WeatherWonk

On a night with a very generous strike zone (for pitchers), Mahle seems to be having a lot of trouble throwing strikes.

Is it just me, or does Cron seem like a complete doofus?

It's good to see a fired up Gia. He's fun to watch, especially since it appears he can now field the ball. I hope he builds on this game. I dont want to see some combination of an AAA player at third and Escobar at 2nd.

Calhoun still on the outside, looking in. Hey, this could be a big win, if we can hang on. Big comeback and big contributions by some slumping hitters; Escobar, Gia, Cron, Perez.

i've followed country music since the early 60s. I'd say my favorite country artists are (not in any particular order) Hank Williams, Marty Robbins, Bob Wills and George Jones. I can still appreciate what a talent Prince was. Surely you can remember the song (Tonight I'm gonna party like it's) 1999? It really was the anthem of the turning of the millennium.........and it was written 18 years before 2000.

I'm trying to think of a more influential, more creative person in pop/rock, who basically got their start in the 80s, than Prince. I cant come up with one. He basically pulled pop/rock out of the doldrums of the disco era. Punk played a bit of a role, but it wasnt a genre that lasted very long. Of the influential groups that came from that movement, maybe only the Police and The Ramones turned out to be that significant. I suppose one could point to Madonna in pop, but she didnt play any instruments and didnt write songs the way Prince did. Prince was immensely more talented than Madonna, IMO. He produced several albums where he played nearly all the instruments on them. He was like the Stevie Wonder of the 80s, in a sense. Yeah, his first moderately popular album was released in late October, 1979, but even that didn't generate significant sales until after 1980. He was a creature of the 80s and MTV and the 80s, thank God, saved us from disco. He deserves all the accolades he is getting, upon his death. Sure, his popularity had dwindled. Pop music when in another direction in the 90s (mostly bad hip hop) and it's really never recovered, IMO. It's to his credit that he didn't simply follow along with the direction. Prince was never a follower. It took me a while to accept the androgynous aspect of his persona (much as it took me a while to accept Bowie) but there was never any lack of acceptance in his music for me.

I dont see how you can KNOW that. Only Albert KNOWS why he did it. I also dont thing the opposing pitcher KNOWS that Albert did that out of frustration. I thought it was a bad precedent to set (flipping a bat in frustration or for whatever), for all the reasons that Trout gives for NOT doing it. It just antagonizes the other team, however it was intended.

Has Albert his ofer 30 yet? Last time I was paying close attention him (I have been averting my eyes when he bats), he was 0 for 21 and Terry Smith said it was the longest hitless streak of his career.

Yeah, and supposedly no injuries to blame it on, this time. We gotta keep him in the lineup, but leaving him at cleanup (and behind Trout) is just ridiculous. Now that Trout has heated up and Albert continues to struggle, watch how many walks Trout starts to get. We dont need Trout walking, we need Trout HITTING! A high OBP is wasted in the #3 slot, ahead of Albert. We need to keep the opposing pitchers/managers honest by putting Calhoun behind Trout. Fewer DPs, too. Cron hitting for avg and power is so important to this lineup. It would allow us to go something like: Escobar Trout Calhoun Albert Cron etc. etc. Or even reversing Albert and Cron. If Ortega keeps hitting, he might be nice at 9th, as a table setter once the lineup turns over.

Ned Yost doesnt. Bruce Bochey doesn't. They often hold them in reserve. Is Cruz a left handed batter? Heck, Alvarez couldnt even get out the lefties. He, of the 1.50 WHIP as a situational leftie. He's now given up 10 hits and a walk in his last seven appearances.

There is no "meat of our order" right now. Of course, Alvarez was not the answer in the 10th. He had to face their best hitters. I'd prefer Street do that, WHEN YOU HAVE A CHOICE. MS had a choice. He just usually makes the wrong one, when it comes to bullpen management.

I REALLY dont like the way Scioscia uses the pen, for the most part. That's half the problem. Take last night, for instance. He brings in Street in the ninth to face the bottom of Seattle's weak lineup. Same old stupid Scioscia. He refuses to consider holding his closer in his pocket in a tie game in the ninth. Other, better managers do it all the time. So what happens? He brings in Alvarez to face the meat of the Mariners lineup in the 10th. Stoooooopid!!!

All right! Cron's HR pulls us into a tie for 27th place!!!

HR by Kole gives the Angels 8 in 17 games. Angels rank 28th in HRs, 29th in SLG and 28th in OPS. That schtinks.

Will Mike ever think to start Trout?

I disagree. Nava/Gentry was expected to do more than this. And I would take Gia being on a similar offensive pace that he was on last year. Why should we just write off two positions? Even IF/WHEN both Trout and Albert get going, it's not enough to carry a club, day in and day out. Besides, they will eventually slump again. Even with the recent fireworks by Soto, we are not good, offensively, at catcher, either. About middle of the pack at DH. Plenty of blame to go around, besides Trout and Albert.

Well, we not getting anything out of 2nd base or left field, either We rank 15th and 14th respectively, in the AL at those positions. Now, it appears that Escobar has cooled off.

Let's face it. This offensive funk is going to have to be solved by the current cast of characters. No farm hands. No budget for a FA. No trade bait, that hasnt already been traded.

Lackey with another RBI. He now has half as many as Trout in about 1/10 the ABS.

What'd I tell ya! Hector is looking like our numero uno.

I am on the Cubs bandwagon! Angels, Cubs WS! Seven games!!

I like what I'm seeing from Hector. Ok, so he gave up a couple dingers to a hot Marcus Semien. While he hasnt been lights out, I think he looks better than last year, so far. He is generally hitting corners with all his pitches. So far, his BB/9 are 60% lower than his career average. Walks were always his problem, to me.

Amen, brutha! I see the NHL has recently hit on calling their playoffs "the most exciting playoffs". I have to agree.

My biggest worry, offensively, is that by the time Trout comes around, Escobar and or Calhoun will have cooled off. I hope not, but it seems like we never have 3-4 guys hot at once. Albert will probably never hit above .260 for the rest of his career.

Here's a thought. After going 0-9 to start the season, the Atlanta Braves and the Minnesota Twins have only two fewer wins than the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. There, but for the grace of Oakland, goes us............