Fans will complain when there is too much change because they’re favorites might be gone. They will also complain when there is too little change. What they want is balance, meaning the players they’re screaming at every game to do something and never do are removed, and their favorites that make them follow the team are kept. The problem is that the list is different for every fan, so you’ll never make everyone happy. I look at the offseason with an open mind. I trust that the owners and the managers are just as much fans of their team as I, and that their ultimate goal for the team is the same: win the World Series.
So back to my original question, is change for the sake of change and nothing else bad? I’m under the opinion that a little bit of change in a team’s roster each year is healthy, regardless of how well or not well the team performed the prior year.
By the end of a season you know exactly what your team’s weaknesses and strengths are and thus each game begins to be a little predictable. If no changes were made during the offseason and your favorite team stayed exactly the same, would you be as excited for the new year? Take that question a step further. Your team made it all the way to the World Series and won, would you still be excited for the same team next year?
So far, offseason trade excitement hasn’t been very exciting, in fact I would go as far as to say it’s been disappointing. From what I can tell the Angels were completely satisfied with their 2008 team, so much so they seem to be interested in keeping it together for 2009, with few exceptions. Two big exceptions are Garret Anderson and Francisco Rodriguez. For Anderson they chose not to renew his contract and for Rodriguez.. well they got outbid by the Mets.
This week the Angels announced that they offerred Mark Teixeira an eight year contract, terms haven’t been disclosed. I’ll admit, getting rid of Teixeira isn’t a change I want to see happen, but eight years is a long time to commit to any player. I’m excited knowing that the Angels have realized they need to build this team around a new superstar, but I’m nervous for such a long contract. Their last big superstar was Vladimir Guerrero, and the contract they offered him was only four years. Since signing Guerrero back in 2004, long term contracts seem to be the norm with players expecting them. In my opinion they’re bad business, they put teams at too much risk financially. What do you think?
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Baseball geniuses Brian and Chris discuss the recent news that Francisco Rodriguez has opted not to sign with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and opts for a chance to play for a team that might be able to beat the Red Sox in a playoff series:
Chris: We should put up a post on k-rod for the Angels site, check out this article
That’s gotta be pretty big news in Angels land.
Brian: That sucks for the Angels
Chris: I don’t know, I think he is over rated
Brian: 60 saves in a season?
how do you overrate that?
Chris:Against shitty AL West teams
Brian: ok, but that number is still huge
listen, I hate the guy
prancing around up on the mound like he just stormed Normandy
Chris: It’s big but that’s what I mean, put someone like Trevor Hoffman on that team last year same thing if not more saves.
Brian: maybe. . . well the article says they might pursue Manny now if they can’t get Tex
Chris: What I hate is that the Angels made him offers, but he thinks his shit don’t stink and he wants more.
Yeah I read that.
Brian: Boras represent him?
Chris: More competition for the Dodgers.
Not sure.
Brian: well, definitely seems like the Angels are gonna start a downward slide
Chris: Anyways probably a good article to write.
Brian: maybe we just did
Chris: HAHA yep
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Talk to any former college athlete, skiing instructor, or pseudo-Olympic contender working corporate in a marketing department, and the story is always the same: “I would have been a monster. . . OH. . . but my knee.”
“Oh. . . but my herniated disc.”
“Oh. . . but my torn ACL after Bernard Pollard ended my season.”
And tonight, the Angels do it as a team. “Oh, but my squeeze play.” The only 100 win team in baseball goes home to play golf, and the Red Sox move on to play the extremely lethal Rays.
K-Rod can work on a new celebration dance, yelling at the sky and shaking his fist with a huge sense of empowerment.
And now that I’ve talked all the smack I’m allowed on here, I’d like to offer my congratulations to the Angels for an amazing season. Texeira and Guerrero made me pace in the bar every time they came to bat during this series. . . Figgins induced sweaty palms, and K-Rod, crazy dance or not, was just damn intimidating.
I’m glad the Sox don’t have to play the Angels any more this season. . . they made me mental.
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Well I can’t say the Angels split the broom into two pieces, but they did crack it. Not a commanding win by any means, but at this point I’ll take it. Boston is definitely not the place you want to be playing when your backs are against the wall and you have to win, but unfortunately that is where the Angels are. Last night, feeling the pressure, the Angels rallied in extra innings and came up with a big 5-4 win over the Red Sox.
The game in my opinion should not have even been close, nor should the Angels have let it go twelve innings. The Angels are again having problems scoring runs, with sixteen hits last night they stranded sixteen runners on base and failed to really break the game wide open. Playing a team like Boston, the Angels need to be able to capitalize and score runs when they’re given the opportunity.
Onto the good news, the player of the game for this one has to be Mike Napoli, hands down. He was directly responsible for three of the five runs scored last night and they came off of two big blasts over the green monster. The first one tied the game at three in the third inning, and the last one a solo shot in the fifth inning gave the Angels the lead. Those two home runs were just what the doctor ordered for the Angels.
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What a rollercoaster last night’s game was. After stumbling out of the gates and watching Boston take the lead, you could feel the twisting in the pit of your stomach. The crowd was out of it: not quite a funeral procession or a Cub’s game, but close. To make matters worse Tori Hunter did his best imitation of Bill Gramatica, and injured his knee.
Then the Angels started chipping away, the momentum was turning. The Rally Monkey was released putting the crowd into a frenzy like fat kids on chocolate cake, and finally the game was tied at 5. You felt nothing would go wrong and finally the Angels would pull one out. Then it was mano y mano, my closer vs. your closer, let the stare down begin. Well not only did K-Rod blink, I’m quite sure his eyes haven’t even opened yet. Drew hit the 2 run jack in the 9th and it was game over. Now it’s 3 straight or we’re out.
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In my earlier post “Who Else Wants The Red Sox Eliminated In Three?”, I touched on some really unfavorable loosing “Patterns” the Red Sox had in their many World Series appearances. However, I did not point out one winning “Pattern” the Red Sox have, which a reader by the name of Jim took care of for me with this comment, “The Angels haven’t even won a playoff game against the Sox since 1986″. Now I didn’t verify that date, but all true Angels fans know that we haven’t done well against Boston in the post season. It’s not that I overlooked that fact, more so I wanted to think that this was the Angels team that could finally break that “Pattern”. After all the Angels not only dominated their division during the regular season reaching a franchise high one hundred wins, but they also took care of business against the Red Sox all season. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t given up hope, but as all the announcers and reporters keep kindly reminding us that the 2001 Yankees were the only team to come back after being down 0-2, it isn’t looking pretty. How great would it be though if they could travel to Boston and return the favor by taking two from them in front of their hometown crowd and bring it back for the final show down.
The Angels deserve a lot of credit tonight for staying tough after falling behind by four runs in the top of the first inning. From the start you could tell it was going to be one of those hard fought ball games where you bite, scratch and claw your opponent until someone finally gives up.
On the mound for the Angels was Ervin Santana, who for the most part pitched a pretty solid ball game against a tough Boston Red Sox ball club. Santana struggled in the first inning surrendering four earned runs, three of them on a home run by Jason Bay his second in this series. However, Santana battled back and managed to ultimately pitch five and one third innings only allowing one more run. This was enough to keep the Angels in the game and allow them the chance to come back, and come back they did.
Offensively for the Angels they were getting hits, eleven total. The main problem was the hits were coming tonight from the three, four and five hitters (Teixeira, Guerrero and Hunter). The rest of the team came up empty, with exception to Chone Figgins, tonights hero. The lack of offensive production from the rest of the team was definitely the difference in the ball game as the Angels left a total of eleven runners on base. Twice they had bases loaded with two outs, and an opportunity to change the game but came up empty. Chone Figgins gets a lot of the credit tonight for keeping the Angels in the game. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth he managed to hit a line drive to left and score Juan Rivera from third. His biggest hit a triple to right center came in the eight inning, with the Angels trailing the Sox by only one run 5-4. This set the stage for Teixeira to hit a sacrifice fly, sending Figgins in to score and tie the game at 5-5.
Going into the ninth with K-Rod on the mound, I definitely had a good feeling this would go extra innings or perhaps the Angels would pull out the win in the bottom of the ninth. Sadly that didn’t happen, J.D. Drew who seems to only come up with the big fly’s in big spots did it again with a one out home run to center field putting the Sox up 7-5. That proved to be all the Sox needed to take game two of the series.
Let’s all break out the dusty copy of the movie “Angels in the Outfield”, because at this point some Angels lifting our players up is what we need to bring this one back.
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So it happened, we lost. The mental temptation to follow the history pattern with Boston will be strong. Yes, Boston has owned us recently and this decade they’ve been a clutch playoff team, but that was then and this is NOW. We can’t let the mentality of “here we go again” kick in. Mike needs to stand up and rally the team, he needs to tell them “we can let Boston run us out of the playoffs again or we can ask ourselves, what would Ricky do?” Ricky would resist the urge to succumb to his past. He would stare done that temptatious blunt, understand it’s now or never and just say no. History doesn’t control the Angels, it’s up to them to change the pattern.
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Lackey did well until the bottom of the sixth, giving up a walloping home run to Jason Bay (Manny who?) after allowing Pedroia to walk . . . and then the Angels bullpen imploded faster than Wall Street with Bush in office for a 3rd term.
Lester was insane. . . Beckett is our ace and I think he might be the best post season pitcher out there right now, but Lester was the best I’ve ever seen him, and an ace all on his own.
But the Big Rotten Banana Award goes to Big Daddy Vladdy, With 1 out, Vlad tried to make it to 3rd on a double, while clearly being signaled to stay at 2nd. I haven’t seen someone lose their cool like this since Suppan forgot which way to home plate in the 2004 World Series. Vlad, you are not Jacoby Ellsbury. Youkilis made a great throw to 3rd, and Lowell made the out. . . and from there, the television viewing audience got repeated scenes of a scowling Scoscia and an angry Big Daddy hitting things with his helmet. I also have to commend the Fox camera men for repeated cuts to the deflated Angels fans in the audience.
Clearly, the Monkey was most displeased and was seen trying on a pair of red socks in the locker room. There would be no rally. Masterson and Pap closed it all down in the 8th and 9th. . . 4-1 Sox. One down, two to go.
Runner up for the Rotten Banana goes to Home Plate Umpire Tim Welke. . . some one please explain to Mr. Welke the strike zone does not change from team to team, and that in order to call a swinging strike, the player actually has to take a swing at the ball. Holy cow.
Finally, I have to side with the Monkey. Anaheim fans aren’t like any other baseball fans anywhere. . . Somebody please teach Bobby Gritch how to spell “Angels”.
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I’m sick of hearing about the Red Sox and “Red Sox Nation”, how great their fans are and how they have finally beat the Curse of the Bambino. I mean I get it, they’re a great team with a great story, but enough already. The team and the fans definitely have a vibe of “My Shit Don’t Stink”, and all other teams are sub par at best. Let’s not forget how long that curse stood, and how many World Series chances they let slip by before they finally broke it. Let me take you back in time:
1946 Red Sox vs Cardinals : Game 7, 3-3 tie in the bottom of the 8th, Johhny Pesky hesitates throwing home and the Red Sox CHOKE!
1967 Red Sox vs Cardinals : AGAIN game 7 and with the their ace Jim Lonborg on the mound the Red Sox CHOKE in an embarrassing 7-2 loss.
Are you starting to see a pattern?
1975 Red Sox vs Mets : Red Sox force game seven with a dramatic walk off home run only to CHOKE and give up a 3-0 lead they held until the 9th inning.
1986 Red Sox vs Mets : Game 6, Red Sox with a 5-3 lead in the 10th one out from winning the World Series CHOKE and the mets force game seven. Game seven Red Sox CHOKE again and give up an early 3-0 lead.
2008 Red Sox vs Angels ALDS Prediction : With a sputtering Red Sox line up including Mike Lowell with a torn labrum in his hip, and J.D Drew’s sore back (”Yes suck it up, how much are they paying you!”) this should be a quick series. I predict the Red Sox will yet again CHOKE and the Angels will win the ALDS series in four games, yeah heck I’ll give them one win because I know Pedroia will pull out at least one big game for his boys.
If you think I’m going hard on them, let me remind you the Boston Red Sox have two World Series Championships in four years, so I believe they deserve to be taken out in round one of these playoffs and our Angels are just the team to serve it up.
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This ALDS series is almost the exact opposite of 2007. Last year, the Angels definitely made me nervous going against my Sox. . . but only in the same way you get nervous about emptying the lint filter out of the dryer, or nervous about whether or not your filthy little monkey might have fleas.
This year, the matchup is flipped on its head: Vlad/Texeira is like Ortiz/Ramirez, only without the injuries or attitude. The starting pitchers are solid on both sides. . . Lester has become an ace all on his own, and Dice has finally settled down and if he’d quit dancing around the outside of the strike zone and get aggressive, he’d be lethal; but Beckett is out and don’t be surprised if he doesn’t pitch in Game 3. Matt Leach at MLB.com says the game might come down to middle relief, and if that’s the case, I’ll be screaming at Francona when he puts Manny Delcarmen in. And the only thing more terrifying than K-Rod’s heat is the victory dance he puts on after a win.
Two things keep me smiling going into this series with the Angels:
1) History. . . The Red Sox have DOMINATED the Angels in post season play. This year, the Sox got owned in regular season play. But we all know, everything resets in October. . . and the team that showed up last time in Anaheim has made huge changes to their roster since, but that being said, the big reason I smile is:
2) Dustin Pedroia. . . they chant “MVP” when he comes to bat in Fenway; he finished the season at .326, with 17 home runs, 83 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases; he’s a massive smack talker on the bench; Ozzie Guillen lives in mortal fear of him; and he wants serious revenge against the Monkey. Be afraid, Anaheim.
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