Angels 8 Braves 4

I'll be the first to say I'm excited to see all the prospects get their first shot, but tonight was an object lesson in what happens when too many first shots are being, um, shooted. Exhibit A was Brayan Pena, who evidently does not read Brave-O-Matic. First, to M Norman's chagrin, he gets called up from Richmond. Then, as soon as I pay him a compliment on his defense, he unveils his throwing arm. What was that three-quarters motion about? I have to think we've tried to teach him differently. Maybe he was just nervous and forgot his mechanics, I don't know. Anyway, the Angels took quick note of this and stole five bases.

Also not contributing was Kelly Johnson and Andy Marte. Marte I'll forgive, but the Johnson experiment is going quite badly so far. You want to show confidence in the guy, but .037 is .037. I've advocated Marte in the outfield for just this season, but supposedly that experiment didn't go well at Richmond, and Chipper's injury begs the question anyway. Anyone for McCarthy?

Speaking of Chipper, it sounds very bad. If you can't get a clear diagnosis, it's impossible to know how to proceed. We may be without him for most of the season. Hard to see how we'll keep pace.