The streak stops here

I never thought this day would get here. Here we are in the middle of July and 96 games into the season and the Texas Rangers are finally coming to town. Seriously! I mean who put this schedule together?

In any case – I’m looking forward to the three game series which begins tonight. Never mind the Angels debacle in Oakland (losing 3 of 4) and never mind the Rangers current winning streak (they’ve won 11 in a row). Throw all of that out the window. Yeah, that’s right – momentum, streaks and the like are all subject to change at any given moment. And now would be a perfect time for the recent fortunes of each team to change in my opinion.

This is a big series; at least from a fan’s point of view. I mean we all know Mike Scioscia and the players will all say it’s “just another game/series;” however, fans like me look forward to stuff like this. It’s just too bad the Angels are four games back and can’t overtake the Rangers during this short home stand.

The way I see it, the Rangers are due to start losing and the Angels can’t play any worse than they did in Oakland. Yup, the way I see it is that the way things are setting up perfectly. Seems like every time something (be it a player or a team) is going one way it all changes the moment they hit Anaheim. Opposing pitcher winless in last seven starts? Bingo, he’s going to pitch like Cy Young in Anaheim. Opposing hitter smacking homeruns like Hank Aaron? Bam, he’s going to go hitless in Anaheim.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not superstitious in the slightest (okay, maybe just a smidge), but it’s uncanny how this stuff works out. I can’t tell you how many times Terry Smith will be saying something positive or negative about a player or team’s recent history and as soon as I hear that, I’ll look at Cheryl and say something to the effect that the opposite is sure to happen next.

The perfect example is when Justin Verlander rolled into town with a big time winning streak and all kinds of success. Next thing you know – Verlander meets up with the Angels and all of that goes right out the window. I’m telling you it happens all the time.

Coincidence? Perhaps. I don’t know what it is… I just know that it happens pretty frequently and I'm counting on Terry Smith to pour it on thick about how great the Rangers have been of late.

So… all that being said, I’m feeling good about the Angels chances over the next three games. I want this. I want this in the worst way. I want to the Angels to send a message to Texas and more importantly to Angels fans that they mean business and Texas is in for a dog fight from here on out. I’m not asking for much. I just want to see my favorite team compete like I know it can.

Okay… now that all of that is out of the way; let me just say that I’ve been extremely busy of late and haven’t been able to update this blog as much as I’d like. I have a few drafts and things in the works that I hope to get up soon – including posts and photos surrounding Mike Trout’s debut. Please bear with me and thanks!