The waist-band-stretching A's hurler, shut down the Angels yesterday and even managed to set a major league record in most consecutive strikes thrown at 38 (at least as far as recorded data goes back 24 years ago). This goes to show that the Angels weren't swinging and missing at bad pitches. They were missing pitches over the MIDDLE OF THE PLATE.
You could thank the hitters, you could blame batting coach, Mickey Hatcher, by the number one culprit who deserves all your praise for turning Colon back into a phenom is manager Mike Scioscia. Seriously, take a look at this lineup posted before the game:
For the record, I didn't catch any of the game because it was on FSN, and we don't have that channel, BUT I saw this lineup posted on the Angels Official Facebook, and I knew right then and there that it was going to be bad news.
First of all, don't let Bobby Wilson's batting average fool you, he only had 3 at-bats going into the game. That lineup has one, maybe two, guys who can steal a base, although that's not why I'm upset with this lineup. I'm upset with this lineup because you have the most disgruntled, laziest player, Bobby Abreu on the team batting leadoff in favor of your fastest, best defender, and adequate hitter Peter Bourjos. Don't get me wrong, Bobby's a great hitter, but his speed is gone and his defense is poor at best. He looks like he's walking after every hit to left field.
Subbing Maicer Izturis in for slumping Erick Aybar was a good move, but not by sandwiching him between the two worst hitters on the team. Who's going to drive him in when he's surrounded by three automatic outs?
And lastly, can we please leave Trumbo in? I'd rather him make the errors now than in September. Give us a consistent lineup, Mike!
I've discovered what Scioscia is doing this year. He's OVER-MANAGING. He wants everything to be in his control this year and be called a genius for figuring out the perfect formula. Problem is, the Angels are last in the AL West, compared to the Texas Rangers who are 10-2, and have lost 2 out of 3 to the A's, who have an even worse offense than the Angels.
As a former player, I know that baseball players need consistency. It's a mental game, and you want to feel comfortable and get into a rhythm. It's tough to feel comfortable if you're checking the lineup every day to see if you're playing or not and where. Don't believe me? Ask Bobby Abreu. I have a great respect for utility guys like Izturis, Emilio Bonafacio, and Chone Figgins, who have had to check the lineup regularly throughout their careers, yet have still managed to produce. Izturis could start for any number of teams, but he has a strong mental grasp of the game, wants to play for a contender like the Angels, knows his role and chooses not to complain about it (something Abreu should take note of).
Former Angels
Speaking of former Angels like Figgins, it's still weird how the Angels haven't managed to score off former players Colon and Brian Fuentes, and that the underachieving Fernando Rodney has a win and 3 or 4 saves this season with the Tampa Bay Rays. Baseball truly is a strange sport.
Contract Extension
The Angels extended Gold Glove-winning shortstop, Erick Aybar's contract into the 2016 season for $40.075 million. Congrats to the guy. He plays great defense and good enough offense to warrant it. With the move, the Angels have locked up their core players, Jered Weaver, CJ Wilson, Albert Pujols, Howie Kendrick, and Aybar for the next 4 years at least. Other fixtures, Peter Bourjos and Mark Trumbo are young enough to still have a couple more years left of arbitration, and Dan Haren has a team option for 2013 that the Angels are almost certain to use.
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