Saturday, June 18, 2005 |
Vlad, Vlad Leroy Brown: Angels 2, Marlins 1
Anyway. If there's a more thoroughly charming pitcher in the majors than Dontrelle Willis, I don't know who it is. His exaggerated delivery, that enormous smile, and his mother's unusual role in his career (not to mention her own unusual background as a bridge welder) are all part of his substantial charisma. His African-American ethnic heritage doubles his exposure, coming at a time when the game finds itself, public relations maneuvering or no, in the middle of a substantial decline in black players. Completing the picture -- and no less central to his appeal -- are his impressive win totals. He plays every day as though it will be his last, the side effect of a near-fatal accident that radically changed his outlook on life. His ability on the mound is no fluke, and so it's hard to imagine a young pitcher more primed to become a legitimate superstar.
With Willis on the mound, the Angels took no chances and left only their strongest left-handed bats in the lineup, stacking the order with righties of dubious virtue like fresh callup Izturis and struggling Juan Rivera. McPherson, of course, found himself omitted from the proceedings, leading me to wonder a couple of things left over from yesterday's game. Rich brought up the fact that Scioscia decided to pinch-hit for D-Mac against lefty Valerio De Los Santos as a vote of no-confidence in his southpaw hitting ability. Add to this McPherson's relatively advanced age (25), and the case I made likening him to Troy Glaus starts to wither a bit, as Glaus's first campaign was as a youngster at the tender age of twenty-one. Age makes a difference, and those strikeouts become increasingly scary. McPherson needs to become something in a big hurry.
Hearkening back to yesterday's game again, I remember looking at that ransacking of the Angels' bullpen and thinking, man, the Angels better hope for a long game from tomorrow's starter. Fortunately, Lack came through with 6.2 IP and only a single run's worth of damage. Willis didn't completely baffle the Angels, but he did manage to throw them off enough to prevent any earned runs. With K-Rod used over three innings in two consecutive games, you can be sure he won't appear tomorrow. That said, Angels relievers -- including, startlingly, Esteban Yan -- provided three and a third innings of scoreless relief. Is Yan getting some confidence? I hope that's all that's standing between him and effectiveness, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
The middle innings passed with a good bit of struggling on both sides, though the Angels had the upper hand on hits, all of which were singles up until Vlad's game-tying homer in the ninth. If anything, today's game showed the utility of the home run ball and the futility of the singles offense, i.e., littleball. Sure, if Erstad doesn't ground into a double play, the Angels win, but he did, and there you go. Too much variability. Vlad, on the other hand, provided 100% of the Angels (effective, run-scoring) offense. Now that he's back, he remains the baddest man in the whole damn town.
Newer› ‹Older
 |
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.