Results tagged ‘ Mark Trumbo ’
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.
Peter Bourjos is so fast…
Okay, so it's from Opening Day, not the away series against the Twins. But he is about to knock in the first run in that 5-run rally in the 8th, so it still works for this post. 
Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
True or False:
1. Peter Bourjos is so fast that cheetahs at the zoo bow when he passes, acknowledging his superior speed.
2. Peter Bourjos is so fast that he can pitch to himself at the plate, smack a hard liner toward the wall and then rush out to centerfield to make the catch, Bugs Bunny style.
3. Peter Bourjos is so fast that I was struck dumb trying to figure out how to write this last night.
4. Peter Bourjos is soooooooooo fast that he hit an inside the park homerun, crossing home plate in less than 15 seconds and all after hardly more than trotting until he rounded 1st.
5. Peter Bourjos is so fast that MLBN will be showing snippets of this highlight all season.
Answer Key:
Well, the 4th statement is absolutely true and it was one of the most exciting, beautiful to behold things I have watched in a baseball game. I only wish I was actually there to see it, cold weather and all, instead of watching from home. If you watched Bourjos’ inside the park homerun last night or saw it later in the highlight reels, then you know that the 5th statement is sure to be true. You’ll have take my word that the 3rd statement is true. And as for the 1st and 2nd statements? While there is no hard data unequivocally proving them to be true, the wealth of anecdotal evidence prevents us from assigning them a false label either. Clearly the research should continue.
Of course any story containing such fantastic feats of skill should have a happy ending for our hero’s side, right? Oh, absolutely, and yet this one did not. And that’s baseball – jubilation and torture, agony and ecstasy. Often all in the course of one game…sometimes even in the course of one inning.
The Angels did a lot of good things last night. There were also a few unwelcome overtones of the 2011 season. But this season is still in its infancy. And Peter Bourjos is so amazingly, stupendously fast that I really don’t want to write about anything but that today. Well done, Fleet Pete!!
* * * * *
And as for feats of skill and amazement today, Mark Trumbo apparently isn’t buying this whole ‘it’s really hard to hit homeruns out of Target Field’ thing. I love our young Angels! You guys are making my season yet again.
The Angels’ Opening Day Went to 11! Let’s Concentrate on that…
When I get sad, I stop being sad and be AWESOME instead! True story. – Words to live by from the immortal Barney Stinson
So games 2 and 3 of the Angels opening series didn’t go exactly the way we had planned…or, you know, anything remotely like we had planned. Opening Night was pretty darned awesome! And more of an indication, I think, of what the season will be like than a pair of extremely early season games where, while this was not the only issue, two ace quality, workhorse pitchers were working through a bit of the old dead arm.
So, the morals of this weekend are:
- Don’t be sad, be awesome instead – and this goes triply for the fans.
- Dead arms and early season fielding jitters will pass of their own accord, as will some of the plate issues. And even with those plate issues, the offense already looks better than that of the last two years. But, even so, let’s stop swinging a) for the fences and b) at stupid pitches.
- Relax and just play your game.
- Clearly Seth and I need to be at these games. I mean, hello? They won when we were in the stands. (Of course, I am completely joking about that last point. Of course. *whistles innocently* But if say, anyone extra superstitious in a position to just happen to let a pair of season tickets fall off a truck and into my hot little hands felt the need to take me seriously, who would I be to say no? And I would like to state, for the record yet completely apropos of nothing of course, that said theoretical tickets would not have to be Diamond Club, or anything fancy like that. Quite the contrary, we would be perfectly happy continuing to root, root, root for the home team from mere mortals’ seats, so long as they’re in decent camera range. )
Opening Day. Opening Day lit halo. Looks pretty darned awesome to me! Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
*relieved sigh* Well, that’s out of the way. Now let’s all concentrate on the sheer Angels awesomeness we are sure to see sooner rather than later this month. And, to get you into that frame of mind, I give you a visual recap of the complete awesomeness that was Opening Day…and if you think I have used variants on the word awesome a few too many times in this post, I ask you, what would Barney Stinson say to you? Uh huh. Thought so. :
Opening Days tend to have the same ingredients MLB-wide – the giant flag covering the outfield, the local military color guard, the players from both teams lining the base paths as their names are called, the military flyover and the VIPs throwing out the first pitch. But that certainly is not to say that every Opening Day is the same, or that these details aren’t special. In fact, the universality of this format is part of what makes it special, lending the affair a ceremonial, special occasion air like a wedding or a graduation. And, much like the parties involved in those examples, each team manages to make the details their own:
Mike Scioscia and Howie Kendrick shake hands as they Angels take their places along the third base line for the pre-game festivities. Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
The color guard. The giant flag. The Angels lined up at attention. Ah, Opening Day! Darned if I don't tear up a little every time. In the line you can see C.J. Wilson, Dan Haren and Alberto Callaspo aming others. Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
The photo I took of the actual first pitch was blurry, which is okay because I like what this one says a little more. Angels 2002 greats Troy Percival, Tim Salmon and David Eckstein embrace before throwing out the first pitch to their coaches (and Dodgers 1988 greats!) Mike Scioscia, Alfredo Griffen and Mickey Hatcher. Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
The energy from the crowd was absolutely unreal. I have been to Opening Days before and I have been to well attended games before, but this was something completely different. And while I am sure that many in the stands were brand new Angels fans, brought to the stadium by the hype and excitement of the Angels well publicized off season acquisitions, I’m not going to join in the griping about that. I say, welcome. Come join us. Get to know the team and stick around for the seasons to come. However the rankings fallout by season’s end, this is going to be fun!
The crowd was unbelievable, sold out and packed to the gills. Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
And it was standing room only on the concourse. Too cool! Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
So, the game itself. Just how good was the game? It was so good that I was hoarse until evening on Saturday. So good that I kept thinking Saturday was Sunday. No joke. That first regular season ballpark experience of the year was so much fun and excitement packed into one game that it seemed to me like it must be an entire Saturday, not just a Friday night. And here are a few of the reasons why:
Jered Weaver, 'nuff said. Well, okay. I might as well add 10 strikeouts, 0 walks and a mere 4 hits in 8 shutout innings. Well, this is the "Awesome" post after all! Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Albert Pujols just misses pulling off the out on an errant throw from 3rd base. I cannot praise Pujols' defense enough. As for Mark Trumbo's defense at 3rd? Okay, so three errors in his first two games is not exactly a pretty start. But remember how much we were bitching about him at first in the opening weeks of 2011? And then he got a lot better and was pretty darned good by the end of the season? After watching the guy last year I can see that when things aren't working out, he works harder, often with success. I say give him the month of April, because the potential upshot from his bat is so great, and if we don't see some improvement and promise, then you can resume screaming bloody murder. Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Okay fine, Jered Weaver decides he'll get his own outs - Howie Kendrick gets the pickoff throw and makes the tag in the 7th. Jeff Francour, you're out! Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Kendrys Morales decided to bat leftie on his third trip to the plate, and set off what would become a 5-run rally. I cannot tell you how happy I am to have this man back in the line up. Go Bam Bam go! Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Erick Aybar takes a sassy lead off third base after his bases clearing triple in the 8th inning. I wish I knew what he was saying to the Royals...though I imagine this was one of those times that is the reason we will never mic players. 
Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Peter Bourjos had a great night, knocking in the first run, sliding in just ahead of the tage to score the 4th run and making a few great plays in the outfield. This is just a between innings warm up photo, but I think that I got his game face. Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
And, just because this is my blog, here’s some silliness too:
Meeting on the mound in the 7th inning. Whatever they're saying, Mark Trumbo appears to be telling the Royals dugout, "Ooooooo. You guys are in trou-ble." Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
And the Kiss Cam hijinks continue into 2012...as opposing team members MLB wide either make plans to stand well apart during this particular ritual or to ham it up for laughs and applause. Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Okay, I have never tried to catch the butt pat on film, but you'd think that with the number of butt pats in baseball I would have wound up with a picture of one before this...I mean I've certainly erased enough photos of players doing other things I never intended to capture on camera. Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Check out the height difference between Eric Hosmer and Alexi Amarista – this shot cracked me up. Now, what he lacks in height, Amarista more than makes up for with his glove, speed, agility and, in the future, I believe with his bat as well. This is one of the kids I am excited to watch come in to his own over the next few seasons. Angels vs. Royals, April 6, 2012, Opening Day. Photo by This is a very simple game...
And if that isn’t enough awesome to get you in the right frame of mind for the next few series, just wait. The Angels will get you there eventually. I’m sure of it.
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...
Angels vs. Dodgers Freeway Exhibition: So Long Spring Training and Thanks for All the Prospects
[The Nutri-Matic Drinks Synthesizer] claimed to produce the widest possible range of drinks personally matched to the tastes and metabolism of whoever cared to use it. When put to the test, however, it invariably produced a plastic cup filled with a liquid which was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea. – Douglas Adams, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe
If you think about it, once you get past the excitement and spectacle of actual, live ballplayers doing their thing on a real baseball diamond during that first broadcast game, Spring Training bears a strong resemblance to Arthur Dent’s doomed quest to get the machine to produce the perfect cuppa…or even a halfway decent cuppa. The end result is something which is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike baseball. Spring Training is practice and working through the rust. It’s a try out and a breaking in, a stretching out, loosening up and learning to play together. Spring Training is a lot of different things, all of them important but, as much as I find myself longing for it in January as a more palatable alternative to nothing, it is not baseball, not really. It’s more like proto-baseball. The real thing is a few days off yet.
The annual Freeway Series exhibition games back at home in Anaheim and Los Angeles, however, are almost an exception to this rule. Yes, the ghosts of September Call-ups future are still playing, most of the starters are flipped out before the 8th inning, and there are a few odd rules – in this case that a full nine innings, no more, no less will be played. (Ten shalt thou not play, neither play thou eight and one half, excepting that thou then proceed to nine. Eleven is right out…*snerk*) But even so, the games are played on the Angels and Dodgers Regular Season turf, at night. And they typically draw an approximation of a Regular Season crowd. This is closer to real baseball. And with the longstanding rivalry between the two teams – much like siblings who probably really love each other…deep, deep down…probably – adding a certain passion lacking in your typical ST game, this is closer still to real baseball and a tradition I have seldom missed since I was a child.
Hey, it may not be precisely real, but it’s certainly fun. The Angels took the first game this evening and the first five innings or so were a pretty good game. Dan Haren looked sharp, so did the Dodgers starter Jamey Wright. A solid Trumbomb here, a spectacular Matt Kemp catch there. *shakes fist at Kemp* A good game…but there were the errors, and then the abrupt pitching changes on the Dodgers side, and before you know it the starters were being pulled for the kids, the score deficit grew and grew (as it most likely would not have during a Regular Season game), and that Spring Training game feel became inescapable. Oh well, so it’s only mostly like a Regular Season game. But we only have two more of these, which promise to be equally fun for most of the innings, and then the real games begin! *boingy, boingy, boingy*
Of Angelic Offenses, Hot Corners, Video Games and Towels: More Spring Training Thoughts
Holy Angels Lineup, Batman! They hit! They steal! They knock in runs! And they score and score and score again! I am so happy with the Angels offense right now that I am beaming as I type this. I hope this carries over into the regular season and grows! It sure looks Albert Pujols was the missing piece this lineup puzzle needed because all of the good pieces we had going last season are now working in conjunction with one another to create multiple, multiple run innings instead of little tiny offensive outbursts. They look almost as good as the starting rotation – and that ‘almost’ reflects more on the high bar set by the starting rotation than anything else. Speaking of which, I’ll bet that as pleased as the fans are, the run support starved starting rotation is even more so.
That sticky third base question…seems to be a lot less sticky than folks were predicting actually. We have now seen Mark Trumbo play third base and it worked out pretty darned well. He played the grounders hit his way well, including one that took a nasty hop. He made a great diving catch. In all of the discussion about the possibility of Trumbo at third, his arm was never once in doubt…even so, it was really nice to see that this assessment was accurate. And he did all of this while enjoying a good day at the plate which included his first Trumbomb of Spring Training. It’s only Spring Training. It was a very small sample size. But I actually think this could work. The stats and logic behind Clubhouse Confidential’s much more dire predictions a few weeks back did seem to make an unfortunate amount of sense. But people had the same predictions for Trumbo at first base last season with the same logic and, while he was certainly no Gold Glover, he turned out to be a competent, reliable first baseman who kept improving all season. I was hoping he would demonstrate the same caliber as a third baseman and, after watching him, I think that’s exactly what we can expect.
Those crazy MLB video game commercials. MLB 2K12? MLB 12 the Show? Which is better? I certainly couldn’t say. I don’t play video games much and when I do I tend to gravitate back to something old school like Gauntlet or Heretic. But I do know that the commercials for both MLB video game franchises are usually something special and this year is no exception. Justin Verlander’s Randy Johnson impersonation in the MLB 2K12 commercial has me laughing out loud every time. It almost makes up for his attempts at comedy on Conan O’Brien. As for the other? Granted, it’s not that hard to make me cry these days, but a video game commercial? ‘Fraid so. That darned Cubs Win! MLB 12 the Show commercial actually made me tear up…er…makes me tear up. He’s just so sad at the end! (Of course, we all know who they tried to get to be in that commercial and that’s just plain mean.) Suffice to say, both ads were very well done.
Don’t forget your towel. According to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a towel is “about the most massively useful” item you can bring on any journey, local, interstellar, or somewhere in between. Apparently David Price agrees to disagree with the vaunted Guide on this front. Don’t panic, David, you are not alone. Many of us suffer bizarre abuse at the hands of seemingly innocuous inanimate objects. I have a friend who threw out her back showing her daughter how to put on nylons. I have another friend who received a scar from a Rock Band guitar pretty much just as she was just walking by – we refer to this as her Rock Band stage diving scar, by the way. And there’s a good tip for you. If you can’t somehow make the inanimate object injury sound less silly, go for making it sound epic instead.
As for me? Doors are my personal bete noir. Car doors. House doors. Cupboard doors. Heck, even door jams. They all attack me and bruise my arms and legs on a regular basis. See, you are far from alone. Though I must admit, it is nice for the rest of us to be reminded yet again that even Major League baseball players can suffer from occasional bouts of klutziness too…and that that the rest of us only have to answer to the mockery of our friends and family, not the national media. Of course, as a woman, attending a small liberal arts college and having the only honest answer to “Where on Earth did you get that bruise?” be, “I ran into a door.” was more than a little awkward too, as you might imagine.
Early Spring Training Thoughts Bouncing Through My Brain
Spring Training has sprung and with an array of early news beginning to trickle out of the camps, I had a lot of thoughts bouncing around in my brain, none of which was really a post in and of itself – much like a kid at the Lego store. Ooo, shiny! …Ooooo, shinier!! …Oooooooooo…you get the general idea. Instead of trying to force too much concentration to interfere with all of the excitement, here are some of the things that are pleasing, concerning, amusing, and annoying me right now:
- They’re all there now, in Arizona – okay and in Florida too. Actual ballplayers running actual drills! Live baseball footage on MLBN, even if it’s only batting practice, bullpen sessions and drills, makes me a very happy girl.
- Peter Bourjos says that the hip he was rehabbing over the winter feels 100%…but it’s a bone bruise and he’ll still most likely have surgery after the season is over. Ummm…so why didn’t he take care of this this offseason? Apparently, he didn’t get the MRI until around Thanksgiving so there wasn’t enough time. Ummm…okay. I think. So those rumors that Bourjos is actually part golden retriever? Hip issues certainly aren’t doing a lot to dispel them, kid. All joking aside, I am crossing my fingers that he stays as close to whatever approximates 100% for ballplayers throughout the season. I want Mike Trout to join Bourjos in the outfield ASAP, not come up to replace him during a DL stint.
- Live games start this Saturday and Angels individual game tickets go on sale this Saturday. That makes this Saturday kind of like Christmas…well…until Opening Day and then that’s even more like Christmas…until a game comes along where I have particularly good seats and it’s a particularly exciting game and then that’s more like… Hey, they say we’re supposed to keep the spirit of Christmas alive throughout the year, right?
- Mark Trumbo took a line drive to the face – as you do when you’re learning a new position – but doesn’t want to have the doc take a look at his nose. My husband will laugh uproariously at me when he reads this, but you have doctors on staff for a reason, right? Your foot? Bourjos’ hip? Go see the doc, you know, just in case. But way to really go for it at third! And way to be flexible and roll with the changes.
- C.J. Wilson is really growing on me. I think Terry Smith asked him the perfect questions this afternoon to draw out his love of baseball in addition to his love of his extra-curricular activities. I thoroughly appreciated what he had to say about baseball, about loving the challenge, living for the competition and his gratitude for his adult successes after a childhood of never being the big, highly athletic kid. Very cool stuff. Hearing that, I am reassured that he does have his mind on the game and am leaning back towards, he’s so well rounded. Isn’t that cool! And, hey, a writing major. I did not know that, but gotta love those crazy writing types…especially when they finish a season with more than 200 strikeouts.
- When did “effort” become a verb on MLBN, as in ‘I efforted that,’ ‘we’re in the process of efforting that’? I first noticed Greg Amsinger using it last week and now it seems to be a thing. Okay, the English language, cobbled together, mismatched, uneven, patchwork quilt of a thing that it is, lends itself well to a certain fluidity. And I love words. I love playing with them with even more – I know, you are all shocked! – and I frequently find myself applauding the creative prose of sports announcers. But, efforting? No please. Stop it right now.
- It’s February 29th. Happy Birthday, Frederic! Still nose to the grindstone on that apprenticeship?
Of Valentines, Billboards and the Machine
Driving down the 605 freeway to work today, what wondrous sight should greet my none-too-thrilled-to-be-office-bound-on-such-a-gorgeous-day eyes but this stupendous new billboard! What a lovely Valentine for the fans! Okay, so I actually telecommute three days a week so this billboard could have been up since last Wednesday night and I would have been none the wiser. But I saw it for the first time today, so I’m going with ‘lovely Valentine.’ Besides, this billboard is so much less ephemeral than roses, doesn’t require one to make reservations or deal with crowds and won’t take up valuable bed real estate unlike a teddy bear or other stuffed animal. It’s perfect!
Angels 2012 season billboard on the 605 S just north of the 10 freeway. February 14, 2012. Photo by This is a very simple game...
There are several of these billboards along my commute, a small series of them apparently, because another one a little further down the way had the same design but said “Now Playing” with the Angels logo for the A again. Passing the first one made me giddy with the reminder of the approaching baseball season. Passing the second one made me smile a little wider still. Passing the third one made me swell with pride over my team…and then frown a little as I started to question the whole ad campaign. Are we really only advertising Albert Pujols this season? Seriously?
Not that I’m complaining about featuring Pujols on billboards. I mean, he’s only the best or one of the best, depending on who you talk to, player in the game. And it’s not like he designed the ad campaign, or even requested such treatment. It’s just…well…we have other players too. Other wonderful players who are either already stars in their own right or on their way to becoming so. Guys who kept the team in contention last season right up until the end even though they ultimately fell short of the mark. You know, Jered Weaver. Dan Haren. Mr. Ervin “No hitter – I finally got that Cleveland beast off my back” Santana. Torii Hunter. And, heck, after last season Mark Trumbo. I’d like to see some of these guys on billboards too.
Of course, this is hardly unique to the Angels. Most teams who land a big free agency signing do the same thing. The whole Dodgers Mannywood campaign comes most immediately to my mind, perhaps because those billboards were in the same places on my commute as these new Angels billboards not so very long ago. And I am sure you all could provide me with quite an array of additional examples. But the fact that this is a common, traditional ad campaign style doesn’t make it a good one, in my opinion. To me the real story here isn’t just that Albert Pujols is an Angel now. For all that he is amazing, Pujols couldn’t be a baseball team of one if the rest of the team was ineffective. No, the real story is that Albert Pujols is donning an Angels uniform alongside our existing players, that he has the potential to take an already good team to the next level.
I would prefer to see several different individual player billboards – half of them Albert by all means, but the other half featuring a handful of others. Then, as you actually hit Anaheim, I would like to see a billboard or two with all of the featured players on it together. I think that billboard campaign would tell a more powerful story. …Then again, what do I know about copy, design and marketing? Oh, yeah. Never mind.
Pay No Attention to the Groundhog Behind the Shadow, Spring Is Just Around the Corner
Well, Spring Training is at any rate and that’s good enough for me. So, I was all set to write one more ___ Days Without Baseball post but the fact of the matter is I’m just too darned cheerful. Yay! Oh, those posts were very much tongue in cheek, of course, but it still takes a certain amount of melancholy to write them and, wonderfully enough, I’m just not feeling it. Angels 2012 season billboards are beginning to bloom, the sports analysts are tweeting and there is a hint of baseball in the air.
And to top it all off? Mark Trumbo, one of the Angels two big question marks heading in to Spring Training was cleared to resume baseball activities this week after spending the offseason healing a stress fracture in his right foot. Can he continue last season’s offensive outburst? Can he make a transition to 3rd? Will the injury have any lingering effects? Oh and what about Kendrys? He’s a big part of the offense puzzle too, you know. Well, you kind of have to play the games first, but I sure think so. We’ll have to see. I don’t know. I really don’t know. Oh, and statement. One-Love.
Okay, so the Angels still have a few important questions to answer but that’s part of what Spring Training is all about. We have one new answer to add to Jerry Dipoto’s serious answers to all of fans’ Hot Stove questions. We have a lot of hope, a sense of infinite possibility, and I for one have more excitement than any one person can reasonably be expected to contain. And that right there – hope, possibility, excitement – is the larger part of what Spring Training and indeed the entire concept of Spring is all about.
So surely that groundhog’s gone senile. Real spring is just around the corner. Besides, out here in Sunny So Cal we haven’t even seen winter. This isn’t bragging, mind you. It’s darned odd actually. We may not get snow and ice storms, but we do generally get rain and several weeks of weather in the 30s and 40s. Today it was 70. Weird! So I’m not buying this six more weeks stuff.
This is a very simple game...
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!
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