Week 23 Halo Recap: the good, the bad, the meh (End on a high note)

Pitching matters - and that was no more evident than it was over the weekend when 12 Angels pitchers held the Blue Jays to a combined 1 run over 2 games.  After a week that started out downright depressing, over the weekend we saw some ninja-like slides from Mike Trout, a scoreless start by Alex Meyers, some good pitching and some great offense.  What was not to like about Saturday and Sunday?  The rest of the week?  Not so much.

The Angels get to spend the next week in Texas, playing a team they've been 50/50 against (the Rangers), and another team that has made BBQ out of them (the Astros).

THE GOOD

Mike Trout busted out of his mini slump over the weekend and although he only hit .250, he still had a .379 OBP and took bases like a ninja.  Did you see him take a base on Jose Bautista's gun twice on Sunday? Don't forget this gem on Saturday.

Cliff Pennington finally got his head out of his ass a bit and led the team in hitting with a .313.  He didn't draw a walk in 16 trips to the plate.  How about a little patience dude?

Andrelton Simmons continues to amaze and had a team leading .438 OBP last week (though he did only bat 13 times).  He also hit a homerun and stole two bases.  Sean Newcomb who?

Albert Pujols had a pretty good week and hit HR number 30 on the year.  He also batted .296 with a .321 OBP.

The bullpen had some great showing this past week and I'm talking about AJ Achter, Jose Alvarez, Cody Ege, and JC Ramirez combined for 12 innings and zero runs allowed.

Jhoulys Chacin had a great start of 6 innings with only 1 run allowed (a homerun) and just 3 hits and zero walks.

Ricky Nolasco had a good week despite giving up 4 runs in his first of his pair of starts.  He probably shouldn't have gone out for the 7th in that game and was pulled after putting two runners on base.  Deolis Guerra let those guys in so Nolasco had 4 ER instead of the 2 he should of been charged with.  He followed that start with 6 strong innings of shutout ball in the win on Saturday.

Jered Weaver had a not so impressive .304 BAA, yet he allowed only 2 runs through 6 innings of work.  Another quality start for the Weave.

THE BAD

C.J. Cron didn't have such a hot week and batted only .227 with 5Ks in 22 at bats.

Kole Calhoun tied Yunel Escobar for most K's last week (6) and only hit .200.  At least he managed a .310 OBP.

Jefry Marte also had a bad week and hit just .125.

What the hell was Yunel Escobar doing last week?  He hit only .074 which is the worst week he's had all season (if memory serves me).  He also struck out 6 times and didn't draw a single walk.

Jett Bandy, Ji-Man Choi, Kaleb Cowart, and Carlos Perez combined for absolutely ZERO hits in 23 at bats.  Damn that's horrible.  Not even a single walk among them.

Deolis Guerra gave up 7 hits, 3 walks and 3 earned runs in 3 innings of work.  He also had a batting practice like BAA of .438.

Jose "Exxon" Valdez had a rough week and an 11.57 ERA to show for it.  He struck out 6 but walked 3, gave up 2 homeruns and 3 runs in just 2.1 innings.

Andrew Bailey put Friday's game handily out of reach when came in to pitch the top of the 9th and gave up 3 runs (including a 2-run homer)

Brett Oberholtzer only had one appearance and in those 2 innings he gave up 2 runs (including a homerun).

THE MEH

Nick Buss and Shane Robinson both didn't bat much, but combined they went 3 for 9 (.333) with two stolen bases.

Juan Graterol was 2 for 7 and that's about all I got on him.

Gregorio Petit hit .286 but only had 7 AB

Rafael Ortega got his first hit in what seems like months.  He ended up 2 for 8 on the week with a stolen base.

Official records say that Mike Morin allowed zero earned runs last week, but in the game on Tuesday he allowed a single, a walk and a homerun.  Kaleb Cowart made a fielding error that allowed one runner on base, but I don't understand the scorekeeping here.  After the bases were loaded, Morin surrendered a grand slam to Seth Smith.

Cory Rasmus had mixed appearances in his two trips to the mound.  He didn't look so hot on Saturday, though the one run he was charged with didn't matter much.  He had a great 2014 but in 2015 and 2016 he's been a far cry away from that great year.

Alex Meyer had two mixed starts last week.  His first trip to the mound he gave up 4 runs in 4 innings, but he threw an impressive 5 scoreless innings to lead the Angels to a win on Sunday.  He also struck out 10 over 9 innings of work.

Daniel Wright wasn't horrible in his start, but he did give up 3 runs over only 5 innings.