Sunday lineups typically annoy me to no end.

It IS like Mike just phones in some games from a lineup standpoint. They have an off day tomorrow – they can rest then, no?

This somewhat reminds me of late last year when we just kind of went into cruise control and treated games as things we simply had to do before the playoffs, not things we absolutely had to win.

im glad we’re getting vlad and torii some rest, but i agree to rest both and have a lineup that had willits, wood, rodriguez,, matthews, and mathis in it was basically a giant white flag.

and ya, the rays scare me more than anyone. Theyre basically us but younger and hungrier. Its exactly the type of team we were in 2002 and we are exactly the type of teams we were beating back then en route to that WS….and it scares me

1.) If we play Tampa in Tampa, we will lose.
2.) If we continue to play like we did today, we will play Tampa in Tampa.
3.) If we don’t make it to the Series this year, it’s not getting any easier in the foreseeable future.
4.) If we play well enough to have the best record in baseball for three months and don’t have it at the end, we need to seriously re-evaluate our front office, from Arte to Mike, and figure out why home field advantage doesn’t matter to them.

I’m not saying anything any idiot couldn’t figure out. I don’t give a flying fuck (August) how good we are on the road: Every other AL team is downright mediocre, if not terrible, on the road. Instead of trying to outplay teams in their house, why not force them to figure out how to play in Anaheim? It’s nonsensical, and it is Mike Scioscia’s biggest failing.

And finally, here’s my typical idiot fan side coming out: I get to go to maybe three games a year. It really sucks when I get to a game and don’t get to see Torii Hunter or Vlad Guerrero. It really sucks that my manager phones in a game which can drop his team’s magic number by two and give his closer another save on his way to major league history. It sucks that I have to watch Sean Rodriguez strike out three times in one game and then check-swing groundball his way into a game ending play at first. For once, I’d like to see the damn team win when I see them.

for now, Sunday’s lineup pissed me off, but I’m trying to take small high point from the game and focusing on those (ie Wood had 3 hits, Juan’s homer).

we have an off day tomorrow… i think we’re on the verge of turning the corner again. remember how bad we were all freaking out during May/June? “Oh, we’ll never make the playoffs with THIS offense… Oh, we suck so bad! MAKE TRADES!!!!” Granted, I was a part of all of that… which is exactly why I’m chilling right now.

Playing Texas this weekend was exactly what this team needed. It was a pretty good series for a few potential key players (Speier, Wood, Santana, Weaver), and I think, as I said earlier, things are about to get better one more time.

Hopefully, we’ll make a great run, which should include our starters playing at least 80% of the time, and we’ll steamroll everyone in October.

And how that without immediate rest, some of those aches and pains can turn into serious injuries. This could be why two power hitters could be out of the lineup on the same day.

All teams hide players’ injuries from other competing teams, the public, and the press for various good reasons. Many players hide their injury from their team’s officials for fear of losing playing time or even being replaced. We fans are rarely privy to this information unless we actually see it happen on the field of play or read it in the paper as “day to day” or eventual DL status designation. Equally unusual to hear about are personal and psychological issues a player may be dealing with at any given time.

Health is just one important issue that is held behind clubhouse doors. If we knew every little thing that goes on with a team organization composed of so many players, some decisions we question would probably seem perfectly logical. I’m not saying this is the reason for Soth’s decisions in every instance, but this is what I think of when trying to makes sense of why he puts up some of these rosters when he does.

If the Angels are truly the best team, they will win against whatever team they have to face in any venue they are required to play in. It really just comes down to that.

Our worst possible offense just eked out a loss to the AL’s best offense. We are the dominators. Those Rays have been playing so many games on that turf that they will be sick ass cripples when we come in for the ass-stomping.

Tampa Bay is entering a brutal 19 game stretch where they play NY six times, Boston six times, Toronto three times (anyone that thinks Toronto is a pushover should remember that with Doc on the mound it’s always tough), and the Twinkies four times. They have one day off before the end of the year and double header thrown in there too. The question is not whether they have a better record than the Halos, but whether Boston catches them.

So before anyone jumps off the Vincent Thomas, have little faith that when the games count again (and they haven’t for a while), the boys can ratchet up another level. I’ll worry around the last ten days or so.

of how McCarthy, Nippert, Feldman, and Millwood did against your offense. Now lets replace that with Kazmir, Garza, Shields, and Jackson. I would be praying if I were you guys that you face Minneosta, Boston, or Chicago in the first round.

TX is 2nd in the AL in hitting, even better than most of any of the teams we will face in the playoffs. Our pitching held them to 13 runs in 4 games (that’s 3.25 a game) while we scored 17 (4.25 a game).

If our pitching remains solid, we should have no problem against TB, even in a 5 game series. Their offense is inferior to TX and us. Just get ready for some pitcher’s duels is all.

I’m also banking on the mental edge we will have. I don’t care how hungry the Rays are. I’ll take experience over eagerness anyday. Our guys don’t want the ring any less than theirs.