Bartolo Colon threw eight shut-out innings against the Angels tonight.
Yes, I know. Bartolo Colon.
Where do I even begin? Do I begin with Yoenis Cespedes’ three-run home run off of Ervin Santana in the first inning? Or shall I fast foward to the bottom of the 8th inning when the Angels finally presented a threat to Colon’s merciless outing?
As the line up was posted earlier this evening, I watched hell break loose on Twitter. Mark Trumbo was left out of the line up for the third night in a row and the already defeated Angel fans were undoubtedly upset about it. It turns out that Trumbo was sick with flu-like symptoms. As soon as that news broke, I watched as the Twitterverse take a step back and let Scioscia off the hook…today.
As always, I gave Scioscia the benefit of the doubt. He is the manager, after all. I am nothing but a humble spectator. But that line up…
Peter Bourjos and Erik Aybar were left out for nothing but a day off, which is well-deserved by the both of them. In my opinion.
However, even the players that were resting today couldn’t catch a break. Aybar went in to pinch hit for Bobby Wilson in the 8th inning, hit a ground rule double over the right field fence, and posed the only threat to Colon all game. Right off the bench.
Scioscia seems to be looking for that perfect line up that is going to do just what the Angels need it to. His struggle to put together a consistent line up may be due to nothing but positives. Our roster is incredibly talented in so many different ways that it must be overwhelming to attempt to fit every type of talent into one, cohesive line up. That isn’t a bad thing by any means.
What I would like to see Scioscia do (especially after today’s festive line up) is leave one line up alone. Perhaps one that wins us a game one day. Why change it? With a record of 4-8 now, we can afford to use the same line up twice. Scioscia has no problem leaving some pitchers in a little bit longer than necessary, why not try it out with the line up?
I will give credit where credit is due: Colon threw an incredible game against a former team this evening. The Angels couldn’t handle it, plain and simple. Any pitcher, on a good day, will be able to take advantage of this team’s state. Colon did just that.
The best they can do now is split the series with the A’s.
Hope for the best, expect the worst. They’ll come around eventually. Until then, hang in there, Halo fans.
AND FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, PLEASE LET TRUMBO PLAY TOMORROW.