Results tagged ‘ Yosemite ’
Giants Shut Out Cardinals to Keep the NLCS Going and Help Improve a Bad Day in the Process
Waiting all day for a repairman to arrive in a paradisiacal place like Yosemite National Park – you know, just in case you were all wondering or anything like that – is no less annoying than waiting for one back home. Oh, the view from the kitchen windows is infinitely more gorgeous, but that’s about it.
View from the kitchen/living room area at the “parents of 1/2 of the Brown Footed Loons”‘s cabin in Yosemite. Photo by This is a very simple game…
Long story short, the stove in the cabin blew up. Yeah, no joke. Manufacturer’s defect. Gas build up while cooking. Boom. I wasn’t there, mind you, but I assume it was rather spectacular sounding. Fortunately there were no injuries. So, now someone has to be here for the repairman and the Brown Footed Loons happened to be on the verge of migrating again so, voila!, we added an odd detour redundancy to our vacation so that we could wait in Yosemite – before heading to Cambria/Paso Robles for the Harvest Festival and then back to Yosemite for the rest of the week – for a repairman who never showed…yeah, Sears is now a 4 letter word in my house.
While that was certainly a less than awesome start to our vacation – to put it mildly! – I’ll tell you what is awesome: baseball fans! Seth and I decided to give ourselves a treat on the way from Yosemite to Cambria and stop at a little steakhouse just outside the park we’d been dying to try rather than grabbing fast food. Well, wouldn’t you know it, this little steakhouse, it had a little bar. And in the little bar, it had a certain game on both TVs…and a large party of Giants fans, central California being no doubter Giants country, wearing their team gear with pride and rooting loudly. So we decided to kick it in the bar and catch a few innings.
Best decision all day! The food was excellent, the wait staff friendly and the company could not be beat. We sat down just as Buster Posey struck out in the 4th inning. So we were there for what happened immediately after. Hunter Pence’s comebacker hit. Lance Lynn’s errant throw the bounced off the bag. And the Giants’ 4th inning scoring spree. The bar went from sedate to very loud indeed and, even after we confessed our Angels fan status, our cheers were welcomed into the mix. Baseball fans appreciate other baseball fans, especially come playoffs time. Except for a few inevitable bad apples I have found this to be true again and again, a point that was underscored when the rest of the local crowd showed up. This is a very small town and this bar seems to be one of the preferred places from which to catch the game. Four local Cardinals fans wandered in wearing their team gear with pride, clearly transplants from a more birds on bats part of the country. The Giants fans at the bar and the Cards fans greeted one another warmly and, when there wasn’t quite enough room at the bar for everyone, seating arrangements were shuffled about to make sure the new arrivals weren’t sitting at nearby bar room table by themselves. All very companionable and sweet. Like I said, baseball fans are awesome!
The game itself was a breath of fresh air in what had previously threated to be a dull series. Sorry, Cards and Tigers fans, but sweeps and near sweeps are only desirable if you’re an existing part of the fan base of the team doing the dominating. For the rest of us, especially after getting thoroughly spoiled by the wild, tightly contested wonderfulness that was the Division Series X 4, quite frankly, the ALCS was kind of a let down and the NLCS looked like it was heading that way. Yeah, I was rooting for the Tigers in the ALCS, but I rather hoped the Yankees would put up a fight. I get that Derek Jeter’s injury was a crushing blow to team morale, but even before that they were not themselves.
Fortunately for baseball fans everywhere, especially those of us watching purely for love of the game, the Giants rallying after two straight losses to shut out the Cardinals and take Game 6 saved the NLCS from a similarly ho hum fate, no matter what happens tomorrow. And it was great to see Barry Zito going retro, channeling pitches from his own more lights out era. I love a good comeback story. They’re one of my favorite parts of the game…along with taut pitchers’ duels, stellar defensive plays, ballsy steals, and diverse groups of great fans coming together to bond over our shared love.
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!
Jered Weaver Will Keep His Halo Through 2016! + Other Random Off Day Thoughts
Jered Weaver and the Angels reach a 5-year, $85 million deal
Jered Weaver warms up in the A's Bullpen. Angels vs. A's Double Header, July 16, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Major sports news in 2011 breaks more like an avalanche than like the smooth flowing waves of the pre-social media days. It starts with a small flurry of tweets and rumors that quickly progress into larger and more detailed blasts from other forums, Facebook, independent blogs, insider blogs, press blogs and then the full crescendo of completely confirmed new articles comes crashing down. And all of this occurs 24 hours or more before the official press conference, which these days serves more as an opportunity to get feelings and impressions about that which everyone already knows, takes place.
When this particular avalanche began, I was on my way back down the highways from Yosemite, ecstatic about the Angels perfectly timed sweep of the Orioles, contemplating everything I needed to do to get ready for Monday morning and it just didn’t register. But as the avalanche grew Sunday night? Well, have you ever seen a grown woman restraining herself with effort from turning cartwheels in the living room? Yeah, it was like that. If I thought I was excited about Angels news earlier in the day, well that was nothing compared to how I felt by evening time.
So, Jered Weaver is now an Angel until 2016, with a full no-trade clause to boot. *Cue happy dances and shouts of joy* I’m not going to say I never worried about him leaving the Angels, because as my blog will attest, that isn’t true. But the full no-trade clause confirms my long held suspicion, as my blog will also attest, that Weaver wants to stay in Anaheim as much as the fans and the organization want him to. Everything I’ve ever read about Weaver says he’s a Los Angeles/Orange County boy through and through. He grew up here. He went to college here. He still lives near his folks, who come to many of his games. I’ve gotten the impression from interview snippets that he’s known his fiancé and many of his best friends since high school or longer. He has been an Angel since day one, and although signing the initial contract with him after the draft took some doing, he never once indicated he wanted to look at playing anywhere else. This has always charmed me about him. I know I feel the same way about continuing to live in the same county I grew up in, near family and old friends. A lot of us do. It’s alI very human and relatable…and I hoped that a) I was reading between the lines correctly and b) this meant that if the front office didn’t muck things up, Weaver would work with them to stay in an Angels uniform.
The Angels will continue to have the two aces at least through 2013. Clearly Weaver is imagining all the possibilities. 
Angels vs. A's, May 25, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...
I had my concerns. The Angels are known for being pennywise and pound foolish about contracts. Weaver’s agent Scott Boras is well known to prefer his clients to go through lucrative free agency bidding wars and players often like to test the free agency waters themselves to get an idea of what’s out there. But in the end, the hometown kid, who just happens to be one of the best pitchers currently in the game, stays with the hometown team that really appreciates and needs his killer stuff and all is right with my baseball world! I know many Angels fans were miffed when the organization didn’t make any trades in July. (Not me, because I didn’t see anyone out there who would make enough of a difference to the Angels to justify what we would probably have had to give up, but that was the subject of another blog post…) Now that we know what the front office had in mind instead, I hope this news makes up for any lingering disappointments on that front.
Jerome Williams Notches a W
I love Jerome Williams’s story of perseverance and dedication, making it back to Major League Baseball, but I was uncertain about starting him Sunday. It’s not like we have a lot of other options. But I thought his relief outing against Texas was inconclusive. No runs or walks, but two hits and he was behind in a few counts in the one inning he pitched. Clearly he deserved extra slack for his first inning back on the mound in the Majors but still, to me it was inconclusive. Well darned if he didn’t pitch a heck of game on Sunday! No walks, six strikeouts and only one earned run and six hits in seven innings to complete the Angels sweep of the O’s. That would have kept the Angels in the game even if the offense hadn’t shown up. Welcome to the rotation Mr. Williams! And if you keep pitching like this, I hope you stay a good long while!
Yosemite Weekend
Yosemite Falls viewed from a meadow on the Yosemite Valley Floor. Yosemite National Park, August 20, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...(Seth)
As ecstatic as I was about the Weaver news and the Angels victory and the fact that the Angels bridged another game along the gap to first place (Thank you White Sox! I promise I loved you all the way up until sunset today. ), I was just too tired from having fun to post about it all until today. My husband’s family has a cabin in Yosemite, literally inside the national park on private land surrounded by federal land. Trust me, I know how lucky I am. Not only are my in laws absolutely lovely people, they have all of these wonderful toys. They are rebuilding the cabin this summer from the original 1920’s construction (you know, giving it a foundation and other modern frills, he he) so the family gathered en semi masse in the park this weekend to make a few decisions about the construction and play in Yosemite Valley.
It was a fantastic weekend! We biked through Yosemite Valley and Wawona, hiked a few of the more popular trails (I’ve been on most of them at one point or another, but we were there with our young niece and nephew, so it was a minimal hiking, trail highlights kind of weekend. They’re good kids and did really, really well!) and goofed around together taking in the sheer breathtaking beauty of it all. One of the many things I have enjoyed about this blogging community is all of the fun details I have learned about other teams and also about life in other parts of the country. Yosemite definitely offers a non-traditional view of California, so I thought I would share a few photos. I posted about the trip in more detail here, and with more photos, if anyone is interested.
The famous view of Yosemite Valley from Glacier Point. It was even a little hazy Saturday - there was a controlled lightning fire on the hill behind us - and the view is still gorgeous! Yosemite National Park, August 20, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...
The brown footed loons continue their annual summer migration in random patterns throughout the state, via the inland route, on bicycles through Yosemite Valley. That is half dome behind us. Yosemite National Park, August 20, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...
Angels Win Two Against the O’s, Gaining One on Texas + A Scary Stat Proposal
As I said in my last post, I think they can do it, but the Angels have a tall order ahead of them if they would like to have an October. However, with three wins in a row since then, two of which succeeded in eating up a little needed distance in the standings, the Angels are tackling that tall order head on!
…And I have been desperately trying to follow their progress each evening after the family goes to bed early on a sketchy WI-fi connection from the cabin where we are staying for the weekend in Yosemite National Park. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stunning natural beauty. Freedom from electronic leashes. Relaxation in the great outdoors far away from the encumbrances of modern technology. Trust me, during the day I am all about that. But come 8:30 p.m. or so, I want to know the score and I want to follow the last few innings f at all possible.
Peter Bourjos and Mark Trumbo are on absolute hitting terrors. Torii Hunter’s hit streak continues. Bats, gloves and arms are growing steadily more clutch. We have Hank Conger and, best of all, Mike Trout back up from the minors, which means I am seeing various incarnations of my dream, Bourjos in Center, Trout in one of the corners, 2012 outfield right now in 2011…or, at least I will be seeing it Tuesday once I’m back in town. I couldn’t be happier!!
Okay, that isn’t entirely true. I could be happier if a few of our pitching woes were solved, namely the number 4 and 5 starting rotation spots and some unnecessarily exciting fellows in the bullpen – why did we go to Fernando Rodney again? Why? I don’t know what to make of Pineiro’s outing, exactly. Nine hits and four runs in six innings but he didn’t walk anyone and the runs were clustered in one bad inning plus a solo homerun. Is he a little better and likely to get better still? Were the Angels just damn lucky to score enough runs this time and might not be so next time? It’s tough to tell not having actually seen it. And then we have Jerome Williams making his first major league pitching start since 2007 for us on Sunday. I wish him all the best, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have concerns. Trust me when I say I really don’t want to have to start referring to this rotation as Santana, Weaver and Haren, then two days of swearin’. I think that’s a little too nostalgic, even for the 50th anniversary.
* * * * *
More often than not, the rules determining which pitchers are credited with wins, losses, no decisions, saves, holds, blown saves and the like work well enough. But occasionally they can lead to some serious injustices. Take Saturday’s game against the Orioles for example, two outs, bases loaded, Rodney is inexplicably called to the mound and proceeds to do what Rodney does best – okay, second best, he didn’t walk anyone – he gives up a single after two pitches and a run scores, two with Torii’s throwing error. But the Angels rallied in the bottom of the inning, winning in walk off fashion. So, Pineiro gets a no decision, Jordan Walden, who did allow the game to become tied in the first place but then came back for a spotless second inning gets a blown save and Rodney gets the win? Does that seem fair to you?
I think we need a new stat, indicating which relief outings are truly quality and which are…shall we say…unnecessarily exciting. Why not? We have a stat for everything else, right? Thinking of the most egregious crimes a reliever can commit, I propose something to the effect of Win/Save – (Walks + Earned Runs + Extra Base Hits)/# of batters seen. Basically, this would create fractional wins and saves for relievers. A quality win or save would be a 1 or only slightly lower, a .9 for example. But a barely deserved win might be a .25 or even a -.25. We could call this new stat something as mundane as a Weighted Relief Record, but what fun would that be? I propose instead that we call this new stat the Specific Criteria Adjusted Relief Index, or SCARI, as in Rodney may have gotten the win, but his SCARI was, well, pretty darned scary…
…because, of course, I’m completely joking around here…okay, make that mostly.
Opening Day Excites, my Baseball Snow Days Rock & an Epic Fiddle Player Surprises
Friday, literally before dawn, we rolled out of Los Angeles for Yosemite National Park to clean out my in-laws cabin for renovations – with great vacation options come great responsibility. Four hours later, we hit Fresno and my in-laws called to say no go, the cabin is snowed in. And I don’t mean, wimpy California snowed in, I mean my husband and I and his cousins digging all afternoon just to get to the shed to turn the power on and then starting on the cabin door, snowed in. So we grabbed shakes at In-N-Out and headed home. Breaking down the weekend so far: failed plans, I need to work a few hours later today to salvage the vacation day for a return trip to Yosemite, an eight hour drive for milkshakes, and unexpectedly getting to watch the game on Friday and Saturday. Hmmm…what does it say about me that I still think this adds up to a win? Sitting here luxuriating over coffee, brunch and an actual, live, for really real it counts, Angels game? I believe it says I have my priorities straight.
My thoughts on the season so far? Opening Day absolutely rocked. Jered Weaver pitched a Gem. Torii Hunter’s bat loves those K stadium fountains. I love, love, love our outfield…as I may have mentioned a time or two in the past. Jordan Walden continues to have my vote for closer of the future. Twelve hits! The bullpen got roughed up but didn’t actually blow the lead. It was a great game, a little too exciting there at the end, but a scary win is absolutely better than a sedate loss.
Mind you, the season is so young it isn’t even in diapers yet, it’s still in those pampers infant swaddling things, but I feel like I am finally watching Angels baseball after a poor imitation last season. The bats. The manufactured runs. The sacrifice bunts turned base hits. Both guys you would (Torii!) and would not (Happy Birthday, Jeff Mathis) expect going yard. Nailing the 6-4-3 and 4-6-3 double plays. Flying outfielders – Fleet Pete! Diving catches. Robbed homeruns. Great plays at the wall – heeelloooo Vernon Wells, and I bid you a hearty welcome to the team, good sir. A bullpen with a flair for the dramatic, especially the “closers.” Yes, unfortunately, that’s a hallmark of Angels baseball too, and one the team really needs to work on if we want to defy all of the predictions this season. I wish we’d pulled off the win on Friday but that one was close and, all in all, this is not a bad start to the season. More please, and by that I mean more like Thursday’s game please!
Edit: I said more like Thursday’s game. Thursday’s game! Grrrrrr…the bullpen…and the stranded runners…and the gorram BULLPEN! *Breathes deeply* Excuse me while I swear loudly and pound the coffee table a few more times.
Imagine my pleasant surprise this weekend when a friend of mine confirmed that I was not mistaken in thinking I saw a familiar face in the new Brian Wilson’s epic beard MLB commercial (below)…other than the obvious one, of course. The fiddle player on the right? An old, old friend of ours I am really glad to see getting some commercial work. It amuses me to no end that he is in this particular commercial given that he knows nothing about baseball. He thinks this is one of the strangest ad campaigns he has ever seen. I told him there’s nothing odd about it. It’s just your standard, every day, run of the mill commercial featuring a closer who says his beard is magic and that he’s a certified ninja assassin with a gimp superhero housemate he refers to as the Machine. What could possibly be odd about that?
This is a very simple game...
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