Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Usually reliable - A's 4; Angels 2

The usually reliable Scot Shields really picked a bad time to have a crappy inning. The usually reliable Orlando Cabrera really picked a crappy time to fail to come up with a pretty easy ground ball (his 0 for 5 doesn't look all that great, either). If and when this team fails to make the playoffs, it will be letdowns like tonight's that we'll look back on.

The kid was fairly sharp again, escaping some early trouble before settling down and pitching well enough to win. When your rookie starter outduels the hottest pitcher in the AL, that's a game that you MUST win. You simply cannot afford to lose when you get a very good performance out of your fifth starter. This one hurts.

The debacle that is Steve Finley continues to suck up time in center, and just to just plain suck at the plate. Of course, as I type that, he homers, but oh well.

Byrd vs. Blanton tomorrow. Starting to look like a must win (or as much as one can look like at this point in the season), as I can't see this offense doing much against the rookie in Seattle on Friday.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

It was a good game, I thought. Both teams had one meltdown inning.

Seitz said...

It was a good game from a neutral observer's POV. Tough game to take as an Angels fan.

You think Ozzie's gonna be in trouble with the smaller pads this year? They're wearing form fitting jerseys, from what I hear, too.

Unknown said...

I don't think Osgood's in any more trouble than anyone else. He will be what he's always been: a decent goalie. He won't steal anything for you, but he's okay.

I'm happy to have him back. Then again, I'm not a member of the Cult of the Goalie.

Unknown said...

I should also point out that Manny Legace is also a decent, but not great, goalie, so I wouldn't take it to the bank that Osgood ends up the starter. I'm reasonably pleased with the Wing' goalie situation, since I've said for years that the prices for the Cujos of the world is inflated. Had they used Legace as the starter in 2003-04, and spent the $8 million on another forward, I suspect that they would have beaten Calgary and won the Cup.