Two Steps Forward, One Step Back. It’s a September Simon Says to the Season Finish, Folks!
And a September Simon Says is pretty much what I expected for the Angels push to catch up with those wily Rangers in this season’s wild, wild, a wee bit wilder than usual in fact, AL West. Yes, Tuesday night’s loss was frustrating. All those errors! Ugh! But Monday night’s win, with the Angels’ bats rising to the occasion to pick up Dan Haren, was glorious and this evening’s come from behind win was exhilarating, if a bit more exciting than strictly necessary. And, with Texas unable to do much against the pitching firm of Shields and Price – love that fan cave bit! – the Angels have gained one precious game on them, shrinking Texas’ lead to a mere 2.5 games.
September is still young and I predict a lot more Simon Says-style steps forward and back in the standings before all is said and done. So hang on to your hats and glasses, Angels fans. I think this rollercoaster of a season is going to come down to the last three games when the Angels and Rangers clash in Anaheim, don’t you? In the mean time, what better place is there to soak in all the excitement of the closest division race of the season than the Big A? (Sorry New York and Boston. Yes, I am aware that your division race is closer, and that the end result is extremely important to you, but for the rest of us? It’s not that big a deal. We already know you’re both going to the playoffs.) Of course, I won’t be able to attend as many games as I want to this month, but I plan on heading out to the ballgame as often as my wallet and a very understanding boss will allow. Seth and I started with Monday’s game.
As I mentioned, this was not Dan Haren’s best night by any means. But like the veteran workhorse he is, he battled and kept the Angels in the game. And, like Jered Weaver in his equally turbulent Saturday start, this guy has lost pretty so many times this season, he deserved to be able to win ugly this time. It didn’t hurt that he was facing off against a rookie and that the Angels graciously decided not to make this rookie look like Cy Young award winner. 😉
In both team’s cases, the relievers actually fared better than the starters. Kudos to Bobby Cassevah and Hisanori Takehashi for maintaining the lead. And while I certainly haven’t spoken with either reliever, somehow I am sure that in return they say kudos to the Angels offense for not handing them yet another one-run lead.
For the Angels offense truly was the key to this game. It was a thing of beauty! You couldn’t keep them off the base paths, a trend that absolutely must continue this month if they’re going to catch the Rangers. I say that it’s all well and good to rest a few bats here and there but, unlike Tuesday’s game, multiple bats should not be rested at the same time and when say Howie or Trout is sitting out the game, if his replacement isn’t getting it done in the field or at the plate they should be replaced in inning three or four, not inning nine. How about it Sosh, what do you say?
The future is now! Peter Bourjos, Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout. Watching these rookies (and near rookie) come up to the big leagues and into their own while breathing new life into the veteran players has made my season. Seeing Trout and Bourjos in the same outfield a year early makes me giddy every time I their names in the lineup. And between the Trumbomb, Trumbo and Bourjos’ doubles and Bourjos and Trout’s speed everywhere, all three players had an excellent night.
Trout did miss robbing a Seattle homerun that several of the fans thought he should have caught. From my vantage less than 30 feet away, he would have had to dive into the 4th row to catch the ball. He’s good, but that wasn’t happening. Besides, as Seth and I joked afterwards, judging from the number of hits I get on this blog for “Peter Bourjos Butt,” “Mike Trout Butt” and even “(insert name of Angels rookie of choice here) naked” when there ain’t no booty shots here to be found (so you know that number of actual searches using these terms is exponentially larger), I think it’s safe to say that the young women (and likely some of the young men) of Orange County have…um…shall we say…caught Angels rookie fever. If young Trout were to sail into the stands, they might try to keep him for a souvenir.
Mariners outfielders Mike Carp and Trayvon Robinson warm up between innings. The Angels are not the only team hoping to benefit from a youth uprising. Both young players have looked very good, at least against the Angels. Can an influx of young blood help lead the Mariners to a winning season in 2012? Guess we’ll have to wait and see. Personally, now that we’ve knocked them to elimination, I would love to see the Mariners start an amazing winning streak immediately. You know, really take their bad season agressions out on the Rangers…hey, a girl can dream.
And now for something completely silly…the Angels wonderfully goofy production staff has started airing short Q&A’s with the players on improbable topics in between innings. This evening’s fodder? ‘How many Jersey Shore kids can you name?’ and ‘Team Edward or Team Jacob?’ Needless to say, these are hardworking professional baseball players, not pre-teen girls. In most cases they didn’t even understand the questions, with humorous results. Ervin Santana’s expression shown below was the funniest, but Joel Pineiro with his “Is that the show with that chick that looks like a poodle?” had the best answer. Though Torii was pretty funny too. He scoffed at Twilight (though he did know what it was – he has teenagers after all) and said they should be asking him about “man” movies. When the reporter obliged and asked what his favorite action movie was, he was so taken aback that he sputtered and laughed at himself because he could not think of a single one.
And, let us not forget, rookie call-ups mean more rookie backpacks:
Wow, Kristen, more phenominal pics of the game, and an Angels win makes them better. Glad you keep enjoying time at the ballpark. Do you realize you had a pic of Trout, followed by a pic of Carp? Where the ‘H’ is Tim Salmon(Kingfish) when you need him?!
–Mike
‘Minoring In Baseball’
Thanks Mike! Yeah, we’ve been making a lot of jokes like that. Bring back Salmon and borrow Carp for an exhibition game with an all seafood outfield. 🙂 The Kingfish has been doing some sideline commentary for the Angels this season and I hope to see him continue. He’s pretty good at it and what Angels fan doesn’t love Fish?
— Kristen
Thankfully for baseball, the Angels and Rangers are in a race otherwise baseball might as well just start the playoffs tomorrow. September just isn’t the same without suspense.
http://bluejaysnest.mlblogs.com/
I agree, Bluejaysnest. I prefer seasons with more tight down to the wire races.
— Kristen
Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout can one day be a dynamic duo for this ball club. Trumbo is a big name in the ROY debate this year, and Trout will probably be next year (http://yossif.mlblogs.com/2011/09/06/the-rookie-of-the-year-debate/)
I like Trumbo for ROY, Yossif. His bat and our pitching are two of the biggest reasons the Angels are still in contention this season. But there are a lot of impressive rookies around the league this season and the voters don’t like Trumbo’s secondary stats much. I think they shoulld open their eyes and just watch him, but that’s just me. 🙂
— Kristen
Great pics Kristen! Also a great series win! I remembered Jerome Williams when he was with the Giants. I’ve always felt that he had the tools of being a really good pitcher and great that I’m seeing it with the Angels. I agree that I’m following the A.L West race with a lot of interest these days. It appears that the division will be added by one next year with the Houston Astros moving from the NL Central. Bud Selig is pushing it but it remains to be seen if it happens. Good luck this coming weekemd.
Wayne
http://giantorture.mlblogs.com
Thanks Wayne! And thank you for dropping by my blog and commenting. I think Williams had the tools when he with the Giants but may have been to timid to really make effective use of his stuff. He seems like a guy who needed the stints in Japan and the independent leagues to really grow his confidence and sense of perspective in order to use his gifts. Watching him now, I am so glad the Angels snapped him up but I don’t question why the Giants let him go.
— Kristen
Congrats on being #19 amongst the MLBlogs Fans’ leaders! The blog is still humming along, Kristen! Keep up the solid work!
Thank you so much Randy!!
— Kristen
Great pics as always! The pink backpacks never cease to make me laugh. And thanks for sharing the “whooooop” and “woooooo” bit. I love when stuff like that happens at big league parks. It’s one of those things you “gotta be there” to appreciate (unless otherwise well communicated via the interwebosphere).
–Jeff
Thanks Jeff! All the rookie hazing stuff and goofy fan antics at ballparks crack me up and I enjoy sharing the wonderfully silly side of this game we all love.
— Kristen