I’ve got nothing against make-up games, as a rule, but this one couldn’t be coming at a worse time. The Halos are already battling the fatigue that comes with a long season, but now they are being forced to forfeit one of their precious off days so that they can take on the best team in all of baseball instead of resting up.
Everyone needs their rest
With road series against the Red Sox and Rangers up next on the slate, the Angels could’ve really used the day off, especially given the cross-continental nature of their travels. Already Mike Scioscia has been tinkering with his slumping line-up to try and get each of his players enough time off to get themselves going again. Now he’ll either have to find a way to get even more creative or the Angel players and their old aching bones are just going to have to find a way to suck it up.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (86-56) @ New York Yankees (92-52)
Starters: LAA – Jered Weaver (15-5, 3.76 ERA) NYY – Joba Chamberlain (8-5, 4.45 ERA)
Game Info: 4:05 PM PT TV-Fox Sports West, Radio-KLAA 830 AM, KFWB, KWKW 1330 AM
THREE Questions:
- Will Jered Weaver’s extreme flyball tendencies be his undoing in the launching pad that new Yankee Stadium has become?
- Do the Angels still have Joba’s number? The Halos shelled Joba earlier this season, but can they do it again in the new Yankee Stadium? Though with Joba having his innings limited, they may have a small window for roughing him up.
- Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu are heating up, but can the rest of the Angel sluggers catch up? Abreu and Hunter are the only Angel power bats with an OPS over .700 in the month of September. The team needs Guerrero, Morales and Rivera to all start hitting again if they want get their offense back on track.
TWO Predictions:
- The Angels smack around the Yankees one last time, just to give them a quick reminder before the post-season starts that the Halos still own them.
- Despite the controversy over his recent performance, Brian Fuentes comes in to work a perfect inning to pick up his 42nd save of the year.
ONE Wish:
- I wish that Mike Scioscia would see the light and go whatever he can to get Howie Kendrick in the line-up more. The guy is on fire right now, but is playing every other day at best. Why they haven’t had him take some balls in the outfield or something is beyond me. They are willing to move almost every other player around on the field, but not Howie. I just don’t get it.
ZERO Tolerance for… excuses. The Angels are embarking on a crazy road trip that could make or break their season, but that is no excuse for failure. Nor is the lack of days off or anything else. Now is the time when the we separate the contenders from the pretenders, and only pretenders use excuses.
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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