Game, Set, Match

Angels 5, Oakland 3

I saw this one from the fifth onward. Ervin Santana was, as usual, nasty. Honestly, this kid's going to be a #1 starter sooner than later, and if John Lackey weren't so ridiculously good, you could argue that he already is. He fanned 7 in 7 innings, keeping the Angels staff K/9 at a respectable level.

Scot "Only One T" Shields got two quick outs before surrendering a solo homer to Mark "Might as well be a lawn gnome" Ellis, but somehow, the Angels scored three in the bottom of the frame to get the game to Frankie, who struck out Daric Barton on three absolutely filthy changeups to get the first out of his 33rd save.

Memo to Garret Anderson: You might be old, but every time you turn on an Embree fastball, we all remember how awesome you used to be. Keep this up and we might just back into the World Series.

Memo to Mike Scioscia: Batting Kotchman in the 2 spot was brilliant (and long overdue). Although he really belongs at 3, his leadoff ground-rule double in the 8th was the start of the rally that led to the unlikely Angels win. Casey is a spectacular player, and considering his family ties to the organization, is going to be worth some serious money in contract negotiations. Pay the kid.

Memo to Bob Geren: Look, I know I shouldn't be giving you advice, but everyone at AN knows it, everyone on the Angels know it, and I know it too - Alan Embree is not a legitimate MLB player anymore.


Tennis

I'm completely and utterly biased here, but watching Amanda play in the USTA 50k Pro Circuit Torunament in Dorchester has been a lot more entertaining than you'd expect. She played with a junior player in doubles in a match I got to watch today, and aside from the nonsense lightning warnings, it was a ridiculously dramatic match. She and her partner managed to overcome a 4-0 game deficit in the second set to force a 10 point tiebreaker (I love tiebreakers, by the way. They're pure tennis.), which they eventually won 14-12.

I'd say it was inspiring, but my own complete lack of ability in anything resembling a sport just depresses me. With the possible exception of goalkeeping in broomball. Either way, I've been playing lots of tennis lately.