Angels notita: Ervin Santana
Their playoff rotation has not been announced but don’t be surprised to see Angels right-hander Ervin Santana take the mound for the hometown team in the second game of the American League Division Series that starts next week.
Don’t be surprised to hear him downplay the possibility, either.
“I don’t think about that,” Santana said. “I just take it day by day. I’ll be ready for the playoffs when they get here, but right now I’m just thinking about the job I have to do Monday.”
The Dominican is 15-6 with a 3.33 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 30 starts this season. For his career, he is 50-36 with a 4.39 ERA in 114 career games. Last season, he went 7-14 with a 5.76 ERA in 28 games for the Angels.
“It’s been a good year. That was a bad year, but this is a good one,” he said. “You concentrate on the good. I am doing the same thing I did last year. I am just going inning to inning and pitch to pitch.”
“This is a brand new year and you move forward,” he continued. “I learned last year, I practiced my location in the minor leagues and I’ve been able to do my job.”
Santana has also been able to give his arm a break. The Angels gave him a couple of extra days rest before his start against the Mariners on Monday.
“So far, so good,” Santana said. “I’ve enjoyed it. I didn’t need it, but it allowed me to relax a little bit.”
Jesse Sanchez
I have fond memories of Santana during his short stay in Salt Lake last year. . .
In 2007 when Santana was really struggling, he got sent down to AAA–in part to remove some of the media spotlight. When he returned to LA, he made remarks about being misquoted and would only speak directly to a Spanish-speaking reporter. One beat reporter (who of course did not speak Spanish) responded not only by attacking Santana’s lack of English ability, but describing him as spoiled brat who couldn’t handle the big leagues. It was appalling how a media byline/blogspot was abused to launch such completely one-sided and personal attacks.
During the time Santana spent with us, I saw no trace of a “spoiled brat” sulking because he’d been demoted to the bushes. In fact, what I saw most often was the kind of boyish, happy face you’d expect from a 25-year-old playing baseball. After each scheduled start, he’d hang out in the dugout, just like any other AAA pitcher.
One night, he got a foul ball. He stood up in the dugout and held it up to the crowd, waving it around. The screams started. He made the motion to lob it towards the outfield crowd like a basketball jumpshot and then lobbed a gentle no-look pass to some very surprised folks sitting directly behind the dugout. Those of us sitting between the two sections roared with laughter. He looked up and I wagged my finger at him while mouthing the words, “You are a very bad young man.” He beamed back with the most electric smile you could imagine. A couple more times during the game, he’d look over and we’d both start laughing over our private joke.
This year, I see very few bylines from the aforementioned reporter. And of course we all know how things have turned out for Santana. Go get ‘em Ervin!. . .BeesGal