Give me a reason to believe

I’d really like to believe the Angels can and will climb back into the AL West race, but they have to meet me half way. They have to give me a reason to believe. If you can’t beat the Baltimore Orioles; who have the worst record in baseball, who can you beat?

The Orioles won their 34th game today and their second in a row. Teams looking to win pennants, especially teams who trail the leader by eight games can’t afford to lose a game, let alone two games to the team with the worst record in baseball. Well, that’s what happened today as the Angels fell 9-7. Hello?

Never mind that they tried to rally after being down 9-1. Never mind that Peter Bourjos went 2 for 4 with a stolen base. Never mind the 17 hits they pounded out today. Never mind the four stolen bases. At the end of the day, none of it means a darn thing.

They still lost and moral victories don’t mean squat to this fan. At least not yet. I want more. I want a reason to believe and nothing delivers that message better than winning. It’s as simple as that.

I don’t care that they have seven of their last fourteen games against Texas. If they don’t start winning now, the last two weeks will be meaningless. I’m getting a little tried of the kool-aid being served by some of the sports talk radio folks and others on the internet message boards who are so sure that Texas will fade and the Angels will catch fire.

They keep saying it’s not over. And even though they’re technically correct – the writing is on the wall.

There is no evidence what-so-ever to support the belief that they can come from behind to win the west. Last year and every year prior really doesn’t mean a darn thing. It’s a new day and a new history is being written.

I’m tired of waiting for Texas to fail. It doesn’t appear to be happening. The Angels need to get after it and start taking names and kicking butt. They need to beat up on the Baltimore Orioles of the world. They need to start… wait… are you ready for this… they need to start winning!

Meanwhile, I have to send our some big time props to Joe Saunders who pitched a complete game five hitter yesterday as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Washington Nationals 6-1.

I’m not saying the Angels made a bad trade. I’m just happy for Joe and I wish him all the best. I’m sure most Angel fans feel the same way.

Besides, by focusing on Joe I can end today’s post on a positive note. And to that end, here's a couple of photos from Joe's opening day start in 2009.