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

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Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Two Games

A Team Effort: Twins 12, Angels 10

Who shall we blame for this loss? Clearly the pitching was the major culprit, but we could as easily lay it on Maicer Izturis' failed catch. There are those who would say K-Rod's merely having a lousy night, but I'm having none of it; he's crumbling, and this time he doesn't have the excuse of being tired. For a second or two, it looked like the Angels might have a hope with J.C. Romero on the mound, but then it was extinguished by Michael Cuddyer and his two-run blast. Santana, I could believe is having growing pains; Frankie, not so much. Besides Izturis' error, Vlad made one in the outfield, and both had scoring implications. What is wrong with this team?

Update:

WPA graph courtesy of Dave Appelman and fangraphs.com.

While the biggest suckfest was clearly Romero's for surrendering the game-losing two-run homer, K-Rod's implosion came a short second. His comet is reaching the end of its arc.

Update 2: The Chronicler summarizes it simply: "We suck."

Recap

Overcoming Adversity And Dusty Baker: Cubs 5, Dodgers 4

Jason Repko's mental error lost this game for the Dodgers, but you may as well call it what it is: the result of depth playing instead of quality major leaguers. The Cubs snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, but remember that the Dodgers went ahead in the sixth when Dusty Baker, forgetting the game was tied, handed the ball to David Aardsma, a man who ended the game with a 27.00 ERA, and had no prior indication in the majors that he was the sort of pitcher you wanted on the mound in a tight spot.

I give special kudos to Ronnie Cedeño, who nearly blew the game and then made a spectacular diving catch in the ninth to catch Jeff Kent's line drive, ending the game with the tying run on second. Kent himself seemed to be squinting and blinking more than usual; not a surprise, maybe.

Update: I should also mention the terrible collision at first that appears to have taken out Derrek Lee, who is being flown to Chicago for additional tests; x-rays have proven inconclusive. Pitcher Scott Eyre left the game with a bruised knee as well.

Thence to this: