Bane flew to South Korea to join Jung and his family at a news conference, which he said attracted 150 media members, including 15 photographers.Oh, that Vlad. Thanks for clearing that up.
"They just snapped away as if it was Halle Berry or something," Bane said. "I don't think we had that big a press conference when we signed Vlad," referring to All-Star Vladimir Guerrero.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Struck me funny
I'm not a reporter, and I'm sure this is something they do on all similar blurbs, but this quote from today's Times made me laugh:
The Second Half
Wow, get a front page link from the Rev and everyone stops by. Anyway, with the second half getting underway tonight, I figured I'd reprint an email that I sent to Keith Law (formerly of Prospectus and the Blue Jays, currently of ESPN), with whom I've had an informal correspondence over the years (long story), in response to the excepts I read from his ESPN write up on the Angels the other day. It's behind the wall, and I'm cheap, so I haven't read the whole thing. It should still serve as a quick assessment of how I see the Angels doing in the second half.
As the second half begins, I'll actually be heading out of town for the weekend, so I won't be seeing any of this weekend's series. I'll be leaving tonight to head up to Michigan to play the 10th best public course in the country (per Golf Digest), Arcadia Bluffs. Seriously, click the link. This place is freaking amazing. Coming back on Sunday, so I may see some of that game, but I'll also be heading out the driving range one last time to prepare for Monday's qualifier for the Illinois State Amateur championship. I haven't really played very well since I qualified for the Mid-Am (then played just awful in the actual event itself), but I've been encouraged by my work on the range this week, so we'll see.
And for the hell of it, here's an old Catherine Wheel video:
- The Angels rotation will be better in the second half simply because of the return of Colon, and the absence of Jeff Weaver in favor Jered. Obviously, that's health permitting, but even if Colon goes back to the DL, they'll be better off with Saunders getting those starts than they would be with either Jeff Weaver or Carrasco/Gregg. If they lose Lackey or Santana to injury, though, they're in trouble. But geez, Kelvim Escobar is their fifth starter!
- I really don't think their defense can be any worse than it was in the first half. And it wasn't simply a case of making a lot of errors. They were very unlucky, too (this is eyewitness testimony as opposed to statistical analysis). They gave up more than their fair share of unearned runs, mostly because it seemed like just about every single guy who reached base on an error ended up scoring. I checked about 60 games into the season, and they were so far out in front on unearned runs that it was ridiculous. Their DER is still pretty decent, and I really don't expect them to keep making the errors that they've made to this point. I would expect their overall run prevention to get better.
- I can't see the offense really being any better or worse. It's tough to tell, though, because if Anderson gets hurt, the offense will probably improve. And if they can deal Kennedy and get Kendrick in there everyday, it should be better. Conversely, if they insist on playing Erstad if/when he returns, it will be worse. And I really have no idea if they're going to deal for a bat (I sort of hope they don't). I don't necessarily buy the argument that says Vlad is in a slump, and he'll be better in the second half. My gut tells me he's just having a bad year or he's hiding an injury, but either way, I suspect that what we've seen is what we're going to get.
- I can't see the offense really being any better or worse. It's tough to tell, though, because if Anderson gets hurt, the offense will probably improve. And if they can deal Kennedy and get Kendrick in there everyday, it should be better. Conversely, if they insist on playing Erstad if/when he returns, it will be worse. And I really have no idea if they're going to deal for a bat (I sort of hope they don't). I don't necessarily buy the argument that says Vlad is in a slump, and he'll be better in the second half. My gut tells me he's just having a bad year or he's hiding an injury, but either way, I suspect that what we've seen is what we're going to get.
As the second half begins, I'll actually be heading out of town for the weekend, so I won't be seeing any of this weekend's series. I'll be leaving tonight to head up to Michigan to play the 10th best public course in the country (per Golf Digest), Arcadia Bluffs. Seriously, click the link. This place is freaking amazing. Coming back on Sunday, so I may see some of that game, but I'll also be heading out the driving range one last time to prepare for Monday's qualifier for the Illinois State Amateur championship. I haven't really played very well since I qualified for the Mid-Am (then played just awful in the actual event itself), but I've been encouraged by my work on the range this week, so we'll see.
And for the hell of it, here's an old Catherine Wheel video:
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Quite A Week
The only thing standing between the Angels and a perfect week was a sac fly by Juan Rivera or Mike Napoli, and/or a scoreless ninth inning by Scot Shields on Thursday night. But the Angels were not disheartened by Big Hurt's walk off in the first game of this series. They shook it off and won the next three behind a brilliant performance by John Lackey, backed up by excellent starts by Jered Weaver and Ervin Santana. As a result, the Angels find themselves just two games out of first (and two games under .500).
While the offense has been picking it up a bit, evidence by the slugging in the A's series, the pitching has been dominant. The last turn through the rotation before the All-Star break, the starters went 38 innings and allowed 4 earned runs for an ERA under 1.00. That's awesome. They'll be in the thick of this race from here on out if they can do two things: 1) Continue to get excellent performances from the starters, and 2) play the type of defense that they're capable of. I should mention, they allowed three unearned runs over those 38 innings, and unearned runs have been the difference between being two game out and two games up to this point. The defense has to improve, or they'll continue to let opportunities slip away.
The AL West is set up for a tremendously exciting second half. Four teams are separated by 2.5 games, and thanks to Ozzie Guillen's myopia, only a handful of AL Westians will be worn out by the All-Star game.
While the offense has been picking it up a bit, evidence by the slugging in the A's series, the pitching has been dominant. The last turn through the rotation before the All-Star break, the starters went 38 innings and allowed 4 earned runs for an ERA under 1.00. That's awesome. They'll be in the thick of this race from here on out if they can do two things: 1) Continue to get excellent performances from the starters, and 2) play the type of defense that they're capable of. I should mention, they allowed three unearned runs over those 38 innings, and unearned runs have been the difference between being two game out and two games up to this point. The defense has to improve, or they'll continue to let opportunities slip away.
The AL West is set up for a tremendously exciting second half. Four teams are separated by 2.5 games, and thanks to Ozzie Guillen's myopia, only a handful of AL Westians will be worn out by the All-Star game.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
John Lackey. Stud.
Slow talkin', slow windin', hard throwin' stud.
Three and a half years ago, he started the final march to the promised land, and for the next two years, we wondering what happened to that promise. Last year, he broke out, and this year, he's turning into the force that many of us believed he could be. Tonight was the second finest evening of his career. A virtuoso performance that few Angels hurlers have provided in the history of this franchise. Nolan had his no-nos. I'm sure some other dudes had some great perfomances before my time. Mike Witt had his Eric Miltonesque perfecto on the last day of the season. But this performance is the finest single game I've witnessed on television, even better than a few others that I've seen in person. Here's my list of the top four pitching perfomances that I can remember after about six beers in a couple hours (note, I'm not adjusting for game context, so Washburn's excellent effort in game 3 against the Twins in 2002 isn't on the list, for example):
Three and a half years ago, he started the final march to the promised land, and for the next two years, we wondering what happened to that promise. Last year, he broke out, and this year, he's turning into the force that many of us believed he could be. Tonight was the second finest evening of his career. A virtuoso performance that few Angels hurlers have provided in the history of this franchise. Nolan had his no-nos. I'm sure some other dudes had some great perfomances before my time. Mike Witt had his Eric Miltonesque perfecto on the last day of the season. But this performance is the finest single game I've witnessed on television, even better than a few others that I've seen in person. Here's my list of the top four pitching perfomances that I can remember after about six beers in a couple hours (note, I'm not adjusting for game context, so Washburn's excellent effort in game 3 against the Twins in 2002 isn't on the list, for example):
- John Lackey retires 27 straight A's after allowing a leadoff hit - July 7, 2006. Tonight's game was a tremendous performance. The Angels really needed a win to remain the race, and on the night that "all-star" Mark Beuhrle looked like crap against the Red Sox (I know, I was there), John Lackey showed Ozzie Guillen who really should have been on the team. In fact, it's making me want to get an all-star warm up jersey with Lackey's name and number just for the hell of it. He walked no one, he went to only two three ball counts all night long. He challenged hitters, and he flat out dominated. Absolutely brilliant.
- Jason Dickson five hits the Boston Red Sox - April 3, 1997. I was at this game, seated three rows behind home plate in seats provided to us by a guy from Adhor Farms that did business with my dad. Dickson was awesome. He allowed no one past second base. He was a prospect at the time, and he wowed the home crowd in this one. No doubt I remember this because I was there, but every time a young Angel pitcher dominates with a shutout, I remember this game.
- Ramon Ortiz outduels Pedro Martinez and wins 2-1 - August 8, 2000. I went to this game a night or two before leaving SoCal to head back to Champaign to begin my third year of law school. I remember the plethora of Red Sox fans in attendance. Think about it, if you're a Sox fan, and can only make it to one game, this was the game to go to. Pedro was on the mound. There was no way they could lose. But Tim Salmon drilled a solo shot over the left center field wall to lead off the second, and Garret Anderson provided a two out RBI single in the fourth, giving the Angels a 2-0 lead. Troy O'Leary was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double in the fifth, but a blind umpire called him safe, and he later scored on two straight ground outs. It was one of only two hits he'd allow. I have a distinct memory of Carl Everett stepping to the plate before making the final out, grooming the dirt, stepping in, stepping out, taking his sweet time in an obvious attempt to ice the rookie. I remember thinking that if I were Ortiz, I would have drilled Everett in the back with my first pitch. But Ortiz settled for inducing the final out with a foul pop up. And thousands of pissed off Red Sox fans left the building.
- Ervin Santana shuts out the White Sox in his second major league start - May 23, 2005. Only a kid with Ervin's poise could give up the cycle to the first four batter he faced in his major league career, then come back and flat out dominate the eventual world champs in his next start. He limited the Sox to five hits, only one for extra bases, and erased two of those hits on subsequent double plays. He seemed to always make the right pitch at the right time, and flashed the brilliance that we still see on occasion, and look forward to seeing in the future.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Walks and homers
The Angels give up too many. Scot Shields is no longer elite.
Juan Rivera is not clutch.
Juan Rivera is not clutch.
Big Series, Bright Lights, Cool, Cool People
Turning the tables on Seattle's massacre in Anaheim last month, the Angels went up to the Pacific Northwest and took three straight from a team surprisingly ahead of them in the standings, and as such they find themselves only four games out of first as they head into a four game set with first place Oakland. Split and they're still four out. Take three and they're two out. A sweep, and they're tied. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. No one is going to win this division with fewer than 81 wins, so before getting caught up in how far out the Angels sit, their focus should be on getting to .500 for the first time in a long time.
On the bright side, the rotation is finally poised to become the force it was expected to be entering the season. Escobar, Colon, and Lackey each went deep into their most recent starts without allowing a run. Santana survived eight innings of a day game on the road to garner the win despite allowing six runs. And Jered Weaver picked up right where he left off, holding Seattle to one run over seven innings in his last start. Orlando Cabrera continues to ignite the offense, and Kendry Morales may be getting through his adjustment phase at the major league level. He's been on fire lately, nicely masking the mini-slump by Mike Napoli.
But danger lurks. These are scary times for Angels fans with an affinity for the farm system. The closer the Angels get, and the longer they hang around, the more likely they are to do something stupid, like trading Santana and/or top prospects for a rental like Carlos Lee, or a mental case like Alfonso Soriano. I'll lay it down right now. My untouchables for those two, or anyone resembling them include: Lackey, Santana, Weaver, Wood, and Kendrick. There are others I don't want to see moved, but I could live with a trade of Shield, Aybar, Saunders, Arredondo, or even Adenhart if it brought back a big bat in return. I'm leery of the names being tossed around, though. I've always liked Carlos Lee, but his breakout occured as he went to a hitters park. Soriano can hit, and I don't care so much about his strikeouts, but he's just never seemed like a really reliable producer to me.
Anyway, the temptation is going to be to rip out the youth to go for it now, which I think is extremely short sighted. Let's see how they do with this rotation for a few weeks. They may not need to make a deadline deal that forces them to give up the youngsters. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
On the bright side, the rotation is finally poised to become the force it was expected to be entering the season. Escobar, Colon, and Lackey each went deep into their most recent starts without allowing a run. Santana survived eight innings of a day game on the road to garner the win despite allowing six runs. And Jered Weaver picked up right where he left off, holding Seattle to one run over seven innings in his last start. Orlando Cabrera continues to ignite the offense, and Kendry Morales may be getting through his adjustment phase at the major league level. He's been on fire lately, nicely masking the mini-slump by Mike Napoli.
But danger lurks. These are scary times for Angels fans with an affinity for the farm system. The closer the Angels get, and the longer they hang around, the more likely they are to do something stupid, like trading Santana and/or top prospects for a rental like Carlos Lee, or a mental case like Alfonso Soriano. I'll lay it down right now. My untouchables for those two, or anyone resembling them include: Lackey, Santana, Weaver, Wood, and Kendrick. There are others I don't want to see moved, but I could live with a trade of Shield, Aybar, Saunders, Arredondo, or even Adenhart if it brought back a big bat in return. I'm leery of the names being tossed around, though. I've always liked Carlos Lee, but his breakout occured as he went to a hitters park. Soriano can hit, and I don't care so much about his strikeouts, but he's just never seemed like a really reliable producer to me.
Anyway, the temptation is going to be to rip out the youth to go for it now, which I think is extremely short sighted. Let's see how they do with this rotation for a few weeks. They may not need to make a deadline deal that forces them to give up the youngsters. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Hooray for third party videos!
This video was made by a fellow Angels fan (the Goat, apparently), and recently posted to Youtube. Read more about the deal in this thread at the Rev's site. It's for "OX4", which is probably the best song on Ride's 'Going Blank Again' album, although it's unquestionable overshadowed by the opening track "Leave Them All Behind", which is the second video down. Enjoy. And I'll just note, one the crappy things about videos and songs on the radio is the good stuff they cut out to package it into a few minutes. One of the best parts of LTAB is the two minute introduction, which is entirely cut out for the video.
Angels blow it again
Walks, defensive mistakes, untimely pitching, the same old story for the Angels, as they build on an unexpected come from behind thriller on Monday by dropping the next two games in less than dramatic fashion. The bright spots were once again Orlando Cabrera, who reached base three times, and Mike Napoli, who ripped an RBI double in the seventh to tie the score and give Angels fans hope for a half inning until Scot Shields threw up all over himself.
Ervin Santana suffered through one bad inning, and a couple where he made a lot of pitches, which meant he only last through seven, and even that was on more than expected. He settled down and breezed through his last few innings, but a multitude of walks, including one that drove in the Rockies first run, pushed up his pitch count.
I'm not sure how much longer they can go on like this. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it's time to start playing the guys who will part of the next good Angels team. I'll settle for Kendrick and Jered Weaver right now. And I really think they need to test the market for Cabrera. Someone needs a short stop, and he'll never have the value he has right now.
Three with the Dodgers, who had it handed to them by the Twins. We'll see if the Angels can salvage some pride after the drubbing they took earlier this season.
Ervin Santana suffered through one bad inning, and a couple where he made a lot of pitches, which meant he only last through seven, and even that was on more than expected. He settled down and breezed through his last few innings, but a multitude of walks, including one that drove in the Rockies first run, pushed up his pitch count.
I'm not sure how much longer they can go on like this. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it's time to start playing the guys who will part of the next good Angels team. I'll settle for Kendrick and Jered Weaver right now. And I really think they need to test the market for Cabrera. Someone needs a short stop, and he'll never have the value he has right now.
Three with the Dodgers, who had it handed to them by the Twins. We'll see if the Angels can salvage some pride after the drubbing they took earlier this season.
Farmar Stays Home
Not exactly the way we were hoping he would, but Jordan Farmar was selected by the Lakers with the 26th pick in the draft. Of course, I watch the NBA about as frequently as I update this blog, so while I root for the Lakers, my interest in professional basketball is virtually nil. However, it's nice to see Jordan selected in the first round, and it's good to know that he'll be staying in LA. As someone mentioned over at Bruins Nation, I'm not sure he's the perfect fit for that system. The trianle offense doesn't really require a true point guard, and you'd usually prefer someone at that position with a little more size. But that assumes that the Lakers will be playing for Phil Jackson or a protege for much of Jordan's career, which they probably won't. I can't imagine much will be expected of him next year, but you never really know how a guy is going to adjust.
Ryan Hollins was also selected, going with the 50th pick to the Charlotte Bobcats. Just goes to show you how different the pro game is from the college game. Hollins went one pick after Leon Powe, who has ten times the skill of Ryan Hollins. But Hollins is tall, and can leap out of the building.
The Illini made a little noise as well. James Augustine went to Orlando with the 41st pick, and in effort to increase the sale of their merchandise in Central Illinois, the Utah Jazz selected Dee Brown with the 46th pick, reuniting him with former backcourt mate Deron Williams. The Jazz instantly became the second favorite team for a lot of Bulls fans, if not outright favorite. As much as I despised the Jazz in the Malone and Stockton days, I admit I'll be rooting for them now.
Ryan Hollins was also selected, going with the 50th pick to the Charlotte Bobcats. Just goes to show you how different the pro game is from the college game. Hollins went one pick after Leon Powe, who has ten times the skill of Ryan Hollins. But Hollins is tall, and can leap out of the building.
The Illini made a little noise as well. James Augustine went to Orlando with the 41st pick, and in effort to increase the sale of their merchandise in Central Illinois, the Utah Jazz selected Dee Brown with the 46th pick, reuniting him with former backcourt mate Deron Williams. The Jazz instantly became the second favorite team for a lot of Bulls fans, if not outright favorite. As much as I despised the Jazz in the Malone and Stockton days, I admit I'll be rooting for them now.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Monday, June 26, 2006
Rockies 4; Angels 5
This was kind of a fun game to watch. Turn it on, get discouraged, do other stuff around the apartment while the game plays in the background, give up hope, then watch the Angels put up a five spot in the 8th to win the game. And just in case you got a little too happy, Frankie made matters a little more interesting by giving up a two out shot in the ninth, suddenly making a two out RBI single by Juan Rivera all that much more important. Frankie then gave up a 390 foot shot in to JD Closser that fell just short of the wall and into Chone Figgins' glove.
Even the most pessimistic among us keep hope alive after just about every win, and wins like this go double for that. When the team comes back and wins a game that they really shouldn't, you always think it's the one that helps them turn the corner, that leads to a long winning streak. Well, we'll find out this week if that's the case.
But while the team has teeter-tottered between being in the race and out of the race, three players have made the season worth watching. One is plying his trade in triple A due to an inexplicable brain cramp that seems to have afflicted all of the team's upper management. Meanwhile, we've been treated to fantastic first halves from Orlando Cabrera, who has now reached base safely in 54 or 55 straight games, and Michael Napoli, who has added an ability to hit for average to the plate discipline and power he showed in his minor league career, a career that he doesn't figure to continue. Both played major roles in tonight's victory, with the OC extending his streak with an RBI single in the ninth, and Napoli ripping an opposite field double that drove home the tying and and go ahead runs. No matter what happens this season, they've provided a heck of a lot of entertainment.
And they all provided a nice present for John Lackey, who pitched well enough to win, and actually did win for once. He had to be patient, but he got a double play line drive to escape a bases loaded, one out jam in the second inning that could have essentially iced the game for the Rockies if it had been a few feet up, left, or right. But such is baseball. And if the Angels do use this game to spur them to bigger and better and things, they can look back at that lucky line drive as a turning point.
Even the most pessimistic among us keep hope alive after just about every win, and wins like this go double for that. When the team comes back and wins a game that they really shouldn't, you always think it's the one that helps them turn the corner, that leads to a long winning streak. Well, we'll find out this week if that's the case.
But while the team has teeter-tottered between being in the race and out of the race, three players have made the season worth watching. One is plying his trade in triple A due to an inexplicable brain cramp that seems to have afflicted all of the team's upper management. Meanwhile, we've been treated to fantastic first halves from Orlando Cabrera, who has now reached base safely in 54 or 55 straight games, and Michael Napoli, who has added an ability to hit for average to the plate discipline and power he showed in his minor league career, a career that he doesn't figure to continue. Both played major roles in tonight's victory, with the OC extending his streak with an RBI single in the ninth, and Napoli ripping an opposite field double that drove home the tying and and go ahead runs. No matter what happens this season, they've provided a heck of a lot of entertainment.
And they all provided a nice present for John Lackey, who pitched well enough to win, and actually did win for once. He had to be patient, but he got a double play line drive to escape a bases loaded, one out jam in the second inning that could have essentially iced the game for the Rockies if it had been a few feet up, left, or right. But such is baseball. And if the Angels do use this game to spur them to bigger and better and things, they can look back at that lucky line drive as a turning point.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Haven't posted much
A short vacation and a mediocre team to follow will do that to a guy. The Angels continue to muddle along at a pace that will seem them reach .500 sometime around never, and with the A's making their patented mid-season surge, the whole "we're still within striking distance" thing will no doubt be over soon. Meanwhile, Jered Weaver's alleged mental issues with being demoted appear to be far fetched, as he absolutely dominated in his second AAA start since inexplicably being demoted over a week ago. He struck out 14 and gave up two hits in a complete game shutout. Well done, braintrust.
Across the globe, the U.S. got dicked in both games against Italy and Ghana, and predictably limped home after failing to make it out of group play. The English have yet to play an inspired match, but they also have yet to lose. Only they and the Germans remain among teams I'm fond of now that the Dutch have bowed out in one of the most poorly officiated games of the tournament. Someone explain to me how it's not a penalty when you kick a guy in the chest in the 18 yard box.
The NHL entry draft was yesterday, and well, I didn't even know about it. Anyway, Pavol Demitra is gone, making my decision to get my most recently purchased jersey customized with Lubomir Visnovsky all that much more prescient. In return, they get a top prospect Patrick O'Sullivan, who's American, and with the pick they received in the deal, drafted Trevor Lewis, who also appears to be American. So thumbs up as far as I'm concerned.
Anyway, I was kind of writing just to write today, so that's what you get.
Across the globe, the U.S. got dicked in both games against Italy and Ghana, and predictably limped home after failing to make it out of group play. The English have yet to play an inspired match, but they also have yet to lose. Only they and the Germans remain among teams I'm fond of now that the Dutch have bowed out in one of the most poorly officiated games of the tournament. Someone explain to me how it's not a penalty when you kick a guy in the chest in the 18 yard box.
The NHL entry draft was yesterday, and well, I didn't even know about it. Anyway, Pavol Demitra is gone, making my decision to get my most recently purchased jersey customized with Lubomir Visnovsky all that much more prescient. In return, they get a top prospect Patrick O'Sullivan, who's American, and with the pick they received in the deal, drafted Trevor Lewis, who also appears to be American. So thumbs up as far as I'm concerned.
Anyway, I was kind of writing just to write today, so that's what you get.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Front office to fan base: You can all go home now
Tonight, June 16th (PDT), the Angels front office officially gave up on the 2006 season. They've made the decision to send Jered Weaver back to AAA. Apparently the solution to the defensive woes that in practice have cost the Angels at least seven or eight games this year is to send down the one person that has been their best player over the last three weeks.
Bill Stoneman = Charlatan. And not in the good "Tim Burgess" way.
What kind of person looks at this team, a team that scores roughly 3 runs per game against the Royals and Padres, a team that gives their opponents 10 innings every night, a team who's offense has a history of making luggage like Mark Redman look like Cy Young, and decides the best way to compete is to send down their best pitcher? Quite frankly, it's madness.
Publicly, I gave up on this season a long time ago, but personally, I watch almost every game, I take every game seriously, and I realize they really aren't that far out of first place. But the facts are these:
Look, if they don't care about winning, let's go the whole nine. Deal Kennedy. Deal Cabrera (seriously, he'll NEVER have the value he has right now). Deal them for prospects in the low minors (like local boy Ryan Tucker). Deal a pitcher or two, like Colon. Call up Saunders and see if he can stick at this level. I'd love the rotation next year to be Santana, Jered, Saunders, Lackey, and Escobar.
Right now, there isn't one level near the top of the organization that cares about winning. But the fact is, ten years ago, we'd have killed to be in this position. Oh well, the shit we're taking this season is going to make the next few feel a lot better.
Bill Stoneman = Charlatan. And not in the good "Tim Burgess" way.
What kind of person looks at this team, a team that scores roughly 3 runs per game against the Royals and Padres, a team that gives their opponents 10 innings every night, a team who's offense has a history of making luggage like Mark Redman look like Cy Young, and decides the best way to compete is to send down their best pitcher? Quite frankly, it's madness.
Publicly, I gave up on this season a long time ago, but personally, I watch almost every game, I take every game seriously, and I realize they really aren't that far out of first place. But the facts are these:
- On the field, they look like they don't care about winning;
- To the extent that they do care, they apparently aren't willing to work on the things they need to work on in order to tighten up their play;
- The front office is more concerned with saving face and not upsetting veterans than they are with winning games.
Look, if they don't care about winning, let's go the whole nine. Deal Kennedy. Deal Cabrera (seriously, he'll NEVER have the value he has right now). Deal them for prospects in the low minors (like local boy Ryan Tucker). Deal a pitcher or two, like Colon. Call up Saunders and see if he can stick at this level. I'd love the rotation next year to be Santana, Jered, Saunders, Lackey, and Escobar.
Right now, there isn't one level near the top of the organization that cares about winning. But the fact is, ten years ago, we'd have killed to be in this position. Oh well, the shit we're taking this season is going to make the next few feel a lot better.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Good luck music
I'm posting this in hopes it brings the Angels luck. Also, it's stuff you all should listen to. I'm currently reading this book about these guys, and so far it's pretty good.
Acceptable
The Angels opened the week by taking three of four from arguably the worst team that MLB has seen in the last forty years. Of course, that's one fewer loss than the Royals handed the A's, but I digress.
On the positive side, the pitching was fairly solid, although it's tough to judge just how good they were considering it was the Royals offense that they were facing. Then again, considering the defense they had behind them, the fact that they only allowed 10 runs in four games is downright amazing, but I'll get to that. Both Mike Napoli and Dallas McPherson are showing a nice approach at the plate, actually willing to take a walk. Napoli's 10th inning walk last night spurred the Angels on to their third victory in the series. Orlando Cabrera has absolutely been on fire, reaching base in something like 46 games straight. He was 7/16 in the series, extending the streak last night with a single in what should have been his last at bat, then piling on with the game winning hit in the bottom of the 10th.
On the negative side, Vlad (4/16) and GA (2/15) are slumping, though in Vlad's defense (when you read that, try not to actually think about Vlad's defense), he did hit a homer last night that looked to be the difference until....what else? Crappy defense was their undoing on Wednesday, and it almost did them in last night as well. Ya know, it's one thing to be a poor team defensively. Some guys just aren't skilled with the glove, and no matter how much they practice, they just don't get much better. It's another thing to be stupid and lazy, and too many of the errors lately have been of the stupid and lazy variety. Between Vlad's dropped pop-ups (lazy), Figgins' chucks into right field (stupid) and Jose Molina's ill-advised and unneccesary fling into center field last night (galactically stupid), they're playing like a bunch of little leaguers in teh field. They've already allowed more unearned runs this season than they allowed all of last season. A month into the season, it was a sample size thing. We weren't all that concerned because any team can have a bad month, and if you pull a random month out of any season, even the best defensive teams probably would look less than adequate at some point. But it's mid-June, and the mistakes almost seem to be increasing.
Credit Frankie Rodriguez for getting the job done last night in the 8th inning (and ninth, FWIW). But Jose Molina really needs a brain transplant. His idiotic throw into center field cost the Angels the lead, and very nearly the game. I was pretty sure that Matt Stairs was going to come through for the Royals again, just as he had twice earlier in the previous 10 innings.
So the Angels sit five games behind the first place and surging A's. Interleague starts up again tonight with a three game set against the Padres. Two of three would be nice, but at some point, this team needs to put a streak together. As we saw last weekend, those houses of cards are easily knocked down by a quick Marine breeze.
On the positive side, the pitching was fairly solid, although it's tough to judge just how good they were considering it was the Royals offense that they were facing. Then again, considering the defense they had behind them, the fact that they only allowed 10 runs in four games is downright amazing, but I'll get to that. Both Mike Napoli and Dallas McPherson are showing a nice approach at the plate, actually willing to take a walk. Napoli's 10th inning walk last night spurred the Angels on to their third victory in the series. Orlando Cabrera has absolutely been on fire, reaching base in something like 46 games straight. He was 7/16 in the series, extending the streak last night with a single in what should have been his last at bat, then piling on with the game winning hit in the bottom of the 10th.
On the negative side, Vlad (4/16) and GA (2/15) are slumping, though in Vlad's defense (when you read that, try not to actually think about Vlad's defense), he did hit a homer last night that looked to be the difference until....what else? Crappy defense was their undoing on Wednesday, and it almost did them in last night as well. Ya know, it's one thing to be a poor team defensively. Some guys just aren't skilled with the glove, and no matter how much they practice, they just don't get much better. It's another thing to be stupid and lazy, and too many of the errors lately have been of the stupid and lazy variety. Between Vlad's dropped pop-ups (lazy), Figgins' chucks into right field (stupid) and Jose Molina's ill-advised and unneccesary fling into center field last night (galactically stupid), they're playing like a bunch of little leaguers in teh field. They've already allowed more unearned runs this season than they allowed all of last season. A month into the season, it was a sample size thing. We weren't all that concerned because any team can have a bad month, and if you pull a random month out of any season, even the best defensive teams probably would look less than adequate at some point. But it's mid-June, and the mistakes almost seem to be increasing.
Credit Frankie Rodriguez for getting the job done last night in the 8th inning (and ninth, FWIW). But Jose Molina really needs a brain transplant. His idiotic throw into center field cost the Angels the lead, and very nearly the game. I was pretty sure that Matt Stairs was going to come through for the Royals again, just as he had twice earlier in the previous 10 innings.
So the Angels sit five games behind the first place and surging A's. Interleague starts up again tonight with a three game set against the Padres. Two of three would be nice, but at some point, this team needs to put a streak together. As we saw last weekend, those houses of cards are easily knocked down by a quick Marine breeze.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Monday, June 12, 2006
9 days gone in 3
In one brief weekend, the Angels erased all of the good work they'd done over the last week and half, dropping the three games to .500 that it had taken them nine games to earn. Even worse, really, since the sweeep came against a division rival, all while the Rangers and especially the A's were making time against actual good teams. So really, two weeks of work were undone in less than 48 hours.
There's something that this team just doesn't have. They score a ton of runs when the pitching is good. They can't win close games. They have a bad habit of letting the first few innings of a game dictate the outcome. They either score early and quit, or they give up runs early and quit. They refuse to play anything resembling a major league caliber defense. Their pitchers refuse to throw strikes when they get ahead in counts. They're simply not very good. As enjoyable as they've been to watch over the previous 15 games, their series wins were hollow. You don't get back into a race by winning two of three over an extended period, precisely because one bad stretch wipes out weeks worth of effort, as they've just shown.
Tonight they start a four game stretch again quite possibly the worst team in forty years. If they split this series, it will be one of the most embarrassing moments of the last six or seven years. And while some of us have been convinced for a while that the Angels are done, almost anything short of a sweep will probably convince others as well.
It's gonna be a long, boring summer from here on out folks.
There's something that this team just doesn't have. They score a ton of runs when the pitching is good. They can't win close games. They have a bad habit of letting the first few innings of a game dictate the outcome. They either score early and quit, or they give up runs early and quit. They refuse to play anything resembling a major league caliber defense. Their pitchers refuse to throw strikes when they get ahead in counts. They're simply not very good. As enjoyable as they've been to watch over the previous 15 games, their series wins were hollow. You don't get back into a race by winning two of three over an extended period, precisely because one bad stretch wipes out weeks worth of effort, as they've just shown.
Tonight they start a four game stretch again quite possibly the worst team in forty years. If they split this series, it will be one of the most embarrassing moments of the last six or seven years. And while some of us have been convinced for a while that the Angels are done, almost anything short of a sweep will probably convince others as well.
It's gonna be a long, boring summer from here on out folks.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Slacking again
There's really no excuse for my lack of writing in the last week, other than your basic "I just haven't felt like it". But the Angels completed their fifth consecutive series win, all 2-1, making them 10-5 in their last ten game. it's been a mix of good play combined with mediocre opponents, but five over .500 is five over .500, so I'm not complaining. They continue to be erratic on defense. Their loss in the first game to the D-Rays was a classic combination of poor defense and a failure to take advantage of opportunities on offense, as they weren't able to push a run across despite putting a ton of runners on base.
The key has been the offensive resurgence. Over the last seven days (not including today's game), they're getting on base at a .369 clip, while slugging .462 for an OPS of .832. They've done this as their pitching staff has held their opponents to .315./.391. Vlad continues to do what Vlad does, but over that stretch McPherson has been productive, and Cabrera has been on fire (he's now reached base in 38 straight games). Perhaps most surprising, Michael Napoli has kept up his production, hitting .300 over the last week, with his second homer of that stretch, a three run shot, coming in today's victory in Tampa.
On the other side, the pitching has really been picking up. Santana turned in fantastic performance last night. Jeff Weaver has been downright mediocre (which is an improvement), and John Lackey turned in a terrific effort on national television Sunday night. But the big news so far has been the emergence of Jered Weaver. Phenomenal in his debut, he's since turned in two more excellent performances, and has started his career 3-0. He's got a tremendous amount of raw talent, and as he hones those skills and adds another pitch or so (a two seamer with a little more movement, sayeth the Chronicler), he could develop into an ace.
If that all weren't enough, Joe Saunders has decided he's just not going to give up any more runs in the minors; Howie Kendrick apparently learned something about hitting he didn't already know while he was in the majors and has used it to hitter about .400 since his return to AAA; and Brandon Wood has figured something out which has allowed him to club long ball after long ball while pushing his average back up toward .300. If Eddie Bane really has the touch, we can expect great things from Hank Conger.
Truth be told, I still think the playoffs are a longshot. The offense can't keep up this level of production for long, and the pitching will even out. But the good news is that slight regressions in both, with some improved ham 'n egging, and this team could put together an extended run of success that takes them toward the top of the division. There's definitely a lot of hope.
The key has been the offensive resurgence. Over the last seven days (not including today's game), they're getting on base at a .369 clip, while slugging .462 for an OPS of .832. They've done this as their pitching staff has held their opponents to .315./.391. Vlad continues to do what Vlad does, but over that stretch McPherson has been productive, and Cabrera has been on fire (he's now reached base in 38 straight games). Perhaps most surprising, Michael Napoli has kept up his production, hitting .300 over the last week, with his second homer of that stretch, a three run shot, coming in today's victory in Tampa.
On the other side, the pitching has really been picking up. Santana turned in fantastic performance last night. Jeff Weaver has been downright mediocre (which is an improvement), and John Lackey turned in a terrific effort on national television Sunday night. But the big news so far has been the emergence of Jered Weaver. Phenomenal in his debut, he's since turned in two more excellent performances, and has started his career 3-0. He's got a tremendous amount of raw talent, and as he hones those skills and adds another pitch or so (a two seamer with a little more movement, sayeth the Chronicler), he could develop into an ace.
If that all weren't enough, Joe Saunders has decided he's just not going to give up any more runs in the minors; Howie Kendrick apparently learned something about hitting he didn't already know while he was in the majors and has used it to hitter about .400 since his return to AAA; and Brandon Wood has figured something out which has allowed him to club long ball after long ball while pushing his average back up toward .300. If Eddie Bane really has the touch, we can expect great things from Hank Conger.
Truth be told, I still think the playoffs are a longshot. The offense can't keep up this level of production for long, and the pitching will even out. But the good news is that slight regressions in both, with some improved ham 'n egging, and this team could put together an extended run of success that takes them toward the top of the division. There's definitely a lot of hope.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Angels 10: Indians 3
So it looks like this Weaver kid might be kind of good. Of course, he's benefitted from a ton of run support, which is irrelevant when evaluating his performance. What's not irrelevant is the tremendous oufield defense he's received, crucial for a fly ball pitcher. In his debut, it was a bullet from Vlad to cut a runner off at the plate for a double play. Tonight it was a fantastic catch by Chone Figgins off of Casey Blake, which led to a double play as Travis Hafner was nowhere near first base. But eight strike outs against four hits and two walks is nothing to sneeze at. He was mixing his pitches well, hitting his spots, and staying ahead of the hitters for the most part. And let's be honest, this wasn't the Royals. This is the second most prolific offense in the majors. It stands in stark contrast to the last road debut by an Angels pitcher, also in Cleveland. In that game last year, Ervin Santana gave up the cycle to the first four batters he faced.
On the other side, for the second straight Jered Weaver start, the Angels clubbed three home runs, taking a 2-0 lead on Vlad's shot in the first, and adding insurance on a two run blast by D-Mac and a three jun jack from GA. Those were three of the ten hits pounded out by the Angels, nicely complementing their six (six!!) walks, including two each from Napoli and the OC. Someone in Cleveland has either refused to teach pitchers how to hold runners, or Tim Laker has a weaker arm than my six year old niece, because the Angels managed to steal six bases in this game, three by Figgins.
That makes seven wins in their last nine, and they're creeping closer to .500. I'm with my brother on this one. They're not going to win the division with fewer than 81 wins, so discussing where they are in the division race is kind of pointless. Get back to .500, then let's take stock of the situation.
Happy and secure Kelvim takes the pill tomorrow night. A win would provide the Angels with their fourth straight series win and another chance at their first sweep of the season.
On the other side, for the second straight Jered Weaver start, the Angels clubbed three home runs, taking a 2-0 lead on Vlad's shot in the first, and adding insurance on a two run blast by D-Mac and a three jun jack from GA. Those were three of the ten hits pounded out by the Angels, nicely complementing their six (six!!) walks, including two each from Napoli and the OC. Someone in Cleveland has either refused to teach pitchers how to hold runners, or Tim Laker has a weaker arm than my six year old niece, because the Angels managed to steal six bases in this game, three by Figgins.
That makes seven wins in their last nine, and they're creeping closer to .500. I'm with my brother on this one. They're not going to win the division with fewer than 81 wins, so discussing where they are in the division race is kind of pointless. Get back to .500, then let's take stock of the situation.
Happy and secure Kelvim takes the pill tomorrow night. A win would provide the Angels with their fourth straight series win and another chance at their first sweep of the season.
Off Day, so here's some music
I went over to Reckless Records yesterday because I had to kill some time while getting my glasses fixed, and spennt my time going through their used CDs. It's something I used to do all the time when I was back in LA and there were some good used record stores around. Then in Champaign, we had Record Swap, which, other than maybe Amoeba and Lou's, is probably the best used record store I've ever been to. Haven't really done it as much in Chicago though. Strangely there don't appear to be as many good stores in my area outside of Reckless, and honestly, this was the first time I'd gone there.
Found a bunch of good stuff, although I was looking for the La's CD, which they didn't have. It was stolen along with my car a few years ago, and though the car was found, I never got the CD back. But aside from that, I was able to pick up:
UPDATE - Youtube removed the first Broadcast video I posted, so here's a replica, and another tune.
Found a bunch of good stuff, although I was looking for the La's CD, which they didn't have. It was stolen along with my car a few years ago, and though the car was found, I never got the CD back. But aside from that, I was able to pick up:
- The The - Mind Bomb
- Apples in Stereo - Tone Soul Evolution
- Spacemen 3 - Recurring
- Beta Band - Hot Shots II (already had it burned, but I decided to pick up the original
- Guided By Voices - Alien Lanes
- Broadcast - The Noise Made By People
UPDATE - Youtube removed the first Broadcast video I posted, so here's a replica, and another tune.
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