Okay, so I'm trying to temper my excitement a bit about the Angels winning four games in a row. This is mostly due to the fact that, with the exception of Jake Peavy, the pitching they have faced has been less than stellar. But give credit where credit is due, the boys are hitting the pitches they are supposed to hit. The pitchers are throwing strikes and getting batters out. The manager seems to be making the right decisions. This is how we all imagind it was supposed to be. Time will tell if this is the start of the real Angel season or just another step foward before a huge leap back.
Game Notes
— Now this is the Josh Hamilton I thought we were getting. Josh seems to be slowly coming out of his season long slump and is making solid contact on a regular basis. Two more hits for him today brings his average up to a robust .225. Don't laugh, that's a massive improvement. The best thing is that he seems to be taking the pitch the other way when rather than grounding out weakly to second. When he's clicking the rest of the offense all lines up.
— Speaking of the rest of the offense; the Halos did their best 2002 impression doing a little frenzy hitting (copywright: Rex Hudler) and pounced on the Mariners early. the five runs in the first gave the Angel pitchers enough breathing room to be comfortable and attack the zone.
— It never gets boring watching Mike Trout hit. Dude had another 2 hits (including an "only Mike Trout" triple) and is starting to seriously rake. This in turn means that Albert Pujols and Mark Trumbo hit a lot more with runners on base, which means better putches to hit. Even Alberto Callaspo benefits from all this hitting in front on him. Imagine that, people on base is a good thing.
Halo Hero
I Have made fun of CJ WIlson for being a bit of an oddball, but no one is more frustrated than me when it comes to his pitching. I keep waiting for Wilson to earn that big contract and all he does is confound my expectations. Today was the Wilson I have been expecting. He pounded the strike zone on his way to 8 solid innings of work. Rather than try to pick at the corners he attacked and got the Mariners to swing and miss a lot. Special kudos to personal catcher Hank Conger who apparently cab translate English into whatever language CJ speaks (Bro-English?) Keep it up boys, you look good as a winner.
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