6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

We may as well get this out of the way now. I said earlier today that the Angels didn't have any impressive pitchers wearing high numbers in spring training. Today's game well and truly changed my mind; or if it didn't, maybe it went a long way toward doing so. Jared Weaver, Chris Bootcheck, Milton Bland, Francisco Rodriguez, and David Austen combined to give up only one run over ten innings.

But here I get ahead of myself. Neither team fielded what might be close to their regular season lineup; the Angels, for example, started Robb Quinlan in left, leaving Dallas McPherson out of the lineup after two days on it. It's a situation McPherson isn't pleased with, but as always, he's the one who has to step up and show he's ready. The frankly embarrassing .077 average he's posted in 13 at bats -- fewer even than not-gonna-make-the-team Erick Aybar -- chafes at him:

"Obviously there's not a role for me here right now. There's not a whole lot I can do about it," he said. "I feel good. Everyone knows I'm a slow starter, but I don't feel rushed, my swing is getting where it needs to be, my strike zone has been pretty good.

"They want me to walk more, I'm walking more. I'm doing what they want me to do."

McPherson is 1 for 13 this spring with seven strikeouts and three walks. He has fewer at-bats than minor-leaguers Mike Napoli, Erick Aybar and Tommy Murphy. He has missed time because of a rash and a strained rib-cage muscle.

So some of his problems are due to injury, and some due to susceptability. If this isn't an indicator that he needs to be sent to Salt Lake, I don't know what is.

If the Angels' lineup had a distinctly spring training-ey feel to it, the A's were positively scrub-licious. No Frank Thomas to be found anywhere; he's still taking baby steps following his rehab. But Nick Swisher and Marco Scutaro -- a prospect and a sub, respectively -- got the start, and if you think Jay Payton might get traded before the season starts lest he rediscover the world of pine, that's three.

That also goes for the A's starter, Dan Meyer. Meyer, you may recall, was one of the returns in the Tim Hudson trade to the Braves, along with fringey guys Juan Cruz, whose physique and chronic major league failures lead one to believe his future is in AAAA ball, and Charles Thomas, who's blocked by Jay Payton and Milton Bradley, at least. Aside from Jay Witasek and Justin Duchscherer, the other guys pitching today's game were prospects 'n' scrubs as well:

• Chad Gaudin, a guy the Devil Rays could never quite figure out, a process they made harder by skipping him three levels in 2003. Traded to Toronto in 2004, the slight (5'11", 165 lb) northpaw was a victim of a roster crunch and found himself in Oakland, traded for a PTBNL.
• When your resume has words like "can't hack it with the Reds" and "recent Yankees pitching prospect" on it, maybe it's time to use a functional resume. Lefty Randy Keisler should know all about that, so maybe that explains how the A's acquired him. He spent time on the Cincinnati DL last year, though it's questionable whether he makes the team.

So, to the game. Jered Weaver, as I said previously, pitched a classic Weaver-ian game, striking out five -- including the side in the third, facing the eight, nine, and one hitters -- and getting a mess of flyball outs. Were the Big Hurt in the lineup, this would have been a loss, but this game showed me that he indeed is getting very close to being major-league ready. Weaver faced one more than the minimum, helped out by a brilliant out at third when Mark Ellis tried stretching a double into a triple. Nick Swisher, whom Weaver first struck out in the third, managed to live down to his name by striking out in all three at bats. Oakland's sole run came in the eighth, when Nathan Bland plunked Jason Kendall, setting up an RBI opportunity for Marco Scutaro, who accomplished the deed, but got caught in an inning-ending rundown.

Offensively, the Angels went one-two-three in two of the first three innings, failing to drive home Vlad following a leadoff double in the second, and Juan Rivera likewise failed in the fourth with the exact same situation (and two outs). In fact, the Angels only managed to tie the game on an Alfonso Edgardo double that installed Erick Aybar as a pinch runner, a runner Kendry Morales got safely home on an RBI single.

Mike Napoli won the game by eliciting a walk from Randy Keisler, and Curtis Pride managed to plate him with an RBI double. These ghosts -- phantoms, illusions -- of ability are the things of spring training. Pride won't make the team, and will probably serve in Salt Lake. Keisler will no doubt hurl for the River Cats. David Austen's seemingly random ERAs are, for the moment, forgotten amid the wonderful 1.2 inning save and his ridiculous 1.80 spring ERA, both in part thanks to a five-man infield Mike Scioscia engineered in today's game. We say thank you to such players, and send them to the minor leagues. And we hope.

Recap • Photos

Photos forthcoming.