Angels vs. Rangers Series Preview: First or Last

In this very weird start to the season for the AL West, the Angels find themselves in a weird position. They are a few weeks into the season and their play has been concerning, but they are heading into this series against Texas in position to take the division lead if they pull of a sweep or exit the weekend via the AL West basement if they drop the series. I don’t know whether to take it as a positive or a negative.

It is great that they can have so many struggles on offense and still be in position to lead the division but it also means that this team has blown a chance to open up an early lead. Worse yet, we are getting far enough into the season to legitimately start wondering if this offensive out is more than just a fluke and that their ability to stay out of last place is them actually getting lucky.

LAST TIME ON ANGELS VS. RANGERS…
Hey, the Angels actually won the series! The Halos already faced Texas once this year and took two of three from them in Arlington. They even scored 18 total runs in the series, tricking us all into believing that the offense was about to find its legs. Oh, how foolish we were.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcWLMkFmxck]

THE NARRATIVE
Yeah, sorry, but there are only two Angels’ related narratives that exist right now. One of them is Josh Hamilton, which we can hopefully avoid despite the recent reports. The other is the pathetic Angels offense, which is what I think will take center stage in this series seeing how they are facing three pitchers that are generally terrible. They nearly just got no-hit by Jesse Chavez, so if they struggle to get anything going in a home series against trio of terrible that Texas is going to run out, even I am going to have to jump from the “they can’t possibly be this bad” camp to the “dear gawd, this is a disaster camp.”

THE MATCH-UPS
FRIDAY, 4/24: Garrett Richards vs. Wandy Rodriguez
Fact: Wandy Rodriguez is still in the league, apparently. Good for him but, really? Wandy Rodriguez? I know Texas is riddled with injuries again, but come on. I shouldn’t complain though as this makes for a cushy match-up for Garrett Richards in his second start of the season. He was a little too amped up in his first start. Hopefully he can calm down a bit this time out and get back to the guy we saw in 2014.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npU_XeL6YDs]

SATURDAY, 4/25: C.J. Wilson vs. Colby Lewis
This one is a battle of injured pitchers. C.J. Wilson had his start pushed back due to elbow issues that he claims aren’t serious. Colby Lewis is… OK, I don’t know if he’s hurt, but he is Colby Lewis and he is on the Rangers. It is a pretty safe bet that he’s dealing with some sort of injury at any given moment. Wilson though is the real concern. He’s had TJ surgery once and had to have bone chips removed from his elbow after his first year with the Angels, plus he has a history of not being fully honest about his injuries. He can insist all he wants that this is just a minor thing, but I’m definitely concerned that it could be something much more serious.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAW6D21ICdg]

SUNDAY, 4/22: Hector Santiago vs. Nick Martinez
Apparent and unexpected Angels ace Hector Santiago takes on apparent and unexpected Rangers ace Nick Martinez. Neither of these guys should be very good, yet here we are with both them just being terrific. Nothing makes sense anymore.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xZzkLl4w30]

OFFICIAL PREDICTION
The overconfident fan in me wants to predict a sweep but there is nothing about the way the Angels are playing right now that makes the natural-born pessimist in me think that is even possible. I’ll split the difference and call this series a two-win series for the Halos.

UNOFFICIAL PREDICTION (so don’t hold me to it)
Matt Joyce will not make a single start this series as Scioscia decides to give him the first “mental days off” break of the year.