By Glen McKee, Senior Staff Writer –
Let me start out by stating the obvious: losing in Texas always blows and each loss there, or even against the Rangers at home, is magnified. However, every game against Texas counts the same as every other game against a division rival. It just feels bigger in Texas, particularly the losses. Sometimes, you have to get some perspective. And on the bright side, at least Napoli is no longer with Texas and punishing us every game there.
The Bad. Let’s get Texas out of the way. We lost two games there, and then salvaged a game against their ace. That’s an Angels baseball microcosm for ya right there: struggle against the end-of-rotation pitchers, slam the ace.
– The DL. It got far too crowded this week. Andrew Heaney getting a PRP injection, not due back until July. Craig Gentry due back mid-May. Daniel Nava due back sometime soon. Huston Street might be back this month. CJ Wilson is still MIA and might be back in June.
– Did I mention the DL? Because other than that, upon further examination that’s just about all of the bad for the week.
The Good. Despite two losses in Texas and the rash of injuries, there was plenty of good last week. No really, there was!
– The Angels swept the Royals, averaging 6.33333333 runs per game. For once, we could beat Royals, Royals.
– 4-2 for the week. I’ll take that any time.
– The Angels averaged 5.33333333 runs per game last week, against a pair of good teams. The offense might finally be waking up. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the Angels offense slumbers through April and wakes up with a bang in May.
– Last week’s whipping boys, Pujols and Giavotella, improved their statistics. I’m not going to post them because they’re still sad, but they’re not as sad as they were last week. That’s progress.
– Our backup catcher who is making the case to stop being a backup, Geovany Soto. .344, .382, .656, 1.039. If this keeps up, he’s gonna be the Napoli to Perez’s Mathis.
– Kole Calhoun. This team is much like Kole Calhoun. Streaky, ginger, and lacking a soul. Well, maybe just the first part. He actually dipped a bit last week but finished strong in Texas.
– The bullpen. Salas has a 2.57 ERA. Mahle is chubby, entertaining, and has a 1.13 ERA. The Angles just called up A.J. (not to be confused with C.J. Cron or C.J. Wilson) Achter and if he sticks with the team, you’re goddamned right I’ll be using this guy when I talk about him:
– And since I mentioned him, C.J. Cron. Batting .533 in the last seven days. C.J. Cron, fuck yeah!
The rest. There is no “the rest.” That covers it.
What’s next. Three at the Brewers, a day off, and three at home against the Rays.
My predictions versus last week. I predicted 1-2 against the Royals and 1-2 against the Rangers for a 2-4 week. Actual results: 3-0 versus the Royals and 1-2 versus the Rangers. I was half correct but still way wrong. 2-4 predicted versus 4-2. Cumulative total: 9-10 predicted versus 10-9.
My predictions for this week. First, I have to look up the records for the Brewers and Rays to see how they’re doing. 9-15 and 11-13, respectively. Fuck it, it’s May, the Angels will go on a tear. 3-0 versus the Brewers, 2-1 versus the Rays, 5-1 total. Injuries be damned.
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