Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Angels Rout Rangers, Eat Tacos (72/81)

Angels came home last night for the start of their last home stand of the regular season, but hopefully not this year. The red hot Texas Rangers had come to town, but the Angels, determined to do everything humanly possible to make the post-season, routed the Rangers with a 11-3 victory, sending all fans in attendance home with Chronic Tacos.


Jered Weaver had a tough 3rd inning when he gave up home runs to Mike Napoli and Ian Kinsler, but the Angels came roaring back with an 8 run 4th inning in which every Angel scored except for Mark Trumbo.

The Angels finished the game 11-3 and the fans went home happy.

There were a couple of big stories that stemmed from last night though:

A. Josh Hamilton leaves the game due to sinus infection. After two at-bats, the AL home run leader went to the clubhouse and was not seen again. It was reported earlier today that he's not even at Angel Stadium tonight and has been experiencing blurred vision. I know the playoff race can be heated, but keep this guy in your thoughts.

B. Another guy to keep in your thoughts is Texas Rangers pitcher Tanner Scheppers. After hitting Erick Aybar (one of the hottest-hitting shortstops in baseball right now) with a pitch, he threw another wild pitch and had his legs swept out from him when covering the plate by Chris Iannetta. It looked ugly and Scheppers was down for a long time, but it gave the Angels the momentum they needed to keep racking up the score in the 4th inning and inch closer to a playoff spot. Can't blame the Angels for playing aggressive, but hopefully Scheppers injury is nothing more than a bruised knee.

C. Erick Aybar makes his way to my fantasy team. This isn't really a big story to anyone but me, but if you're an Angel and you make it on my playoff roster for the semifinals, I have a lot of faith in you. Not only is Aybar on a piping hot hitting streak, batting an insane .520 in the past 7 days, but he is flashing the glove effortlessly and made a huge throw on the run to get a tough out at first base last night.

D. Did I mention that everyone gets Chronic Tacos when the Angels score 10 or more runs? I think I did. Time to chow!

Friday, September 14, 2012

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.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

A's Snap Angels Winning Streak (68/81)

We all knew the Angels weren't going to go undefeated for the rest of the season, but for a few times over the past two weeks, it sure looked like it. Dan Haren threw a solid game, but the Angels lineup was cooled down by Oakland rookie, Jarrod Parker, while Haren took the 3-1 loss.


The Angels have been playing out of their minds recently, doing everything they can to make the playoffs. After last night's loss, they are still only 1.5 games out of the Wild Card in a race that might very well end with four teams tied for the Wild Card. MLB will have their hands full with 3 one-game playoffs if that happens, and it won't be pretty. At the very least, the end of this season is shaping up to be just as exciting as last.

Angels Brooms Getting Put to Work (66, 67/81)

Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Torii Hunter and the rest of the Angels lineup knew how important this series was. The Angels pitching staff, with Jered Weaver not pitching due to shoulder tendinitis, knew how important this series was. The Angels fans knew how important this series was, and everyone brought their to take down another contender in the AL Wild Card by sweeping the Detroit Tigers.

Good bye, Miguel Cabrera. You won't be missed in Anaheim this year. 


Not lost in the Angels late season surge has been 1B/OF/DH Mark Trumbo. Number 44 has disappeared lately, going 2-22 over the last few games that included a benching by manager Mike Scioscia to get his head on straight. Trumbo struck out swinging at a high pitch in Oakland last week and walked back to the dugout about ready to cry. He began mumbling to himself and shaking his head for the rest of the inning.

The difference between Trumbo before the All Star break and after is night and day. It also has everything or nothing to do with his Home Run Derby swing. After the break, Trumbo came out swinging, clobbering 6 home runs over the next two weeks. It seems lately that all he's trying to do is crush that ball over the fence when, at the beginning of the season, he was adjusting to pitches and hitting the ball to the opposite field. His recent downswing has him in a mental funk, and rather than make the adjustments and work on pitches he's missing, Trumbo just swings harder.

Lucky for Mark, the rest of the team has been playing fabulous, and he hasn't been asked to do too much. Mark my words though, the day will come when the Angels are struggling offensively again, and we'll all look to Trumbo to see what he can do.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Playoff Atmosphere at the Big A (65/81)

As slim as the Angels chances are of making the postseason thanks to Oakland, Baltimore, and Tampa Bay all playing out of their minds right now, the Angels increased their chances astronomically with a walk-off, two-out single by Alberto Callaspo to beat the Detroit Tigers in a game that might as well have been the one game Wild Card playoff.


The Detroit Tigers, with their nightmare-inducing lineup and their flame-throwing starting pitchers, are THE scariest matchup in baseball right now. You never know when their team will explode for 10 runs a game (one of the biggest reasons their still in the Wild Card race), and it takes some skilled pitching to navigate those treacherous waters. Then Ervin Santana gave up 2 home runs.

Santana, who gave up solo home runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings, had Angels fans throwing up expletives early as Santana had blown an early 2-run lead. After that second home run though, Santana became a different person.

Santana kept the ball low, zeroed in on batters, then proceeded to tame the Tigers by striking out 10 batters in 6 2/3 innings. Despite giving up 34 long balls in the season, Santana has been throwing terrific in the last 8 games as he tries to carry his Angels team to the playoffs and earn himself a new contract in the process. In the last 8 games, Santana is 7-1 and has given up no more than 5 hits a game. Yeah, the guy has still given up home runs (11), but he's lowered his ERA from an ugly 6.00 to a less ugly, but still ugly 5.20 in the process. It shows improvement and the Angels are going to need improvement from every one of their starting pitchers down the stretch, especially with Jered Weaver going down for an undisclosed amount of time with shoulder tendinitis.

Every game from here on out is going to have a playoff atmosphere around it. Scioscia showed it last night by using 4 pitchers in 4 batters to face the matchups despite having a tie game. Angels have to do everything they can to win, and over the past two weeks, they've sure been living up to that.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Boston Swept Out The Door (63, 64/81)

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. For years, the Boston Red Sox have been a perennial playoff contender and a pain in the Angels backside. After their late season collapse last year, followed by the removal of their long-time manager and excommunication of half their roster, the Red Sox are a shell of their former selves.


The latest addition to the Red Sox, soft-hitting first baseman, James Loney, above, stares longingly at a team going in the opposite direction. Just one week ago, he was part of another playoff contending Los Angeles team (Dodgers) and now resides near the cellar of the AL East.

Thanks to their last two sweeps against the Red Sox in less than 2 weeks, the Angels are making that desperate push to reach the final AL Wild Card spot. Unfortunately for them, as the Angels have won, so has every other team in contention.

In the last ten games, while the Angels have gone 7-3, the Oakland A's have gone 9-1, the Detroit Tigers 6-4, and the only team with a losing record that had the top WC spot locked in a few days ago is the Tampa Bay Rays with 4-6. It may be a game of inches, but the Angels are slowly starting to gain ground.