Is it wrong to be so happy about this sweep? After all, it is only late-May still and the Angels remain 6.5 games out of the division. Plus, it came against the Mariners, a team that hasn’t been in any good in years and, through no coincidence, a team that the Halos have dominated for most of the last decade.
Let me think about that… um, no. No it is not, but I did at least have to consider it.
This sweep could’ve come against anyone and it would’ve been something to get excited about, largely due to the fact that the Angels have given us so little to be excited about this season. Add to it that Albert Pujols went off in the series, that Mike Trout snapped out of his mini-slump, that the Angel bullpen suddenly looks lights out and that we went four whole days without anyone using the #FireScioscia hastag and I think that we’d all be just as excited about this four-game sweep even if it came against the last living members of the Seattle Pilots.
Now, let’s just hope they can keep it up when the Yankees and Rangers roll into town.
Game Notes
- Looks like C.J. Wilson had to leave early with a blister that formed after he tried to barehand a ball earlier in the game. Blisters can be tricky, so let’s hope this doesn’t cause him to miss a start, especially since that next start is slated to come against Texas.
- In case you didn’t notice, Jordan Walden is kind of back to being a mess again. His fastball command is starting to get loose again, but more importantly, he keeps spiking his slider. Two wild pitches after a walk resulted in the Mariners getting a run on the board. However, he has to keep throwing that slider until he gets it right, because it is a great pitch when in the zone, as we saw when he got Liddi swinging on the last pitch of the seventh.
- Speaking of those wild pitches, the second one that allowed a run should not have happened. Bobby Wilson reacted late and let it go right through the five-hole. For a guy who is only in the league based on his defensive ability, that is unacceptable. Considering that he has also only thrown out 6 of 28 basestealers, one has to wonder when the Angels might start seriously looking for other options behind the plate.
- I am stuck watching the Mariners broadcast, which sucks. Dave Sims is a strong announcer, but ridiculous homer. Mike Blowers is just horrible. I’m sorry, he’s not just horrible, he is also misinformed as he seems to think Jordan Walden throws a splitfinger. At least that is a step up from the game I attended in person yesterday when the PA announcer repeatedly called Mark Trumbo “Mike Trumbo.”
- The Seattle fans were pretty well committed to booing Albert Pujols and I don’t fully understand why. Yes, he killed the Mariners this series, but they were booing him before that. Is it just about booing a guy because he signed for big money? I can’t specifically recall any other fans booing him so consistently (other than Angel fans during the peak of his struggles), but then again, I watch a lot of games with the sound off.
Halo Hero
A day after he gets the golden sombrero and is questioned for his lack of power thus far, K-Mo responds with an RBI single, solo homer and a double. It was a terrific all-around effort for Morales and a reminder of what he can be capable of when he is fully healthy. And I do mean “when.” If you couldn’t tell by how much effort and pain it took him to haul his big butt into second on that double and then barely leg out the tag up from second to third, he just isn’t 100% with his leg yet and he may never be. He’s still adjusting to the physical limitations and learning to make it work both in terms of generating power from his lower half swinging and even running the bases at full speed (or whatever the Morales equivalent of full speed is).