ALCS Game 2 Rewind: I Hate Pie – Yankees 4, Angels 3

God dammit, I hate pie.  And now because Brian Fuentes can’t pitch and because the Angels can’t hit with runners in scoring position and Maicer Izturis didn’t just take the out at first, the Angels got a face full of pie.

I hate pie.  I really, really do.

There is really no explanation for how disappointing this loss was.  The Angels had so many chances to win and just couldn’t do it, but let’s just focus on the key failures.

First off, what the hell was Brian Fuentes doing on that 0-2 pitch to A-Rod?  There is absolutely no reason that ball should have near the zone, much less belt-high.  I wasn’t there to witness it but I guarantee that before Fuentes took the mound he was told, “Whatever you do, don’t let A-Rod hit a homer.  There are two weak ass hitters coming up, make them beat you.”  But apparently Tito didn’t feel like listening to that.  Just great.

And once again I have to question the wisdom of letting Vladimir Guerrero bat fourth in the order.  Vladdy left an unconscionable SEVEN runners in scoring position with two outs in the game and not once did he even hit the ball well in those at-bats.  He is just plain overmatched against top pitching and needs to be dropped in the order.  I don’t care how late in the season it is.

And finally, Maicer Izturis, how could you let me down so?  Why in the world would you go to second on that play?  The only play was at first base.  The ONLY play.  A double play was totally out of the question and there would have been two outs with Brett Gardner coming up.  It wouldn’t have been easy, but Santana could have gotten out of that jam.  Izzy just didn’t give him a chance.  He also proved that it is incredibly bad luck to wear that stupid face mask.  It screwed up Aybar on Friday and it got him tonight.  Both times it cost the Angels who now have to be reeling after this loss.

Yes, they can just win their three at home like they are supposed to, but this was a disheartening loss in every sense of the word and it won’t be easy to bounce back.

Don’t ask him, Erick.  Only Maicer Izturis knows why he tried to throw the ball to second base.

Angelic Accomplishments:

• If one good thing came from this game it was that Chone Figgins finally came to life, reaching base four times including what should have been the game-winning hit.  He’ll have to keep it going at home for the Angels to have a shot at getting back in this series.
• Lost in all the hoopla of the game was a stellar start by Joe Saunders who did everything he could to give the Angels a shot at winning.  I just hope he gets another chance to start this series.

Devilish Details:

• That refusal to make the neighborhood call by Jerry Layne was an absolute crock.  Congrats to you, Jerry Layne.  I’m glad you are such a stickler for the rules, but 99.99% of the time, that is called an out.  An ALCS game that is tied in the late innings is NOT the time to show how well you know the rulebook.  Good thing that it didn’t cost the Angels the game because I was going to go Terminator-style and just start killing every Jerry Lane in the phone book until I got to you.
• Is Fox even aware that the Angels are playing in this series?  Every single montage or clip package has been about how awesome the Yankees are.  I know they are the marquee team of the league, but at least pretend like you care about the Angels instead of treating them like the Washington Generals to the Yankees’ Harlem Globetrotters.