Weaver Feels Great In First Complete Game of the Year (9/81)

Had a late night last night, but I was able to catch some of the recap from Saturday night's game. Let's see how the Angels did.

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.

Bartolo Colon Baffles Angels Hitters (6/81)

Did Bartolo Colon shutout the Angels last night as the Oakland Athletics beat them six to zero? Great scott, Marty, are we back in 2005?!



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.