A's make it time to worry

Well I was wrong about a few things. Weaver's left elbow was more than a few days and coming back home didn't work. Opening day at Angels Stadium on Tuesday in front of a "sold-out" crowd left fans with more doubt than they had while the team was on the road. Opening day was also my dad's birthday so we did what any fans would do, celebrated at the stadium. Sitting in section 522 high above home plate, was a feeling of ease and comfort. It was good to be back at the big A.

CJ Wilson got off to a slow start once again giving up a big first inning via the walk. Angels had plenty of chances to respond, but once again could not cash in with runners in scoring position. Additionally, Hamilton had another chance with the bases loaded and less than two outs, and hit a dribbler back to the pitcher. Howie Kendrick had a big two-RBI double, but then Jepsen gave up a couple home runs in a five-run inning to blow the game open. Wednesday and Thursday's games aren't even worth discussing. The scores tell the story.

While the A's lead the entire league in runs batted in, the Angels are below the medium at #19. The Angels are supposed to be the team with the boom sticks. Angels are #19 again while the A's lead the bigs. Oakland leads in most offensive categories: runs, hits, doubles, walks, home runs, runs batted in, slugging, on base plus slugging, total bases, and extra base hits. The team who won the west seems hungrier out of the gate than the team who needs to prove they are worth the money.

The Halos getting swept by the A's was even worse because two of the three games were decided by more than a grand slams worth of runs. The only guys who have shown up to start the season are Aybar, Bourjous, Trumbo, and Kendrick. Aybar tweaked his leg on Tuesday and will miss sometime. The bottom of the lineup has seem to do its job, getting on base and even knocking in runs. Trumbo leads the team in RBI's and seems to be more comfortable with the strike zone. Trout however has already K'd 10 times this year, only second to Hamilton. His short compact swing is still there, but looks to be just missing his pitch each at-bat. Look for him to be more aggressive against Houston this weekend.

Yes the Angels do get Houston this weekend. Houston, a team with a new manager, new uniforms, and a new mascot, currently has one more win than the Angels. I thought opening night would be the only time that would happen since the Astros and Rangers were the only two teams that played. Hanson, Richards, and CJ are the projected pitchers up against Norris, Harrell, and Humber. All six of these pitchers combined are 2-5. I am interested to see how Garrett Richards handles his first start of the year. I believe Jerome Williams is a better starter than Richards, but the Angels believe in his "potential" because of his stuff. Richards will miss spots and give up big hits, whereas Williams is usually solid the first two times through the lineup, until that 3rd time where the opposing lineup figures him out. Pitch Williams five innings, even if he has a good start, pull him and take your chances with the bullpen like a D1 NCAA Sunday starter.

The Angels need to get the bats going against Houston and at Minnesota to get their confidence up before facing the high powered Detroit Tigers. Beating the Astros 2-1 will not do the trick. They need to do to Houston what the A's did to them. 150+ games left, but April counts just as much as August.