The Angels and Dodgers lose close games they badly wanted to win.
The Oakland A’s have shown a knack for winning in style in 2012.
What do the Angels and Rangers need heading into the deadline, and where might they find it?
What are some of the nagging questions up and down the West Coast?
The first part of a roundtable discussion about how teams in the NL Central will fare in the 2012 season.
It’s Wednesday night, and I didn’t write my column early because I was watching the Mariners-Athletics game. Now I sit down, feeling a little vindicated for my season-long fight against local anti-Mike Cameron sentiment.
The Mariners face the A’s again tomorrow, starting Joel Pineiro against Cory Lidle. The Angels have John Lackey facing Colby Lewis. I don’t think this particularly unfair to the Mariners; it’s not as if they didn’t have their chances to beat up on bad teams, or anything. Their pit is one they’ve dug themselves with crappy pickups and a low-key battle between the manager and GM, where Piniella seems determined to put the awful pieces he’s been given (like Jose Offerman) in crucial game situations where their failures are magnified. Gillick in retaliation doesn’t care.
People complain that it’s unfair to some teams chasing the wild card. Perhaps, but with “natural rivalries” and bizarre interleague schedules, fairness has already been tossed out the window.