Monday, April 16, 2007

Dimly lit Halos

The LA Angels of Knotts Berry Farm are probably the worst preseason playoff favorite. The Yanks have injuries throughout their lineup and rotation, the Twins are playing for time with a makeshift rotation, the Jays have injuries, the RedSawx are completely fine. No team in the AL is appreciably better than the RedSax 7-4, but the Angels are definitely worse: this weekend they went to Fenway and got clocked in each of the three games by an aggregate of 25-3 (8-1, 10-0, 7-2). Two of the losing pitchers are part of the staff that has been touted as the best in baseball, Erwin Santana and John Lackey.

The Angels don't hit well, and they flat out cannot match up with the RedSawx (see ALDS 2004). No, The Monk still has no clue why they can beat the Yanks constantly but not belong on the same field as the RougeStiffs. The Monk thinks the AL West is ripe for the taking if any other team can step up and win 92 games. If Rich Harden's arm problem is as minor as the A's are currently claiming, then they would be the team to do it . . . especially if they keep getting dramatic shots from scrubs like Marco Scutaro to pull games from thin air.

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