Wishing Brandon Wood all the best

If you’re one of those people who have booed Brandon Wood over the past couple years, I will bet that you’ve never met Brandon Wood. I’m also willing to bet that Brandon Wood has a lot more class than you.

Wood was designated for assignment yesterday and while some Angel fans are probably popping open a bottle of champagne, I am saddened by the news.

Wood’s struggle on offense is well documented and of epic proportions compared to what was expected of him. For most fans that’s most likely all they’ll remember about the 26 year old. Even though his release is justified, I am still very disappointed.

You see, even though statistics are critically important in baseball, there’s more to the game than just numbers for fans like Cheryl and myself. It’s about the experiences we have with our team and Wood has always made our experience special.

Wood has always and I mean always taken the time to stop to sign an autograph or pose for a picture over the years, especially at spring training. He was consistently up-beat, constantly smiling and never showed any signs of a player struggling. He was and is the consummate professional in that regard and I admire and respect him a great deal.

I know a lot of you could probably care less that Brandon Wood is a nice guy. The bottom line is that he didn’t perform at the level he needed to. I get that. I understand that. I don’t even disagree entirely with the need to designate him for assignment; I’m merely disappointed and saddened by the news.

At the end of the day, like most of you – I want to see the Angels win and I want to see players on the roster that will help contribute to winning. That being said, it’s also important to me that I like the players on my favorite team. Granted, that doesn’t always happen – but it definitely plays a role in my enjoyment of watching the team I root for.

I never embraced Francisco Rodriguez. I didn’t like his antics and his attitude and I especially found the way he interacted with fans (after 2002) to be especially unpleasant. Rather than go into details, let’s just say that I wasn’t disappointed when he went to the Mets.

I’ll take it a step further. Growing up in Southern California, I was a die-hard Lakers fan; in fact, the Lakers were my favorite team in all of sports. Now, I don’t even watch the NBA. Why? I don’t like a lot of the players. I stopped following the Lakers and the NBA as a whole when Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant continued to make more headlines off the court than on it.

It just got to the point where I could not separate the person from the athlete and just couldn’t cheer for the Lakers anymore.

I’m not saying that baseball is perfect and not without its own cast of characters; however, I do seem to find many more athletes that I do enjoy in major league baseball than elsewhere. Plus baseball teams have 25 man rosters and I find for every Milton Bradley that pops up now and then there are many more Torii Hunters or Vernon Wells’ throughout the game that are admirable men of character who love the game, make an impact in the community and do so many positive things.

I make note of these things all the time on this blog. My fandom for Torii Hunter is well documented here; as is my disgust for the likes of Milton Bradley.

So on this day, the day after Wood was designated for assignment, Cheryl and I are a little sad.

You know what? We are not the only ones. Judging by the reactions I’ve read from his teammates, a lot of them are saddened as well and to a man, they all seem to wish him the best.

So even though most fans might be happy with this move; Cheryl and I aren't like most fans and we too wish him all the best.

I will close with this: Lyle Spencer of mlb.com does a fantastic job of putting Wood’s situation in the proper perspective on his Rally Monkeys blog entry titled “Wood can find redemption.”

Let the good times roll

Justin Masterson and Scott Kazmir are just a little more than a year apart; Masterson turns 26 years of age March 22 and Kazmir just turned 27 in January. It’s hard to believe that Kazmir is only 27; after all, he’s started 178 games in his career. At this point in time, you’d think he’d be a veteran just getting ready for the season and yet, he’s a man still searching for the stuff that once made him among the best left-handers in the game. Masterson has only started 54 games in his career and is still trying to establish himself.

I suppose it was somewhat appropriate that the two squared off today in day two of Cheryl and my brief trip to spring training. Neither pitcher impressed today nor did either one seem close to establishing themselves as solid starters for the coming season. There was a scout in our section today and I got a glimpse of the radar gun he was holding. Kazmir was only hitting 87 to 89 miles an hour in the first inning. The scout then moved and I didn’t see any more results.

The Indians won 10-7.

Highlights of the game included Brandon Wood going two for two with a walk, and two runs scored. Wood didn’t start the game and came in for Maicer Izturis. I’m not sure why Izturis came out of the game, but one always has to wonder if he’s hurt whenever he’s not on the field. Wood is now hitting .255 and I’m hoping he came continue to make progress and contribute this year.

I have to tell you that both Cheryl and I really want to see Wood succeed. He’s easily one of the nicest players in the game. He always makes time for the fans and maintains such a great attitude. You’d never know that he’s had struggles on the field. I admire him for the way he handles himself and hope somehow, some way that he finds a way to be the player we all hoped he would be.

In other highlights – Howie Kendrick had a couple hits to go with two RBI’s. He’s hitting a solid .372 this spring.

Prior to the game, we spent some time interacting with fans and taking pictures of the players.

We also spent a little more time with Joe who had another story or two to share. He told us about an umpire (the name escapes me) who shared a joke with him.

As Joe recalled, the umpire had been married for 17 years and was trying to decide what to get his wife for her birthday. He asked his wife, “What would you like for your birthday?” She said, “I want a divorce.” The umpire said, “I wasn’t planning on spending that much money.”

You never know what you’re going to learn when you come to spring training. Every day is different and the memories are always unique. Today a little boy yelled out to Brandon Wood “hit another homerun like you did yesterday!” Wood smiled and said, “We’ll do.” Spring training is packed full of little stories like this and it just never get’s old.

It was a good day. We got to interact with Rich Thompson, Francisco Rodriguez, Hank Conger, Brandon Wood, Trevor Bell, Chris Pettit, Mark Trumbo, and Matt Palmer among others. We didn't see any of the regulars out on the practice fields, except for Kendrys Morales who is still trying to get ready.



Morales did stop to sign a few autographs, but not for long; much to the dismay of a lot of fans.

It was another fun day and we topped it off in grand style with dinner at Don & Charlie's in Scottsdale with fellow 514 Fanatics Bob and Stephen.

While we are dining Ned Colletti, the general manager of the Dodgers came in with some folks and sat at the table next to us.

Again, this is the kind of unexpected stuff that happens at spring training all the time.

Good times.

The 50 Greatest Angels (11-20)

Today’s Orange County Register’s (OCR) list of the 50 greatest Angels take us to a place that is reserved for a very special group; those rannked 11-20. If you make this list, you are truly special in the eyes of the panelists who put the list together.

The names are: Mike Witt (20), John Lackey (19), Francisco Rodriguez (18), Wally Joyner (17), Troy Glaus (16), Frank Tanana (15), Don Baylor (14), Gene Autry (13), Darin Erstad (12) and Mike Scioscia (11).

That’s a list that’s hard to argue with. Each made significant contributions to the Angels and/or hold a place in the Angels’ record books.

Two of the individuals listed (Autry and K-Rod) did not make my top 20 although I did rank each of them in the top 50.

Our first Angel who received some first place votes finally appears in Gene Autry. Four panelists including the Angels’ Tim Mead, Vice President of Communications believe Autry is the greatest of all.

It’s really hard to argue with that sentiment. I can appreciate and understand why anyone would believe that. I really wouldn’t fault anyone for voting for Autry; after all, if it weren’t for him, the Angels may have never come into existence. What I can’t understand is why Mat Gleason of Halos Heaven didn’t vote for him at all.

It’s also clear that Mead has the highest regard for Mike Scioscia who he voted as the 4th greatest Angel of all time. Angels talk show host Jeff Biggs ranked Scioscia 3rd and the OCR’s Bill Plunkett ranked him 4th. Four other panelists ranked him 6th. I ranked him 15th.

My feeling about Scioscia is that he is easily the most important Angel within the organization today. His finger prints are all over this organization and its success or failure is mostly his responsibility. That being said, he probably doesn’t get enough credit for how good the Angels have been over the last ten years and at the same time probably receives too much of the blame when it doesn’t meet expectations.

I can’t imagine anyone else managing my favorite team, but it wasn’t enough to put him for me to put him in the top 10. Interestingly, Gleason who left Autry off his list also excluded Scioscia.

It may be interesting to some folks out there that K-Rod ranked so low on my list at 35. It’s hard to argue with his accomplishments; however, for me it was more than that. I always said that if Frankie Rodriguez wasn’t an Angel (when he was on the team), I’d hate him because of the way he carries himself. I guess you could say that feeling carried over into my voting and I was unable to separate how I felt about him from what he did as an Angel.

I also have to admit that even though I have publicly chastised John Lackey for going to the worst possible destination in Boston last year, I had to include him in my top 20.

It was great to see some old familiar names on the list in Frank Tanana, Mike Witt and Don Baylor. And who could forget Wally World (Wally Joyner). I gave Joyner high marks for his impact on the Angel fan base (ranking him 12th).

Tomorrow we get down to the nitty-gritty; the top 10.

Not bad; not bad at all

Of all the players from the 2002 World Series team that went on to play for someone else; Bengie Molina is the guy I miss the most. I miss him more than Darin Erstad, Troy Glaus, David Eckstein or anyone else.

Last night he reminded me and all Angel fans why he was so beloved. He had what might have been the biggest hit in the ALCS, a three run homerun to put the Rangers ahead for good in game four.

"It's not a bad job for a fat kid who everyone makes fun of when he runs," smiled Molina, after going 3-for-4 with a homerun and three runs batted in.

Bengie has always played the game with the rare combination of both pride and humility. He never sought the spotlight, but it always found him just the same. I never felt like he was ever overwhelmed by any situation. Most of all I always viewed him as a “clutch” player.

Now, I know some sabermetric types and other baseball folk believe there is no such thing as “clutch hitting,” but as long as this game isn’t being played by robots or computers, I will always disagree. Baseball players are human beings with emotions and voices in their heads that speak to them all the time. You can’t tell me that some players don’t thrive in the “big” moment or game. You can’t convince me that some athletes have a tendency to tense up when the lights are at their brightest and the stage is at its biggest.

Some people want the bat (or ball) in their hands when the game is on the line and some don’t. That doesn’t mean they’re going to succeed all the time; it just means that the moment isn’t too big for them. It’s not something you can necessarilly measure or even project, but it’s often very evident.

Maybe I’m romanticizing the game too much here.

Well, baseball will do that to you. Every big play has the ability to flood your mind with memories, thoughts, emotions and so much more. Baseball is about indelible moments and although it’s easy to get lost in the statistics and numbers associated with the game, it’s those walk off homeruns and suicide squeezes that you remember most. And when certain players seem to step up and deliver in key situations time after time, you remember them for being “clutch.” Imagined or real? It really doesn’t matter.

Watching Bengie Molina last night took me back. It took me back to a time when he was an Angel. I always believed he had the ability to soak in a moment, take a deep breath, settle himself and if necessary – his teammates’ nerves and get down to business. He was always had a calm and steady presence and I’ve always considered him to be a great leader. He’s not necessarily a” raw, raw” type; he just leads by example.

A lot of conversations will take place between now and next season about what a great addition Cliff Lee was to the Rangers’ rotation and rightly so. It should also be noted that adding Molina to the Rangers club house was just as big. He’s that veteran presence that’s been here before and he never gets too high or too low.

Molina also knows full well about the mind set needed to take down a Yankee club in the post season; having lived that experience as an Angel. He knows no fear.

I find it interesting that he could end up in the World Series facing the team that basically gave him away to clear a spot for the potential National League Rookie of the Year; Buster Posey. I would bet Bengie finds that thought more than just interesting. I would bet that the way he was pushed aside hurt just a tad.


Seems to me that during his free agency years he's frequently the guy no team really wants to sign, but ends up being the guy everyone loves to have on their tea. Even still, though he constantly exceeds expectations; he's also taken for granted. He's kind of an after thought, but one that pays off big in the end.

Remember, this is a man with tremendous pride; at least that’s what I’ve gathered after watching him for all these years as a fan. Now, I don’t know Bengie personally and my only interactions with him have come at spring training or before games when he would warm up down by the bull pen and interact with fans, but the impression I always got was that this is a man who plays with confidence and has his own quiet swagger about him.

Everytime I think about him I keep coming back to his pride and humility.

Take the 2006 season when he played for the Toronto Blue Jays. On May 16 of that year his Blue Jays lost to the Angels 8-3, but the thing that probably stung Bengie the most was that Jose Molina (his brother) stole a base against him.

The next night, Bengie tried to return the favor, but was thrown out by Jose. One can only imagine the post game conversation those two might have afterwards. I’m sure Bengie didn’t like being upstaged by his brother, but at the same time I would also believe he got a good laugh out of the whole thing.

He also got the last laugh.

Apparently he didn’t forget that night in May because a few months later on September 9 Bengie got his revenge and stole a base against Jose. Justice was served and order was restored within the Molina family.

Interestingly both Molina’s had only stolen one base all year; not only that, neither tried to steal a base against anyone else the rest of the year.

It was vintage Bengie.

I even loved the way he interacted with fans. He was always kind, cordial and accommodating. He never “big leagued” anyone. He always made time for as many people as possible. There’s something endearing about a guy who’s always approachable and seems to be the same person regardless of whether he’s signing autographs or launching bombs into the outfield stands.

I can even remember a potentially volatile situation at a spring training game in Tempe after the 2002 season. A few of the players were gathered at the tunnel that leads from the field to the club house. Frankie Rodriguez said something that offended a fan who was trying to get someone’s autograph. I don’t know what he said, but I remember this fan going off and saying some things in a pretty angry tone. Frankie looked a little shell shocked, but Bengie was there and gave the fan a “come on man, you’re not serious” look. He said a few things to defuse the situation and everyone walked away just fine.

Bengie has always had a way of putting people at ease; be it on the field or off it. It’s one of the things I love about him.

You see, every memory I have of Bengie is a good one. Last night, he gave me one more.

Jeff Mathis never looked so good making an out

One of the great things about going to the ball park is that you never know what you’re going to see. You might even see a no-hitter (odds seem better than usual for that this year). In fact you might see something you thought would be down right impossible; like Jeff Mathis winning a game in extra innings.

Come on; you knew that was coming, didn’t you?

So yesterday, I went to the Angels/Indians game by myself. Since I was going alone, I thought I’d do something different. I didn’t go up to my section on the view level at all. I thought I’d roam around the field level, take pictures and watch the game from different vantage points. (The photo below, right is of my season seat section around the third inning).

I have to tell you that a bad team looks bad no matter where you sit. That being said, it was great to see an Angels victory; even if it did take 16 innings! It’s not every day that you get to experience a 7th inning AND a 14th inning stretch.

A lot of things went through my mind over the course of the day. Okay, I know the game was only about five hours long (did I say only?), but it seemed like a whole day.

In the third inning I looked up at the scoreboard and saw that both Scott Kazmir and Josh Tomlin hadn’t give up a hit. Of course Kazmir had already walked three, but my point was that I was surprised to see a “pitching duel.” Who knew?

When Jason Donald led off the 5th with a double, I fully expected Kazmir to get shelled from that point on. Much to my surprise, Kazmir limited the damage to one run. That was real progress and yes, I am being serious.

Now if you’ve been paying attention to the Angels of late, you’d know that falling behind at any point in the game, even if it’s only 1-0 smells like disaster. Oh, but not on this day; no sir, Mike Napoli (you know the guy who can’t seem to find regular playing time even though he leads the team in homers) came to the plate with Alberto Callaspo on base and drilled a homerun to deep left field. (That's Napoli's actual homerun swing to the right)

And what do you know? The Angels go on top 2-1.

In the bottom of the 6th the Angels pad that lead with a solo homer from Peter Bourjos. Can I just tell you again how much I like this kid? He’s figuring things out and I have a lot of confidence that he’ll be a solid major league ball player. Even though he’s hitting under .200 I never get the impression that he’s overmatched.

So, the Angels are on top 3-1 and it’s now the 7th inning. I was thinking that this game was cruising along and I’d be able to join my wife Cheryl and her mom for dinner. The instant I thought that I knew I was in trouble.

I guess I should know by now that assumptions in baseball are a dangerous thing. Sure enough, my assuming that a game that was moving along at a nice pace would continue to do so was the kiss of death.

Andy Marte decided to make things interesting with a solo homerun off Jordan Walden. Marte who was hitting all of .211 with 4 homeruns (coming into the game) turned on a 99 mph fast ball and bam; it was now 3-2 Angels. Not to worry I thought.

I have to admit, that I was feeling a little optimistic yesterday and I convinced myself that the Angels bull pen would shut the Indians down and we’d all be going home with a 3-2 victory. Boy was I wrong.

Fernando Rodney (hat cocked to the side and all) gave up the tying run (his fourth blown save of the year) and just like that we were headed for extra innings. What is it with closers with the initials F.R. (like Frankie Rodriguez) and 9th inning drama?

Whatever.

Remember, I was feeling optimistic. I knew Torii Hunter was leading off the bottom of the 9th and I was thinking how nice a walk off homerun would be at that point.

Well, that didn’t happen.

In the bottom of the 10th, Juan Rivera looked like he might be a hero when he sent a fly ball to deep center field. It looked like it had a chance to go out; however, the Indians’ center fielder Michael Brantley had other plans and robbed Rivera of a homerun. Tub of goo lives on.

I looked in the dugout and I saw Torii Hunter shaking his head. I tried to imagine what he might be thinking. I mean, isn’t he’s the only one who’s supposed to take homeruns away from people?

Next thing you know it’s the bottom of the 11th inning and the bases are loaded with one out. Surely the Angels can score a guy now. I mean all they have to do is squeeze the runner home, right? I mean that's Angels baseball!

Up steps Jeff Mathis and the guy who can’t hit worth a lick apparently can’t bunt either. He pops it up and now there are two outs. I start to wonder if Hank Conger could do a better job of hitting while blind folded.

Up steps Erick Aybar and I started to believe this game would never end.

The crowd is getting pretty thin at this point and I question whether or not the rats at the stadium out number the fans. The game goes on and on and on. (That's my section again on the right when the game went into extra innings)

I start to get a little delusional (at least more than usual) and think about how cool it would be to see Reggie Willits hit a walk off homer. When he walks in the 12th inning, I start to speculate as to whether or not he could steal home all the way from first base. Realizing that’s not possible, I start to hope for a stolen base, a balk and a wild pitch to bring him home.

Yes, I was that desperate.

In the thirteenth inning Francisco Rodriguez comes in and walks two. I have to tell you that I don’t particularly care for anyone named Francisco Rodriguez – past, present or future at this point. That being said, he gets out of the inning.

Now, it’s getting cold and I didn’t have a jacket; I had thought I’d be home before it got dark. Now, I was questioning if I’d be home before dawn. I look at the Padres/Dodgers game and wondered which game would finish first (even though their game started three hours later). I’m hungry and the concession stands are out of hot dogs. My stomach started rumbling and I started thinking of where I would stop for a bite on my way home and wondering if any of my choices would still be open when I finally did head home.

The baseball game or something that resembles a baseball game continued on.

When Sin-Soo Choo stepped up to bat in the top of the 16th, I remember thinking that this has to be about his 15th AB of the game. Wasn’t he just up? Was my mind playing tricks on me? Choo walked with two outs. Matt Palmer was pitching and just as my mind starts to wander again (I start to speculate whether or not Palmer would receive credit for a complete game if he pitched nine innings), Palmer tries a pick off throw that gets past Juan Rivera (surprise) and Choo high tails it down to second base.

I thought to myself; well, that’s about right – the Angels probably average at least one error every nine inning (at least lately) and that was the second one in the game. After all, the Angels are next to last in the American League in fielding (I actually looked that up)!

Even if the error hadn’t happened, Choo probably would have stolen the base anyway (Jeff Mathis was behind the plate) since the Angels have given up the third most stolen bases in all of baseball this year (yup, looked that up too). Either way, we had to know Choo was getting to second base one way or another. Just saying.

Anyway, Palmer pitches to Jordan Brown and catches a come backer just as he completes the little bunny hop he does after he throws the ball; Rivera handles the toss (I know that’s hard to believe) and we were on to the bottom of the 16th.

Torii Hunter came to the plate and I’m thought once again that a walk-off homerun would be nice. Hunter doubles and I started to like our chances. Alberto Callaspo advanced Hunter to third on a ground out and now Hunter was a mere 90 feet away with one out. I felt good; that is until I saw who was up next. (The photo to the right is Hunter stroking his double),

No, please; not again! It was Jeff Mathis. At this point I was sure the game was going to break records for the number of innings and my choices for dinning options were getting smaller and smaller by the minute.

Surely, Mike Scioscia wouldn’t ask him to squeeze again, right?

Right!

Boo-ya! Mathis swung away and hit a fly ball to right field; Hunter tagged up and scored the winning run.

Game over and it was time for me to head to In ‘N Out. And that’s what a 16 inning walk off win is all about.

The two teams combined to throw 506 pitches and even though the Indians out hit the Angels 14-6 (and let’s not forget the Angels had two errors to boot – no pun intended), the Angels emerged victorious and I had the perfect material for this, my 200th post on this blog!

Baseball is amazing. Jeff Mathis came into the game hitting .194 and he ended up being a hero by doing what he does best, making an out (he’s now hitting .192). Tuesday night Lou Marson of the Indians entered that game hitting .189 and proceeded to hit a grand slam to help the Indians to a 6-1 win. It was only Marson’s third homerun in 241 plate appearances this year.

That’s baseball. I love this game!