Angels Still Breathing: Angels 5; Yankees 4

With the season on the line, the Angels needed to find a way to get back into this series. Thanks to the bats of Vladimir Guerrero, Howie Kendrick, and Jeff Mathis, the Angels pulled the series back to 2-1 and look to get even tomorrow night.

Jered Weaver didn't bring his best stuff to the mound today. He got his pitch count up early, and his fastball was very hittable. He battled through five innings, allowing five hits and three walks while striking out four. He was undone by three solo homers, the first coming from Derek Jeter on the third pitch of the game. To Weaver's credit, he worked out of some serious jams. In the second and fourth innings, he found himself with two runners on and no one out, and was able to work out of it both times. He left after a fifth inning in which he allowed the third solo homer of his day, a fastball that was hit over the short wall in right field by Johnny Damon.

In the bottom of the fifth, Howie Kendrick started the comeback with a solo shot of his own off of Yankees starter Andy Pettite. Kendrick crushed an inside fastball into bullpen in left field. An inning later, Bobby Abreu worked a one out walk. With two outs, Vladimir Guerrero hit a towering shot over the wall in left field to tie the score at three.

The Angels took the lead an inning later. Yankees manager Joe Girardi brought in Joba Chamberlain to face the right handed Kendrick, and Howie greeted him with a triple off the wall in right field. Maicer Izturis hit for Mike Napoli and drove Kendrick home with a sacrifice fly. But the lead was short lived. Kevin Jepsen walked Hideki Matsui to lead off the eighth inning. Matsui was replaced by Brett Gardner, but he was erased on a caught stealing, the result of a pitch out and a great throw and tag by Jeff Mathis and Erick Aybar. It was in important play, because Jorge Posada followed it up with a solo home run to dead center field, tying the game.

The Angels missed a golden opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. Bobby Abreu led the inning off with a double to wall in right center field. Abreu thought about stretching it to third, and by the team he decided to stay at second, it was too late. He had overrun the bag and was thrown out on a nice play by Derek Jeter, and a great cover of second base by Mark Teixeira.

The Angels threatened again in the 10th inning. Mathis led off with a double and was bunted to third by Aybar. All runners were safe when Mariano Rivera's throw to third went into left field, but an alert Johnny Damon backed the play up and held Mathis. Chone Figgins grounded to first, leaving Mathis on third. After Abreu was walked intentionally, Torii Hunter hit a sharp grounder to Teixeira, who threw to the plate for the second out. Guerrero grounded out to first to end the inning.

Ervin Santana got the Angels through the top of the 11th with top notch stuff, setting the Angels up for fireworks in the bottom of the inning. After David Robertson retired Juan Rivera and Kendry Morales, Joe Girardi made the strangest of his many strange managerial decisions and pulled Robertson in favor of Alfredo Aceves. Kendrick delivered yet again, this time with a two out single to center field. Jeff Mathis followed with a walk off RBI double on a pitch that he crushed to left center field, bringing Kendrick around from first base.

Thoughts on the game:

• He screwed up on the bases, but a nice take away from this game are the two hits from Bobby Abreu. The Angels NEED his bat to come through, and hopefully today's game was a step in the right direction. On the other hand, Juan Rivera and Kendry Morales have been non-existent. Both were 0-5 today.
• Hopefully Howie Kendrick made his case to stay in the lineup today. I know he'll be in there tomorrow against the left-hander, but there's no reason his bat should be on the bench, even against right handers. With all credit in the world to Jeff Mathis, he was the Angels most valuable player today. His solo homer in the fifth got the offense started. His triple gave the Angels their first lead, and his single in the 11th set up the drama in the bottom of the 11th. His addition to the lineup was huge.
  
• Joe Girardi really overmanaged the Yankees today. Pulling Robertson for Aceves was the killer move, but Damaso Marte and Phil Coke, both left handers, faced two hitters and threw a combined four pitches in back to back at bats. He used Mariano Rivera for an inning, but made a defensive move to replace Johnny Damon's arm in left field with Jerry Hairston. This cost the Yankees their DH, and Girardi made the call to hit for Rivera with a weak bat and two out in the top of the 11th, which meant he had to pull Rivera from the game. The rest is history.
• Mark Teixeira, love him or hate him, is just a terrific fielder. He made the crucial play to cover second base on Abreu's botched double. He retired all three batters in the 10th when the Angels loaded the bases, keeping the Angels from scoring in an inning where they had a runner on third and nobody out.
• For all of its faults, the Angels bullpen worked six innings and allowed only one run, the Posada homer. Darren Oliver worked another solid 1.2 innings. Fuentes worked the ninth, striking out two and allowing only an intentional walk to A-Rod, perhaps a game too late. Jason Bulger worked a 1-2-3 tenth and struck out two hitters.
  
• Can't wait for tomorrow night.
  

Game 1 Debacle

Not much to say. The Angels just looked like they weren't ready for the series to start. It's almost like they were expecting a rain out, and were surprised when the game went off as planned.

• The misplay in the first inning will be considered a tone-setter, but it was almost more of a "tone-identifier". Lackey's inability to retire Derek Jeter in the bottom of the first, and the bloop broken bat double by Johnny Damon were signs that things probably weren't going to go the Angels' way tonight.
• Give all credit to CC Sabathia. It was clear from the first strike out of Bobby Abreu tonight that he had his good stuff, and it was going to be a struggle. At the very least, it was going to be a game in which the Angels could not afford to gift wrap runs for the Yankees like they did tonight.
• The Yankees' fourth run was the result of a bad pick off throw by John Lackey, but a better question is why he was even worried about the runner. There were two outs, and Cabrera can run, but he only had 10 stolen bases all year. I'm not sure why Lackey was so pre-occupied with him.
• The thought of Joe Saunders starting game two felt a lot better when I thought the Angels might win game one. Now they send a guy out to the mound who hasn't pitched in two weeks, and while he can dial it up to 94, he's essentially a feel pitcher. I'm not sure that's the best option for the Angels, but it will have to do. The question will be whether the offense can jump out and five him some early confidence.
• Part of that offense is going to need to come from the top of the order. Chone Figgins is just killing the Angels in the lead off spot. He HAS to get on base.
  
• A-Rod is a pussy.
• I think Teixeira probably pulled his foot on the bunt by Hunter, but the Angels got those calls against the Red Sox, so it's hard to complain. I don't think it would have made much of a difference anyway.
• The nice thing about not having home field is that you console yourself after two losses with the thought that you were supposed to lose those games on the road. That said, game two now become huge. The Angels have to at least put up a worthy effort.
• The Angels have now lost five straight ALCS games, after winning four straight in 2002. On the plus side, they lost game one in the 2002 ALDS to the Yankees, and in the 2005 ALDS, also against the Yankees. They won both series.
  

Thoughts on Game 3 and the Series

• I've said so many things and made so many casual predictions that I shouldn't get any credit for this. But something told me this was the year that everyone would basically give up and say that the Angels had no chance. With the pressure off, they'd win the series. Still, I probably wouldn't have put any money on it. And once the pundits started picking the Angels half the time, I became convinced that we'd see more of the same.
• Going into the series, the consensus was the teams were fairly even, but the Sox had huge advantage in the bullpen. If they could make the series a battle of the bullpens, the Sox would win easily. In three games, the Angels bullpen allowed one run in six and a third innings. The Sox bullpen allowed seven runs in seven and a third innings, including five runs today. This probably speaks more the nature of the playoffs and small sample sizes than anything, but if you told me that the Angels pen would only give up one run over the first three games, I'd have a pretty good feeling about the series.
• Angels starters deserve some credit for those good bullpen numbers. Both Lackey and Weaver worked into the eighth inning, and Kazmir lasted six today, even though he was a bit shakey. They really limited the potential for danger.
• I can only say this from the perspective of an Angels fan, and fans of one of the 29 other teams will likely disagree, but I thought having Dave Henderson throw out the first pitch was low class. The wounds from that game aren't fully healed, and they run deeper than simply a lost baseball game. Hell, the Sox didn't even win the World Series that year. Maybe the Angels should have called up Ray Knight, Mookie Wilson, and the guy who sold coke to Len Bias to throw out the first pitch of a potential game five.
  
• Bobby Abreu was amazing. He was on base nearly 70% of the time. He delivered big at bat after big at bat. He's arguably the best $5MM the Angels have ever spent.
  
• On the other hand, Chone Figgins has been useless at the plate, or at least he was until his clutch walk in the ninth inning. But this is nothing new. Coming into today's game, he was hitting under .200 with an OBP barely above that. Not exactly what you expect or require from a table setter.
  
• The ALCS doesn't start until Friday. I'm probably most concerned about Joe Saunders. There will be some question about the rotation for the next series, but John Lackey has to start the first game. You can't mess with the rotation just to get someone work. The only question worth asking is this: Who gives the Angels the best chance to win game one? The answer is John Lackey.
  
• So it's on to New York, and again, I'm not going to make a prediction. But I'll say that the same hunch that made me think this might be the year that the Angels ended their Red Sox hex is also telling me that it's probably the season in which the Yankees end their Angels hex. Hope I'm wrong.
  

The Battles:

• I think the starting pitching is a wash;
• The Yankees have a better bullpen;
• The Angels are better defensively;
• The Angels have a better bench;
• The Yankees have a better lineup.

The teams are fairly evenly matched. In fact, the teams have been virtually in a dead heat since July 1st. It's anyone's guess. Let's play ball.

Going Back to Boston - Up Two Games to None

After two games, the Angels have erased the letters H and E from the word HEX. Two starts, two great pitching performances, and two days with just enough offense to get the Angels over the hump. They’ll board a plane tomorrow and fly back to Boston with a 2-0 series lead in the best of five ALDS.

Jered Weaver backed up John Lackey’s gem from last night with one of his own, limiting the Red Sox to two hits and two walks over 7.1 innings, while striking out seven. Darren Oliver, Kevin Jepsen, and Brian Fuentes took the reins and finished off the victory, ensuring a comfortable Saturday for nervous Angels fans everywhere.

The Sox got the scoring started in the fourth inning when Jacoby Ellsbury led the inning off with a triple. Two batters later, Victor Martinez singled him home, and the Sox had a 1-0 lead.

The Angels didn’t wait long to respond. Bobby Abreu led off the bottom of the fourth with a base hit. After Mike Lowell made a great play on a Torii Hunter line drive, Vladimir Guerrero singled Abreu to third. Kendry Morales cashed him in with a sacrifice fly to right field, and the Angels tied the game at 1.

Weaver and Beckett matched zeroes in the fifth and sixth innings, but the Angels jumped in front in the bottom of the seventh. Guerrero walked to lead off the inning, and pinch runner Howie Kendrick stole second. Two outs later, clutch God Maicer Izturis singled him home. Josh Beckett hit Mike Napoli with a curve ball two put runners on first and second. Erick Aybar followed with the big blast to center field, a triple over the head of Ellsbury that gave the Angels a 4-1 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

Thoughts on Game 2:

• Through two games last year, the Angels’ 6-9 plus leadoff hitters were a combined 4-42, with three walks, and six total bases. This season they’re 7-34 with 11 total bases. The difference has almost totally been Erick Aybar, who has a double and a triple so far, and whose triple tonight was the difference in the game.
• I still think these teams are almost dead even. If you started this series fresh tomorrow, I could easily see the roles completely reversed. But for now, the Angels are outplaying the Red Sox, and the biggest key has been their clutch hitting. That’s been the Angels’ M.O. in the regular season this decade, but severely lacking come playoff time. This year seems different.
• The Angels take two left handers into Boston, seemingly a graveyard for lefties. But both Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders have been excellent against the Red Sox in their careers. The matchups favors the Angels from this point, but things change again if we go to a fifth game.
• The best the Angels could hope for, going into this series, are deep runs from their starters, and low leverage situations for their relievers. They’ve got that so far. If they can get that again on Sunday, they’ll be preparing for the ALCS.

Thoughts on Game One

• You really can't overstate how important it was to get game one. If the Angels had lost again, after getting another excellent start, you have to think it would have started some sort of death spiral. But they didn't win in a throw-away type laugher. They didn't win on a controversial finish. They simply outperformed Boston at the plate and in the field, and were the better team. They haven't won anything yet, but this is a good start.
  
• I'm really glad that neither of the awful C.B. Bucknor calls had an impact on the game beyond John Lester's pitch count. They'll be footnotes now, but today would have been lousy with whiny Red Sox fans complaining that the fix was in.
  
• That said, there were two bad calls that had an effect on the game. Lackey through ball four to Kevin Youkilis and got a lucky strike call from Joe West to keep the at bat alive, and got an inning ending ground out two pitches later. He handled David Ortiz pretty well, so it may not have mattered, but he was really struggling with his control right there, and who knows what happens if he walks three straight.
  
• The second bad call, at least from the replays I've seen, was on the bases loaded double play. Looked to me like Torii Hunter avoided the tag at third, and that cost the Angels at least one run.
• It may be the last time Lackey pitches for the Angels, but two things about that possibility jumped out at me. First, if it is his last start in Anaheim, he just made about a million more per year with that start. Second, with the run support and defense that he got, he may be a tad more inclined to stay in SoCal. At the very least, he won't have a bad taste in his mouth from another excellent performance that went for naught.
• Chone Figgins was the only Angel who failed to reach base. The only other Angel without a hit was Bobby Abreu, but he also had no official at bats. Contrast that to last year where, for a few games, the entire bottom of the order was a black hole. This was a team effort. The defense was excellent, Kendry Morales provided a huge two out hit, and Torii Hunter, was very vocal on the need for the big performers to step up, provided the offensive heroism. That's a nice way to get things started.
• Another good pitching matchup tonight. So many things can happen in a short series that even a 2-0 lead won't give me much satisfaction, but I think the Angels exorcised a couple demons last night, and I think they'll all be a bit more relaxed tonight.
  

On a final note, I missed the last two innings of the game (in real time) because I had tickets to see a really great band called The Subjects. I only mention this because I missed the first and second games of the ALDS in 2002 for the same reason (only then it was Gomez and the Super Furry Animals). I think we all know how that turned out. So I'm doing my part.

On the Plus Side, It Didn't Take Long

The Angels picked up where they left off in 2005, unable to mount any offense, but you've got to hand it to Beckett. He was very impressive. They can talk all they want about making him work, but the guy was firing strikes all night, and the only thing you accomplish by taking pitches is getting yourself behind in the count. We've all seen the Angels struggle against mediocre pitching before, but that wasn't the case tonight. Remember, Beckett has a pretty stellar post-season history, so it's not like they got shut down by John Garland.

Still, the offense certainly didn't inspire confidence. They haven't really seen Dice-K yet. Usually you figure that matchup goes to the pitcher, but anything can happen.

With luck, Rivera will be able to play the outfield on Friday, allowing either Willits or Izturis to head to the bench. Either would have been preferable to Aybar in a pinch hitting role tonight.

Other positives: Lackey sharpened up considerably after his rough start, which couldn't have surprised anyone. But it's a reason for optimism if they can get this to a fourth game. Of course, that means Beckett again, but at this point, I'd take it. Santana also looked terrific in his relief role. The off-day tomorrow could be huge in that it will allow him to pitch in game five if a) Escobar's shoulder doesn't hold up, or b) the Sox force him into 100 pitches through five innings, both or which aren't particularly improbable.

And hey, they lost game one every time in 2002. Not over yet.

Playoff Eve

As long time readers will no doubt already know, I'm nothing if not the most optimistic fan who's ever donned an Angels cap in support of his team. So before this gets started, let me warn you, I don't actually pick the Angels to win every single game. I mean, in most of the early round games they aren't even playing, so I have to choose between the teams that are. And you may want to sit down for this, but I actually think the Angels might lose a game or two. Crazy, I know.

But anyway, here goes:

Division Series

Cubs in four: I honestly couldn't care less about the National League, and despite the fact that I live in Chicago, I know almost nothing about either team. Still, it seems as if the Cubs are hot, and and I just can't buy into a team with a negative run differential on the season going very far.

Phillies in five: This has the potential to an amazing series, and a purists nightmares. hitters parks galore, and two teams who ended the season on fire to charge their way to the playoffs. Again, National League, don't really care. But this one might be fun to watch.

Indians in five: The Yankees offense steps up in games two and three to bring the Yankees to the verge of the ALCS, but the Indians find another gear in the last two games to take the series. Though I'll admit, part of me wants to see the Yankees win, with Alex Rodriguez leading the way. The guy one of the greatest players of this generation, and he's unfairly maligned for his performance in clutch situations. I wouldn't mind seeing him shake that.

Angels in four: They lose game one when Lackey falls victim to the Lackey inning. But Escobar dominates in game two, and Weaver and the pen hold off the Sox in game three, setting up Lackey's revenge. Yankees and Red Sox go home, giving the NHL a minor ratings boost as the country stops caring about baseball, except for the Cubs.

League Championship Series

Cubs in five: A surprisingly easy series as some guys do some good things for the Cubs, and some other guys do some not so good things for the Phillies. Sorry, but I really don't care for the National League.

Angels in seven: I really want to pick the Indians in this series, but I've been told that "Anything that casts doubt on the Angels is enough to get Seitz going." Because it's getting kind of late, I don't want to get myself going, so I should probably pick the Angels in this one. I think Ervin Santana will have to prove his mettle at least twice in this series, once as a starter and once as a reliever. I also have a hunch that Casey Kotchman will put up big power numbers, like three or four homers in one series, including one off a lefty. I have no basis for that, other than a hunch. But the Indians have played the Angels really tough all year, and in the games I've seen, they don't appear to be a team that can be out-smarted.

World Series

Angels in five: I'm kind of torn here, and really in the whole playoffs. Not who I want to win, or think will win. Rather, I'm torn over how I want the Cubs to lose. Would I prefer a four or five game thrashing, dashing the hopes of Cubs fans everywhere almost before the series gets started? Or would I rather the Cubs suffer another Bartmanesque collapse, putting half the city (my half) into a three week state of shock, one night likely to be broken by either the awful Bears or awful Blackhawks? It's a tough call. If you could guarantee me that the Angels would win in seven, my dream would be for the Angels to overcome a ten run deficit in the the night, sending the game to extra innings. In extra innings, the Cubs would take the lead every inning, only for the Angels to come back and tie the game again, until finally, a Reggie Willits grand slam gives the Angels a one run victory in the bottom of the sixteenth. Of course, such a loss would undoubtedly make Cubs fans more insufferable than they already are, and almost as insufferable as they'd be if they one the thing.

But ultimately, if I'm watching this series, I'd rather see a merciless drubbing. Double digit victories every night, except for one bone that we'll throw to the Cubs. Either way, hopefully my Angels hat will be good for free beers on the Southside next year.

So that's your forecast from the most optimistic Angels fan in Angels fan history.