What better way to assess the latest Tony Reagins deal than to talk about what we think about Scott Kazmir after his first Halo start. For it is only by basing very strong opinions on very little evidence that we truly become the average American baseball fan. Let's get to work.
In the Kazmanian Devil's first start, the Angels dropped their game to the Mariners 0-3, with Scottie K earning the loss. So, off with his head! Oh wait, I guess I should further examine how things went down for our newest lefty. Unfortunately, he was going up against the Mariners current best pitcher, King Felix Hernandez, and the young Felix was on his game. The King went a thrilling 8 innings of 4 run shutout ball, with 6 punch outs to crush the Angels powerful offense and improve to 14-5 on the season, with a miniscule 2.65 ERA. This kid is still good. The sweet outing of the young Venezuelan completely overshadowed the semi-day game Angel debut of the newest Halo southpaw. And, that stinks, because Kaz pitched well enough to win. Scottie went 6.3 strong innings of 2 run ball (only 1 earned) with 8 crazy Ks and allowing just 4 on (3 hits/1 walk). That is a pretty good time in a debut, in my humble opinion. Out of 106 pitches, Kazmir nailed down 71 strikes, and I think made Angel fans around the Nation as happy as they could be despite losing in a shutout. The bullpen featured Jepsen (0.67 innings of shutout ball), Fuentes (a completely pile of goo in 0.67 innings of 1 run ball), and Matt Palmer (saving the day with one punch out in one AB after BFF blew up). If only the Angels could have strung together a couple of hits with runners on base, Kazmir would have started his latest career change off with a win, and would have been a big hit on Sports Center. So, my assessment: An outing that shows promise that Kazmir may be the perfect back end fit in this 5 man rotation.
So what happened with out offense? Well, getting just 4 hits and striking out 7 times helped to make King Felix look even better than he is...and he's pretty good. Figgins led the way, going 2 for 3 with a walk, which usually spells success for the Red Hats, but he was the only Angel with a multi-hit game, and when that happens, we are destined to lose. And lose we did! Honorable mention for the crappy offense goes to Bobby Abreu, who went 0 for 2 with 2 walks. That is so BA. Big poops go out to Hunter (0 for 4) and Vlad (0 for 4), who just rolled over against Hernandez, and left the RBI hits vacant. Boom; loss.
Can I point something out that I hate about ESPN before I move forward? They had a poll question on their website that actually featured the Angels, which got me excited, but the excitement would quickly fade. The question was, "Who is the Angels best starting pitcher?" The answer selections: Scott Kazmir, "John Lacker" (no joke), Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, and Ervin Santana. I picked John Lacker, mostly because I think he is literally the best starter on the team despite what this season's results would tell us. Of course, winning the pole was Scott Kazmir with 30% of the vote. 30% of people picked Kazmir, who only pitched one game in his career for the Angels...and lost?! Pathetic.
After dropping 2 of 3 from the fading Mariners, the Angels lead over Texas in the AL West has now dropped to just 3.5 games. Texas is not only sticking around, but they are actually making a run at us. At 78-54, the Angels are starting to drop from the sky, and the Rangers are hoping to reap the benefits. What we need is an easy series to turn things around. Hey, it's time for a road trip to Kansas City. Sweet! Tonight's series opener pits Jered Weaver (13-5, 3.89) against Gil Meche (6-10, 5.09). The Royals are 4-6 over Meche's last 10 starts, and Gil has allowed 4 or more runs in 7 of his last 10 outings. Bing.com...this game is already looking in our favor. How does this guy make $11.4 million this year? No wonder the Royals are a stupid franchise. Oh wait, didn't everyone pick the Royals to make the playoffs this season? Idiots. Meanwhile, the caveman-iest thing to come out of Northridge, CA has helped the Angels go 7-3 over his last ten starts, including wins against Texas, two against Minnie, a win over Oakland, and a big one over the Yankees. J Weav is the AL's #6 in win, #10 in WHIP, #3 in complete games, and #11 in punch outs. The Angels, however, have lost his last two starts (despite him going 6 innings of shutout ball in his last outing against Oakland). Can the Big Baby get things going again to put the Angels back on the straight and narrow?
Sports Pickle kept their record of making me laugh out loud with this one.
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