Mads28

I’ve kinda felt that this would be Scoscia’s last season. I don’t know why but I’ve just felt he may have become just a little bored with the job. As a Lasorda and a “Dodger Way to play baseball” disciple  I also feel that the game has evolved beyond him. My own feelings about his time at the helm have been mixed. He’s the winningest manager in club history. The skipper who led the team to its only World Series win. There have been good seasons and disappointing ones. This one included. But I will always feel that the season where he did his greatest job was the season of the Nick Adenhart tragedy. Scioscia kept that team together. But mostly he kept the season respectful. Respectful for the fans. Respectful for the players. Respectful for Nick’s family. Respectful for Nick. Say what you will about the man, but there’s not many who could have done that.

I’ve kinda felt that this would be Scoscia’s last season. I don’t know why but I’ve just felt he may have become just a little bored with the job. As a Lasorda and a “Dodger Way to play baseball” disciple  I also feel that the game has evolved beyond him. My own feelings about his time at the helm have been mixed. He’s the winningest manager in club history. The skipper who led the team to its only World Series win. There have been good seasons and disappointing ones. This one included. But I will always feel that the season where he did his greatest job was the season of the Nick Adenhart tragedy. Scioscia kept that team together. But mostly he kept the season respectful. Respectful for the fans. Respectful for the players. Respectful for Nick’s family. Respectful for Nick. Say what you will about the man, but there’s not many who could have done that.

I’ve kinda felt that this would be Scoscia’s last season. I don’t know why but I’ve just felt he may have become just a little bored with the job. As a Lasorda and a “Dodger Way to play baseball” disciple  I also feel that the game has evolved beyond him. My own feelings about his time at the helm have been mixed. He’s the winningest manager in club history. The skipper who led the team to its only World Series win. There have been good seasons and disappointing ones. This one included. But I will always feel that the season where he did his greatest job was the season of the Nick Adenhart tragedy. Scioscia kept that team together. But mostly he kept the season respectful. Respectful for the fans. Respectful for the players. Respectful for Nick’s family. Respectful for Nick. Say what you will about the man, but there’s not many who could have done that.

I’ve kinda felt that this would be Scoscia’s last season. I don’t know why but I’ve just felt he may have become just a little bored with the job. As a Lasorda and a “Dodger Way to play baseball” disciple  I also feel that the game has evolved beyond him. My own feelings about his time at the helm have been mixed. He’s the winningest manager in club history. The skipper who led the team to its only World Series win. There have been good seasons and disappointing ones. This one included. But I will always feel that the season where he did his greatest job was the season of the Nick Adenhart tragedy. Scioscia kept that team together. But mostly he kept the season respectful. Respectful for the fans. Respectful for the players. Respectful for Nick’s family. Respectful for Nick. Say what you will about the man, but there’s not many who could have done that.

I’ve kinda felt that this would be Scoscia’s last season. I don’t know why but I’ve just felt he may have become just a little bored with the job. As a Lasorda and a “Dodger Way to play baseball” disciple  I also feel that the game has evolved beyond him. My own feelings about his time at the helm have been mixed. He’s the winningest manager in club history. The skipper who led the team to its only World Series win. There have been good seasons and disappointing ones. This one included. But I will always feel that the season where he did his greatest job was the season of the Nick Adenhart tragedy. Scioscia kept that team together. But mostly he kept the season respectful. Respectful for the fans. Respectful for the players. Respectful for Nick’s family. Respectful for Nick. Say what you will about the man, but there’s not many who could have done that.

I’ve kinda felt that this would be Scoscia’s last season. I don’t know why but I’ve just felt he may have become just a little bored with the job. As a Lasorda and a “Dodger Way to play baseball” disciple  I also feel that the game has evolved beyond him. My own feelings about his time at the helm have been mixed. He’s the winningest manager in club history. The skipper who led the team to its only World Series win. There have been good seasons and disappointing ones. This one included. But I will always feel that the season where he did his greatest job was the season of the Nick Adenhart tragedy. Scioscia kept that team together. But mostly he kept the season respectful. Respectful for the fans. Respectful for the players. Respectful for Nick’s family. Respectful for Nick. Say what you will about the man, but there’s not many who could have done that.

I’ve kinda felt that this would be Scoscia’s last season. I don’t know why but I’ve just felt he may have become just a little bored with the job. As a Lasorda and a “Dodger Way to play baseball” disciple  I also feel that the game has evolved beyond him. My own feelings about his time at the helm have been mixed. He’s the winningest manager in club history. The skipper who led the team to its only World Series win. There have been good seasons and disappointing ones. This one included. But I will always feel that the season where he did his greatest job was the season of the Nick Adenhart tragedy. Scioscia kept that team together. But mostly he kept the season respectful. Respectful for the fans. Respectful for the players. Respectful for Nick’s family. Respectful for Nick. Say what you will about the man, but there’s not many who could have done that.

I’ve kinda felt that this would be Scoscia’s last season. I don’t know why but I’ve just felt he may have become just a little bored with the job. As a Lasorda and a “Dodger Way to play baseball” disciple  I also feel that the game has evolved beyond him. My own feelings about his time at the helm have been mixed. He’s the winningest manager in club history. The skipper who led the team to its only World Series win. There have been good seasons and disappointing ones. This one included. But I will always feel that the season where he did his greatest job was the season of the Nick Adenhart tragedy. Scioscia kept that team together. But mostly he kept the season respectful. Respectful for the fans. Respectful for the players. Respectful for Nick’s family. Respectful for Nick. Say what you will about the man, but there’s not many who could have done that.

I’ve kinda felt that this would be Scoscia’s last season. I don’t know why but I’ve just felt he may have become just a little bored with the job. As a Lasorda and a “Dodger Way to play baseball” disciple  I also feel that the game has evolved beyond him. My own feelings about his time at the helm have been mixed. He’s the winningest manager in club history. The skipper who led the team to its only World Series win. There have been good seasons and disappointing ones. This one included. But I will always feel that the season where he did his greatest job was the season of the Nick Adenhart tragedy. Scioscia kept that team together. But mostly he kept the season respectful. Respectful for the fans. Respectful for the players. Respectful for Nick’s family. Respectful for Nick. Say what you will about the man, but there’s not many who could have done that.

Pitching the ball would be great, but too many times it looks like he's just slinging it. 

Its not the paycheck he looses if he opts out.  He'll get that anywhere. Its the power he looses.  No other job will give him the power he posses here. Either way, I agree.  No way he opts out.

Aybar has hit .270 with a .309 OBP as a lead off hitter.
He's hit .276 with a .316 OBP overall.
Not much difference especially since the sample at lead off is smaller.
Aybar said in the past he did change his approach when he hit leadoff because he was younger and didn't know what he was doing. Now he isn't changing anything. Basically he learned.
The reason Aybar is in a slump now is because it's baseball and hitters go into slumps. He was hitting about .340 for about 3 weeks. He's cooled off. It happens.
Moving guys in the order has very little impact on how they perform.
The problem with the Angels lineup is not the order of the hitters but that there aren't enough of them. It's hard to make a good lineup with 3 good hitters, 3 ok ones and 3 bad ones.

Calhoun had a 3-1 count, and he was still told to bunt.  I started hearing the voice of Tom Hanks saying "What? Are you Stupid?"  Calhoun had 2 sac bunts all season.  Why put one of your better hitters in a position to fail?  

Calhoun had a 3-1 count, and he was still told to bunt.  I started hearing the voice of Tom Hanks saying "What? Are you Stupid?"  Calhoun had 2 sac bunts all season.  Why put one of your better hitters in a position to fail?  

Just to add a bit more information, The Rangers celebrated the 2010 Western Division Championship with champagne and beer, Josh dressed in the trainer's room.  When they clinched the ALDS they started by pouring Ginger Ale on Hamilton before moving on to champagne. Once the beer and champagne came out he moved out into the hallway to do interviews.  I don't know about their 2011 seasons, but at least the 2010 celebrations were never completely alcohol free. 

I was there too, a fan through it all.  I saw a young, promising.Bobby V. break his leg crashing into the left field wall.   I was a fan when Frank Tanana was drawing comparisons to Koufax, only to be derailed to arm injuries.  I remember the tragedy of Mike Miley and the playoff collapses of '81, '86, and then the collapse of '95. However,  it's that history that makes seasons like this so much fun, regardless of the outcome.  Just this season alone, the Angels have been written off numerous times.  Before the start of the season, we didn't have enough starting pitching.  In April and May, the BP was a joke.  In July, Oakland and Detroit were declared "Super teams" and the favorites to be playing in the ALCS.  Finally, we were written off again with the injury to Richards.  But here we are, with only 20 games left to play, with a 7 game lead over Oakland, and the best record in baseball. My favorite part is hearing the disappointing tones of every analyst on ESPN and the MLB Network over this turn of events. I will always consider this one of the best Angels seasons ever. 

I was there too, a fan through it all.  I saw a young, promising.Bobby V. break his leg crashing into the left field wall.   I was a fan when Frank Tanana was drawing comparisons to Koufax, only to be derailed to arm injuries.  I remember the tragedy of Mike Miley and the playoff collapses of '81, '86, and then the collapse of '95. However,  it's that history that makes seasons like this so much fun, regardless of the outcome.  Just this season alone, the Angels have been written off numerous times.  Before the start of the season, we didn't have enough starting pitching.  In April and May, the BP was a joke.  In July, Oakland and Detroit were declared "Super teams" and the favorites to be playing in the ALCS.  Finally, we were written off again with the injury to Richards.  But here we are, with only 20 games left to play, with a 7 game lead over Oakland, and the best record in baseball. My favorite part is hearing the disappointing tones of every analyst on ESPN and the MLB Network over this turn of events. I will always consider this one of the best Angels seasons ever. 

I was there too, a fan through it all.  I saw a young, promising.Bobby V. break his leg crashing into the left field wall.   I was a fan when Frank Tanana was drawing comparisons to Koufax, only to be derailed to arm injuries.  I remember the tragedy of Mike Miley and the playoff collapses of '81, '86, and then the collapse of '95. However,  it's that history that makes seasons like this so much fun, regardless of the outcome.  Just this season alone, the Angels have been written off numerous times.  Before the start of the season, we didn't have enough starting pitching.  In April and May, the BP was a joke.  In July, Oakland and Detroit were declared "Super teams" and the favorites to be playing in the ALCS.  Finally, we were written off again with the injury to Richards.  But here we are, with only 20 games left to play, with a 7 game lead over Oakland, and the best record in baseball. My favorite part is hearing the disappointing tones of every analyst on ESPN and the MLB Network over this turn of events. I will always consider this one of the best Angels seasons ever. 

I was there too, a fan through it all.  I saw a young, promising.Bobby V. break his leg crashing into the left field wall.   I was a fan when Frank Tanana was drawing comparisons to Koufax, only to be derailed to arm injuries.  I remember the tragedy of Mike Miley and the playoff collapses of '81, '86, and then the collapse of '95. However,  it's that history that makes seasons like this so much fun, regardless of the outcome.  Just this season alone, the Angels have been written off numerous times.  Before the start of the season, we didn't have enough starting pitching.  In April and May, the BP was a joke.  In July, Oakland and Detroit were declared "Super teams" and the favorites to be playing in the ALCS.  Finally, we were written off again with the injury to Richards.  But here we are, with only 20 games left to play, with a 7 game lead over Oakland, and the best record in baseball. My favorite part is hearing the disappointing tones of every analyst on ESPN and the MLB Network over this turn of events. I will always consider this one of the best Angels seasons ever. 

I was there too, a fan through it all.  I saw a young, promising.Bobby V. break his leg crashing into the left field wall.   I was a fan when Frank Tanana was drawing comparisons to Koufax, only to be derailed to arm injuries.  I remember the tragedy of Mike Miley and the playoff collapses of '81, '86, and then the collapse of '95. However,  it's that history that makes seasons like this so much fun, regardless of the outcome.  Just this season alone, the Angels have been written off numerous times.  Before the start of the season, we didn't have enough starting pitching.  In April and May, the BP was a joke.  In July, Oakland and Detroit were declared "Super teams" and the favorites to be playing in the ALCS.  Finally, we were written off again with the injury to Richards.  But here we are, with only 20 games left to play, with a 7 game lead over Oakland, and the best record in baseball. My favorite part is hearing the disappointing tones of every analyst on ESPN and the MLB Network over this turn of events. I will always consider this one of the best Angels seasons ever. 

I was there too, a fan through it all.  I saw a young, promising.Bobby V. break his leg crashing into the left field wall.   I was a fan when Frank Tanana was drawing comparisons to Koufax, only to be derailed to arm injuries.  I remember the tragedy of Mike Miley and the playoff collapses of '81, '86, and then the collapse of '95. However,  it's that history that makes seasons like this so much fun, regardless of the outcome.  Just this season alone, the Angels have been written off numerous times.  Before the start of the season, we didn't have enough starting pitching.  In April and May, the BP was a joke.  In July, Oakland and Detroit were declared "Super teams" and the favorites to be playing in the ALCS.  Finally, we were written off again with the injury to Richards.  But here we are, with only 20 games left to play, with a 7 game lead over Oakland, and the best record in baseball. My favorite part is hearing the disappointing tones of every analyst on ESPN and the MLB Network over this turn of events. I will always consider this one of the best Angels seasons ever. 

14 strike outs tonight.  Baylor should be po'd, and the Angel hitters should be embarrassed tonight, especially Freese and Cron. 

Under .500 again

Under .500 again

I was part of the old board, but didn't post much.  Grew up in Cypress, Ca.  five miles from Angel Stadium.  Attended my first Angels game in '73.  Have always thought "Dirty" Al Gallagher was one of the greatest baseball names ever.  It was such a great time to be a kid and an Angels fan in the 70's.  I attended Dave Chalk's Baseball camp at Kennedy High School, and stood in long lines at the Home Run Park batting cages in Buena Park to meet and get autographs of various Angels players.  Eli Rodriguez,, Dave Chalk, Bill Singer and Bobby Valentine come immediately to mind.  Even though they weren't very good in those days, we always had hope, and they were always "MY" team.  
 
Seventeen years ago, I relocated to the Dallas Fort Worth area.   But I continued to build on my old childhood memories with new ones.  I took my daughter at the age of 3 months to her first Angels game.  We met and got a picture of her being held by Tim Salmon.  Eight years later, during Tim's final season, we went to his last series in Arlington, and once more were fortunate enough to meet him.  We showed him the picture we had taken of him and my daughter at 3 months. He was kind enough to sign a ball for her and take another picture.  Needless to say he is her all time favorite Angels player, and was disappointed not to see him play anymore.  But those times have changed and "who will we cheer for now daddy?" questions have turned to "TROUTY!" exclamations.  They are no longer my team, but "our" team.
 
It's good to be an Angels fan