Mark my words

I don’t know who is going to win between the Rangers and the Orioles today, but I do believe one thing; Joe Saunders will pitch well.  Mark my words.

How do I know this?  It’s really quite simple.  Whenever the so-called experts and baseball analysts of the world come to a consensus on a prediction – they’re usually wrong.  It’s uncanny the way that happens.  I can’t even begin to count how many times their predictions fall short.

It doesn’t matter if their logic is based in sabermetrics or in something more “old school” – they get it wrong a lot.

And to my point - few, if any of them are giving Joe Saunders any kind of a chance.  

Look, I know the “numbers” look bad for Joe.  The experts will tell you that he’s never won in Arlington and his career ERA is above 7.  As a huge Joe Saunders fan, I find some comfort in that because that’s in the past and today is a new day.  Whenever the experts present past performance as a reason for predicted failure, I have to smile.  I mean c'mon - this is America, where the under-dogs always has a chance, right?

After all; life is unpredictable; so why shouldn’t baseball be as well? 

Well, it is and that’s why I believe on this day – we can throw the statistics out the window and believe in the person that is Joe Saunders.  I may be wrong, but I honestly believe Joe will pitch well and give his team a chance to win.  Yes, I’m biased and no, I don’t have any deep analysis to back this up.

This has been a crazy season.  So much of it was totally unpredictable.  Be thankful for that.  If it were that easy to predict outcomes, life – let alone baseball, wouldn’t be much fun.

I’m not an Orioles fan (obviously), but my wife Cheryl and I are huge Joe Saunders fans (and that’s been well documented on this blog).  Are we nervous?  You bet.  Are we excited?  Absolutely. 

Even though our beloved Angels aren’t in the post-season – today’s game holds a great amount of interest for my wife and me.  We’ll be watching, cheering and hanging on every pitch Joe throws.

You have to love post-season baseball.

That screaming you hear is me

This is getting old and it’s getting old; fast. I would really rather write about something other than the Angels losing games. I really would. I mean what can I say that I haven’t said already?

To tell you the truth when Kendry Morales first went down I thought we might be in for a long season. I was bracing myself for exactly that and then; much to my surprise, they decided to play good baseball. They teased me into believing that this team could work some of their magic and rise up and show everyone who the boss was once again.

Apparently, I was duped and I hate it when that happens.

I’d really like to say “don’t worry.” I’d really like to find reasons to believe, but as I said yesterday – this team has to meet me half way. Heck, if they’d even come a third of the way, I’d probably be back to my optimistic self.

It’s hard to be optimistic when you realize the Angels just lost three in a row to the team with the worst record in baseball. Whatever. I went down this road yesterday.

The Angels have lost eight out of their last ten. They’re not even a .500 team any more. Now they head to Detroit who is also struggling (they’re also 2-8 over their last ten games). They have nearly identical records and I suppose something has to give. The thing is the Tigers are actually pretty good at home (36-20), so things don’t look so good for our team.

I can’t believe I’m really writing this stuff. This season is a nightmare. What’s worse is that the Angels even trail the Oakland A’s. I’m going to stop now and walk outside and scream.

All that being said - I'm still a fan. I will still be at games and I will continue to follow them on TV and radio. They're horrible right now, but I still love my Angels.

Now, back to screaming...

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.