An Angel series loss to the Twins in which the Halos passed a conspicuous milestone on their way to a series loss.
Game 1 – Twins 7, Angels 2
Game 2 – Angels 9, Twins 3
Game 3 – Twins 4, Angels 0
Los Angeles Angels of AWESOMENESS
- Brandon Wood got a start! Stop the presses!!! I didn’t even know Scioscia realized he was still on the team. It had been so long since we saw Brandon in the lineup, I thought someone was going to have to let Sosh know that the guy always sitting at the bench is actually a player and not a really lazy batboy. Now that Izturis is hurt, I actually hope that Wood starts getting the occasional start just to keep him involved and hopefully put him in a position where he can realize a modicum of success for him to build on this off-season.
- I think we can all go ahead and quit worrying about Bourjos’ slow start now. To summarize his performance this weekend, especially on Saturday, all I can think of is the word “tantalizing.” We finally got to see what he could do with his bat, his wheels were on full display in the field and legging out his triple and then that spectacular defense shined once again with him gunning a runner down at the plate. Before this season started, I wrote about my need to find a new favorite Angel. Well, I think I found him.
- File this under better late than never, but Hideki Matsui is beating the crap out of the ball right now. Heck, he’s even busting his ass to leg it out from first to third on a single. You really have to credit him, he has had a rough season, but he is still giving 110%. Added bonus, Godzilla’s hot streak could mean he winds up having a little bit of trade value, should the Halos decide to go that route this week.
- I’m still not sure that I agree with calling up Jordan Walden this season, but I do like that he was able to play his first day after being called up instead of sitting around for days and getting nervous about making his debut. His velocity is obviously impressive, his slider looked solid and, once he settled down, he did a good job of keeping the ball down in the zone. With his kind of stuff, he could be a dark horse to take on a prominent bullpen role next season if he impresses the rest of the way.
Los Angeles Angels of FAIL
- The Angels passed a major (?) milestone this series when they unveiled their 100th different lineup of the season. A lot of people have had a good laugh over that, but to me, it is a perfect microcosm of the Angel season. Scioscia has literally tried everything to find a reliable offensive mix and just keeps coming up empty.
- Juan Rivera certainly didn’t do himself any favors as far as getting back into the lineup more often due to his misadventures in left field. Losing a flyball in the sky was OK in the Metrodome with its white roof. Doing so in the new open-air Target Field is not. He better find a nice comfy spot on the bench, because it looks like he is going to be there for awhile.
- That’s enough of Trevor Bell. He’s had just one semi-impressive start all year and after watching him walk six batters in 4.1 innings this weekend, it seems pretty clear that he isn’t a big league starter. He’s at least shown some flashes of being able to be a pretty nice reliever, so kick him back to the pen and call up Matt Palmer the next time the Halos need a fifth starter.
- I know this is the fail section, but this next point makes me really happy. Mendoza Line Mathis is now all the way back down to hitting exactly .200. Hooray! I hope he can keep his average at exactly that level the rest of the year so I can realize my dream of having the mark renamed the Mathis line. Or perhaps we could go hyphenate with it, after all, it is the 21st century; it would be quite progressive to call it the Mathis-Mendoza Line.
- Erick Aybar showed some signs of snapping out of his slump on Saturday, but then on Sunday, he went and forgot how to bunt. Yikes. Don’t expect to see him batting second again anytime soon.
Halo Hack of the Series
When you have to publicly apologize for how bad you were in your start, you get the Halo Hack award. Haren, once again, didn’t get any run support, but this time it didn’t matter because he dug such a deep hole for the team early on. On one hand, you have to respect him for sucking it up and getting through seven innings after giving up seven runs in the first four and even more credit for publicly owning up to how much he stunk. On the other hand, he’s a supposed ace and you just can’t turn in a performance like that against such a good opponent.