Angel fans
are a spoiled bunch. I have often said
that 2002 changed everything. Prior to
that monumental occasion, we were pretty used to not rooting for a franchise
that didn’t make the post season in consecutive years. We had sort of a happy yet mediocre existence
as a fan base.
When the
Angels emerged as World Champions in 2002 – we got a taste of what it was like
to be on top. Then Arte Moreno bought
the franchise and we enjoyed unprecedented success through 2009. Although we
didn’t get back to the World Series – we were relevant and contenders year in
and year out.
We got
spoiled. We started to have unrealistic
expectations and we began to gripe at every little thing. It was almost like the guy who lives a
mundane life and then one day wins the lottery.
He lives high on the hog for a period of time and then one day – it’s
all gone. He squanders his good fortune
and is left wondering what happened as he longs for the “fat” years.
The last
four years have been frustrating. Mind
you, it wasn’t Cub- fan-base-frustrating, but it was frustrating
never-the-less. How could a franchise
with the kind of resources the Angels’ had not continue to be successful? We focused on blaming the manager, the
players, the GM, the Rally Monkey, the marine layer, the umpires and anyone or
anything else we could point a finger at.
We argued
with each other. We took sides… those
for Mike Scioscia and those against. One
day we applauded signings like Albert Pujols and the next we moaned about them
being albatross contracts.
We became
our own reality T.V. show, full of drama and irrational behavior and we couldn’t
manage to look away.
And then
2014 arrived.
For many;
gone were the lofty expectations.
Cynicism had set in. No way could
this team win with this starting rotation. Skaggs, Santiago? Really? Some would say that Weaver was no
longer an “ace” and who knew what we would get out of Garrett Richards. Most were thankful that C.J. Wilson was on
board because he could be the anchor….
Oh how this
team would miss Peter Bourjos and Mark Trumbo.
You just don’t trade away that kind of speed and defense (Bourjos) and
40 homer guys don’t grow on trees (Trumbo).
Why didn’t this team sign Jason Vargas or Matt Garza?
We focused
on how the team would start the season; after all, this had been a point of
contention in recent seasons… with the team getting off to poor starts and
never being able to recover. We put
Scioscia and GM Jerry Dipoto under a microscope. This was it; if they didn’t
get it done – surely Arte Moreno would have their heads.
Opening day
couldn’t get here soon enough and then… Bam!
The Seattle Mariners came into Anaheim and swept the Angels. Panic set in and Angel fans invaded call-in
shows and message boards to voice their displeasure. “Here we go again” they thought.
As the
apologists emerged – the disgruntled were ready. Don’t tell us “it’s early” again. “We’ve heard that before” they’d
exclaim. And thus the 2014 season was
born.
On April 11
the Angels moved to 5-5 after Howie Kendrick had a walk-off hit by pitch to win
a game against the New York Mets. For
the next several games the team would hover around .500 . They end April one
game above .500 at 14-13. Yes, it was an
improvement over the past few seasons, but the team did not give most fans a
reason to believe just yet.
On May 13,
2014 the Angels would move two games above .500 for the first time all year and
begin their rocky climb upwards. It
would mark the first victory of the year for Matt Shoemaker and little did we
know it was a sign of things to come.
Shoemaker had out pitched Cliff Lee of the Phillies that day. He would follow up that outing with victories
over the likes of David Price, Yu Darvish, Justin Verlander, Jeremy Hellickson,
and Hisashi Iwakuma over the course of the season.
Meanwhile,
Garrett Richards was raising eyebrows.
He would end May with a respectable 3.65 ERA, but would then put the
league on notice that he had arrived by lowering his ERA to 2.61 by the time he
was injured. Analysts everywhere were
putting him in the Cy Young conversation as he put up impressive numbers.
Meanwhile
the team began to show signs of promise.
By May 29 the team had fought its way to 7 games above .500 at
30-23. They would then level off to a
certain degree and panic among the fans would raise its ugly head yet
again. Many just refused to believe this
team was good enough and they had good reason for it…
The Angels
ventured into Oakland for a huge four game series. Trailing the A’s by 1.5 games this was the
team’s chance to make a statement.
Instead – they would leave the Bay area with their tails between their
legs having been swept in four games while being outscored 33-13. It was horrific. It was the worst case scenario. We had every reason to believe this was going
to be yet another season of disappointment.
They headed
off to Houston and the struggles continued as they dropped 2 of 3. It looked like the team was ready to fade
into oblivion. The team was 5.5 games
behind Oakland and hovering at 31-28.
Being 3 games above .500 was hardly going to get it done.
And then a
funny thing happened on their way down into the abyss… they put together a
little five game winning streak. They
would sweep the White Sox and win the first two at home against Oakland which
would include a walk-off win in 14 innings behind a Collin Cowgill homerun. Collin Who?
Exactly. This team would get
contributions from names like C.J. Cron, Efren Navarro, Cowgill, Cory Rasmus
and others who were virtually unknown to everyone except maybe their immediate
families.
Were the
Angels finally on their way? Would this
be the turning point of the season? Um, no.
Unfortunately,
it was one step forward and two steps back for a while. The Angels would even put together a six game
winning streak in June and another five game winning streak from July 3rd
to July 7. All well and good, but it
wasn’t enough as they were still 3.5 back after that little run.
Little did
we know that the roller-coaster was about to end and the team would start to
put it all-together from there on out. The signs of greatness would not be
obvious, but they would begin to percolate for sure.
It would all
begin with an 8-7 win over the Blue Jays on the last game of a three game
series in Toronto. It was significant in
that it was Albert Pujols that put the team up 8-7 with a two-run homerun in
the 7th inning. It wasn’t
something Angel fans were accustomed to seeing (Pujols coming up big late in a
game) in the last couple seasons.
From there,
momentum would begin to build with a four game sweep of the Rangers in
Texas. The Angels were now 1.5 games
behind Oakland on July 13.
Even though
the Angels were playing well (except for a horrific home stand against the
Dodgers and Red Sox, where the Angels would lose 5 of 7) – Oakland was doing the
same and the Angels could not get any closer than a 2.5 back by August 13
despite being rising up to be 21 games above .500.
When the
Angels hit the road on August 15, they were just a game back. The A’s were in the midst of a five-game
losing streak and the Angels would win 6 out of 7 in Texas and Boston.
The Angels
would finally pull even with Oakland on August 16 with a 5-4 win in Arlington
behind Shoemaker and they would never relinquish the top spot in the AL West
the rest of the way. Not even losing the
first two of three in Oakland August 22 and 23 would derail the team.
As
successful as that road trip was (the team went 7-3) – it was marred by the
loss of Garrett Richards on August 20. Most
in and around baseball believed the injury would be too much for the Angels to
overcome. It was harsh and Angel fans
everywhere found themselves with their heads in their hands in dis-belief.
It was like
being punched in the stomach. Our best
pitcher (statistically) was done. Hope
seemed to evaporate into thin air.
Oh, but this
is baseball and it’s a beautiful game.
Just when you think you can predict what will happen next – baseball
does what she always does and surprises us all.
The team revealed its character and they kept their focus. The rest would be history. There would be no
pity parties. No “woe is me;” none of
that.
Hope would
be fulfilled and prayer would be answered.
The rise of
the Angels and the demise of the A’s (boy that sounds good) really came into
focus when the Angels swept the A’s in four games August 28 through August 31
to go up by 5 games. The final game of
that series had Shoemaker going 7 scoreless innings with 7 K’s, while giving up
just 5 hits and no walks. Oh yes, “Shoe”
was giving opponents a reason to “fear the beard.”
That series
was the defining moment in the season.
As a fan it was extremely gratifying to see the Angels step up and
finally make a statement. Did I say,
finally? Well, it was about time! I will freely admit I felt great joy in
seeing the A’s totally demoralized.
Going into
that series, most hoped for at least a split which would ensure the Angels
remaining in first place after-the-fact.
What we really, really wanted was total domination and a statement that
the AL West was ours to win or lose.
What we got
was a boost of adrenaline and a huge shot of confidence. The swagger was all the way back and it was
time for the A’s fans to panic and start pointing fingers. As I tuned into MLB Network radio and
listened to A’s fans calling in to complain about the “light wave” the lack of
an A’s offense and countless other tidbits, I couldn’t help but smile. It felt good; real good.
There were
moments prior to that series when it felt like the Angels would never catch the
A’s no matter how well they played because the A’s seemed equal to the
task. It looked like we fans would have
to settle for a wild-card berth and we wondered if it would be against the
likes of Felix Hernandez, James Shields or Max Scherzer.
Thankfully,
things changed. The team overcame
adversity. Their offense found its way
and their pitching; especially their bullpen became a strength. There were different heroes every game and
the players rallied around one another.
It was beautiful to watch.
So here we
are… Man it’s great to be back. No dreading a long winter and wishing for
spring just yet.
We enter the
post-season with the probable M.V.P in Mike Trout, and a combination of swagger
and talent that allowed the team to come from behind to win games time after
time. You could say the Rally Monkey
really earned his bananas this year.
Thursday –
October 2, 2014, Jered Weaver will take the mound and I couldn’t be happier.
There isn’t anyone, I would rather see representing the Angels in that
game. He may not throw the hardest and
he may not get the respect and recognition he deserves, but make no mistake
about it – Jered Weaver is THE Man. I
love watching him pitch and I have full confidence in his ability to
compete. It’s easy for me to get
emotional about Jered because I feel like he’s one of us. He’s all ours and he embodies the spirit of
this team.
This is what
it’s all about. I have tried very hard
to appreciate every victory in this season.
I have tried not to be anxious along the way and worry about the things
that are totally out of my control as a fan.
I have tried
to savor every special moment and I am ready.
I believe in this team and I have come to love the cast of characters
that make up this ball club. I do not
know what the future holds, but I’m all in.
Many said
this team didn’t have the pitching to compete and yet, here they are.
Some claimed
Jered Weaver was no longer an “ace” – 18 wins later, he’s our game 1 starter.
I said
numerous times (mostly privately) that Howie Kendrick wasn’t clutch – and yet –
he’s produced in big ways out of the cleanup spot while Josh Hamilton tries to
recover from various injuries.
I once
labeled Erick Aybar “Gilligan” because of his knucklehead like antics and yet,
he’s had a remarkable season and impact on the team. I have come to appreciate his hustle and
baseball IQ. I love the way he makes
things happen and I recognize his leadership qualities.
I continue
to hope for Josh Hamilton’s healthy return, still believing he can have a
tremendous impact on the team’s success.
I want Hamilton to be a part of this story for all the right reasons and
pray he has a chance to do exactly that.
Many have
noticed the smile on Albert Pujols’ face and enjoy the idea that he is having
fun playing baseball. There’s something
about great players who look like they’re enjoying the game that makes us
happy. Torii Hunter got it right and it
appears that Pujols has found that joy as well.
I refuse to
take Mike Trout for granted and fully realize we are blessed to watch this
young man do things on a baseball field that no human being should be able to
do. I wince when he strikes out as often
as he does – but I know we are watching an amazing athlete doing unbelievable
things.
We embrace
Kole Calhoun as a fan favorite. We love
players who play the game the right way and Calhoun is our champion. We know that he is coveted by other fan bases
and to that we say… neener, neener, neener.
We have much
to appreciate and be thankful for and I’ve only touched the surface here
today. Most of all, I am thankful Arte
Moreno had the wisdom and fortitude to keep Mike Scioscia as this team’s
manager. In the face of the dark days of
2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 – Moreno remained steadfast in his commitment to the
man best suited to lead this team. I
absolutely love the fact that Scioscia will have his hand at the wheel for this
postseason.
I look
forward to seeing a stadium colored in red and full of my Angel brothers and
sisters. I feel fortunate that Cheryl
and I will be able to soak it all in. It’s
time folks. It’s time to come together
and do our part as fans; to be loud and to give our support
whole-heartedly.
Are you
ready?
Let’s do
this.
Well done. See you at Dodger Stadium for the WS
ReplyDelete"I absolutely love the fact that Scioscia will have his hand at the wheel for this postseason." Me too.
ReplyDeleteSigned, Royals Fan.