Losing 8 out of your final 10 games before the All Star break, while averaging 1.4 runs in the eight losses; that is a serious way to get bandwagon fans to jump off. The media is all over the Angels recent skid, with ESPN feeling compelled to cover the futility of West Coast sports. They provide the following list to point out just how bad the Halos are:
+The 47-44 record is our worst record at the break since 2001 (does that mean we're in for a 2011 World Championship?).
+The Angels hit .189 over their recent road trip (.152 with RISP).
+Paul McAnulty, "our big bat off the bench" according to ESPN, has been punched out 11 out of 18 times ("What a surprising lack of depth!").
+We rank 27th in stolen base percentage.
+We're 22nd in slugging, and 10th in HR.
We'll approach the ESPN hate mongoring by 1) recapping an awful rivalry weekend against the A's, 2) explaining why this difficult to watch slide doesn't really mean much in terms of who is left standing after 162 (even with the Cliff Lee deal), and 3) brightening our lives with a little looking to the future.
1. Let's recap the weekend's three game series with one of my most hated sports franchises.
Friday- Wrong ESPN! Erick Aybar is our big bat off the bench. EA Sports went yard in the top of the tenth inning en route to an exciting 6-5 win to open the series in the riot filled East Bay. Joel Piñero had yet another strong outing, although that wouldn't be the best proof from the weekend that my argument of him being better than Kazmir is dead on. J-Balls went 7 innings of 3 run ball, walking zero, punching out 3, and getting a ground ball to fly by ratio of 15-3. He would have earned yet another in a long string of wins if it wasn't for Juan Rivera's eighth inning jugglin act. After toying with each other to earn a 3-3 draw late, Torii Hunter blasted a 2 run bomb in the 8th that was thought to secure the win, but the tag team of Fernando Rodney and Juan Rivera helped to allow the A's to get back into it and force extras. Lucky for us, we had our secret weapon, Erick Aybar. The game also featured a Bobby Abreu jack (man, we just can't hit homeruns!), as El Comedulce went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI. Juan Rivera and EA also had mutli-hit efforts, in a game that saw the 7-8-9 hitters go 0 for 11. Ugh. It was a nice win, though.
Saturday- This game was almost too hilarious to right about. I'm watching the game thinking that Scioscia must have just given up because he never went out to get Kazmir, despite the fact that he was just out getting shelled. I mean, shelled. The Angels would eventually drop the contest 1-15, in a game where Kazmir allowed 13 runs in his 5 innings (11 hits, 3 walks, 2 Ks). The 13 runs is the most ever allowed by a single Angel pitcher in a single game, passing Scott Schoeneweis (remember ol' lefty?) and his 11 from back in 2001. Nice for Showie to get off the books on that one. It was also the most runs allowed by a starter since 2006 when Jason Marquis allowed 13 to the White Sox. Mike Butcher came out in the fifth to check on Kaz, when it was 11-0, and he appeared to be crying on the mound. My wife caught it, and we watched it like 9 times. Puffy eyes, tears welling up, and Butch left him out there! It was brutal! After the game, Kaz said, "That's a tough one to swallow. I can't have much confidence after a game like that." Now look, I've ridden Kaz on tihis blog for stinking it up out there, but even I feel bad for the guy after this one. Cory Aldridge's RBI triple, his first MLB hit, was the lone Halo highlight. As for Kaz, his ERA goes up to 6.92 on the year, and the rumor mill fires up for the estimated number of games he has left until he's ushered off to long relief.
Sunday- Game three was more typical of how the Angels have been playing during this stretch. Flat. A 2-5 loss this time around, thanks to a flat Weaver effort (second in a row, 5 runs in 6 innings this time, despite 7 Ks), a big 10 spot in team LOB, and a really nice outing from A's starter Trevor Cahill. The Angels endless parade of pinch hitters is getting pretty old (how did losing Morales and Ma$e do this to us?), and the it was only the trio of Aybar-Abreu-Matsui that did anything for us. How does EA go 3 for 5 and not score? Awful. TGI All Star break.
2. Despite what ESPN, the OC Register, the LA Times, and most "typical" Angel fans will tell you, this slump ain't that bad. In baseball, thankfully, it's less about just how your team is doing. It's more about how your team is doing compared to the other teams in their division. For the Halos, this slump couldn't have come at a better time. When the Rangers were red hot a couple of weeks ago, the Angels were ripping off wins as well. Likewise, despite the Angels playing some downright pathetic ball lately, the actually gained a game on Texas over the weekend, as the Rangers got heavily swept by Baltimore at home. Even Cliff Lee couldn't help. He pitched a complete game on Saturday for his new team (by the way, whatever happened to never trading within your division, Seattle), but allowed 6 runs and only punched out 2. I'll admit, when the deal went down, I was ready to give up on the hopes of winning the division, but after the dust settled, I still feel confident. Sure, Lee will get Texas 8-10 more wins in the second half, but he's just one guy. The best part was Fox Sports Radio having their boy Steve Hartman say, "I guess that didn't work out too well for the Rangers" today, judging Cliff Lee on his only start for Texas. Idiot. But again, it's just a little slump, we're only 4.5 games back in the middle of July. There is still plenty of time for Texas to shrivel up and the Angels to squeak past them for the division title. Don't freak out.
3. The All Star Futures game is just another reason why we shouldn't freak out. At age 18, Baby Angel Mike Trout (the future "Big Fish") joined AAA stud Hank Conger as the tandem that led the USA to victory. Conger hit a three run homer and earned the MVP honors, while Trout knocked a single, a double, and reached on an error in the game. It was a nice glimpse of the players who will eventually be making an impact on the big club, and an exciting chance for the players to play at the Big A.
To highlight more of our future players, let's take a quick stroll through the weekend for our top 3 MiLB teams.
Salt Lake- The Bees split a Saturday double header with Las Vegas this weekend. It was Santa Cruz native, UCSB alumn, and Bellerman High School grad Nate Sutton making the noise in the win. Sutton (DH) went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI, including two triples. He's hitting .283 this year, and doesn't get mentioned all that much. PCL All Star Mark Trumbo (1B) went 1 for 3 with a RBI triple as well. Robb Quinlan (3B), in case you're wondering, went 1 for 3 with a K. On the mound, Bozo Bell went just 3.3 innings of 2 run ball in the 73 pitch start. Even that was probably too long in the 106° Nevada weather. Daniel Davidson has gone to the DL in SLC, which is bad news based on his 8-2 record and recent spotlight on the LSF (is it a curse?).
Arkansas- The Travs go against Frisco tonight after losing to the Rough Riders 1-2 in 11 innings last night (after a 1:30+ rain delay). DH and UNLV alumn Efren Navarro went 3 for 5 with the lone RBI and was joined by 2B Abel Nieves (2 hits) in the multi hit department. Our boy Tyler Auer went 0 or 5. You have to give love to starter Trevor Reckling in this one. The Jersey Shore star went 7.3 innings of 1 run ball, allowing just 3 hits. This guy has a 1.23 ERA in 3 starts so far, with a 12 Ks in his 14.67 IP. He's a demotion from AAA after going 4-7, 8.53 in 14 starts earlier this year.
Rancho- The Quakes split two games against High Desert, and finish their series tonight. Last night, they lost 4-5, but got a solid effort from Fountain Valley native and UCSB alumni Eric Oliver (C-LF). What's with our UCSB lover? And FV? This guy is me! Oliver went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI including a double and a jack. He nailed down 7 total bases in the losing effort. DH Clay Fuller also went yard, and that Texan is hitting .338/3/12 since coming back down after a rough shot at AA. Reliever Jeremy Berg pitched 3 innings, and notched 7 Ks in the game.
So chin up, Angels fans. While the "real" media will try and convince you that this Halo squad can't get back into the mix, just remember, we're only 4.5 back at the break. We've got this.
Happy birthday to Howie Kendrick and the warning track. Look it up.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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