Friday, April 08, 2005
Down With Chuck Norris and His Texas Rangers!
What an opening series in Anaheim. All one-run games! Two won in a final at-bat! One in extra innings! Are you kidding me? Are you serious? (Finished channeling Dick Vitale now). We have 159 more of these to go? Are you absolutely super-charged for this season or do you need your very own Total Gym to get worked up about it (Chuck and Christie Brinkley not included). The Angels took the series from the guys in blue and after watching these games and also keeping tabs on Oakland and Seattle, it shocks me that someone will actually have to finish 4th in this division (probably Seattle). Nonetheless, the AL West is packed with good teams and should be fun times and high drama all season long. Even just 3 games in, there's already a lot to talk about.
Night and Day
Perhaps the freshest thing on Angel fan's minds is the absolute meltdown by John Lackey in Thursday's series finale. Innings 1-4: 0 hits, 4 K, 1 BB. Inning 5: 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 ER, 2 wild pitches. Lackey was disturbed after Richard Hidalgo broke up the no-hitter, but the tank job truly began when rookie Adrian Gonzalez fought out a walk in a 15 pitch AB. JL was totally flustered to lose him, and it showed the rest of his outing. He clearly has the potential to be an excellent pitcher for the Angels in '05 (Texas is not an easy lineup to master, even on the road), but he'll have to develop some kind of mental game to do it. I've said it many times before--Lackey has the skills to be a very good pitcher for your roster and for the Angels. His head will determine his success in '05.
Escobar/McPherson Update
Noticeably absent in the first series were two Angels who were supposed to have a key part in the Angels lineup early on. Kelvim Escobar, slotted for the #2 hole in preseason, may throw a bullpen session on Friday. If that goes well, he'll throw a minor league start late next week. The elbow problem still appears to be minor, and depending on how Kevin Gregg does in his starts, the extra precaution by not rushing him back won't hurt the team too much. Dallas McPherson played in AAA Salt Lake's Opening Night game last night, going 0-3 with a sac fly RBI. He still appears slated for a late April return. Time (as well as AAA performance) will tell. Hopefully, Robb Quinlan's early struggles (1-9) won't force the Halos to rush him back (that seems highly unlikely).
Who's Got the Power?
Don't expect to hear Snap's "The Power" on the sound system during any pre-game activities at Angel Stadium any time soon because the Angels don't have much. The team SLG has gone from 6th in AL during the '02 championship season, to 9th in '03, and 10th in '04. So far this year (although an extremely small sample), the Halos SLG% is .374. Outside of Vlad, it is very believable that no one on the roster will post 25+ HRs, although certainly Anderson, Finley, and McPherson (should he return soon) all have a legitimate shot. The good news is that 2 of the last 3 seasons the Halos have either led or tied for the lead in AL AVG. With bats like Guerrero, Anderson, Finley, Figgins, Erstad, and Bengie Molina in the lineup regularly, they could very well accomplish that feat again.
Quote of the Week
So many of sport's interviews are bland, over-serious, and full of clichés that have no intention of giving a straight answer to the question. I see too few guys who are willing to have a little fun from time to time in an interview. Not that we need 30 teams full of Jose Limas, but it was refreshing to hear Paul Byrd's joke when asked if facing his former team (Kansas City Royals) meant anything extra: "The fact that I'm facing Kansas City is no big deal because all those guys are dumb," he said, according to the team website. With visions of Ron Burgundy dancing in my head, I couldn't help but laugh. Thank you for a moment of levity so early in the year, Paul. By the way, it wouldn't have been dumb at all to nab him for a spot start on your roster for Thursday's game.
Postseason Predictions
Not because you asked for them (you didn't), but because everyone with a computer and a platform will offer them to you, I now present my Official 2005 Postseason Predictions.
AL East: Yankees.
AL Central: Indians.
AL West: Angels.
AL Wild Card: Red Sox.
NL East: Braves.
NL Central: Cardinals.
NL West: Padres.
NL Wild Card: Phillies.
ALCS: Angels over Yankees.
NLCS: Cardinals over Braves.
World Series: Angels over Cardinals.
Now--copy and paste that into a form of your own and save for correspondent ridicule in November. You're welcome.
Royally Ready for Rough Roadie
Three against the hapless Royals at home should be a series win, if not sweep. Any Angel starter in this series (Byrd, Gregg, Colon) is a good bet. The Rangers series that follows in Arlington could be much rougher. Chuck's boys were 51-30 at the newly-monikered Ameriquest Field last year. Only 4 teams won more at home and 2 of those were in the World Series. A third was the A's, whom the Angels will face in a 3-game set in Oakland following the Ranger series. Tough first roadie. Also, with 3 solid IP, 3 K, and only 1 hit allowed thus far, it has become clear already that K-Rod may have a chink in his armor. I'll tell you about that next time and whether it means you should put him on the block. Enjoy the games, folks--baseball is finally here. For the Angels, Matt Allen--ESPN.
Night and Day
Perhaps the freshest thing on Angel fan's minds is the absolute meltdown by John Lackey in Thursday's series finale. Innings 1-4: 0 hits, 4 K, 1 BB. Inning 5: 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 ER, 2 wild pitches. Lackey was disturbed after Richard Hidalgo broke up the no-hitter, but the tank job truly began when rookie Adrian Gonzalez fought out a walk in a 15 pitch AB. JL was totally flustered to lose him, and it showed the rest of his outing. He clearly has the potential to be an excellent pitcher for the Angels in '05 (Texas is not an easy lineup to master, even on the road), but he'll have to develop some kind of mental game to do it. I've said it many times before--Lackey has the skills to be a very good pitcher for your roster and for the Angels. His head will determine his success in '05.
Escobar/McPherson Update
Noticeably absent in the first series were two Angels who were supposed to have a key part in the Angels lineup early on. Kelvim Escobar, slotted for the #2 hole in preseason, may throw a bullpen session on Friday. If that goes well, he'll throw a minor league start late next week. The elbow problem still appears to be minor, and depending on how Kevin Gregg does in his starts, the extra precaution by not rushing him back won't hurt the team too much. Dallas McPherson played in AAA Salt Lake's Opening Night game last night, going 0-3 with a sac fly RBI. He still appears slated for a late April return. Time (as well as AAA performance) will tell. Hopefully, Robb Quinlan's early struggles (1-9) won't force the Halos to rush him back (that seems highly unlikely).
Who's Got the Power?
Don't expect to hear Snap's "The Power" on the sound system during any pre-game activities at Angel Stadium any time soon because the Angels don't have much. The team SLG has gone from 6th in AL during the '02 championship season, to 9th in '03, and 10th in '04. So far this year (although an extremely small sample), the Halos SLG% is .374. Outside of Vlad, it is very believable that no one on the roster will post 25+ HRs, although certainly Anderson, Finley, and McPherson (should he return soon) all have a legitimate shot. The good news is that 2 of the last 3 seasons the Halos have either led or tied for the lead in AL AVG. With bats like Guerrero, Anderson, Finley, Figgins, Erstad, and Bengie Molina in the lineup regularly, they could very well accomplish that feat again.
Quote of the Week
So many of sport's interviews are bland, over-serious, and full of clichés that have no intention of giving a straight answer to the question. I see too few guys who are willing to have a little fun from time to time in an interview. Not that we need 30 teams full of Jose Limas, but it was refreshing to hear Paul Byrd's joke when asked if facing his former team (Kansas City Royals) meant anything extra: "The fact that I'm facing Kansas City is no big deal because all those guys are dumb," he said, according to the team website. With visions of Ron Burgundy dancing in my head, I couldn't help but laugh. Thank you for a moment of levity so early in the year, Paul. By the way, it wouldn't have been dumb at all to nab him for a spot start on your roster for Thursday's game.
Postseason Predictions
Not because you asked for them (you didn't), but because everyone with a computer and a platform will offer them to you, I now present my Official 2005 Postseason Predictions.
AL East: Yankees.
AL Central: Indians.
AL West: Angels.
AL Wild Card: Red Sox.
NL East: Braves.
NL Central: Cardinals.
NL West: Padres.
NL Wild Card: Phillies.
ALCS: Angels over Yankees.
NLCS: Cardinals over Braves.
World Series: Angels over Cardinals.
Now--copy and paste that into a form of your own and save for correspondent ridicule in November. You're welcome.
Royally Ready for Rough Roadie
Three against the hapless Royals at home should be a series win, if not sweep. Any Angel starter in this series (Byrd, Gregg, Colon) is a good bet. The Rangers series that follows in Arlington could be much rougher. Chuck's boys were 51-30 at the newly-monikered Ameriquest Field last year. Only 4 teams won more at home and 2 of those were in the World Series. A third was the A's, whom the Angels will face in a 3-game set in Oakland following the Ranger series. Tough first roadie. Also, with 3 solid IP, 3 K, and only 1 hit allowed thus far, it has become clear already that K-Rod may have a chink in his armor. I'll tell you about that next time and whether it means you should put him on the block. Enjoy the games, folks--baseball is finally here. For the Angels, Matt Allen--ESPN.
