Its like…..totally…….killing…..my…..high……..mang…….

Abar will do just fine. He will get in a groove with more consistent everyday play, or we can have Rodriguez come in and be our rookie darling/savior that the press always fawn over.

I was encouraged that Shane Loux pitched well his second time out to the mound.

1) I will miss Izzy…soild and dependable on defense, clutch on offense.
2) The admiral will do just fine, and S-Rod showed earlier this year he is more than adequate as a back-up.
3) In 1995, we were chased by a strong Seattle team. There is no threat in the division this year (Texas losing 7-0 tonight). E number should be down to 25 after tonight.

Yes…just a bump on the road to the post-season.

What happens if he hits in September?
If he can bring his AAA momentum to the bigs, who knows what could happen??

We’re in position to finish off the magic number by our win total alone. texas could win every game for the rest of the season, and we’d still only have to play at our current level to lock things up.

I agree that shit happens in this game, but I sure don’t like the fact that the pen was shaky for 2 straight days and the loss of Izzy is not something to just shrug off as “oh well we can just use B. Wood or S-Rod”. Izzy/Aybar worked, and Izzy was on fire in the 2 hole. Loss of Izzy does not hurt the team in its run at the AL West but it could be huge in October. I Hope Not!!

Neither one has shown the ability to hit big league pitching, and between the 2 they have 1 start and 13 innings at SS. Shortstop runs the defense. It is a primary / high profile position Rev. not something that you easily replace. The nice thing with Izzy was he has had some time in the bigs and brings some playoff experience.

To say loss of Gary DiSarcina did not sink the California Angels is far off Rev. Guy made the All-Star game and even sucked up a few MVP votes. He may not have been the sole reason, but it was a BIG REASON.

The club was 10 up in the AL West and by the time he got back they had a 1 game lead. DeeSar was raking (.317 / .355 / .473). DeeSars injury was a disaster, the team attempted a shortstop-by-committee approach when DiSarcina tore a ligament in his left thumb sliding into second base in August. The Angels started four different players in the position, and the result was a comedy of errors, and the offense production was absent as well. The club was 16-27 during his time out of the lineup. That 1995 injury exposed the depth of the team. The bench was awful. Jose "Chico " Lind

The bigfox broadcast seems to be in a pattern of win-lose-win-lose….

tells me that Aybar is a slightly better offensive player (“clutch”-iness notwithstanding); my eyes tell me that he’s a better defensive player too. ALL IS WELL. NOBODY PANIC. ALL IS WELL.

E. Aybar and his inability to field the hard hit ground ball at him Friday and Wed.

Of course neither was an error. Wed because he scrambled to get the ball and force the runner at 2nd base (routine DP ball), and the hard hit one he missed tonight that the home town scorekeeper gave a hit. Sorry but above avg. big league SS make that play.

SS play ……..E. Aybar has 12 errors and FLD% .964 (career .954)

SS play……..M. Izturis has 2 errors and FLD% .991 (career .972)

Great post in places … but inaccurate in one.

DiSarcina was born, is and remains a Chowd, but he was incredibly loyal to the Angels, and especially to his teammates. He was probably the most popular guy in the clubhouse on most of the Angels teams he played for (possibly because he would spend hours before games sanding bat handles for any teammate who wanted them sanded).

So, in a rare quibble with one of your posts …
—Yes, DiSar’s injury in 1995 is overblown in terms of Angels folklore, as you have well put it …
—Yes, as you hilariously pointed out, DiSarcina is a CHOWD.
— But DiSarcina was a cool guy, a great teammate and very important to that Angels team.

But it doesn’t really matter anyway, because 1995 didn’t really happen, and even if it did it has no bearing on the 2008 season whatsoever.

… totally agree with you on your final point. Watching Brandon Wood play shortstop as a September preview of perhaps 2009, and hopefully hitting a few bombs and gunning guys out from the hole, is potentially a sweeeeeeet upside to the Izturis news.

idiot GM Bill Bavasi did nothing to help the team at the trade deadline

… or before then in the offseason when it could have done the most good. Bavasi never exhibited the signs of knowing how to run a ballclub, either in Anaheim or with the Mariners.

No need to jump off of any bridges or to begin drinking the ’95 Kool-Aid.

I’m kind of interested to see how this bounces back from a losing streak since they haven’t been faced with a spirit crushing team slump all year.

Just gotta stay healthy.