Monkeying Around and Keeping Hope Alive

Time for some Monkeying Around, with a special emphasis on keeping Angel fans’ hopes alive in these desperate times; a time to talk about all the Angels-related topics that slipped through the cracks this week, as well as any other totally unrelated topic you feel like bringing up.

Here are a few topics for you to discuss amongst yourselves:

• I realize I am venturing into dangerously delusional territory here, but I am not quite ready to give up on the Angel season.  First off, why give up with six games left?  That’s like the fans who start heading out to the parking lot even though there is still one out left in the ninth and their team is down by one.  I will say that the AL West is probably out of reach since the Halos wasted yesterday’s Ranger loss.  The Wild Card though, is not.  All that needs to happen to force a one-game playoff is the Angels going 5-1 while the Red Sox go 2-4, which is entirely possible with how bad they are playing right now.  The Rays would need to do worse than 5-1 themselves, which is also entirely plausible.  I know none of it is likely, but I’m not giving up hope yet.
• If the Angels do miss the playoffs, 2011 will be remembered as the season the Blue Jays just couldn’t stop screwing over the Angels.  First they tricked Tony Reagins into trading for Vernon Wells, then they double-crossed him by sending Mike Napoli to Texas where he has had a monster season.  Now they beat the Halos twice in extra innings down the stretch.
• By my count, the Angels have had four losses (including last night) since the trade deadline that might have been avoidable if the Angels had trusted reliever depth beyond Walden and Downs.  That may not sound like a lot, but four losses of the Angels’ 21 losses in less than two months.  Had they been able to acquire someone like Mike Adams or a lesser reliever, I can’t help but think one or maybe two of those losses could have been avoided.  That would have put the Angels still in contention in the AL West and in great position in the Wild Card.  So my point here is, once again, great work, Tony Reagins.
• Here is an interesting question.  Which would you rather see happen in the final week: the Rangers clinching the division BEFORE they arrive in Anaheim, making that series largely meaningless, or Texas coming to Anaheim up by three games, meaning the Angels would have to sweep them and then win a one-game playoff to advance to the post-season, which strikes me as pretty unlikely, but it means the Angels have a chance but also means that there is a high chance that the Rangers will celebrate the division title on the Angel Stadium grass?  I’ll be honest, I’m not sure which one I would choose.

Or just feel free to bring up a topic of your own.  I don’t really care (as long as you keep it clean) because it’s Friday.