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Friday, April 11, 2003
Posted
11:04 AM
by Sean
Troy Glaus returned to the lineup last night for the Angels 3-0 victory over the Mariners, in which he went 1-for-4. Glaus's return is important not just because he's a good third baseman and an important part of the offense, but also because it allows Spiezio to return to first, which is critical to this team's success. Spiezio was robbed of a Gold Glove last year - his ability to scoop balls out of the dirt on a routine basis saved them countless runs, and is the primary reason they've been able to get away with having the relatively weak-armed David Eckstein at short.
Speaking of whom, Eckstein's offensive numbers are beginning to be something of a concern. Eck fell off the highway last night and is starting to hit for bingo numbers, dropping to .097 in batting average with a .275 OBP. The Angels options for other leadoff hitters are somewhat limited in the event that they decide to move him down to 8th or 9th. Eric Owens is probably the best option, but only realistic so long as Salmon is out of the lineup, which hopefully won't be for long. Chone Figgins could get a one- or two-game tryout, but he's still finding his sea legs at the major league level. In the realm of distant possibility would be Erstad returning to a leadoff role or Gil taking over at second, but Ersty did poorly in that role and Gil apparently is having back spasms lately.
Anyway, Jarrod Washburn pitched a terrific game for the Angels last night, and deserves to have been mentioned before now. Eight complete innings, no runs, five hits. He's never thrown a complete game before, and didn't get the chance last night (Percival pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save of the season), but it looks like it's just a matter of time. I'd say he definitely bounced back from his first start.
Tonight, let's hope for more of the same from John Lackey, who's had two notso-hotso starts this year, surrendering five runs in five innings against Texas on opening day and then four runs in five innings against the A's last weekend. I guess the good news is that, if the trend continues, he'll give up three runs in five innings tonight, which would be acceptable, I suppose. Then again, of course, "acceptable" is probably aiming too low with the guy who won Game 7. Tim Hudson will pitch for the A's, so the bats are going to have to come through, too. With a lefty on the mound, we'll see if Gil's back spasms are serious enough to sideline him again, since he'd normally be in the lineup even if Kennedy was healthy.
Saturday, it'll be Callaway vs. Halama; Sunday will see Ortiz vs. Zito. Playing at home against a tough Oakland team, the Angels will need to win 2 of 3 to stem the perception that the A's are running away early.
Troy Glaus returned to the lineup last night for the Angels 3-0 victory over the Mariners, in which he went 1-for-4. Glaus's return is important not just because he's a good third baseman and an important part of the offense, but also because it allows Spiezio to return to first, which is critical to this team's success. Spiezio was robbed of a Gold Glove last year - his ability to scoop balls out of the dirt on a routine basis saved them countless runs, and is the primary reason they've been able to get away with having the relatively weak-armed David Eckstein at short.
Speaking of whom, Eckstein's offensive numbers are beginning to be something of a concern. Eck fell off the highway last night and is starting to hit for bingo numbers, dropping to .097 in batting average with a .275 OBP. The Angels options for other leadoff hitters are somewhat limited in the event that they decide to move him down to 8th or 9th. Eric Owens is probably the best option, but only realistic so long as Salmon is out of the lineup, which hopefully won't be for long. Chone Figgins could get a one- or two-game tryout, but he's still finding his sea legs at the major league level. In the realm of distant possibility would be Erstad returning to a leadoff role or Gil taking over at second, but Ersty did poorly in that role and Gil apparently is having back spasms lately.
Anyway, Jarrod Washburn pitched a terrific game for the Angels last night, and deserves to have been mentioned before now. Eight complete innings, no runs, five hits. He's never thrown a complete game before, and didn't get the chance last night (Percival pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save of the season), but it looks like it's just a matter of time. I'd say he definitely bounced back from his first start.
Tonight, let's hope for more of the same from John Lackey, who's had two notso-hotso starts this year, surrendering five runs in five innings against Texas on opening day and then four runs in five innings against the A's last weekend. I guess the good news is that, if the trend continues, he'll give up three runs in five innings tonight, which would be acceptable, I suppose. Then again, of course, "acceptable" is probably aiming too low with the guy who won Game 7. Tim Hudson will pitch for the A's, so the bats are going to have to come through, too. With a lefty on the mound, we'll see if Gil's back spasms are serious enough to sideline him again, since he'd normally be in the lineup even if Kennedy was healthy.
Saturday, it'll be Callaway vs. Halama; Sunday will see Ortiz vs. Zito. Playing at home against a tough Oakland team, the Angels will need to win 2 of 3 to stem the perception that the A's are running away early.