AzHaloFan

Edwin Jackson=Nuke La Loosh.  Million dollar arm, 10 cent head.

Bullpen's ERA since acquiring Grilli:
 
1.65
 
If you take away the outings from Hill and Rucinski it's 1.22
 
Maybe we could've used another arm to replace Rasmus/Salas, but did we really need a "shutdown closer"

FXXX the schedule, let's just beat up whoever stand in our way and take the division.   

I've now changed my opinion. 
 
Apparently we play the A's 10x in the 2nd half.
 
Screw whoever else we play. Those 10 games will decide the division. 
 
Period. 
 
EDIT: 7 of the games are at the Big A. Damn. I'm actually feeling confident about our chances. 

I don't trust the "strength of schedule" idea at all.  Teams get hot and get cold constantly, regardless of the playoffs. KC might make the playoffs but they can't buy a win.  Tampa Bay probably won't make the playoffs, but I'd hate to play them right now, they're on a roll. 

Personally, I thought Seattle and Tampa would be the 2 toughest. They both have good pitching and they were playing good baseball coming into the break.
We have 10 head to head games vs OAK. 6-4 against them might be the minimum to win the division.

Love how Trout even had the facial expression like he was really shooting an arrow. Guy doesn't do anything half asssed.

Pujols has told Rodney in the past that when he gets a big hit off him, he would mock the arrow celebration. So Albert more than likely would have done this regardless of Rodney's 8th inning antics. So Trout getting involved was even better.

what kind of dbag celebrates in the 8th inning of a road game in mid-july? LOL, crooked hat, you dork.
 
 
i'm glad the players feel the same way about that stupid bow and arrow stunt as we fans do. that was awesome.
 
 
and i enthusiastically endorse having bow and arrow night the next time the mariners are in town. how hilarious would that be?

that's brilliant. 

Thanks Hollyw00d, appreciate the welcome. Been an A's fan since my dad took me to the coliseum in 71.Of course, moved from Oakland to Montana before Oakland won three straight WS. Angels have been impressive to say the least. Love the competition and hate that one of the two clubs is going to be forced to play a one game playoff. They really need to change the playoff system. I was watching the Angels game on Root Sports, and the A's on MLBtv, Was SO hoping the Angels would put Rodney down, and they did. Love it!! Couldn't happen to a better D-bag. Good luck the rest of the way, and here's to some good baseball talk and a little good natured smack now and then.

RE2PEC7

Trout is also second in MLB in RBI.  Of course I know that is a flawed stat but I wanted to point that out.

Mike Trout is now hitting .358 with 15 HR and 46 RBI in his last 49 games
 

I sometimes read posts and wonder why are we all griping SO much. Don't we have better things to flip out over in April!? As a kid and young adult, being an Angels fan was never about a winning season. It was JUST about going to a ball game, enjoying the surroundings and hoping we won the game I was at. Maybe I was just young, but what I WAS more than anything was "without expectations".

Winning the whole thing in 2002 was so far beyond my wildest dreams, I can't even put it into words. Winning back to back western titles and going to the playoffs 3 times in 5 years was unbelievable. Winning back to Back to BACK 07-09 - are you kidding me!? I have to admit that after 2005 (when we SHOULD have made it to the series, thanks Doug Eddings) when we couldn't make it confidently deep into the playoffs, I became fine with getting in and winning a series. Shoot, sweeping Boston in 2009 WAS my WS - I truly didn't even care about passing the Yankees that year because sweeping Boston in the playoffs was probably up there with winning another title - something I never thought would ever happen.

Not to get all "history lesson" on everyone but my point is, we as fans, have NEVER had it so good! We went from 1961 to 1979 before we even made the playoffs. From then, we made it only two more times over the next 7 years. That means 3 playoff appearances in FORTY years!! Since 2002 this franchise and it's fans have had, an 11 year stretch where we made the playoffs 6 times, 5 as West Champs (1 repeat and a 3 peat), reached the ALCS 3 times and won a World Championship!! ALL this after a 16 year playoff drought, 2 ownership changes,3 uniform changes, a players strike...need I go on?? If you would have told ME in 2002, opening day, that those were things that were GOING to happen, over the next 11 years I'd have looked at you like you were a drunk Red Sox fan.

I still get pissed when we lose dumb games. Angels blood runs thru my veins and has since 1979 (read my signature). At the same time, I'm not going to gripe n b!tch and whine when we are 5 games down in April because ya know what bro, I've BEEN there, DONE that. We have 144 games to go and the baseball season is more like an Ironman, than it is a simple marathon. I'm likely in the vast minority, but I am just happy to be an Angels fan.

I sometimes read posts and wonder why are we all griping SO much. Don't we have better things to flip out over in April!? As a kid and young adult, being an Angels fan was never about a winning season. It was JUST about going to a ball game, enjoying the surroundings and hoping we won the game I was at. Maybe I was just young, but what I WAS more than anything was "without expectations".

Winning the whole thing in 2002 was so far beyond my wildest dreams, I can't even put it into words. Winning back to back western titles and going to the playoffs 3 times in 5 years was unbelievable. Winning back to Back to BACK 07-09 - are you kidding me!? I have to admit that after 2005 (when we SHOULD have made it to the series, thanks Doug Eddings) when we couldn't make it confidently deep into the playoffs, I became fine with getting in and winning a series. Shoot, sweeping Boston in 2009 WAS my WS - I truly didn't even care about passing the Yankees that year because sweeping Boston in the playoffs was probably up there with winning another title - something I never thought would ever happen.

Not to get all "history lesson" on everyone but my point is, we as fans, have NEVER had it so good! We went from 1961 to 1979 before we even made the playoffs. From then, we made it only two more times over the next 7 years. That means 3 playoff appearances in FORTY years!! Since 2002 this franchise and it's fans have had, an 11 year stretch where we made the playoffs 6 times, 5 as West Champs (1 repeat and a 3 peat), reached the ALCS 3 times and won a World Championship!! ALL this after a 16 year playoff drought, 2 ownership changes,3 uniform changes, a players strike...need I go on?? If you would have told ME in 2002, opening day, that those were things that were GOING to happen, over the next 11 years I'd have looked at you like you were a drunk Red Sox fan.

I still get pissed when we lose dumb games. Angels blood runs thru my veins and has since 1979 (read my signature). At the same time, I'm not going to gripe n b!tch and whine when we are 5 games down in April because ya know what bro, I've BEEN there, DONE that. We have 144 games to go and the baseball season is more like an Ironman, than it is a simple marathon. I'm likely in the vast minority, but I am just happy to be an Angels fan.

I sometimes read posts and wonder why are we all griping SO much. Don't we have better things to flip out over in April!? As a kid and young adult, being an Angels fan was never about a winning season. It was JUST about going to a ball game, enjoying the surroundings and hoping we won the game I was at. Maybe I was just young, but what I WAS more than anything was "without expectations".

Winning the whole thing in 2002 was so far beyond my wildest dreams, I can't even put it into words. Winning back to back western titles and going to the playoffs 3 times in 5 years was unbelievable. Winning back to Back to BACK 07-09 - are you kidding me!? I have to admit that after 2005 (when we SHOULD have made it to the series, thanks Doug Eddings) when we couldn't make it confidently deep into the playoffs, I became fine with getting in and winning a series. Shoot, sweeping Boston in 2009 WAS my WS - I truly didn't even care about passing the Yankees that year because sweeping Boston in the playoffs was probably up there with winning another title - something I never thought would ever happen.

Not to get all "history lesson" on everyone but my point is, we as fans, have NEVER had it so good! We went from 1961 to 1979 before we even made the playoffs. From then, we made it only two more times over the next 7 years. That means 3 playoff appearances in FORTY years!! Since 2002 this franchise and it's fans have had, an 11 year stretch where we made the playoffs 6 times, 5 as West Champs (1 repeat and a 3 peat), reached the ALCS 3 times and won a World Championship!! ALL this after a 16 year playoff drought, 2 ownership changes,3 uniform changes, a players strike...need I go on?? If you would have told ME in 2002, opening day, that those were things that were GOING to happen, over the next 11 years I'd have looked at you like you were a drunk Red Sox fan.

I still get pissed when we lose dumb games. Angels blood runs thru my veins and has since 1979 (read my signature). At the same time, I'm not going to gripe n b!tch and whine when we are 5 games down in April because ya know what bro, I've BEEN there, DONE that. We have 144 games to go and the baseball season is more like an Ironman, than it is a simple marathon. I'm likely in the vast minority, but I am just happy to be an Angels fan.

I sometimes read posts and wonder why are we all griping SO much. Don't we have better things to flip out over in April!? As a kid and young adult, being an Angels fan was never about a winning season. It was JUST about going to a ball game, enjoying the surroundings and hoping we won the game I was at. Maybe I was just young, but what I WAS more than anything was "without expectations".

Winning the whole thing in 2002 was so far beyond my wildest dreams, I can't even put it into words. Winning back to back western titles and going to the playoffs 3 times in 5 years was unbelievable. Winning back to Back to BACK 07-09 - are you kidding me!? I have to admit that after 2005 (when we SHOULD have made it to the series, thanks Doug Eddings) when we couldn't make it confidently deep into the playoffs, I became fine with getting in and winning a series. Shoot, sweeping Boston in 2009 WAS my WS - I truly didn't even care about passing the Yankees that year because sweeping Boston in the playoffs was probably up there with winning another title - something I never thought would ever happen.

Not to get all "history lesson" on everyone but my point is, we as fans, have NEVER had it so good! We went from 1961 to 1979 before we even made the playoffs. From then, we made it only two more times over the next 7 years. That means 3 playoff appearances in FORTY years!! Since 2002 this franchise and it's fans have had, an 11 year stretch where we made the playoffs 6 times, 5 as West Champs (1 repeat and a 3 peat), reached the ALCS 3 times and won a World Championship!! ALL this after a 16 year playoff drought, 2 ownership changes,3 uniform changes, a players strike...need I go on?? If you would have told ME in 2002, opening day, that those were things that were GOING to happen, over the next 11 years I'd have looked at you like you were a drunk Red Sox fan.

I still get pissed when we lose dumb games. Angels blood runs thru my veins and has since 1979 (read my signature). At the same time, I'm not going to gripe n b!tch and whine when we are 5 games down in April because ya know what bro, I've BEEN there, DONE that. We have 144 games to go and the baseball season is more like an Ironman, than it is a simple marathon. I'm likely in the vast minority, but I am just happy to be an Angels fan.

Another thing about the "good old days" that most people who talk about didn't experience....the Stadium was not filled by Angel fans. It was filled by Twins Fans, Whitesox fans, Tiger fans, Yankee fans, etc. Almost everyone in the OC was from somewhere and brought their fandom and loyalties with them when they bought their tract homes in Fountain Valley and Garden Grove.
 
The stadium was never packed with Angel fans until a few years like 79, 86, and 2002...and that's a fact. I was there. I grew up in that ballpark.

I went to my first Angel game when the ballpark opened in 1966. I was 12. My family had season tickets from 68 to 99. I will tell you something, there were some very fun years, and while the team was up and down for that decade, and almost every subsequent decade, little was expected and the goal was to have fun at the ballpark and enjoy the wins when they happened.
 
The fans and the expectations changed a lot in 2002...but the time it ALL changed was when Arte Moreno took the microphone and announced that he was building the West Coast Yankees. THAT is where the change came, not from "spoiled fans" but from the owner and his vision and promises.
Got news for ya..there is no going back to those "good old days" when winning was a by-product, and the players were nice guys who came to your church and tried to sell season seats to the congregation.. 

It always trips me out when people nominate others at will.
 
Does he even coach now or is this your Angels nostalgia and thinking because he was a good Angels hitter that he would in turn make a good coach?

And we could have swept Oakland or at least taken 2 of 3 if we had just a decent pen

Yep, they could also easily be over .500 by May 1st, with a couple of timely hits.

As of right now I'd stick with a platoon and go with whichever guy is a better matchup against an opposing pitcher. If they're both getting ABs, then the sample size to compare is larger and hopefully one guy can stand out over the other!