Aston’s Angels Report 2012 [Game 10-13 vs Athletics- W, 3 L]

AAR: Aston’s Angels Report                                 April 21, 2012
Game 10-13: [Almost] The Worst Series Ever       Vol. 2, Issue 6

     Series #4 (W, L, L, L vs Oakland Athletics), Season Record 4-9

      After losing their first three series, the Angels looked forward to coming back home to face off against probably one of the worst teams in the majors, but their fate remained the same as it has so far in this young season. They started off well and looked poised to possibly start a winning streak following a 6-0 opening game victory on Monday, April 16th, but then they reeled off three terrible games, each seemingly worse than the next, with variety of errors, whether they were in the field, at the plate, silly mental errors or a big mistake by their manager costing them a possible victory, they all resulted in another losing streak.

       The team gave their ace starter Jared Weaver the early lead in game 1, after a first inning homerun from Kendrys Morales to give them a 3-0 lead, and they went wire to wire for an impressive shutout victory, leading me to believe that they may have finally turned the corner and may start to put together some consecutive victories. Morales went 3-for-4 with a double and the 3-run homer in the 1^st inning, which was his first homerun since 2010 (and his first hit in about a week this season), and Weaver retired the first 12 batters he faced, en route to another dominating performance (6 2/3 innings, 5 hits, 6 strikeouts). The Angels scored 3 more in their last at-bat in the 8^th, including another RBI from Morales who doubled home Pujols to start the inning, then a bases loaded walk, and a wild pitch pushed home the final two runs. The A’s didn’t even get a runner to 3^rd base until their last at-bat, and that was only because of two back-to-back errors by Angels infielders with two outs in the 9^th, and the way their offense looked in this game, fans like me were licking their chops with expectation for the remainder of the series.

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       Game 2 of the series was a game that Dan Haren should have earned the victory, after going 6 2/3 innings, allowing a lone run on five hits (a homerun by Daric Barton), but a terrible managerial decision probably cost them the game in this one. Both teams went scoreless for the first 4 innings, and then Haren allowed the homerun to Barton with two outs, on his only mistake pitch of the game. He showed much better control of his pitches throughout the contest, throwing a lot of strikes, including first-pitch strikes to a large majority of the batters he faced, dictating each at-bat and proving why he is one of the best pitchers in baseball.

      His offense was providing much support, however, so they found themselves down 1-0 going into the bottom of the 5^th. They managed to manufacture a run in that inning, after back-to-back singles by Wells and Callaspo to lead off the inning, and a couple of productive groundouts to finally push home the tying run. They added one more in the bottom of the 6^th, with a two-out rally and a little help from the Oakland pitcher, Tyson Ross. After the first two made outs, Morales singled and then advanced to 2^nd on a fortuitous wild pitch from Ross, and Torii Hunter took advantage of the situation with a go-ahead RBI single, to make the score 2-1.

      Haren got into some trouble in the top of the 7^th, when rookie Cuban phenom Yoenis Cespedes singled with one out and was advanced to 2^nd by a surprise 2-out bunt single from the catcher Kurt Suzuki. With the left-hand hitting Barton due back up, manager Mike Scioscia decided to pull Haren, even though he had just thrown 85 pitches, to try and maintain their miniature lead. Scott Downs came in and struck out Barton with apparent ease, to preserve the lead, going into the 7^th inning stretch.

      That was not the questionable move that I was alluding to earlier; that move came in the next inning, after the Angels did nothing offensively in their half of the 7^th. Scioscia brought in Kevin Jepsen to pitch the 8^th, and that is when the tide turned for the worst, from the Angels’ perspective, at least. Jepsen struck out the first batter he faced, with impressive overpowering pitches, but then he walked the next two batters, Cliff Pennington, and Jemille Weeks, to put the tying run on 2^nd. The CF Coco Crisp (yes that’s his name) took advantage of the fact that Jepsen had control issues, sitting on a first pitch fastball, and whacked it back up the middle for a game tying RBI single. With runners on 1^st and 2^nd now, Jepsen remained in the game, and threw a hanging slider on a 1 ball-2 strike count and Josh Reddick doubled down the right field line for an RBI double (it would have scored two if it hadn’t bounced into the crowd for a ground rule double). It was now 3-2 in favor of Oakland, and Scioscia finally changed pitchers, bringing in the rookie David Carpenter to face the dangerous Cespedes with runners at 2^nd and 3^rd and still just one out. He threw too many sliders, and Cespedes finally got hold of one and lined a single to left to score two more, and make the score 5-2 Oakland. I can list a few things wrong with this inning, but to me the biggest mistake was bringing in Jepsen in the first place; why the hell wouldn’t you leave in your absolute best relief pitcher, Scott Downs to pitch the 8^th, when he only faced one batter in the 7^th, and is anything but a left-handed specialist (like so many other lefty relievers these days). He can get out righties just as well as lefties, but for some reason Scioscia went with Jepsen, who has always had control issues, no matter how impressive he was in the exhibition games in spring training (he spent most of last year in the minors because he can’t throw strikes consistently, for one thing). Then to make matters worse, Jepsen was allowed to continue pitching after he walked the second and third batter in the inning, and even if Scioscia didn’t want to pull him after the first, he really should have considered it after the second, but he just left him out there to throw one right down the middle to Crisp and then the wheels fell off… I blame this entire loss on Mike Scioscia, although the Angels offense could have made this game less of a nail biter if they had just scored a little more while Haren was out there (and maybe he wouldn’t have been pulled when he was in thr first place, and the result would differ substantially)…Vernon Wells did add a solo homerun in the 9^th, but it was basically meaningless (as many of his homeruns seemed to be last year) as they started the inning down 5-2, facing the Oakland closer Grant Balfour, who retired the next two batters to seal the 5-3 Oakland victory.

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      Game 3 was quite possibly the worst offensive performance I’ve seen this season, and it didn’t help that Ervin Santana again allowed a 1^st inning 3-run homerun, just like he did against the Yankees in his last start, to put his team in the early hole once again. He allowed three straight hits with one out in the 1^st, the last of which being the homerun to Cespedes, and just to add insult to injury, Ervin had two strike counts on all the batters he allowed hits to, but just couldn’t put them away, throwing weak sliders to allow the hitters to make contact. Granted the first two hits, by Pennington and Reddick were more of the bloop variety, Cespedes certainly didn’t bloop the 1 ball- 2 strike slider he saw, launching it deep into left field for a no doubter homerun.

       Former Angel Cy Young award winner, Bartolo Colon, was the Athletics starter, and he completely dominated the Angels offense throughout the game in this one. He only allowed a few two-out singles, and the Angels didn’t even get a runner to 2^nd base until the bottom of the 8^th, when it was already 4-0 (another homerun allowed by Santana in the 6^th). Near the end of his outing, Colon threw a ridiculous number of consecutive strikes- something like 39 straight strikes, and nearly every Angels batter was facing a 0 ball-2 strike count each at bat, allowing Colon to throw whatever he wanted to get them out, and they looked like last year’s offense, which was beyond futile at times. The Angels only managed to scare him a couple of times with a couple of deep fly balls, from Pujols and Wells at different times in the game, but, as they all know, the ball doesn’t travel well at night in Anaheim stadium, and those balls died in the gloves of Oakland outfielders’ gloves near the wall, en route to an ugly 6-0 loss.

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     Now the Angels played game 4, just trying to salvage a series tie, and avoid their fourth straight series loss (and 3^rd straight game lost). They again turned to the starter that had been their losing streak stopper, CJ Wilson, making his first start in front of the home crowd as a member of the Angels. Oakland used young lefty Tommy Milone, whom they received in the trade for Gio Gonzalez in the offseason. While the Angels may have been happy not to have to face the Gonzalez, who had his way with them for the most part last season, they couldn’t put together enough hits to do any damage against Milone either.

        They fell behind early again, when Wilson walked Seth Smith after getting the first two outs in the 2^nd inning, then threw a cut fastball that didn’t cut inside enough, to Suzuki, who doubled down the left field line to score Smith, and give the Athletics the 1-0 lead. The game turned for the worst in the 4^th inning, when Wilson walked the first two batters in the inning. He has had trouble with his control somewhat in the season, but he worked out of the jams he caused with walks in both of his other starts, and he only has himself to blame for what happened in this game. He forced Smith to hit pull off of a good outside pitch, and tap one towards Wilson, who grabbed it near the 3^rd base line. He made the biggest mistake(s) of the game, first when he neglected to throw the ball to 3^rd for the easy force out, as the runner got a late break from 2^nd and would have been an easy out, and then to make matters (MUCH) worse, he lobbed the ball over to 1^st base, and the ball rode into the runner, out of 1B Pujols’ reach, and went into right field. Not only did two runs score on the throwing error, but Smith went to 2^nd base, and he eventually scored on a single to make the score 4-0 Oakland. Instead of simply throwing the ball to 3^rd to at least get the force out at the base (and possible a double play, with a throw to 1^st), to keep runners at 1^st and 2^nd (keeping the double play in order) with one out, the A’s scored two, put another runner at 2^nd and still had no outs in the inning. It was like a play out of my little league games when I was 10, but this was a major league game with major repercussions, not to mention tens of thousands of paying fans, who were forced to watch absolute crap. Oakland scored 3 runs, with just one hit, after two walks and that awful error in that inning, but the Angels had plenty of chances to get back into the game.

       In the next inning, the bottom of the 4^th, the Angels finally put numbers on the board, after Pujols led off with a line drive double, and Wells doubled him home one out later to make the score 4-1. Mark Trumbo followed that with a rocket line drive that bounced off the wall, to score Wells (4-2), but because it was hit so hard, the left fielder, Reddick, was able to throw the ball into 2^nd and hold Trumbo to a single. Iannetta grounded out to 2^nd, moving Trumbo to 2^nd, and Erick Aybar hit an infield single, on a grounder to the shortstop, but Trumbo was held at 3^rd. Peter Bourjos continued his poor hitting this season and ended the inning with a groundout, so the Angels’ bad luck continued, when you consider that the ball Trumbo hit should have been a double (or even a homerun) and he may have been able to score after the next two batters.

       The Angels pitchers managed to hold down the Athletics’ offense from then on, as Wilson, Jepsen, LaTroy Hawkins, and Jason Isringhausen combined to shut out the A’s until the end, but the Angels offense failed miserably to capitalize on numerous chances. They got two runners on with two outs in the 5^th, but Wells failed to knock in the run. The A’s changed pitchers in the 6^th, bringing in youngster Fautino De Los Santos (who closed out game 3), and they looked like they were going to break through, as he walked Trumbo and allowed a single to Iannetta, to put runners on 1^st and 3^rd with no outs. The A’s brought in different pitcher- someone I’ve never heard of, Jordan Norberto, and he proceeded to retire Aybar (who inexplicably swung at the first pitch) on a groundout so he continued his futility (and who was given a four-year contract extension earlier in the day). Then he struck out the struggling Bourjos, and induced a inning-ending groundout from Iannetta. All they had to do was hit a fly ball in one of those first two at bats with the runner at 3^rd, to at least score one, but they couldn’t even manage that, and it was now apparent that this probably wasn’t going to be their game.

       The Angels got two more hitters on base in the 7th, with a another double from Pujols (his 3^rd of the game) and a walk to Hunter, but Wells and Trumbo failed to capitalize. That was really their last chance to make a push in the game, as they couldn’t solve another former Angel, Brian Fuentes, in the 8^th, and then had to face Balfour in the 9^th again. Luck was on their side momentarily in the 9^th, when Pujols reached 1^st base with one out, on a throwing error by 3^rd baseman Josh Donaldson, but that lasted about a second, as Hunter hit into game ending double play grounder.

        Coming into the series, it looked like they would at least have a good chance at finally winning one, and after game 1, it looked like they could potentially start a substantial winning streak, but all that hope and expectation fell apart as the series progressed, and now they find themselves in a hole that grows deeper and deeper as the days go by. After leading the league in runs during the spring training, and their pitching seemingly improved over what was one of the best staffs last season, it looked like they were on their way to a great season. Now I wonder when and if they will get to the .500 mark, much like last season, where they barely broke even by the halfway point in the season. It’s time for the offense to wake up, the defense (including the pitchers) to use their brains and be professional, and the pitching staff to get back to their winning habits. The offense has been off, the defense has been lacking at times, their starters have surrendered too many runs, and their bullpen has the 3^rd worst ERA in the league (after being 2^nd best in the league last year), so the whole team needs to shape up…. And that includes the coaching staff as well, because other teams aren’t just going to lie down.

　

Aston’s Angels Report 2012 [Game 7-9 @ Yankees- W, 2 L]

          AAR: Aston’s Angels Report                     April 16, 2012
          Game 7-9: Slow Starters                              Vol. 2, Issue 5

           Series #3 (L, W, L @ New York Yankees), Season Record 3-6

         After losing the first two series of the season, the Angels traveled to New York to play in their third home opener of the season, in the Yankees first home game of the season in the New Yankee Stadium. Game 1 of this series on Friday, April 13^th, started off just about the same way that the last series (in Minnesota) ended, allowing multiple runs in one inning to fall behind in what would become an eventual loss.

         The Angels sent out Ervin Santana while the Yankees used one of their new additions, Hiroki Kuroda, formerly of the LA Dodgers, and both were looking to improve upon their poor opening starts to the season. The Angels changed up their lineup compared what has been their typical lineup thus far, putting Bobby Abreu in right field, and batting 2^nd, Mark Trumbo got the start at 3^rd base, and Maicer Izturis was at 2^nd base after his good game against the Twins as the shortstop, so Kendrick and Hunter were given the day off. The Yankees used what has been their standard lineup for a while now, with the one change being their new addition, former Philly, Raul Ibanez appearing as the designated hitter.

               SCORING INNINGS
        After the Angels failed to score in their first at-bat, Santana looked like he was going to get off to a good start in the bottom of the 1^st, when he struck out the first two batters he faced (Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson). He couldn’t finish the inning, and it cost his team dearly, as he allowed a single to Alex Rodriguez, walked Robinson Cano on four straight pitches, and then walked Mark Teixeira to load the bases. Nick Swisher took advantage of Santana’s wildness, getting into a good hitters count, at 2 balls-1 strike, and walloped a deep flyball off of the wall in right center, to knock in all three runs to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead right out of the gate.

         Alex Rodriguez homered leading off the bottom of the 3^rd, to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead, and giving him 69 career homeruns against the Angels, the most for him vs. any team. I’ve seen him torch the Angels for too many years now, even when he was a rookie with the Mariners, and of course through his career with the Rangers and now the Yankees, and maybe that’s the reason why I despise him so much…. Or maybe it’s just because he’s arrogant, a proven admitted cheater, and a complete douche bag who doesn’t deserve to be in the hall of fame no matter how many homeruns he hits (but that’s just my- and about every other baseball fan who isn’t in New York- opinion)

         The Yankees tacked on one more run off of Santana with another homerun, this time off the bat of CF Curtis Granderson, who benefited once again from the short right field ’porch’ in Yankee Stadium, barely hitting the ball over the fence on what would have been a fly out in almost any other ball park. The score was now 5-0 and that would be the final score.

               IN ADDITION
         The Angels were held in check by Kuroda, who went 8 innings, allowing just 4 hits, and striking out 6 hitters, while throwing 104 pitches in a dominant performance. He came out for the 9^th and was pulled out when he allowed an infield single to Abreu to start the inning (a dribbler that Jeter couldn’t make the play on), and David Robertson came in to finish it off. The Angels had a total of 5 hits in the game, and they erased most of those from the base paths when they hit into three double plays, so they basically had no chance in this one. Kuroda pitched ahead of the batters he faced, while the Angels’ pitchers were pitching from behind in the count against the Yankees’ patient hitters, and the result was what would be expected in that scenario.

         Santana did pitch through the 6^th inning, ending his night with his only 1-2-3 inning of the game, but the only plus for the Angels in this one was the performance of their bullpen. It could be (reasonably) argued that the Yankees offense didn’t exactly try as hard once the score was 5-0 and they were in complete control of the game, so the bullpen performance becomes a little less impressive. The most notable part of the game from the Angels standpoint was the debut of the recently called up (from the minors) David Robertson. You may remember one of my initial Angels Reports, admiring the spring training performance of this youngster, and I guess I can take some pride in the fact that I was right to think he could make the major league roster. He pitched well against some imposing Yankee hitters, allowing just one hit in his inning of work in the 8^th, and he could help out the bullpen with Downs injured and others struggling.

               FANTASY WATCH 
        The only notable fantasy players in this one wore the pinstripes, highlighted by Kuroda whose stat line I mentioned earlier (also add the W and quality start), along with Granderson’s HR and (oh, how I hate to say it) Rodriguez who was 3-for-4 with the homerun.

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         So far this season, the Angels starting pitcher CJ Wilson has turned into the club’s stopper, putting an end to an Angels losing streak. They came into the game with a three-game losing streak, and Wilson helped them get back in the win column with another positive performance, earning his first career win against the Yankees. The Yankees sent out Phil Hughes, who they hoped would revert back to his stats from 2010 and help improve their rotation when the season began, but could end up in the bullpen if he continues to pitch as poorly as he did on Saturday against the Halos.

         The Angels went back to their more standard defense, with Torii Hunter back in RF and Howie Kendrick back in at 2^nd base, along with Alberto Callaspo as 3^rd baseman, while also shifted their lineup a little, moving Vernon Wells into the 7^th spot behind Callaspo. The Yankees put Andruw Jones in LF, Eduardo Nunez at 3^rd base, and used Alex Rodriguez as their DH, to add more right-handed hitters to the lineup. They also shifted their right fielder Nick Swisher into the 2^nd spot and moved back the CF Granderson to the 6^th spot against the left-handed pitcher Wilson, which I assume will be a common move for them for the rest of the season.

                SCORING INNINGS
       After blowing a possible scoring chance in their first at bat when they had runners at 1^st and 3^rd with one out (Morales and Hunter both struck out), they got on the board in the 2^nd inning. After Callaspo led off the inning with a strikeout (after the umpire called ball four a strike earlier in the at-bat), Vernon Wells hit a sharp single up the middle (a pleasant sight when he doesn’t try to pull everything), and then the catcher Chris Iannetta hit an opposite field homerun, down the right field line, just inside of the foul pole, taking advantage of that short field in right.

        The Angels took that 2-0 lead into the 3^rd inning, and added one more run with back-to-back hits to open the inning. Kendrick opened it with another patented line drive single to right, and then 1B Albert Pujols hit a deep flyball to center, that looked like possibly his first homerun of the season when he hit it, but it hit off the wall and went for an RBI double, giving them a 3-0 lead. They failed to push across another in that inning, despite the runner in scoring position.

        They made up for that when they came up again in the top of the 4^th, and knocked Phil Hughes out of the game. Iannetta continued his impressive and patient season, drawing a lead off walk, which was followed by a strikeout by CF Peter Bourjos. Erick Aybar hit a grounder to Teixiera at 1B, that went off his body, and Aybar hustled from the start, beating out the infield single, diving head first into 1^st. It looked like the Yankees might change pitchers, since Kendrick was already 2-for-2 against Hughes, but they left him in and Kendrick made them pay, as he clobbered a 3-run homerun to deep left field to give them a 6-0 lead. Hughes tried to throw the same inside “front door” slider that he caught Bourjos with earlier in the inning, but Kendrick was ready for it, and that turned out to be the last pitch Hughes threw, as his manager, Joe Girardi, made his way out to the mound to remove him from the game. They replaced him with rookie David Phelps, who actually pitched well for them, allowing just one hit in over 5 innings of relief work (making the possibility of Hughes eventually going to bullpen more likely still)

         The Angels made it four scoring innings in a row, when Vernon Wells hit a solo homerun with two outs in the top of the 5^th, to make the score 7-0 Angels. That was the only hit and run allowed by the rookie reliever, Phelps (and his first hit allowed as a major leaguer, I think) who was impressive throughout the rest of the game, although it could be argued that the Angels offense was in cruise control like the Yankees offense was in the previous game.

        The Yankees only scored one run, in the bottom of the 5^th, to make the score 7-1, when Nunez and Jeter singled to start the inning, and Cano drove in a run with a one-out single. Wilson battled back like he did from the get-go, and retired the next two batters to keep the Yankees from turning it into a big inning.

               WINNING WILSON 
        The Yankees got off to a good start against Wilson in the 1^st inning, with the first two hitters reaching with singles, and they were given a gift when the Angels failed to turn what should have been a double play (Kendrick inexplicably made a high throw to 1^st), but Wilson managed to get out of the jam, and he held the Yanks in check throughout the duration. He allowed just one run despite getting himself into a couple other jams later in the game.

          After averting the potential danger in the 1^st, he mowed through the NY lineup in the 2^nd and 3^rd, but faced more adversity in the 4^th when he allowed two runners with one out. He helped himself with a great defensive play on a swinging bunt from Jones that dribbled up the 3^rd base line, and then jammed the catcher Russell Martin to induce a weak pop out to right to end the innings and strand runners on 2^nd and 3^rd.

           After getting out of the jam in the 5^th (when the Yankees scored their first run), Wilson had to squeak out another one in the 6^th that was mainly caused by his own bad defense. He retired the first two batters, then accidentally hit Martin with a pitch, and then forced Nunez to hit a chopper back to him, but he made the mistake of looking to 2^nd for some reason instead of throwing the ball to 1^st immediately, and then rushed the throw and fired it into the dirt, past Pujols. The error put runners at 2^nd and 3^rd with two outs again, but he threw some great pitches to Jeter and eventually forced a weak pop fly to right to end the inning, and finish his night’s work.

               DEFENSE AND PITCHING
        After Wilson’s good outing, the Angels’ relievers continued their improved pitching (in this series that is), as Kevin Jepsen, LaTroy Hawkins, and Jordan Walden each pitched consecutive 1-2-3 innings to silence the Yankees and hold on to the 7-1 victory.

        The best defensive play of the game was turned in by the Angels centerfielder (and who I term as a gold glove outfielder even though he was robbed last year) Peter Bourjos in the 2^nd inning. Andruw Jones belted a line drive to deep center field that probably would have been a double against nearly anyone else, but Bourjos sprinted back to the wall and reached out to rob him of an extra base hit, and help Wilson and his team hold on to the early 2-0 lead.

               FANTASY WATCH 
        Howie Kendrick had a great game, going 3-for-5 with a homerun and 3 RBI, Albert Pujols had one of his best games as an Angel, going 2-for-5 with a double and RBI. Even Vernon Wells got into the mix, getting 2 hits, including a homer and he appears to be hitting the ball hard, while not pulling off on everything like he was last year. Chris Iannetta has impressed me since spring training with great patience and the ability to hit the ball hard to the opposite field, and he added a 2-run homerun to right field, along with two walks, adding to his team-leading RBI totals. Of course I can’t omit, CJ Wilson who once again put an end to an Angel losing streak, with 6 quality innings, allowing 6 hits, and just one run, while striking out 2, while earning the all-important victory.

         The only notable player on the Yankees (or at least the only one I want to mention) was the rookie pitcher David Phelps, who pitched 5 1/3 innings in relief, and allowed just one hit and one run (Wells’ homer), and I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds his way into the starting rotation soon.

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                                                       GAME 3
          Sunday April 15^th did mark the rubber game of the series, but there was a much greater significance to this day, not only in baseball history, but in American history. April 15^th is Jackie Robinson day, a celebration the first African American player to wear a major league uniform. Not only is Robinson a baseball hero, he was an American civil rights icon, who played one of the most pivotal roles in American history, helping shape our society for the better forever. All the players wore Robinson’s number 42 on their uniform, and every game in the majors paid tribute to one of the most important people in American history, not just sports history.

          The Angels sent out Jerome Williams, making his first start of the season (as the Angels didn’t need a 5ht starter until now) after a good season last year in his sort stint with the team. The Yankees starter was Ivan Nova, who had an outstanding rookie season for the Yankees last season, going 16-4 with a very good ERA of 3.70, especially considering he pitches in the AL East division. The Angels lineup changed once again, as Morales (in a 1-for-23 slump), Bourjos, and Callaspo were given the day off. Wells took over in CF and hit 5^th, Mark Trumbo got the nod as the DH, Bobby Abreu took over in left, and Izturis got the start again at 3^rd base. The Yankees put Ibanez in left field and used Gardner as the DH for this game, interchanging the two from their game 1 lineup.

             SCORING INNINGS 
       There was a lot of scoring in this game, but unfortunately for the Angels fans, most of it was done by the home team. The Angels did score first, when Mark Trumbo hit a solo homerun to left to give them a 1-0 lead in the top of the 2^nd, but that lead didn’t last long. The Yankees tied the score in the bottom of the 2^nd, when Cano singled to lead off, Teixeira drew a walk, and Ibanez singled to center to score Cano from 2^nd, to make it 1-1.

        The game turned for the worst in the bottom of the 3^rd, when the Yankees strung together some good at-bats to score 4 runs and knock Williams out of the game very early. It started with the dreaded lead-off walk to the speedy Brett Gardner (on four pitches), then Jeter doubled to right field and Granderson made productive out, grounding out to 2^nd, to score the run and move Jeter over to 3^rd with one out. Rodriguez singled to left to score Jeter and make it 3-1, Cano drew another four-pitch walk, and Teixeira doubled to right to score another run, making it 4-1, and putting runners at 2^nd and 3^rd, still with just one out. Swisher hit a sacrifice fly to left, for another productive out, to score another, making it 5-1 Yankees, and that was the end of Jerome Williams’ very short night, as Hisanori Takahashi was brought in.

       The Yankees added more runs in their next at bat, again jumpstarted by a leadoff walk, this time to Russell Martin. Gardner followed with a single, and Jeter capped it off with a three-run homer to right field, to make the score 8-1.

       The Angels tried to make it a close game, scoring 2 in the top of the 5^th, when Chris Iannetta hit another 2-run homerun to right field, following a lead off walk by Izturis, making the score 8-3. Kendrick hit a one-out double, but Pujols and Hunter made outs, failing to add any more runs, so it still looked like a blow out in the making.

       They tried to further the comeback attempt in the top of the 6^th, when Trumbo drew a 2-out, four-pitch walk (Trumbo was one of very few who hit the ball well off of Nova, so it was understandable), and Izturis drove one off the wall, over the jumping attempt by Swisher, to make the score a little more respectable at 8-4. Iannetta followed with a hard groundball to 3^rd, and Rodriguez made a good diving stop, then got up and threw him out, saving what would have been an RBI single, to keep the Angels from making it a big inning.

       The Angels last chance to get back into the game came in the 7^th, after the Yankees brought in their first reliever, Rafael Soriano, and he proceeded to allow the first three batters to reach base. Aybar led off with a [rare] walk, Kendrick surprised them with a bunt single that dropped in between the pitcher and catcher, and Pujols singled home a run with a soft line drive single to left, to make the score 8-5. With runners at 1^st and 2^nd, and no outs, Hunter flew out to center, and Wells hit a sharp line drive right to 3^rd base (tough luck, but hard hit). Abreu showed his typical patience and drew a walk, to load the bases with two outs for Trumbo, but he failed to take advantage as he hit a fly out to right to end their last chance to get back in the game.

        The Yankees scored in the bottom half of the 7^th, when Swisher knocked in a run with a single to center, scoring Cano from 2^nd after he had walked and stolen 2^nd. That gave the Yanks a 9-5 lead, and then Raul Ibanez put the finishing touches on the game with a 2-run homerun later in the inning, to make it 11-5, which ended up being the final score.

              FANTASY WATCH
       Kendrick had another 3-hit game for the Angels, including a triple (where he was stranded at 3^rd in the 1^st inning), double and single. Iannetta and Trumbo each hit homeruns, and Maicer Izturis had another good game, going 3-for-3 with a stolen base included.

       The Yankees had a few players with hits and RBIs, but the two standouts were Ibanez with 2 hits, including a homerun and 3 RBI, along with Jeter, who had a double plus a 3-run homer.

        The Angels travel back home now to face off with the western rival Oakland Athletics, and hopefully they can turn the season around. It’s still early obviously, as it isn’t even 1/16 (6 %) of the way into the 2012 season, but at some point you have to wonder how long can you use that excuse. They need to pitch better and start winning series, and hopefully get on a winning streak, because the Rangers look like they are playing just as well as they did the past two seasons, where they made the world series in both, so the Angels have their work cut out for them….even if it is still early.

Aston’s Angels Report 2012 [Game 4-6 @ Twins- W, 2 L]

       AAR: Aston’s Angels Report                     April 12, 2012
             Game 4-6: More Pitching Woes           Vol. 2, Issue 4 

\         Series #2 (W, L, L @ Minnesota Twins), Season Record 2-4
         After a disappointing series against the Royals, the Angels faced off against another American League Central team, the Twins, and unfortunately had very similar results. The start to the 2012 season has been eerily similar to the poor start to last season, primarily defined by poor pitching performances and difficult losses, but the fact remains that there are still over 150 games remaining, so panic time hasn‘t quite arrived yet.

      The first game of the series on April 9 staged a matchup of starting pitchers CJ Wilson- making his first start as a member of the Angels, versus the Twins’ Nick Blackburn. While Wilson is probably one of the best (if not the very best) 4^th starters in all of baseball, coming off of a stellar 2011 campaign (posting a 16-7 record, 206 striekouts, and a 2.94 ERA), Blackburn has been a below-average starter for most of his career with the Twins (posting a 7-10 record with 4.49 ERA in 2011), but he has pitched better at home over his career, which evened the matchup a little more. The Angels lineup was altered a little from the previous series, with DH Kendrys Morales moved up to the 4^th position in the lineup, Bobby Abreu taking over in left field for Vernon Wells. Alberto Callaspo took the reigns at 3^rd base again, instead of defensively challenged 3^rd base student Mark Trumbo, with the expectation of many groundballs served up by his sinker ball throwing starter, Wilson. The Twins have a couple new faces this season, with former Athletic (and Angels nemesis from last season) Josh Willingham in left field, former Dodger Jamey Carroll as the starting shortstop, and catcher (and sometimes outfielder) Ryan Doumit, who played for the Pirates previously. They of course have the familiar M & M boys, former MVPs Joe Mauer (playing 1^st base) and Justin Morneau (shifted to DH this season, due to his injury concerns), to go along with a few young players who have been there for a couple years as well, like 2B Alexi Casilla, 3B Danny Valencia, and RF Trevor Plouffe. Expectations aren’t very high for the Twins this season, but they performed well in this series.

       The Angels put some runs on the scoreboard in their first at-bat, with some timely hits and tough base running. Shortstop Erick Aybar led off with a walk, showing some rare patience, and after a fly-out by Howie Kendrick, Albert Pujols hit a groundball to the 3^rd baseman, Valencia, that should have been an inning ending double play. Aybar showed some great base running skills, as he slid in to 2^nd base aggressively, making it impossible for Casilla to throw on to 1^st to complete the double play, to keep the inning going. Morales followed with a sharp single to center, and Pujols continued the good base running trend, running to 3^rd. Torii Hunter put the Angels on the board with a groundball single into left field, to score Pujols, and Abreu continued his hot hitting against Blackburn for his career (8-for-16 coming in), slicing a ground rule double the opposite way down the left field line, scoring Morales for an early 2-0 lead.

        CJ Wilson was given the lead before he even took the mound, and he didn’t relinquish it, although he did have a little bit of a control issue, which seemed to be attributed to the heavy movement on his pitches, as even the catcher, Chris Iannetta, was having difficulty catching some of them. He walked the #2 hitter Carroll with one out in the 1^st, but struck out Mauer and induced a groundout from Morneau. He walked the second batter he faced in the 2^nd inning, Doumit, but that was sandwiched between two strikeouts and then a weak groundout to end that inning. He got the first two batters out in the 3^rd, before walking Carroll- the least threatening (in terms of power) hitter in the lineup- again. He allowed his first hit of the game to the next batter, Mauer, which pushed Carroll over to 3^rd. Wilson nearly pushed in a run with a wild pitch, but Iannetta made a great block on the ball in the dirt to keep the runner at 3^rd (as Mauer took 2^nd base). Justin Morneau couldn’t drive in the runner(s) as he ended the 3^rd inning with a weak tapper back to the pitcher. Wilson made a costly mistake to the first batter in the 4^th inning, throwing a below average speed (85 MPH) fastball to Willingham to start the at-bat, which was spanked deep into left field for a leadoff homerun, making the score 2-1 now. He came back to get the next three in order on easy groundouts to end the 4^th.

        After the rough 1^st inning by Blackburn, he went on to retire 15 straight Angel batters, through the 6^th inning. He wasn’t overpowering, but he kept the opposing hitters off balance, inducing mostly groundouts along with three strikeouts. The streak ended with two outs in the 6^th, when Morales hit a grounder to 1^st, that went off of Mauer’s glove, ricocheting to Casilla, who then threw the ball away. The rare two-base, double error enabled Morales to go to 2^nd base, but Hunter couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity as he hit a (rare) fly out to center to end the inning.

       Wilson had his first 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 6^th, striking out Mauer again, and getting another groundout from Morneau, before facing the dangerous Willingham again. He nearly hit another homerun, but it drifted into foul territory at the end of its flight, and then he hit a grounder up the middle that Kendrick made a great play on, running it down as he went deep behind 2^nd base to snag it, and then made a great off- balance throw to 1^st to record the final out. The Angels capitalized on the momentum from the quick inning and stellar defense, as the offense finally added some insurance runs in the next half inning, to back up the strong pitching performance of Wilson.

        Abreu led off the 7^th with another trademark solid at-bat, working the count full before drawing the dreaded lead off walk. Callaspo followed by hitting the first pitch he saw back up the middle, just past the diving shortstop, so what looked like a potential base clearing double play ball turned into a single and two runners on with no outs. The Twins looked like they thought the next batter, Iannetta, was up to bunt with runners at 1^st and 2^nd, but he hit the first pitch he saw into left center field, for a 2-RBI double, to give the Angels a 4-1 lead. The Twins changed pitchers and Bourjos hit a seemingly harmless grounder to 3^rd but Iannetta continued the good base running theme, advancing to 3^rd as Valencia charged the ball to make the play at 1^st. With one out and a runner at 3^rd, the Twins changed pitchers again, bringing in the left- hander Glen Perkins the Angels resorted to their familiar small ball tactics with Erick Aybar up to bat. After taking the first two for balls, the Angels put the squeeze play on, so Iannetta started for home as Perkins pitched, and Aybar laid down the bunt to allow him to score easily and give the Halos a commanding 5-1 lead. The move to bring in the lefty made it a little easier to make the squeeze play work, since his back was to the runner at 3^rd and with a right-handed batter at the plate, he wouldn’t be able to pitch out towards the runner even if he did realize the runner was going at the last second, like a pitcher would be able to do with the batter in the other batter’s box. All the variables worked in the Angels favor and resulted in the final run of the game, on a well-timed common Mike Scioscia tactic.

        Wilson took the mound again in the bottom of the 7^th, with a new four run lead, and faced the minimum thanks to a double play grounder by Valencia, following a lead off single from Doumit. Scott Downs came in to pitch the 8^th and allowed just one base runner on a broken bat “seeing eye” dribbler down the 3^rd base line that turned into an infield hit, but he retired Carroll and Mauer to end the inning. The Angels offense was held in check for their last couple at-bats, so when Kevin Jepsen came in to pitch the 9^th, they still had a 5-1 lead, and proceeded to add a little drama to the finishing touches. He hit the first batter he faced, Morneau, in the back foot, and then allowed a line drive single up the middle by Willingham. Doumit followed with another line drive up the middle, but Aybar made a great diving catch going to his left, and then flipped the ball over to Kendrick covering 2^nd base, for a well- timed double play. Valencia ended the game with a groundout to Aybar, and the Angels were victorious again. Strong pitching and defense along with good base running and a little timely hitting (when they weren’t making 15 consecutive outs that is) produced the win, but unfortunately the pitching aspect of that combination would be missing in the next two contests.

FANTASY IMPACT
        The Angels’ CJ Wilson (7 innings, 3 hits, one run, 5 strikeouts, quality start) and catcher Chris Iannetta (1-for-4, with double and 2 RBI) were the fantasy stat standouts for the Angels. Josh Willingham was the lone offensive contributor for the Twins, posting a 2-for-4 game with a HR and only RBI for the team, and he should be in your lineup whenever he plays against the Angels, it seems.

CATCHER’S CORNER
        Catchers seem to get very little recognition for the difficult work they do, and it is my goal to highlight some of the game-saving plays they make. The Angels Chris Iannetta did produce the big hit of the game, with his two-run double in the 7^th to give the Angels a cushion in the scoring column, but he made one of the more important defensive plays as well. With runners on 1^st and 3^rd in the 3^rd, he made a great block on a ball in the dirt on a pitch to Justin Morneau, preventing the runner from being able to score. Although the runner at 1^st did advance, he allowed Wilson to keep the 2-0 lead, as he went on to throw a sidearm fastball and induce a weak groundout to end the inning. If that run had scored, it would have been 2-1 with another run in scoring position, and there is no telling what may have happened next, not to mention that the homerun from Willingham later in the game would have tied the score, and could have changed the game completely.

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        This series was an odd one, with a very rare scheduled day off in between the first and second games, so game two took place on Wednesday April 11, and the scheduling seemed to favor the Angels, as they skipped over what would have been the 5^th starter, so their ace Jared Weaver was the starting pitcher. He was facing off against the Twins veteran right-hander Carl Pavano, an average pitcher who tends to pitch deep into games and usually keeps the games close. The Angels altered the lineup a little, putting Vernon Wells back in left field, instead of Abreu. The Twins made a few changes, moving Doumit to right field and Mauer over to his familiar spot behind the plate, while inserting another youngster Chris Parmalee at the 1^st base position.

         The first three innings were rather uneventful, as Pavano was perfect in the first three innings, retiring the Angels in order, and Jared Weaver was almost his equal.. Weaver walked the first batter he faced, Denard Span, but he was erased by a double play grounder off the bat of Joe Mauer. The first hit of the game came in the 3^rd inning when Parmalee singled off the end of his bat into center field, but Weaver retired the next two hitters to finish the inning. The Angels got their first base runner on in the top of the 4^th, and capitalized with the first run of the game soon thereafter. Aybar singled up the middle to lead off, for their first hit of the game, but Kendrick hit an easy grounder to force Aybar out at 2^nd. Kendrick stole 2^nd base, which was the Angels first stolen base of the season (in five games), and then Albert Pujols came through with a line drive single to left, to score Kendrick and give the Angels a 1-0 lead. Pujols was thrown out trying to go to 2^nd on the throw home from the outfield, and Morales ended the inning with an easy fly ball to left.

        The Angels’ momentum didn’t last long at all, as the Twins came right back with some runs of their own in the bottom half of the 4^th. Carroll led off the inning with a double down the left field line, and Mauer followed with an RBI single to left center, tying the game at 1-1, in a matter of seconds. Morneau struck out for out #2, but Willingham continued his torment of the Angels, clobbering another homerun deep into left field on the first pitch fastball from Weaver (a mistake), for 2 RBI to give the Twins a 3-1 lead. Weaver settled down to retire Doumit and Valencia but the damage had been done, so the Angels had some work to do if they were going to get back in it.

         The offense came right back in the top of the 5^th, starting with a one-out single by Wells, who lined the first pitch he saw into left field. Callaspo hit a fly ball to right for the second out, and it looked like another lost inning. Iannetta managed to get a single into right field on a broken bat looper over the infield, putting runners at 1^st and 3^rd with two outs for CF Peter Bourjos. Bourjos whacked a deep fly ball into left, that ended up going over Willingham’s head, and then he crashed into the wall and fell down. Bourjos started off running at about half speed going to 1^st and then he kicked it into hyper drive as he flew around the bases and went all the way around the bases in no time flat for the always exciting inside-the-park homerun. Usually these take place on a ball that bounces around the wall bounds around a corner away from an outfielder, but this one went to straight away left field, and the play was backed up by the center fielder who fielded the ball and threw it in to the cut off man. By that time, Bourjos was flying around 3^rd and he slid in about a second ahead of the throw, for a relatively easy inside-the-parker, proving once again that he is probably the fastest base runner in baseball. More importantly it gave the Angels back the lead, who were now up 4-3 after that awe-inspiring play, after the inning looked to be almost over just two batters earlier.

        Weaver capitalized on the newfound momentum from his offense, and retired the Twins in order in the bottom of the 5^th, and allowed just one hit-to Morneau- in the 6^th, holding the lead for his team. The Angels offense went down in order in the 6^th , and then they tacked on another run in the top half of the 7^th. Hunter led off by hitting a line drive into center that Span nearly caught as he charged forward, but he could only stop it on a short hop. The ball got away from Span, so Hunter hustled his way on to 2^nd to try and stretch it into a double, and his aggression was rewarded as the throw from Span luckily scooted past the 2^nd baseman. It would have been an out if the throw had been caught, but the hustle from Hunter resulted in a runner in scoring position with no one out. Wells failed to move him over to 3^rd, hitting a fly ball to left (when you want to hit it to right to move the runner over), and Callaspo failed to do anything once again with an easy ground out, setting the stage for Iannetta with two outs. He came through with a clutch hit on the first pitch he saw, slicing a double into right center that fell in and rolled to the wall, scoring Hunter to give the Angels a 5-3 lead.

        The next half inning turned out to be the most important one in the game, as Weaver came back out to pitch the bottom of the 7^th. That may have been the first mistake, as he gave up back-to-back singles to Doumit and Valencia to start the inning, and then he was pulled from the game (at least one batter too late in my opinion). Hisanori Takahashi was called upon to pitch to the left-hand hitting Chris Parmalee and he got ahead in the count no balls, two strikes, but he made an absolutely horrible pitch, leaving a slow spinner down and in ( the worst spot to throw to a left hand hitter) and Parmalee capitalized by driving one down the right field line. Hunter made matters worse as he crashed into the right field wall trying to cut the ball off, allowing the ball to roll past him, so both runners scored to tie the game and Parmalee made it all the way to 3^rd with a triple. It looked like Takahashi was trying to throw a slider down and away, but he left it hanging in the happy hitting zone for Parmalee that probably cost the Angels the game (with an assist from the poor defense by Hunter), as it turns out. The Angels replaced him with LaTroy Hawkins, who inherited an unenviable position with the go-ahead run at 3^rd with no outs. He forced Casilla to hit a shallow fly out to left, that wasn’t deep enough to score the run, and then struck out Span for the second out, but he couldn’t get that elusive final out of the inning. Carroll came through again for the Twins, going with the outside pitch, lining the ball into right field to score Parmalee and give the Twins the unexpected 6-5 lead.

        The Twins brought in left handed fireballer Glen Perkins to pitch the 8^th and he retired the Angels in order easily, getting a groundball back to him from Aybar and then striking out Kendrick and Pujols. The Twins went down in order in their half of the 8^th, setting the table for their closer Matt Capps, in the 9^th , with the one-run lead. Morales led off with a sharp grounder right to the 2^nd baseman for out #1, and Hunter turned another hit to shallow center into another double with another hustle play, breaking his bat on a soft grounder up the middle, and hustling from the get-go to slide in safely ahead of the accurate throw from Span. The Angels had the tying run at 3^rd, but once again Wells couldn’t do anything, as he weakly pulled another grounder to the SS. I thought that Scioscia would pinch hit Abreu, given his good performance in game one of the series, along with Wells’ overall struggles vs. right handed pitching and in general, but it was not to be. Callaspo came up as the Angels last hope, but he failed again as well, weakly popping it up to the 3^rd baseman, Valencia, in foul territory to end the game. I thought there would certainly be a pinch-hitter there as well, with Abreu and Trumbo still available on the bench, but manager Mike Scioscia chose to stick with his starters, and it didn’t pay off. Most losses are never good, but this was a terrible loss, considering the situation they were in after the 7^th inning stretch, and the way their offense came through initially to retake the lead in the 5^th inning. As bad as this loss seemed at the time, game 3 would be even worse, and the panic button was starting to flash.


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         Game 3 of the series was probably one of the most disheartening games of the past few seasons, so much so that I didn’t want to watch my recording because I knew what the outcome was going to be, as I saw the updates and final score on the game on other channels without watching any of it. I know it’s still early, but this season is starting to look like a replay of last season, with the pitching issues and poor play costing them vital games. A lot of fans look at games in April as being somewhat meaningless, but some of the losses you get early in the year really come back to hurt you late in the year, when you’re fighting up hill to make up for some of those games you should have won that turned into losses many months prior.

          The Angels sent out another one of their pitching stars, Dan Haren to try and salvage the series in the rubber game of the series, as he faced off against the Twins left handed slinger, Francisco Liriano. Both pitchers were coming off of poor initial starts in their 2012 season, each allowing 5 earned runs in a handful of innings. Haren was making his 50^th start as a member of the Angels, and he has been impressive for most of them, while Liriano has been a ‘pitcher on the rise’ for a few years now, but he hasn’t been able to break through and become a winning pitcher yet, despite the fact he did throw a no-hitter last season (he finished with an unimpressive 9-10 record and 5.09 ERA).

          The Angels changed up their lineup, replacing Aybar with Maicer Izturis as both the leadoff man and shortstop (Aybar tends to struggle against left-handed pitchers so this may become something of a trend in the near future). Mark Trumbo got the start as the team’s DH after taking a couple games off (mainly because of his defense, I’m sure) and Bobby Wilson took over the catching duties, as Mike Scioscia loves to keep his catchers fresh with a platoon situation. The Twins only made one change to their successful game 2 lineup, changing their right fielder for the third game in a row, with the speedy Ben Revere, instead of Ryan Doumit (and Trevor Plouffe in game 1)

          Both teams had leadoff hits in their first inning at bat, but both were stranded as the next three batters were retired for each team. The Angels’ offense exploded with an unexpected outburst in the top of the 2^nd inning, ignited by a mammoth leadoff homerun by Mark Trumbo, who launched one into the upper deck in left field. Vernon Wells tried to hit one back up the middle, but Casilla made a good defensive play to throw him out at 1^st, but the Angels followed that up with four straight hits. Callaspo singled up the middle, Wilson followed with another hit to center, and then the offensive star in the last game, Peter Bourjos hit a deep fly into left for an RBI double. Bourjos gave his team a 2-0 lead, and helped put runners at 1^st and 2^nd for Maicer Izturis, who added another hit (to his leadoff single to start the game), smacking another one back up the middle, to score two more, for a 4-0 lead. Izturis stole 2^nd and Kendrick followed that by drawing a walk, putting two base runners on for Pujols, but he continued his early season slump and just missed a pitch down the middle, popping it up to the first baseman for an easy out. With Torii Hunter up to bat, the Angels tried a double steal, and the Twins’ catcher Joe Mauer made a poor throw to 2^nd, that bounced into center field, allowing Izturis to score easily after his attempt to steal 3^rd. In Mauer’s defense, the fielder at 2^nd should have at least stopped the ball to keep the runner at 3^rd from scoring, and because the ball went into center allowing the runners to advance, the error was charged, and the Angels were up 5-0. Hunter hit a deep fly out to right to end the inning, but it looked like the game would be in the Angels’ bad after that scoring outburst,… but things aren’t always as they seem, especially in sports, and with this team.

          Dan Haren pitched much better than in his first outing, with improved control for the most part, and he held the Twins scoreless for the first four innings, despite allowing a few base runners in the process. He set them down in order in the 2^nd following the Angels offensive outburst in the top half of the inning, but got into some trouble in the 3^rd. Revere led off the inning with a base hit up the middle, and Casilla followed with a single into right, on a mistake slider that hung up in the middle of the plate, on a 1 ball-2 strike count. Span made the first out on an easy fly out to left, that didn’t advance the runners, but Haren dug the hole a little deeper, walking Jamey Carroll to load the bases, with the Twins’ big hitters coming up. He threw three quality pitches to Mauer, finishing with a good slider on the inner half to get a pop up on the infield, and then forced Morneau to hit a shallow fly out to right to end the inning and keep the score 5-0. The Twins only managed one hit in the 4^th to remain scoreless, and the Angels offense only produced one base runner, on a walk, in their two innings following their big 2^nd inning, but they did attain their 4^th stolen base of the game, which is a welcomed sight for Angels fans. They added one more run in the top of the 5^th, started by Trumbo who drew a two-out walk, and then stole 2^nd (the Angels 5^th of the game), catching the Twins defense by surprise. Wells drove him in with a 2-out double down the left field line, lunging for a 1-2 outside slider and getting enough of it this time to place it away from the left fielder, and score the 6^th run for the Angels.

        It looked like a commanding 6-0 lead for the Angels, more than half way through, but the tides turned, starting in the bottom of the 5^th. Span and Carroll each hit soft line drive singles to the opposite field, with one out, to give Mauer another chance with runners on base. This time he came through, and it looked like he was waiting for the inside slider this time, as he turned on it and deposited it into the right field seats for a 3-run homer, cutting the Angels lead in half just that quickly. Haren retired Morneau on a groundout, but faced more danger in the inning when Willingham got an infield single on a weakly hit dribbler along the 3^rd base line, and Parmalee followed with a bloop hit into right. He avoided more damage, striking out Valencia swinging at a full count slider that cut away off the plate at the last second, to finally retire the side.

        The Angels failed to score in the 6h, despite a lead off infield single from Wilson, and a sacrifice bunt from Bourjos to move him into scoring position, as Izturis and Kendrick both struck out looking, against the new Twins pitcher Alex Burnett. The Angels removed Haren from the game, in what looked like a premature pitching change, and brought in Takahashi to pitch the bottom of the 6^th. He retired the first two hitters he faced but then things got a little dicey, as he wasn’t able to put hitters away with two strikes against them. He had Denard Span down 1 ball- 2 strikes, but allowed a single to left on a hanging, hittable slider, and then got ahead of Jamey Carroll, but tried to nibble too much with his pitches and ended up walking him to put two runners on for Mauer again, with two outs. Mauer hit what looked like a routine grounder to the shortstop Izturis, but for some reason he double clutched and threw the ball late to 1^st, allowing Mauer to beat the throw and loading the bases for the Twins’ Justin Morneau once again. Manager Mike Scioscia went with the right-handed hard throwing Kevin Jepsen (instead of the soft-tossing lefty) against the left handed slugger, and the move paid off as Morneau hit a weak fly out to left to end the threat.

         The Angels went down in order in the 7^th against Burnett, setting the stage for the Twins to complete the comeback after the 7^th inning stretch, with another three- run inning. Willingham led off with a homerun to left on a full count 96 MPH fastball, to continue his battering of the Angels pitching, cutting the lead to 6-4. Parmalee followed that with a line drive double to left center, going with another 96 MPH pitch, then Valencia grounded one into right field for their third straight hit. The Angels defense then let them down, first because it looked like Kendrick was in position to field the grounder that was just a couple feet to his left, but for some reason he didn’t see the ball well and made his first move to his right, so the ball went to the right fielder. To make matters worse RF Torii Hunter made a terrible mistake, throwing the ball over all the infielders all the way to the catcher, even though the runner at 3^rd wasn’t coming home, which allowed Valencia to go to 2^nd base, and eliminate the double play possibility, not to mention allow a second runner into scoring position. Ben Revere batted with the tying runs at 2^nd and 3^rd and no outs, but he couldn’t manage to drive them in, hitting a medium depth fly ball to left, and Parmalee didn’t even attempt to tag up and test Wells’ arm. Scioscia replaced Jepsen with lefty Scott Downs, and the Twins countered by pinch-hitting Luke Hughes for Alexi Casilla. He hit the first pitch from Downs into deep left center field, that nearly resulted in a collision by the two Angels outfielders, but still allowed the runner to come in on the sacrifice fly (moving up both runners), to make the score 6-5. Span batted with two outs and the runner at 3^rd, and hit a grounder towards Pujols at 1^st, who underhanded it to Downs covering the base, but Span is a fast runner, so they tried to hurry the play, and in their haste Downs wasn’t able to catch the ball cleanly. To make matters worse, he got stepped on as he tried to reach back with his foot to touch the base as he covered 1^st, and it looked like he twisted his ankle, so he had to be pulled from the game. It was a brand new game as the Twins tied the score with that infield hit, that was a tough play but a play that should have been made, and now the Angels had to go back to their bullpen, bringing in Rich Thompson. He allowed a stolen base to Span, but struck out Carroll to end the inning, so the game headed into the 8^th as a 6-6 tie.

         The Twins brought in Jared Burton to start the top of the 8^th, and he allowed a lead off single back up the middle by Vernon Wells, and any time he doesn’t try to pull the ball it’s a good thing, so that was a positive sight. Callaspo hit a fly out to right on the first pitch he saw, and as the Angels called up Kendrys Morales to pinch-hit for Wilson, the Twins countered by bringing in a left-hander, Brian Duensing, into the game, to turn the switch-hitter around to hit from his weaker right side. Morales hit an easy fly out to left for the second out, bringing up the offensive hero from the last game, Peter Bourjos. Duensing made a big mistake, throwing a wild pitch which allowed Wells to advance to 2^nd, and Bourjos made them pay as he grounded one through the hole on the left side, into left field, to score Wells, giving the Angels the lead again, 7-6. They failed to tack on any more despite a walk to Izturis to put two on, as Kendrick grounded out to end the inning.

         The Angels continued their trend of bad pitching and poor defense at the end of this game, as they surrendered the lead, and a whole lot more, in the bottom of the 8^th. Mauer led off the inning and took advantage of a very bad pitch from Thompson, who left a hanging curveball down the middle of the plate on a 1 ball-2 strike count, and it was lined into right for a single. He tried to continue the trend of offering the next batter, Morneau, outside fastballs, but Morneau was ready this time, and launched the 90 MPH pitch deep into the right field seats, to give the Twins a 8-7 lead. I guess Scioscia didn’t want to use any of his other relievers because he left Thompson in the game, and he proceeded to allow more runs to the Twins. Willingham followed the homer with a line drive, that went off of the 3B Callaspo’s glove as he leapt up to catch it. He did strike out Parmalee, but fell behind Valencia 3 balls-0 strikes so he threw a fastball right down the middle, and Valencia whacked a double down the left field line, to score another run and make it 9-7 Twins. After Revere grounded out for the 2^nd out, Luke Hughes took advantage of another bad pitch from Thompson, knocking another hanging curve (on a 0-2 count) into left field, to score the Twins 10^th run, and they eventually took 10-7 lead into the top of the 9^th inning.

          Now the Angels were down for the first time in the game after another multiple run inning by the Twins, just as their last at bat of the game approached. The Twins brought in their closer Matt Capps to finish the game, but the Angels were still fighting. Pujols led off the inning with his first hit of the game, a sharp single into left, and then the Angels got a lucky bounce to help make things interesting. Hunter hit a a slow groundball up the middle that looked like an easy double play ball, but the ball bounced right off of 2^nd base as the fielders closed in on it, and ricocheted away, allowing Pujols to take 3^rd, and start the Angels last attempt at a rally. With runners at 1^st and 3^rd and no outs, Mark Trumbo lined an RBI single into left, to make it 10-8. Vernon Wells was also helped out by a little luck, as he hit another potential double play grounder to the shortstop, who tossed it to the 2^nd baseman, but they were unable to get complete the double play as Wells was called safe at 1^st. First. Wells was lucky that the 2^nd baseman double clutched slightly before throwing and then even luckier that the umpire called him safe, as replays appeared to show that he was safe. Callaspo batted with runners at 1^st and 3^rd, and grounded out to 1^st, scoring Hunter from 3^rd to make the score 10-9, while moving Wells with the potential tying run over to 2^nd base. Iannetta was next, with his first at-bat of the game after coming in as defensive replacement (when Wilson was pinch-hit for), but he couldn’t take advantage of the lucky bounces in the inning to complete the rally, hitting a weak grounder to 3^rd base, as Valencia made a great running throw to 1^st for the final out of the game.

         Minnesota came into the series with one of the lowest scoring offenses in the game, but they beat down the Angels pitching in the final two games, compiling an astounding total of 20 hits in this game. Haren allowed 9 hits and just 3 runs (along with 7 strikeouts) in his 5 innings, but the bullpen allowed 11 more hits, and more importantly, 7 more runs, in their 4 innings of work. It looked just like the start to the 2011 season, as the bullpen failed to hold the lead early in that season too, so hopefully they can pull it together soon, before they fall too far back in the standings. The bright side is that their offense is scoring fairly often, despite a lack of production from their main offensive cogs (namely Pujols) and they have started to play their small tactics (squeeze bunts, stolen bases), which is their typical modus operandi but their record is what counts, and that isn’t too positive. Things don’t get any easier for the Halos, as they have to travel to New York to take on one of the eastern division power houses, the Yankees. As I write this, they have already lost the first game of that series, getting shut out, so things aren’t looking very positive so far…. but it‘s still just a week into the season.

FANTASY WATCH

The Twins’ Joe Mauer had 3 hits, including a 3-run homer, despite getting off to a slow start in the game, but many Twins batters contributed to their fantasy stat line, given the fact the team had 20 hits and 10 runs scored.

One of the most notable Angels fantasy lines belongs to Albert Pujols, but it’s for his lack of production, as he is hitting about .200, with no homers and very limited production. He got off to a slow start last season with St Louis as well, but he still hit 37 homers and drove in 99 runs, so it’s not time to worry yet.

Aston’s Angels Report 2012 [Game 2&3 vs Royals- LOSSES]

AAR: Aston’s Angels Report                                 April 8, 2012 Games 2&3: Royal Thorn in the Angels' Side        Vol. 2, Issue 3
       
                                Both losses vs. Royals [3-6, 3-7], Record: 1-2
         The Royals once again to be the Angels’ kryptonite, much like last season, as they thoroughly beat down the Angels in the final two games of the series, in the Angels home openers. Last season, as you may recall, the Royals beat the Angels in 3 of the 4 games in the opening series of the season in Kansas City, so needless the say the Angels are happy not to have to play them again for a while. Despite the scores, the game on Sunday was actually much closely contested than the game on Saturday, but the Royals took the lead in their first at-bat in both games and held on to the lead throughout, before sending the Halos on their way to Minnesota.

       In game 2, the Angels sent out one of their best pitchers, Dan Haren, who was 16-10 last year with a 3.17 ERA and a stellar strikeout-to-walk ratio, to face off against Luke Hochevar, who has pitched poorly in his career against the Halos, posting an ugly 8.02 ERA… But as they say, that’s why they play the game, because when you watched the game, you wouldn’t be able to tell who is the possible staff ace (Haren) and who has been deemed a #1 draft pick bust for most of his career (Hochevar).

        The Royals used about the same defense/ lineup as in game one, with the exception of Humberto Quintero as the catcher. The Angels made a few changes to their defense, with Alberto Callaspo at 3^rd base, Bobby Wilson as the catcher, and Bobby Abreu in left field, moving Vernon Wells to center (replacing Peter Bourjos). It didn’t really matter who was out there for the Angels, because Dan Haren was not on his game from the start, and the Angels were basically out of it by the 5^th inning.

         Haren started out well, inducing a ground out from Alex Gordon to lead off the 1^st, but then he surrendered 4 straight singles to rookie CF Lorenzo Cain, 1B Eric Hosmer, DH Billy Butler, and finally Jeff Francoeur, who drove in two runs with his bases loaded single. Granted the first and last hit were weakly hit bloopers, but Haren was not hitting his locations, which is not like him at all, and his velocity was lower than usual, which makes for a bad combination obviously. He did come back to strike out the next two hitters in the inning to somewhat limit the damage, but it was 2-0 and the Royals never looked back. The Angels’ Howie Kendrick earned a one-out walk, but Albert Pujols grounded into an inning ending double play, to finish their half of the 1^st.

         The Royals tacked on another run, as Quintero led off with a double into left, SS Alcides Escobar sacrificed him to 3^rd with a bunt, and Cain hit a sacrifice fly into right to make the score 3-0 Royals. The Angels managed just one hit in their 2^nd inning, with a leadoff single by Kendrys Morales, as part of a 4-for-4 day, but the next three hit fly ball outs to quickly end that inning.

          The Royals tried to start another rally in the 3^rd, with two hits singles to left by RF Jeff Francoeur and 2B Yuniesky Betancourt, but Haren struck out 3B Mike Moustakas, and catcher Bobby Wilson made a great play on a wild pitch in the dirt, pouncing on the loose ball, and firing to 2^nd base to get the runner out trying to advance, to end the inning.The Angels again failed to do much in their half of the 3^rd, when Bobby Wilson, who walked with one out, was picked off of 1^st base by the Royals catcher, with Kendrick up to bat., to end the inning.

        Haren again got in trouble in the 4^th, with another lead off double by the #8 hitter, Quintero, but he struck out two of the next three, with a weak pop-out sandwiched in between, to retire the side after the mild threat. The Angels biggest chance to make an offensive impact came in their half of the 4^th but it still resulted in a goose egg on the score board. After Kendrick grounded out, Pujols hit a line drive off of the left field wall for a double, for his first hit as an Angel. Not only was the smash hit impressive, but I really like how he immediately hustles out of the batter’s box even though it looked like it may be a homerun off his bat, and ran hard all the way to 2^nd base, which is not always the case with a lot of hitters these days. Morales followed with his second hit, a line drive to left field, but Pujols was thrown out by the left fielder Gordon at home plate. Well, he was called out, but it looked like he was tagged on the back leg after his front leg crossed the plate, but a bad call by umpire Bob Davidson has become a common occurrence so it’s not surprising, and in his [mild] defense, the ball did beat him, and some umpires just quit watching the play at that point, it seems, to give the automatic out call, instead of doing their job and watching the entirety of the play. I could blame the ump all day for another bad call, and I’m sure it won’t be the last time, but in reality, it was a bad play by Pujols, who ran threw the ‘stop sign’ by the 3^rd base coach, and tried to score on one of the best throwing outfielders from last year, Gordon- who earned a gold glove last year, in large part to his league-leading 20 assists (which means he can really throw). That was probably the play of the game from the Angels standpoint, because it probably cost the Angels a chance to get back in it. Hunter followed by flying out to center, and there’s no guarantee he would have done the same with Pujols at 3^rd and one out, but if he had, it would have been a sac. Fly for an RBI, and it would have given another RBI chance to the next batter, but as it turns out, they got nothing, and that was the story of the whole game.

        Eric Hosmer capitalized on the Angels failure to score, launching a solo homerun, leading off the 5^th inning against Haren, to give them a 4-0 lead, before Haren retired the next three in order. The Angels followed that with a miserable offensive inning, going down in order, as Abreu, Wells, and Callaspo each struck out swinging, after Hochevar had recorded no strikeouts going into the inning.

        Mike Moustakas led off the 5^th with another solo homer off of Haren, which led to a few boos from the Angels home crowd, who simply weren’t used to this futility from one of their best pitchers. Haren did manage to finally get Quintero out for the first time on a ground out back to him, but Escobar followed with a one-out single, and that was the end of the day for Haren, who left with a 5-0 deficit. Hisanori Takahashi came in to pitch in relief, and retired Gordon and Cain, but the Angels were in a big hole, and wouldn’t get out. They continued their offensive deficiencies, going down in order in their half of the 6^th, and it looked like they were going to go down without much of a fight.

         Takahashi and Jason Isringhausen combined to retire the Royals in order for the first time in the game, in the top of the 7^th, and the Angels’ offense finally did something to attempt a comeback after the 7^th inning stretch. After Pujols led off with a fly out, Morales added his third hit, a bloop single to left, and then he went to 3^rd base when the Royals catcher, Quintero made a bad throw trying to pick him off at 1^st. With the runner now at 3^rd and one out, Hunter blooped a single into right that fell just in front of Francoeur, but Morales wasn’t sure if it was going to fall so he held at 3^rd. The Royals manager Ned Yost then brought in left hander, Tim Collins and I was surprised to see the Angels manager, Mike Scioscia, stick with lefty Abreu as the hitter (coming up to bat with chants of “Bobby“ from the crowd). He promptly lined the first pitch fastball into right field for an RBI double, and I think that vote of confidence by his manager (who could have very easily pinch-hit for him, as I’m sure other managers would have) could really help him in the future, and hopefully prove to him that he will get the playing time he desires. The score was now 5-1, and Vernon Wells batted with runners at 2^nd and 3^rd and just one out. He grounded out to 3^rd, and Hunter hesitated as he started for home, but luckily the 3B didn’t pay any attention to him and threw on to 1^st for the sure out, allowing the Angels to score and make it 5-2. Callaspo struck out to end the inning, but the Angels finally had made it on the scoreboard and gave themselves a chance.

         LaTroy Hawkins was called upon to pitch the 9^th, but he allowed a lead off double to the pinch hitter Chris Getz, on a grounder down the left field line. Following a strikeout by Moustakas, Getz tried to steal 3^rd base on the first pitch to Quintero, and the Angels catcher made a terrible throw that sailed past Callaspo at 3^rd, into left field, allowing Getz to trot home, making the score 6-2, and taking away any momentum the Angels had acquired. Quintero walked, and Escobar hit into an inning ending double play. Greg Holland came in to pitch the bottom of the 8^th for the Royals, and allowed a two-out single up the middle by Howie Kendrick, before striking out Pujols (looking) to end the inning.

         The Angels brought in Rich Thompson to pitch the 9^th, and he retired the Royals’ top of the lineup in order for a quick inning. The Royals brought in their closer Jonathon Broxton, in a non-closing situation with a 4-run lead, and the Angels tried to at least make it interesting. Morales continued his great day at the plate, by lacing a double off the right center field wall to lead off the 9^th, and Hunter followed with a wise bunt single, that got past the pitcher, to put two runners on base and attempt a rally. With runners at 1^st and 3^rd, Abreu had a chance to do more damage, but could only muster a sacrifice fly to left, scoring one run, but with one all-important out, to make the score 6-3. Vernon Wells followed and grounded into an easy game-ending double play, and that was that.

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         Now on to Sunday’s game, the final tie-breaking game of the series. This game pitted the Angels Ervin Santana vs. new Royals starter Jonathon Sanchez, formerly of the San Francisco Giants (with a no-hitter to his name, a few years ago). The Royals inserted Chris Getz into the 2^nd base slot, using the same defense they finished with in game 2, plus moved their rookie CF, Cain, down in the lineup, shifting the SS Escobar up to the #2 spot. The Angels reverted back to their opening day lineup, with Trumbo back at 3^rd, Iannetta catching, and Bourjos back in center (with Wells moving back to left) in hopes that it would produce the same victorious result.

         The Royals did some more 1^st inning damage, taking the early lead once again, as they continued to put pressure on the Halos. After Gordon grounded out on the first pitch of the game, Escobar was hit by a pitch, and then stole 2^nd base with Hosmer at the plate. Santana made a good pitch to Hosmer, jamming him with a fastball, but he managed to bloop it out to left field for an RBI single, and a quick 1-0 lead for the Royals. Santana fell behind the next hitter, Billy Butler, and threw mediocre 3-1 slider down the middle and Butler whacked it just over the center field wall (and just to the left of the large wall that extends from the normal wall near right center) for a two-run homerun, and just like that the Angels were in a deep hole again, down 3-0.

          The Angels hustled their way to a run in their half of the 1^st inning, when Kendrick grounded one back up the middle for a one-out single, and then ran all the way to 3^rd base on a wild pitch to Albert Pujols, on a rare two-base wild pitch. Pujols had a runner at 3^rd with just one out, and a 3-1 count, but was fooled by a changeup and hit a grounder to 3^rd, but Kendrick was able to score, giving Pujols his first RBI as an Angel, so the score was now 3-1.

          The 2^nd inning was quick for both teams, as a double play fly ball to Peter Bourjos erased Quintero from 2^nd base, after he hit another double with one out in the inning, but ventured too far away from 2^nd on a line drive to shallow center, allowing Bourjos to make another gold glove- calibur play to end the inning. The Angels managed only a walk by Chris Iannetta, but that was all for their half of the 2nd.

         The top of the 3^rd was highlighted by a great defensive play by Albert Pujols, who dove to his left to snag a high- hop grounder down the 1^st base line, by Alex Gordon leading off the inning, and Santana retired the next two for a 1-2-3 inning, thanks in large part to Pujols and his all-around greatness. The bottom of the 3^rd proved to be the biggest inning for the Angels, but more for what they didn’t do instead of what they did do, although they did inch closer on the scoreboard. Aybar led off the 3^rd with swinging at a ball in the dirt to strikeout, but he was able to advance to 1^st as the wild pitch got past the catcher, so the lead off man got on base which has not happened much for them so far. Kendrick followed that with a patented opposite field line drive into right, for a double, moving Aybar to 3^rd. Pujols had two in scoring position, and Sanchez was obviously trying to be careful, as he fell behind 2 balls, 0 strikes, before Pujols rocketed the next two pitches into the crowd to even the count, and then he threw two sliders to try to get Pujols to swing and miss, but he showed excellent patience (another one of his trademark skills) and took the walk, to load the bases for Torii Hunter. He hit a sharp grounder to Hosmer at 1^st base, who bobbled it before he could try to make it into a double play, settling for the putout at 1^st, so the Angels converted an out into a run, making it 3-2 and still had two runners in scoring position. Vernon Wells now batted with runners at 2^nd and 3^rd and just one out- a time where an “RBI hitter” is supposed to be able to at least put the ball in play (either on the ground or a deep enough fly ball to score Kendrick from 3^rd), but Wells once again failed mightily in what turned out to be the most important Angels at-bat in the game. He swung at consecutive pitches up near his neck (no I’m not exaggerating for effect) to strike out meekly, and blow a relatively easy RBI opportunity (an unfortunate broken record in his brief Angels career). The next batter, Morales also had a good RBI opportunity, but much more difficult now with two outs where a hit is necessary, and he grounded out sharply to the SS, to end the inning, and the last real threat to make the game close that the Angels would have.

         The Royals looked like they were going to capitalize right away on the Angels failures in the top of the 4^th, when Santana issued a four-pitch walk to the first hitter, Billy Butler. Francoeur lined out to 3^rd and Moustakas popped out to center, but Cain drew another walk to put two runners on, and Quintero came through with another hit, a line drive to right field. Hunter grabbed the ball and fired it to the cutoff man, Butler held at 3^rd base, but the rookie Lorenzo Cain made a base running error, rounding 2^nd base too much, and Pujols threw behind him and the Angels got him in a run down for the final out, instead of what would have been a bases-loaded, two out situation. In their half of the 4^th, the Angels failed to capitalize on that possible momentum shift, as the bottom third of the lineup went down in order, including a couple easy grounders to 1^st.

         The Royals took control of the game in the 5^th inning, as Getz led off with a groundball single to right, just out of the reach of the diving Kendrick. Santana retired the next two hitters, Gordon and Escobar, but Eric Hosmer launched the first pitch fastball deep into the right field seats, up above the tall wall, for a two-run homerun, giving his team a relatively commanding 5-2 lead. In the bottom half of the 5^th, the Angels tried to start a comeback, as Aybar singled to lead off the inning. Kendrick then followed with a loud line drive right to the SS for a loud out, but Pujols lined a single to left on the first pitch he saw, to put two runners on. Hunter popped out to 1^st and Wells grounded out to the SS to end the inning and put an end to any potential threat once again.

         The Royals added another run in the top of the 6^th, when Francoeur blooped in a single to right, lunging for a good pitch, but making enough contact to get on base- another bad omen for this game. After Moustakas hit an easy fly out to left (swinging at the first pitch for the third straight at-bat), Cain hit a ground ball to Mark Trumbo near the 3^rd base line, and Mark couldn’t field it cleanly so Cain reached on another error by Trumbo. Quintero hit a deep fly ball to center, that Bourjos chased down, and that was the last pitch for Santana, who was then replaced by Takahashi, to face the left-hand hitting Chris Getz. The Angels got what they wanted, a weak broken- bat hit, but it managed to dribble past the pitcher and it was hit so slowly that Kendrick wasn’t able to make a play, so Getz reached on an infield RBI single, and the Royals were now up 6-2, after two well- placed weak hits, once again proving this was just not going to be the Angels’ night. The Angels managed just one hit, a line drive single to left by Trumbo, in the bottom of the 6^th, off of the Royals’ new pitcher, Jose Mijares, and hope was fleeting.

          Things got worse in the top of the 7^th, when Escobar led off with a bunt single, taking advantage of Trumbo at 3^rd again. Hosmer grounded into a force play, making it safely at 1^st, and then the Angels brought in Jason Isringhausen to face the right-handed hitting Butler. Hosmer stole 2^nd on the first pitch, and then Butler lined the next pitch into left field, which rolled to the wall, for an RBI double, giving the Royals a 7-2 lead, and essentially ending the game for all intensive purposes. They did get the final two outs to head into the 7^th inning stretch, but the Angels offense couldn’t get it together in their half of the 7^th. Aybar led off an inning once again, and grounded one back up the middle that deflected off the pitcher’s glove far enough to allow him to reach on an infield single. Kendrick, however, followed with an easy groundball double play, and (of course) Pujols followed with a double in the left-center gap, but it was with the bases empty. Hunter grounded out to end the inning, and it was another case-in-point for their bad day.

         Fast forward to the bottom of the 8^th, and Vernon Wells finally put a good swing on a ball, hitting a low curve ball into bullpens beyond the left field wall for a solo homerun, but it was too little, too late, as usual as the score was now 7-3. After Morales grounded out, Trumbo singled up the middle, and Iannetta hit one the other way, down the right field line, for a double to push Trumbo to 3^rd. Aaron Crow was brought in to kill the Angels rally, with runners at 2^nd and 3^rd and one out, and he struck out Bourjos and induced a weak ground out back to the mound from Aybar, to do just that.

         Jordan Walden came in to pitch the 9^th for the Angels and retired the Royals in order, heading into their last at bat. Kendrick led off the 9^th with a single into left, and Pujols drew a four-pitch walk, prompting the Royals to bring in their closer, Jonathon Broxton again. He took control of the game, and struck out Hunter, Wells (another ridiculously high fastball I might add), and Morales to end the game. The Angels had base runners on during the game, and chances to tie the game in the early innings, which is more than they had in Saturday’s game, but the result was the same, and they are now headed to Minnesota with a 1-2 record, to try and get back on track. I’m sure they would rather stay at home, but still welcome the chance to play anybody other than those pesky Royals.

HUSTLE/ BEYOND THE BOX SCORE        I have been thoroughly impressed with the work ethic and hustle of Albert Pujols during the spring and so far in this young season, and I think it will benefit the whole team as the season progresses. He always runs hard to 1^st, and spends extra time every day preparing and trying to get better, and his teammates see this and it can only work to encourage them to do the same thing, which will assuredly benefit the team as we go along. He busted it out of the batter’s box on what looked like a homerun, and the ball bounced hard off the wall instead, but because he was hustling, he was able to make it into 2^nd base safely, whereas there are many players who probably would have started to trot to 1^st as they admire what they thought was a homerun, and may have been limited to a single purely because of a lack of hustle. And you know if he sees one of his teammates do that, he will tell them of his disapproval, being the vocal leader that he is, and it won’t just be an idle point, because they know he does exactly what he is telling them to do, every second he is on the field. Early in Sunday’s game, Howie Kendrick turned a simple advance on a wild pitch, into an exciting two base wild pitch, because he ran hard all the way and turned around 2^nd with the intent of possibly going to 3^rd, and it resulted in their first run of the game, and Pujols’ first RBI as an Angel.

GREAT DEFENSE        Pujols also made one of the best defensive plays you will ever see by a first baseman, in Sunday’s game, when he dove for a ball down the 1^st base line, and it took a very high hop as it got to him, but he reached out for it and snagged the ball, allowing for the first easy inning of Santana’s night.

        In Saturday’s game, the Royals made two great defensive plays, one of which was aided by the combination of Angels over-aggressiveness and another bad call by an umpire. Left fielder Alex Gordon made a great throw home to get Albert Pujols “out” but it was more about the bad base running by Pujols and the worse call by home plate umpire Bob Davidson. Later in the 8^th, when the game was basically out of reach anyway, the Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar made a great running bare-handed pick-up-and-throw to get the speedy Erick Aybar out at 1^st in the 8^th inning, which was one of the plays of the day in all of baseball.

FANTASY WATCH
         The Angels’ only bright spot on the stat line on Saturday, was Morales who went 4-for-4 with 3 singles and a double. On Sunday, Kendrick had 3 hits, including a double, and Pujols did finally get an RBI, and went 2-for-3 with two walks. Hopefully you chose not to start Haren or Santana, because they each had awful stat lines, including earning the loss(es).

          The Royals’ Eric Hosmer had a homerun and multiple hits in both games, proving he may well become an all-star player this year (it also helps the all-star game is in KC this year). Their catcher, Humberto Quintero also had standout performances, especially in the game on Saturday. He hit two doubles off of Haren, and was 2-for-3 with a walk on Saturday, and continued his offensive onslaught with two more hits on Sunday, including another double off of Ervin Santana.