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thehatfield · 10-13-2007, 03:06 PM

Next Up: 3-game series on the road against Los Angeles Angels

This series against the Angels begins a stretch of 13 games in 13 days against good teams (Texas, New York Yankees, and Boston being the other clubs). If ever our mettle was going to be tested it was right here in this critical stretch as we have the opportunity to put the division out of reach heading into September especially if we beat up on our divisional opponents. The problem is that these guys aren’t the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Aside from the Angels, everyone has been playing very good baseball for the last month. Los Angeles though are now 11 games over .500 at 61-50 and they’ve allowed the Rangers to sneak past them into second place (and into the Wild Card lead) by a game. Losing the leading American League MVP candidate (Danilo “Silencer” Tabarez) to injury for the rest of the season has easily caused L.A.’s recent woes and they serve as a constant reminder to our players to avoid getting down on ourselves since the loss of Dome Guevaro.

The Angels’ struggles this year have been magnified by their $126.3 million payroll which is the fourth highest in all of baseball. General Manager Cass Evans and manager Andy Simmons are squarely on the hotseat as nothing less than a playoff berth will likely save their jobs. On the field, the Angels have a lot riding on two 39-year old starting pitchers, Spike Burkill (219 career wins) and junkballer Andy MacChlerich (218 career wins). Their 38-year old closer Abram O’Cahan has also been under a tremendous amount of fire from Angels fans who want either 33-year old New Jersian Tony Gaborde or 23-year old youngster Steele Slee closing out games for them. 40-year old Mark Teixeira is still hitting .288 but has just 8 home runs in 375 at-bats, on pace for the worst power totals of his first ballot Hall of Fame career. This will probably be the first season in his 19-year career Major League career where Teixeira doesn’t hit at least 23 home runs. His 707 home runs currently has him 21 homers behind Barry Bonds for the all-time lead. Third baseman Kenneth Coeyman and center fielder Phillips Wortman are the current leaders in the clubhouse and on the field for the former California Angels.

No changes to our lineup and no one was getting a rest until we got back home for the Yankees next week so everyone was prepared to play for at least the next six consecutive nights. There was a chance Travis Byers was going to move up to the #4 slot in the batting order. Francisco Quinenes seems to have a little more pop in his bat than Byers but Quinenes also seems to strikeout a bit too much in what could be a rally-killing spot. We were going to keep an eye on the situation over the next couple of series.

Current Lineup
1. Yamasita, CF, L (3-for-12 vs. right handed pitchers so far this month)
2. Galdames, SS, R (7-for-13 vs. Tampa in last series)
3. Revelez, LF, S (hitting .417 in 6 games this month)
4. Quinenes, DH, R (hitting below .200 since Guevaro injury)
5. Byers, RF, R (1-for-14 vs. Tampa in last series)
6. Arce, 1B, L (3-for-20 with 1 home run during recent rough stretch)
7. Alison, C, R (15-for-63 [.238] with men in scoring position this season)
8. Johnson, 2B, R (7-for-11 vs. Tampa Bay in last series)
9. Volquez, 3B, R (hitting .190 over his last 6 games)

Monday, August 9, 2021
Game 112 at Los Angeles Angels
3-0 Loss; 36,846 in attendance
W: Collins (8-8) L: Nakamura (16-4)

Recap: Phillips Wortman put the Angels out in front 1-0 in the 1st inning with a 405-foot solo blast to left field off Nori Nakamura. The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the 4th inning when left fielder Paul Cantrell blooped a single to center field which scored Kenneth Coeyman from second base. On the other side of the hill lefty Steve Collins was causing us all sorts of problems with excellent control as he allowed 3 hits and struck out 5 without issuing a walk through the first 5 innings. L.A. stretched the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the 5th on a sacrifice fly but it could have been much worse as Nakamura had loaded the bases with no outs but he asked manager Jeff Hance to stay in the game during a visit to the mound and he proceeded to work out of trouble with just the one run allowed in the inning. In the top of the 6th inning Steve Collins was saying he already had all the run support he needed with big strikeouts of Mumbles Yamasita and Edgard Galdames, two men who are fairly tough to strike out. Terry Rogers came on in relief of Nakamura and threw two scoreless innings for us but the night belonged to Collins. The 28-year old Player of the Game finished up allowing 6 hits and 1 walk on just 103 pitches while striking out 8 and picking off a baserunner in his first complete game and first shutout of the season.

Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Game 113 at Los Angeles Angels
2-0 Win; 37,103 in attendance
W: Villaluazo (5-3) L: Burkill (14-10)

Recap: What a difference a day makes as today the bounces all went our way in a 3-hit shutout for 25-year old Neifi Villaluazo as he outdueled one of the best starting pitchers and certainly one of the most intense competitors in the league over the last 15 years in L.A.’s Spike “Barbwire” Burkill. Villaluazo walked four and struck out seven but was never really in serious danger all night as he cruised through the Angels on 112 pitches for his first complete game and first shutout of the season. Mumbles Yamasita and Teddy Revelez both had two hits and each drove in a run with a solo homer. Burkill gave up both runs on 6 hits total with 2 walks while striking out 9 in 7 innings of work. Larry Alison also had two hits for us.

Wednesday, August 11, 2021
Game 114 at Los Angeles Angels
6-0 Win; 30,224 in attendance
W: Dickson (17-2) L: MacChlerich (12-6)

Recap: A 4 o’clock start to this game featured a great pitching matchup with 26-year old rising star Rowley Dickson butting heads with 218-game winner Andy MacChlerich but in the bottom of the 2nd inning back-to-back homers by Larry Alison and Ripley Johnson put us out in front 3-0. In the top of the 5th inning we chased MacChlerich with three more runs including Teddy Revelez’s 100th RBI of the season on a bases loaded single. Daniel Jester came on in relief and would not only get out of the inning but go on to throw 4 innings of scoreless relief in a great performance to save the bullpen for the Angels. But Rowley Dickson would go on to fire his way to his 4th shutout of the season (tops in MLB) in a 5 hit, 1 walk, 9 strikeout performance that of course saw him named Player of the Game. Dickson lowered his season ERA to 2.23 with the victory. After the game Dickson commented in a rather low-key way that he did a good job of keeping the ball down and that was the key to his success on the afternoon.

Current Oakland Record: 75-39

Pretty wild to see three shutouts in a series; our crack research team is frantically attempting to see when the last time this happened was. A good result in the finale and now we were facing a very big series with the Rangers who sit 11½ games behind us in the division in sole possession of second place.

10-13-2007, 03:06 PM	#136
thehatfield All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: dirty jerz Posts: 1,339	Next Up: 3-game series on the road against Los Angeles Angels This series against the Angels begins a stretch of 13 games in 13 days against good teams (Texas, New York Yankees, and Boston being the other clubs). If ever our mettle was going to be tested it was right here in this critical stretch as we have the opportunity to put the division out of reach heading into September especially if we beat up on our divisional opponents. The problem is that these guys aren’t the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Aside from the Angels, everyone has been playing very good baseball for the last month. Los Angeles though are now 11 games over .500 at 61-50 and they’ve allowed the Rangers to sneak past them into second place (and into the Wild Card lead) by a game. Losing the leading American League MVP candidate (Danilo “Silencer” Tabarez) to injury for the rest of the season has easily caused L.A.’s recent woes and they serve as a constant reminder to our players to avoid getting down on ourselves since the loss of Dome Guevaro. The Angels’ struggles this year have been magnified by their $126.3 million payroll which is the fourth highest in all of baseball. General Manager Cass Evans and manager Andy Simmons are squarely on the hotseat as nothing less than a playoff berth will likely save their jobs. On the field, the Angels have a lot riding on two 39-year old starting pitchers, Spike Burkill (219 career wins) and junkballer Andy MacChlerich (218 career wins). Their 38-year old closer Abram O’Cahan has also been under a tremendous amount of fire from Angels fans who want either 33-year old New Jersian Tony Gaborde or 23-year old youngster Steele Slee closing out games for them. 40-year old Mark Teixeira is still hitting .288 but has just 8 home runs in 375 at-bats, on pace for the worst power totals of his first ballot Hall of Fame career. This will probably be the first season in his 19-year career Major League career where Teixeira doesn’t hit at least 23 home runs. His 707 home runs currently has him 21 homers behind Barry Bonds for the all-time lead. Third baseman Kenneth Coeyman and center fielder Phillips Wortman are the current leaders in the clubhouse and on the field for the former California Angels. No changes to our lineup and no one was getting a rest until we got back home for the Yankees next week so everyone was prepared to play for at least the next six consecutive nights. There was a chance Travis Byers was going to move up to the #4 slot in the batting order. Francisco Quinenes seems to have a little more pop in his bat than Byers but Quinenes also seems to strikeout a bit too much in what could be a rally-killing spot. We were going to keep an eye on the situation over the next couple of series. Current Lineup 1. Yamasita, CF, L (3-for-12 vs. right handed pitchers so far this month) 2. Galdames, SS, R (7-for-13 vs. Tampa in last series) 3. Revelez, LF, S (hitting .417 in 6 games this month) 4. Quinenes, DH, R (hitting below .200 since Guevaro injury) 5. Byers, RF, R (1-for-14 vs. Tampa in last series) 6. Arce, 1B, L (3-for-20 with 1 home run during recent rough stretch) 7. Alison, C, R (15-for-63 [.238] with men in scoring position this season) 8. Johnson, 2B, R (7-for-11 vs. Tampa Bay in last series) 9. Volquez, 3B, R (hitting .190 over his last 6 games) Monday, August 9, 2021 Game 112 at Los Angeles Angels 3-0 Loss; 36,846 in attendance W: Collins (8-8) L: Nakamura (16-4) Recap: Phillips Wortman put the Angels out in front 1-0 in the 1st inning with a 405-foot solo blast to left field off Nori Nakamura. The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the 4th inning when left fielder Paul Cantrell blooped a single to center field which scored Kenneth Coeyman from second base. On the other side of the hill lefty Steve Collins was causing us all sorts of problems with excellent control as he allowed 3 hits and struck out 5 without issuing a walk through the first 5 innings. L.A. stretched the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the 5th on a sacrifice fly but it could have been much worse as Nakamura had loaded the bases with no outs but he asked manager Jeff Hance to stay in the game during a visit to the mound and he proceeded to work out of trouble with just the one run allowed in the inning. In the top of the 6th inning Steve Collins was saying he already had all the run support he needed with big strikeouts of Mumbles Yamasita and Edgard Galdames, two men who are fairly tough to strike out. Terry Rogers came on in relief of Nakamura and threw two scoreless innings for us but the night belonged to Collins. The 28-year old Player of the Game finished up allowing 6 hits and 1 walk on just 103 pitches while striking out 8 and picking off a baserunner in his first complete game and first shutout of the season. Tuesday, August 10, 2021 Game 113 at Los Angeles Angels 2-0 Win; 37,103 in attendance W: Villaluazo (5-3) L: Burkill (14-10) Recap: What a difference a day makes as today the bounces all went our way in a 3-hit shutout for 25-year old Neifi Villaluazo as he outdueled one of the best starting pitchers and certainly one of the most intense competitors in the league over the last 15 years in L.A.’s Spike “Barbwire” Burkill. Villaluazo walked four and struck out seven but was never really in serious danger all night as he cruised through the Angels on 112 pitches for his first complete game and first shutout of the season. Mumbles Yamasita and Teddy Revelez both had two hits and each drove in a run with a solo homer. Burkill gave up both runs on 6 hits total with 2 walks while striking out 9 in 7 innings of work. Larry Alison also had two hits for us. Wednesday, August 11, 2021 Game 114 at Los Angeles Angels 6-0 Win; 30,224 in attendance W: Dickson (17-2) L: MacChlerich (12-6) Recap: A 4 o’clock start to this game featured a great pitching matchup with 26-year old rising star Rowley Dickson butting heads with 218-game winner Andy MacChlerich but in the bottom of the 2nd inning back-to-back homers by Larry Alison and Ripley Johnson put us out in front 3-0. In the top of the 5th inning we chased MacChlerich with three more runs including Teddy Revelez’s 100th RBI of the season on a bases loaded single. Daniel Jester came on in relief and would not only get out of the inning but go on to throw 4 innings of scoreless relief in a great performance to save the bullpen for the Angels. But Rowley Dickson would go on to fire his way to his 4th shutout of the season (tops in MLB) in a 5 hit, 1 walk, 9 strikeout performance that of course saw him named Player of the Game. Dickson lowered his season ERA to 2.23 with the victory. After the game Dickson commented in a rather low-key way that he did a good job of keeping the ball down and that was the key to his success on the afternoon. Current Oakland Record: 75-39 Pretty wild to see three shutouts in a series; our crack research team is frantically attempting to see when the last time this happened was. A good result in the finale and now we were facing a very big series with the Rangers who sit 11½ games behind us in the division in sole possession of second place. __________________ AFBL - Maryland Bridegrooms SBC - Western Suburbs Magpies no pressure no problem Last edited by thehatfield; 10-13-2007 at 03:16 PM.