Angels on a rare road slide
Friday's defeat, combined with one at Washington on Wednesday means the Angels have lost consecutive road games for the first time since May 7-11 when they lost four in a row (one at KC and three at Tampa Bay). Friday's 6-0 defeat to the Dodgers was just the third time the Angels have been shut out this season. They were also shut out May 9 and 10 at Tampa Bay.
At least Vladimir Guerrero managed to extend his hitting streak to 16 games, but had to do it on an infield single. He is batting .426 (26-for-61) during his hit streak to raise his average from .251 to its current .290.
The Angels just aren't playing well at home this year. I hope they're looking at staying in an LA hotel tonight. They need to leave town and stay on the road. The 2008 Angels are a bad home team but great on the road. No more home games please.
As for Vlad and hitting in consecutive games, I don't care. If he kills rallies but gets a single when it doesn't matter it means nothing. How about not talking about a hit streak unless the hit drives in a run? I hate meaningless streaks like consecutive games with a hit. It didn't help us win the game.
The other night against the Nats GA had two K's and a GIDP. His last at-bat though he drove in the winning run. That's all I care about. If the one hit won us the game.
Brian,
Part of me agrees with your point about big hits only being big when they actually matter. But part of me also can't help appreciating the pure showmanship of the sport. Take the Home Run Derby -- none of it really "matters," but it's such a massively revered showcase of the big hitters' talent.
Vlad snagged it last year and despite his will-be-won't-he backandforthing this year, based on how he's prepping it seems like he's a force to be reckoned with:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hs8xiN2Y9d8
So, yeah, maybe it won't "matter" in RBI terms. But, come on, it's called "the national pastime" for one main reason: entertainment. And entertainment this sure is.