This is exactly the kind of game the offense needed to get the ball rolling on getting this offense together. The 1st inning of the game is exactly what we needed to see out of the Angels to give us some piece of mind that this offense can and will perform. There were some bright positives with the offense in today’s game, as well as some glaring negatives (I’m looking at you Pujols). Hopefully this much needed win will pump up the offense enough to go on a nice tear during the rest of the series in Minnesota, it’ll be much needed before we go into the always dreadful home of the New York Yankees this weekend.
A catcher who can hit for power…
A #4 starter who can throw 7 innings of 1 run ball…
What’s not to love about this new team?
Game Notes
- So….this is a little awkward. Albert Pujols has been having quite the misfortune time getting his game together at the plate, throwing up an 0’er that would taste a lot worse if it wasn’t for a perfectly executed take-out slide by Aybar on a Pujols double play ball that allowed him to reach base and eventually come around to score. I know a lot of peoples patience is running short with Pujols right now, but you just have to let him work through this kind of trouble himself. Pujols is a proven veteran who has gotten through tiny little slumps like this time and time again for the last 11 seasons, it’s only a matter of time before he comes together and when he does he will go on a vicious tear, the likes of which we as Angel fans rarely see. Another reason not to worry about Pujols is the fact that this offense has enough talent in it to carry itself without Pujols, a slumping Pujols won’t have large impact on this offense
- Wow, talk about an absolutely horrible defensive showing from the Twins today. Lazy defense in left field by Willingham in addition to dual errors by Mauer and Casilla on Aybars sac bunt allowed the Angels to load more runners on base then they deserved, which in turn gave them more opportunities with RISP which they decided they wouldn’t squander in today’s game, probably by democratic decision in the locker room before the game.
- Best #4 starter in the league anyone? It’s probably too early to make a claim like that based off of what looks good on paper, but Wilson is definitely on the way there. HE was a little inefficient with his pitch count today, throwing 100+ pitches in 7 innings of work. Even though he walked 4 he only allowed 1 run, which was a homerun that looked less like a bomb from a dangerous hitter and more like a very long mistake. In addition to Wilson’s fine performance the bullpen deserves a nice gold star for turning their act around these first four games of the season. A strong outing from Downs, which my fantasy team thanks you for, as well as a surprisingly painless outing from Jepsen has given me new hope that maybe this bullpen won’t be as big of a liability as we’ve been expecting.
- I think we’re actually going to have to make a serious decision on Abreu’s “play me or trade me” threats this past offseason. While it seems he was rather full of himself this Spring Training, which funny enough was absolutely abysmal, he’s seems poised to back up his words with his play. 1-2 with an RBI double, a run, and walk is a line from Bobby Abreu we haven’t seen for a while. If he keeps up this tear it’ll make it much easier to offload him to some other team, we can’t just bench him in favor of other players. Who knows if Abreu can keep the offense up, it would be much better for this team to let let him go to greener pastures where he can roam freely beefing up his stats for his hopeful HoF contention when his ballot is due up. In addition to Abreu another savvy vet found his way around the plate; Torii Hunter came away with two hits in four trips with one RBI in the Angels key 1st inning. What I like about the 1st inning of today’s game was that the Angels were able to pull together a successful rally and score runs, with two outs nonetheless. Situational hitting is on the rise, we’ll see if they can continue the trend after tomorrows off day.
Halo Hero
Well you decided to show up here in no hurry didn’t you? First game as an Angel and your name is already forever eternalized as a Halo Hero. Being able to stop a horribly negative trend in starts the past 2 games was the biggest job for you coming into todays game, and you lived up to expectations.
Welcome to the Angels family
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