FurdTurgason

Agree with Aybar or Fregosi at short and Molina at catcher. And I hated leaving Erstad off but who do you take out? He only moved to first to make room for other outfielders.

Would your lineups look any different? 

Homegrown

C Mike Napoli

1B Wally Joyner

2B Howie Kendrick

SS Gary DiSarcina

3B Troy Glaus

LF Garret Anderson

CF Mike Trout

RF Tim Salmon

SP Chuck Finley

SP Mike Witt

SP Jered Weaver

RP Troy Percival

RP K-Rod

Free Agency/Trade

C Bob Boone

1B Rod Carew

2B Bob Grich

SS Rick Burleson

3B Doug DeCinces

LF Brian Downing

CF Fred Lynn

RF Vlad Guerrero

SP Nolan Ryan

SP Bartolo Colon

SP Bert Blyleven

RP Lee Smith

RP Donnie Moore

He needs to cut down his ERA, which is currently 27.00

So now we have three relievers wondering what is going through their manager's mind.

Bedrosian wondering if he just blew his first chance to be the closer here and how long it will be til he gets another chance.

Frieri wondering how much confidence Scioscia had in him before and how much he could possibly have now.

Morin wondering how he could possibly have less confidence in him than the other two.

I wonder if LaRussa misses baseball?

And somehow work Price into the deal?

Scioscia wanted Bedrosian to be his new closer. It blew up in his face. Angels are back to square one in looking for a closer.

That's what happened today.

The Red Sox are the only team I hate. Every time we play at Fenway and our pitchers get squeezed in the late innings as the crowd gets louder, my hatred goes up a notch or two.

**** Ortiz.

**** Pedroia

**** Pierzynski

You down wit OPP? Yeah you know me.

I just hope his teammates respect him. As long as that's the case, I couldn't care less if he tells kids to get off his lawn.

It really bothered me when I saw him do that in Philadelphia. It sure looked like he was dissing Richards to his former NL competitor. But I figured who knows there are probably hundreds of things that happen on a field that look bad but really aren't that big a deal. Then I saw what he did tonight and I wondered if maybe I'm not imagining things.

He's not Jose Guillen. I'm not making that comparison. But Mo Vaughn is a possible comparison. Vaughn was surly and never fit in with the Angels. Albert's obviously twice the player Mo Vaughn ever was, but personality wise there are similarities.

What's getting old is people not being able to have an adult conversation on here. I asked a serious question. All I have seen from my vantage point are negatives regarding his personality. You guys live there. Does he get along with all of his teammates? Some of them? I'm asking because I'm a fan of the team and I want to know what's going on behind the scenes. Is there another side of Albert the national media doesn't show?

I know, I know...another freaking Pujols thread. But just move on if you are tired of talking about it.

I live in Kentucky, which means I hear less than half of the inside stuff about the team that you guys hear. In the three years Pujols has been on the team, these are all things I have heard/seen/noticed myself about Pujols.

Year One

* Gets upset with the team for marketing him as "The Man"

* Gets upset with Mickey Hatcher for publicly discussing private meetings 

* Goes after Aybar in a postgame handshake line after a win (apparently didn't like Aybar's playfulness)

* Supposedly told Torii to shut up in a team meeting and players had to restrain Torii

Year Three

* Gets testy when asked if he felt pressure to put up big numbers because Trout was doing so well

* In game at Philly, Richards blows a play not covering first properly. Pujols can be seen talking about Richards to the runner on first while holding his glove up by his mouth.

* In tonight's game, shows up Scioscia for pulling him for a pinch runner.

Are there stories of him getting along with teammates and coaches? Because I'm not hearing them here. I am seriously getting a Mo Vaughn vibe from him at this point. Like he's so miserable in Anaheim that it affects his performance. Every time I think he's coming around, something else happens that makes me think "hmmm".

He owns a wrong? I didn't know wrongs were possessions.

Wish I could figure Frieri out. I've given up on him four times now, only to think he's rejuvenated, only to give up on him again, only to think...

Ahem

It looked to me like he basically gave up at the end of the play. If the score is 1-1 late in the game I'm sliding as far away from the catcher as I can while still able to touch the plate.

Most of you didn't see it that way. That's fine. My point still stands...we've had more bonehead plays on the basepaths the last five or six years than anyone. The usual suspects are the same ones who swing at the first pitch and hit into a double play, miss the ball on a squeeze play, etc. It was considered the price you pay for taking all those extra bases when we were winning 90-100 games every year and winning the division by at least three games. But those days are gone. We need to let Oakland give away some outs for a change.

You were all abused children. (and deservedly so)

Look man we're all on the same team here and we all want the Angels to win another World Series. I'm just frustrated that we keep making the same mistake over and over. Cespedes has eight assists, THREE against us, TWO in one inning. If you're going to test him, Howie, at least slide to try to evade the tag. And Albert...we all agree on that one.

Yes, Boston and Oakland make mistakes, too, but last year Detroit gave Boston that series with dumb baserunning and pitching decisions. And Oakland has operated under the "baserunners are like gold" philosophy since 2002.

What do you mean how can you have a problem with Kendrick on that play? He should have scored, with our without that throw. Yes it was a once in a decade throw and you tip your cap to Cespedes but you also have to wonder when Howie and Aybar are ever going to get it on the basepaths. It is a real problem and every year divisions and wildcard spots are determined by one game. We don't have a margin of error like we used to have in our division. We can't keep giving the other team outs.

We got lucky last night. We were stupid and we got away with it because our pitchers pitched maybe their best game of the season. But as a fan I'm tired of watching teams like the Red Sox do all the little things right while we have guys who have played eight years in the big leagues and still don't understand the nuances of the game.

We were the joke of baseball when it came to baserunning back when Vlad and Aybar were doing something stupid every other game.

As opposed to 2002, when we were a catcher's worst nightmare AND an outfielder's worst nightmare.

No it's not the only thing I can come up with. We have our starters playing well. Our hitters are playing well. Our bullpen is coming around. Even our defense is playing okay. And yet we almost blew last night's game because of baserunning gaffes. And this has been going on for years now. Good point about the catcher blocking the plate but if Howie slides headfirst to the right and touches the plate with his left hand it would have been a very tough tag for the catcher. You know what team does little things like that? Oakland. And Boston last year.

Then guys like Vlad and Howie and Aybar turned us into the joke of baseball. It sure would be nice to get that issue back under control. I watched the Cespedes throw on the highlights and yes it was a perfect throw but Howie still should have scored. Wasn't anyone behind home telling him to slide to avoid the tag? And Albert, you are too smart to be Vlad II.

I'm still pulling for Pujols. Don't have much choice with that contract. In a way, I'm glad he still considers himself elite. Athletes need that sometimes to reach their best. Just remember guys....one day Trout might be putting up Albert's current numbers under a similar contract. Not with us, hopefully.

Did they play Ebony Eyes?

You guys are missing the point. I want Ortiz dead! Dead, I say! And I want one of our pitchers to do it!