WicketMaiden

That's because masks don't work for the general public. I've never touched my face more in my life than in the past year.

I really thought I was going to miss Simmons' glove work this year but so far Iglesias has been absolutely outstanding. If he keeps this up over the next few months I will be able to fully embrace my fickle side and start with the Andrelton who stuff. Looking forward to a full season of him and Fletch flashing the leather and filling highlight reels. 

Welcome to the jungle.

I really thought I was going to miss Simmons' glove work this year but so far Iglesias has been absolutely outstanding. If he keeps this up over the next few months I will be able to fully embrace my fickle side and start with the Andrelton who stuff. Looking forward to a full season of him and Fletch flashing the leather and filling highlight reels. 

Hello everyone.
I started watching baseball on a late night show back in the late 1990’s over here in England, and as I have followed a big football (soccer) team since childhood I wanted to walk a different road and have a different fan experience, so the MFYankees, (Brooklyn) Dodgers, and Red Sucks were out from the beginning. I tried to like the Mets, but hey, it’s the Mets and I didn’t want to be embroiled in a never-ending tragicomedy so that never took hold. Tried to like a couple of others too for various obscure reasons (Braves because of the crowd Tomahawk song for example) but nothing really stuck. I was hoping to like an East Coast team to make it easier to watch games live in England.
Now, there’s a saying in football (soccer) that you don’t choose your team, your team chooses you and that’s what happened to me with the Angels in the 2002 ALDS. I’d never heard of Anaheim and had to look it up on a map to see where it was but as they were playing a MFYankees team that had dominated the AL for several years I was rooting for them to win just to see the MFY’s fail, but I didn’t really care too much at the out-set. And then I watched the Angels play!
Small-ball baseball with singles and doubles, guys in motion, 1st to 3rd base-running, stolen bases and a never say die hustle epitomised by Eckstein (my first favourite player) with the occasional big-shot from Glaus, GA and Salmon, pitching rookies with attitude like Lackey and KRod, the team was an absolute joy to watch, they just never seemed to quit. Even the rally monkey was fun. I was hooked during that ALDS and the Angels didn’t disappoint thereafter (well, not for a few years anyway): underdogs all the way until Dusty Baker gave the game ball to the starter in Game 6 of the WS and then I witnessed one of the most phenomenal comebacks I’ve ever enjoyed watching sports. I think I’ve re-watched game 6 half a dozen times since (I’ve got in on in the background as I write this - Glaus just doubled in Figgy and GA in the 8th and still nearly 20 years later I’m cheering and fist-pumping).
Aside from that I am pretty much a contrarian and occasionally a miserable git, so I’m hoping to fit right in at AW from what I've seen so far. 

Now THAT was test cricket at its best. Hoping The Ashes series at the end of the year follows suit.
The world 20/20 world cup is in India later this year too, (just before The Ashes) so it's quite a year for top-level cricket. Should be fun to watch. And I'm sure Shilpa will get some media work in the world cup too, very pretty lady indeed.

The co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals - 

Yeah, I can definitely appreciate test matches. The chase by India to beat Australia in January was phenomenal. 
I enjoyed last year's IPL. Any time we can get more shots of Shilpa Shetty is ok by me.

Ha ha, sounds very similar to how I got into baseball, one has to be a night owl to follow the Angels over here. 
You do have to be really into cricket to genuinely enjoy a 5 day test match, it is the best form of the game though, the toughest test for sure. The games need to be a lot closer than the recent debacle England served up in India though. Sheesh, that was men against boys at times.
20/20 is really fun though and has transformed the other forms of the game with bat and ball, some of the innovative shots are fantastic and a real spectacle. The Indian Premier League starts on April 9th and that's probably the highest standard of 20/20 cricket worldwide, possibly even a higher standard than the Internationals. You will need to be an early riser for that though @Lou as most games start at 6am California time. Nice choice of players btw. 

"And Simmons continues dazzle with the glove!"

Good for Rodriguez to experience that. He needs to work out of trouble to learn. Also, he is absolutely not starting in the majors. Not even in the bullpen. He has pitched 9 innings (that was in A+) in 3 years. Come on now. Give the kid a chance to grow. 

Trade him. 

@WicketMaiden
Just kidding.
The reason I got interested in cricket is because I was scouring streaming sites one day and came across Sky Sports Cricket and realized I had no idea what was going on. I asked my friends if anyone understood the game and not one of them did. So, i started watching, learned the rules and enjoyed it. When the pandemic hit, I found myself watching a lot, especially since I'm up very late. 
I like watching guys like Kane, Khan and especially Jofra, play. 
Test matches can be a bit much at times. 20/20 and ODI's are more my style. 
Plus, I love the funny accents.

Thanks Red'. Fixed it. 

If you are looking for Lou try typing @Lou and click on his name like I did in the above post.

@Lou That's a fair opinion. Tendulkar was more difficult to get out, more technically gifted, but Richards had more devastating power and was a lot more attacking. He would take a game away from the opposition in a single session whereas Sachin would just bleed the opposition for runs session after session after session and gave very few chances. Different eras too. It's fun to ruminate over though, a little like comparing Ruth or Williams to Trout and Bonds.
As a fan watching I dreaded seeing both at the crease against England, but throughly enjoyed watching them both do their thing against others (my own batting stance mirrors Sachin's high backlift as the ball is played). Would love to see what they would have become in the modern era with all the innovations 20/20 cricket has brought to the game.
How did you get into cricket Lou? It's rare to find an American that is knowledgeable on the subject. 

Angels baseball moved to London
Sorry guys 

Welcome to the board!
Look forward to seeing you post in some threads.

Hello everyone.
I started watching baseball on a late night show back in the late 1990’s over here in England, and as I have followed a big football (soccer) team since childhood I wanted to walk a different road and have a different fan experience, so the MFYankees, (Brooklyn) Dodgers, and Red Sucks were out from the beginning. I tried to like the Mets, but hey, it’s the Mets and I didn’t want to be embroiled in a never-ending tragicomedy so that never took hold. Tried to like a couple of others too for various obscure reasons (Braves because of the crowd Tomahawk song for example) but nothing really stuck. I was hoping to like an East Coast team to make it easier to watch games live in England.
Now, there’s a saying in football (soccer) that you don’t choose your team, your team chooses you and that’s what happened to me with the Angels in the 2002 ALDS. I’d never heard of Anaheim and had to look it up on a map to see where it was but as they were playing a MFYankees team that had dominated the AL for several years I was rooting for them to win just to see the MFY’s fail, but I didn’t really care too much at the out-set. And then I watched the Angels play!
Small-ball baseball with singles and doubles, guys in motion, 1st to 3rd base-running, stolen bases and a never say die hustle epitomised by Eckstein (my first favourite player) with the occasional big-shot from Glaus, GA and Salmon, pitching rookies with attitude like Lackey and KRod, the team was an absolute joy to watch, they just never seemed to quit. Even the rally monkey was fun. I was hooked during that ALDS and the Angels didn’t disappoint thereafter (well, not for a few years anyway): underdogs all the way until Dusty Baker gave the game ball to the starter in Game 6 of the WS and then I witnessed one of the most phenomenal comebacks I’ve ever enjoyed watching sports. I think I’ve re-watched game 6 half a dozen times since (I’ve got in on in the background as I write this - Glaus just doubled in Figgy and GA in the 8th and still nearly 20 years later I’m cheering and fist-pumping).
Aside from that I am pretty much a contrarian and occasionally a miserable git, so I’m hoping to fit right in at AW from what I've seen so far. 

MFYankees... I like it

Hello everyone.
I started watching baseball on a late night show back in the late 1990’s over here in England, and as I have followed a big football (soccer) team since childhood I wanted to walk a different road and have a different fan experience, so the MFYankees, (Brooklyn) Dodgers, and Red Sucks were out from the beginning. I tried to like the Mets, but hey, it’s the Mets and I didn’t want to be embroiled in a never-ending tragicomedy so that never took hold. Tried to like a couple of others too for various obscure reasons (Braves because of the crowd Tomahawk song for example) but nothing really stuck. I was hoping to like an East Coast team to make it easier to watch games live in England.
Now, there’s a saying in football (soccer) that you don’t choose your team, your team chooses you and that’s what happened to me with the Angels in the 2002 ALDS. I’d never heard of Anaheim and had to look it up on a map to see where it was but as they were playing a MFYankees team that had dominated the AL for several years I was rooting for them to win just to see the MFY’s fail, but I didn’t really care too much at the out-set. And then I watched the Angels play!
Small-ball baseball with singles and doubles, guys in motion, 1st to 3rd base-running, stolen bases and a never say die hustle epitomised by Eckstein (my first favourite player) with the occasional big-shot from Glaus, GA and Salmon, pitching rookies with attitude like Lackey and KRod, the team was an absolute joy to watch, they just never seemed to quit. Even the rally monkey was fun. I was hooked during that ALDS and the Angels didn’t disappoint thereafter (well, not for a few years anyway): underdogs all the way until Dusty Baker gave the game ball to the starter in Game 6 of the WS and then I witnessed one of the most phenomenal comebacks I’ve ever enjoyed watching sports. I think I’ve re-watched game 6 half a dozen times since (I’ve got in on in the background as I write this - Glaus just doubled in Figgy and GA in the 8th and still nearly 20 years later I’m cheering and fist-pumping).
Aside from that I am pretty much a contrarian and occasionally a miserable git, so I’m hoping to fit right in at AW from what I've seen so far.