Three Games, One Run, No Wins.

Its a really good thing the Angels Front Office (finally) waived the white flag on the 2010 season on Friday, by trading Brian Fuentes to the Twins for a player to be named later, because the Angels players waived an even bigger white flag by laying an absolute egg this weekend against the last place Baltimore Orioles.

After scoring on a Balk in the first inning of Friday's game, they failed to produce another run all weekend. Its a good thing the rest of the 40-Man Roster is here on Wednesday, because the current 25 stink.

There is no possible way the 15 players (mostly prospects) coming up from Salt Lake can do any worse than Hunter, Abreu and Co. have done the last week and a half.

Other than a 12 run explosion on Wendesday afternoon, the Angels have scored 7 total runs in the last week. They have been shutout three times, once by Minnesota, and TWICE by the LAST PLACE Orioles.

The Angels have a favorable schedule in September, so at this point, my goal for the 2010 Angels is to finish with 82 wins for a winning season.

Rangers Magic Number (To Eliminate Angels): 26 (22)
Carl Crawford Countdown: 104

What Could Have Been.

The Angels just finished off a sweep of the First-Place Minnesota Twins. They now sit 6 games back of the reeling Rangers. The pitching was amazing, and the hitting was clutch as ever.

Ok, lets get a grip and come back from dreamland... Instead, the Angels sit 8 games back after losing two of three in the Twins new home, Target Field. The Pitching was ok, but the Offense was the real story, because they disappeared, again. Minnesota has a good pitching staff, dont get me wrong, but to look as bad as they looked this weekend (with the exception of the 7 run explosion on Saturday), it takes a special kind of suck.

They aren't patient at the plate, they aren't hitting to their strengths, they arent able to move guys over for productive outs... they aren't playing Angels Baseball. In other words, its like an entire team of Eric Aybars.

Things aren't going to get any easier. The Angels come back home to welcome arguably the best team in baseball to Angel Stadium, the Tampa Bay Rays. They have more offense and more pitching than the Twins, and with the Angels bats in one gigantic slump right now, it wouldn't shock me if the Angels get swept.

The Rangers, however, will have a much tougher time this week, playing the Twins (rather than the cupcake Orioles they had this weekend). But in order to get back any of the ground we lost this weekend, we not only need the Rangers to lose, but we will need to muster up a couple wins against one of the hottest teams in baseball.

Rangers Magic Number: 31
Carl Crawford Countdown: 111

Wait... We Won? This Cant Be Right II

After going 0-9 against the Red Sox going into tonight's game, the Angels some how found a way to take the lead and actually keep it through the end of nine innings.

Ervin Santana kept the BoSox hitters in check, while the Angels roughed up Beckett and Delcarmen for 7 runs. The Angels Pen actually held on to the lead and got the Angels their 61st victory of the season.

In Baltimore, the Rangers were shuout, 4-0. Thats right, the Angels actually gained a game in the division race. For the first time in almost a week, the Rangers Magic Number didnt get any smaller, and Matsui finally looked like the RBI machine we signed him to be.

Things are looking up, but if the Angels cant keep it up, in another week, they will be too far out for any kind of run at the postseason.

Rangers Magic Number: 35
Carl Crawford Countdown: 114

Start of an Era?

Tonight, the starting Center Fielder for the Angels won't be Torii Hunter. It wont be Reggie Willits. Its going to be Peter Bourjos.

Perhaps the best all-around prospect in the Angels Organization, Bourjos will be playing in his first major league game against Jeremy Guthrie and the Baltimore Orioles. He will be hitting ninth in the lineup and playing in Center Field, territory usually reserved for Torii Hunter. Hunter will be moving to Right Field, and Abreu will bring his defensive ineptitude to Left Field.

Now, you may recall that about a week ago, I made a post wanting to see this young man, along with Mark Trumbo, in the lineup for the series in Baltimore. Well, we're halfway there (woah, livin' on a prayer).

Bourjos brings a contact bat, speed and, perhaps most importantly, a new look to the Angels lineup. Now, I've been wrong about prospects before, and there is currently one taking up a lot of room on the 25-man Roster who hasn't even played for a few weeks (Brandon Wood), but as an Angel fan with still a small amount of hope, Bourjos brings a new life to this team, that I hope will trickle all throughout the lineup. Its almost to the point now where if you don't perform to expectations, the team is going to have no problem replacing you with a young face from Salt Lake.