Angels’ Closer Frieri Says Athletics are “Just Lucky”
By Jason Burke
Ernesto Frieri was quite opinionated in a postgame interview after his team swept the White Sox. According to Frieri, “We’re going to beat [the A’s]. Get ready to write that. I hate to say this, but they have a little bit of extra luck. If you pay attention every play, it’s stupid how the game goes their way.” Oh Ernesto, the game going one team’s way on a consistent basis isn’t luck. The A’s come out ahead because they’re better than the Angels. Frieri must have wiped the previous 6 meetings from his memory, in which the A’s are 5-1.
Of course, these comments came after a series sweep of the White Sox over the weekend. Frieri must be flying high, after pitching in all three games and only allowing 2 ER in his 3 IP. His ERA is a whopping 4.33 entering the series with the A’s. On the season against the Athletics, Frieri has pitched 2 1/3 innings, given up 6 hits, 2 runs and has a BAA of .429, all leading to his 7.71 ERA against Oakland in 2014.
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Yes, his numbers against the A’s the past 2 years have been much better, but so were Jered Weaver‘s until last Sunday in Oakland. Angels’ top setup man Joe Smith, who the rest of the league shudders in fear against, has struggled against the Athletics. 7 of the 9 runs he has allowed this season have come against the A’s in just 2 2/3 IP. Man the A’s are lucky.
Of course, all of their luck is being used to decimate other opponents as well. Having a +128 run differential doesn’t just happen, of course. It takes an entire team working towards the same goal. None of the A’s players are busy talking to the media about other teams. They’re busy getting ready for the next series. Of course, Frieri has more free time with Mike Trout carrying the Angels for the past 2 seasons. This is assumedly why Trout has been having back issues this season. Frieri has been dead weight.
As a quick side note, to look up the quote for this article, I typed in “Frieri, A’s”. The results were almost comical. Of course, up top is what I was looking for. Of the other 9 results, none shone a positive light on Frieri when facing the A’s. The most common result were, “Frieri Blows Save Against A’s” or, “Frieri Can’t Hold Lead” or finally, “Angels Not Planning to replace Frieri”. Let’s just say the source of the bulletin board material, Frieri, is just misguided or slightly delusional.