What a game yesterday. Jered Weaver and Josh Tomlin engaged in a good ol' fashioned pitcher's duel at Progressive Field, and rookie sensation Mark Trumbo laced a two out two run line drive double in the seventh to give the Halos the lead and the eventual win. Big Baby finished the game with 7 innings of one run ball and ran his record to 14-4 with a 1.79 ERA. If he keeps this up, I just don't think the voters can keep the Cy out of his arms this time around.
Scott Downs pitched a nice 8th inning, running his ERA down to an impressive 1.27, as he continues to show that he was the best offseason acquisition we made. Meanwhile, Waldo had to escape a little self-imposed danger en route to his 24th save, allowing two hits, but getting out with a shutout 9th was all I cared about. The Angels offense could only muster four hits, as Hunter, Abreu, Kendrick (who also picked up the lone walk), and Trumbo put the ball on the bat, but it ended up being enough thanks to the amazing pitching. Not to harp on things, but Vernon Wells, the guy who the media is trying to tell us is turning things around, went 0 for 4 with 2Ks and is hitting .217 for the season. I'm still holding fast to my prediction that he'd be average this year and great next year, but he has to do a lot to get to average before the fall.
After the game, we got some interesting and potentially frustrating news from Sam Miller at the OC Register. I say potentially frustrating because if the Angels don't make a semi-big trade, fans will point to this comment and say "what the hell?" Reports have Arte Moreno saying that he is A) ready to raise payroll, B) looking for a third baseman before the deadline, and C) willing to trade Erick Aybar for José Reyes straight up. Sometimes I wish the owner wouldn't say things like this, because when Sunday has come and gone and we haven't made any significant deal, fans will point to Moreno's statement as conviction against Reagins for being unable to pull the trigger despite being given the green light. I think raising payroll is dumb, mostly because I think you could upgrade at 3B without adding on more money. Also, is Callaspo that bad? Is their some magical solution out there that would be better than him?
About the Aybar for Reyes straight up trade, the Mets have officially turned it down.
Aybar: .283/.317, 7, 41, and an impressive +3.1 WAR.
Reyes: .346/.387, 4, 33, and an even more impressive +4.6 WAR.
I'm shocked that the Mets aren't going for this. Just shocked. Who do we think we are offering Aybar for Reyes? I guess the Angels were figuring that the worst thing the Mets could say was no.
As I finish this, I realize that the Angels and Indians have already played the final game of their series this morning, and it was epic enough to deserve it's own post.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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