VS. 
MATCH-UP MOTTOS
THURSDAY, 7/25: C.J. Wilson vs. Dan Straily: MOAR PLEAZE!
But seriously… C.J. was ridiculous good against the A's last week and I am starting to get used to this whole Wilson being awesome thing. It sure would be nice if he kept it up and got our expectations unreasonably high for him in 2014.
FRIDAY, 7/26: Jerome Williams vs. Bartolo Colon: This field ain't level.
But seriously… get ready for another round of conversations from the Angel players, and probably Oakland players too, about Colon getting to continue pitching despite being a known cheater who many believe will soon be smacked with a suspension stemming from the Biogenesis scandal. I get irritated at all the PED hysteria in baseball right now, so seeing a billion stories about people wagging fingers at Colon and his teammates defending him is going to drive me up the wall.
SATURDAY, 7/27: Garrett Richards vs. Tommy Milone: Definitely not Joe Blanton.
But seriously… Richards is going to get a free pass for a start or two now. He still needs to be stretched out, even though he has thrown 60+ pitches a few times in recent weeks, but starting is still a different animal. At least the Halos finally wised up to Blanton's inability to correct his issues and his general indifference about said issues.
SUNDAY, 7/28: Tommy Hanson vs. Jarrod Parker: All eyes on the radar gun.
But seriously… Hanson looked pretty fantastic in his first start back from the DL. The best part was that he threw the hardest he has thrown since the first half of the 2011 season. If he can maintain that in this game, then suddenly Tommy could work his way into being a big part of the rotation next season rather than become an obvious non-tender candidate.
FALSE HOPE INDEX
The index reading for this sereis is: Mystery Monkey
First off, the mystery monkey is a real thing. I don't know the details, but it is a story in Florida, so I am sure it is all kinds of honked up. But they mystery index rating applies because of the mystery of what the Angels are doing with their roster right now. How will Richards perform in the rotation? Who the hell is J.C. Gutierrez? What will they do at the deadline? Will they buy? Will they sell? Who would they sell? It is all just a huge mystery and is undoubtedly going to be a huge distraction for this series overall. The games are almost incidental save for the possibility that a miraculous four-game sweep by the Angels would change the complexion of their deadline decisions dramatically.
GOOD NEWS
NO MORE JOE BLANTON! Have I mentioned that yet?
BAD NEWS
Joe Blanton is still on the roster. Baby steps, I guess.
AMBIVALENT NEWS
Josh Hamilton probably won't play in this series due to his mysterious ankle injury. That would be bad news if he was playing like he is capable of, but he very obviously hasn't been playing anywhere close to that well all season, so it is no great loss. It does, however, give us the hilarious dichotomy of Angel fans who bemoan his disappointing performance when in the lineup yet call him a pussy for not playing through the injury. You can't have it both way, people.
CLOSING STATEMENT
I kind of miss having the A's as the most-hated rival. The rivalry is definitely still there, but there isn't nearly the same level of animosity as there currently is between the Angels and Rangers. It is a much more natural rivalry with them being in the same state and all. How did this fall by the way side? How can we get it going again?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
