Saturday was quite possibly, and to be honest, hopefully Bartolo Colon's last start as an Angel. Colon is a free-agent at the end of this season and has been less than spectacular in two injury plagued seasons since his Cy Young performance in 2005. Colon's final start was one of his best of the season, however his inconsistency should prevent him from securing a spot on the playoff roster. Colon is not one of the top 4 starters in the Angels rotation, and has not come out of the bullpen since his rookie season with Cleveland in 1997, and really, there isn't a role for him in the bullpen anyway.
The Angels don't have any need to resign him. They've made it through the past two seasons essentially without him in the rotation. Escobar and Lackey anchor the rotation with the young arms of Joe Saunders and Jered Wever in support. Then there are several potential 5th starters to take the spot vacated by Colon. If Santana can put everything together the spot is his, but he could see competition from Dustin Moseley, or in the future Nick Adenhart.
So I actually missed the game today, but really I didn't miss much. The Angels struggled with clutch hitting while the Mariners went 3-6 with runners in scoring position. I was happy to see we put up a fight scoring a run in the 9th and putting the tying run on second before a game ending strikeout by J.J. Putz.
Sunday's game is fan appreciation day and what better way to appreciate the fans than clinch the western division championship in the final regular season home game. I have a feeling the team will be hungry, and with Figgins and Matthews back in the line-up the team is really starting to come together. Lackey is always a competitor, and it seems appropriate that the opening day winning pitcher be on the mound with a shot at the division championship in the final home game of the season.
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