By Glen Mckee, Staff Writer Not Taking a Break After All -
Ya know, I was going to take this week off because the Angels only played three games last week, and I needed a break after the crappy two weeks before the AS break. But then a few things happened. First, I just finished a yard project I’d been working on for a few days and I’m flush from the success of that. B, I lost three pounds last week. Yay, de-fattening! Finally, but actually first on a timeline, the Angels swept the White Sox this weekend. I know it’s only three games and it’s against a team whose offense is choking like (insert sexual innuendo here), but there have been so few reasons to celebrate this year that I’m going to take advantage of one when it mushroom-stamps me.
Let’s go!
The Bad. Yes, there were a few bad things in this abbreviated week of games. Let’s get them out of the way.
- Mike Trout. What? Dude went to the All Star game, how can he be bad? Well, he only got one hit and for the first time since 2014 he didn’t get the MVP from that game. Boooooo, Trout! He also started out after the ASB with two 0-fer games. What the hell, man? Get back on the stick. Of course, he did return to Troutian form in the last game, going 1-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Yay, Trout! Look, that even make Alex Curry happy:
- The Chicago White Sox. Even after we swept them we’re still way behind them in the standings, but for the weekend, boy did they look terrible. We hit them at the right time.
The Good. There was so much good in such a short time. I’m gonna start it off with somebody who has never made the good column until now.
- Mike Scioscia. Yep, the Sosh. I got to watch the entire game Saturday night so I was sure they’d lose. The game went to the ninth, Shoemaker was solid, and then he got into a bit of trouble. Ah, crap. You just know Sciosica is itching to get Salas into this game somehow and blow it. But Mike surprised me and realized how lousy the bullpen is, and stuck with Shoe. It paid off, and Scioscia got the last laugh. Well done, Sosh.
- Albert Pujols. Pujols decided to come out of the AS break on fire, or en fuego as they say in his language. Well, actually, like Trout he had an 0-fer the first two games but then made up for it with 2 HR in the final game (somebody bump the “Pujols important HR thread please). I’ll take that from him any three games this year (although it is 2-9, so I’d prefer to have one more hit mixed in there).
- The Starting Pitching. Shoemaker first and foremost, with the shutout. He’s moved himself onto the “do NOT trade list” with his performance over the last few months. Santiago threw seven shutout innings. Heck, even Weaver got in on the action with seven innings and one earned run. There were rumors that Weave’s fastball hit 86 during the game, which gave me this reaction:
- The bullpen. Well, they had it easy. The only had to pitch four innings in three games. 2 BB, 1 H, 3 SO, 0 ER. Well done to Guerra, Smith, Salas, and Ramirez. Let’s hope Salas and Smith can build on this.
- The offense. Hard to single out anyone other than Pujols because it was a solid effort all around. 16 runs in three games, off of only 2 HR. Chicks dig small ball! Or something.
The rest. Baseball is back for real this week and the Angels have six tough division games. We’re only about three months away from Halloween and the return of pumpkin-flavored everything (Yay! Although it’s actually pumpkin-spice flavored everything. Pumpkin doesn’t have much flavor. Thanks, Captain Buzzkill!) and the return of the official broad of October 31, Elvira:
That woman has made me feel like I’m climbing the rope in gym class ever since I actually was climbing the rope in gym class. If you want to read a fun story, google “Elvira Tom Jones” and get ready.
The week ahead. Three at home versus the team we all hate, the Rangers, home of Josh Hamilton and about $25 million of Arte’s money. Of course Josh won’t be on the field because he’s Josh.
Then, three in Houston against the Astros.
My predictions versus last week. I predicted 1-2 versus the Other Sox, and the Angels went 3-0. Suck it, Glen! For the year I’ve predicted 38-49 and in those games the Angels went…38-49! Yes! I’m now perfect for the season. To celebrate, here’s a pic of Rosario Dawson.
My predictions for the week ahead. The Rangers just went 1-2 versus the Cubs and they’re 3-7 in their last 10. 2-1 versus the Rangers. The Astros are a different story, going 7-3 in their last 10. 1-2 versus the Astros. See you next week.