Game Recap 8/9/11: Highly Improbable – Angels 6, Yankees 4

Did that really just happen?  Did I really see what I think I just saw?  Do you even know which highly improbable occurrence during the course of the Angels’ win over the Yankees I am even referring to?

Angels 6, Yankees 4

Perhaps I am talking about Jeff Mathis jumping into the wayback machine to relive his 2009 ALCS performance by coming up with a bases loaded ground-rule double?

Or maybe I am referring to Bobby Abreu, mired in an epic slump, hitting a home run?

Or was it his second home run of the game that was so improbably seeing how it came against the great and mighty Mariano Rivera?

No, no, it has to be Jordan Walden finishing the game and escaping what appeared to be a blown save in the making by picking off Curtis Granderson with the old “fake to third, go to first” move, right?

Honestly, the whole game was just so improbable, that I’m not even sure what it was that I was referring to to begin with.

Game Notes

• Dear Curtis Granderson, We can’t believe you fell for that lame pickoff move.  Sincerely, Little Leaguers
• One thing that was not improbably was Mike Scioscia getting ejected for arguing over Mathis’ check swing.  It doesn’t matter whether or not Mathis went around there, the issue was that inept home plate umpire Chris Guccione took it upon himself from the start of the game to make questionable calls every fourth batter, especially when it comes to check swings.  Even the Yankee broadcasters were wondering aloud why he wasn’t deferring to the base umpires like he was supposed to.  After he rung up Abreu to end the top of the first on a faux check swing and then punched out Jeter on a questionable pitch on the outside corner the next half inning, someone getting ejected was inevitable.
• One more bit of improbablity, Scioscia wising up and batting Trumbo fifth.  It is almost like I have been complaining and writing about his lineup choices for the last several days and it finally got through to him.  Weird, huh?
• OK, so it didn’t unfold like I expected, but the pre-game prediction of a Fraudney blown save did come to pass, so scoreboard for me.

Halo Hero

Even Bobby can’t believe he hit two homers in the same game.