I usually don't second guess Angels manager Mike Scioscia. I figure he's a lot smarter than me and he has infinitely more information available than I do. He knows how his pitchers are feeling; if they're tired or what they're match-ups are against the hitters they'd be facing. So who am I to question his moves? Well, his management of the bullpen in the 8th inning was so bizarre in last night's game against the Rays, I've got to say something. Here's what happened:
Angels go into the bottom of the 8th with a 2-1 lead. Ervin Santana has pitched a brilliant game, having taken a no-hitter into the 6th, but he allowed 2 hits in the 7th and had thrown 106 pitches. Time to make a change. In comes Scot Shields, the usual set-up guy for just this situation. All season Shields has been kind of streaky, you don't really 
know what you're going to get until he comes into the game. Last night he brought nothing. Nothing but a fastball that couldn't find the plate and a curve that he didn't trust. The first batter he faces is Gabe Gross:
Pitch 1 - fastball, up and away
Pitch 2 - fastball, way high
Pitch 3 - fastball, bounced in front of the plate
Pitch 4 - fastball, inside and to the backstop
At this point it's obvious Shields doesn't have it, but Scioscia doesn't get anyone throwing in the pen. The next batter, Jason Bartlett bunts the first pitch which Jeff Mathis throws into rightfield, nowhere close to the base. It's kind of funny when watching the play again that Howie Kendrick, who was covering first on the bunt, makes no attempt to catch Mathis' throw since it was so far away from him. So now there's 2nd and 3rd, no outs. Up steps lefty Aki Iwamura. Still no one is throwing in the pen.
Pitch 1 - fastball, down and in
Pitch 2 - fastball, up and away
(Scoiscia get Darren Oliver up in the pen)
Pitch 3 - fastball, up and away
Pitch 4 - fastball, strike one...barely
Pitch 5 - fastball, up and away. Bases loaded.
This is the part of the game I really don't get. I figured Scoiscia left Shields in the game just to face Iwamura, but not to give him anything to hit with 1B open. He should be using Iwamura's at bat to get someone warmed up, but Oliver doesn't start throwing until Shields falls behind on two pitches that are still nowhere near the plate. So, now in comes Oliver, right? Nope, Scioscia's leaving Shields in to face B.J. Upton.
Pitch 1 - curve, fouled off
Pitch 2 - fastball, way up and in
Pitch 3 - curve, in the dirt
Pitch 4 - fastball, fouled off
Pitch 5 - fastball, strikeout
Okay, Shields man-ups and surprisingly strikes out Upton and now Oliver is coming in to get lefty Carlos Pena. Here may be one of the Angels' biggest weaknesses, Oliver is the only lefty in the bullpen and he's not very good against lefties. Left-handed batters are hitting .291 against him. And now, Oliver's having problems throwing strikes and Pena's not swinging at his slider out of the zone. Result, Oliver walks in the tying run. Next up is Cliff Floyd who is 6-14 against Oliver, but Oliver does his job and strikes out Floyd. In steps switch-hitting Willy Aybar. I'm not sure why Scoiscia left Oliver in to face Aybar, he had Arredondo warmed up and Aybar is batting .218 against right-handed pitchers (as opposed to .258 against a LH). Anyway, Aybar gets a base hit to left, two runs score and the Rays take a 2 run lead.
My questions to Scoiscia are 1) Why didn't he get someone throwing as soon as Shields walked the first hitter on 4 pitches? 2) Why didn't he get Oliver and Arredondo warmed sooner 3) Why did he leave Shields in to face Iwamura? 4) Why did he leave Shields in to face Upton (although this did result in a strikeout) 5) Why did he leave Oliver in to face Aybar?
I'm not even close to starting to panic. This team is too good to start panicking. Although the Angels have lost 3 in a row and 5 of the last 6, I figure this is just one of those streaks every team goes through at some point in the season. They do need to get the bullpen situation straightened out by maybe looking to add another lefty, either through a waiver claim/trade or from the minors (Daniel Davidson?)
Daily Notes:
- Garrett Anderson has now hit in 22 straight.
- The Angels got a big break on a play in the 6th inning when B.J. Upton was called out for apparently making an attempt to go to second base. The infield was plaing in with runners on the corners, but Santana couldn't come up with Teixeira's throw to first after Teix had fielded a goundball off of Upton's bat. After the ball dribbled to Kendrick, who was backing up the play, he tagged Upton out. Replays clearly showed Upton didn't make an attempt for second, but the play stood.
- Magic Number: 22 (Apparently I had the math wrong and thank God Texas keeps losing!)
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