Attack of the Clones

The Angels have left town having thoroughly embarrassed the Twins. I'm sure the Twins will pat themselves on the back for sweeping the Sox, though. Last weekend in Anaheim, Angels infielders Erick Aybar and Maicer Izturis nearly collided while playing a pop-up. One of them caught it- I'm not sure who. Aybar, Izturis, and Figgins are all pretty much from the same mold. Then I remember that the Twins acquired Alexi Casilla from the Angels organization. Curiously, though, the trio on the Angels has combined for only one full season (with 200 or more at-bats) with a batting average below .250. Why is it that these Piranhas can actually hit like so many people pretend Nick Punto can? Individually, a .270 hitter without much pop isn't much of a threat, but collectively they can do considerably more damage. Those 70 batting average points are a big difference. It's over twice as likely (1.9% to 0.8%) that all three of them get a hit in any given time through the order. The way the Angels run the bases, that's at least one run. Likewise, every time they don't get out, that's one more chance for the big sticks.

The most frustrating part of the pitching is that it makes complaining about the infielders seem so pointless.