Angels, please help!

[Gander]

Hold on to this lead so we can get to within 2.
Looks like we finally get a win tonight, 8-0 right now in Fenway.

[Gander]

Looks like this is over. Angels should hang on with their great relief.
Certainly been the Yankees nemesis over the years, huh? Knocked them out of the playoffs twice in the last 4 years. ;)

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Lol ...............GANDER,the Halos had to get that cuz Weaver and Lackey are both struggling.Kelvum has been good though.Sunday/Monday could be ugly if they can't find it.



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LA Angels 60 56

LA Dodgers 60 56

Same record,but one has a 1 1/2 game lead,and the other is 3 1/2 back,and will probably be 4 1/2-5 1/2 back by the end of Monday night.Can't believe Lackey has let them down 3 times since the allstar break..7/19,8/4,8/9,and 2 of those were against f'n Cleveland.He also wasn't particularly stellar in the Sunday night game against Boston,but atleast it was against a tough team.I really expected this guy to be the stopper of the staff,but he is the reason they are 3 1/2 back(instead of simply 1/2 game back.)Was fantastic in early July on 7/7,and 7/14,but struggled since then.Very surprising.Thought he was mentally tougher than that,but to be honest, he has let the team down(while Saunders/Escobar has kept the club in the race.) Arm might be somewhat dead.I think the mph is down on the fastball some,and the location is way off compared to the command on 7/7,and 7/14.Has to be more than just mental.Not looking forward to Monday night at all.Yanks gunna bust that head of his open for 15 runs if he shows up with that same crappy stuff he has had the last 2 times.See,the Halos pitching is 5 starters,Shields,and KROD.That is it.Once a starter shows up with mediocre stuff,it will be a loss as soon as they can get into the pen.Game is over by the 5th inning.I've known this for a while.I just didn't expect Lackey to blow 3 starts,and struggle to go 5 innings.If Lackey can't get himself together,this is Oakland's division in a walk.I think they have this Bootchik guy coming up to provide some middle relief.That's a longshot,but he has to be better than Carrasco,Romero,Gregg etc...

[Gander]

Scuds- Did you see that cut Robinson Cano took in the 9th on strike 3? He missed K Rod's breaking ball by at least a foot. Looked like myself playing drunk wiffleball. Surprised he held his balance.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Scuds- Did you see that cut Robinson Cano took in the 9th on strike 3? He missed K Rod's breaking ball by at least a foot. Looked like myself playing drunk wiffleball. Surprised he held his balance.

Yea,KROD makes a lot of guys look bad like that.I get so pssd watching Shields pitch.Guy has really good stuff,and shouldn't have given it up in losses against you guys 2 weeks ago today,the Wednesday before last against the A's,and earlier up in Oakland too(Frank Thomas HR.)That strike 3 pitch to Abreu(the 2 seamer that ducked into the inside of the strike zone too late to be hit)shows what kind of stuff Shields has.His mental toughness doesn't quite match his ability to pitch.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

It is amazing that Guerrero can make contact with some of this crap he swings at.Last night,he swung at an inside pitch that was a couple inches off the ground,and somehow hit it for his typical hard groundball.His average would be so good if he could stop that sht.

[Gander]

I was just sitting with Oracle at the track. He was in awe of how good the Angels are and was wondering why they arent leading the AL West by 5 games with those bats & pitchers.

I told him they excel against the very good teams but have struggled profusely against the teams they should beat.

Anyways, thanks and lets win another today!

[SCUDSBROTHER]

I was just sitting with Oracle at the track. He was in awe of how good the Angels are and was wondering why they arent leading the AL West by 5 games with those bats & pitchers.

I told him they excel against the very good teams but have struggled profusely against the teams they should beat.

Anyways, thanks and lets win another today!

Today is a great example why they aren't winning the division.One of the starters throws fat pitches,and gets hurt.Even if the starter bothers to battle to keep them in it,the Halo offense does not usually make any effort to get back in the game.Once they get to the middle relief it is a done deal.To answer Oracle's question,the problem is inconsistent starting pitching.You saw the best starter we have(at the moment)last night.Halos are having bad starting pitching efforts(like Escobar today.)Like Lackey the last 2 starts.Like Weaver the last 2 starts.We don't have the relievers, or come from behind offense, to win games that starters faulter in.The Yanks win some of those games that starters f up.Halos don't.Hence,Halos have lost 7-10 more games than 2 of the other division leaders.They should have lost 3 less games(Lackey shouldn't have been f'n around like he has,)but still the starters haven't done good enough to be division contenders.The Halos won't come close to beating the A's for division,unless the starters pitch better.Escobar has been doing well,but (out of nowhere) comes to Yankee stadium and throws fat pitches today.Thanks,we will be 4 1/2 back by late tonite(unless the crappy Rays come up with a miracle and beat the practically perfect playing A's.)Anymore questions?? I am not gunna lose any money from this team under-performing,but yes it is frustrating to see the starting pitchers(other than Saunders) pitch shtty like this.I don't understand it at all.If they want to go to the post,then the starters need to stop pitching crappy games.Maybe being 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 back(the A's will oblige) will wake the starting pitching up.They have the potential to win the division,but the starters can't take games off (like Escobar did today.)I think the team is going to have to fall behind by 5 1/2-6 1/2 games before they realize that they can no longer go to the mound and throw mediocre(and get away with it.)See,when the Halos fall behind,they lose almost every damn one of those games.The offense does exactly what they have done today=hit ball hard right at defenders(as if magnetically attracted.)Maybe the offense will start coming from behind when they get 5 1/2-6 1/2 games back.One of the 2 has to change.Starters pitch better,or offense fight back and win some games.You would think the threat of falling back by 4 1/2 games would get their attention,but 5 1/2-6 1/2 is probably the more likely # of games that will get their attention.They don't have any good excuses for not being atleast close to winning the division.Lackey has let the team down 3 times in a month's time.Weaver has let the team down the last 2 times.Escobar let the team down today.Santana got hurt Thursday,but will probably be o.k. to start Tuesday.He has probably been the most reliable starter(for the 1st 5 innings,)but hangs pitches in the 6th inning (if he is not ahead in the game by enough runs to be relaxed.)Saunders has been the only gamer of the bunch.I am very surprised that the other starters have not been as game as this young man,and I have no idea why they have been so willing to lose starts.Lackey has been a huge,huge disappointment in August.Very surprising.You can't make people want to win.They either want it more than the other team,or they don't.Halo starters(other than Saunders) have not shown a desire to win that is necessary to be division champions.They had a 1/2 game lead 2 weeks ago,but the starters have mainly pitched crap since then.I don't understand the lack of desire,but the starters simply haven't had the desire to win their starts.Lackey is suppose to lead this team,but has been pig vomit in his 2 starts in August.Big disappointment to the team.Huge.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Kelvim Escobar (8-10) had been 3-0 in his previous six starts but lost for the first time since June 25, giving up five runs and eight hits in six innings. He walked Rodriguez leading off the second, gave up a single to Jason Giambi and allowed a one-out, three-run homer to Cano.

"I never really throw a slider to lefties. I don't know what I was trying to do there," Escobar said. "I tried something different, and it didn't work."


Gander,here ya go.Oracle wonders why they aren't doing better.Start with stupidity like this.

[oracle80]

Kelvim Escobar (8-10) had been 3-0 in his previous six starts but lost for the first time since June 25, giving up five runs and eight hits in six innings. He walked Rodriguez leading off the second, gave up a single to Jason Giambi and allowed a one-out, three-run homer to Cano.

"I never really throw a slider to lefties. I don't know what I was trying to do there," Escobar said. "I tried something different, and it didn't work."


Gander,here ya go.Oracle wonders why they aren't doing better.Start with stupidity like this.

Yanks didn't really crush him, but got homers when they mattered.
I'm tickled pink with the Yanks being up two right now. At the start of the week the Yanks were facing Chisox in Chitown for 3 games and then the Angels. I would have been thrilled with a split of the 6 games through Sunday. Bosox had 3 with KC and Baltimore and I was expecting them to go 5-1, 4-2 at the least. Best Boston can go is 3-3.

[SentToStud]

Yanks didn't really crush him, but got homers when they mattered.
I'm tickled pink with the Yanks being up two right now. At the start of the week the Yanks were facing Chisox in Chitown for 3 games and then the Angels. I would have been thrilled with a split of the 6 games through Sunday. Bosox had 3 with KC and Baltimore and I was expecting them to go 5-1, 4-2 at the least. Best Boston can go is 3-3.

Your guy Cano is a hell of a player. I've seen a couple games this week and he's very solid. Give R-Sox credit for comeback win today. They banged Britton, a very decent pitcher, pretty good today.

My Tigers need a win bad.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Did Wang hang a few pitches last outing against the Chisox? Weaver's location has been really bad.Starting to look like his older brother's often poor pitch locations. Halo's were fortunate to win his last start.I think the young man pssd away a 4 run lead,and the Halos got a run late to get a win.

[oracle80]

Your guy Cano is a hell of a player. I've seen a couple games this week and he's very solid. Give R-Sox credit for comeback win today. They banged Britton, a very decent pitcher, pretty good today.

My Tigers need a win bad.

Stud I kept telling everyone here when that kid Cano got back that it would be a turbo boost. He hits for power and average. Fields flawlessly and runs the bases well. Hes the real deal. Just wait until either Sheff or Matsui get back, noone will touch the Yanks.