An Angel loss to the Red Sox in which something was sorely lacking (hint: it was more runs).
Los Angeles Angels of AWESOMENESS
- Luck had a little something to do with it, but Joel Pineiro looked much better tonight after getting pounded by the Tigers in his last outing. He did give up another homer, to the super slumping David Ortiz no less, but the good news is that the homer came on a change-up and not a non-sinking sinker like it did in Detroit. It kind of sucks though that Joel isn’t getting much help from his team. With the exception of that Detroit game, he has actually pitched pretty well for the Halos, much better than his 2-4 record and 5.30 ERA indicate anyway.
- The lone Halo run came off the bat of Brandon Wood who smashed a Lackey mistake out of the park. If he isn’t going to hit for average, the least he needs to do to make sure that he stays in the line-up is displaying that power that made him such a hot prospect. Keep this in mind when I rip Dick a new asshole a little bit later.
Los Angeles Angels of FAIL
- You have got to be freaking kidding me! For all the trash talk directed at John Lackey by Angels fans since he stabbed the team in the back, this is the best the Angels can do to make him pay for his treachery? Two hits. Way to make the guy pay, fellas. I’m sure he is really regretting his decision now. Hell, he is probably wishing he had managed to make his escape from Anaheim years ago. Sonuvabitch.
- It just isn’t fair that the Angels actually get a solid pitching performance and go and waste it because now their offense has gone in the tank. What’s worse, is that this offensive slump is so widespread throughout the line-up that there is no quick fix. I actually thought benching Juan Rivera for Maicer Izturis was a very smart move, but clearly the results still weren’t there. At this point, it looks like Scioscia is going to have to look to implement a major line-up shake-up rather than just these small tweaks.
- Even in a tight loss, the Angel bullpen still managed to suck. Jason Bulger allowed two hits and a walk and only managed to escape without giving up a run because Marco Scutaro missed the plate on his slide into home. Then Brian Fuentes got to make a rare appearance and coughed up an Adrian Beltre dinger. Thanks for that, Tito. Here I was all worried that he might actually be one of the few good relievers the Angels still have.
Angel A-Hole of the Game
One homer doesn’t make up for all the other mistakes.
I know it seems pretty lousy that he gets this dubious distinction despite knocking in the Angels’ only run, but he also cost the Halos runs on both ends earlier in the game. That second inning was pretty rough for Dick Wood, who ended the top half of the inning by fanning with two outs and the bases loaded in what turned out to be the only real shot the Angel line-up got at knocking around Lackey. Then he cost the Angels a run in the bottom half of the inning when he did his best matador impression on an Adrian Beltre grounder that easily could have been double play instead of a run for Boston. In that brief sequence of events, Wood managed to stamp out any and all semblance of confidence and spirit for the Halos. Nice work, Dick.
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