Weaver's Gem Too Little Too Late? (69, 70, 71/81)

Angels ace, Jered Weaver made his triumphant return with a gem against the Oakland A's on a warm afternoon at the Big A, but it might not have been enough. Weave was masterful tossing 7 shutout innings of 2-hit ball while racking up 9 strikeouts and walking only one in the 6-0 victory. Fortunately for Weaver, the Angels racked up all 6 of their runs in the 7th inning to give him his 17th win of the season, but we still can't forget about the first three games of the series.

The Angels offense struggled during this series, only managing 7 total runs in the first three losses versus the A's after averaging 5.5 runs per game during a previous 6-game winning streak. Had they not lit up in the 7th inning of yesterday's game, the Angels playoff hopes could seem even more slim.

I was listening to the radio yesterday when a fan said that the Angels are a very bad team and will be sitting on their couches come October, and I took offense. It was obvious that this "fan" has been frustrated with the Angels recent 3-game losing streak, but we can't forget that, before the A's came to town, the Angels had won 15 out of their last 18 games. That's beast and EXACTLY what the Angels needed down the stretch. To call them a "bad team" after that run just because they lost three games to a good Oakland pitching staff shows that this guy obviously doesn't pay close enough attention to the Angels in August/September and doesn't give Oakland enough credit for playing crazy good lately. Props to Rodger Lodge for putting the caller on blast and disagreeing with him.

The Angels offense has been missing the last 3 games, but their pitching has still been great. Losing three games is not enough to count the Angels out of October yet and nothing's changed. We knew all along that the Angels would have to play great to get there, just like any playoff team, and there's still some time to finish strong.