The race to be baseball’s best is well and truly on, and over the next few weeks baseball fans are going to be gorged with some really good baseball, but at the end of the day, and probably in Anaheim’s case if they go down to the defending World Series champs, the mistakes that some players are going to make are going to cost them games if not this first round of the playoffs.
Today I had the pleasure of watching the once cursed Red Sox take it to the Anaheim Angels, and unlike the regular season where the Angels won eight of nine against the Red Sox, they went down 4-1 because they couldn’t rally enough offense against the hot pitching of Jon Lester who went seven innings while only giving up one run. Boston had things going their way from the sixth inning on while Anaheim lost their 11 straight to the Red Sox in post season play, that despite the opinion of baseball experts that the Angels were the best team in baseball.
They certainly didn’t look like the best team today, and if they continue to play like they did today they’ll be gone as faster than Vladimir Guerrero can run from first to third with one out. Boy did Guerrero make a glaring mistake today and as far as DSOS is concerned if it wasn’t for him attempting to gain third base (he was the tying run by the way) from first base on a hit that barely made it past first base, the game result could have weighed in the Angel’s favour.
Guerrero who isn’t blessed with much speed as a base runner (he carries a lot of weight), thought he could round second and make it to third before the 2007 Gold Glove winner could throw the ball to third, and he ignored the second base coach who told him to hold up. What a selfish, and utterly stupid thing to do. He was tagged out a good twelve feet from third base, and more importantly he was the second out. It was that moment that took the wind out of Anaheim’s sails as far as DSOS is concerned, and Anaheim fans began heading for the exits.
Guerrero would not make another appearance at the plate. Such is the life of a Designated Hitter.
Guerrero should be taken out of the line-up until he loses some weight, and/or learns to follow instructions from the base coaches as far as DSOS is concerned, but the Angels need his bat and that isn’t going to happen.
They can take keep him out of right field though, which is what the Angels did in game one, but he is a power hitter and the last thing the Angels want is for them not to be able to call on his power hitting late in the game with the go ahead run in scoring position. He’ll be in the line-up on Friday, and maybe then he can redeem himself.
Man he was slow rounding second. Whatever gave him the idea that he could outrun the throwing arm of first baseman Youkilis anyway?
Even the fastest of base runners would have known better than to try and outrun a Youkilis throw to third base.
Game 2 should be a better game for the Angels behind All Star pitcher Erbin Santana, but at the end of the day all the good pitching in the world isn’t going to matter if players aren’t going to do as they are told, or if the Angels can’t drive in base runners.
Can Anaheim fans say “sweep” for the second year in a row?
By the way, GO PHILLIES!
