These red hat wearing fools just might be able to do this. With the 4-2 win, we not only got another chance to beat our most hated rivals, but we also drew one step closer to finishing all alone in 2nd place, and maybe (MAYBE) even finishing at .500. Dan Haren must have been smiling after the game, as he finally got some run support, and he even got some impressive defensive support by Saint Peter out in straight away center. The best part was that we were somehow able to rise above some horrible umpiring (is CB Bucknor a self-proclaimed idiot yet?), and triumph over those hated Bay Area Bums.
The pluses:
+Peter Bourjos straight up stole a homerun off of Landon Powell ("Pow, Pow, Powell makes a powerful car") in straight away center, while Torii Hunter watched. Perfect stuff. Speedy Pete even sounded like he knows what's up after the game, "I've just been going out there and trying to play good defense. I haven't been doing too well offensively, so you've got to bring something to the table everyday." He's a great guy.
+4 hitters had 2 hits in the game (Matsui, Napoli, Hunter, and Abreu).
+Torii Hunter hit a big jack, solo style, for his 22nd of the year (87th RBI).
+We only left 5 runners on base in a game where we had 10 hits.
+The pitching was really, really solid. Danny Boy Haren went 6 strong innings, scattering 6 hits, allowing just 2 runs, and picking up 5 Ks.
+The bullpen, despite not being no-hit good, was shutout good. Kevin Jepsen, Jordan Walden, and Fraud-nando went 3 shutout innings with 3 Ks. It was just another save by Fernando Rodney. Wait, what?
The minuses:
-Peter Bourjos got a homerun robbed from him...by the umpire. He blasted a shot at the left field foul pole, and it was called foul, despite clearly being a jack. It would have been a three run job, but instead Saint Peter popped out. We settled for a HK-47 sac fly.
-Torii Hunter leads the team with his .285 batting average, which is cool, however, the Halos have not had a season where at least one regular starter didn't finish with at least a .300 average since 2001. Bummer.
-Although he hit a 3 run homer, Peter Bourjos finished 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
-Alberto Callaspo continues to fade here as the season wraps up, going 0 for 3 with a runner stranded in scoring position.
-El Comedulce got picked off! How far are you leading off, big guy?
-Mathis got the start behind the dish, while Hankie Pankie and Jumbo Trumbo rode the pine.
At 77-80, the Angels and A's are completely deadlocked in second place in the AL West, 10 back of Texas, with 5 games to go. It's getting hot in here. Don't tell anyone, but the Angels final home game of the season (and final chance to bust Choke-land here in 2010) is already underway. We're looking at a 1-0 Angel lead after 4 innings so far (HK grounded out, scoring Mark Trumbo after Trumbo's walk; Trumbo started in RF, if that's interesting to you). The game sees Joel "Out for the Season" Piñero (10-7, 3.91) for us and Anaheim native Bobby Cramer (2-1, 3.71) for them. Last time out, Cramer picked up his first loss after 6 innings of 4 run stuff against the Rangers, while Piñero has only coughed up three earned runs in his two starts (14 total innings) since returning from injury, and has looked real good. It's 1-1 now, in the bottom of the fifth, but hopefully we'll have good things to report tomorrow.
Scot Shields, it has been reported, is thinking about retiring after this season. I think it's probably a good idea. Sure, he could go play for a season in Florida or something, and pitch way too many games, and finish with way too high an ERA, but what's the point? Go out with the team that brought you up, step away gracefully, and maybe come back as a pitching coach someday. Farewell, Gas Can, my wife will miss you.
A lot of time is spent when talking about the Angels when it comes to who is going to play where on the 2011 version of our beloved squad. We go on and on about catcher, third base, and the outfield. One spot we don't often examine is the SS position, and I'm not sure why. Is it that Erick Aybar is just going to be handed the job? After the way he played this season, I certainly hope not. So, let's examine the possibilities.
1. Possible SSs under contract for 2011.
+Maicer Izturis (signed through 2012)
+Erick Aybar (not FA eligible until 2013)
+Kevin Frandsen (not FA eligible until 2014)
+Brandon Wood (not FA eligible until 2015, and by the way, his real first name is Dick...no joke...Dick Wood).
+And, to a lesser extent, minor leaguers Andrew Romine and Freddy Sandoval.
2. The value of the top 4 options.
+Ma$e's WAR/season since joining the Halos is 1.67.
+EA's WAR/season since coming up is 0.86, and his defensive WAR over his 5 years is a -0.5 (surprised?).
+Franny has a -0.4 WAR this season with the Halos, and that's pretty much his WAR/season for his brief career.
+Let's not even worry about Dick Wood's value.
3. So where does this leave us?
Well, nowhere, really. What I want to do is point out that while Aybar is probably thought of as our SS for next season by most fans (and by the organization for that matter), there is some very compelling evidence that Izzy should start ahead of him. I know that Maicer has had to deal with the injury bug quite a bit, but that just means we should get as much of him as we can before he pulls up lame next time. Keep in mind that Izzy only played 57 games so far this year. If you add up his projected WAR for the full season, and say Rosary after Rosary that he could actually play that many games, he'd have a 2.84 mark, and that outdoes every other in house option by a wide margin.
I just want to add a little perspective, and add to my lengthy tradition of spreading the Izzy love.
Now, let's finish off those A's.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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