On the back of Jered Weaver's complete game, the Angels trumped the Baltimore Orioles for the second time in as many days, beating them 6-3 at Anaheim Stadium.
Weaver was in control last night, striking out 5 and walking none on a relatively low 114 pitches. His lone mistake was underestimating Orioles catcher Matt Weiters on a 3-0 count by throwing a fastball right down the middle. Weiters made Weaver pay by driving the ball into the stands for a 2-0 lead.
The Angels didn't give up though, and strung together enough hits for a 5-run 5th inning. Angels sent 11 men to the plate that inning including RBI singles from Mark Trumbo, Erick Aybar and Kendrys Morales with a big 2-run double hit by Bobby Abreu.
Bobby In The Lineup
Abreu got his sixth start of the season in left field last night, and, as mentioned above, delivered the death blow during that 5-run fifth. I have a few theories on Bobby playing as much as he has this season, and I'd like to list them here:
1. Mike Scioscia knows how much depth he has...
...so he's giving everyone an equal chance to prove themselves with the hopes that their numbers will not falter with inconsistent playing time. He's not doing this for a disgruntled player, as many of us believed was the case when Scioscia and General Manger Jerry Dipoto promised Abreu 400 at-bats during spring training. It's about seeing who's going to produce and who isn't early in the season so that you don't have to worry about it later. Scioscia was quoted after the game last night saying,
“The bottom line is, for a century they said, ‘If you want to play more, play better.’ … I don’t think our goal is to keep everyone happy. Our goal is to keep them productive.
2. Angels Are Trying to Trade Bobby
A productive player is always more valuable that an unproductive player. Yeah, the Angels could eat Abreu's salary and trade him for an obscure minor league player who will then be sent down to the Angel's farm system and never be heard from again, but what would they gain from doing that besides making another team better with a motivated Bobby Abreu.
If Abreu produces well, then it can only mean good things for the Angel's lineup if they decide to keep him, or he becomes more valuable if they opt to trade him. If Abreu doesn't produce, then the Angels will probably release or trade him and get nothing in return, but at least they can be content with the fact that they tried.
3. Scioscia Has Accidentally Switched His Manager's Rulebook with a Little League Rulebook...
...and feels the need to give everyone equal amounts of playing time regardless of talent or depth at any given position. After playing Abreu the minimum amount of innings required by Little League, Scioscia substituted Vernon Wells for Abreu just to be fair.
4. Bobby Abreu Knows Where The Bodies Are Buried...
...and is holding the Angels hostage for playing time.
Don't get me wrong, I love Bobby. He was one of the best things to happen to the Angels 2-3 years ago. However, I lost a lot of respect for him with all the public complaining he was doing about his expected playing time with the Angels this year and having Scioscia and Dipoto baby him to calm him down. His lack of defensive effort in the first series against the Kansas City Royals was the final straw for me. He needs to learn his role on the team, a veteran bat off the bench, and do what needs to be done to win a World Series. It's either that or get traded to a team like the Pittsburgh Pirates and lose all hope of ever reaching a World Series again before he retires.
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