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New York Yankees (32-24) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (30-30)
Pitching Probables: NYY – Bartolo Colon (3-3, 3.26 ERA) LAA – Joel Pineiro (2-2, 3.52 ERA)
Game Info: 12:35 PM PT; TV – KCOP; Radio – KLAA 830 AM
I never thought I would see a day where Bartolo Colon was not only back in Anaheim, but back and pitching well for a contender like the New York Yankees. It seemed like it was just yesterday that the Fat Man was busy losing his velocity and while gaining pounds on the Angels’ dime.
Colon is hardly the pitcher he was back in his Cy Young-winning prime, but he has put together a pretty solid season thus far which makes me wonder that if he can pull off an improbably career comeback, might not another wayward Angel ace? I know this is a total tangent, but I’m talking about Scott Kazmir.
Like Kazmir, Colon was a power pitcher who saw his promising career as an ace circle the drain very quickly after he hurt his arm, thus reducing his velocity. Colon had some other issues, but he ultimately found a way to commit himself to getting back to the bigs and he did that by learning how to pitch without dominant velocity. That is something the Halos have to be hoping Kazmir can figure out, but seeing how it took Bartolo a few years to work his way back on a permanent basis, I wouldn’t be holding out any hope of Kaz figuring it out before his rehab assignment expires in the next few weeks.
Monkey See, Monkey Do – Do be patient with the recap for this game. I’m going to be on a flight to Seattle today, making my big move, so I’m obviously not going to be able to watch the game and recap it quickly. I’ll do my best to get something up before the end of the night though.
Monkey See, Monkey Don’t – Don’t give up on Russ Branyan so quickly. I know Branyan hasn’t done much but strikeout a lot since he signed, but cut a brother some slack, will ya? I know he is being labeled as this year’s Paul McAnulty, but Branyan has a MUCH better track record than McAnulty, so he deserves just a bit more than 23 at-bats to prove himself. Besides, it isn’t like the Angels have a whole bunch of other alternatives if they cut him loose.
The Monkey’s Bananas Prediction of the Game: When Bartolo Colon is announced in the starting lineups and they show his listed weight as being only 265 pounds, the entire stadium will burst into laughter.