Wednesday, May 18, 2011

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By Jeff Flinn - AngelsWin.com Contributor

Thumbs Up

*Joel Pineiro has been rock solid so far in every one of his starts, and Monday night was no exception as he allowed just one earned run in seven innings. Downs continues to get the job done every time out so far in 2011.

*Hitting wise, only Kendrick is deserving of any praise as he had one of the team's very few clutch hits on this road trip, a two-run single to give the Halos the lead on Monday night. Trumbo nearly had an extra base hit that could have scored two runs on Monday night.

That's all folks. You didn't think I'd put much in this section did you? The Angels stunk it up in Oakland.

Thumbs Down

*Callaspo's defense had some holes in it, as he committed two errors, including a critical one on Monday night. Earth to Callaspo, you know the routine in that stadium, having played in the AL since 2009. Throws  need to be on target because of the spacious foul ground there.   

*Chatwood's luck unfortunately ran out on Tuesday as he left FAR TOO MANY pitches up in the zone, much like he did in his first start against the Indians. Chatwood needs to keep the ball down and quit getting behind in the count.
   
*Rodney needs to be demoted to where he never appears when the game margin is less than four runs. Can you say MOP UP ROLE? And as for Butcher working with Rodney to fix his release point, you've been having to do this for 1 1/4 seasons now. It isn't happening folks!

*Jepsen continues to make us wonder why he's still pitching up here. Has he even had a clean relief appearance so far this season? Thompson did make Jepsen's outing last night even worse, walking in 2 of Jepsen's baserunners. What has happened to a pitcher who walked virtually no one before Sunday in Texas?   He now has 4 BBs in his past less than 2 innings of work.

*The hitters laid a big group egg in Oakland, save for one critical hit from Kendrick. Abreu, Hunter, and though DL'd Wells have all laid another big egg so far this season, except for Abreu's walks.  In 460 cumulative at bats so far, those 3 SUPPOSED middle of the order hitters have a whopping TWENTY-SIX XBHs (15 doubles, 2 triples, 9 homers) and a whopping 48 RBI's. Considering how Aybar, Kendrick, and Izturis have set the table so far, those totals are so bad in fact that Dean Wormer would have said it best, "they STINK!" Hey Abreu, Hunter, and Wells, what do you think this is?  The dead ball era of the early 1900s??

That series was a joke!   This road trip is a joke so far! That's all.
Love to hear what you think!
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