Playoff Predictions

Matt Welch's are here.

Two things I do not want to see this year:

1) The Cubs winning the World Series. On this, I'm actually torn. I'm not sure if I'd just rather see the Cubs just get blitzed in the first three games, or whether I'd like to see them get to game seven of the World Series and lose in the most excruciating way possible. Probably the former, since I'd rather not take my chance on the latter. But I really hate the Cubs, even more than I hate the Dodgers, which is why I'd prefer to see the Dodger win that series.

2) The Angels playing the White Sox and/or the Cubs. This seems counter intuitive. I should want the Angels to play in Chicago so I can get to a game. Problem is, that's not happening. I love the Angels, and I spend about $500 hundred dollars per year on the Angels between tickets, and the packages on cable and internet. I'm probably not going to shell out $500 more for a ticket to see them play the White Sox, and I'm not shelling out roughly five times that to see them play the Cubs at what is basically nothing but a glorified high school park. Don't get me wrong, if someone dropped a free ticket on me, or even one at face value, I'd probably take it, but that's not likely to happen. Second, I have to live with these people, and I don't want to do that if the Angels lose to either of those teams. Of course, it would be sweet if the Angels took one, or even both, down, but I don't want to take that chance.

Anyway, here goes:

NLDS 1

Phillies over Brewers in 4. I just don't think the Brewers have it. They haven't played well down the stretch. Although the teams finished just two games apart, the Phillies won the division in the final month, going 17-7 in September to best the Mets. the Brewers, on the other hand, had a 5.5 game lead for the wild card at the beginning of September, and only a Mets collapse landed them in the post season. This is all despite CC Sabbathia blistering the NL over the last few months. I think that right now the Phillies are the better team, and that will show.

NLDS 2

Dodgers over Cubs in 4. The Cubs were a superior team over the whole season, but since the Manny Ramirez trade, the Dodgers have been pretty close (45-34 against 47-30). This just strikes me as an upset waiting to happen, and not because of any Cubs curse. Even though the Cubs handled both teams during the regular season, there was more fear out here over a possible match up with the Diamond Backs. When you're somewhat relieved to draw a particular opponent, karma says you lose that series. So I'm going with the team that Cubs fans* wanted to play.

*Note: Actually a rare species. This town is stupid with Wrigley fans, but actual true Cubs fans are quite rare.

ALDS 1

Rays in 4. Tampa Bay has been proving everyone wrong all year. The fact is that they're a very good team, with an excellent manager. They prevent runs better than any of the playoff teams, and they have a competent offense. The White Sox have the benefit of experience (overrated in my opinion) and having dealt with pressure for the last couple weeks, which I actually think does help a bit. I think the Sox will take a game, but the Rays are going to prove to be too good. And honestly, don't let anyone push the "lack of post season experience" argument. Going into the playoffs in 2002, the Angels had one guy with post season experience. After game one, they had 25 guys with post season experience.

ALDS 2

Angels in 5. I don't think the fact that the Angels hammered the Sox in the regular season is important on the field. I do think it's important in the minds of the Angels. The Sox won the season series in both 2004 and 2007, and killed the Angels in the playoffs. The Sox had that "team we can't beat" aura. That aura is gone now. The playoffs aren't that different from the regular season, and I think this Angels team believes it can win, and that's the first step. I also think Teixeira adds that extra bat that they've needed. In the past, if you controlled Vlad, you won the series. That may not be true this year. The Angels exorcise some demons in game five.

NLCS

Phillies over Dodgers in 6.

Again, this is a gut level pick. Sabbathia grabs a lot of headlines, and the fact that the Brewers haven't been the playoffs in 26 years will get some ink. The vast majority of the public will be talking about the Cubs and Dodgers, and they'll be slobbering over the team that wins that series. Meanwhile, the Phillies will go about their business and just win. They just strike me as that team that no one is paying a lot of attention to, and teams like that seem to win for some reason.

ALCS

Angels over Rays in 6.

The only bad thing about playing the Rays is that series like these tend to make me hate the opposing team, and I really don't want to hate Tampa. I like their players. I love their manager. I want to be able to root for them in the World Series should they get there. On the field, Tampa was the only team with a winning record over the Angels this year, so that's a point in their favor. But they aren't a great road team, and I think the first two games in Anaheim will put them behind the 8-ball. The Angels, and excellent road team will go back to Tampa and steal one in the dome before closing them out in game six back on their home field. The biggest advantage the Angels will get from home field isn't the privilege of hosting a potential game seven. It's getting two host the first two games, and Tampa will fight valiantly, but won't recover.

World Series

Angels over Phillies in Six.

This plays out the same way as the Tampa series. Win two at home. Steal one on the road. Close them out in game six as Ervin Santana, the Angels best starter all year, closes the door on Philadelphia. His fly ball tendencies won't play well at Citizens Bank Park, which is why a game two start will be perfect. Everyone will be denied the Cubs - Red Sox series they so desperately want. This will be a good, but not classic series. Frankie Rodgriguez gets the save in possibly his last game as Angel, finishing his Angel career the way we started it, with a World Series ring.

I'll admit to being a homer. I can't pick against the Angels, but I realize it will be a tough slog to a championship.

Frankie 62; Mariners 58

Cross Posted at SoCal Sports Hub

It's been a tight race for most of the season, but last night, the Angels clinched at least a tie. Last night's 6-5 victory in Seattle means Francisco Rodriguez will finish the season with at least as many saves as the Mariners have wins. It was just six months ago when people were seriously including the Mariners in discussions of possible winners of the A.L. West.

Jon Garland didn't exactly grab the reins last night, as he battles Jered Weaver for the fourth starter role in the playoffs, which the Angels won't likely need until the ALCS should they advance past the first round. He allowed five runs on 11 hits over five innings, and was not around long enough to pick up the win. That went to Darren Oliver, who pitched two perfect innings in relief, solidifying his bullpen role in the playoffs, as the Angels don't figure to actually use more than four relievers. Scot Shields loaded the bases with one out in the eighth on two walks and a hit batter, but he struck out Ichiro and got Yunieski Betancourt to ground out to end the inning with no damage. Rodriguez allowed a two out single in the ninth, but otherwise coasted to his 62nd save of the season.

The Angels grabbed an early lead in the second inning on Erick Aybar's RBI single, scoring Torii Hunter who had previously doubled. Aybar, having made his way to third on a Mike Napoli single, later scored on a passed ball. The Mariners tied the game in the second, and took a three run lead in the fifth. But the Angels responded in the top of the sixth with three runs of their own. The first four batters of the inning reached base. Erick Aybar led off with a double and Mike Napoli walked before Sean Rodriguez doubled them both home. Chone Figgins' single move Rodriguez to third, and he brought home the tying run on Garret Anderson's double play. The game remained tied at five until the top of the eighth, when Mark Teixeira untied it with a two out solo home run, his 13th as Angel (he also picked up his 42nd Angel RBI).

Top three Angels performers:

Mark Teixeira went four for five with a double and homer. He's hitting .361 since the trade.

Mike Napoli is swinging the bat well, and he reached base for times last night in five appearances. He delivered a double, two singles, and a walk.

Darren Oliver's two perfect innings came on the heels of the Angels big sixth inning, and gave the offense time to add the extra run it needed.

Jeff Weaver of the game:

Jon Garland didn't exactly make a case for being the fourth starter come playoff time. He allowed five runs in five innings, and a lot of baserunners.

Play of the game:

Mark Teixeira's two out eighth inning homer was the difference in the game.

What to expect tonight

Dustin Moseley takes Joe Saunders' turn in the rotation as Saunders recovers from kidney stones. The Mariners counter with Cesar Jiminez, who has been solid in 30 innings this season, mostly in relief. The Angels are one win away from tying their franchise record 99 wins. Their magic number for home field advantage is three.

Angels 2; Mariners 1

Cross posted at SoCal Sports Hub

Ervin Santana tossed a gem and picked up his sixteenth win of the season as the Angels beat the Mariners 2-1. Not a lot of action in this one, as both pitchers really threw the ball well. Ryan Rowland-Smith continued his solid work of late, earning his seventh straight quality start. His ERA, 4.11 just over a month ago, has fallen to 3.39 over that span. He allowed only one earned run last night, but some shoddy defense and a lights out performance from Santana was enough to keep him from getting the win. Frankie Rodriguez dominated the M's hitters in the ninth to extend his record saves total to 61.

The Mariners struck first with three straight singles to open the third inning. But they were only able to plate one run on an RBI ground out by Raul Ibanez, sandwiched around strikeouts by Yunieski Betancourt and Jose Lopez. After escaping that jam, Santana settled into a groove and faced the minimum from the fourth inning on, allowing only a single to Marques Tuiasosopo in the fourth inning before picking him off first base. Santana worked eight innings, allowed five hits, and struck out nine against no walks. He's now 16-6, with a 3.25 ERA, and he's second in the AL in strikeouts. A year ago today he was 7-13 with a 5.62 ERA, and he had Angels fans wondering if he'd ever put it together. Six months after refusing to give in to calls to trade him, Tony Reagins has himself a second ace.

The Angels tied the game in the fourth inning on a monster shot to center field off the bat of Vladimir Guerrero, his 25th of the season. Vlad's now poised to hit over .300 with 25 homers for the 11th consecutive season. The only other player in MLB history with a similar streak is Lou Gehrig. Pretty good company. In the seventh inning, Jeff Mathis reached on a one out single. Reggie Willits singled him to third, and a misplay in the outfield allowed Mathis to score the final run of the game. Francisco Rodriguez worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning, making Jose Lopez look stupid on a three pitch strikeout for the last out. The Angels reduced their magic number for home field advantage to four.

Top Three Angels Performers:

1. Ervin Santana was as dominant as he could be. You have to remind yourself it was against the Mariners, but the 9 strikeouts and no walks is a very nice sign heading into the playoffs. And with John Lackey's recent struggles, it's that much more important to have one of them charging into the post-season.

2. Vladimir Guerrero delivered three hits, but the home run he hit in the fourth came right on top of Santana's Houdini act in the bottom of the third, and snuffed out any Mariners momentum.

3. Reggie Willits didn't get an RBI for the single that helped push Jeff Mathis across, but he did go three for four.

Jeff Weaver of the Game

It's hard to single anyone out in a win, but take your pick between Juan Rivera (0-3, 4 LOB) or Sean Rodriguez (0-3, 3 Ks). The good news about Rodriguez is that those three strikeouts came in relief of Howie Kendrick, who returned to the lineup and was hitless in two at bats.

Play of the Game

Vlad's home run was crushed. Beautiful to watch, and it tied the game at a fairly crucial point.

What to look for tonight:

Jered Weaver, who has allowed one run in his last 12 innings spanning two starts, looks to stay hot. He probably won't start in the first round. The Angels can choose their schedule, and will likely take the five games in eight days schedule, allowing them to use a three man rotation in the ALDS. The Mariners counter with Ryan Feierabend, who has been knocked around a bit this season, including a five inning, four run performance in a losing effort against the Angels two weeks ago.

Game Time is 7:10 PDT on FSN.

Angels 6; A's 4

Cross posted at SoCal Sports Hub

The Angels salvaged the third game of the series in Oakland, surviving a rocky ninth inning to hold on to a 6-4 victory, giving Joe Saunders his 16th win of the season. With a little more than a week to go before the start of the post-season, Mike Scioscia has struggled to maintain a balance between going for home field advantage and resting his star players, but some of the bit players came through for the Angels today. After scoring only three runs through the first two games, the Angels got that many runs in three at bats in the seventh inning today.

The Angels struck first in the game's opening frame. The first three batters of the game reached safely, with Mark Teixeira's RBI single scoring Reggie Willits. They added two more in the fifth innings, chasing A's starter Josh Outman. Robb Quinlan's RBI single scored Mark Teixeira and moved Torii Hunter to third. A few pitches later, Quinlan broke for second on a delayed steal. Torii Hunter took advantage of the ensuing rundown to steal home, and in the confusion, Quinlan returned safely to first.

The Angels provided some thunder in the seventh inning. Kendry Morales, Mike Napoli, and Brandon Wood blitzed A's reliever Keith Foulke for back to back to back home runs, giving the Angels a 6-0 lead. Joe Saunders finished the A's off in the seventh, at which point Mike Scioscia decided to sit him down for the remainder. Amazingly, Justin Speier worked a perfect eight inning.

In the ninth, all heck nearly broke loose. Jason Bulger began the inning by hitting and walking the only two batters he faced. Jose Arredondo came on and allowed a walk and an infield hit before striking out Travis Buck. With the bases loaded, the tying run stood in the on deck circle, making it a save situation, and Frankie Rodriguez entered the game. He allowed a walk and single (sandwiching a fielder's choice in between) before retiring Ryan Sweeney for the game's final out and his 59th save of the season.

Top three Angels performers:

Gary Matthews didn't produce much in terms of runs, but he did deliver three hits, and made a beautiful diving catch in right field.

Robb Quinlan didn't make a huge impression on the box score, delivering one hit and one RBI, but he made big contributions. The delayed steal mentioned above helped bring in a run (he later stole the base outright). In the fourth inning, the A's loaded the bases with no one out, and Quinlan turned a grounder into third into a force at his base, from which point he threw home to retire Emil Brown, and helped Joe Saunders escape the inning with no damage.

Joe Saunders twirled seven scoreless innings to drop his ERA to 3.52 and pick up his sixteenth win.

Jeff Weaver of the game:

Jason Bulger is working hard to keep himself off the post-season roster, and he didn't do himself any favors, failing to retire a batter in the ninth. In his last two outings, he's allowed five runs on one hit, three walks, and a hit batter, while failing to retire even one hitter. Ouch.

Play of the game:

The back to back to back homers were nice, but Quinlan's double play from third to home kept the A's off the board in a big situation when the game was still within one run.

What to expect tomorrow:

The Angels head to Arlington to take on the Rangers. Jon Garland looks to build on his last two excellent starts (3 runs in 13 IP), while the Rangers counter with Matt Harrison who's 8-3 record belies his 5+ ERA. Expect another patchwork lineup as Scioscia balances health and rest for the post-season push.

Game Time is 5:05 on FSN

Seitzes in the News

Three of them, in fact.

A few days ago, when Governor Palin returned to Alaska, there was a welcome back rally. On that same day in downtown Anchorage, there was a much larger anti-Palin rally in downtown Anchorage. About twice as many people showed up for the anti-Palin rally. Apparently my sister-in-law was there with my nieces (no idea where my brother was). Anyway, she made her way into the AP story about the event:

Hilary Seitz, 39, attended the rally with her two girls, 8-year-old Abbigale and 11-year-old Taylor. If McCain becomes president and Palin is the VP, Seitz said she fears what will happen on the Supreme Court and keeping abortion legal.

"It really scares me that if we lose that option what are women going to do," Seitz said. She said that she was at the rally for her girls and their futures.

They even spelled Abbigale right, which is to say they spelled it unlike the normal spelling, but correct for the way that my sister in law chose to spell it. And I'm proud of them for going.

Anyway, it's pretty cool that a family member got into a national story. First mention for a Seitz of our clan in a national paper since I made into the Wall Street Journal about five years ago.

Recent Concerts

So I haven't really been doing concert reviews or recaps lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been going to shows. August was a little on the slow side in the wake of the Pitchfork Festival, but September has been picking it back up. In the last week or so, we had three really great shows.

Spiritualized @ Metro - 9/8/08

I finally saw J. Spaceman for the first time at P-fork, and that show was essentially the hour long outdoor version of their regular show, so the set was pretty similar, only about a half hour or forty minutes longer. Most of the extra time was taken up by older material, which I particularly enjoyed since I didn't see any of the shows in support of those albums.

The P-fork set made appearances here and there, mostly in a good way. He again opened with 'You Lie You Cheat', which devolves into noise, then cuts beautifully into 'Shine A Light', from the Laser Guided Melodies album. He finished the set, again, with 'Come Together' from Ladies and Gentlemen.... which segued into the old Spacemen 3 tune 'Take Me to the Other Side'. Added in along the way were some new songs (Death Take Your Fiddle), some Spiritualized classics ('Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space', 'Lay Back in the Sun') and another Spacemen 3 number (either 'Walkin' With Jesus' or 'Sound of Confusion', depending on what album you have). He ended the night with a rousing rendition of 'Lord Can You Hear Me'.

Their live set, at least indoors is very loud and engrossing. You've heard the phrase "wall of sound". Well, this is an ocean of sound, and you're drowning in it. It just absolutely engulfs the entire venue. The pacing was pretty good. The two songs that start this set really draw you in. There's little to no crowd rapport, not even a "thank you" between songs, though I think he said it on the way out. It's really quite an experience. An excellent live show, and one I hope I get the chance to see again.

You Lie You Cheat


Take Me To The Other Side (Live)


Grand Ole Party opened. I saw them open for someone earlier this year as well. Three piece band with a female drummer, who also handles lead vocals. She's got quite a voice. Entertaining act.

The Walkmen @ Metro 9/12/08

This is the third or fourth time I've seen them in the last year and a half, so it's been interesting to see them go from supporting "A Hundred Miles Off" to trying out some new material, to eventually supporting that material, most of which appears on the new album "You and Me". It's an album that didn't really grab me at first, certainly not as quickly as the last one, but after five or six listens, it's really grown on me and might be my favorite album yet.

The set lasted a little under an hour and half, which is probably the longest set I've seen them do. The set was heavy on the album, and light on everything else. They played the classics. 'Wake Up', 'Little House of Savages', 'Thinking of a Dream I Had'. They played some songs that are much better live than on the record, like 'All Hands and the Cook', and 'What's In It For Me'. The new album has a lot of horn parts, so they were able to play 'Louisiana'. And they proved again that 'The Rat' is the best four minutes of live music on the planet.

But the new album really made up the meat of the show, and fortunately, it's a really good album for a live show. It's got some slower tracks that help round out the pacing, but the standouts from the album were the standouts in the live set. 'Donde Esta La Playa', 'On the Water', 'the Blue Route', 'Canadian Girl' all delivered. The crowd seemed fairly familiar with the new material, as loud cheers went out upon hearing the opening strums of 'In the New Year', the first single and a real highlight of the show.

As usual, the Walkmen, more than any other band I've seen a bunch of time, are more than worth the price of admission. Along with the Super Furry Animals, they're probably may favorite act currently in existence, and their live shows are really terrific. The opening acts were pretty interesting too. Ezra Furman and the Harpoons were kind of a straightforward pop-rock four piece with a funny frontman, and klezmer-rock six piece Golem were, well, something I wouldn't expect to see at a rock show, and something I'd even less expect to like, but they put on a very entertaining set. No complaints.

In the New Year


On the Water



The Broken West @ Schuba's 9/15/08

Small crowd, but Monday night shows aren't typically heavily attended, especially for lesser known acts like the Broken West. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a great show. I saw these guys open for the Walkmen last year, and I've seen them another four times since, and they always put on a good set. They released a new album last week, their second, so the set drew heavily from that, but they worked in some favorites from the first album as well. This is the type of show where you can hang around and chat with the band afterward, so that's kind of fun. I try to wait to buy albums at shows if possible, because I think they get a bigger piece of the pie. This is an L.A. based band, around Silverlake I believe, so it's nice to support local acts from my hometown.

A band called the Builders and the Butchers opened for them. They're kind of folky, but really heavy themes. Lost of death and afterlife sorts of stuff. Like if the Decemberists were a little harder and sang a lot of dirges. But the music is really engaging. I usually need to listen to an album a few times before it connects, but I was digging their debut on first listen. I was wearing a t-shirt from the Moose's Tooth, a pizzeria and brew pub in anchorage. The lead singer saw it started up a conversation about Alaska. Turns out half this band is from Anchorage, and a couple went to the school where my brother used to teach. Small world.

Down in the Valley

A's 8; Angels awful

Cross posted at SoCal Sports Hub

John Lackey made his first start since an unimpressive outing in Chicago nine days prior, and the extra rest didn't appear to help. Lackey allowed four runs on nine hits, failed to complete the sixth inning, and picked up his fourth loss of the season as the A's used some late offense to win 8-1. Sean Gallagher recorded his second victory, evening his record at 2-2. It follows a pattern of lopsided wins for the A's over the Angels, which have usually been followed by a flurry of close Angels victories. They'll try to maintain that pattern tonight.

Lackey looked a little inconsistent through the early going, looking very sharp at times, and very shaky at times. Kendry Morales staked the Angels to a 1-0 lead with a solo home run, his first of the year, in the fifth inning, but the A's responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 2-1 lead. They added two more in the sixth, chasing Lackey from the game.

With the last bullpen spot seemingly available, thanks in no small part to Justin Speier's inability to keep the ball in the park, Jason Bulger didn't exactly make a case for playing in October. He entered the game in the seventh inning and proceeded to allow a walk, a single, another walk, and a third walk before hitting Travis Buck. He recorded no outs, and allowed three runs on only one hit. Kevin Jepsen, on the other hand, finished the sixth inning by retiring the only two hitters he faced, one via the strikeout. Jepsen's thrown 3.2 scoreless innings since being recalled a little over a week ago.

Top two Angel performers of the game: Can't really pick three after a game like this, so we'll go with...

Kendry Morales hit his first homer in the season, probably about five months later than he thought it would have come considering his contributions the last two seasons. He gave the Angels a very brief lead.

Kevin Jepsen continues to look good in relief, though it's an incredibly small sample.

Jeff Weaver of the game:

In lieu of just picking "everyone", Bulger's meltdown gets the nod over Lackey's rough outing. None of the hitters were any good, but at least they didn't leave many runners on base. Of course, you need runners to reach base before you can leave them there.

Play of the game: I'm not sure which one sums up the ineptitude better, but I'll go with Bulger's plunking of Travis Buck, coming on the heels of a hit and three walks, over John Lackey's wild pitch that score Kurt Suzuki. That's the kind of night it was.

What to look for tonight: More roster shuffling from Mike Scioscia, who figures to play a lot of guys over the next week before tightening the lineup in the run up to the playoffs. Jered Weaver was very good in his last start, and tonight he makes his second since returning from injury. Aside from the bullpen battle, you have to figure that Weaver and Garland are dueling for that last post-season rotation spot. Good problems to have for Mike Scioscia.

Game time is 7:05 PST on FSN

Congratulations Frankie

Let's be honest. The saves record isn't the most impressive record in baseball. It's incredibly team dependent, and as a measure of who is truly a great reliever, single season saves don't show you very much.

But, it's not every day you see records that have stood for more than 10 years get broken. This will not go down as Frankie's best season. This will not go down as the best relief season in history. Frankie has arguably not been the best reliever in baseball this year. But he is a very deserving holder of this record. Probably, when careers are accounted for, more deserving than Roger Maris was when he set the single season home run record.

Maris had three seasons with more than 30 home runs, and the only one with more than 40 was the record breaking year. He was a good hitter, a 127 career OPS+ is nothing to sneeze at. But without those 61 homers in a park that played easy for lefty sluggers, he's an afterthought in MLB history.

Frankie is still early in his career. He's only 26, but he has over 200 saves. He's been one of baseball's best relievers from the day he was called up into the big leagues. He's been one of baseball's best closers since he took over for Troy Percival four seasons ago. It's the type of record where you may pick out three or four guys who are deserving, and he's certainly in the picture.

There will be a lot of talk about Frankie this winter. My thoughts are fairly clear. I think that the closer role is somewhat overrated, but Frankie Rodriguez is unfairly maligned because of his status as a closer. Look around at how many relievers have been dominant over a similar stretch of time. Baseball is littered with reliever who looked great for a year or two at a time. Very few have done it year after year after year. You would be hard pressed to find four or five relievers who have been better than Frankie since he came into the league.

As for next year, you can argue all you want about opportunity costs. What position is the most valuable, and how important is it to go after a reliever when you have a first baseman and possibly another starter to sign. But the market, imperfect as it is, is the market, and Frankie will have a few teams willing to offer him what he wants. Personally, a 15MM per contract is simply a raise over what he's currently making (it's not 15MM over their current payroll), and they're financially successful enough to sign Teixeira and re-sign Frankie. He's on pace for another excellent season. He's added a pitch to his repertoire, and he's even starting to throw that change up against righthanders with success. And I have no doubt that he'll learn a splitter or cutter (or both) over the next five years. On top of that, he's an Angel lifer, and 10 more solid seasons makes him a nearly automatic hall of famer, and he'll go in with an Angels cap, something you currently can't find in the HOF.

So congratulations, Frankie. You've earned it. Now you can rest and get ready for the post-season.A

Mariners 4; Angels 7

Cross-posted at SoCal Sports Hub.

The Angels started the slow march to the post-season by continuing to rest a few regulars, while Jeff Weaver made his first trip to the mound since cutting his fingers in Detroit a couple weeks ago, but the results were the same as they've been all season as the Angels won yet again. The Angels used single runs in the third and fourth innings before breaking it open with a five run sixth, and held on for a 7-4 victory. Francisco Rodriguez earned his 57th save in the process, tying the record set by Bobby Thigpen.

Brandon Wood, Sean Rodriguez, and Kendry Morales each delivered three hits in the victory, and don't look now, but Wood is hitting .288 and slugging .519 since his recall, and is at 333/358/600 with three homers in his last 12 games. If he continues to get comfortable at the plate, he could very well send Erick Aybar to the bench in the playoffs, or at the very least give Mike Scioscia something to think about. Vlad Guerrero added an RBI single in the five run sixth inning, pushing his average to the .300 mark for the season. And just when it looked like the Angels would cruise to victory, Justin Speier and Scot Shields combined for one inning of relief, allowing four runs on six hits, creating a save situation for Rodriguez in the process. He responded by inducing a double play grounder from Ichiro,and eventually got Raul Ibanez to ground out to first to end the game.

Top Three Angels performers:

1) Jered Weaver rebounded from his injury to throw six shutout innings, allowing three hits, and three walks, while striking out three.

2) Garret Anderson pushed his average over .290 with two hits, and drove in three runs in the process.

3) Brandon Wood had an RBI single in the fourth, and a double in the sixth which helped kick start the rally.

Jeff Weaver of the game: Justin Speier has done everything possible to pitch himself off the post-season roster, and last night was no different. He didn't last an inning, and gave up three runs on four hits, including the 15th home run he's allowed this season.

What to look for tonight: I'd imagine that Mark Teixeira will be back on the field, but look for the Angels to continue to get guys ready for October. Joe Saunders, who was solid on Sunday in Chicago, takes the mound against Ryan Rowland-Smith. The Aussie is 2-1 in eight starts with a 3.91 ERA. His numbers look a little better when you include his relief appearances (4-2, 3.61 ERA).

Game time is 7:05 PST on FSN

#7

Cross posted at Socal Sports Hub.

Forty-two years into their history, the Angels had won the American League's Western Division a grand total of three times. They've since won it another four times in the last five years. This year, they clinched it earlier than anyone since 1971. Better yet, we may finally be getting to the point where we can put 1995 behind us.

Dustin Moseley, making his second start in place of an injured Jered Weaver, withstood a shaky start (he gave up two runs in the first inning) to last five strong innings, and left the game with a 4-2 lead. He was handed that lead courtesy of Robb Quinlan, who really picked up Juan Rivera and Kendry Morales in the fifth inning. The Angels loaded the bases with no one out on three straight single, the third being a shot by Vlad Guerrero that got to right field just fast enough to hold Gary Matthews to one base. Rivera and Morales responded to the opportunity by striking out looking. After fighting off some two strike pitches (amazing what happens when you swing), Quinlan laced a single to left center, scoring two. Xavier Nady's throw to third made it's way past Alex Rodriguez, allowing Vlad to score an insurance run.

From that point, the bullpen took over. Kevin Jepsen tossed a scoreless sixth, and the 7,8,9 combo of Jose Arrendondo, Scot Shields, and Frankie Rodriguez combined for nine outs, six of them via strikeout, allowing only three baserunners to seal the victory. The save, #56, puts Frankie one save away from Bobby Thigpen's record.

Top three Angel performers:

1) Dustin Moseley, filling in for Jered Weaver, gave the Angels five strong innings and stuck around long enough to pick up the win. He allowed six baserunners, and struck just as many out.

2) Robb Quinlan only had one hit, but it was huge, not only coming with the bases loaded, but also after the two previous hitters had gone down with the bat on their shoulder. The Angels needed one run to tie the game, and were about to come away with nothing. Quinlan got them two, and Nady threw in the third run for free.

3) Once again, I've got to give credit to the whole bullpen. Kevin Jepsen threw a solid sixth inning, and Jose Arredondo, Scot Shields, and Frankie Rodriguez showed everyone how a 7, 8, 9 combination is supposed to work. They combined for four innings, three baserunners, and seven strikeouts.

Jeff Weaver of the game: I'm going to go off script and select no one here. Even Juan Rivera, the only Angel without a hit, found a way to drive in a run. It was a solid team effort across the board.
What to look for tonight: Look for a lot of Angels regulars sitting in the dugout when the Mariners are at bat. Don't be surprised to Mike Scioscia starting a very young lineup with probably no more than five normal starters. Jered Weaver returns to the mound after missing a couple of starts with cuts on his fingers courtesy of the bullpen bench in Detroit.

Game Time is 7:05 PST, on FSN.

Hilarious

McCain Campaign too stupid to tell the difference between Walter Reed Middle School and Walter Reed Hospital.

Meanwhile, Michael Penn knows what Walter Reed he's talking about.

Angels 5; Tigers 4

Cross posted at SoCal Sports Hub.

Joe Saunders came into this game looking to right the ship. The left-hander had given up 15 earned runs in 10.2 innings over his last three starts, including six in an inning and a third in his last start against one of the league's worst offenses. Last night he took the hill against one of the best, and settled in for a solid 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out two.

Offensively it wasn't pretty for the Angels. They manages only eight hits, but turned those, along with four walks, into five runs, enough to hang on for the 5-4 victory. Torii Hunter laced a two run double to left in the top of the first for the early lead, driving in Chone Figgins, who had singled, and Mark Teixeira, on base courtesy of the walk. Detroit responded with a two out run in the first to cut the lead in half. Following a Vlad Guerrero double, Torii Hunter singled to drive in his third run of the game.

Saunders got a little squirelly in the third inning. He hit Placido Polanco, then gave up back to back doubles to Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera to tie the game. Hunter then doubled with one out in the fifth, and two consecutive Tiger errors on ground balls by Mike Napoli and Brandon Wood allowed him to score the go ahead run. That's where the game stood until Scot Shields delivered a gopher ball to Miguel Cabrera in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game.

In the ninth inning, the Angels manufactured the go ahead run. Figgins led the inning off with a walk, and promptly stole second. Garret Anderson got him over to third on a ground out, and Mark Teixeira delivered the sac fly that brought Figgins home. Frankie Rodriguez worked a shaky ninth inning, allowing a single and a walk before retiring Polanco for the game's final out, and his league leading 54th save. The Angels magic number sits at seven, making it conceivable, thought not probably, that they could clinch the division this weekend in Chicago at games I will be attending in person.

Angels top three performers:

1) Torii Hunter had three hits, two of them doubles, and drove in three of the Angels' five runs.

2) Jose Arredondo entered the game in the bottom of the seventh with the tying run on second and one out. He retired the only two hitters he faced (the first by strikeout) to preserve the lead for Saunders.

3) Joe Saunders didn't pitch his best game, but following a string of bad performances, and facing an excellent offense, he got himself back on track with a quality start. He lost the win on Shields' blow hold.

Jeff Weaver of the game:

Tough call, here. The bottom of the order continues to underwhelm, though Wood and Sean Rodriguez deserve credit for two stellar plays in the field in the second inning. Garret Anderson was 0-5 and left four men on base, though he did provide a productive out that led to the eventual winning run. But the nod probably goes to Scot Shields, whose two out gopher ball in the eighth allowed the Tigers to tie the score.

What to look for tonight:

Smooth and Steady Jon Garland takes on Zach Miner, who owns a surprising 8-4 record to go along with a 3.46 ERA. He's 3-2 in his last five starts, and that includes a start in which he lasted only an inning and a third and gave up five runs. Take that start away and he's got an ERA barely over one in four of his last five starts. The Angels could conceivably reduce their magic number to five.

Game Time is 4:05 PST on FSN.

My Sarah Palin Timeline Prediction

I know I said I wouldn't get into politics very often, but I have to preserve this for posterity. My predictions for the media reactions to Palin:

Day 1: Bold, exciting choice by McCain. The news media and the American people can't wait to know more about her.

Days 2-5: Now that we know a little more about her, her scandals, her lies about very recent positions, we have to ask, what was the old codger thinking when he made this choice?

Weeks 2-8: We've now gotten used to the idea of a female VP with 19 months of experience leading one of the smallest states in the nation, with virtually no financial difficulties whatsoever, and it feels like a regular campaign.

November 5: Now that McCain has been beaten like a freaking drum, we have to ask, what was the old codger thinking when he made this choice.

Palin will bring some positives to the ticket. She's attractive and young. She's virulently anti-abortion, and supports the teaching of creationism in school, which will fire up the base and the religious idiots/zealots. She's tough to attack without making the Dems look like old white guys going after the pretty young lady. They may bait Biden, who's a bit of loose cannon, into saying something sexist at their debate. She'll peel off a few of the remaining Hillary dead-enders, but they're a lost cause anyway.

On the other hand, she completely guts the "inexperienced" argument. They can't argue with a straight face that Obama doesn't have the experience to lead when they're ready to make her President in the event McCain kicks it, which given his age and health, is pretty likely. And if the Dems are smart, they attack her non-stop with women surrogates. Wasserman-Schultz, McCaskill, and hopefully Hillary herself. They will bury Palin, and do it without the taint of sexism.

Look, this is desperation move by McCain, who had failed to excite the base before now. Palin will bring the base, but won't be taken seriously by the majority of the electorate. And ultimately, this is going to come down to ground game and get out the vote. Neither Republican candidate brings the enthusiasm to the masses that Obama brings, which is why I don't think conventional polling models will capture the type of turnout we'll see in November. Obama and Clinton were each routinely getting more votes in the primaries than all Republicans combined. There are other reasons for that beyond simple enthusiasm (there was still a race on Dem side, for example), but ultimately, the Obama campaign's organization, already light years better than four years ago, will make the difference. McCain will go back to being an absentee Senator, Palin will go back to being a small time governor of a small time state (one that I love, by the way - it's where my brother lives). And in three months, no one will be able to understand why we spent a day making such a big deal about a political neophyte, who just months ago admitted she had no idea what a Vice President even does.

Thanks, John. You did us Democrats a big favor.

Rangers 5; Angels 7

Cross posted at SoCal Sports Hub.

I was starting to think I was a jinx. The Angels had lost all of the four previous games I've recapped here, and after the first inning last night, it looked like more of the same. But Jon Garland settled down, the bats woke up, and the Angels finished off a 7-5 victory, dropping their magic number to 13.

Garland started the game by finding a lot of bats. He allowed five hits in the first, and four runs, three coming in on Milton Bradley's homer to right center field. Mark Teixeira went deep in the bottom of the third for the Angels first run, but the Rangers pushed the lead back to four on Chris Davis' home run in the top of the fourth. The Angels responded with a run in the sixth inning on Garret Anderson's double (and Nelson Cruz's error), but continued to struggle getting runners home in clutch situations.

That changed in the bottom of the eighth. After singles from Vlad Guerrero and Torii Hunter, Joaquin Benoit proceeded to walk both Garret Anderson and Mike Napoli to cut the lead to two. Brandon Wood, fresh up from Salt Lake, couldn't add to the rally, but Juan Rivera, hitting for Sean Rodriguez, drilled a three run double to deep right center (just missing a grand slam), giving the Angels a one run lead. Two singles later (Figgins and Willits), the Angels had turned a three run deficit into a two run lead.

Francisco Rodriguez entered in the ninth. He opened by striking out Davis before giving up a single to Jared Saltalamacchia. He then hit Brandon Boggs, who quite frankly deserved it for the half hour he took to get to the plate. Frankie induced a double play ball from Michael Young to put the game away, and walked off with is 51st save of the season.

Top three Angels performers:

1) A night after one of his most disappointing games of the season, Torii Hunter delivered three hits, and scored twice. His eighth inning single was one of the keys to the Angels rally in that inning.

2) Juan Rivera's clutch three run double in the eighth was the most important hit of the night for the Angels.

3) I could go with Teixeira, who hit his 8th home run as an Angel, but believe it or not, Jon Garland gets the nod here. After his rough first inning, he lasted seven more, only gave up one run, and stuck around long enough to get the win.

Jeff Weaver of the game:

I hate to be too critical, but Brandon Wood and Sean Rodriguez gave a taste of why the Angels had the league's worst offense in May and June. They combined to go 0-7 with Rodriguez striking out twice.

What to look for tonight:

Ervin Santana brings a string of five straight solid (if unspectacular) starts to the mound against Dustin Nippert, who makes his second start of the season, and the seventh of his career. He comes in with an ERA near 8.00, and gave up seven runs in four innings in his other start last week.

Game time is 7:05 PST on FSN.

A's 6; Angels 5

Cross posted at SoCal Sports Hub

On August 10th, Joe Saunder tossed seven innings against the New York Yankees and allowed three runs on his way to picking up his 14th victory. His ERA stood at 3.07. After last night's 6-5 loss to the A's, Saunders has now taken the mound three times since August 10th, lost all three times, given up 15 earned runs in 11 and 2/3 innings, and has seen his ERA go all the way up to 3.67.

Last night, Rajai Davis led the game off with an infield single that glanced off of Saunders' left hand, but based on recent performance, it's hard to blame what followed on an injury. Davis eventually scored the only run of the first inning, but the A's completed their scoring for the night with five runs in the second inning, coming on three singles, a two run double from Bobby Crosby, and a two run homer from Emil Brown.

The Angels threatened, clawing back with four runs of their own in the fourth inning, started off by a Garret Anderson triple, helped along by a two run single from Erick Aybar and an RBI single from Mark Teixeira. They added another in the fifth on another RBI single from Aybar, but ultimately failed to do enough with the nine free passes granted by A's pitchers, and wouldn't score again. Huston Street picked up the win with 1.2 perfect innings.

With Texas winning in Kansas City, the Angels failed to reduce their magic number, which currently sits at 15. To make matters worse, but Howie Kendrick AND Erick Aybar appeared to have hamstring issues, which prompted Juan Rivera to spend the ninth inning manning second base. On a final note, Mike Scioscia was ejected in the seventh inning during a pitching chance, presumably for arguing balls and strikes, prompted primarily from a bad called third strike on Aybar in the second inning with the bases loaded.

Angels top three performers:

1) Erick Aybar had two hits (a double and single) and drove in three runs before leaving the game in the ninth inning.

2) Mark Teixeira reached base four times, drove in one run, and his three hits pushed his Angels batting average to .379. He also recorded his 100th RBI of the season, spanning both leagues.

3) Rested during last night's complete game from John Lackey, the bullpen provided 7 and 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed the Angels to mount a comeback. Shane Loux pitched three solid innings, Jose Arredondo pitched in for two (with three strikeouts), Darren Oliver added 1.2 before being replaced (at which point Scioscia was tossed), and Justin Speier had another scoreless outing.

Jeff Weaver of the game: The easy pick is Saunders, his six runs allowed digging a hole that the Angels couldn't crawl out of. But Torii Hunter is a good pick here as well. He went 0-4, struck out three times, and left six runners on base, most of them in scoring position.

What to look for tonight: Jon Garland tries to get back on track. He's put up a couple bad performances following a string of mediocre performances. He faces former White Sox teammate Brandon McCarthy, who went four innings and allowed one run to Cleveland in his first start of the season last week. You can also look for Kendrick and Aybar, but you may have to look hard, because after last night's hamstring problems, neither may be on the field.

Game Time is 7:05 PST on FSN.

Schweitzer

I try to keep this blog non-political, and this may be my first every political post (though possibly not my last), but I'm a lifelong Democrat, and an Obama supporter. Have been since day one. I'm proud to be a current resident of Illinois (though I'm still an Angeleno at heart), and I'm proud that he represents my state.

But my dad was born and raised in Montana. I still have a ton of family back there. An aunt, three cousins (two more that grew up there before moving away), three cousin's spouses, eight second cousins, one spouse of a second cousin, and their two kids. I love the state of Montana, and I love going back to Sidney to visit my family (big fish in a small pond, someone once called them "the Kennedys of Sidney"). The Seitzes have been business owners for something like 60 years, from my grandfather's (who I never met) clothing shop to my uncle's insurance agency, now operated by my cousins.

And as much as I like living in Illinois, damn, I wish this guy was my governor.



My aunt might tell you he doesn't do enough for eastern Montana. As if a town going through a major oil boom needs governmental support. And of course, 98% of the population lives WEST of Sidney, so yeah, a politician is going to focus on that part of the state. But these are the types of politicians that make Democrats viable in the Mountain West. Just because I don't think you need an AK-47 on the streets of Chicago doesn't mean I want to take your hunting rifle away. My cousins are hunters, and they're real conservationists. That's common ground. I actually was rooting for Schweitzer for Veep, but I'll settle for Democrats in the top three positions in Montana politics.

Now we just need to get rid of the most corrupt Republicans in government up in my brother's home state of Alaska.

A's 2; Angels 1

Cross posted at Socal Sports Hub.

If you skipped this one to watch convention coverage, you didn't miss much. Neither team generated much offense, and a sloppy game from the Angels saw a sloppy play lead to their demise. Dallas Braden scattered seven hits over seven innings, allowing only Mike Napoli to score on a solo home run. He wasn't overpowering by any means. He didn't strike out a batter, but was helped out numerous times as Angels hitters swung at pitches out of the strike zone, which helped him complete seven innings without walking a hitter.

Jered Weaver actually pitched one of his better games over the last month, though we need to normalize for the offense he faced. If you haven't been following the A's very closely this season, you probably recognized Bobby Crosby, Frank Thomas, maybe Jack Cust and Kurt Suzuki, and that's about it. They sent all of one batter to the plate hitting over .250 (Suzuki). Injuries, trades, and poor performances have hampered the offense all season, and it's tough to give Weaver full credit for his good numbers. Still, he only allowed five baserunners (three hits and two walks), and struck out 8.

Napoli's home run was matched by Daric Barton's third inning blast. Following a fourth inning Frank Thomas walk and a Jack Hannahan double, Weaver uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Thomas to score the eventual winning run. The Angels put one baserunner on in the ninth when Mark Teixeira reached on a two out error by the first baseman Barton, but Torii Hunter's ground ball to Crosby at short ended the evening.

Top three Angels performers:

1) Weaver was solid through seven with the numbers mentioned above. He threw 67 strikes against 41 balls and dropped his ERA by a tenth of a run.

2) Mike Napoli deserves credit for actually creating a run, which no other Angel could do.

3) The bullpen combination of Justin Speier and Jason Bulger gave the Angels a chance. It was nice to see Speier keep the ball in the ballpark for once.

Jeff Weaver of the game:

Tough call here when the whole offense is awful (though it should be noted that Vlad was resting). I've got to go with Chone Figgins, the only Angel with two hits, who still managed to get himself out on the basepaths both times. He was picked off in the first inning after a lead off single, setting the tone for the game. He was also caught stealing in the third inning.

What to look for tonight:

John Lackey brings his dominance of the A's to the mound against a less than stellar lineup, while Greg Smith goes for the A's. Smith's 6-12 record belies a solid 3.75 ERA. Scioscia wants to give Vlad a few days off his feet, but after last night's offensive display (you choose which syllable to emphasize), he may want his bat in the lineup tonight at DH.

Game time 7:05 PST; Televised on FSN

Twins 2; Angels 1

See also here.

Following a blistering July and first half of August, the Angels offense appears to be slowing down to June levels. They struggled to generate any offense last night, and they failed to exert any pressure on the Twins defense. They managed only one hit and three baserunners in the last eight innings of play last night, and wasted an otherwise solid performance from John Lackey. On the other side, Scott Baker threw eight innings of four hit baseball to lower his ERA to 3.74.

The Angels took the lead on a first inning home run from Mark Teixeira, his fifth since the trade. The Twins scratched out a run in the fifth inning to tie the score on a two out double from Nick Punto and an RBI single from Carlos Gomez. That was all the offense until the 12th inning.

In the 12th, Mike Scioscia made the inexplicable decision to turn to Justin Speier, who has now allowed at least one run in five of his last seven appearances (an 8.64 ERA over that span). Punto led off the 12th with a triple on a ball that, quite frankly, should have been caught by Torii Hunter. Two batters later, Denard Spann drove a single past the drawn in Chone Figgins for the eventual winning run.

Angels Top Three Performers:

1) John Lackey pitched eight innings of one run ball, allowing seven baserunners and striking out five. He pitched his way out of a jam in the eighth (which he helped create with his second error of the night), with some help from Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar, who turned a nifty double play.

2) Mark Teixeira was the only Angel with more than one hit, and provided all the offense with his 5th home run as an Angel.

3) The bullpen (non-Speier division). Frankie Rodriguez, Scot Shields, and Darren Oliver combined for three scoreless innings. Each allowed a hit, and Shields walked a batter, but struck out two.

Jeff Weaver of the game:

Take your pick between Scioscia, for going with Speier when he could have extended Oliver (or gone with Arredondo), Speier (who's simply been awful this year), or Hunter, who in addition to failing to catch a very catchable ball, went 0-4 and left four runners on base.

What to look for tonight:

Joe Saunders goes after win number 15 again. The Twins counter with Glenn Perkins, a 25 year old Minnesota local with a very nice 10-3 record and a 4.17 ERA. He's struggled a bit in four of his last five starts, but tossed eight innings of scoreless baseball against the Yankees a week and a half ago. Garret Anderson looks to start a new hitting streak after having his 23 gamer snapped last night (though in all likelihood, he'll get the day off).

Game time: 7:05 PDT; Television: KCOP

Angels 2; Rays 4

Another in my series of recaps for Socal Sports Hub.

Ten years ago, the New York Yankees had an historic season, winning 114 games against just 48 losses. Six of those losses came against the Angels. Ever since, the Angels have consistently been thorns in the Yankees collective side, true proof of which wouldn't manifest itself on a grander stage until the 2002 ALDS, a triumph the Angels would duplicate in 2005. The Tampa Bay Rays are quickly becoming the Calanaheim Angels to the Angels' Yankees. The Angels have a winning record against every team in the American League, except for the Rays, who continued their dominance over the Angels last night with a 4-2 victory.

The Angels got the ball rolling early with a home run from Vladimir Guerrero, his 23rd of the season, to lead off the second inning. They would go on to squander a great opportunity to add to the lead when Torii Hunter was cut down at the plate on a strike from B.J. Upton. And I'm serious about it being a strike. I'm pretty sure that peg went through the strike zone. The Angels added a second run in the fourth inning when Garret Anderson's double, which extended his hitting streak to 22 games, drove in Guerrero, who had doubled to lead off the inning.

Meanwhile, Ervin Santana was quietly twirling a gem. He didn't allow a baserunner until there were two outs in the fourth inning, and didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning, when he finally ran into trouble, and got a little help from umpire Jerry Meals at first base. Following a double by Jason Bartlett and an infield single by Akinori Iwamura, Upton hit a bouncer to first base. Mark Teixeira thought about going to the plate, and his hesitation fooled Santana, who was on his way to cover first base. Teixeira's throw to first subsequently flew by Santana and was picked up by an alert Howie Kendrick. Upton ran through first base, and it looked to me as if he thought about going to second on the error for a split second before coming to a stop. Kendrick alertly tagged Upton, and Meals called him out. Rule 7.08(c) says that a player overrunning first base must immediately return to the base. If the umpire can discern any intent to advance toward second base, the player is fair game. In Meals' judgment, Upton hesitated (a big no-no), and was in play. Joe Maddon disagreed and got the gate after letting Meals know.

Scot Shields made it all academic, however, in the bottom of the eighth. He came in with absolutely no concept of the strike zone, and walked Gabe Gross. Jason Bartlett tried to bunt him over, and Jeff Mathis' throw to first sailed into right field, putting the tying run on third and the go ahead run on second. Shields then walked the bases loaded before striking out Upton on a fastball at the knees. Darren Oliver was summoned to face lefty Carlos Pena, but he too couldn't find the strike zone when it mattered and walked in the tying run. Following a strike out of Cliff Floyd, Willie Aybar singled home Bartlett and Iwamura to provide the winning margin.

Angels three top performers:

1) Vladimir Guerrero went two for four with a homer and a double, and scored both Angel runs.

2) Ervin Santana threw seven innings of one run ball and allowed only six baserunners against nine strikeouts. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.

3) Jerry Meals made a questionable call that kept the Angels in the lead until the eighth inning implosion. No one else really qualified here, so Meals gets the nod over any actual Angels.

Jeff Weaver of the game: Scot Shields, with a tip of the cap to Jeff Mathis. Shields' job is to get the Angels through the eighth inning in close games, and failed dramatically. Mathis runs a close second for not only allowing the eventual winning run to reach base with a wild throw to first, but for also striking out with a runner in scoring position.

What to look for tonight: Jered Weaver rides the roller coaster against Matt Garza. Acquired before the season from the Twins, Garza has been sharp this year with a 10-7 record and 3.63 ERA. After two straight shaky performances (nine runs in 10.2 innings), he's coming off a shut out of the Rangers. Weaver has been unreliable of late, with an ERA over six in his last four starts.

Next game: Tonight at 4:10 PDT, on FSN and ESPN2

Post-Game Report: Angels vs. Mariners (8/13/08)

If the Angels are undecided on which of their big pending free agents to pursue after the season, last night's game made the decision a little easier. Mark Teixeira struck twice for home runs, the first of which, a two run shot, gave the Angels a 3-1 lead in the third inning. The Mariners climbed back to tie the game at 3-3, in the 7th, then 4-4 in the 8th.

Following a Garret Anderson walk and Howie Kendrick double, the Angels pushed across two runs in bottom of the eighth with back to back sac flies from Juan Rivera and Jeff Mathis for a 6-4 lead. But the Mariners stormed back, getting three in the top of the ninth against Frankie Rodriguez. The Mariners got the benefit of two close calls in the inning, the first when Miguel Cairo walked on what looked like a very borderline pitch, and the second when Cairo appeared to be double off second following a line drive to Vladimir Guerrero in right field. A Jeremy Reed double and Raul Ibanez single drove three runs across to give the Mariners a 7-6 lead. Rodriguez left the game following Ibanez's single, and gave home plate umpire Gerry Davis an earful that would lead to his ejection, though it was essentially meaningless at that point.

But Rodriguez wasn't the only closer to fail last night. J.J. Putz surrendered a lead off home run to Mark Teixeira in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings. The scored held at 7-7 until the top of the 12th, when the Angels, having burned through Jose Arredondo, Scot Shields, Rodriguez, and Darren Oliver (who threw 2.2 perfect innings), were forced to call on Justin Speier. With two on and two out, Wladimir Balantien hit his sixth home run of the season, the 11th allowed by Speier in just 49 innings, a three run shot that all but put the game out of reach.

Top performing Angels:

1) Mark Teixeira went three for six, with two homers and three RBIs. He's now hit four homers with the Angels, and is hitting a robust .340 since the trade.

2) Maicer Izturis, hitting in front of Teixeria, added three hits, two of them doubles, in his five at bats before leaving the game with a sprained thumb, an injury he aggravated diving for a ground ball in the ninth inning.

3) Darren Oliver kept the Angels hope's alive, getting them out of the tumultuous ninth inning, and tossing perfect frames in the 10th and 11th innings.

4) Ervin Santana rates a mention for his 6.1 innings and seven strikeouts. He left the game with a lead that the bullpen was unable to maintain.

Jeff Weaver of the game: Pick just about anyone from the Angels bullpen except Oliver. Jose Arredondo inherited a difficult situation, with runners on second and third with only one out in the seventh. He allowed the tying run to score on an RBI ground out. Scot Shields allowed a double and two out RBI single in the eighth. Rodriguez and Speier melted down as described above.

Play of the game: Mark Teixeira's lead off game tying blast in the bottom of the ninth gave the Angels hope, for a few innings.

What to look for on Friday: Jered Weaver brings his roller coaster act to Cleveland against the Indians and Cy Young candidate Cliff Lee. Lee faces the American League's best offense since the the All Star break.

Game is @ 4:05 PDT on Fox Sports Net.

Foul

So tonight I did something I've never done before. I caught a foul ball at Major League game. Gary Sheffield ripped one off of John Danks into the left field upper deck at the Cell, it bounced off a co-worker, right into my hands. Pretty cool. Gave the ball to my boss's kid, who I think gave it to another kid. It's really dumb luck, and it's not like it was an epic grab or anything, but it was still kind of neat. Plus, it ought to buy me another few weeks of employment.

I still have the ball I grabbed at a Texas League game in Wichita about ten years ago, which was subsequently autographed by the legendary Mick Fieldbinder.

Orioles 4; Angels 9

After failing to push a run across last night, the Angels struck early in this afternoon's game. Vladimir Guerrero's two out two run homer in the first inning gave Ervin Santana a lead an early lead that the Angels would never relinquish. The Angels scored all of their runs in the first four innings, putting up crooked numbers in the first, third, and fourth. Jeff Mathis added his ninth homer in the second inning.

Ervin Santana sharp for the most part, allowing four runs over seven innings while striking out seven and walking none. He made two mistakes, and the Orioles took advantage of both. Luis Montanez drove the second pitch of his major league career over the left field wall for his first career home run, and Nick Markakis added a three run shot of his own in the fifth inning. Jose Arredondo took over in the eighth and retired all six hitters he faced.

The day's best...

1) Vladimir Guerrero went two for three, reached base three times, scored twice, and drove in four runs, two coming on his 20th homer of the season.

2) Mark Teixeira reached base three times in four plate appearances, and scored each time. He also delivered his first double as an Angel.

3) Garret Anderson added three more hits, one of them a double, pushing his batting average since the All-Star break to .426, and his slugging percentage to .639.

Jeff Weaver of the game: Howie Kendrick was hitless in four at bats, and left three men on base.

What to look for on Friday: Jered Weaver has had a couple rough starts over the past few months, but he's generally bounced back strong in his next outing. He'll try to get back on track against the same Yankees team that roughed him up last Saturday. The Yankees counter with young Dan Giese, making his third major league start. The Anaheim native is 0-2 as a starter, with an ERA over 5.00, but has put up better numbers out of the bullpen.

Orioles 3; Angels 2 (hits)

Bear with me. I'm doing a few recaps per week for another site, and I'm working my way back into it.

The Angels, it seems, have had a habit over the years of making guys who should still be in triple A look like Cy Young. And when that guy is a soft tossing lefty, you can guess that it's probably going to be a long night.

Chris Walters, making his major league debut thanks to a recent Hayden Penn mishap, befuddled the Angels all night with soft stuff away, getting 14 of his 24 outs via the ground ball, along with three strikeouts, the first of which coming on three straight that Chone Figgins watched sail right through the zone. He held the Angels to two hits on the night before coming out after eight innings and 104 pitches.

The Orioles picked up where they left off last night. After plating four in the ninth to tie the game the night before, they pushed two across in the first inning of tonight's game. The first four batters Garland faced all reached base, with Brian Roberts scoring on a Nick Markakis double. Markakis was subsequently driven home by Melvin Mora's single. Garland would induce a double play (one of three on the night) and fly ball to get out of the inning, but the damage was done, and it turned out to be all Walters and the Orioles needed. Luke Scott added a superfluous third run with a two out homer in the seventh.

The lone bright spot for the Angels was Shane Loux's debut. Called up to replace the struggling Darren O'Day, Loux tossed two hitless innings, allowing one baserunner via a walk.

Ervin Santana takes on Garret Olson and 5+ ERA tomorrow under the sun. Ervin has righted the ship on the road this year, but he's struggled during day games, going 1-2 with a 5.59 ERA.

Broken Social Scene

These guys are very, very good. Just caught them on Saturday night for the second time (first time was Intonation/Pitchfork a couple years ago), and wow, what a set. I'll be the first to admit that they do a lot of stuff that isn't always my cup o tea, but when they're on, they're on. Good examples below (Stars and Sons, Cause = Time).

Also, they're a supergroup with a new concept: Showcase their stars. Their last two albums have been presented as "Broken Social Scene Presents (Kevin Drew/Brendan Canning). The new Canning album has the inside track for the title of my favorite album of the year, alongside the Whigs "Mission Control".

Anyway, I have a new Song of the Day up over at the appropriately named "Song of the Day" which discusses two of my favorite tracks from the new album. Check it out, in addition to the awesomeness below. If you don't like it, I can't help you.

Thanks.

Frankie Rodriguez, and Questions for Anonymous and MSS

My last two posts have prompted comments regarding the potential (probable?) departure of Frankie Rodriguez following this season. MSS thinks his leaving will be good for the Angels, as he is apparently no longer the "great reliever he once was". Meanwhile Anonymous thinks we won't miss his antics after all of those saves "he almost blows".

So for MSS, is a 26 year old closer with almost 200 career saves who, by the way, just learned a new pitch no longer dominant, even while still saving well over 90% of his chances? He just dropped his ERA to 2.42, saving a 1-0 game, while retiring the games best player, and one of the AL's best hitters in the process. He made A-Rod look stupid on a 3-2 change up, a pitch he didn't even know how to throw before this season. Does anyone doubt that in a year or two, he'll probably also add a splitter to he repertoire? He is not only still dominating, he's learning while doing it. Oh, and for good measure, one of the guys you'd probably list as dominant, Mariano Rivera, he couldn't get it done tonight. Big L next to his name in the box score.

And Anonymous, does this count as one of the saves he "almost" blew? I mean, he did throw three balls to A-Rod before making him look stupid in the process. And those two fly balls he gave up were only about 70 feet from going out. Yes occasionally Frankie makes things more interesting than we'd like. What closer doesn't? Troy Percival, God love him (heck, I sponsor his B-R page) wasn't always without drama. Bryan Harvey seemed like he always walked the bases loaded before striking out the side. But I think there's a tendency to remember the drama, and unfortunately the failures, more than the successes.

You can count on one hand the guys who have been dominant over Frankie's tenure in his role. Rivera, maybe Wagner, Nathan, and who else? Frankie has been part of that group for four years now, and he's much younger than all of them. Though his save totals have been high, his work rate hasn't been outrageous. You have to ask yourself, why are there so few guys on that list? It's because it's not easy to perform at that level year in year out. That's why guys like Derek Turnbow and Joe Borowski can look great one year, and get cut the next. There are very few closers with long track records of sustained success. And of those three mentioned above, Wagner's got an ERA over 8.00 in the post-season.

So you can cheer the departure of Frankie all you want, but it will, without a doubt, weaken the Angels. They will be worse without him.

I've said this so many times I may as well get it tattooed on my forehead, but here it is again, in boldface. The comparison is not between what Frankie is and what Frankie could be, or was for one great season, or what you wish he would be. The comparison is between what Frankie is and what currently exists in the game. Regardless of the fact that he no longer mows through three innings in 25 pitches with six strikeouts, like he did in 2002, he's still at the top of an elite group of players who, night in and night out, answer the bell in the last inning and deliver their team to victory. If you can't see that, then I guess I can't help you. But facts are facts, and the fact is Frankie is one of a select few that turns the vast majority of games he enters into eight inning affairs. And yes, that's a very, very valuable commodity. The Angels will regret the day he signs with someone else.

A Couple Days Removed

Now that the initial shock has subsided, I'm warming to this trade a little bit. I still don't think it's really in the long term interests of the club. I still think that the Angels are not likely to sign Teixeira. I still think that their pursuit of Teixeira will cost them Frankie as well.

But the positives, as have mentioned mentioned numerous places, include the likelihood of picking up four picks before the second round, and they free up plenty of money to sign those guys. In addition, if Kendry Morales' recent display indicate a real improvement, then he may not be a huge downgrade over Kotchman. To top it off, Kotchman's comments about no ties to the franchise, and the sentiment that he was not pleased with Scioscia's decision to sit him against some lefties makes it a bit easier to wave goodbye.

This team, as currently constructed, is proving that they are the best team in baseball, and as I mentioned the other day, I do believe that this makes the Angels better right now, no question. It's (hopefully) going to be a long two months while we all wait for the post-season to get underway, but if everyone remains healthy, then the Angels should be the odds on favorite for the World Series. I can live with that.

First Reaction: Don't Like It

I've written about this a bunch on other sites today, but the short version is, I'm not a fan of the Teixeira trade. I will grant that it make the Angels better today than they were yesterday.

Unfortunately, I think it makes them worse in the future. I do not think they will be able to re-sign Tex, and I think that their focus on him will also lead to the loss of Frankie. The Angels will be weaker in the bullpen and at first base next year. They've essentially dealt a productive young player for a two month rental, and in the process signaled that anything short of a World Series Championship this year is a failure.

Tex does not want to stay on the West Coast, and you can forget about the exclusive negotiating window. Tex is a Boras client, and he WILL test the market. The Angels won't outbid all of the Yankees, Red Sox, and Orioles. And if his status hangs for a while, which it likely will with at least four teams involved, Frankie will probably be gone before it's resolved.

The Angels have either misplaced faith in their ability to bring Tex back, or they think Morales will be ready. The counter argument is that this frees up a lot of money to be active on the market AND it gets them probably four draft picks. The picks I like, but the Angels have not shown the ability to be consistently smart on the free agent market. Just ask Steve Finley, Shea Hillenbrand, and Gary Matthews. Not to mention the full court press they put on Paul Konerko.

So short run, it means they have a better chance to win. It also means they have to win, or the deal blows up in their faces. The team will be worse come November and going forward. Now they MUST sign Juan Rivera, and they may need to buy him a first baseman's glove.

I do not like this deal.

Transcendent

Three years ago, while the Wrens and AC Newman were the big interests for me at the Intonation Festival, at the time curated by Pitchfork, later to become the Pitchfork Festival, it was Broken Social Scene that really blew me away. I owned "You Forgot it in People" at the time, but it wasn't until I saw them at that show that it really clicked for me, and that set was the highlight.

Two years ago it was the Walkmen and Destroyer that piqued my interest, and both were excellent, but when all was said and done, it was Ted Leo that made the biggest impression on me. He was someone I hadn't listened to very much at the time, and I left the park a big fan, and immediately bought Shake the Sheets and Hearts of Oak.

Last year, I'm not gonna lie. The lineup mostly sucked. And the people I usually go with couldn't make it. So I had tickets that went unused for Friday and Saturday, but I showed up for a couple hours on Sunday to hear New Pornographers play a few tracks from their, at that time, unreleased new album Challengers.

This year, Sunday was the big draw, with Les Savy Fav, the Apples in Stereo, Spoon, etc. But for the first time in four years, it was the one band that I really wanted to see that delivered the best performance, and easily the best set I've ever seen at a festival setting, leaving me hungry for a show at a more intimate, or at least indoor venue. Spiritualized delivered far and away the best set.

I'll admit that I came to the show expecting to hear a stripped down, mostly acoustic, mellow set of material off the new album. Most of the shows that J. Spaceman played since his return to health were of the Acoustic Mainline variety (a take off on the Electric Mainline - Pure Phase album). But to my surprise, he showed up with two awesome backup vocalists, and a fully plugged in five piece setup. And while they did the mellow stuff at times, they simply blew doors when they wanted to. He played a few songs off the new album, most notably Sweet Talk and the first single, Soul On Fire. He also reached back to Amazing Grace for Cheapster and She Kissed Me (and it Felt Like a Hit).

But the highlights came early and late. They opened with You Lie, You Cheat off of the new album (Songs in A&E). As that faded out, the band slowly worked it's way into downright numbing version of Shine a Light, from Lazer Guided Melodies. If you've got a copy of the track handy, fast forward to about the 11 minute mark, picture the sax is a guitar, and imagine that the wall of background fuzz is about 100 times louder than you'd expect, and you'll get the idea. After working through the rest of the set, they finally launched into Come Together, the one song my friend wanted to hear, and for me, that was set to be a real highlight, until they segued out of the song, into some distortion and reached back into the Spacemen 3 catalogue for arguably my favorite Pierce associated track ever, Take Me To the Other Side, which was a really terrific way to end the set. If I weren't a Spiritualized fan before the show, I would have been on the way out. It really was transcendent, and it was probably one of the five best live sets I've ever seen, regardless of setting. I'll try to link to some videos as soon as P4k puts them up.

This should be a link to their set for streaming via audio. If it's not, then enter the time and date (July 20, 5:00 pm) and it should work.

WANT!

Since the end of January, I've been dieting and exercising more. The exercise primarily consists of riding my bike, which is set up on a mag trainer, for about 30 minutes a night, fairly strenuously (at a cadence between 85 and 120). I'm currently down about 40 pounds over that time. I may just need to celebrate by treating myself to one of these:




These things look totally awesome, and way more comfortable than a regular trainer.

NHL, Free Agency, and the Kings

The Kings have done nothing in free agency this season. For all none of you that give a shit about the Kings, you can move on, but I'm actually happy about this. No free agent is going to make the Kings appreciably better than they already are, and unless you're an idiot like Marian Hossa, you wanted a deal that was of a length that would block prospects.

So the Kings go into the next season with a really awful team, but one that will be full of kids getting experience. The worst case scenario is that they're competitive and end up with the sixth or seventh pick instead of the first or second.

So this year they're going to suck. That's pretty clear. But I still think they'll be fun to watch. In 2009, they'll have two goaltenders ready to shoulder the load with Bernier and Zatkoff. The defense will consist of Jack Johnson, Thomas Hickey, Drew Doughty, Colton Teubert, Vjateslav Voinov, and Alec Martinez. The first two lines will feature Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, Patrick O'Sullivan, Alexander Frolov, Brian Boyle, and Teddy Purcell. That's assuming Matt Moulson, Oscar Moller, and Scott Parse don't force their way on to those lines.

The goaltending will be solid. The defense will be skilled and very physical. The offense will produce. And the best part will be the depth. Dean Lombardi is building a team that will not only be good, but will be able to withstand injury.

Make no mistake, 2008-2009 won't be very good. But they will be fun to watch, and starting in 2009, the Kings will be ass-kickers.

Embarrassing

There's no other way to describe it. The Dodgers basically just said "You guys suck so bad that we don't even need a hit to beat you."

I'd say that Lackey needs to go out and pick them up tomorrow, but other than hitting a couple of homers, I'm not sure what he can do. This is the most pathetic performance I've ever witnessed. I'll admit, I was hoping that Ethier's ball would go over GA's head, just so they'd have a hit.

This is quite possibly the lowest moment in the history of the franchise. This is laughing stock territory. This is losing to Appalachian State territory. This is something you never, ever live down.

You build from the net out

And Dean Lombardi has committed the Kings to doing just that. They had a tremendous first round tonight. In Drew Doughty, the Kings selected a defenseman who, alongside Jack Johnson, can lead the Kings power play for the foreseeable future. Thomas Hickey will figure into that as well. And in case you thought those guys were too small, they dealt Cammalleri, took Colton Teubert with the 13th pick, and added a third rounder next year in the process. Teubert is 6'3", and has knack for cracking skulls that dare skate through the crease.

So the Kings future includes the top goalie prospect from juniors, the top college goalie from last season, and a top four defense corps of Jack Johnson, Thomas Hickey, Drew Doughty, and Colton Teubert. The only problem I see with that group is that it only includes two Americans.

Last season the Kings, as a team, were bad. But they were fun to watch, at least for me, because they had guys I could pay attention to that were interesting players. Johnson, Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, and Patrick O'Sullivan. This year they'll work Teddy Purcell, Matt Moulson, and Brian Boyle into the mix. Hickey may make the big club, and Doughty is very likely to be in L.A. next season.

The Kings aren't going to win the cup next year. They may not even make the playoffs. But the tide is turning, and the team is moving in the right direction. Now let's sit back and see what Dean does with the other boatload of picks he has in this draft.

A Night to Remember

I am an Angeleno. I've lived in Illinois for almost ten years now, about seven of those in Chicago, but no matter how long I make this part of the country my home, it will always feel temporary. I will never stop being an Angeleno (I know, technically I grew up in Temple City/San Gabriel, not Los Angeles, but it's a regional thing). I rarely read the local papers here, unless I'm reading something about the Illini, or laughing at their coverage of an incredibly minor earthquake. I don't want local news. All I know about what's going on Chicago can be attributed to listening to Morning Edition on NPR, which covers some local news.

But the first thing I do every morning when I sit at my computer is pull up the L.A. Times website. I never watch the Cubs, Sox, Blackhawks, or Bulls, but I watch every Angels game, every Kings game, and the Lakers when they're on regular cable. My blood is completely Southern Californian (with a pinch of Montana thrown in there on my dad's side).

That's why what I did Friday night was so special. Due to some earlier travel plans for work that fell through, I had a plane ticket home last weekend, and I used the trip to take my parents to see John Wooden and Vin Scully live and on stage with T.J. Simers, with whom I have a smidgen of history and for whom I have a fondness. It's a night that won't soon be forgotten by anyone who attended, or by the folks at the two charities, for whom the event raised nearly a million dollars.

About 13 or 14 years ago, I was at the L.A. Open at Riviera, on the balcony overlooking the first tee when Byron Nelson walked out. I can't remember why exactly he was there, but the crowd around the tee spontaneously gave him a rousing ovation. I said to my dad at that time that there are a few people in town who would get the same reception almost no matter where they were. John Wooden and Vin Scully were among them (maybe to a lesser extent Magic, or Dave Taylor at the time). When they entered the stage Friday night, the place erupted in a standing ovation before Wooden and Scully even made it out from behind the curtains.

Simers was terrific, with his typical playful irreverence, but was massively overshadowed by the two legends, who gave as good as they got all night long. They traded jabs with Simers, regaled the crowd with stories from the Dodgers' and Bruins' past, and talked about their upbringing, their families, and philosophies for a successful life. It was a great event from start to finish, and the opportunity to spend it with my parents made the night even better.

My dad hasn't been in the best of health over the last few years. I won't go into details, but he can't quite do some of the things that he used to do. That's why the weekend was so special. I got a chance to play golf with him, something I thought I'd never be able to do again, but his condition has improved a bit recently. We watched the U.S. Open on Saturday afternoon, and headed down to Anaheim for the Angels game on Saturday night, something we did all the time when my brother, sister and I were growing up, but something we hadn't done in six or seven years. It was the perfect fathers day/birthday weekend.

The only unfortunate part of the Wooden/Scully event is that it likely will never happen again. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience. There are no two figures in the Southern California sports landscape who are more iconic and legendary. If you missed it, you should really try to catch one of the replays on Fox Sports. It may not feel like it felt for those of us lucky enough to witness it in person, but it would be a good start.

Fakey Fake

Always been down with one of them too
You were the fake and I was the fool
But you were too young to know all the rules
So I was the fake and you were the fool

I went to law school with a guy named Jimmy. Bostonian. Great guy, but typical Boston fan. So anyway, I was at his place tonight watching the Lakers and Celtics in game one of the NBA finals.

Let the record show that the minute Paul Pierce went down with his "injury", I predicted that he'd milk it for all it was worth, and come back in the fourth quarter. I was wrong about the timing, but right about him being a fucking faker. Seriously, have you ever known someone who injured A knee, yet couldn't put weight on his GOOD knee to walk off the court? Only Boston fans could be dumb enough to buy into his act.

It wasn't the Lakers' night. Countless shots went down only to rattle back out. And the officiating, was of course, atrocious. But this is the NBA, so I expect it to be atrocious in the other direction next week. But the point is, Paul Pierce is a faker, Ray Allen is old, and Kevin Garnett only plays three quarters per game, so I'm not particularly concerned.

Go Lakers.

Major Leaguers

When I started doing this a few years ago, and I was doing game recaps every night, I always tried to write about things I observed that maybe didn't get talked about by the broadcasters or written up in the paper. After a couple of years, I felt like I was writing about the same things all the time, and it sapped a little bit of the interest I had in writing. It just felt like I was writing things I had written before.

Last night, however, I saw something that really got my dander up, so to speak. Now, I understand that the Angels offensive philosophy is to be aggressive, and they're going to swing a lot. If you haven't figured that out by now, you haven't been watching very long. But what happened in the sixth inning was ridiculous. To take you back, you'll remember that the bottom of the fifth inning finished with the Mariners scoring three unearned runs, thanks in large part to Howie Kendrick's error on a routine grounder, and Robb Quinlan's inexplicable decision to go the long way on a throw for the third out, instead of a quick flip to second, which resulted in the second error of the inning. The defense hung Joe Saunders out to dry, and made him throw 12 more pitches than he should have to get out of the inning.

I don't know about you, but if I were a hitter due up the next inning, and my pitcher just had to work a lot harder than he should have to get out of an inning, I might want to slow things down a bit, take a few pitches, and let him catch his breath before taking the mound again. The Angels offense gave Saunders about 45 seconds. Maicer Izturis actually saw four pitches in his at bat, but Kendrick and Torii Hunter combined saw half that. Isn't this baseball 101? In the NL, if you pitcher grounds out, and you're the next hitter, you take a few extra seconds in the on deck circle. You walk more slowly to the plate. You give the guy a break.

I don't know, maybe it's just me, but this goes hand in hand with the insane number of times you see one of these guys swing at a pitch from a pitcher who has just thrown six or seven straight pitches out of the strike zone. I understand aggressiveness, but sometimes, you need to use your head. You need to help your own pitcher, and not help out your opponent.

Still, they're winning. That makes six series in a row that the Angels have had the upper hand. If they win two out of three all year, I think they'll be alright. Congratulations to Hokie Joe on win #9, and nice work from Arredondo and Frankie to lock things down. Let's see them get that sweep.

Engel Notitzen

• Yes, the Angels have finally come to my city. No, I won't be going until Sunday night's game. And really, this is the worst game to go to, since it's on ESPN. That means it's the one game that won't have Hawk and DJ calling the game in this town. Then again, I LOVE listening to those guys when the Angels win, like they did tonight. I do have tickets for two games when the Angels return in the fall.
• I think we're far enough into the season where we can say that Joe Saunders is a stud, and Ervin Santana is turning into the pitcher we thought he could be. He had his issues last night, but he pitched well enough to win. Saunders, meanwhile, was awesome again tonight. His BAD games are still pretty good. And he's what, 23-9 in his major league career? Those are MLB '08 - The Show numbers.
  
• Nick Adenhart hasn't been lights out since returning to Salt Lake, but he still hasn't given up a homer this year, and that includes about 50 innings between Salt Lake and Los Angeles of Anaheim. Pitchers can control three things - walks, strikeouts, and home runs. He's already doing one about as well as it can be done. If he can start keeping the ball closer to the strike zone, he'll be very good
  
• Meanwhile, John Lackey is already very good, and his return has been excellent. Two starts, 14 innings, two runs. That's a little better than Dustin Moseley and Adenhart were doing. And even without him and Escobar, they're still in first place. This is what we call 'poised to deliver'.
  
• As for Escobar, the emergence of Saunders and the resurgence of Santana, coupled with the struggles of the bullpen have to have the Angels braintrust thinking. It's like a perfect storm. Five fully functioning starters, a lackluster pen, and a terrific arm that a) may have trouble pitching deep into games, and b) can be very effective in short spurts. Might we see a 2005 redux with Escobar coming back but pitching primarily out of the pen? I'm up for it.
  
• It's nice to see how much the Mariners suck, isn't it?
• Remember how much A's fans whined last year about injuries? The Angels have been hammered by injuries this year, and yet they're still winning series after series. That's all about depth. And you may get discouraged if you're a subscriber to The Prospect Report. The Angels don't have the boatload of young prospects that they've had in years past. But almost no team in baseball has the depth that the Angels have right now. And there's more more to this depth than just an ability to fill in. I'm a firm believer that a taste of the bigs from time to time makes a prospect a better, hungrier player. The Angels are competing with Sean Rodriguez and Brandon Wood in the majors right now, when they shouldn't be here. I believe it will make the Angels better when those guys should be here.
• Still, I want to see this team in October with Lackey, Escobar, Figgins, and Kendrick at full steam. I think with a full roster, they're one of the two or three best teams in the game. They happen to be fortunate this year that they may still be able to cruise in the division with a depleted roster.
• The 2010 All-Star game. If you haven't been before, you should pay a lot of money and go to all of the events. I was there in 2003 when it was at Commiskey, and it was a lot of fun, though I don't feel the need to go again. I got to see GA win the home run derby AND the MVP, so it was worth it, but it was expensive. Still, if you have the means, go and enjoy.