Posted 2:58 PM by Sean
The strongman pauses, then returns the valise to the space beneath his bed, his leopard-print unitards still hanging neatly in his closet. The elephant trainer goes to town to buy more peanuts, while the tightrope walkers double-check the knots on the safety net; looks like they'll be leaving it in place for a while yet.

Because the time has not yet come, you see, to fold up the tents and leave town.

After two straight shutouts of the mighty Texas offense, the Angels are three games out of first entering a four-game series against Seattle, a team that's posted a gruesome 13-35 record on the road. Meanwhile, the Rangers and A's will slap-fight down in Arlington. Things could get mighty interesting over the weekend. A few random thoughts:

- Does Scioscia come out to argue something every single game, or just the ones I watch?

- The speculation the other day was that the Yankees might be willing to take on Matt Mantei and Roberto Alomar's contracts from the Diamondbacks to get Randy Johnson; New York would then just release the two, eating the loss. Earlier, there was word the Yankees had tried to get the Angels to deal them Ramon Ortiz, so they could turn around and send him to Arizona. How about a deal whereby we send Ortiz directly to the Snakes, and New York pays Tim Salmon's $9.75 million salary next year?

- In 2005, the Angels will no longer have Aaron Sele or Kevin Appier to pay, and probably won't be paying Troy Percival, either. That's somewhere in the range of $28 million worth of payroll. I wonder how many years Pedro Martinez is going to want. I wonder if Carlos Beltran likes Disneyland.

Thready but there 

Posted 3:20 PM by Sean
The Angels' pulse, that is. Tonight's a big game; the difference between being five out and being three out is pretty significant at this point. But Colon's excellent performance last night shored up the theory that he's finally coming around, to the point that I'm actually looking forward to his next start.

Unfortunately, the bats again looked pretty dead last night. Guerrero did in fact return to the lineup, and played impressively; if Anderson can do the same starting tonight, the Angels should be in decent shape to hit some of the slacker teams in the League beginning on Thursday.

Word is that Randy Johnson has requested that if the Diamondbacks are going to deal him, the deal get done today so he can prepare for his Friday start. I'd put the odds at about 70-30 he'll stay in Arizona. Although Jarrod Washburn has been placed on the DL, I'm not terribly worried; he'll miss one start, and Ortiz has been pitching well enough as a spot starter. Over the long haul, Johnson would be nice...but not as nice as having four great prospects develop into solid major league players.

Bleah. Sometime I'll have to go back and look at blog entries following West Coast games. I'm pretty sure they reflect the lack of sleep.

And now, a tasteful moment of silence 

Posted 3:35 PM by Sean
Rob think's it's over, that last night's 6-1 drubbing at the hands of the Rangers is the end point of the Angels' hopes this year. I'm about 24 hours behind him; going in to this series I figured we needed at least two of three. Tonight's game is actually the one the Angels are best poised to win; probationary staff ace Bartolo Colon versus first-time starter / red meat Nick Regilio. Guerrero should be back from his hand injury tonight, and we may see Garret Anderson start as well. At five games back, and with plenty of competition for the wild card, it's time to do or die.