At least now the Texas Rangers can continue their quest for second place.
MLB Baseball NewsAt least now the Texas Rangers can continue their quest for second place. In the AL West against somebody their own size.
Clearly, they need a drop in class after getting manhandled by the Los Angeles Angels, who completed a three-game sweep with a 7-3 victory Sunday afternoon that was built on a strong pitching performance by John Lackey.
The Angels aren’t divisional champs and a strong World Series contender for nothing.
“We got swept by a better team,” Marlon Byrd said. “That was postseason John Lackey right there. He was unbelievable. They got a great team. I’ll put my money on Lackey, (Ervin) Santana and (Joe) Saunders anytime.”
The Angels won the opener of this series in a slugfest, scoring 15 runs. They pitched superbly in the final two games and won the finale with Lackey’s brilliance.
With the loss, the Rangers are assured of a non-winning record for the fourth consecutive season.
Lackey had a career-best 12 strikeouts, including seven in a row starting with the last out of the first inning.
“For three innings, we didn’t put a ball in play,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “We faced a tough opponent.”
The Rangers also had trouble finishing innings. They twice allowed the Angels to score after two outs, a trend that has grown tiresome.
“I have no idea why,” Washington said. “A lot of rallies start on us with two outs. And we got to figure out a way to stop that.”
Frustrating times: Ramon Vazquez knows that younger players in every sport have to pay their dues. But his irritation with what he perceived to be inconsistent calling of balls and strikes by home-plate umpire Tom Hallion boiled over Saturday when he was ejected. Vazquez was called out on strikes in the sixth inning, then yelled at Hallion from the dugout after German Duran was called out to start the bottom of the seventh inning.
On Sunday, Vazquez still wasn’t happy about the situation.
“And all I said to him was that those pitches are way too far outside,” Vazquez said. “He said, ‘I don’t want to hear it.’ I said, ‘Well, clean it up, and you won’t hear it.’ And he threw me out. That’s all I said.”
Vazquez then said he doesn’t think some umpires put enough work into critiquing themselves.
“I don’t think guys like him take pride and will go to the video and see, were they really balls?” he said.
And there was more.
“If you’re tired of this because it’s the end of the year, just go home,” Vazquez said. “If your back hurts back there because you’re bending so many pitches, quit. Go home. That’s all I can say.”
Inexperience shows: A bunt single by Reggie Willits in the fifth inning opened the door for a run for the Angels.
First baseman Hank Blalock charged to field the bunt, and second baseman German Duran could not get to first in time for pitcher Scott Feldman to make the throw.
“It’s just inexperience,” Washington said. “The first baseman reacted, but should have gone back to first base. I can’t expect Duran to come from double-play depth (to cover first).
“If the ball goes to third base, you go back to first. If it goes to first, you keep charging. Hank’s a hard worker. He’ll figure it out.”
No future Cub: Josh Hamilton despises day games, which probably means his future will never take him to the Chicago Cubs, where they play plenty of afternoon games.
“I can’t stand them,” he said. “It’s OK in the field, but I can’t hit with (sunglasses) on.”
Monday, September 22nd, 2008 at 10:00 pm and is filed under MLB Baseball News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
