Saturday, August 11, 2007 |
Rally Izzy: Angels 4, Twins 3
I have a theory about restaurants: it seems inevitable that when you need to go to the bathroom before your food has arrived, your food comes to the table after you get back. Helen has a similar theory about using the ladies' room at Angel Stadium now, because for the second night in a row, she left her seat and the Angels staged a dramatic rally, both times missing Izzy's big home run that either put the game away or gave the Angels a lead. However it worked out, the Angels really bit hard into reliever Pat Neshek, brought in to replace the Twins' possibly injured starter.
Before the Twins could say, "Great Adam Kennedy's ghost!" the Angels had three runs off him. Gary Matthews, Jr. got aboard on an error by Alexi Casilla, who let a routine grounder slip under his glove, Casey Kotchman drove him home on an RBI double, and then Izturis blasted one into the right field terrace.
So Maicer now has something to brag about when he next sees half-brother Cesar. With that homer, Maicer has not only tied his career high for single-season home runs, but now owns the Izturis family crown for career home runs with 12. Given that Cesar is getting inconsistent playing time in Pittsburgh, it may not be a stretch to say that his days as a regular, at least, are numbered, and possibly as a major leaguer as well. Both players seem to have durability issues centered on their hamstrings, and since the Angels are using Maicer as a bench player, it's altogether possible that he may last longer than his half-brother.
One other item of interest with Izzy's home run before I drop it. Matt Welch recently pointed out how freakishly similar his numbers are with Howie Kendrick's. As of tonight, Maicer Izturis has outhomered Howie. Howie, to be sure, is a more valuable player and will likely be so in the future, but I find that not a little unsettling.
The Angels got their final run of the eighth on an unusual play. Orlando Cabrera struck out while Reggie Willits and Chone Figgins attempted a double steal. Willits would have been out at third, but Joe Mauer's throw was offline and just foul, allowing Willits to scamper home. The Twins recorded the inning's final out on Casilla's great catch of Vlad's sinking liner up the middle, eight batters too late.
Willits' insurance run turned out to be essential, because K-Rod was effectively wild, and for those without radios in the stands, not a little scary. He made one pitch and then signaled for someone in the dugout, and everyone immediately thought, "uh oh," but it turned out Frankie had found a divot taken out of the mound, the second time in the game the Angels had called for the groundskeepers to fix a hole.
It didn't help much, as he walked his first batter, Torii Hunter, who eventually scored on a stolen base, a bad throw by Jeff Mathis, and an infield single by Mike Redmond. Frankie settled down and struck out Rondell White and got pinch-hitter Luis Rodriguez to fly out to center to end the game. The Twins must have wondered what hit them.
Why? Maicer is three years older, and has double the number of major league at bats, and hasn't dealt with the hand injuries that Kendrick has had.
Interesting? Sure. Weird? Maybe. Unsettling? I just don't see it.
just kidding and some friendly ribbing - i know Silva didn't issue any walks and also no earned runs, so it was a better performance than Escy's 2-hit/7 inning work, but it's just my way of saying 'good day, Rob'.
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