Detroit Tigers (66-58) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (74-49)
Starters: DET – Jarrod Washburn (8-7, 3.18 ERA) LAA – John Lackey (8-6, 4.00 ERA)
Game Info: 7:05 PM PT TV-Fox Sports West, Radio-KLAA 830 AM, KFWB, KWKW 1330 AM
It wasn’t so long ago that Jarrod Washburn, tonight’s starting pitcher for the visiting Detroit Tigers, was sporting an Angel uniform and leading them to their only World Series title on the back of the best season of his career. It has been a rocky road for Washburn since then, save for a great contract year in 2005, up until this year where he is enjoying a resurgence just in time to start generating some interest on the free agent market from his former employer.
A shot of Jarrod Washburn courtesy of the wayback machine.
For Angel fans, having Jarrod Washburn fan sounds like a great idea. Not only was he a fan favorite in his tenure with the Angels, but after the starting pitcher roller coaster the Halos have been on this season, adding a reliable veteran to the rotation would be a breath of fresh air.
But let’s not go and get ahead of ourselves just yet. The off-season is still a good bit away and the task at hand needs to be be about beating Washburn rather than trying to lure him back to the team that raised him only to spurn him at the peak of his career. Nostalgia is nice and all, but there is a playoff race going on here and the Angels are starting to slump, so crushing Washburn needs to be the goal… plus a bad start inflates his ERA and hopefully makes him cheaper to sign this winter.
THREE Questions:
- Will Washburn continue to be kind to the his old ball club? Since leaving the Angels after the 2005 season, Wash has gone just 5-7 with an ugly 5.01 ERA against the Angels, his worst numbers against any AL team (other than the Tigers which doesn’t count since he plays for them now).
- Can the Angels take out another umpire? Tim Welke had to leave last night’s game after taking a foul ball off the face (karma, Welke, karma). Let’s see if we can take out two umps in a row.
- Any chance the Angels have learned to pitch around Miguel Cabrera yet? He almost beat the Angels by himself last night even though Aubrey Huff, mired in a horrific slump since being traded to Detroit, was hitting behind him.
TWO Predictions:
- John Lackey proves that he is a legitimate MLB ace pitcher and puts the Angels’ losing streak to an end.
- Washburn turns it into a real pitcher’ duel with Big John as part of his audition to return to the Angels next season.
ONE Wish:
- I wish for just one beginning-to-end strong performance from the pitching staff. Is that really so much to ask for or are the Angels limited to just one per week?
ZERO Tolerance for… losing three in a row. The Angels haven’t dropped three straight games since mid-June and there is no reason to break that trend now with the division race starting to heat up.
Leave your own questions, answers, predictions or wishes as a comment or just hang out with us during the game or even chat with us on twitter (@MonkeyWithAHalo).
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