Hello old friend

Today reminded me of an old Eric Clapton song… “Hello old friend, it’s really good to see you once again.”

That “old friend” is spring training and Cheryl and I made our way to Tempe, Arizona today to see the Angels take on the Padres and some other “old friends” in former Angels’ pitching coach and now Padre Manager - Bud Black, ex-Angels - Dustin Moseley (who started the game) and Kevin Frandsen (who managed to homer today).



Prior to the game, it was nice to have a chance to welcome back old friend Chris Pettit who is finally healthy. It was actually just great to see all the familiar faces before the game.

During the game, there were a lot of familiar things that we saw and I’m not just talking about the guys now wearing Padre uniforms who once wore red.

There were some all-too-familiar mental mistakes as Bobby Abreu and Jeff Mathis each managed to get picked off first base. Stuff like this makes me crazy – even if it is only spring training. Speaking of which, I noticed Erick Aybar has one stolen base in three tries. Oh boy… that’s an all-too-familiar stat for sure.

On the bright side – Peter Bourjos showed off his speed with his fourth stolen base of the spring and Maicer Izturis also swiped a bag today (his second of the spring).

Brandon Wood said hello to his homerun swing, blasting his third of the pre-season and Bobby Abreu hit a pair of dingers (his first two of the year). The Angels came away with a 7-6 victory, reminding us all of the best old friend of all… winning.

It was especially nice to see Wood having a good day (he also doubled) and made some solid defensive plays. It’s clear there are fans out there who are really tired of seeing him, but a fair number of us also still support him as much as we can. I just can’t help but wonder if he’ll still be an Angel come opening day.

Last, but certainly not least – we also got to see our old friend “Joe” who works at the stadium. Turns out Joe got a little promotion and now works down on the field during games (as opposed to out in the outfield grass). Joe even took one for the team recently; he took a batted ball hit off his back side from none other than Adam Dunn. Ouch. Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt and he told Cheryl and me he was disappointed it didn’t even bruise him; otherwise, he might have asked Dunn to autograph his… well, you know.


Today we also had to bid an offical farewell to an old friend in Scot Shields, who announced his retirement today. I'm going to miss Scot, as yet another link to 2002 hangs up his cleats.

And on that note, we’ll call it a day; after all, it’s been a long one that started with us leaving home around 5:00 a.m. I’m tired, but as is always the case with spring training; it’s a good-kind-of tired. More to come…

Hot Stove Potpourri and other stuff

This is pretty random stuff, so bear with me...

The Atlanta Braves made the biggest early splash this off season by acquiring Dan Uggla for Omar Infante and Mike Dunn. Shortly after the deal was announced one could hear the “I can’t believe my (fill-in-the-blank) team didn’t try to get him” comments everywhere.

Several Angel fans on message boards and even in the comment section of one my recent posts had even proposed that the Angels make Uggla a target. I’m glad they didn’t.

Most wanted to make Uggla the Angels’ third baseman despite the fact that he had 18 errors at second base. That’s a lot of errors folks. Uggla at third base would have been a nightmare, in my opinion. Besides, every time I think of him, I remember how badly he had the “yipes” in the 2008 all-star game. Remember that? He made three errors in that game. Players who perform that badly on a big stage really scare me.

No doubt his bat is impressive, but let’s also keep in mind that he’s going to be a free agent after this next season and has already turned down four-year, $48 million offer. Word is he’s looking for a five-year, $71 million deal.

What’s up with the Oakland A’s? Reports have come out that they have offer on the table for Adrian Beltre. They just acquired Edwin Encarnacion and already have Kevin Kouzmanoff on their roster. Trying to corner the market on third basemen?

Beltre is an interesting free agent, most fans either like him or hate him and there’s no real middle ground. Many will harp on the fact that his two best years came in contract years while more reasonable people (like me, ha-ha) focus on the fact that his overall numbers are pretty solid. Hey if you don’t believe me, look them up yourself. Those 25+ homeruns in all but one injury-plagued season in Seattle look pretty good to me. You will also see that he hit more homeruns away from Fenway than at Fenway. Not bad, huh?

I’ve actually been waging this argument about Beltre all off season – but many are clinging to the idea that he’s only good in contract years. All I’m saying is that he sure beats the alternatives.

Speaking of third basemen. Ever wonder what happened to Dallas McPherson? Well, he just signed with the Chicago White Sox. He’s still hitting homeruns (22 in 2010) and apparently still unable to play full seasons (84 games).

Speaking of third basemen… Wait didn’t I just say that? How about Shea Hillenbrand; where is he now? He and his wife run Marley Farms which is an animal rescue facility. Pretty cool. I wonder if Brandon Wood can work there. Hey, it’s in Gilbert, AZ and Wood is from Arizona.

I guess that was harsh.

Don’t get me wrong, I really wanted to see Wood succeed in the biggest way, but when ESPN’s Keith Law says “I saw Wood in the Arizona Fall League, where the Angels sent him as (I assume) a favor to help him find a potential home for 2011. He can still crush a fastball ... and still can't adjust to a breaking ball. He's a poor man's Mark Reynolds, but with the potential to be a much better defender. I'd take a shot at him if I was an NL GM with a spot at third for a high-risk, high-reward flier; in that circuit, Wood could hit .220 but play enough defense and hit enough home runs to be above replacement level” – it doesn’t look like Wood will be playing for the Angels next season.

Switching gears (enough about really bad 3B, right?)...

Congratulations to Bud Black for being named the 2010 National League Manager of the Year. He joins Joe Maddon (2008) as a former Angels coach who has won a Manager of the Year award. Will Ron Roenicke (new manager of the Milwaukee Brewers) be next?

Congratulations also go out to Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners for winning the 2010 AL CY Young Award. Okay, I really didn’t want to congratulate him; I really wanted to point out that his ERA against the Angels was 4.13 (5 starts) and even a little higher – 4.28 against the Rangers (6 starts). Let’s call that a “fun fact.” No matter how dominant he was (and he definitely was), he sure didn’t dominate the Angels or Rangers. Just saying.

Best Hot Stove rumor so far… According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies are interested in…. are you ready for this? Drum roll please…. Wait for it… Ready? Here it comes.... Scott Kazmir!!

Yes, you read that right. I almost fell out of my chair when I read this. It's funny... didn't I write a piece last off season related to Scott Kazmir and "swagger?" Yikes, that was some bad blogging. Now, if this rumor from Renck has any legs what-so-ever, Troy Renck might become my new favorite sports reporter.

Speaking of favorites… Check out Sam Miller’s piece from the OC Register regarding Hank Conger’s off season. Every time I read about Conger, I become more and more impressed with his maturity and mind set. Sam Miller on the other hand? Well, not so much. Just kidding.

By the way I hate the smell of potpourri...

Post-season baseball brings out the best in all of us

When it became clear the Angels were not headed to the play-offs (was that back in May?), I started hoping the San Diego Padres would win the NL West. I figured I could pull for a team that had Buddy Black as their manager and David Eckstein playing second base.

When the Padres faltered (okay, choked); I looked at the post-season and decided to align myself with the Twins, Rays, Reds and Braves. I wasn’t necessarily picking the teams I thought would win, but rather the teams I wanted to win.

Well, we know how that turned out.

So here we are on the verge (well sort of on the verge, if you count waiting for three days) of the League Championship Series’. What’s an Angel fan to do?

The ALCS is like my worst nightmare.

I can’t cheer for the Yankees and I really can’t stand the Rangers. Yeah, that’s right – I have no love for the team from Texas even if it’s full of ex-Angels. None what-so-ever. Don’t get me wrong, I will always be a huge Bengie Molina fan and I have nothing but the highest regard for Darren Oliver and Vladimir Guerrero. Heck, I even like Darren O’Day and Gary Pettis, who is their first base coach.

It’s just that… well, I can’t stand Ian Kinsler.

If you've followed the “rivalry” between the Angels and Rangers than you obviously know about Kinsler’s “get the bleep off my field” comment from last year. I haven’t forgotten it and every time I think of the Rangers, I think of him spouting off. He just ruins it for me.

I don’t care what Donny Osmond sang all those years ago; for me it’s a clear case of one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch.

Some might argue that I should be loyal to the AL West or the AL in general. I don’t see it that way. If we’re talking about the All-Star game (a game that really matters, don't you know) well then sure, but that’s where my loyalties end.

I just might have to go with an NL team this year. Then again; maybe... just maybe I should go with the team that has the best video? Just watch…









Now aren't you glad you found this blog? I mean come on, where else can you get this kind of analysis and post season coverage?

I know what you're thinking. You've seen all the videos and you've made up your mind. You're thinking "Go Giants!" aren't you? Yeah, me too.

This is play-off baseball and it doesn’t get any better than this.