalk
3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 2
Etchebarren c 3 0 0 0 0 0
6 0
Miley ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Figueroa p
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Totals 28 3 4 3 2 5 27
12
FIELDING -
E:
Etchebarren (1).
BATTING -
HR: Stanton (13,1st inning off Blue 1 on
2 out).
SH: Rivers (7,off Blue).
SF: Balaz (1,off Blue).
Team
LOB: 2.
BASERUNNING -
CS: Remy (19,2nd base by Blue/Tenace).
PITCHINGOakland Athletics IP H R ER BB
SO HR BFP
Blue W(18-10) 9 4 3 3 2 5 1
32
California Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR
BFP
Figueroa L(12-11) 9 10 6 6 1 5 2
37
Umpires: HP - Dave Phillips, 1B -
Jim Evans, 2B - Lou DiMuro, 3B - Bill Kunkel
Time of Game: 2:06 Attendance:
22920
Starting Lineups:
Oakland Athletics California Angels
1.
North cf Collins lf
2. C. Washington lf Remy
2b
3. Bando 3b Rivers cf
4. Jackson rf
Balaz dh
5. Williams dh Stanton rf
6.
Holt 1b Bochte 1b
7. Tenace c Chalk 3b
8. Garner 2b Etchebarren c
9. Martinez ss
Miley ss
Blue p Figueroa p
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