Another Failure

It's getting pretty old. Everyone who wears Angels red for these games thinks they can win, with the exception of the 25 guys wearing it on the field. They play afraid. They play like they think they don't deserve to be there. They are truly not ready for prime time. And they've done it for four consecutive post-seasons. It really makes 2002 that much more unbelievable.

Clearly Howie Kendrick will go down as the goat, and it was such an otherwordly awful post-season for him that I really have no idea how he'll react. Almost everything he did hurt the team. John Lackey was as good as he could have possibly been, but the offense just cashed it in. Almost no timely hits in the whole series. No power, with the exception of Mike Napoli in game three. And I'm talking extra base power, not just home runs. They played like they didn't believe they could win, and they deserved to lose.

Right now I don't really care about 2009. This team is absolutely deflating to root for. I really like Mark Teixeira, but I hope for his sake he goes to a team that can compete in October, because he didn't finish the season with one. So long, Frankie. Thanks for all you did you for the Angels, and good luck wherever you land. That goes for you too, Garret. For so many years I lamented the Angels' inability to make the playoffs. I'm finding that repeated failure in which they don't even put forth a professional effort is even worse.

Go Phillies, and Go Rays. I hope they take down the two piece of shit franchises remaining

Howie Kendrick

I love Howie Kendrick. I think he's a future batting champion. But he needs to be on the bench on Sunday. He needs to be far away from the batters box unless they're desperate for a pinch hitter. He's 0-9 in the series with five strike outs, and he's left 11 men on base. And you know what? That's not why I think he should sit.

Sure, it's part of the reason, probably a big part. But in the eighth inning, after Jacoby Ellsbury reached base on a two out walk, he stole second. Mike Napoli grabbed the pitch and looked to throw to second. Ellsbury probably would have reached safely, but it was close enough to warrent a throw. Only, no one was covering. Right handed hitting Dustin Pedroia was at the plate, which means more likely than not, it was Kendrick's responsibility to cover second. But he was nowhere to be found.

His head is simply not in it. He's swinging at pitches nowhere near the strike zone. He's screwing up things you learn in Little League. He's not taking a first strike. He's killing this team. Hell, I expect nothing from Erick Aybar at the plate. But Howie has to hit, and he's an automatic out. He needs to sit. I don't know what they do, other than play Figgins at second and Wood at third. That sounds desperate, but they are desperate. There is not a person on earth who thinks the Angels will win this series, so maybe they have to do something crazy. Whatever they do, Kendrick needs to watch game three from the bench.

And let me reiterate to Ed Rapuano, if I ever see you in public, I will kick your fucking ass or die trying.

1 and 6-9 liveblog

Through one game and two innings, starters hitting in the leadoff spot and 6-9 spots are a combined 0-25. Kendry Morales, pinch hitting in game one, has the only hit from that part of the lineup.

The Angels started the inning 0-20. None of those hitters have even reached base. Tonight:

• Figgins popped up - first inning - 0-21
• Rivera grounded out - first inning - 0-22
• Kendrick struck out - second inning - 0-23
• Mathis struck out - second inning - 0-24
• Aybar flew out - second inning - 0-25 - with his error, he's now producing negatively.
  
• Figgins flies out - third inning - 0-26

Interlude - 2-5 hitters are 13-22, a .591 average. All other starters are hitting z-e-r-o.

• A WALK! A Baserunner! The OBP is up to .037!!
• Kendrick strikes out - fourth inning - 0-27
• A HIT!!ONE11!!!!11one!!! Mathis - fourth inning - 1-28
• Aybar grounds out - fourth inning - 1-29
• Figgins Singles!!!! - fourth inning - 2-30

Overall update, and hell, I'll even throw Kendry's pinch hit single into the mix:

32 plate appearances
31 at bats
2 hits
1 walk
2 total bases
That comes to a line of .065/.094/.065

• Rivera strikes out - fifth inning - 2-32
• Kendrick flies out - fifth inning - 2-33
• Kendry won't count towards the normal count, as he's a pinch hitter, but he's out too. Actually screw that. Let's throw his hit from last night in there, and his out tonight. The count is officially 3-35.
  

That may do it. First and second with no one out and the Angels can't get a run in to bring it to one. That's the story of the last five years. That, for all intents and purposes, was probably the game.

• Aybar gets fucked on ball four, grounds out on a 3-2 pitch - sixth inning - 3-36
• Figgins pops up sixth inning - 3-37

Garret Anderson almost hits one out, but ends up just making a loud out. He's not included in the calculation, but his 0-3 tonight makes it six consecutive unproductive hitters in a nine man lineup.

• Juan Rivera Walks - seventh inning - still 3-37
• Howie Kendrick, working hard to replace Chone Figgins, strikes out on two pitches that aren't even in the same area code as the strike zone - seventh inning, 3-38
• Mike Napoli walks - RBI - seventh inning - still 3-38
• Erick Aybar strikes out on a Howie Kendrick pitch - 3-39

42 plate appearances
39 at bats
3 hits
3 walks
3 total bases
That comes to a line of .077/.143/.077 - That's an OPS of 220. If everyone bunted every time up, they'd probably have an OPS better than that.

• Figgins Triples!! - Eight inning - 4-40....They're up to .100!

I'm going to study Ed Rapuano's photograph. I'm going to burn it into my memory, and one day, I hope to see him walking down the street. And when I do, I'll go fucking Hormel Chavez on his ass and kick him in fucking balls, then kick the fucking shit out of him and hopefully take out a few ribs. Ed Rapuano, you're a piece of shit, and you deserve to have the living shit beat out of you.

• Gary Matthews fouls out - ninth inning - 4-41
• Howie Kendrick strikes out - ninth inning - 4-42

They end game two at:
45 Plate Appearances
42 at bats
4 hits
3 walks
6 total bases
That gives them a line of .089/.156/.143

Stop Me If You Think That You've Heard This One Before

Angels offense - artist's rendering

The Angels worked for 162 games to secure a division title and home field advantage in the playoffs. They worked for three hours to lose it. After a season in which they worked so hard to convince their fans and the baseball world that this was the Angels team that could finally beat the hated Red Sox, it took them nine innings to convince everyone that really nothing had changed.

Jason Bay's sixth inning two run homer provided all the firepower the Red Sox needed as they beat John Lackey and the Angels 4-1. The October anemia that has afflicted the Angels offense since 2004 has not been cured by a shot of Teixeira, and they've brought their whole season down to one game on Friday.

The Angels wasted early opportunities, leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, before catching a break when Jed Lowrie booted Vladimir Guerrero's routine ground ball. Torii Hunter singled to left, scoring Garret Anderson, who had earlier singled. In the top of the sixth, John Lackey made his only mistake. Mike Napoli called for a low fastball, Lackey elevated it, and Bay jacked it out to deep left field for a lead that the Red Sox wouldn't relinquish. John Lester escaped the early trouble, found his command, and was kryptonite to Angels bats through seven innings, allowing only the one unearned run. He dominated the 6, 7, 8, 9 and 1 hitters, who combined to go 0 for 16, a black hole that the Angels couldn't escape. After a season that looked so promising, the Angels play for lives Friday night. Lose, and the season is all but over.

Top three Angels perfomers:

John Lackey worked 6 and 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits, while walking three and striking out five. He made only one mistake, and it was the difference in the game.

Darren Oliver entered in the seventh in a jam, and struck out David Ortiz on a 3-2 curveball to kepp the Angels hopes alive. He retired two more hitters before leaving, having thrown a perfect inning.

Garret Anderson had two hits, and generally looked like he knew what he was doing, a rarity in the Angel lineup.

Jeff Weaver of the game:

Take your pick of just about the whole offense. Special recognition to Chone Figgins, who dropped his post-season average to barely over .150, and who's last at bat consisted of five takes, three for strikes. Gary Matthews Jr. deserves a shout out as well, for going hitless, and misplaying a ball in right field. Good thing he's in there for his defense. You can call out Vlad as well, for getting thrown out at third by 30 feet after a bloop single by Hunter, but the only way he was going to score was via an out, and you can't do that from second, so maybe some agression was warranted.

Play of the game:

Bay's two run homer.

What to look for Friday:

One team is confident, experienced, and knows how to win in October. One team is desperate. On the plus side, the Angels send the better pitcher, Ervin Santana, to the mound against Dice-K. But if half the lineup can't produce a hit, Friday night may be the penultimate nail in the 2008 coffin.

Game time is 6:30 PDT on TBS