Oh, Petey. You let us all down today. The Angels were so very close to a fantastic sweep of the mighty Yankees but you had to go and drop the ball, literally.
What really blows my mind about Bourjos’ incredibly ill-timed error is why it even happened in the first place. I’m sure the sun was a factor, but it was plain to see that Bourjos dropped the ball because he took his eye off it at the last second so he could try and get the throw in as soon as possible. What was the big hurry? The ball was hit to the warning track, so the runner at third was going to score easily even if he made the throw of his life. Just brutal.
In his defense, if he makes the catch, the game is still tied and the blowpen probably would’ve gagged the game away in extras, but I guess we’ll never know.
As hard as that loss was to swallow, it really isn’t the end of the world. Going into this series, I think we all would’ve been glad for the Angels to win two of three and that is still what they left with. A sweep obviously would’ve been great, but this wasn’t a series anyone was counting on the Angels actually making up ground on Texas. However, the last two Angel losses have been laid squarely on the shoulders of the fielders. With so little margin for error (pun not intended), the Angels just can’t afford anymore losses like this.
Game Notes
- I wonder if Mike Scioscia is secretly jealous of the Yankees since they have four catchers on the roster while he “only” has three.
- The no-hitter luster is starting to come off Ervin Santana. He has not been sharp at all his last three starts. He has walked four or more batters in five starts all season. Including today, two of those starts have come in his last three outings. He is still good enough, obviously, but I don’t think we can count on him to be dominant down the stretch. Not every time out, anyway.
- Don’t let the wins fool you, the Angels may have won four of their last six, but they’ve also gone 10-44 with runners in scoring position over that stretch. The bats really need to find some consistency quickly if they are going to be able to sustain a winning pace good enough to chase down Texas.
Halo A-Hole
Catch the damn ball!