Everything went according to plan today for the Angels, probably even better since they got a strong performance out Joel Pineiro.  So why do I feel like the Halos are just running in place?

Angels 4, Twins 1

Entering this game, it felt like the Angels were set up to disappoint.  They were facing a lousy team and had their worst starting pitcher on the mound.  It was a brutal, soul-crushing loss waiting to happen.

Only it didn't.

Shockingly, Joel Pineiro not only failed to suck, but he actually kind of pitched his ass off.  Wonderful!  Better yet, Old Man Abreu found a way to sock his seventh homer of the season.  What a delightful surprise!  And despite it being a close and crucial game, the bullpen was nearly perfect.  Unbelievable!  This should be cause for celebration, but it just isn't.  Want to know why?

The damn Rangers keep winning.

This is supposed to be the stretch of the schedule where the Angels were going to make up ground on Texas.  Seven games into this favorable ten-game slate, the Angels have lost half a game in standings.  Man, this playoff chase thing is hard.

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Minnesota Twins (58-80) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (75-64)

Pitching Probables: MIN – Kevin Slowey (0-3, 5.91 ERA)  LAA – Joel Pineiro (5-6, 5.33 ERA)

Game Info: 12:35 PM PT; TV - Fox Sports West; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

Today's game isn't a "must-win."  I don't think any game this season is really a "must-win" until Texas' magic number at least gets into single-digits.  However, it would be really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, awesome if the Angels won today, as oppossed to really, really, really, really, really, really awesome, which is where all other games stand right now.  Why?

Because according to my super brilliant calculations, the Angels need to essentially win every single on of their remaining series, including this one, to catch the Rangers by the end of the season.  If they do that, they finish with 91 wins, which is the number of wins the Baseball Prospectus simulations predict for Texas to finish with.  That seems about right, too, just on a logical, gut-feeling sense.

I imagine that I have written this before, but I really love the kids on this team. It's really a sight to see when young kids step up into the limelight and make a difference. Once this season is over, hopefully not until late October, the emergence of a new generation of Angel players will be the story of the year. Tonight, the kids came up big with some help from a few wily old vets to keep the Halo playoff hopes flickering. All this in spite of some alarming work from Jered Weaver. Who would of thought two weeks ago, that the offense would be keying the drive alive instead of the starting pitching?

Angels 10 Twins 6

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Minnesota Twins (58-79) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (74-64)

Pitching Probables: MIN – Brian Duensing (9-13, 5.09 ERA)  LAA – Jered Weaver (15-7, 2.28 ERA)

Game Info: 6:05 PM PT; TV - KCOP; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

After last night's Walk-A-Thon (which only benefitting the charity of "keep the Freaking Rangers ahead in the race disease" what the Angels need tonight is a bulldog performance from THE WEAVE. After his meltdown in Texas getting back on the horse with rest should cure him and get the Angels back on track. With the Rangers losing this afternoon, an opportunity to gain back the ground lost last night has presented itself. I would hope the Angels care enough at this stage to show up and beat the stuffing out of the Twinkies. Then we can all listen to bad pop music care of Ne-Yo. Oh what Fun!!!

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Minnesota Twins (57-79) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (74-63)

Pitching Probables: MIN – Carl Pavano (6-11, 4.62 ERA)  LAA – Tyler Chatwood (6-9, 4.35 ERA)

Game Info: 7:05 PM PT; TV - KCOP; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

There are really three issues going on tonight. First, there is the game with the Twins. Instead of the normally rock solid Jered Weaver we get the hold-on-to-your-hats unpredictability of Tyler Chatwood. Then there is the looming fact that as each day goes by it's one less chance to gain ground on the Rangers for the AL West title. On top of that, I have to deal with the the oggling my wife will do every time Joe Mauer steps to the plate. So as you can see, there's a lot to deal with right about now.

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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim    (73-63) @ Seattle Mariners (58-77)

Pitching Probables: LAA – Ervin Santana (10-9, 3.24 ERA)  SEA – Charlie Furbush (2-3, 6.28 ERA)

Game Info: 7:10 PM PT; TV - Fox Sports West; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

The Angels turn the page once again onto a new month of baseball, hopefully a month that can go better than August. August was a great month for this team, except they couldn't get the wins where they counted. Why can't this team finish off a great comeback nice and clean? Why do they have to make it so hard on themselves? They chopped a Texas 7 game lead in the standings to just 2.5 games in 7 days a week ago. Now they're struggling to pull just one game during this series, they could do it against the White Sox and the Orioles, but apparently they can't do it against the Mariners. The delusion ridden half of my brain says the Angels are doing this merely for dramatic effect, to make the last month of baseball this season the most interesting and make that playoff berth taste oh so sweeter. The sane part of my brain says this is all Tony Reagins fault.

Did last night's game look familiar to you? It should, because it ended the exact same way as the series opener against the Mariners. Mike Carp gave the Mariners the lead with 2 RBI hits both nights, Monday being a homerun and last night being a double. What makes this pill hard to swallow is the fact that Carp got those base hits off of lefties coming out of the bullpen, lefties Scioscia put in to play it by the numbers. What makes that pill even harder to swallow is the fact that both defeats at the hands of Carp cost the Angels 1.5 games in the standings. Last night's game should have been won; the Angels should be 2.5 back of the Rangers. Instead we get a choke job out of the bullpen and more ground to cover while the days slowly whittle away. At the end of the month we'll be looking back at games like this that should have been won, hopefully we'll be looking back with glee as the Angels manage to sneak into the playoffs instead of bitterness and frustration as the Angels miss a playoff berth.

Angels 1 Mariners 2