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Wednesday, July 07, 2004Angels 12, Chi Sox 0I never did like Schoeneweis much. Of the supposed "holy triumvirate" of Schoeneweis/Washburn/Ortiz, he was my least favorite, yet was the one lauded by all the experts. He just rubbed me the wrong way. It always seemed as though he was too stubborn to learn a changeup- a fault that's still killing him to this day. And of course it didn't help that he was the player's representative during the 2002 season, when a strike (which would have cost the Angels the championship) was barely averted. I also didn't like his hair. I don't know why. Needless to say, this was a good night. The Angels took Schoeneweis and the Sox out behind the woodshed and whipped them thoroughly. It locked-up only the Angels' second series win in their last nine. And this wasn't just any series- this was the most important series of the season to date. This, and the series to follow, are the fulcrum on which the Angels' season pivots. We will look back on this road trip and say one of two things; either "this is where the Angels turned things around." or "this is where the Angels completely fell apart." Well, tonight Jarod Washburn cast his vote for the former. He pitched a gem- a complete game shutout, and the best game of his career. I can't say enough about what Washburn did tonight, so I won't even attempt to. Jose Guillen also stepped-up tonight. He showed the power (and the intensity) that has been lacking over the past month. Hopefully this is a sign that Jose is starting to come back around. We don't need him to carry this offense like he did in March, we just need him to be consistent power threat. Looking ahead to tomorrow, I don't think we really need a win. Sure, the sweep would be a great pick-me-up for this ballclub, but as I've said, it's the series wins that are important. A sweep in the Windy City doesn't change the fact that we need two of three up in Canada. |
