HaloFan85

I know there a few of you. This short film is pretty amazing.

Compared to Iannetta, yes he's a 'fine' pitch framer, but compared to Conger, he blows. Plus calls: Conger, +160 Butera, +11 Iannetta, -40

So this about an 'alternate' 1984?

I still don't see that as being much of a problem. I mean they all get their mail on time, right, so how hard is it for that mailman to knock on the door and hand deliver it that one day? If no one is home, they can always leave a ticket on the door or in the mailbox to go to the post office to pick it up. Foreign postal workers can always match voter ID with work visa, passport, or national ID card for that country. The only people that might have some problems are procrastinators, but I believe overseas ballots are sent earlier than the rest. I'm not saying it would be perfect and flawless, but I just can't see any major issues arising that prevent overseas absentees from getting their ballots.

Couldn't the mailman just make a hand delivery and require voter ID and signature before giving the ballot to you?

What's going on in Venezuela is being compared to what happened in Ukraine, which is a coup by the country's oligarchs, with a little 'help' of course. Those people protesting in Venezuela aren't the poor, it's the rich that are protesting. Here's an article from earlier this year that explains a lot of what's been going on over there. https://www.popularresistance.org/is-us-supporting-oligarch-coup-attempt-in-venezuela/

This is actually a power play by the US to collapse Russia's economy. Low oil prices hurt the ruble. It's about maintaining petrodollar supremacy. Defending Dollar Imperialism:http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/12/01/defending-dollar-imperialism/

http://www.isidewith.com/ This is the test I always use and is the most detailed and thorough I've ever found. It covers just about every issue and allows you to set the level of importance for each question. It also allows you to enter your own answers. Be sure not to miss additional questions that need to be 'expanded' at the bottom of each section. They say I'm 78% Libertarian.

This is the only thing I give Sosh some leeway on. With the alternatives being Navarro or Cowgill, it really seems like a roll of the dice with those two, especially if batting 7th. You have to expect they're going to give the benefit of the doubt to the former MVP instead of two guys that had one or two great AB's all year. To me it was an easy choice, pick Hamilton and just hope for the best, but for pete's sake, don't boo. What good is that going to do?.

I'd blame the front office before blaming Hamilton or Pujols for their failures, and I actually did and still do, but that's another story. Sosh on the other hand is just not a big game manager. Bunting Calhoun in game 1 made that very clear. There were a few other things, but that decision took the cake.

That's another thing that has gone missing. I mean it seems we have the hitters to do it (Calhoun, Trout, Pujols, Aybar, and Iannetta), but they all seem to forget how to protect the plate most of the time. Either too many caught looking or just swinging at a pitcher's pitch. Frustrating as hell. Bottom line is, this team came out unprepared for such a big moment. Everyone seemingly waiting for someone esle to get the party started rather than taking matters into their own hands and working a count or two.

It's clear Trout isn't the same player as he was in 2012. He completely changed his game and approach and it's been somewhat of disappointment to watch unfold. He's still a great player, but he's nowhere near as valuable as he was when he ran the bases and created runs at will. Sure he'll get the MVP this year, but he was much better and much more valuable in 2012, and I'm doubtful we'll ever see that Trout again.

This is what I keep asking myself: did this team achieve the best record in baseball because of Sosh, or in spite of Sosh? I know we had injuries, but this team has fallen flat when ever it really mattered. You can blame the offense all you want, but at what point do you admit it's the manager's responsibility to have his team ready to play. The team thus far in this series has come in flat-footed without having any kind of unified approach at the plate whatsoever. With the exception of Calhoun, Freese, and possibly Iannetta, the offense seems to be swinging for the fences in every AB. I know it's a touchy subject around here, but the booing of 'certain' players doesn't help one bit either. I understand people are upset, but it's counterproductive when you start booing your own players. It does nothing but fuel the misery and the fire.

If we're lucky enough to come back and take this series, I can't see the Angels beating the Orioles. I'd be surprised if we even won a game off of them.

I really don't fault him for putting Hamilton in the lineup, especially with him batting 7th. I'd feel differently if he put him in the cleanup spot or somewhere else in the MOTO. I also thought it was a mistake lifting Freese. He's not Pujols slow, so I didn't think it was good to remove him in a tie game with the way the offense was struggling. There's really no excuse for having Calhoun bunt there, period. Your 9-hole hitter gets on to lead off the inning and now you have the top of the order coming up. That's what every manager hopes for to get a rally started. Absolutely no reason to give away an out there, especially with one of your better and more patient hitters at the plate. One other thing that bothered me was when Jepsen kept worrying about the runner on 2B with 2 outs. I think he stepped off and turned back like 3 times. I know he got out of the inning, but there's no reason to worry about him at that point. Who cares if he steals 3rd because he's going to score regardless if there's a base hit. Those are the situations I'd think that Scioscia, Butch, or Iannetta would go to the mound and tell him to just focus on getting the batter out, but they never did.

And that's the main difference between Angels fans and a lot of other teams' fans. Like they mentioned about the Royals fans during their WC game during the radio broadcast; instead of 'waiting' for something good to happen before cheering, they were 'encouraging' good things to happen by always cheering, and that was pretty apparent when they were down 7-3 late in the game and still cheered every 2-strike pitch by their pitchers and every AB before the rally started. And when they got a baserunner, they would cheer non-stop.

How's the wind? Earlier it looked like it was blowing hard and blowing in.

Definitely giving the edge to the Royals in this department. Angels pitchers really need to come out throwing more strikes, especially with Iannetta behind the plate. Iannetta sucks at framing pitches, so nibbling should be out the window when he's behind the plate. Conger would be much better for the nibble game, but Iannetta will be the primary catcher.

According to rWAR, his oWAR (8.7) was a tenth higher than his oWAR in 2012 (8.6) when he scored 129 runs and swiped 49 bags. The biggest hit to his WAR is clearly his defense. He's just allowing too many runners to score compared to everyone else during certain RBI situations, or more specifically with runners on 2B during a single, and a runner on 3B during a flyout with less than 2 outs. Ironically, he seems to be very good at holding runners from taking extra bases when a single or double is hit with runners at 1B, which likely has more to do with his range than his arm.

For their AL predictions on MLB Network, Chris Rose picked the Royals over the A's, the Royals over the Angels saying he thinks they give us problems, and then the O's over the Royals. Millar picked the A's over the Royals, the Angels over the A's, the O's over the Tigers, and then the O's beating the Angels to get into the WS.

He blows. He shouldn't make any playoff roster. And that delivery is fugly as hell.

I'm just glad it won't be Seattle. The M's were the only team I didn't want the Angels to face in the playoffs.

Gwynn's and Yount's numbers are far more impressive if you consider the quality of the teams they played for compared to those Yankee teams.