Well, here we go again. Tonight the Halos embark on a three game weekend series against the O's, and you'd have to believe we'll perform better than last time. Showalter and his boys have cooled off, the Angels are coming off a 9 run win over the best the AL East has to offer, and we're looking for orange blood from here to Sunday.
Pitching probables:
Friday- Trevor "Bozo" Bell (1-3, 5.48) v Brad Bergesen (5-9, 5.84)
Saturday- Scott "Kaz-berries" Kazmir (8-11, 6.33) v Kevin Millwood (2-14, 5.63)
Sunday- Jered "Gotta' Beat Erv" Weaver (11-9, 3.21) v Jeremy Guthrie (7-13, 4.13)
Not a huge series if you're into great pitching. Five out of the six pitchers going are just a joke. On a side note, what the hell happened to Kevin Millwood?
Expected offensvie explosions:
1. Mike Napoli- Could you expect any other name to top this short list? Napolini has 7 RBI in the last 3 games started, and has popped 3 homeruns in the last 8 games started. He has reacted to going on the waiver wire in a very positive way.
2. Peter Bourjos- It just has to happen for Speedy Pete, and what better series than this one? Despite hitting .185 this season, Bourjos has picked it up with a .294 mark over the last week, and his speed has to be the key to bringing that average up even higher. He needs to get on base by any means necessary, and against the O's it shouldn't be too hard. He's seen Murder-More before, and they'll be his first repeat, so that should help too.
3. Alberto Callaspo- AC/DV has been just a straight up stud since coming over. He's hitting .336 in his 29 games since the trade, and is helping us all to forget about Sean O'What's-His-Name, Will Smith, et al. He should be able to keep it up against the AL East's worst.
The Oriole I'm worried about:
Luke Scott has to get the nod here. His .289/25/59 hitting makes him the guy to fear, and despite hitting just .200 over the last 7 days, Scott still has 3 jacks in his last 5 starts to show he can still strike fear in my heart.
Quickly to the predictions:
Every game is a toss up, at this point, as we just countdown the days until Wednesday, when the Angels can call up all our sweet prospects to take over. But, I'll try my best.
Friday- Halos win in a 11-9 run fest.
Saturday- Millwood beats us, 5-1.
Sunday- Weaver is back, we win 3-0.
Two out of three is all I'm asking for...mostly because I called sweep last time and got completely shafted.
As with most days after an off day, we'll finish with the MiLB stories.
Bees- SLC got dropped 17-6 by the Sky Sox after coughing up an 8 run third inning in their last game. But, there are always positives to be found. OF Terry Evans and 1B Mark Trumbo were the big boys with the bats. Evans went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and a double as an interesting leadoff choice, and Trumbo was an even more impressive 4 for 5 with 2 doubles and a RBI. Trumbo is now hitting .297 with 30 homeruns and 105 RBI in his 128 games with the Bees this year. Um, he's going to need to focus on changing positions (wasn't he transitioning to corner outfield?), because I do not want to lose this guy because of a Kendry log jam. He had better be playing 1B for the big club come Wednesday.
Travs- Arkansas also lost their last outing, 5-7 to Tulsa. P Trevor Reckling went just 5 innings, allowing 3 runs in the loss to drop to 2-5 despite a 3.99 ERA. A 2 for 3 game with 1 RBI and a run scored earns LF Roberto Lopez the spotlight. The USC grad is hitting .280 with 11 bombs and 78 RBI in 120 total minor league games this year (46 with Rancho and 74 with Arkansas).
Quakes- RC's 6-2 over Bakersfield is the lone win this time around, and it was powered by 5 innings of shutout ball from Garrett Richards (3-1, 4.38). He's probably already better than Scott Kazmir! DH Luis Jimenez and 3B Dillon Baird each had 3 for 5 games and2 doubles a piece, with Baird nailing 3 RBI. Baird, an Arizona native, is now hitting .254/12/50, and is putting Brandon Wood on notice. You just have 3 more years to prove yourself, Woody.
Here's to Trevor Bell getting this series off on the right foot.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
0 comments:
Post a Comment