Posts Tagged ‘Whittier’

Teixeira for Kotchman? I Just Don’t Know. Posted by Stacy Morrison in Los Angeles Angels July 31st, 2008

19^th in runs scored. 19^th in hits. 22^nd in home runs. 19^th in RBIs. 24^th in total bases. 22^nd in on base percentage. And 22^nd in slugging.

On paper, this doesn’t really sound like a division contending team, let alone the best team in baseball by a fair margin.  But when you factor in 8^th in ERA, 7^th in shutouts, 1^st in saves (by ten saves, between first and second), 25^th in earned runs against (yes, that’s a good thing), a winning starting rotation, a solid bullpen, a slid defense, a consistent running game, and you get the Angels. 

Up until last night at about 5-something eastern time, the Angels were not the media’s favorite team to look at.  In fact, the Angels crept slowly into first place without so much as a sneeze.  It wasn’t until about three weeks after the Angels took first place that ESPN even took notice on their power rankings.  The Angels were clearly the underdogs of 2008, who’s game was so much more old-school than any other teams, besides maybe the Minnesota Twins and a more distant example in the Baltimore Orioles. 

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