Now, I may not have a lot to complain about considering the Angels are winning their division by just under a hundred games, or so it seems, but I’ve never been one to stop complaining so it’s not about to start now. With the change of the calendar month from August to September, we have officially hit the dog days of fall. Yes, I know the term “dog days” is most often used in association with summer, but I think it fits much better for the Angels in September instead.
You see, there’s no drama with the Angels right now. Rather than a pennant race getting fans excited, they’re more likely interested in the baseball race shown on the scoreboard in at the bottom of the 5th inning (the King always wins!).
As Angel fans count down to the magical number of victories (6) needed to clinch another AL West Championship, skipper Mike Scioscia has already found the time to rest his marquee players (everyone except Teixeira) and with the September call-ups arriving in bunches there will only be more opportunities to do so.
Speaking of the September call-ups, that’s about the most interesting thing that an Angels fan can look forward to this month, that and trying to figure out just exactly where the Angels will clinch their 3rd AL West Title in the last 4 years (My guess is Wednesday, September 10th at home against the Yankees).
There are a number of players that will create a buzz in their brief month debut before the playoffs begin. First on that list has to be right-handed pitcher Kevin Jepsen (please call him on Reagins). Coming off a dominating showing at the Olympics in Beijing (5IP 0ER) Jepsen is on the fast-track to join the Angels. In 53 innings split between AA-Arkansas and AAA-Salt-Lake, Jepsen has posted a 1.84 ERA and has struck out over a batter per inning. More importantly hitters are only batting .208 against the hard-throwing righty and he’s only given up 3 home runs all season. And I seem to remember the Angels being pretty successful the last time they called up a dominant rookie reliever right before the playoffs.
– Angel’s reliever Shane Loux was placed on the 15-day DL due to oral surgery. This is the first time I have seen someone go on the DL for oral surgery, aside from when this happens.
– Another fine example of the dog days of summer/fall at Angels Stadium. You’d think a promotion like this would be necessary in most markets, but Southern California? Really?
– “Right now, we have a good team. We’re not as deep as we were 48 hours ago but we’re a good club and we’re going to keep moving forward.”- Angels manager Mike Scioscia, after injuries to Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar. Losing Howie Kendrick is especially bad, considering he has already missed time this year with a hamstring injury. It was also a bit surprising that the Angels were unable to make an acquisition at the waiver-deadline to help shore up the infield.
– Infielder Brandon Wood recorded his first ever back-to-back multi-hit games for the Angels this week going 2-for-3 on Saturday and 3-for-4 on Sunday. Wood had a great 2nd half of the season at AAA-Salt Lake where he hit .361 and belted 17 home runs.
– Here is an interview that Mark Teixeira did with John Ireland and Mark Willard on 710 ESPN Radio talking about the trade to the Angels and blending in with the clubhouse. If you listen about 5 minutes in you’ll get to hear the Mark Teixeira song by ESPN’s Dick Banks.