Except for Bobby Abreu's solo shot in the first inning, and a few jams that Dan Haren pitched himself out of, nothing went the Angels way last night against Boston.
Between fielding mistakes, poor managing and a bullet off the bat of Kevin Youkilis, the Angels had no chance last night. The first Red Sox run would not have scored if not for Hunter flubbing on a play he normally makes, and Hunters 0-4 night at the plate didn't help, either. The Angels loaded the bases with none out in the 2nd, only to have weak at bats by Rivera, Mathis and Aybar end the threat. Then when Haren got pegged on the forearm by a line drive off the bat of Youkilis, it ended pretty much all hope the Angels had last night.
The Angels bullpen pitched the Halos out of the game for good, not once, but twice.
I understand Mike's decision to put Rodney in for the 8th... he is his 8th inning guy, and when he struggles, he struggles. It happens. But when Matsui made up for Fernando's mistake in the Bottom of the 8th with a home run of his own, I will never know what possessed Mike to put in Michael Kohn, to make his first major league appearance.
Not only was it Kohn's first appearance, but in a game where he NEEDED to keep the one-run lead, against the Boston Red Sox... poor coaching decision.
Its hard to find one guy to blame for last nights loss, But Aybar going 0-for-5 at the top of the lineup is simply unacceptable. It would be one thing if he had a walk, or a sacrifice bunt, or even a productive out, but no. For a guy who is so hot to look so cold, it has me worried.
If there were any indication that we still need a power bat in the lineup, it was on display in the 2nd inning. The Angels loaded them up with none out, only to pop out twice and have Aybar (shocker!) ground out to end the inning. Pathetic.
There were a few things I did like about the game last night. Haren looked marvelous, outside of the solo-shot to Ortiz. Also, Michael Kohn has a great name, which is ripe for parody. I mean... its only good for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan jokes, but man... oh the jokes I'll make.
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Jared Weaver gets the ball tonight against the Sox, facing off against Child-Molester Jones... er... John Lackey. This will be Lackey's first start in Anaheim against his old club. With the comments he has made about the Angels management and their fans when signing with the club (and in consequent months), if he gets anything but an enormous boo from the Angels faithful, I will be disappointed. I'd also like for him to pitch really well for the first few innings, but then fall apart in the 5th, for old-times sake. Maybe a 6-run inning? At this point, I want Lackey to fail less so the Angels win, and more so he looks like a fool (with his pants on the ground).
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