By Brian Waller, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer -
I personally could not have imagined a rougher start to the season for the Angels in 2013. Not only did they go 2-4 against the Reds and the hated Rangers but the team’s big offseason addition, Josh Hamilton, was basically a flop against both his former teams. The cherry on top of this turd sundae however has to be the news that Jered Weaver will be out 4-6 weeks with a broken elbow. Although it’s very easy to get discouraged after 6 games, we must remember it’s a marathon season and there is still A LOT of baseball left to play.
The Angels will look to rebound from the disappointing road trip and will now turn their attention to their home opener tonight at the Big A against 2012 AL West Division winners the Oakland A’s.
Game Date/Times/TV Schedule
4/9 – A’s @ Angels / 10:05pm (ET) / Fox Sports West & MLB
4/10 - A’s @ Angels / 10:05pm (ET) / Fox Sports West
4/11 - A’s @ Angels / 5:05pm (ET) / Fox Sports West
Probable Pitchers / Match-up previews
4/9 –Jarrod Parker (Righty) (0-1, 7.20 ERA) vs C.J. Wilson (Lefty) (0-0, 4.50 ERA)
Match-up Notes: On Tuesday night the Halos will face A’s right-hander Jarrod Parker who will be making only his 33 career start. Parker got roughed up by the Seattle Mariners during his first outing of the season; he gave up 4 ER off of 5 hits and 3 BB over the span of 5 innings. Take a look how Angel hitters have fared against limited at-bats against Parker:
The Good vs. Jarrod Parker
Erick Aybar (5/8) .625 avg.
Chris Iannetta (3/8) .375 avg.
Mike Trout (4/12) .333 avg.
The Bad vs. Jarrod Parker
Albert Pujols (2/12) .167 avg.
Alberto Callaspo (1/9) .111 avg.
The Ugly vs. Jarrod Parker
Mark Trumbo (0/8) .000 avg.
Howie Kendrick (1/12) .083 avg.
4/10 –Tommy Milone (Lefty) (1-0, 2.57 ERA) vs Joe Blanton (Righty) (0-1, 7.20 ERA)
Match-up Notes: Milone will be making his 2nd start of the season on Wednesday. He is coming off of a strong outing against the Mariners, one in which the lefty allowed 2 ER over 7 innings which was good for his 1st win of the season. Again, very limited at-bats against Milone but there are a few Halo sluggers with success against him:
The Good vs. Tommy Milone
Erick Aybar (4/7) .571 avg.
Albert Pujols (4/8) .500 avg.
Josh Hamilton (4/9) .444 avg.
The Bad vs. Tommy Milone
Howie Kendrick (2/8) .250 avg.
The Ugly vs. Tommy Milone
Peter Bourjos (0/5) .000 avg.
Mark Trumbo (0/7) .143 avg.
4/11 –A.J. Griffin (Righty) (1-0, 3.00 ERA) vs Jason Vargas (Lefty) (0-0, 1.59 ERA)
Match-up Notes: Like Milone, Griffin picked up his 1st win of the season against the Mariners his last outing. Griffin allowed 2 ER off of 7 hits and 2 BB over 6 innings. The Halos have only 24 combined plate appearances against Griffin so it really doesn’t make much sense to list the Good, Bad and Ugly against him….butt I’ll do it anyways.
The Good vs. A.J. Griffin
Josh Hamilton (2/5) .400 avg.
The Bad vs. A.J. Griffin
Mike Trout (1/4) .250 avg.
The Ugly vs. A.J. Griffin
Alberto Callaspo (0/3) .000 avg.
Weather
4/9 – 74 degrees, sunny w/ 0% chance of rain
4/10 – 80 degrees, sunny w/ 0% chance of rain
4/11 – 72 degrees, sunny w/0% chance of rain
Player(s) to Watch
I picked Peter Bourjos as a player to watch during the Texas series and he didn't disappoint. Bourjos hit .333 (4/12) with a home run and a triple this past weekend. His defense and speed should continue to help the team against the A’s but I’m picking a different outfielder as the player to watch this week… I'm picking Josh Hamilton.
Let’s cut right to it, Hamilton’s performance during his first 5 games in an Angels’ uniform was pretty horrible. The poor performance could have been attributed to a few things; the pressure of the contract, the homecoming hoopla in Cincinnati and Texas or the fact he is still getting his timing down early on in the season; whatever the issue actually was/is uncertain but Hamilton was hitting an ugly .050 (1/20) with 10 strikeouts going into Sunday’s game. Hamilton actually showed signs of life on Sunday though, he went 3-for-5 with a double and no strikeouts. One performance does not mean Hamilton is going to go on a tear by any means but it is encouraging, especially considering Hamilton is such a streaky hitter. After playing the weekend in Arlington where he was basically public enemy #1, Im thinking the friendly confines of the Big A will help Hamilton relax a bit and his performance on Sunday is just a preview of what we will see against the A’s.
C.J. Wilson should have a great game against the A’s tonight. Take a look at how some of the A’s hitters have fared against Wilson in the past:
Coco Crisp (3/21) .143 avg.
Josh Reddick (2/11) .182 avg.
Seth Smith (0/5) .000 avg.
Josh Donaldson (2/9) .222
With Jered Weaver being lost for at least a month, now is as good a time as any for Wilson to step up for the Halos.
One last thing….WHY ARENT WE STEALING! The Angels have two of the fastest players in the majors on the team yet they have only 1 stolen base!
Angels’ News/Notes
Starter Jered Weaver will be out 4-6 weeks with broken left elbow.
The Angels purchased the contract of RHP Dane De La Rosa from Triple-A Salt Lake.
Opponent Facts
The Oakland A’s were first founded as the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901. Connie Mack was the team’s first manager for the first 50 years of its existence. He helped guide the team to the World Series championships in 1910, 1911, 1913, 1929 and 1930. In 1955, the team moved to Kansas City Missouri and eventually landed in Oakland in 1968.
Where did the Athletics get their name from?
The team name originated from the “athletic clubs” which were prominent in the late 1800’s. The team, which was in Philadelphia at the time was named after the Philadelphia Athletics baseball club.
The mascot for the Athletics was a white elephant for a number of years because of a comment made by New York Giants Manager, John McGraw. McGraw told the media that the new owner of the Athletics, Benjamin Shibe, had a white elephant on his hands, meaning the team was costing the owner more than it was worth. Shibe took the comment well and in 1918 he actually adopted it as the official mascot for the team.
Retired Numbers - #9 Reggie Jackson (Outfielder), #24 Rickey Henderson (Outfielder), #27 Catfish Hunter (Pitcher), #34 Rollie Fingers (Pitcher), #43 Dennis Eckersley (Pitcher), #42 Jackie Robinson.
