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It seemed almost catastrophic when news of the injuries to Lackey and Escobar came down. The Halos two top pitchers, winners of a combined 37 games, out. Many of us were just hoping the team could tread water around the .500 mark and not lose too much ground to the Mariners. Why were we worried about the Mariners, again?
Well Big John should be back in a week or so and the club finds itself in great shape, tied atop the AL West standings with the A's Triple-A club. Seriously, who the hell are these guys? Anyways, we're 8 games over .500 and we have played some tough series, including a roadie through Boston and Detroit, where we took 2 of 3 from both the Saux and the Tigers, who were supposed to have clinched the Central by now.
My thought is this: in the long run, Lackey missing the first month-and-a-half will help the club in September and into the postseason. And here's why:
1. He'll be fresh. Or at least fresher. Big John's thrown a lot of innings over the last five seasons, hitting the 200 inning mark pretty much every year. That takes a toll, and maybe it showed in the postseason against Boston. Or maybe we just can't beat Boston. Hopefully, we get another shot at them come October.
2. This may be the most important thing that comes out of it. Guys had to step up and win ball games without the safety blanket of having your ace taking the ball every five days. Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana had to show they are big league-caliber pitchers. Everyone thought Weaver and Garland would be the guys to hold down the fort, but it's been the two young guys who have been light's out, going a combined 12-0 so far. This should do wonders for their confidence all season and most importantly, in the postseason.
Of course, this wouldn't be the case if we were toiling at 8 games under, like a certain team from a certain Pacific Northwestern city. But under the circumstances, I think this will be a good thing for the Angels. We'll see.
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