Oh, the media covering my Angels. What fun they have! Creating stories out of nothing, or almost nothing, and then getting proven wrong by the stellar performances of the Halo players. Last night, the Angels took their first step past the .500 mark, in a series where I'm expecting a sweep of the Indians. Jered Weaver pitched strong yet again (6 innings of 1 run ball with 7 Ks) to quietly improve to 3-0 on the year, Brian Fuentes struck out the side to earn his 3rd save of the year with little hip hip hooray from the idiot fans (of which, I clearly am not one), and the offense was on point (a three run first with an Aybar lead off jack and a sixth inning two run bomb from El Comedulce). The win not only made me proud, but it also gave the Angels three wins in their last four games, and made pre game media reports look stupid.
Pre game media concern #1: Torii Hunter is getting old.
Keep in mind, I heard all of this will driving home from work listening to the Angels flagship station, AM 830. The concern raised was Torii's slow start, and the fact that he may be getting too old to be on offensive force in 2010. Torii shook off the comments, stating that when he's good he's "in the prime of his career," and when he's slumping he's "on the verge of being old." Last night, Big Game went 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored. He was crucial is getting on base, getting 2 doubles that rolled all the way to the gap wall. With last night's match, Hunt's slow start is a .284/1/7 start that has been good enough for me. Out of his 21 hits, 10 have gone for extra bases (9 doubles and 1 bomb). That's 48 % of the time he's going to extras. His slugging is .446 with an OPS of .799. That's right: an on base percentage of .353. How horrible. Add 3 steals in 4 attempts to the mix, and you have an alright April in my opinion. The best thing is that we can count on him to get better through May and beyond. So, can we not be worried about one of our best?
Pre game media concern #2:
This concern was the media again dragging out that Brandon Wood has had enough chances, and needs to either ride the pine or ride the plane (to SLC). Now, I have been somewhat critical of his slow start, but I have also been very vocal about the need for him to have a legit shot and to be patient with him. Last night, he had his best game of the year. Homeboy went 3 for 4 with a run scored, and he really nailed his hits right on the screws through the left side of the infield. Is this the turnaround game he's been waiting for? Woody now has five hits in his last three game, raising his average .071 up from the dregs. Time will tell if he's just getting lucky, or actually finding comfort in his stroke. I hope it's the latter.
Pre game media concern #3:
The Angels are going to be so much better with Napoli in the lineup and Mathis on the DL. Haha! This is one I've already toyed with since the Math injury. Last night, Naps was a respectable 1 for 3 with a walk, and hopefully he's getting into the zone. At .171/0/2, he better pick up the pace soon...Wood is coming for him!
Post game media concern:
After the game, ESPN wanted to point out how Jered Weaver's young career is leaps and bounds better than his elder brother, Jeff. Hey, they got one right! Over his first 700 career innings (a mark he reached last night), Big Baby is 53-27 with a 3.69 ERA and 577 punchouts. Those are great numbers, and even better when you consider Jeff's first 700: 38-51, 4.38, 468. I'm not sure why they chose to compare the bros after yesterday's game, but yes ESPN, Jered is better than the guy we traded for Terry Evans
Tonight is part two of a three part series I like to call, "Erradicating the Indians." It's kind of like a precursor to what my Canucks will do to Jon's Blackhawks later this week and beyond. Joe "Crashing Back To Earth" Saunders (1-3, 5.82) tries to right the ship against upstart Mitch Talbot (2-1, 2.25). Talbot two hit the Twins over six innings allowing no earned runs in his last outing, and looks to pulls his Indians out of their tail spin. Too bad, though, because Joe Joe is ready to bounce back and continue his undefeated streak against Cleveland (2-0, 2.84). The Indians got punched out 13 times last night, and hopefully our V Tech lefty can keep the breeze going.
Not a series lost to the Indians since 2007, and we don't plan to start now. Believe in the sweep!
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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