Found July 28, 2009 on MVN:
Mlb_jun_05_873c
Forget the ERA, forget the win/loss record, forget the hits and walks and strikeouts. Forget the speed gun. Ervin Santana is never going to get better than he is now, for one simple reason. He doesn't think he needs to. Listen to John Lackey after a loss. He growls like a bear without food. You get the feeling he'd scratch the other team's eyes out to get a win. You want quotes? Lackey's are usually concise: "I stunk." That's why he's so good. Lackey never accepts being average. He beats himself up more than any batter could, because he strives for perfection. All elite pitchers do. The first person they point the finger at is themselves. Now let's listen to what Ervin Santana says after getting pounded: "The ball was coming out of my hand well." This is his favorite, and has been used over and over. Then his last one after getting sent to the showers in the fourth inning and burying his team in a 6-0 hole: "I made good pitchers and they just hit bloopers or ground balls for base hits." In other words, it wasn't his fault. He pitched a great game. He just didn't get any breaks. He didn't get any breaks all right. No break on his curve, no break on his slider, no break from his string of lousy games. I knew the Angels recent winning streak was over the minute I saw his turn come up in the rotation. He doesn't feel like a winner, because he doesn't sound like one. Look, I'm not saying the guy can't pitch. Every single pitcher in the big leagues can pitch. But they're getting paid a lot of money to pitch well. No, better than well. To pitch great - consistently. Professional athletes are by and large amazing talents. And physically, the difference between them - with the exception of a few special players - is miniscule. What really separates them at this level is the mind. Mental toughness. Competitive spirit. A will to win. Does John Lackey have that much better stuff than other pitchers? No. He doesn't throw 100 mph. What Lackey does have is a bulldog, never say never, leave me in or die mentality. Orel Hershiser comes to mind. Ervin Santana is simply not that guy. No knock on him as a human being. Seems like a great person. But he's not the guy I want pitching game one of the World Series. If the rally monkey is the symbol of Angel victories, Ervin Santana is the antithesis. He's the rally killer.
Yardbarker aggregates the latest sports news, rumors and gossip from around the web. We use proprietary algorithms to automatically categorize stories and associate photos with articles. If you feel an article was miscategorized, please email tagging@yardbarker.com.
THE BACKYARD
AROUND THE WEB
RELATED ARTICLES

Top 30 Mid-Term Angels Prospect Report

Trevor Reckling tops the #1 spot in our mid-term top 30 prospect listBy Chuck Richter, David Saltzer & Jason SinnerWe’re past the halfway point for the minor league season, and, we’ve had the opportunity to see our minor leaguers play for another season. Additionally, we’ve had the opportunity to see many of our players from the class of 2009 play professional baseball...

Angels' pitching woes make another appearance

Ervin Santana has another lackluster outing as the Twins bring an end to the Angels' eight-game winning streak. Not to do J.P. Ricciardi's homework for him, but the Toronto General Manager might want to casually drop some of these statistics in any last-minute trade discussions...

Ervin Santana: The Anti-Rally Monkey

Forget the ERA, forget the win/loss record, forget the hits and walks and strikeouts. Forget the speed gun. Ervin Santana is never going to get better than he is now, for one simple reason. He doesn’t think he needs to. Listen to John Lackey after a loss. He growls like a bear without food. You get the feeling he’d scratch the other team’s eyes out to get a win...

THE ANGELS 2009 MVP

Mike Scioscia - Photo by Geoff Bilau (Angelswin.com)By Geoff Bilau - Angelswin.com Senior EditorReporting from Angel StadiumIt took simultaneous disabled list visits by the team’s would be MVP and perennial MVP, but since July 10 Angels fans have learned once and for all who is the 2009 Angels’ MVP — there can no longer be any question that person is Mike Scioscia.From the...

Cleveland Indians (42-59) at LA Angels of Anaheim (59-40), 3:35 p.m.

John Lackey hopes to keep the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on the winning track this afternoon when they play the rubber match of their three-game series with the Cleveland Indians at Angel Stadium.

Cleveland Indians (41-58) at LA Angels of Anaheim (58-39), 10:05 p.m.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim try to start a new streak this evening when they kick off a three-game set with the Cleveland Indians at Angel Stadium.
Today's Best Stuff
For Bloggers

Join the Yardbarker Network (YBN) for more promotion, traffic, and money.

Company Info
Help
What is Yardbarker?

Yardbarker is the largest network of sports blogs and pro athlete blogs on the web. This site is the hub of the Yardbarker Network, where our editors and algorithms curate the best sports content from our network and beyond.