Game Rewind: Halos Get Nixed – Cheater Sox 4, Angels 2

I don’t know who Jayson Nix is, but I want him taken out, now!

If you see this man, eliminate him

The CheatSox reserve infielder had Joe Saunders’ number last night, tagging him for two solo home runs.  All the Angels could muster was two solo shots of their own as the line-up has taking a dive straight into the tank now despite the return of Vladimir Guerrero.

These offensive doldrums bring with them an exceptional amount of concern.  For the first time all season, the Angel roster is near full capacity in terms of health.  Any run-scoring struggles the team has experienced thus far this year has always been written off with the statement, “Don’t worry, it will all be OK when Player X gets healthy.”  Now there is no Player X to pine for.  We could always cast Brandon Wood in the role of Player X, but frankly, even that is growing tiresome (not to mention an exercise in absolute futility).

Good News:

• The epic drought is over after 45 games as Bobby Abreu finally went yard.  Let’s just not wait another 45 games.  OK, Bobby?
• Steve Physioc would have you believe that the Angels ran Matt Palmer out for an inning of relief work to spell a fatigued Angel bullpen, but it seems to me that Palmer was auditioning for a move to the bullpen once Kelvim Escobar comes off the disabled list in a few weeks.  While Palmer didn’t do so well (thanks to an incredibly tight strike zone), this looks like a big vote of confidence from Angel management in Esco’s ability to rejoin the rotation immediately.

Bad News:

• Shields faced just two batters, which at first seemed odd but now makes a lot more sense now that he is being placed on the disabled list.
• Bartolo Colon used to drive me insane with his nibbling at the corners during his Angel tenure.  Yet for some reason, the Angel batters completely disregarded the scouting report and attacked his pitches early, working just one walk the entire game and it came against reliever Matt Thornton.

It’s All Your Fault:

• Mike Scioscia’s pitching decisions

Sosh made some curious pitching choices last night, starting with leaving Joe Saunders in to start the seventh inning despite being right at 100 pitches and facing a guy who already homered on him once.  The result was another insurance run added for the CheatSox via Nix’s second homer.  Throwing Palmer out there to get some work in a tight game was equally as questionable, though a tired bullpen forced his hand to a certain degree