An Angel series win over the Mariners in which the Angels win the series but lose Morales in the stupidest way possible.
Game 1 – Mariners 8, Angels 3
Game 2 – Angels 5, Mariners 1
Game 3 – Angels 9, Mariners 7
Los Angeles Angels of AWESOMENESS
- The Angels showed some amazing spirit to rally back for another victory on Sunday. They could have easily just given up in this game after the events of the previous day with Kendry Morales, but they still found a way to dig deep and comeback from a big deficit even though they seemed to try awfully hard to not win the game by leaving the bases loaded so many times.
- Francisco Rodriguez might have earned himself a bigger spot in the bullpen with his work in this series. I thought Scioscia was crazy for having him finish up for Jered Weaver in a 1-0 game, but it ended up working out fantastically as the other Francisco Rodriguez showed that he had great velocity and some pretty good stuff.
- Mike Napoli at first base, there’s a novel idea. He probably should have been working at that position years ago, but this will have to do. He is probably going to be a defensive liability there, but it is the best scenario for the offense until the Angels figure out a more significant upgrade (and, no, his name isn’t Robb Quinlan).
- Did anyone else notice that Brian Fuentes pitched in a non-save situation? Scioscia could have saved him for later like he always does, but he ran them out there because he was set to face some left-handed hitters. In other words, he actually smartly used Fuentes as a southpaw reliever instead of as a closer and only a closer. Hooray for being smart!!!
- At least the Angels wised up with their walk-off celebrations on Sunday. Better late than never, I guess.
Angels of FAIL
- Alright, let’s not beat around the bush. Holy crap, Kendry Morales is a moron. He couldn’t have known what might happen, but what a stupid way to get hurt. What really kills me is that I knew what could happen. Every time I see someone round the bases ready to celebrate all I can think about is Tagg Bozied. If you don’t know that name, there is a reason. Bozied was once a quality prospect with the Padres until the fateful day that Bozied, like Morales, celebrated a game-winning homer by jumping on home plate… and blew out his knee. Bozied pretty much hasn’t been heard from since. I didn’t think that Morales was going to get hurt, but then when he collapsed, I knew the Angels were screwed. And screwed they are because he is pretty much done for the season and takes with him the best bat on the team and leaves a gaping hole at first base, easily the thinnest position in the Angel organization.
- To think, Angel fans were probably more concerned that Torii Hunter got hit on the hand by a pitch. It seems he was lucky enough to escape serious injury, but still, having him miss any time whatsoever right now is pretty damn awful.
- So much more Scott Kazmir making progress. At least earlier in the year he was just having control issues, but this time he was just incredibly hittable, only striking out one batter. To be fair, it was unreasonable to think that he would just keep getting better and better every start without having a setback, but still getting roughed up by the Mariners is pretty bad. Joe Saunders was actually even worse somehow, so at least Kaz didn’t end up looking like a total failure this weekend.
- If you think about it, K-Mo’s injury is really Erick Aybar’s fault. If he hadn’t gone brain dead on what could have been a doubleplay ball and turned it into a run-scoring error, the Angels would have won the game in nine innings and Morales never would have had to hit that fateful grand slam.
- Stick a fork in Scot Shields, he is done. He can’t even be trusted to pitch in games where the Angels are trailing. Scioscia keeps trying to save him, but it isn’t going to happen and the team would be better off clearing out his roster spot and using it for someone who has a chance at being good again.
Halo Hero of the Series
Smile, Howie. You deserve it.
Two big blasts for Howie Kendrick gets him the Halo Hero award as his heroics brought some much needed life and spirit to the Angel players and fans. The Halos need lesser role players like Kendrick to start stepping up to fill the void that Kendry’s loss created. Past successful Angel teams were always more about the collective rather than the individual, so they need to realize that while losing Morales hurts, it isn’t the end of the season.
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