So the season is on it's last leg, last month... it's bittersweet for me. I enjoy the summer, having a game to watch every day, and looking ahead knowing there are like 200 more games. At this point in the season, there are about 25 games or so left, and I can feel it drawing to a close. It's an exciting time, because the races are getting close, and the post-season is no longer a long-off goal, but eminent, just around the corner. But it's the end of the season for so many, so soon, and the post-season itself is just an elimination game.
So I'm both excited and sad at this point. I'm not looking forward to the off-season, I hate the winter. I'll have to be more into football this year, just to keep up with some kind of sport. I remember how tortured I was last year in the off-season. I couldn't wait for march to roll around. It seems so far away.
- But I'm not going to depress myself by thinking of that right now. Think happy thoughts think happy thoughts...
Last night's game definitely wasn't a great one. I'm surprised it ended as close as it did. Escobar wasn't hitting his spots, location was off. But everyone is allowed one of those days. I'm not worried at all. Especially with Seattle losing their 8th in a row. That was a short-lived stint in first place, but I think we can probably get it back. At least the general concensus says the Angels are ther most balanced team with the least weaknesses (yes, I know I've already said this, but it really begs repeating. It's too good to pass up, how often does the media give the Angels that kind of credit? The answer is, "NOT.") There are still several games left, and the only necessity the Angels have of being in first place in all of the Majors is for home-field advantage. Which would definitely benefit the team with the best home-record...
Hopefully today's game will be better, and the Angels will have another series win under their belt, and can add another win. I was hoping to see them get to 100 wins this year, but that seems not impossible but more unlikely. I'm not even sure Boston will do it either, they haven't been playing very consistently as of late. If anything, right now, the Angels and the Red Sox seem a very likely match up for the AL division title. That's definitely my prediction. It'll just depend on where the games will be played. I'm not sure where to place the Indians right now, but I'm sure it will be them, Boston, the Angels, and I'm going to guess that the Yankees will hold out long enough to get the wildcard (I don't see Seattle unburying themselves far enough out of the hole they crawled into from this slump lately). I'm still going to assume it'll be Boston and the Angels in the AL, though who will prevail, I'm not entirely sure. It's two different styles of baseball, and the last series of the season will be more telling of the momentum either team will take into the playoffs. If the games are at home for the Angels, I think they'll pull it out against Boston and make it to the World Series. If it's in Fenway, it will be very very close.
In the NL, sheesh. The east will probably be maintained by the Mets, though I'm really pulling for the Phillies. And if they don't get the east, I'll pull for them in the wildcard, which is probably too much of a stretch because of how close the race in the west has become. The race between the Cubs and the Brewers is still just as close as ever; the Cubs, with Soriano, probably have a better chance than the Brewers, but for some reason I think it will be the Brewers right at the end. That leaves the west, which is just insane. At this point, I don't think the Dodgers will be a threat, even though it was predicted at the beginning of the year that it would be an all LA World Series (which would be amazing, knowing that the Angels pretty much always destroy the Dodgers ha!) but I'm reluctant to call that one. I think it'll probably be the Padres, as long as their pitching continues to remain as consistent as it has been. That leaves the wildcard to the Diamondbacks this year, unless some of the other teams have some really crazy winning streaks as well.
It's still really too close to make even an educated prediction of what will happen, especially since I haven't been following much of the NL teams this year, outside of what I read and what I see of the Mets games that are occassionally on, or of whoever the Dodgers play. All I can do is continue to push for the Angels, of course. I'd love to have watched this entire season, missing only about three weeks total of games (two of those were because of a Northwest tour I was on with my school's music department - it was torture to miss, I assure you- and other random commitments), to have watched the progress and growth of the team and see them pull it together and accomplish their goal.
In Other News:
Straight from the Angels Official Site:
Rivera next, Aybar on way: Right-handed power pitchers Jason Bulger and Rich Thompson arrived from Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday to provide bullpen depth for Scioscia. Outfielder Juan Rivera's big day comes on Sunday when he rejoins the Angels after recovering from a broken leg suffered in December.
"Juan is a guy who can bring some instant offense to a club," Scioscia said of Rivera, who has 15 RBIs in 14 games at Salt Lake, batting .232. "We'll see how he works in. He's able to play some outfield."
EEEE!!!
Game at 5, Lackey's up, going for number 17. Can he do it? YES HE CAN!
No comments:
Post a Comment