A Big Sigh Of Relief.

Back on track. That's what it feels like. Sure, they lose 1-0. But then Saunders does what we knew he would do after his last outing, and throws smoke and mirrors. Shields starts to protect leads again. And Fuentes does what he got signed to do.In other words, we're primed for another October disappointment.Sorry to be the buzz kill. No one is happier than me that the Angels are playing better. The question is, better than what? Better than earlier in the season? Yes. Better than last year? Not even close. And we know how last year ended up.The Angels play like the only National league team in the American league - which would be great if they were in the National League. But this is Earl Weaver's league. This the Boston Red Sox's league. This is the league of the three-run homer. The Angels require three hits to score a run. Which means everything has to go right, or else it all goes wrong.They score just enough to scratch out close victories in the regular season, which is why their closers get so many chances to save games. But it's also why it's so easy for them to go into deep scoring slumps. Two hits in an inning? Not enough for them to score. Ten singles a game. Sure, but how many runs does that get you?I know, I shouldn't put the cart before the horse. The Angels might not even make the playoffs. Oakland could get hot (not this year.) Seattle could catch fire again (again, not this year.) Texas could keep pitching like this all the way to September (let me know when I can stop laughing.) But if the Angels DO make the playoffs, they're going to have to score more than three or four runs a game. They're going to have to stop pretending that little ball is going to come up big in the playoffs. It won't. We've seen that.So while I'm happy they're starting to jell, I wish that they could start scoring in clumps. It is possible with this line-up. Morales looks good. Hunter looks great. And... oh, right, that's it for the power. Of course Vlade is coming back. That could change everything. The question is, in which direction?