Results tagged ‘ Bullpen ’
Guest Podcasts, Interleague, Oh My — It’s a run by Angels blog posting…
One of the best things about starting this blog has definitely been my interactions with fellow bloggers. You are all amazing, inspiring writers and a lot of fun to read, the perfect accompaniment to any baseball season good or bad. And, in the last few weeks, two fun opportunities have come my way as a result of these interactions.
Our colleague Matt, who writes the kickass Dodgers MLBlog Dodger Familia Thoughts, hosts a Live Radio/Podcast called Think Blue Weekly on Blog Talk Radio. He has invited me to join him for a special Freeway Series episode this Sunday at 8 pm PT. So, if you would like to hear me embarrass myself in public – I’m very much a blogger not a talker 
– or, more importantly, check out Matt’s work, tune in at this webpage http://www.blogtalkradio.com/think-blue-weekly on Sunday.
In other news, in addition to this blog I am now a columnist with L.A. Angels Insider, a much larger, well respected member of the Halosphere. Please check them out!
As for the Angels, ah, Interleague! Interleague play is back in full swing for 2012 which means, of course, that the Angels are on a tear. I’m one of those odd duck baseball fans who actually enjoys Interleague play – teams playing at highly unusual venues, DC/Marvel comic mash up worthy matchups, AL pitchers batting, need I say more? The fact that the Angels happen to kick ass at Interleague play is merely the icing on the cake – rich, delicious, cream cheese butter cream icing thickly slathered over every inch of the cake’s exterior and in between each moist layer, mind you, but the icing never the less.
Just a couple of random thoughts from the weekend:
- So far Colorado has been good for most Angels batting averages but it has truly been the Trouty and Torii Show! Those two need their own theme song to accompany a montage of their hits and feats of daring do from the series so far. Maybe it could be kind of like M.I.A.’s Paper Planes, only punctuated with the sounds of clobbered baseballs flying off of wooden bats instead of machine guns.
- Sometime closer, sometime setup man Ernesto Frieri has proven that he is in fact human, having given up two hits as an Angel now, but continues to blow away the competition. Okay, so two guys reached first. It’s not like it did them any good. Listening to MLBN rehash Brandon McCarthy’s ‘Siri, how do you get Josh Hamilton out?’ tweet it occured to me that what he should have tweeted was ‘Frieri, how do you get Josh Hamilton out?’ because unlike Siri, Ernasty knows how.
- So Albert Pujols can play third and Kendrys Morales looked pretty darned good at first, all things considered. Neither is a great long term option at this time. Besides, I seem to remember hearing something about Pujols’ throwing elbow having issues when he spends too much time at third. Cardinals fans or other longtime Pujols fans, care to confirm, deny, or otherwise elaborate? But it’s nice to know that the Angels do have this option. And, yes I’m a softy, but seeing Kendrys’ huge grin over getting to play in the infield once again, however briefly, was touching and sweet.
- LaTroy Hawkins is back from the DL and he looked pretty darned good! Welcome back good sir. The bullpen has been trying valiantly in your absence with some definite success – and some scarier moments I’d rather not remember sufficiently to write about them – but we need every good arm we can get! And Jered Weaver is expected to throw off the mound on Monday and return from the DL on schedule. Reportedly his back feels fine now. I pretty much want to just type ‘yay’ over and over again with many, many exclamation points, filling this page The Shining-style but, you know, in a psycho happy way instead of just a psycho way over that bit of news, but I’ll spare you…for now. Once he’s officially back with the team, I make no guarantees.
Don’t Look Now, But the Angels Are Back + Notes on Kendrys & Vacation
So apparently the Angels were much more in focus than I thought, and halleluiah for that! Sometimes it’s okay to be wrong, other times it’s downright awesome. Hot pitching. Clutch bats. An already improving bullpen that jumped to pretty darned good with two lights out closer options. Homeruns – yes, and from that guy too! I think it’s safe to say that the Machine is coming back online nicely – see, patience is a virtue. I hate that injuries occurred prompting its creation, but I do love the way our outfield-of-the-future-come-a-little-early is looking. And, hello? Come from behind wins? Don’t look now but I think the Angels are back.
Okay, there’s still some tinkering that needs to happen. A few or, you know, a lot less guys left on base would be nice. And there is the little matter of Texas and their smaller – dare I say slowly shrinking? – but still substantial lead. But things are coming along nicely. And, go figure, take six out of seven against your division rivals including a 4-game sweep of the Mariners, jumping from last place to second, and suddenly optimism returns to the season outlook. I’m really looking forward to this week’s home stand and can’t wait to see the outcome if we meet Texas with this swagger instead of the nervous gaffs of a few weeks ago.
Thoughts on Kendrys Morales
Since the season began, Kendrys Morales has had his good days at the plate and his bad days. A few days ago, reporters and fans alike were concerned with the number of his recent 0-fers and today he is a hero after hitting 3 for 4 with a homerun and 2 RBIs. As for me? I’m just grateful he’s able to play again and am unsurprised and calm about the inconsistency. I know that being a DH is not as strenuous as being a position player, but think of what he’s asking of his ankle after, in essence, two seasons of immobility punctuated by rehab activities. I expect him to hit because he is a natural hitter. But I also expect him to have tired and sore days in addition to the usual small expected slumps an uninjured hitter will go through in a given season.
However, I think that Kendrys is another player with whom a little patience from the fans will eventually be rewarded. I think that based on what we’ve seen so far, he will contribute this season, even if his contributions come in waves. But in the meantime he’s building up strength, getting his swing back and getting into his old groove so that next season we stand a good chance of having the old Kendrys back 100% of the time – at least in the DH role ‘cause it’s not like we’ll need a new first baseman. And I for one think this possibility is worth putting up with more bad days this season than one might expect from your typical hitter – especially if the good days look like Sunday!
On a Personal Note…
Of course, as luck would have it, I was away this weekend so we only grabbed bits of the killer games on MLB.com Gameday and Twitter. Yeah, yeah, I know. The first step is admitting that you have a problem. Don’t worry, we have never sacrificed quality vacation time to stay indoors for the game and we never will. Witness, we spent Sunday hiking around the various trails in Yosemite Valley, not trying to catch the Angels day game. (Check out my Twitter page for a few photos if you are interested.) But, especially in the evenings, if we don’t have any other plans, what could be more relaxing and vacationy than kicking back with the game or seeking out a local’s haunt to watch it at? Besides, this was primarily a working vacation anyway, helping empty out the storage unit and move all of my husband’s family’s stuff back into the rebuilt cabin in Yosemite. We went from having the cabin totaled by a falling tree and the resulting snow melt/water damage/mold created by the hole in the roof a little over two years ago, to this last summer:
And, finally just in time for summer 2012, this:
…and I am looking forward to many fun trips back up here to come!
The Hopefully Annual Baseball Extravaganza San Deigo Edition: Part 1
Like many baseball fans, Seth and I have a goal to eventually enjoy a game at every major league baseball stadium and ideally some of the minor league stadiums as well. Economics and vacation time has thus far limited our progress to slow and local but, hey, progress is progress! Last season we took in a gloriously old-fashioned single admission double header at the Oakland Coliseum and experienced the Dodgers Giants rivalry at AT&T Park. This season we headed down the 5 freeway in the other direction and are currently enjoying the beginning of Interleague play as the Angels take on the Padres at Petco Park.
The Pet-Co Park scoreboard. Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
A Word About Petco Park: Gorgeous!
Okay, when can I ever limit myself to one word? Add to that enjoyable, friendly and in general a first class baseball experience. Everywhere we went, our clearly not rooting from around these parts red attire prompted staff to smile and welcome us to the park, a nice touch we have never experienced before. We enjoyed nice conversations with friendly ushers during batting practice and the game – baseball fans everywhere love talking about their team, their stadium, their experiences and I love to listen. The fans in our section were equally lovely, despite the fact of the Angels winning. And with recent Padre Ernesto Frieri sitting right in front of us in an Angels uniform (Ah, our seats! I’ll get to those is a minute.) and the other half of that trade, Alexi Amarista playing second, we had plenty to talk about.
The Padres: Their bleachers are absolutely better than your bleachers. Their’s are a beach! Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
I love the Big A to pieces, but Anaheim take note: THIS is what a beer stand should look like. Stone! Ballast Point! Avery! Okay, so San Diego is the craft and micro brew capital of California, some would say the West, but it’s not like we don’t get some of this labels in L.A./Orange County and have some of our own too! 
Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
The stadium seats are designed for beauty as well as function. The view across the field is really pretty, especially at night, with different sections of seats designed to look like industrial buildings. And there really does not appear to be a bad seat in the house…as for our seats, see that guy in red blocking the shot? That’s Jordan Walden standing up. Our amazing seats were literally just behind the Angels bullpen. We could have shook hands with them across the aisle and wall, were we inclined to bother ballplayers during a game, which we are not. Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
The outfield is huge. HUGE! Definitely not a hitter’s ballpark. Mike Trout warms up in centerfield between innings. I still like Peter Bourjos a little better in centerfield – stronger arm, better routes, a little faster and more experience. But Trout is an asset wherever you put him – He’s that good! – his arm is getting stronger and his routes will improve with time. Still is an outfield with both of them (and Trumbo for now and later longterm!) too much to ask?? Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Batting Practice and Bullpen Sessions, Oh My!
Taking in batting practice is one of my favorite ways to start a ballgame experience and yet, even as often as we go to the ballpark, this treat is a rare one for us. Working hours being what they are, even on the weekend, and L.A./Orange County traffic being what it is, if we’re lucky we get to the game about 20 minutes before first pitch and if we’re not, we get there somewhere during the 1st inning. So it was a nice vacation luxury to walk through the gates shortly after they first opened. Petco Park was designed with wide concourses that have great views of the field for most of their stretch, so we roamed freely about from the outfield above the beach bleachers, to our bullpen adjacent seats to home plate and back.
Watching Jerome Williams take his bullpen session from a distance comparable to across a conference room table was easily the best thing about the pregame. It was fascinating to listen to Williams and Mike Butcher go over which pitches to throw and refine a few points here and there…that and watching the pitches zing by like 10 feet from my face. Wow! Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Relief pitchers Jordan Walden and David Carpenter chat during batting practice. Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Howie Kendrick looked great during BP, smacking the ball deep into the outfield and he got a solid hit come game time too! Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Erick Aybar and Maicer Izturis talk in between turns at the plate during batting practice. Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
So, About Interleague Play…
Although it certainly isn’t the popular view, I actually enjoy and look forward to Interleague play. Maybe it’s because I was raised on the Dodgers and the National League. Maybe it’s because my team of choice has such a natural, longstanding and fun Interleague rival in the Dodgers? Or maybe it’s just that my personality is as slightly skewed from the norm in my baseball fandom as it is in everything else? Whatever it is, I look forward to seeing all of the unusual matchups Interleague play has to offer. Hello, odd visuals like the Angels playing against the storied ivy draped backdrop of Wrigley Field? How can that not be fun? Or, at least, that’s what I think. Besides, watching American League pitchers bat is a seasonal novelty I will never tire of and some guys surprise you:
Jered Weaver in the on deck circle. Such an AL pitcher! For his first at bat, he wasn’t really even taking practice swings so much as just playing with the bat like a little leaguer whose coach is about to tell him to quit daydreaming. It was very cute. Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Jered Weaver leads off second…and it’s a goofy, I don’t do this very often lead off as well. Still, for all of his awkward appearance at the plate and on the base paths, Weaver did more than fine, walking and lining a nice hard single into left. Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Yes, there you have it folks: Big Bat Jered Weaver! …of course his average has since dropped to a mere .500. Starters, Weaver has set the bar high indeed but you’re used to this. Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
As if All of This Preamble Wasn’t Enough, the Game Rocked…
The Angels played well and that was especially nice to see after Thursday’s game against the White Sox. Yes, I know, the Padres are struggling but so are the Angels and the struggling Royals just swept the unstoppable Rangers so you never can tell how these matchups will turn out once you take them from paper to the field. I was proud of our guys! Jered Weaver looked great – and not just with his bat . Our bats were present and made that presence known. Our defense had more than moved on from Thursday’s gaffs – hey, who put that sun up there in the sky? *facepalm* – and the bullpen rocked. All that and a W – what more could a fan ask for?
Jered Weaver pitches from the stretch. Weaver pitched a great game with really only one bad inning and he managed to get out of that one giving up only one run. Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Mike Trout is a beast! He had 3 hits and 1 walk in 5 trips to the plate. I am loving having this talented rookie bat leadoff. Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Mike Trout reaches second base. It may look like he’s jawing at someone but with former teammate Alexi Amarista at 2nd, I think it more friendly banter. Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Mark Trumbo continued his hitting streak with a solid double driving in a run in the 5th inning and he looks great in right field, really comfortable. Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
The bullpen looked great! Scott Downs was, well, Scott Downs. Ernesto Frieri got a shot at closer and definitley impressed. Padres fans called out that he looked better in blue when Frieri took the mound in the 9th but, personally, I like him in red an awful lot. Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Okay, Now That’s Funny!
If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you probably already know that I prefer my blog entries, my friends and, indeed, my baseball with a rollicking sense of humor, the more off kilter the better. I love baseball’s crazy prank traditions, overly complex and fabulously silly rookie hazing rituals, and the goofy things that stadium personnel do to the opposing team. This evening it was the Padres Jumbotron Angels player slides that had me cracking up:
At first it seemed sort of innocent. I noticed that all of Albert Pujols’ stats changed with each at bat but always pertained to homerun records he had with the Cardinals. But, because he’s had such a slow start this season, I figured what else were they going to say? Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Then I noticed this one and thought ‘Why go back to minor league stats and that’s a weird aside to bring up, Brandon Wood that is. It almost makes mentioning the honor seem sort of like a left-hand compli…ah hah! There’s a reason for that!’ And then I saw… Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
There was just no way to read these with a straight face at this point. But it got even better! Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Okay, now they’re just f-ing with us! Well played, Padres Jumbotron programmers, well played. Angels at Padres, May 18, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Big A Jumbotron programmers can be funny too, just usually at the Angels expense. For example, when our pitchers load the bases with only one out or no outs, it’s not uncommon for the stat to tell us how rarely the batter hits into a double play or how prone he is to grand slams. Ummm…thanks guys?
Anyway, that concludes Part 1 of our excursion. We have great seats for today’s game too and I am really looking forward to it – Go Angels!!
Angels Sunday Thoughts – of Homeruns, Teammates and Trips to the DL
In no particular order:
- Newflash, watching the Angels win is far, far better than the alternative and this week has certainly offered sufficient evidence of both outcomes to prove that theory.
- I think our offense has narcolepsy. They’re awake, they’re awake! Nope, they’re down for the count again. Hey, they’re awake! Whooops, not any more. But overall I do think they’re getting better.
- Oh yeah, and Albert Pujols hit his first homerun in an Angels uniform today and we were…sitting in our living room watching it on TV. Had you going there for a minute didn’t I? But seriously, I am glad he hit it. I am thrilled that he got that monkey of the decidedly non rally variety off of his back. Now, hopefully everyone can stop fixating on the homeruns, especially Albert, and he can just get back to hitting his game. The rest will come…as long as he stops pressing like he was again on the very next at bat.
- On a semi related frivolous note, I suppose that now, even though he is absolutely not superstitious and shaving the goatee off had nothing to do with trying to change his luck, *nods – uh huh, we believe you Albert * we’ll be seeing a lot more of clean shaven Albert.
- The Angels’ dugout reaction to the homerun was the funniest thing I have seen in a long time. In case you missed it, they didn’t just give Pujols the silent treatment. The entire dugout, players, coaches, assistants, everyone, left the dugout and went back into the tunnel so that Albert was greeted with a ghost town after crossing the plate. He cracked up and ran into the tunnel after them and they all boiled out together, laughing, clapping him on the back and high fiving everyone in sight. It was beautiful, hilarious and touching! You are all great teammates!!
- These Blue Jays? They’re pretty darned tough. The first pitch swinging – especially the connecting part – was really throwing our pichers off and those outfield arms are sick!
- What the heck was up with that Tim Welke call at first in the Rockies/Dodgers game? All I know is that all of those terrible old jokes about women and parallel parking must forever cease because rearranging the to match a punch line of “because Tim Welke says three feet away is that same thing as on the bag” would be much funnier.
- This was a terrible week for injuries. Obviously the most poignant was Mariano Rivera. Watching him tear up while talking to reporters about missing the season made me tear up. I don’t think it’s possible to be a baseball fan and not love and respect Mariano. My heart goes out to the Yankees family and I was so glad to hear that he will not retire because of the injury but plans to rehab for a return in 2013 instead.
- It’s not nearly as serious or sad as Mariano, but the Angels temporarily lost the only two relievers who don’t scare me on a regular basis to injury within the span of three pitches in the 9th inning today. Scott Downs injured his knee dodging a one out single and then LaTroy Hawkins broke a finger fielding the comebacker turned into game winning double play during the very next at bat.
- So, um, given the previous point, the next few series might be a little interesting, hopefully in the sense of enthralling and intriguing as opposed to the Hoban Washburne definition of ‘Oh my god, oh my god, we’re all going to die.” My solution? *Adopts her best Lumbergh impression* Jered, Danny, Ervin? We’re gonna need you to come back in and pitch in the 8th inning, okay. Oh, oh, and I almost forgot. Ahh, we’re also gonna need you to go ahead and keep pitching in the 9th, too…” Seriously, it may be the only solution!
- No, I’m sure plenty of perfectly normal people mix that many references together in one thought. Why do you ask?
- Completely off topic, but you’re used to that from me by now – I saw The Avengers this afternoon after the game and it rocks all socks, stripy and/or otherwise, everywhere. No worries, there will be no spoilers here. But let me just say that I have been jonesing for The Avengers movie ever since the teaser end of Iron Man before Samuel L. Jackson uttered word one, standing there in the unmistakable Nick Fury eye patch with all of my Heinlein reading, Star Wars loving, Hitchhiker’s quoting, former comics devouring, pair of 10-D carrying geek girl’s heart. So the bar was high and I still think the movie turned out to be everything a comic book action movie should be.
- I’m on Twitter now. Yep, I finally broke down and decided that ‘everyone else is doing it’ was as good an excuse as any. I’ve found some of you so far. If you like tweeting with fellow bloggers, please come find me at @SimpleGame.
Of Angels Losses, Angels Wins, Good Food, Better Wine and Really High Socks
Thursday’s game. Angels vs. A’s. Our usual attempts to get to the ballpark at a decent hour actually worked this time and we arrived in time to catch the tail end of warm ups.
'So about these socks'...(which are completely awesome, by the way) Howie Kendrick, Mark Trumbo and Peter Bourjos warm up and chat before the game. Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
C.J. Wilson and Chris Iannetta warm up before the game - this looks a lot like what we do in Pilates. Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
And in time to catch Erick Aybar’s Gold Glove Award ceremony…Murphy’s Law being what it is, of course this meant he was good for at least one colossal error this game and Murphy, sadly as usual, did not disappoint. Oh well, it was still neat to watch him get the award, especially on the day the Angels very smartly locked him up for four more years! Whoo hoo!
Erick Aybar accepts his Gold Glove Award and seems to say 'now, don't you break that while I'm gone.' Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Before the game begins, the unlit halo looms expectantly over the stadium. Sadly, the halo would remain unlit for another evening.
The Halo, unlit, before the game. Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Heading down the 57 for the game, I told my husband that I had a good feeling about this game, that I was sure the Angels were due for a win and that we would get to see Albert Pujols’ first Angels home run…personally, I don’t think I was so much wrong as just a game or two early. See, I don’t claim clairvoyance, I just see patterns and the Angels patterns say improvement to me.
Albert Pujols went 3 for 5 with 3 doubles! And one of them would have been a homer with about 5 more inches in height. Missed it by that much! Gotta love the Big A in the evening. Angels vs. A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
I am love, love, loving Chris Iannetta! It started with his bat (namely the fact that he's a catcher who puts it to use, novel concept that), continued with how the pitchers seem to love him and was forever confirmed when he broke up that double play on Thursday with authority! Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Mark Trumbo prepares to make things happen, once again, with his bat. I LOVE how he looks down his bat at the pitcher before he gets into position. For some reason it puts me in mind of an old west gunslinger about to take down the big bad. Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
...and the swing! Scioscia, we need to find a way to keep Trumbo in the lineup, alongside Kendrys Morales and, of course, Albert Pujols as many nights as possible. Make it so...please!!! Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Indeed, the Angels were improved over the previous evening, though still unvictorious and then this evening, they were even further improved – though we still seriously need to work on those LOBsters – and they won!!
Obviously, it’s more fun to be at a game where the Angels win, than one where they lose, but as much as I was annoyed with mistakes that simply didn’t have to be, we still had a fine evening at the ballpark – because isn’t an evening at that the ballpark better than an evening just about anywhere else? And the A’s fan gents behind us were a kick and a half. Be it at the Big A or the coliseum the opposing fans I tend to have the most fun with are A’s fans. I hope you enjoyed your trip, boys, and that we were as nice to you as your fellows were to us on our trip to Oakland last season – and the A’s fans were pretty darned nice hosts.
Honestly, one game is only one game so my greatest regret about the Angels losing this specific one game is the high socks. Note:
Clearly Peter Bourjos has been an excellent sartorial influence on Vernon Wells. (And speaking of Vernon, don't think I haven't noticed the plate improvements. I'm rooting for you!!...because of course the Angels have time and inclination to read blogs, LOL!) Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
...and on Erick Aybar too? Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Did you ever expect to see Torii Hunter in high socks? Apparently Bourjos is a good influence. Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Heck, did you ever expect to see Albert Pujols in high socks? Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Yes, exactly, they all wore high socks to change their luck…well, except C.J. and the other pitchers. If the Angels had won this game, you know the high socks would be here to stay, and I do appreciate the neater, more professional look of the old school uniform.
Speaking of C.J., part of the impetus of my going online to find the $10 club section tickets for this game was the thought that I wanted to see Mr. Wilson’s home debut in an Angels uniform. Well, Mr. Wilson, as you have probably seen on Quick Pitch, SportsCenter or the like had some good innings and some not so good innings and one pretty bad inning – not his usual performance at all, though typical of the times the Angels did beat him. Hit C.J. early and he gets a little flustered. Still it was nice to help welcome him to the Big A properly and if his first two appearances and all of the times I’ve watched him kick Angels behind in a Rangers uniform are any indication, I expect pretty good things.
C.J. Wilson begins his pitch. Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
...and the finish. I never noticed the high leg before - one more interesting delivery to add to the Angels ecclectic collection. Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
You could see the bullpen well from our seats. They look so normal and harmless, don’t they? Well, by and large they are, or rather their harm is helpfully directed at the opposition. As for the rest of time, well, to paraphrase Wednesday, homicidal maniacs look like everybody else, don’t they?
The Bullpen waits...but for good or evil? Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
LaTroy Hawkins - one of the bullpen pitchers who absolutely does _not_ scare me. Angels vs A's, April 19, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Still, they were more than acceptable on Thursday and pretty darned good on Friday and I so want to see a pattern there!
Friday evening’s game further confirms the pattern I thought I was seeing earlier – improvement. Yes, there are still a few issues, but I think that if we can just find a lineup, or even one lineup for groundball pitchers and one lineup for flyball pitchers, and that/those lineup(s) make sense, and we stick with it/them long enough for guys to get comfortable, we’ll really see something here.
And speaking of a return to consistency, after way, way too many day games, the Friday Night Ritual is back – that’s right Friday Gourmet, Wine and Angels. This evening I made a spinach, tomato and mushroom paella with grilled Argentinean chorizo (it’s closer to a heavily paprika-ed Italian sausage than the chorizo you may be used to). It was everything the Friday night ritual should be – a delicious and gourmet seeming but budget conscious meal to enjoy with the game plus leftovers for the rest of the weekend. We paired it with a yummy (totally a technical/industry term ) Paso wine – Clavo’s Collusion, a Cabernet, Malbec and Petite Verdot blend. Yum! Perhas the return of the Friday night ritual added a little luck? Okay, probably not. But that doesn’t make it any less tasty.
And if there seems to be a certain, um, disjointedness to this post, a, shall we say, joie de vin…well…there’s a reason for that. Did you not read about the ritual? It’s Friday!! The Halo is lit and so am I! Happy weekend everyone!
A Tale of Two Angels Teams…Again?
It was the best of games, it was the worst of games. (Well, okay, not really even close to the worst of games, but go with it. She’s rolling.) A large offense ably supported a fair haired pitcher’s strong milestone outing on the mound for Monday’s game. That same large offense plainly failed to support a dark haired pitcher’s equally strong start for Tuesday’s game… and the comparisons to 2010 and ’11 could only be meet with invective.
It was a game where, despite a few defensive gaffes there at the end, a plucky bullpen came through in style. It was a game where a nightmare bullpen self-destructed becoming, once again, a bogeyman fit for frightening children into good behavior. “Eat all of your peas and go to bed on time, dear, or we’ll have to call in the Angel’s bullpen!” “No, Mommy. No, Daddy! Not the Angels bullpen!”…
Okay, now we’re starting to veer into Fraser Crane’s rousing ATOTC/It/Rambo mash up territory and, quite frankly, I can’t hope to compete with that level of awesome, so we’ll just stop right here. But you get the general idea. There are two Angels teams here and that’s nothing new. I seem to find myself writing this same thought every April about this time on this blog or in other forums, in good Angels years and bad. Both teams have good starting pitching most of the time. The difference lies in how they support that pitching. And any time the bullpen, the offense or the fielding from that other Angels team appears, victory becomes a lot trickier. Any time more than one of these components appear together, look out.
All indications are that we should see far more of Monday’s Angels team – you know, the good one – than Tuesday’s “other” Angels team this season, especially as our starting pitchers stretch deeper into the game and tack on their usual high number of complete games. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t greet last night’s 2011 homage of a bullpen meltdown on top of a measly 2-1 lead with some invective of my own. I mean, come on, Kevin Jepsen has always been reliable for about two out of three outings – which did lead me to conclude loudly that Kevin Jepsen is How I Met Your Mother’s naked man. And even I can tell you which Jepsen it’s going be by the second batter. Butcher and Scioscia certainly should have been able to tell this was time one out of three and relieved him with that day’s more effective arm.
And, no worries, I’m still not panicking. In fact, I’m busily scooping up the crazy ticket deals being offered by those who are panicking. Second row, Club level seats to C.J. Wilson’s Angels stadium debut for a mere $10 a piece? *snatches tickets quickly* Oh. Yes. Please. I’ll take two. But I am asking if the powers that be can start keeping each member of the bullpen on a very short leash when the game is close, especially on those evenings when it seems like it’s that other Angels team’s offense who showed up, not our good one. Seriously, even if it means paying face value for my tickets. Pretty please with bittersweet chocolate and salted caramel drizzle on top? (Sugar is for amateurs. )
The Angels are 3 and 6. Meh.
Oh my God, the Angels are 3 and 6. Sound the alarm! Hit the panic button! Towels, people? Where are the towels?! The last time this happened was 2010 and we all know how that season ended, right?. 3rd place. Below .500. Unemployed, in Greenland. Except…the last time we went 3 and 6 to start before 2010 was 2002 and we all know how that season ended, right? Wild card berth. World Series Champions. Bragging rights and brand new jewelry!
So, which is it then, should we be panicking or celebrating? Neither, of course. The sample size is far too small. My point is simply that it’s only been nine games. We have at least 153 left to go. Heck, the entire summer will arrive, be initially celebrated, celebrated some more, get way too hot, begin to annoy us, begin to cool off and fade into fall long before we reach the end of that. Anything can happen in amount of time.
Fear not, the winning will come. How much winning? Will it be enough? I don’t know. It’s a mystery. They’ve got to play the games. I can tell you this much, however:
Small sample size or not, the following things are making me very happy indeed:
- Offensive support from the catcher’s position, and how! I can’t tell you how happy I am to not have mentally prepare for an automatic out every time I see the catcher taking practice swings on deck.
- Our bats can come from behind. Okay, so we’re still working on the ‘then not falling behind again and still losing part’, but still. I don’t know about anyone else, but for the last two years, if the Angels fell behind by so much as one run I had to fight to keep from thinking ‘It’s all over now.’ And I hated myself for it, but I also understood the limitations of our offense. Now the offense hits, runs and scores and, even though there some bats that really need to come online ASAP, I feel like falling behind doesn’t have to be an automatic loss anymore.
- A few more of our bats – the fact that Mark Trumbo seems to hit solidly, with no need for adjustment whether he’s DHing or playing 3rd. The fact that Howie Kendrick is turning into a regular beast.
I don’t care that it’s only been nine games, the following things are seriously pissing me off:
- The bullpen or, more specifically, the fact that we’re still cringing over the bullpen. It was shaky in 2009. It was downright scary in 2010. Efforts to improve it in 2011 were mixed at best and for some unknown reason the powers that be decided to hire another veteran lefty – Isringhausen – for 2012 after hiring two such bullpen arms for 2011 had such hot – Downs, yay! – and cold – Takahashi, flip a coin and don’t you dare leave him in too long – results. And, guess what? The bullpen is still scary. Shocking, that.
- We still don’t have a solid 5th starter? Really? Again, it’s been a while on this one.
- Too many options or, more specifically, the need to use them all. This isn’t P.E. Everyone does not need to play. Yes, Bobby was hitting better, but I hate what he does to the outfield. We go from having Gold Glove experience on either side of a young Gold Glover to be whose speed makes up for the few steps they’ve lost on their range, to having no range in left field over emphasizing the steps all three parties have lost off their range and an outfield with so many holes, I keep expecting the Muppets prairie dogs to make a musical appearance.
Eh, we have 153 games left to go. Don’t panic, these things will sort themselves out:
- The completely set portion of our starting rotation. Yes we’ve seen some shaky pitches and a few of our fearless hurlers have been downright shelled. But we’ve also seen some stellar performances in these very few nine games too. These four guys are absolutely fine. And once we get past a bit of dead arm and rust, they’re going to make some of the issues with the 2012 team seem far less apparent.
- Albert Pujols. He will hit. Remember all of the huffing and puffing and gnashing of teeth in April last season in St Louis? Sometimes he takes a while to get into his groove. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy all those great pitches Howie is getting in the mean time.
As for the rest? The jury’s still out for me. I could start adding it to any of the three lists above by the end of the month. We’ll just have to see. Of course, none of this makes starting the season 3 and 6 any happier or losing like this on a nationally televised game any less annoying when heading into the office Monday morning. Ugh! What’s a fan to do? Well, when all else fails, and the playing gets icky, the real fans go and buy more tickets I say! I now have tickets all squared away for our Interleague trip down to San Diego in May. I got great seats for Friday, right by the Angels bullpen. But it’s our Saturday seats that truly have me salivating and that made me feel a whole lot better this weekend. Of course, the fact that Padres are doing worse than we are didn’t exactly hurt me in this endeavor. Wait, the Padres record is still worse, right? *sigh of relief* LOL, relax! In this sort of situation, gallows’ humor isn’t merely to be expected, it’s highly encouraged.
Bring on the A’s.
Angels Work Out the Kinks at Chavez Ravine and We Take Ourselves Out to the Ballgame
Tuesday evening was clear in Los Angeles. Clear, balmy and gorgeous. Perfect weather for a ball game! As we headed out to Dodger Stadium for game two of the traditional Freeway Series before the regular season begins, I was filled with nostalgia. I remember bouncing around my parents’ house with my sister, waiting for our dad to come home from work so we could head out for the Freeway Series. This was long before Interleague Play, back when this was the only time each season that my father’s Dodgers would play his father’s – and now my – Angels, and we tried to attend one of the games each year. I remember Dodger ball caps and Mom making sure we packed our jackets. I remember keeping score in the pages in the program with my loopy, little girls’ handwriting and I can almost taste the salty, sweet combination of rollo candy bar pieces and ballpark peanuts I preferred back in the day – clearly this blogger was a fiend for salted caramel long before it became a thing. See, Mom and Dad weren’t big on us eating candy bars – smart Mom and Dad! – but on game nights, my sister and I each got to pick out one from 7-11 to enjoy during the game.
And it was in this frame of mind, jonesing hard for a live baseball game, and smiling with happy memories, that we arrived in Chavez Ravine. The view from historic Dodgers Stadium is stunning. From the vista over Downtown Los Angeles on the 110 freeway side of the parking lot, to the view of the mountains behind the centerfield wall, to gates of the stadium itself, it is nonstop pretty.
Say what you will about Los Angeles, on a clear day the view of the Downtown skyline is gorgeous! Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
And the view past the stadium is gorgeous...of one can tear one's eyes from the green glory that is a baseball diamond, that is. Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
The Reserved Section entrance at the top of Dodger Stadium. Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Relishing the feeling of just being at the ballpark – and the view from my stylists’ season seats in the second row of the upper deck right behind the plate! – I took a few photos of the warm ups while the light was still good. It is not surprising to see Dodgers and Angels hanging out chatting before the game. How many players have moved along the 5 freeway switching the red hat for the blue one or vice versa? How many sets of brothers have we had playing against one another in these match ups? Exactly.
Juan Uribe, Juan Rivera, Erick Aybar and Albert Pujols chat before the game. It appears as if Aybar is echoing my own sentiments: Dude, Juan! If you'd hit and played like this for us, we'd never have done that deal with the Jays. Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
I sure wish they gave Torii Hunter a microphone all the time like they did during 30 Clubs in 30 Days. Whatever he's saying, he's amusing Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick and Vernon Wells and even has Albert Pujols looking over from his stretches. Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Dodgers Catcher A.J. Ellis and Starting Pitcher Aaron Harang make their way in from the bullpen. Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Catcher Bobby Wilson and Starting Pitcher Ervin Santana, that dynamic no hitter duo, arrive from the bullpen. The game's about to begin! Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
And so it begins...even at an exhibition game, Albert Pujols attracts a healthy crowd of autograph seekers and the man certainly seems as gracious as gracious could be, fulfilling as many requests as possible with a smile on his face. Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Of course, then the Dodgers took the field and they read the lineups. Albert Pujols at first. Ervin Santana on the mound with his trusty catcher Bobby Wilson. Good, good. All very good. Alberto Callaspo at third, Erick Aybar at short, Torii Hunter in right. Very good. Bobby Abreu in left, Vernon Wells in center and Maicer Iztuis at second??? Okay, so we’re playing with the B+ team today. Ho hum. And, sad to say, I knew this was going to be one of those Spring Training games where we didn’t push very hard just from that fact alone. I’m not saying the B+ team can’t win games, just that in an exhibition game starting with the B+ team on the field (no Fleet Pete in center, no white hot Kendrick and Trumbo bats in the lineup in and around Pujols’) when you know that, as the innings progress, we’re going to switch to the B, B- and C+ teams for practice? Exactly.
Alberto Callaspo sells a ball that wasn't really _that_ much of a ball. Perhaps his morning meeting report was on U.C. Irvine's Drama Department? Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Great seats, Sue. I love this front and center vantage! Now I have my own photo of Ervin Santana's game face without looking online for one. Sanatana is clearly season ready and pitched a good game. Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Tony Gwynn is a blur diving back for first base as Albert Pujols readies himself for the pick off. Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Matt Kemp swiiiiiiiings and misses as Bobby Wilson reaches for the ball. Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game... (Seth)
Would that his pitches crossed the plate Tueday with as much precision as his windup - It was not a good night for Hisanori Takahashi and, because this is still Spring Training, they left him out there to work his way through it way, way too long. Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Oh well. Being at the ballpark is seldom if ever a bad time. The group of season ticket holders around my stylist’s seats is really nice. We told them not to mock Sue too hard over our red hats as she had already given me plenty of grief over them and that got some laughs. They all greeted one another with a cheery “Happy New Year!” in honor of the new season. I love it! And there were a few a great plays to enjoy even as parts of the complete A team languished in the dugout.
Dan Haren requests a full demonstration of the progress Peter Bourjos is making in his walk. Better, but it looks like Torii Hunter has a little more work ahead of him. Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
"And this one time. At Angels Camp. I heard an Ostrich came to the morning meeting..." Whatever story Peter Bourjos is telling, it's clear he has Mark Trumbo and the other guys' full attention. Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
What do you want, it was a weird little exhibition game. They played nine full innings even though the Dodgers had already won, just like the day before when the Angels had already won, because that’s what the managers wanted. The Dodgers were even nice enough to let the pinch hitting Kendrys Morales bat a second time, calling him the DH that time which so funny over the National League speakers. That’s why I say, as much as this is a rivalry, it’s a relatively sibling like one. Eventually we saw more of the A team come back out to join the rookies, though I must say in a Regular Season game I would prefer to have both Trumbo and Pujols’ bats in the lineup rather than having Trumbo replace Pujols.
At first base in the 9th, Mark Trumbo and Dodgers prospect Tim Federowicz move with the pitch. Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Our bullpen hero! Scott Downs prepares to put out the fire. Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Loss and all, it was still a fun evening and a nice little tide me over until Friday’s season opener. And while I do love Angels Stadium more, we certainly don’t have anything like this view:
Say what you will about the beauty of the Downtown L.A. skyline, but at night it's even better! Angels at Dodgers, Exhibition Game, April 4, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
This is a very simple game...
Angels Take 2 of 3 in the 2012 Freeway Series Part 1
This week, the Angels proved once more that not only can you go home again, but you can rack up the Ws while you’re there. Okay, so Dodgers Stadium is more of that ‘on again, off again friend’s house where you sublet a room for a lot longer than originally intended during the awkward transition between your suddenly waaaaay too small first apartment and your first home purchase’ for the Angels than an actual home, but you get the general idea.
Mike Trout at bat. He went 0fer this game which will happen from time to time. But, as you can see, we had fun seats. On a side note, when I can skim through thumbnails of all of my photos and know who is at the plate by their swing/stance, I think it’s safe to say I’m a little invested in this team.
Angels at Dodgers, June 12, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Seth and I went to the Tuesday night game, the only game the Angels lost in the series…of course my Dodgers fan sister went to the Wednesday night game, and that was her first baseball game in years, so we can’t always get what want and sometimes the Rolling Stones just might write a song about it, or something like that.
Jerome williams communicates with Hank Conger. I was so sorry to see Williams get roughed up in the 8th. He pitched a great game and deserved a better ending, but some games that’s just baseball. Angels at Dodgers, June 12, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Tuesday night, the Angels only scored on Dodgers errors, which kind of sums up that game, really – neither team played particularly well. Joe West was just being Joe West, which is to say terrible and arrogant in his own ineptitude while he was at it. But the fact of the matter is that if the Angels had played better ball the blown call would not have mattered. It pissed me off most mightily at the time, but such is baseball. Sometimes you win the terrible calls, sometimes you lose the terrible calls and sometimes only great calls rain down upon both teams…just generally not in games officiated by Joe West.
Ah, a manager arguing with Joe West over a bad call. Now there’s something you don’t see every day…I mean, there is an offseason, and umpires get days off too… The truly unusual things here was that the call was so bad that easy going Maicer Izturis got vsibly angry over it. You can see how Aybar has pulled him off to the side to calm him down on the left of the photo. Angels at Dodgers, June 12, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
The rest of the series, however, was great. Go figure, the “still best record in the majors even though they’ve been losing more since Matt Kemp went on the DL again” Dodgers have a pretty good team and the Angels gave them a run for their money and won. I prefer it when the Angels are hitting a little better and not leaving so many guys on base. However, they usually came up with just what they needed to do to win (Like Erick Aybar coming through in the clutch with a homerun into the Dodgers bleachers?!? Wow!! You just can’t script this stuff!) and I tend to think that the bats were suffering from a little altitude lag, if you will, after the series in Colorado rather then this being indicative of a troubling trend. I think they’ll be fully recovered this weekend.
Albert Pujols moves for the pickoff attempt as Dee Gordon dives back to the bag. Pujols looked much happier to be back at 1st. He did not have the best game at 3rd on Tuesday…or even a good one, really. Angels at Dodgers, June 12, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
The pitching looked good. Oh, Garrett Richards had those rocky first two innings, but he recovered, and Jerome Williams looked great, he just was left in one inning two long, hind sight being 20/20. And C.J. was dealing. The bullpen was decidedly the good bullpen and defense made me all kinds of happy…on Monday and Wednesday at any rate. This time out, Albert at 3rd looked really awkward on Tuesday – I mean reeeeeaaaaaalllly awkward – and the rest of the infield kind of followed suit, leading to a wise retuning of everyone to their normal positions in the 7th. Hey, small sample sizes. This could still work to get Kendrys in the lineup one or two more times this month…or not. We’ll see.
Kendrys Morales (shown here moving with runner Juan Rivera), on the other hand, looked pretty good at first, not as agile as he was before the injury, but still pretty good and likely to get better with time. Angels at Dodgers, June 12, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
And now I leave you with a return to one of my favorite pastimes last season, fun with captions:
Albert Pujols and Juan Uribe have an animated conversation at third. Hmmm…what could they be saying? Albert: ‘Your fans, man, they sure have “boo” and “suck” down.’ Juan: *rolls eyes* ‘No kidding! At least when you guys are in town they mix in a little “overrated.” Variety is key, man. Variety is key.’ Of course, leaving a guy stranded at third tends to tak all of the elegance out of the run by trash talking. I mean, LOBsters are not exacrtly known for their witty snark. Angels at Dodgers, June 12, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
he Angels have a meeting on the mound. I mostly amused by the exchange on the left. Yes, Albert completely bothched the play at third. No maybe about it but, seriously Aybar. _You’re_ going to chew him out for mental lapses and bad plays?? Either that or the Angels plan to enter the Laguna Beach Pagent of the Masters as DiVinci’s Last Supper and try to seize any moment they can to practice… Angels at Dodgers, June 12, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
…Okay, clearly the Angels need a _lot_ more practice. But I think their reenactment of this half of the famous painting, at least, is coming along quite nicely, don’t you? (Obviously, not my image, LOL! Leonardo Di Vinci’s Last Supper, cropped for comedic effect)
Erick Aybar in the middle of making a great play the required a ballet worthy pivot. ‘Hey, check out my moves Donnie Baseball. Think you can get a part for me in the Nutcracker this year?’ Angels at Dodgers, June 12, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Mike Trout with Jered Weaver (and I think John Hester) in the dugout. I love that Trout seems to spend every non playing second chatting with existing Angels players and staff, soaking up knowledge…or necessary shortcut tips to avoid traffic on the way out of Dodgers Stadium. Hey, there is no such thing as wasted information, right? Angels at Dodgers, June 12, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Ervin Santana and Alberto Callaspo in the dugout – when you’re sitting the game out, even the smallest of sunflower seed choice decisions take on great importance. Angels at Dodgers, June 12, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game…
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