Game Recap 7/3/2012: Backing down – Indians 9, Angels 5
What a shocker. Dan Haren stunk up the joint… again. Only this time he admitted after the start that his back was bothering him… still.
I am Jack’s complete lack of surprise.
All along, the most probable explanation for his poor performance has been recurrence (assuming they ever actually went away) of his lower back pain. Now Danny will be heading back to Anaheim for some tests and likely spending some time on the disabled list.
Avoidable? Perhaps. Maybe if he took a DL stint earlier this could be cleared up already.
Admirable? Sort of. On one hand, you have to appreciate him gutting out the last few weeks since the Angels had Weaver then Williams on the DL. If he had also succumbed to injury, the Halos basically have nobody to come up and take his place. On the other hand, the Angels might’ve won more games had he gotten himself right instead of pitching like a Triple-A scrub that would’ve taken his place. It is frustrating, but it is hard to be too mad at him (though the reactions I am seeing on Twitter seem to show that people are trying real hard to prove me wrong).
At least it is all out in the open now and the team can address his potential loss with the trade deadline looming.
Game Notes
- Hey, rain! Knock it off!!! Losing a game like this one is hard enough, but we really could’ve done without the two lengthy delays in the later innings when the outcome was more or less already decided. Why you gotta rub it in?
- Yeah, I think Mike Trout’s finger is just fine, but thanks for asking.
- When did Aybar get his average up to .265? Was this in the news? That’s, like, kinda sorta respectable or some junk. Oh, his OBP is still under .300? And his wOBA is a Wellsian .286? Never mind then.
- Jokes aside, even though they lost this game, you have to admire the resiliency of the lineup. To battle back from that early four-run deficit to take the lead was something that was unfathomable back in April, but now it is something they do with relative ease. I actually found myself almost expecting it. Heck, I even called Mike Trout’s home run while Hester was still up. OK, I called it to myself, in my own head, but you’ll have to take my word for it. Even after the Tribe took the lead back, I still very much thought the Halos could comeback and win. As my grandfather would say, “this team’s got gumption!” Actually, that isn’t exactly what my grandfather would say, his version would likely include some sort of racial epitheth. He wasn’t a very nice man.
Halo A-Hole
Next time, Dan, just tell us when you have a boo-boo.