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The highs and lows of
the Los Angeles Angels
By BUCKY FOX
of TheColumnists.com
First the high
part of the lineup for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:
The OC.
That’s Orlando Cabrera, one hot shortstop in Orange County.
He steps to the plate, he gets on base. Every game. On June 28
I caught OC’s act at Angel Stadium, and there he was reaching
base for the 56th straight game. That’s not exactly the
stuff of Joe DiMaggio, who jolted hits in 56 straight games.
Cabrera’s streak involved getting on base any way he could:
hit, walk, hit by pitch, popularity contest. Still, the OC owned
the team record. Keep that up another month, and the Outstanding
Colombian would pass Ted Williams’ mark of 84.
The Catcher. That’s Mike Napoli, built like a backstop and
hitting way more than his weight. Scale: 205. Average: .301.
He came up big Wednesday, doubling in the tying run in the seventh
and twice throwing out a would-be stealer. He’s the stuff
of Hollywood--Florida, that is- his hometown. Soon he could be
filling up Rookie of the Year highlight film.
The Pitcher. That’s Jered Weaver, the Angels’ other
Rookie of the Year contender. The tall, skinny righty is 4-0
with a 1.37 earned-run average. Maybe the coolest rookie hurler
since Mark Fidrych. Remember the Bird in 1976? Tall, skinny,
19-9, Rookie of the Year.
Now the low part of the Angels’ lineup:
The Losses. Wednesday’s 6-2 flop to Colorado kept the Angels
dead last in the American League West. Hardly living up to high
hopes for a team that won the division last
year. Problems? Start with defense. The Angels can’t
catch the ball. Or throw it. They keep blowing games with fielding
flubs. Then throw in bum bats. The offense adds up to this: men
on base plus popup equals zero.
The Players. Start with Jered Weaver. Where was the best rookie
pitcher in baseball Wednesday? In the minors. The Angels had
the gall to ship him down to keep the teetering trio of brother
Jeff Weaver, Kelvim Escobar and Bartolo Colon starting. Come
again? The Angels are in the business of winning, not placating
veterans. Jered Weaver has to be the most effective rookie in
history to lose his job.
Good thing the Angels got their halo out of the clouds by the
weekend. They pitched Jeff Weaver overboard and pulled Jered
back up to L.A.
The Manager. Mike Scioscia could be the toughest skipper in baseball.
He led the Angels to sports heaven in 2002 and had them in the
stratosphere the last two years. No one messes with Mike, who
stands ruggedly the way he did as a Dodger catcher in the 1980s.
That’s why it’s hard to fathom how he could stand his
team’s shaky showing in the field and at the plate through
the early part of summer. I wrote this two years ago, and here’s
a replay: Scioscia will leave the Hovering Angels.
All of which will add to the next edition of my book “The
Highflying Angels: Their 50 Greatest Hits, Pitches and Plays.”
©2006 by Bucky Fox. The photo of Orlando Cabrera is courtesy
of the Los Angeles Angels official website. This column first
posted July 3, 2006.
You can visit Bucky Fox's
website at www.BuckyFox.com
Bucky's book on The Los Angeles Angels can be purchased online
through Amazon.com by clicking here: BUY
BOOK.
You can comment
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"The Editors" or Bucky Fox. To send an email, click
here and don't forget to mention Bucky's name: talkback@thecolumnists.com
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