The Angels Make It Hard

Get your mind out of the gutter, the Angels aren't THAT good.  The Angels are playing so well they make it hard to write something new, something you haven't already read or heard.  We at The Halo Is Lit want to be a little different than other blogs by looking at things from another perspective.  A rehash of what's already been written in the local rags, or what you've heard on ESPN just won't cut it here.  So, coming up with new and interesting tidbits is hard.  I could write about how the Halos have the best record in baseball at 75-43, but you already know that.  Or they have the largest division lead in franchise history a with a 15 game lead over Texas, but you've probably already read that on another site.  How about this, their record since July is 21-5 when Juan Rivera is in the starting line-up, which was improved upon when the Angels powered their way past the Seattle Mariners last night.  Rivera was one of three Angels to homer in the game, hitting a bomb to start a 5th inning rally.  Vlad Guerrero hit a 2-run shot later in the inning to put the Halos ahead and Garrett Anderson added to the night's home run total by hitting his 13th of the season in the 8th.

Since I'm human (at least I was the last time I checked) I'm constantly looking for what's wrong in a situation and what I can bitch about.  And me being a man (yeah, checked that too), I'm always looking for something to fix.  Well, nothing wrong with the Angels, nothing that needs fixin'.  Everything's fine in Anaheim.  (Hey, that's kind of a rhyme.  Maybe I can write a poem!)

They swing their bats
and the runs start flowing
The pitchers throw strikes
The World Series we're going.

Alright, bad idea.

Daily Notes:

• Four of the 5 Angels' starting pitchers have recorded at least 10 wins.  John Lackey has 9.  Once Lackey wins another game, it'll be the first time in Angels' history that they have had 5 starting pitchers with double-digit wins.  Doesn't compare to the 1971 Baltimore Orioles who had four 20 game winners, but anytime a team does something they've never done before it is impressive.  The Angels do have the chance to produce two 20 game winners with Joe Saunders (14-5) and Ervin Santana (13-5), the last time that happened was 1973 when Nolan Ryan went 21-16 and Bill Singer had a 20-14 record.
• While researching some stats for another posting, I ran across something interesting in Angels' history.  Back in 1976, Bobby Bonds led the team in home runs.  Want to guess how many he had?  Get this, Bonds' team leading home run total was 10.  That's right, 10 whopping homers.  They hit a grand total of 63 as a team.  I've forgotten how bad some Angels teams had been.  Makes me appreciate this year's team even more.
• Garrett Anderson once again continues to revive his season during the second half.  In 2007, Anderson had 65 RBI and batted .305 after the all-star break.  This year, he's leading the majors in batting with a .393 average since the break.
• Magic number: 29