One thing I forgot about the postseason is that while it is very exciting, it also is full of anxiety. Like a ridiculous amount of anxiety. I had every intention of just writing a simple predictions piece for today, but couldn’t, not without my all major worries about this series constantly distracting me. So, I decided to meet halfway.
Instead of just predictions, you are also going to get the reasons why I might have a full-blown panic attack before I even get home to watch the game. Alright, take some slow, deep breaths (and maybe a Zoloft or seven) and let’s try and get through this together.
PREDICTION: Josh Hamilton will not start every game in this series
Call me a skeptic if you want, but I don’t exactly have a ton of faith in Josh Hamilton. I still don’t believe the nonsense opinion of some fans that the Angels are somehow better off with him not in the lineup, but I also don’t believe that Hamilton’s mystery injury cleared up over the course of a few days.
It was only a week ago that we were hearing nothing but doom and gloom around Josh’s health, now we are supposed to readily accept that he’s totally good to go. My guess is that he’s “healthy enough” to play, but “unhealthy enough” to play poorly. As such, after three games of nothing but struggles, Josh will conveniently start grabbing at his ribs in Game 3 and even more conveniently be too banged up to start Game 4 against southpaw Danny Duffy.
PANIC: Matt Shoemaker‘s oblique
With Shoemaker, I actually do believe the team genuinely thinks that he’s 100% healthy. In fact, I suspect that he’s been feeling just fine for a week now but that the Halos are playing mindgames with their prospective opponents and were sandbagging Shoemaker’s health updates to make it seem like he may not be healthy.
That being said, oblique injuries scare the bajeezus out of me. Obliques can take weeks and weeks to heal and have a nasty habit of getting re-aggravated. Shoemaker might not feel that twinge anymore, but that doesn’t mean his oblique is back to its old self. All it takes is him making a quick lunge on a comebacker and down he goes again.
Maybe, I don’t know. I’m not a doctor and not the Angels trainer. It is just my irrational fear that we are going to get two innings from Shoemaker and then lose him for the rest of the playoffs. Or, more realistically, Shoemaker will alter his mechanics to try and protect his side, leading to less than stellar results.
PREDICTION: Kole Calhoun‘s coming out party
Mike Trout is going to hog all of the headlines but Kole Calhoun is going to be the young Angels player who has the huge series. I really don’t think anyone outside Anaheim knows who Calhoun is, much less how good he is.
As for why he’ll succeed, it’s one part hunch, one part wishcasting and one part that Kole does most of his damage off fastballs and changeups. That puts Jason Vargas, James Shields and (if they start him in Game 4) Jeremy Guthrie right in Calhoun’s wheelhouse.
PANIC: Albert Pujols will try and play hero ball
We’ve seen the kind of epic damage Pujols can do in the postseason before. He is more than well aware of it. Now, he’s in the playoffs for the first time as an Angel, an ideal time for him to go off and justify that big contract of his while silencing some naysayers in the process. The cherry on the sundae though is that he gets to do it in Kansas City, where he went to high school and college.
Methinks this might add up to Pujols trying too hard and attempting to hit a 500-foot bomb in every plate appearance. It will be like a week-long version of his ignominious first month in an Angels uniform. That’s my concern, anyway. Hopefully Albert is enough of a professional to just focus on the task at hand and not worry about whether or not he gets to be the hero.
PREDICTION: C.J. Wilson will be just fine, in this series, anyway
The Royals lineup should look like manna from heaven for the Professor of #PMA. He can’t throw strikes, but the Royals swing a lot and barely walk. Terrific! C.J’s a groundball pitcher and the Royals are groundball hitters. Wonderful! Wilson will be pitching on the road. There are no Angels fans with their “boos” locked and loaded at the first sign of nibbling-induced trouble. Bonus!
I don’t think C.J. is going to bust out a dominant Game 3 start. I just think that he’ll turn in a quality start simply because this lineup plays right into his hands.
PANIC: Starting Jered Weaver on short rest will ruin him
I know I’ve said this before, but I really don’t like that the Angels are starting Jered Weaver on short rest in Game 4. In fact, I’m rooting for a sweep extra hard just so they never actually have to cross that bridge.
We saw in two of his last three starts that Weaver is capable of dialing up his fastball a few extra MPHs. He said he was able to do that because of his shoulder feeling good for the first time in years. I can’t think of a better way to start making a guy’s shoulder bark again than having him make a start on short rest.
Maybe that decision is what will win the ALDS for the Angels, but what about the cost after the fact in the ALCS and beyond?
PREDICTION: Angels win in four
While my anxieties are strong, logic and reason have won me over. That and blatant homerism. My prediction for the series is that Angels win in four my simply outlasting the Royals by virtue of a deeper and more talented roster. And Mike Trout. He’s pretty good.
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