One bad inning is all it took to take care of The Kazmanian Devil and his Halos last night in Arlington. A four run third inning cooked our goose. Some in Halo Nation are blaming the thick post-thunderstorm air for keeping our game winning homeruns in the park, but give me a break (specifically ESPN LA's "Angel Insider"). Seriously, give me a break. It was a total collapse of an inning, as far as the Angels are concerned, that cost us the game (that, and another nice outing by a Texas rookie). The third inning featured errors, infield hits, defensive lapses allowing runners to advance, and timely hitting for Texas. UCSB's Michael Young sac flied to start things, followed by a Kinsler RBI double and a Cruz two run double. There's a hit by Vlad mixed in there.
In case you're keeping score at home:
Hidek Matsui: 0 for 4, K
Vlad Guerrero: 2 for 4, R
T-Hunt and Naps went yard to keep us in it, which kind of kills the "heavy air" theory, but in the end it was another loss, 3-4 to Texas. Not a single Halo had a multi hit game, we left 5 on base, our 1 and 2 hitters went 0'fer, and we committed 2 errors. That would seem to sum up why we lost prett wel, eh? Don't forget the positives, though: Brandon Wood got a hit (.171), Scottie 2 Hottie had a no hit inning in relief, Napoli surged with 2 RBI, and Darren Oliver was stellar with 2 perfect innings out of the 'pen. Oh wait, DO plays for the Rangers. Damn.
The issue to explore today is rivalry. With the loss yesterday, the "r" word is buzzing around Halo Nation. Have we entered into a rivalry with Texas, or are they actually our friendliest team in the division? Let's explore my feelings, team-by-team, and let you make the all:
Seattle: 1995. October 2, 1995 to be more exact. All "real" Angels fans look to this season as maybe the most heartbreaking season in franchise history. Sure you have the multiple playoff losses to the Red Sox, the Donnie Moore game and aftermath, and the Josh Paul dropped third strike against the White Sox, but 1995 was like nothing else. The Angels had an 11 game lead in the division and squandered it. It all came down to a one game playoff to decide the postseason participant. Mark Langston fell to Randy Johnson that day, marking the end of one of the worst collapses in MLB history. Since that game, and that season for that matter, the Angels and M's have been in a heated rivalry. The M's getting Ichiro on boar seemed to renew the fire in Angel fans. I, personally, was also crushed when Jarod Washburn left and made Seattle his new home. The stealing of Chone Figgins and acquisition of Casey Kotchman only makes the rivalry more current, but it all goes back to 1995, a year that Angel fans hold in their hearts to remind them to never sit back and relax with a division lead.
Oakland: The A's are our natural rivals, being the AL team from Nor Cal, and are the team I most despise in the division. Has there ever been two teams more closely matched in all of baseball. The Angels and A's seem to play out 1 run games constantly, and their franchise scores against each other are within 5 runs. There is very few things more hate inspiring than the A's fans being all stuck up about "Moneyball," and the amazing talent that their GM seems to pull out of nowhere. How has that worked in the playoffs? Better yet, how is that working out this season? So what if Dallas Braden pitches a perfect game, we beat him 5 days later. You sign Kouzmanoff to play 3B, and you think you're cool? It makes the rivalry even worse that my current most hated A, Kurt Suzuki, went to CSFU. Everytime we meet these crumb bums we have to hear an interview with Kurt about coming back to the OC. Ahhhhh! I hate the A's.
Rangers: Hm. Nolan Ryan? Darren Oliver? Vladdy? ESPN LA's Mark Saxon is saying that this is THE rivalry in the division because the Rangers are in the spot that the Halos feel rightfully belongs to them. The Rangers won 9 of their first 12 meetings last year, inspiring the hate of Halo Nation. I didn't notice. I thought the feeling around Halo Nation was, "Don't worry, the Rangers will collapse soon enough." Guess what? They did! No offense to the doomsayers around Los Angeles of Anaheim this year, but I feel the same way yet again. The Angels will find their skills and right the ship, Vlad and the Rangers pitching will come back down to Earth (Sorry, Mr. Holland), and the Angels will surpass their "rivals" from Arlington. Whatever.
I think I made a pretty clear case that te Rangers are the anti-rivals for the Angels in the AL West, but you can be the judge (drop a comment, pal). Rivals or not, the series between the 18-22 Angels (3.5 GB) and the 21-18 Rangers continues this afternoon. Big Baby Weaver (4-2, 2.47) prays for good defense and timely hitting against CJ Wilson (3-1, 1.48). Weaver has a superior WHIP by 0.03, so I'm confident we'll get this series split.
The official count on this version of the Brandon/Andrew/J post strike is 126. A record?
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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