Sunday, July 02, 2006 |
Draw No Conclusions: Angels 4, Dodgers 0
Orlando Cabrera got on for the 59th straight time, and it's getting to the point of ridiculousness; I wonder that he's getting a little nervous about it now. Probably not:
"He has been a catalyst, to get on base and fill some roles and drive in runs for us," manager Mike Scioscia said. "Orlando has brought so much to our club, and I don't know where we would be without him."It's all so different from Cabrera's 2005, which started so badly that I had written him off entirely by the end of May. And yet, today — as a cherry on top — he stole home. Vlad, of course, pounded in his 17th homer of the season, a blast to right that corresponded with his being voted in as a starter to this year's All-Star game.
Mike Napoli got on base not at all, surpising considering Chad Billingsley walked four but struck out only three. But John Lackey... well, he was dealing. If Andre Ethier has gobbled up the Angels pitching at other times, this afternoon he got schooled, collecting a golden sombrero. Rafael Furcal and Matt Kemp earned silver sombreros; it was that kind of a day for the Dodgers offense, as no Dodger even reached third base, and only two Dodgers hit doubles.
Are the Angels of yore back? Well, a two-game winning streak facing either mediocre or inexperienced pitching is hardly a test. That comes tomorrow.
Interestingly, his K-rate is down from last year (6.95/9 v. 8.97/9), but he's working slighly deeper into games...one extra out (basically, 6 2/3 this year, up from 6 1/3 last year). I wonder if there's any correlation.
E.g., he only struck out 4 last Monday...but managed to stay out there for 8 full innings (after making about 50 pitches in the first two). It seems like he's been getting more early count outs.
: 7/02/2006 10:50:00 PM
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