Goodness Gracious.
I left as soon as they took the lead cause I wanted to watch the last three outs of Jonathan Sanchez’s no hitter. That no hitter is a thousand times more important than a tough loss like this one. We’ll recover. It was nice to be tied for first place, of course, but it’s actually quite possible to lose ballgames.
Yes, my optimism frustrates me too.
I could easily go on here and rant and rant about the awful pitching performance by Chamberlain that makes me wonder if he really should be in the rotation or not or the lack of use of Eric Hinske despite the fact that he wanted to be traded because of lack of use or how we wasted a nice day offensively with sloppy pitching and defense. But I don’t feel that anger. I am truly not an angry person, or not a person who gets angry at a baseball game. It’s funny, because I’ll curse and scream at a video game, but baseball games just do not anger me. They upset me, but after a game, I’m always able to take a deep breath and just forget about it.
Whatever I’m feeling, I bring it straight
to you. That’s why they call me the Straight
Talk Express! 
They don’t really call me that…
The Song of the Day is Common - Universal Mind Control. Warning, it is a whippersnapper hip hop song. I got your back, Julia. xP
Stay positive, Yankee fans.
-EJ the Kid From New York
5 Comments
Thank you EJ. Yes, Joba might not be performing up to the standard that the fans wanted, but he’s only 23. Very few players at that age are super stars - don’t you think that Yankees’ fans need to be a little more patient with him?
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
Joba is amazing but he doesn’t have the
endurance. Hey I just made a post on my blog and I
think you will find it funny!
http://balorioles.mlblogs.com/
Pitching is finicky, isn’t it? You can be rolling, then the train stops. Same thing happened to the Rays. But in the opposite. They stunk for days, then suddenly rattled off 4 in a row without blinking.
It’ll come around. Plus, nobody’s
running away with this thing yet.
http://raysfanboy.mlblogs.com/
Personally I think Hughes deserves that spot in the rotation. Jobe would be so much more useful in the 8th inning and Hughes does NOT belong in the bullpen.
http://thepitchersduel.mlblogs.com/
Thanks so much for commentng on my blog! I will
be here often! Good luck to the Yanks and please
comment again!
http://balorioles.mlblogs.com/
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Splitting brandon wood revisit
Splitting Brandon Wood, Revisited
Brandon Wood homered Saturday against
Yankees’ left-hander Andy Pettitte.
Back on June 15 I wrote a blog looking at Brandon Wood’s 2009 offensive numbers in the PCL’s five super hitter-friendly parks versus the rest of the league.
Brandon was promoted to the Angels July 10, and homered in the nationally televised game July 11 against the Yankees, so I thought it might be a good time to update his splits.
To restate the methodology … The Pacific Coast League has five super hitter-friendly ballparks — Salt Lake, Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, Las Vegas and Reno. These parks distort offensive numbers for PCL hitters, especially if the hitter’s home field is one of those five. When I write the annual FutureAngels.com Top 10 Prospects report, I use this unique split analysis to give a more accurate picture of Salt Lake players.
When I did the splits for Wood on June 15, the results were:
Hitter-Friendly: .338/.415/.669 (147 TPA)
Other: .178/.255/.400 (51 TPA)
The updated results:
Hitter-Friendly: .344/.398/.651 (216 TPA)
Other: .234/.286/.442 (84 TPA)
Better in the neutral/pitcher-friendly parks, but still not reassuring.
The Bees have some road trips the next two months that take them to those “other” parks. I was looking forward to those because they would give us a larger statistical sample. But hopefully Woody hits well with the Angels and never returns to Salt Lake.
It should also be noted that Brandon started Sunday’s game at first base. He had five starts at first base scattered over the last two months at Salt Lake. Los Angeles Times sports blogger Steve Bisheff breathlessly made a big deal out of this on June 9, but as I pointed out it’s not unusual for Triple-A players to get some experience at other positions to enhance their résumés in case they need to play another position in the majors.
That’s what happened on Sunday. The Angels were facing C.C. Sabathia, one of the most dominant left-handed pitchers in the majors, and Kendry Morales has had problems hitting lefties this year. So Mike Scioscia gave Kendry the day off and let Wood bat against Sabathia. But Kendry started Saturday against Andy Pettitte, a future Hall of Famer southpaw, so I wouldn’t count on Wood permanently replacing Morales any time soon.
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Yankee Game (7/12/09)The Yankees followed their sweep of the
Twins, with another sweep…but this time, it
was the Angels doing the sweeping. The Yankees
lost their 3rd game in a row yesterday, resulting
in a sweep by the Angels. New York had plenty
of opportunities to score against the Halos
by loading the bases twice, but
couldn’t capitalize, losing
5-4.
CC Sabathia had a bad fourth inning
surrendering 4 runs. But he remained in the game
for 6.2 innings, until he was pulled out in the
seventh. Through those 6.2 innings Sabathia
allowed 5 runs on 9 hits. It wasn’t a
performance to remember for the Yankees
ace.
The Yankees offense almost had another come
from behind victory, but fell just one run short
of tying the game. They were able to load the
bases twice (in the seventh
and eighth innings) but helped the Angels
get out of it by hitting into two inning ending
double plays. The offense left 9 men on base
throughout the entire gam and were 3 for 9 with
RISP. Overall, it wasn’t a good game played
for the Yanks pitching and
offense.Hopefully the All-Star
Break can help the Yankees recharge and get on
another winning streak. On Friday, the Bombers
will return back to the Bronx, starting a 10 game
home series with a 3 game set with the Tigers. I
might be going to a game some time next week when
the Yankees take on the Orioles, so I’ll
keep you guys posted. Just want to wish everyone
good luck towards the second half of the season,
and want to encourage you to watch tonight’s
Homerun Derby showdown and tomorrow’s
All-Star Game. I will post my thoughts and
opinions for each, so make sure to check back now
and then for an update.
Thanks!
ArodFan13http://arodfan13.mlblogs.com<
/span>
2 Comments
The O’s are gonna kill! Hha. By the way
sorry to say I changed names to Cal’s
Corner
http://balorioles.mlblogs.com/
I dunno, that Yanks will have to figure out the
Red Sox first. So far the Sox seem to be the ones
winning all the time. It’s going to be a
tough second half of the season.
Canuck
http://watercooler.mlblogs.com
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California SweepHow sweet it is!!!
They can’t
all be the Minnesota Twins, boys. Sooner or later
you have to play baseball against a real baseball
team.
Enter the Los Anaheim Angels of California, USA.
Is it me or do these halo-headed Yankee killers seem to take a certain pride in bursting the Bomber’s bubble, in humiliating the Worst Team In Baseball? When I watch the Angel’s slaughter the Yankees I can’t stop smiling… there’s a joy in the way LA destroys them.
At the halfway point we check the numbers:
- The Yankees have been 0-8 against the Red Sox, and they head into the break 3 games out of first.
- Joba Chamberlain, everyone’s favorite disappointment, is 4-2 with a 4.25 ERA
- A-Rod is hitting .256… Tex, .275
- You can call it a strain of the lower-interior assbone if you’d like, but we all know Wang is mentally destroyed and will most likely never return to his former glory.
With a line-up of store-bought All-Stars, the highest payroll in the history of sports, and a little league-sized stadium you Yankee fans can keep your RBI & Home Run numbers.
You’re still the worst team in baseball.
Enjoy the All-Star break!
1 Comments
It truly was SWEET, wasn’t it? I get
absolutely giddy when the Yankees come to town
because, well, you know what usually happens. I
get my happy ending!
Lori
http://luckylori.mlblogs.com
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Damn it First of all Brandon Inge won the Final Vote in the All-Star Game. Second, Torii Hunter’s not going to the All-Star Game and guess who’s replacing him. A freaking Ranger. He’s not playing until late July. Same with Vladimir Guerrero. Juan Rivera came out of the game on Friday with an injury. I saw the video and Mark Teixeira tripped him with his glove. The only good thing that happened today was that Angels’ won 14-8 over the Yankees. Jered Weaver got his 10th win.
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And now the sweeper may also b
And, Now, The Sweeper May Also Be Swept
The New York Yankees six-game road trip started out very promising, with a three-game sweep over the Minnesota Twins. That was coupled with a Red Sox loss to the K.C. Royals in the first game of their current four-game series at Fenway, which resulted in a tie at the top of the AL East.
Since that very beautiful view in first place, the Yankees lost two games to the L.A. Angels, 10-6 and 14-8; and, the Red Sox won their next two games against the Royals, 1-0 and 15-9.
So, if anyone asks why the teams play a 162 game schedule? — the answer lies in the last two days. Events can turn around very quickly in baseball on a day-to-day basis. A team can be in first place one day, and, then, two games [or more] behind at the whisk of a broom.
The Yankees left their broom in Minnesota after a clean sweep of the Twins, only, to maybe, be swept themselves [if they lose Sunday’s contest] under the hot Pacific sand by an even bigger broom, the L.A. Angels.
Over the last five years, the New York Yankees are 7-17 against the Angels in Anaheim, and 18-32 in overall games played.
It really cannot get any worse for the Bronx Bombers, as they blew a 5-1 lead in the first game, a 10-6 loss; and, then, gave away a 4-0 lead in the middle game of this series, in which they also wasted five home runs in this very shocking 14-8 victory by the L.A. Angels.
As goes the pitching staff, so goes the team.
Every pitcher Manager Joe Giradi paraded to the mound in the first two games of this series was “awful’.
In the first game, starter Joba Chamberlain was hit hard, lasting only 4.1 innings, while allowing five runs (four earned); on nine hits, including a three-run homer to Kendry Morales; one walk, and four strikeouts. Chamberlain has given up nine runs, on 27 hits in 13.1 innings over his last three starts for an ERA of 6.75. Joba has not lost any of those starts; but, also, has not earned any wins either.
Mark Melancon [just called up from AAA-SWB] was hit hard, allowing three runs (two earned); on three hits, in 2.1 innings. Melancon (0-1) was the losing pitcher in this game.
Brian Bruney was also hit hard, relieving with one runner on base, and two outs in the 7th inning, and the Yankees behind 7-6, he gave up a walk, and, then, a three-run homer to Erick Aybar that completed the scoring in this game.
The seventh was a bizarre inning for the Yankees, as it featured Derek Jeter dropping an easy pop-up by Mike Napoli, a la the Luis Castillo play, but this time with one out in the 7th.
Without this error, the inning would have been a quick one-two-three performance for Melancon. But, after Gary Matthews, Jr made the second out, Girardi decided to bring in Bruney with the runner on base, which cost the Yankees three runs.
After the home run, next batter, Chone Figgins hit a high pop-up right above the home plate area. As Jorge Posada settled under the ball to make the catch, Figgins clearly, unintentionally, interfered on the play, bumping into Posada. Jorge managed to stay with the ball, even though he lost his glove in the process, and made the final out catch “bare-handed”.
Those are two plays, by Jeter and Posada, that have never been seen before, and probably will never be seen again, certainly, not in the same inning.
Derek Jeter was (4-for-5), with one run scored in this game; and, Alex Rodriguez was (3-for-5), including his 15th home run; two runs; two RBI’s.
For the Angels, former Yankee Bobby Abreu had a great game, hitting (2-for-5) from the plate, with one run; two RBI’s; a stolen base; and, a beautiful running catch in right-centerfield.
Seeing Abreu play again, made it very clear that the Yankees made a major mistake not re-signing him.
Bringing Bobby Abreu back to the Bronx was a move that I wanted the Yankees to make from the end of the 2008 season; and, to this day, I’m still puzzled and outraged that the New York Yankees braintrust just let him walk away from the team without even making an offer or trying to work out a deal that would have kept Abreu in rightfield and in the middle of the batting order.
Bobby Abreu finally accepted way less than he, and many other free-agents, thought the market would pay. The L.A. Angels were the big winners bringing Mr. Abreu to Southern California.
In the second game of this series, the Yankees jumped out to a 4-0 lead for starter Andy Pettitte (L,8-5), who lasted only 4.1 innings on the mound, allowing six runs; on seven hits; including a homerun by Brandon Wood; two walks; and one strikeout.
David Robertson replaced Pettitte, and was also hit hard, giving up three runs; on three hits; one walk; and three strikeouts.
The Angels scored one run in the 4th; seven runs in the 5th; and one run in the 6th, to take a 9-4 lead into the top of the 7th inning.
The Bronx Bombers added two more runs in the 7th, and two runs in the 8th, as the Angels continued to pound Yankee pitching for a run in the bottom of the 7th, a homerun by Mike Napoli off Brett Tomko; and, four runs in the bottom of the 8th off Phil Coke, that completed the scoring in this 14-8 victory by the Angels.
Angel pitching was also obviously ineffective in this game, giving up “five” Yankee homeruns: two by Alex Rodriguez (#16,17); two homers by newcomer, Eric Hinske (#3,4); and, Hideki Matsui (#14).
Angels starter, Jered Weaver (10-3), was the winning pitcher, working six innings, while giving up four runs (three earned); on four hits; two walks; and, nine strikeouts.
Abreu had another “superstar” performance, with two hits in four at-bats; one run scored; and, three RBI’s.
Bobby Abreu is now batting .308; with a .406 OBP; .438 SLG%; and .844 OPS.
In 79 games, Abreu has 90 hits; 47 runs; 16 doubles; 2 triples; 6 HR; 57 RBI’s; 50 BB; 19 SB, in 292 at-bats. Also, Abreu is one of only four players in the Major Leagues to have at least 50 RBI’s and 50 walks so far this season.
Mr. Abreu’s numbers would look excellent in the middle of the Yankees batting order.
– Jimmy, “BY&L”
Update: Sunday, July 12, 2009 … Final Score: Angels 5, Yankees 4
With this win, the L.A. Angels completed a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees. The Angels have now won 16 of their last 21 home games vs. the Yankees.
John Lackey (4-4) was the winning pitcher, throwing 111 pitches over seven solid innings, while allowing two runs, on six hits, three walks, and six strikeouts.
CC Sabathia (8-6) took the loss for the Yankees, turning in only an okay performance in 6.2 innings of work. CC threw 114 pitches, and gave up five runs, including four runs in the 4th inning; on nine hits; three walks; and, six strikeouts.
The Anges were leading this game 4-1 as the game entered the top of the 7th inning, when the Yankees put together a rally that could have tied the game, or moved the Yanks into the lead.
Melky Cabrera led off the 7th with a double, and scored the Yankees second run on a pinch-hit, RBI single by Jorge Posada. Brett Gardner then reached first on an error, and advanced to second on a Derek Jeter single, that loaded the bases. Posada was held up at third on the hit, as Yankees third base coach Rob Thomson did not want to chance Jorge getting thrown out at the plate with Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez coming up with no outs. Teixeira then struck-out swinging for out number one; and, A-Rod grounded into a 5-5-3 double play to end the Yankees threat, keeping the Angels lead at 4-2.
The Angels scored an insurance run in the bottom of the 7th, on a two-out triple by Chone Figgins, and a RBI single by Maicer Izturis, that increased the Angels lead to 5-2.
Then in the top of the 8th Inning, the Yankees had another golden opportunity to comeback in his game, thus avoiding a sweep.
The Yankees loaded the bases again with no outs, and Melky delivered a big RBI single to cut the lead to 5-3. Jorge Posada, who stayed in the game as catcher after pinch-hitting for Jose Molina in his last at-bat, was up next. Jorge lofted a fly ball to right field for a sacrifice fly that cut the Angels lead even further to 5-4.
With one out, Nick Swisher was called into the game to pinch-hit for Brett Gardner. Swisher hit a solid line drive up the middle towards the pitcher that looked like it would travel into center and score the tying and go-ahead runs for the Yanks. But, pitcher Darren Oliver made a beautiful catch of the hard liner, and then quickly threw the ball to first base to complete the inning-ending, game-ending, 1-1-3 double play, preserving the Angels 5-4 victory.
The New York Yankees started this road trip by sweeping their three-game series against the Minnesota Twins.
Now, they end what turned out to be a very disappointing road trip by losing three games to the L.A. Angels.
“The Sweeper Was Also Swept” !!!
;
5 Comments
I never realized how big of a stolen base threat Abreu was until he came to the run happy Angels. He has had a nice season, even without Vladdy backing him up most of the year.
http://homerfoodandhistory.mlblogs.com/
It was a close game, but in the end, CC Sabathia was just another loser. Yankees kept the game close though. Maybe the Yankees have to figure how to play the Angels better.
Matthew T.
http://matt7.mlblogs.com/about.html
The Yankees were right not to resign Abreu. He’s having a nice year but we were trying to get younger.
Jimmy, I changed my name from Birdland to
Cal’s Corner, so make sure you check me out.
http://balorioles.mlblogs.com/
Jimmy - as we know now the Yankees were swept by the Angels and the Red Sox won their last three games so our lead is now three games. But you are right - there is a reason the season is 162 games - to balance out these swings and sweeps. I think all of us are ready for the All-Star break. Have a great week enjoying all the All-Star Game fun!
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
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Wood debuts at first base
Brandon Wood, with all of five professional games of experience at the position, found himself on the lineup card at first base and batting seven against the Yankees’ CC Sabathia on Sunday at Angel Stadium.
“It’s a challenge I’m looking forward to,” Wood said. “I’ve played enough there now at [Triple-A] Salt Lake to get a feel for it. It’s definitely a different look and feel, but I’m getting more comfortable every time I play there. By the third or fourth game, I was checking things off: I can do that, I can do that.
“One thing I didn’t realize is how much is involved at first in terms of physical activity - all the squatting, moving around. I find that my legs are more tired after playing first than at short or third.”
A shortstop all his life, taken in the first round of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft out of Horizon High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., Wood has been the gem of the farm system since ‘04. He has been brought along slowly - the Angels are loaded with quality players at shortstop and third base - but has shown clear signs in limited opportunities this season of putting it all together.
His first three starts this season have been at third base, where he has excelled spelling Chone Figgins. Wood made a superb back-handed stab on Saturday, robbing Johnny Damon of a hit in the fifth inning, and responded in the bottom half of the winning with a homer to right center against Andy Pettitte. It jump-started the Angels’ offense, and they went on to prevail, 14-8.
Wood had two hits against Sabathia in New York on May 2, including an opposite-field single that ignited a decisive rally.
“A play like the one Woody made can give you a boost of confidence,” teammate Reggie Willits said. “I’ve seen that carry over to your next at-bat - and you saw what happened. Woody has big-time talent, no question about it.”
Wood agreed that his defensive contribution might have sharpened his focus in his at-bat against Pettitte. He was ahead 3-1 in the count when he went after a pitch down and on the outer half of the plate and sent it rocketing into the seats in right center.
“He has ridiculous power,” Willits said. “I’ve seen him hit some shots you wouldn’t believe in the Minors.”
Wood, who swung at only two of Pettitte’s first 10 pitches on Saturday, walking in his first at-bat, is making an impression on the man in charge.
“Brandon is making significant strides,
offensively and defensively,” manager Mike
Scioscia said. “He’s looked good at
first in Salt Lake. He’s athletic, with good
hands, and he is taking to it well, just as he did
at third.”
2 Comments
keep him in the freaking majors than mike he has showed that he can hit big league pitching the 2nd half last year and now this year have him share short with izturis and get rid of eybar
Quit screwing with Wood!!! Make a decision about him already, but quit jerking him around. Are the Angels trying to break him like they did Matt Brown? He has proven he belongs in the major leagues, and is the best short stop AND 3rd baseman the Angels have. I suppose next he will be put at 2nd, or somewhere in the outfield. Hey, maybe the Angels should really mess him up and put him at catcher. Oh, wait a minute, they need relief pitchers, and he has a great arm. Hmm, what else can the Angels possibly do to mess him up, since they seem hell bent on doing so?
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Let’s trade for Halladay
Alright, I’m a minor league baseball geek so I’m going to breakdown some teams chances to actually land Halladay. The mantra is pitching, pitching, pitching, but the Jays aren’t in bad shape with their pitching going forward. The Jays needs offense in return; a legitimate pitching prospect will have to be part of any package, but it may be an Ian Kinsler type that projects to a middle-of-the-rotation instead of a Phil Hughes or Clay Buchholz type that projects as a #1 or #2 starter, depending on the offense included in the deal. I’m not too sure there won’t be something creative here with the possiblility of a three team deal.
I know that the pundits say Ricciardi doesn’t want to deal within the divison, I don’t blame him, but the Rays & Red Sox are his best options. The Rays have money issues, they still can’t draw any fans & there isn’t enough payroll coming off the books next year to pay for Halladay in 2010. The current Red Sox ownership group has never really dealt prospects; they made the Beckett trade, but the Oswalt (rumored) & Santana (legitimate) deals were not done.
RAYS - This organization is stacked with players to make this deal; they’d have to pay a premium because they’re in the same division as the Rays. I’d send Desmond Jennings - OF, Tim Beckham - SS, Matt Moore - SP & Wade Davis - SP to Toronto. This could be a tough sell to Tampa as well, if Halladay doesn’t sign longterm they could be playing some of their own. But with Kazmir & Shields tied up, Price under control for a while, Longoria signed for years & the emergence of Zobrist they can “afford” to give up talent.
Alphabetical Order for the rest:
ANGELS - I’m not sure they have the prospects to get a deal done. Brandon Wood is obviously part of any deal, but there isn’t much else for elite prospects available. The death of Adenhart affects the Angels in any deal they make for a year or two. They have a speedy outfielder at AA, Peter Bourjos, that could be dealt. The pitching prospects the Angels have aren’t (Trevor Reckling, Jordan Walden) advanced enough for the Jays to take a chance on.
BREWERS - They have some position players to offer, their pitching prospects are in the low minors and, again, may not be able to round out a deal. The issue is one of the prospects is Matt Gamel, who’s best defensive position is DH & the Jays already have one of those guys in Snider. I’m not sure the small market Brewers would part with SS extraordinaire Alcides Escobar - major league caliber defense already, batting .296 at AAA, 30 of 37 SBs. The Red Sox gave up Ramirez, but they had the money to sign Beckett; the Brewers may not be able to sign Halladay and you can’t give up Escobar without that assurance. I say no deal here.
CARDINALS - They have Brett Wallace & nobody, maybe Colby Rasmus could be included. They really have no shot without the help of a third team.
DODGERS - This could happen, and it sends Halladay almost as far away as possible. The LA Times has a blurb about a deal involving Russell Martin along with prospects Josh Lindblom - SP & Dee Gordon - SS. Yeah, I don’t think so…playoff teams can’t trade their starting catcher & there’s no way a deal will be done without James McDonald - SP going to Toronto. Gordon could be included, but the Dodgers will have to part with top prospect Andrew Lambo, McDonald, Gordon, and maybe another A ball pitcher.
METS - This could happen during the season for a deal centered around Fernando Martinez & Jonathon Niese - SP. If the Mets get Halladay I think it would be in the off-season for Reyes. Yes, Jose Reyes, the shortstop.
PHILLIES - I don’t think that Jason Donald - SS (off year), Dominic Brown - OF (A-ball) & Kyle Drabek - SP is as good a deal as the Rays or Red Sox, but it may win out. Another pitcher (Carlos Carrasco?) may have to be involved.
RANGERS - If this was two years ago, and the Rangers were stacked like this with prospects & competing Halladay would already be there. They have the best minor league system and if they’re not sold (and possibly if they are) they’re going to have to use it for themselves. There’s really no shot at this because of the financial problems Hicks is currently going through; they simply cannot give up legitimate (and low dollar) prospects to add a significant figure to their payroll.
RED SOX - Not as good as what the Rays could offer (or Rangers) but still better than the Phillies. Clay Buchholz or Michael Bowden, Manny Delcarman or Daniel Bard, Lars Anderson and either Josh Reddick, Ryan Kalish or Oscar Tejada. I’m not sure they’d trade Casey Kelly, they spent $3 million to sign him a year ago, trading him this soon for a player you’ll have for just over a season probably won’t happen. They’d have to pay the same “intra-division” premium as the Rays, but they have the horses to do it. And with Halladay signed through next season there’s no reason to overpay for Beckett this off-season; and someone will overpay.
YANKEES - I’m not sure they can get it done & they were unwilling to part with prospects for Santana when they didn’t have Sabathia and Burnett in the rotation so why would they now even if they could? Phil Hughes & Austin Jackson would be the center of a trade, but they don’t have the depth in their system to pay the intra-division premium mentioned earlier.
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Angels sweep yanks head into break in first
Angels Sweep Yanks, Head into Break Atop Division
The Angels wrapped up a three game sweep Sunday afternoon, defeating the Yankees 5-4 on a sun blistering afternoon in Anaheim. Perhaps though, it was a little hotter at the stadium compared to the rest of Orange County, and that folks, can be attributed to the halos. The Angels completed a ten game homestand, finishing 7-3 and had into the All-Star Break with a 1.5 game lead over the second place Texas Rangers. Those same Rangers, you remember, just left Anaheim after taking 2 of 3 and enjoying a slim one game lead in the division. To make matters worse, before this series against the Yanks began, the Angels placed both Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter on the disabled list. Needless to say, most Angels fans including yours truly, were concerned over how exactly they would score runs, and who would step up in the absence of the injured players. To make matters worse, Juan Rivera left in the first game of the series with a hamstring injury and although he isn’t expected to be placed on the DL, he missed the final two games against the Yankees.
Brandon Wood, Robb Quinlan and Gary Matthews Jr. all made the most of their new found opportunities, each contributing to victories in the series. Combined with strong play by Kendre Morales, Bobby Abreu, Chone Figgins and the rest of the club, the Angels quickly showed the character and grit that will be needed throughout the rest of the season, and that, was a welcome sign to Halo fans. Both clubs put up football type scores in the first two games, as the Angels took game one 10-6, and game two 14-8. Game three turned out to be more of a typical Angel game. Strong starting pitching from John Lackey, who outdueled C.C. Sabathia for 7 strong innings. A little hiccup provided by Justin Speier and spotty defense briefly let the Yankees back in the game, but Darren Oliver pitched a solid 8th and Brian Fuentes picked up his 26th save, setting the Bronx Bombers down in order in the 9th, culminated by strking out famed steroid (sorry Alex, but nobody buys the fact that you only used steroids in Texas..) user and all around pretty boy Alex Rodriguez to close the door.
I also must admit that I found great joy in the fact that Mark (fill in your own expletive here) Teixeira went a superb 2-14 in the series, and thoroughly enjoyed watching Kendre Morales (who replaced Teixeira) round the bases in game one after hitting a bomb of his own.
So, Angel fans, enjoy this sweep, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The second half of the season begins in Oakland, and gives the Angels an opportunity to show that they can win against the AL West, whom they have for the most part, struggled against so far this year. Also, you have to wonder if the club will be involved in any big trades. With Roy Halladay available, and under contract through next year, it sure would be nice to see the Angels land him, as getting an ace like Halladay, combined with the other horses we have in our rotation would surely make the Angels serious threats to make it deep into the playoffs. The Angels also have needs in the bullpen to look at filling. Needless to say, Tony Reagins will have his hands busy in this second half.
Until next time Angel fans
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Yanks cant win against halos or sox all star week begins
Yanks Can’t Win Against Halos or Sox; All Star Week Begins
Man, the Yankees can’t seem to pull out a win against either the Red Sox or the Angels. It’s bad enough that we were just swept by the Halos but now we’re three games out of first behind the Red Sox who are the second team we have been unable to figure out for the first half of the season. Yesterday, we sent CC to the mound in hope of stopping the sweep, but I guess that didn’t go over very well with the Angels because they still beat us. The final score was 5-4 and the Yankees unfortunately ended the first half of the season on a sour note. A sweep, not my idea of a good end to the first half.
As far as the Yankees go, they didn’t play all that bad. CC pitched all right going 6.2 innings giving up nine hits and three walks. He gave up all five runs that the Angels would get in the game. When he was relieved in the seventh, Phil Hughes came out from the ‘pen and continued his dominance from the ‘pen. He went the remainder of the game giving up two walks and striking out one. A STELLAR performance from Mr. Hughes.
The offense played pretty well too. Here are my top performers for the day:
- Derek Jeter- 2-5, 1 RBI
- Melky Cabrera- 2-3, 2 Runs, 1 RBI
- Jorge Posada- 1-1, 2 RBI
- Hideki Matsui- 0-1, 1 Run, 3 Walks
- Phil Hughes- 1.1 IP, 1 K, 0 Runs Allowed
So, the All Star break is here and the Yankees are second in the AL East, three behind the Boston Red Sox. We’ve got some guys representing the Bombers in St. Louis for the game and I feel that the second half of the season is going to be a good one.
Now onto other thoughts running through my brain right now…
The Home Run Derby is tonight and I have a feeling it is going to be a good one. In the NL, there are a quartet of first base sluggers that are definitely give us a good show.
In the AL, there are a few guys that I don’t feel will last very long, not mentioning any names… Brandon Inge… cough cough.
Here are the rest of the AL contestants.
First Round:
Albert Pujols will dominate the general competition sending balls into the stands left and right. Adrian Gonzalez will be the Josh Hamilton of 2009. He is the one guy that I don’t think is getting a lot of credit for being here. He is going to have a great derby. Fielder and Howard will do well in general but I don’t know if they will make it to the second round. Brandon Inge is out after the first round. Nelson Cruz will make a run as will Carlos Pena. I think Joe Mauer will have a good derby despite not being considered as much of a power hitter as the rest of the competitors (not including Brandon Inge). Mauer will make it to the second round but probably not much further.
After first round, guys still in it:
Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, Ryan Howard, Joe Mauer
Second Round:
Gonzalez will use his high home run count from the first round to stay ahead of the pack and get into the finals. Pujols will continue to hit a ton of bombs. Mauer and Howard will fall despite having another round of good numbers. They won’t catch up to Gonzalez and Pujols.
After second round, guys still in it:
Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez
Final Round:
It could go either way and I think either guy will have a great chance at putting on a show and getting the victory. Personally, I would like to see Adrian Gonzalez win it because I think it would be nice to see him get credit for being the big power hitter that he is. He can go the other way better than any of the other competitors and that is why he is my favorite to win the event.
Overall, the Home Run Derby is an event for the fans and it is usually greatly enjoyed. I am looking foward to seeing this one. It’ll be a great time.
-Dillon
5 Comments
I’m rooting for Pena!
- http://janeheller.mlblogs.com
I like Albert’s chance and am rooting for him but I think Prince might be the dark horse.
–Jeff
http://redstatebluestate.mlblogs.com/
i totally think that pujols is gonna win, but it’d be sweet if it came down to pujols and mauer in the final round.
also, bummer about the yanks getting swept, but
its payback for sweeping the twins last week 
- alicia
http://minnice.mlblogs.com
I think I’m going to add Adrian Gonzalez
to my “hope to win it” list. He is a
solid player with a great swing. You might have
made me root for him now!
http://raysfanboy.mlblogs.com/
Dillon…love seeing my boys big A logo on
your post! They earned it this weekend against
those Yanks. I don’t know what it is about
the Yankees that brings out the best in my Angels
but I love watching it. Leaving work early for the
Home Run Derby. I know some people think
it’s boring but I love watching it. Just
wish I had an Angel in the mix.
Lori
http://luckylori.mlblogs.com
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