John_Lackey's Blog

30
Sep
Facing the Red Sox

We start our series against the Red Sox Wednesday. They are the defending champs. Tough lineup top to bottom and they are patient hitters. Of course their pitching is solid. They play particularly well at home with tremendous fan support. I'm not sad to see Manny go but the Sox haven't missed a beat without him so we have the same approach as always. They are too good. I want to go out there and get our guys going by pitching my game. All of our guys will be pushing themselves for me so I have to go out there and push myself. We have to play the same game that got us 100 wins this year. Situational hitting, taking the extra base, moving guys over. Our starting pitching sets the tone and then the bullpen does their thing to close it out. That seems to be the Angel formula. I will approach this game just like any other. If you start to change a routine, that when you get in trouble. I will watch a little extra tape, look at some of the newer guys on their team to refresh myself but I have a pretty good idea of how I want to attack their hitters. I just have to execute and the rest will be fine.
110 Comments
13
Sep
AL West Champions

No secret, but we clinched the division against the Yankees the other day. I read in the paper that is was the earliest any AL West team had clinched. We're definitely not used to getting it done this early. We have usually clinched the last week of the season so it was sweet to get it done early now guys can get healed up and we can be full strength when its go time. It was a pretty sweet celebration, especially to see guys like Torii and Teixeira so excited. They are part of our family now and it was nice to lock down a divisional title with them. Now that we knocked off one goal we are shooting for the best record in baseball now and of course one more save for Frankie to break the record. But most important is locking down home field throughout the playoffs. Gotta keep it rollin' and how about Nap coming up with the big jack last night.
21 Comments
01
Sep
Fantasy Draft Tonight

Fantasy draft tonight at Scot Shields house. He has a place just outside Detroit and with the day off we're going to get our teams together. We have a very competitive league so I've been doing my homework and thought I'd share a little. I've got some sleepers, but I'm going to keep them as sleepers until we draft. Don't need sneaks like Scot Shields or Mike Napoli seeing this and picking one of my guys in the draft. A couple thoughts - Peterson or Brady with the second pick? Our league is more of a passing league so I would go Brady. However, running backs are at a premium and Peterson is a stud. Got awfully tired of the Favre stuff, way overblown, but he 's Brett Favre and he can still sling it. You have to be able to live with the interceptions though. Hope not too many points deducted in your league for those. He could easily have 4 Tds one game and 4 picks the next. Top rookie - I think Darren McFadden is going to be strong. He is a beast and I like him busting on the scene this year. Unproven QBs like Tavaris Jackson make me hesitant to take their wideouts because you just never know what you are going to get. Look at Randy Moss and Oakland and in New England? Difference there is the QB play mostly. The 49ers have some shaky QB play, but I still think Vernon Davis is valuable because of his red zone chances. If he were a wide receiver, it would be different. It might even be better for him because the QB can use him as a safety valve with short passes and quick hits. That's it, I hope the fellas did their homework cuz I am coming out strong this year. Real strong.
19 Comments
28
Aug
Last Outing

Start a new series tonight against Texas. I meant to drop a blog on you yesterday but got caught up with my day after workout. I pitched pretty well the other night against the A's got the complete game. I was asked if complete games are important to starting pitchers, to me it's important in one regard - it gives the bullpen a night off. As many times as those guys save me, it's nice to return the favor and give them a needed rest. Especially this late in the season. I knew going in that I had my stuff. I had my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and Red Bulls, got focused and went to the bullpen to warm up. That's where you usually get a feel for how the night is going to go. I felt strong out there warming up. When I got out there I liked my control, I was able to put the ball in the spots I was looking for. The curve was working too. I did leave a pitch out over to Cust and he jacked it, that's the one thing that sticks out to me. These division games are important. We lost the A's series, we need to get one back against the Rangers.
15 Comments
15
Aug
With Teixeira our 3-4-5 is one of the best in baseball

Gotta hand it to our offense, we've been scoring some runs. We were coming on offensively before the deal but getting Tex puts us over the top. The thing that amazes me is that he is such a patient hitter. He really waits for his pitch to drive. He has been fun to watch and I think guys have fed off of the energy he has brought. Having Tex hitting in front of Vlad is flat out scary. Not sure how I would even approach it. It's almost like pick your poison, after those two guys you have Torii Hunter. Wow. Our 3-4-5 is right up there as one of the best in the bigs.
10 Comments

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Facing the Red Sox

AL West Champions

Fantasy Draft Tonight

Last Outing

With Teixeira our 3-4-5 is one of the best in baseball

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