That may be a really cool picture to the left of this text (with JR in the foreground), but it was a really un-cool game on Tuesday afternoon, as the Angels took a nose dive against the second place Texas Rangers 5-9. It was the No-Show-Joe version of Saunders that showed up in Texas, as we all kind of feared, and the offense couldn't recover anywhere near enough to cancel out the Rangers potent offense.
Big Joe Saundo (now 8-5 with a 4.24 ERA) went 3.67 really short innings this afternoon, allowing 8 runs on 6 hits. He walked five and only struck out two, as an example of how he just wasn't having it. Joey gave up a solo jack (Kinsler) and a two run bomb (Byrd) in the opening inning, and then allowed a solo homer (Cruz) and a three run jack (Byrd, again) in the third and fourth before getting pulled off the bump. What an unusually awful game for Saunders. I mean, the Colonel has been off a couple of times this year, but nothing like this. The Rangers offense was having a field day. Surprisingly, Rich "Croc Dundee" Thompson came in from the pen and pitched 2.3 innings of shutout ball, giving up just three hits while punching out three. Not surprisingly, DR native Reffy Rodriguez (6.97 ERA in 20.67 innings) gave up an extra run in his 2 innings of garbage relief. It was not a pitching night to remember for my Halos.
The Angels offense scored 5 runs on 8 hits, and it all came in the second and ninth innings. It was a couple of temporary shining moments, with the Halos matching the Rangers first inning three spot with a three spot of their own as well as a desperate GMJ helper in the ninth. But, like I said, it was only temporary. In the third it was a good ol' Angels hit parade in the third: Napoli singled home Morales, Abreu singled home Izzy, and T-Hunt singled home Napoli. In the ninth, it was a single by our Most Valuable Junior with a RBI single and an extra run on an error by big bopper Marlon Byrd. Now that is Angels baseball! But, when the other team scores 9 runs, it doesn't really matter. The Angels VIP Club was a lonely place for Mighty Maicer Izturis (2 for 4 with 2 runs scored). Izzy seems to only get respect on this blog, going unmentioned in most of the main stream media reports, but he is going big lately. He's hitting .291 with a .348 OBP and has 24 clutch RBI. He's only owned by 1.5% of fantasy teams on ESPN! Idiots. Honorable mentions are sent out to Torii "Big Game" Hunter (1 for 2 with a walk and 1 RBI) and Mike "That's-a Spicy Meatball" Napoli (1 for 3 with a walk and 1 RBI, as well as 2 runs). Has anyone noticed that Chone Figgins is starting to trail off here as we approach the All-Star break? With how much love he got for his solid start to the season, even here at the LSF admittedly, he has to face the facts when he starts playing a sub-par style of stick. In the last seven days, Figgy is hitting just .217/.321/.217 with no extra base hits and just 1 stolen base. Don't start dropping off now! You've converted so many of us #9 haters! Please, don't prove us all right!
The Red Hats are now 42-33 with a 1.5 game lead on the Rangers. The lead over Seattle is 3.5 and it is 10 over Oakland. This means that this huge AL West series all comes down to the final game, an afternoon scuffle in Arlington for a moderate amount of marbles. A win, and we're 2.5 up heading into a 4-game weekend series with the Murder-More O's. A loss, and we're up by just a slim 0.5 with Texas going to match up with the current AL Champs from Tampa, Florida. The final game of the series, which just happens to be the first game of the month of July, features Angels mega-pitcher Jered "So Easy A Caveman Could Do It" Weaver (8-3, 2.65) goes toe to toe with 12 year veteran Kevin Millwood (8-5, 2.64). Both pitchers have had solid seasons, and both pitchers have been solid as of late. Milly has only allowed 5 runs in his last 34.67 innings on the mound. That is some serious stuff. Texas has gone 4-1 in his last 5 starts, and he loves going deep into games (3rd in the AL in IP, 4th in the AL in CG). He could be trouble. Let's hope his age catches up with him. Meanwhile, Jered "My Wife Thinks He's Ugly" Weaver has some rankings of his own to deal. J-Dub is 2nd in complete games (take it Milly!), 5th in WHIP, and 6th in ERA (that's all in the AL, of course). My boys are 6-1 in Weaver's last seven starts, the only loss coming to the young guy's brother in Blue. If you take that loss to the Doyers out, Big Baby has only allowed 13 runs in 65 innings. That is some solid action, if you ask me. I'm not a genius when developing my own stats, but I think that's a 1.80 ERA. Don't check my math. Hopefully we can shake off the dust of tonight's loss and get things back in the win column.
This just in: The Angels ranked as the #1 most friendly sports franchise based on an ESPN survery. The Doyers (50), Lakers (51), and Clippers (122) came up short of the heroes of Gene Autry Way. The Halos have now owned the #1 ranking for baseball's most friendly franchise six years in a row. What a squad!
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