Home for the Holidays.

Well that sucked.

Here I was thinking that this team had a little bit of life left in them, that the team I had known for this past season had shown up to play today but I guess not. Instead they head home. But hey!If Jason Bay and George Kottaras hop a plane soon enough, they'll be able to eat Thanksgiving dinner at home tomorrow.

I'm actually not overly upset. Disappointed? Sure. Annoyed? You bet. Ready to take a flying leap off the Tobin? No. Or less dramatically, curl up in a ball and cry? Not even that. I am upset that I'll have to deal with overly gracious Yankee fans for the next couple of days but beyond that I'm not feeling much.

I suppose it's because the bats decided to sleep walk through the series. Like I told them before: You can't win if you don't score runs, although I probably should have been clearer and said that they needed to score more runs than their opponent. Oh well, spilled milk and all that.

But if I was going to pick a goat, then it would have to be Don Orsillo. Pap gets two outs, Don mentions that he's never allowed an earned run in the post season, and then he gives up three. Coincidence?

One More Try.

I'm not sure I want to look either, chickpea.

I think the older Miss Bay may have it right. And so just win today. That's all I ask.

Wanted: Baseball Bats and Players Capable of Swinging Them.

I got nothing. But if they were interested, I'd be willing to share the secret of how to win a baseball game with them: Scoring runs, it'll do it for you every time.

Cherubs They Are Not.

You know what? It's late. I'm all jazzed up. And I can be as shallow and as petty as I want.

Later today the Angels roll out Jered Weaver to pitch game 2. Their second entrant in the ugliest starting pitcher contest. I don't think he holds a candle to Hapsburg-jawed, under bite possessor, pointy toothed, tiny eyed, moley, mouth breathing, whiny Lackey but he's a valid entrant. Seriously, who does Weaver's hair? Why does he think a shoulder length bob is a good look, especially when he has hair that thick? I'd have to guess that he cuts it himself because I can't imagine any respectable hair stylist steering him in that direction. And he's got a big nose and thin lips. Their least likely pitcher to win the contest would have to be the moon-faced Pole, Scott Kazmir (I'm just guessing that he's Polish but he looks like any number of my uncles who are all very Polish looking) but he tips the scales more toward plain than in the least bit good looking.

The Angels are truly an ugly-ass squad all around though. Awhile back when I tried to come up with a list of the best looking players in the American League, the best I could do for the Angels was Torii Hunter. But it turns out that Hunter has an ugly soul--despite the fact that he and David are supposed to be really good friends, when David was accused of steroid use, Hunter dropped him like a hot potato (Who would have ever guessed that David would have a better friend in Nomar than in Hunter?)--and he's an idiot--Hunter invested $70,000 in a scheme to make rafts to float furniture during floods. You can't be a jerk and an idiot and good looking at the same time. It's impossible.

And that was mostly my point, to rant about Torii Hunter betraying David and being an ass. I feel better now.

Humbug.

Free tip of the day: Don't brush your teeth while angry. Seriously, I don't know why I do this to myself--not the teeth brushing thing (that's just good dental hygiene) but the staying up late when work beckons in three and a half hours and getting all worked up about a baseball game so that the few hours of sleep that I might get will not be achievable.

That was unpleasant all around. Some games have a feel and from the onset that one felt like a loss. And even when Lester was dealing the feeling never let up. The umpiring didn't help. Ramon Ramirez didn't help. And the lack of hitting didn't help either. In fact, I reached the point where my swearing at the television stopped being actual words and instead became a stream of random syllables spat in its general direction in a cursing fashion. At least for now, there's always tomorrow.

Also, I thought that I'd like Donny O in the booth but I kind of felt like I was being cheated on.

A Gift.

The Angels muff two double play balls and the Red Sox score five. Ramon Ramirez gets a k to end the next half inning and then the Angels score four more. They tie it in the eighth and then give it right back with two outs in the ninth. Nick Green strikes out twice (once swinging and once looking) with the bases loaded to end the game but ends up getting a walk to tie the game. And Alex Gonzalez ends it with a blast that lands maybe one hundred and twenty feet down the third base line. Meanwhile, Mike Scioscia looks apoplectic (which isn't unusual) and John Lackey seems ready to kill someone.

But even when it's a loss, a win is a win. And you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. So we'll leave it at that.

Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!

Color me surprised but I did not think that we were going to get that. I was prepared for a long night; I had all my talismans lined up, at the end of the first half inning I gleefully shouted "One!", and (honestly) I watched him pitch for the first three innings through my fingers.

But then he goes out and throws six innings barely allowing three hits. He didn't load the bases. He didn't have too many walks. He didn't throw too many pitches. It was nice. It might just be a brief reprieve before old Daisuke comes back but it was welcome.

Ganbatte, Matzusaka-San!

Go West Young Man!

I thought that a change of title might improve the chances of a better performance on the West coast. They might need all the help they can get.

When most of the Angels starting pitching staff went down, it seemed like they might be in for a rough year--saved only by the fact that they play in the AL West and they wouldn't be facing too much competition. Then they lost Vlad Guerrero to a strained pectoral muscle and it would appear that they're offense would suffer. But somehow they've hung in there and have gotten themselves about .500.

Pitching tomorrow for the Angels is Jered Weaver. On April 10, Weaver threw 6.2 innings against the Red Sox. He struck out eight, walked two, and gave up four hits. He allowed only one unearned run. Overall, walks had been a problem for him in the past but he seems to have gotten it mostly under control. Lefties continue to have an easier time against him. He does seem to be giving up more home runs this year.

Matt Palmer is likely to make the start on Wednesday. Palmer made three starts not-so-great starts for the Giants last year before singing a minor league deal with the Angels this past winter. He was called up at the end of April and has done a decent job for them so far. He's made three starts against Detroit, the Yankees, and KC and won all of them. He throws a high eighties fastball, a curveball, slider, and a changeup.

Joe Saunders will pitch the last game of the series. On April 11, Saunders threw seven innings against Boston. He allowed four runs, seven hits (including two home runs-one to Mike Lowell and one to Jason Bay) and walked three.

Kendry Morales, Torii Hunter, and Mike Napoli have become most of their offense. Chone Figgins and Bobby Abreu lead the club with twelve stolen bases each. It's not too difficult to run on either Mike Napoli or Jeff Mathis.

Next Up: LAAAAAAAAAAAA.

These games are not going to be fun--especially tomorrow's game. Who knows how the Angels will react to their grief. Not to be crass but they might be in complete "win one for the Gipper" mode or they might not feel like playing baseball at all. It may seem horribly inappropriate to just continue on but the games will be played.

With Lackey (and his stupid underbite), Santana, and Escobar on the DL, the Angels' starting rotation didn't look too much like last year's to begin with (technically because of his shoulder surgery Escobar shouldn't be included in that statement.) They were sort of a parade of: who?Now? Who knows.

Jered Weaver was originally scheduled to start tonight against Oakland but because the game was postponed it would make sense that his start would be pushed back until tomorrow. Weaver throws a both a four-seam and a two-seam fastball, a change up, a slider, and a curve. He has decent command. He's not a terrible pitcher but he does have a tendency to be a little too big for his abilities. Last season he faced Boston twice, a loss in April and a win in July. In his April start he gave up five runs on ten hits in five innings, including two home runs. He struck out four in that start and didn't walk any one. In July he allowed three runs on six hits in five and two-thirds of an inning. He struck out four Sox in that game as well, but he also walked three. They hit him to the tune of a .340 batting average last year. Left handers have shown more power against him and he walks more of them but righties have a little more success.

Piecing together their rotation, Shane Loux is likely to get the start on Saturday. Loux is a AAAA sinkerballer. He did find his way into seven games for the Angels last season as a relief pitcher. He has been known to have control issues in the past. The only member of the Sox to ever face him is David Ortiz and he's 0 for 5 with two strike outs.

On Sunday we should see Joe Saunders take the mound for the Angels. Saunders is a fastball, change up pitcher with good control. He doesn't strike out many but he generally doesn't walk too many either. Last season he had three starts against the Sox, all of which the Angels ended up winning. In April he allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings. On July 19 he allowed two runs on six hits in six and two-thirds of an inning. And on July 30 he allowed two runs on five hits in six innings. Kevin Youkilis has struck out five times in sixteen at bats against him. Youk's also walked three times with two doubles and a home run.

Kendry Morales has taken over first base for the Angels. He's also off to a pretty hot start for the year, he's four for eleven with a walk. Catcher Jeff Mathis is also off to a pretty good start, he's two for six with a walk. The season is only three games old but Howie Kendrick has their only home run.

Moment 9: Dustin to the Rescue.

July 29. Angels at Red Sox.

John Lackey annoys the crap out of me. It's not just the histrionics on the mound after his teammates let him down. It's not the poor loser speeches after they went home in October. It probably comes down to that stupid under bite and the pointy teeth. So when he took a no-hitter to the ninth at Fenway, I was pissed at him.

The Sox couldn't muster anything against him. They went down like a woman wearing heels on an icy sidewalk: Fly out, fly out, ground out, strike out, fly out, hit by pitch, fly out, fly out, fly out, fly out, strike out, fly out, ground out, fly out, line out, fly out, fly out, ground out, walk, fielder's choice, fly out, ground out, ground out, ground out, strike out, ground out, strike out. Then, Dustin of my heart strode up to the plate and found a way to get a ball to land in left center and a sigh of relief was heard throughout New England (at least amongst those who hadn't turned it off.) Youkilis followed him with a two-run shot and a potentially terrible, terrible game turned into a regular old loss.

It was a painful game. But Dustin Pedroia was not going to be embarrassed like that and for Dustin's heroics, this game gets spot 9 on my list.

Next Up: the LA Angels.

Tonight's pitcher is John Lackey. Lackey throws a good fastball, a slider, a change-up, and a really good curve ball. He's good but righties have a better shot against him. Lackey missed the beginning of the season due to an elbow injury but was gangbusters when he came back in mid-May. He did get knocked around in his last two starts before the break, though. He was routinely giving the Angels seven or eight innings a start before the hiccup. He's generally right around the strike zone so he does give up hits (quite a few on cheap swings) and he doesn't walk many batters.

Tomorrow's pitcher is scheduled to be the lefty Joe Saunders. He last threw an inning in the All-Star game, giving up one hit. He throws a decent fastball and a change-up. He likes to challenge batters but you don't have to be a mind-reader to figure out what he intends to throw. He got a win on April 24 against the Sox when he gave up three runs on seven hits in six innings of work. He's got good control and doesn't give up many walks. Righties have a little more success against him than lefties. The vast majority of the walks he's given up have been to righties.

The last pitcher of the series is Jered Weaver. Weaver throws both a low-nineties four-seam fastball and a lively high-eighties two-seam fastball. He also has a great slider and a change-up. He has excellent command. In his April start against the Sox (April 22), he lasted only five innings, giving up five runs on ten hits (including two home runs-one each by Ellsbury and Youkilis.) Righties have a better batting average against him but he's given up more home runs to lefties.

Their biggest bats continue to be Howie Kendrick, Vladimir Guerrero, and Torii Hunter. Chone Figgins is the most likely guy in the lineup to steal a base. It should be an interesting set of games-excellent pitching and a strong lineup on (hopefully) both sides.

And the Moral of the Series (LA Angels: Games 22-24) is...

It really was impressive that they managed to take one game from the Angels with their hobbled lineup, shuffled pitching rotation, and overused bullpen. Another impressive thing (if you're looking for the bright side and I am) is that none of these games was a blowout. They managed to stay within striking distance despite the conditions imposed on them. They also got significant contributions from guys you wouldn't normally expect to get a lot from; which was good to see.

Saunders v. Masterson (Game 24)

What a bummer for Masterson. He pitched six really good innings for his major league debut and left the game with a two-run lead, only to have the bullpen blow it for him. But because he's Masterson and a fabulously wonderful person, with a sunny disposition, and a grin a mile wide-he's alright with the outcome. "It was just fun." Awww.

In his six innings Masterson threw ninety-five pitches. He gave up only two hits to the powerful Angels lineup (one a homerun) and he struck out four of them. He also walked four of them. He had ten ground ball outs and three fly ball outs. He also fielded his position well-he had two assists on the put out at first, including foiling a bunt attempt by Figgins.

Lopez came in to relieve him and did a piss-poor job of it. He saw two batters and walked the first (a lefty) and gave up a base hit to the second. Manny Delcarmen was brought in to help but didn't. In fact, he did the exact same thing as Lopez. He walked the first batter he saw and gave up a base hit to the second. Unfortunately, for Delcarmen (and Lopez) a runner came around to score. Lopez has been pitching quite a bit lately and maybe that negatively affected his performance today or maybe it's just that he's back to sucking at getting lefties out. I understand that the bullpen has been depleted as of late and that was probably the reason for having Delcarmen pitch today but he is just getting over the flu.

Okajima was brought into a tough situation to relieve Delcarmen (who looked perfectly happy to give the ball back to Francona.) The bases were loaded and there were no outs against the Angels. After throwing three strikes (two fouled off) and a ball to the first batter he saw, Okajima gave up a base hit to the first batter he saw-allowing the tying run to score. He gave up another base hit to the second batter he saw, two more runs came around to score, and the batter took second on a throwing error by Crisp. They decided to try to pitch to the next batter but after they fell behind him they intentionally walked him. With the bases once again loaded and still no outs, Okajima got his act together and struck out the next two batters he saw (both swinging.) He got the last batter to pop out to short to bring an end to the bleeding.

Aardsma came out to pitch the eighth and didn't do a fabulous job either. He got two quick outs (a ground out and a strike out) but the next batter reached on a bunt and went on to steal second. He walked the next batter on five pitches and then gave up a double, which allowed another run to score. He got the last batter to fly out to center.

Tavarez pitched the ninth inning. He gave up a base hit before getting the first out (a ground out.) He then walked a batter before giving up a sacrifice fly to give the Angels a four run lead. The last out came from a foul ball that Youkilis caught.

Coco had a good game offensively. He got the scoring started in the second inning by batting in Manny on a ground out to second. In the fourth inning he had a ground-ruled double that knocked in another run, then came around to score on ground-ruled double from Cash. And in the sixth inning he had a double off the wall that just barely missed being a homerun.

Manny also had a good performance. He had two singles and a double. Ellsbury, Pedroia, and Lowrie each had a base hit, as well. Ortiz was hitting the ball well today. In the fifth inning he hit a ball to deep center that was very close to being a home run and then in the ninth inning, with two outs, he sent a homerun out to right to cut the Angels lead to two. Unfortunately, Manny flied out to center to end the game.

Garland v. Lester (Game 23)

So due to injuries and particularly virulent viruses, you cobble together a seemingly unimpressive lineup one night and they manage to eek out a one-run win. The next night, due to those same constraints, you pull out one of your better hitters and throw in a not totally prepared starting pitcher and they lose by two runs. It's kind of impressive that they came that close.

Lester wasn't supposed to play today but ended up pitching the first five innings of this game after Daisuke was taken ill with the flu. His line wasn't good. He threw eighty pitches and gave up nine hits, four runs (including two home runs), walked two and struck out one.

But if he's still sticking with the plan of trying to throw first-pitch strikes, he made some progress at the beginning of the ballgame. The first four batters he faced each saw a strike on the first pitch. He missed with the last batter of the first inning (throwing a ball, three strikes, and another ball before the batter grounded out to short) but came back out to throw a first-pitch strike to the first two batters of the second inning. After that, that aspect of his performance went down hill. He saw six more batters (and was staring down the fourth batter of the third inning) before he got back on track with the first-pitch strikes eventually striking the batter out swinging. He also got ahead on the last two batters of that inning. He fell behind the first two batters of the fourth inning but threw a first-pitch strike to the last (who eventually grounded into a double play.) In his last inning, Lester fell behind the first two batters but threw strikes to the last two. Over all, it wasn't a successful bid to meet the first-pitch strike goal; he saw twenty-three batters and got ahead on only twelve of them.

Hansen came up to pitch the sixth and the beginning of the seventh inning and he didn't do too badly. It was interesting to see the contrast between the tempo at which Lester works and the much more lively tempo at which Hansen was working. He did give up a home run but he also struck out three of the eight batters he faced, got a ground out, got a fly out, and if Pedroia hadn't had a miscue in catching a pop up to shallow right, would have gotten out of his two innings only having allowed the one hit. As it ended up working out, the runner was safe at first and moved over to third on a base hit by the next batter before he was pulled.

He was replaced by Javier Lopez who walked the first batter he faced (a lefty) and loaded the bases before inducing a ground out to end the inning. Javier Lopez had a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth. He got a strike out, a ground out, and a pop out. Mike Timlin pitched the ninth inning and started off well. He got the first two batters to ground out before he gave up a base hit. On a 1-1 count, Cash lost a ball in the dirt and the runner advanced to second. The batter then hit a single up the middle and the runner came around to score. A nice defensive throw to second by Cash got the new runner out as he attempted to stretch his single into a double and ended the inning.

The defense that the Red Sox put up was the reason they stayed in the game as long as they did. In addition to that nice defensive move, Cash also tagged a runner out at home in the second inning. And in the fourth and fifth innings, Lugo helped turn a double play; the first time tagging second himself and the second time flipping the ball to Pedroia for the first out.

The offense tried. Lugo batted in Drew in the second inning. In the third inning, Cash got a double, Ellsbury a single, and then Pedroia had a sacrifice fly to get their second run of the night. In the fourth inning, Pedroia got a base hit and then Ortiz hit a homerun down the right field line to bring the Red Sox score to four. And that was it for runs.

I should preface this by saying that I love Manny and that I spend quite a bit of time defending him but I wonder if he's starting to feel a bit under the weather. Even for him, he looked sort of listless out there in left field and running the bases. I hope it isn't true. If you were forced to take out the last remaining 'big bat' it would be a sorry lineup, indeed.

Weaver v. Pauley (Game 22)

That was a squeaker.

When the news came down that they had pulled Beckett, that Varitek still wasn't well enough to play, and that they had sent Manny Del home, it didn't seem very promising. It left you with a AAA pitcher and the bullpen against the vaunted Angels lineup and with what seemed like a pieced-together lineup with little pop of it's own to respond in kind. It was destined to be an interesting game (in terms of watching the machinations of a good baseball mind in Francona)-maybe not a fun game to watch but definitely an interesting one.

Also, the idea of Pedroia doing the catching if Cash had gone down was a very amusing one. I could see him dressed in Varitek's gear, the shin guards coming half way up his thighs, waddling onto the field only to discover that because of the padding he can't bend his knees. It's easy enough to imagine his enthusiasm getting the better of him and getting him into trouble. Or a one hundred mile per hour fast ball coming screaming in at him and knocking him over and taking the umpire out as well. If the score wouldn't have been affected too much by the outcome, that would be something I would very much be interested in seeing.

Anyway. Dave Pauley held his own at the beginning of the game. He had two 1-2-3 innings to start the game (four ground outs, a fly out, and a strike out.) The bottom third of their lineup got to him in the third inning, though. He gave up double, a base hit (which plated the first Angels' run), and another double to start them off. He walked their lead-off man before getting the next two batters to pop up to shallow center and shallow right for the first two outs. He gave up another base hit (for two more runs) before getting a fly out to end the inning. In the fourth inning he got the first batter to fly out, walked the second (who later stole second), gave up a home run to the third (giving the Angels five runs) and a double to the fourth, before getting the fifth batter to strike out and the sixth batter to line out. He started out the fifth inning with a strike out and a base hit before he was pulled.

It was a respectable performance by Pauley. Sure, he gave up seven hit and five runs but considering who the batters were that he got out there's no way you couldn't call it decent. He struck out Chone Figgins, Gary Matthews Jr., and Vladimir Guerrero. Except for Anderson, the heart of their lineup was unable to even get a hit off him. Not too shabby.

Tavarez finished the fifth inning, pitched the sixth, and started the seventh. He ended the fifth by getting Torii Hunter to ground into a double play. In the sixth inning although he walked the second batter he saw, he got three ground outs to first to get out of any trouble. He gave up two base hits to start the seventh inning and the runners moved over to second and third on a throwing error by Cash before Tavarez was replaced with Okajima.

Okajima pitched a honey of an inning in the seventh. With runners on second and third, he got Guerrero to fly out, Anderson to pop up, and Hunter to strike out. Unfortunately, he started the eighth inning by giving up a game tying home run. He then got two ground outs but also gave up a double to end his outing. Timlin took over from Okajima, got the ground out to first to end the inning and the win. Papelbon pitched the ninth inning. He got two strike outs and a fly out to left.

Even though they looked like a rag-tag lineup not capable of a whole lot of power, they were able to piece together seven runs and take the game. In fact, with the exception of the third inning (when Weaver struck out the side) they had at least one base runner on in each inning. The game started off with a bang when Jacoby Ellsbury hit a home run right out of the gate. After that they didn't score again until the fourth inning. With one out, Drew got a base hit. With two outs, Cash got a base hit. Then Lugo knocked Drew across with a base hit of his own.

They scored again in the fifth inning. Pedroia led off the inning with a double and came around to score on an Ortiz base hit. Manny flew out to right but Youkilis hit a two-run home run to left to tie the game. They would then pull ahead in the sixth inning. Cash struck out to start the inning and then Lugo was called out at first (when he was, in fact, safe) for the second out. When up to the plate sauntered Ellsbury, on a one-one count he swung at the next pitch and sent the ball back out to right for his second home run of the night. Pedroia followed that up with a double but Ortiz grounded out before anything could come of that.

The eighth inning started with Lugo grounding out to the pitcher. Ellsbury again came up to the plate but this time he laid down a very good bunt for a hit. Pedroia shuffled up behind him and sent the two-one pitch down the left field line to the base of the wall for a double and Ellsbury came around to once again give the Red Sox the lead. Ortiz walked and with first base open they decided to pitch to Manny (at that point I was thinking wistfully of Girardi and Mussina but, alas, the result was not the same.) Manny grounded into a fielder's choice for the force out at second and Youkilis popped out to end the inning.

Really a very exciting game.

Next Up: the Los Angeles Angels

The pitcher scheduled for tomorrow's game is Jered Weaver. Weaver throws a four-seam fastball in the low-nineties and a two-seamer that travels slightly slower but has a lot of movement. He also has a good slider and a change-up. He has excellent command-he walked only forty-five batters last year (6.5% of the batters he faced.) He does have a tendency to really go after hitters when he doesn't necessarily have the stuff to beat them-leading to giving up quite a few homeruns.

Wednesday's starter for the Angels is Jon Garland. Garland throws a sinking fastball, a good curveball, and a solid change-up. He has good command and most of the pitches he throws are right in the strike zone. As a result, he doesn't walk many batters but he does give up a lot of hits. He also doesn't strike out many batters. He has the ability to go deep into a game-so late inning heroics might not be effective against him.

Los Angeles' last pitcher of the series is scheduled to be Joe Saunders. Saunders has a pretty good fastball and a decent change-up. Last season, Saunders' pitching had become predictable but he's off to a good start this year. He's had four starts on the season and gone eight innings in three of them. In fact, in his first start of the year he threw eight scoreless innings; gave up four hits, one walk, and struck out four.

The Angels have a very impressive lineup. Their best power hitter is Vlad Guerrero but the rest of their outfield isn't made up of slouches either. Their corner outfielders (Chone Figgins and Casey Kotchman) are both very good offensive players. The weak spots in their lineup come in from their middle infielders and the catching position.