Cleveland Indians (41-58) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (58-39)
Starters: CLE – Carl Pavano (8-8, 5.48 ERA) LAA – Joe Saunders (8-6, 4.94 ERA)
Game Info: 7:05 PM PT TV-Fox Sports West, Radio-KLAA 830 AM, KFWB, KWKW 1330 AM
Amidst a swirl of controversy and trade speculation, this might very well be the last start Joe Saunders gets to make in an Angel uniform for a long time.
It seems like forever ago that Joe Saunders was named to the All-Star team, but since he seemingly forgot how to pitch a several weeks ago, the Angels are now scouring the trade market for an additional starter and might very well have to swap Joe Saunders to make it happen. If Joe has any hope of remaining a Halo the rest of the year he is going to have pitch his ass off tonight to try and regain the trust of the Angel coaching staff. Of course that might just serve to boost his trade value so this could be a lose-lose situation for the young southpaw.
THREE Questions:
- Can the Angels start a new winning streak in spite of Saunders getting the start?
- Where the hell is Juan Rivera? He was supposed to be back on Saturday but still seems to be nursing his leg injury.
- Can Cliff Lee sleep over? The Cleveland ace isn’t scheduled to start against the Halos, but with Tony Reagins in search of another strong starting pitcher, it sure would be nice if he consummated a trade with the Indians so that Cliff Lee can just stay in Anaheim after the series is over.
TWO Predictions:
- Saunders will be pitching for his life and will turn in a quality start, albeit with a great deal of tightrope walking.
- Just a hunch, but I think Bobby Abreu goes long tonight.
ONE Wish:
- I wish that the Indians start Victor Martinez at catcher instead of first base all series long so the Halos can run all over his sorry arm.
ZERO Tolerance for… getting killed by Travis Hafner. It wasn’t so long ago that Pronk was single-handedly tearing up the Angels a la Jason Kubel. Injuries have certainly slowed Hafner down, but some guys just have a knack for killing certain teams so the Angels best beware.
Leave your own questions, answers, predictions or wishes as a comment or just hang out with us during the game.
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