The title of this week’s post comes from a quote by Angels outfielder Torii Hunter after a recent skid in which the Angels have dropped 4 straight included being swept by the perennial cellar-dweller Tampa Bay Rays. 

“You just can’t explain it,” said Hunter who managed 3 hits in 13 at-bats during the skid (all coming in Sunday’s loss).

Although the Angels losing streak is the longest of the season, there is much optimism with the way the Angels played.  Despite the losses, the Angels starting pitching remained strong with both Jon Garland and Joe Saunders providing brilliant outings against the Rays.  Pitching isn’t the problem with this squad though.  The Angels hitters have not been able to get consistent because of injuries.  The Angels have already lost Howie Kendrick, Macier Izturis and Chone Figgins to the DL.  Combine that with Garrett Anderson’s slow start and Vladimir Guerrero’s troubles (.268 3HR’s) at the plate and it’s no surprise to see the offense struggle a bit.

That being said, keep in mind the Angels still remain 5 games over .500 and are positioned 2nd in the AL West conference.  From the looks of things early on it appears that the only trouble the Angels will have in the division is Oakland (are you serious Mariners?) and they are playing out of their mind right now.  How does a team that trades away two of its three relative stars (Haren & Swisher) manage to stay consistent?  Well, leading the Majors in ERA (3.29) is one way.  Still, the A’s will have to prove if their rookie arms can continue the type of consistency they have displayed thus far.

–    The Angels are currently 2nd in the Majors in Fielding Percentage (.989), trailing only the Colorado Rockies (.990).

–    Howie Kendrick continues to suffer from a strained Hamstring.  He has now been out of the lineup since April 14th and it is still unknown when he will return to the team.

–    Garrett Anderson is showing signs of life after me and the rest of Section 239 continually doubted him through the first six weeks of the season.  Anderson has 8 hits in the last 4 games he’s started including a triple and a home run.  More importantly Anderson is hitting again in clutch situations, driving in 10 runs in his last 6 games.

–    A fun look inside the life of Torii Hunter.  Torii has made a quick impact on the team and the community.  Oh yeah, and he’s hitting over .300