Freeway World Series? No, thanks.

It was bad enough that the Angels lost three out of four games in the Freeway Series with the Dodgers, but to have them pummeled in the finale 7-0 at home made it even tougher to swallow.  What’s worse is that Angels Stadium was over-run with loud Dodger fans who made their presence known all night long.

As the game was getting out of hand and the Dodger fans grew louder and louder, I wondered what was going through the player’s minds.  Their home stadium didn’t look like home at all – it looked like something of a cross between a Tattoo convention, Think Blue week and a Raider fan reunion.

Dodger fans had every reason to be overly happy.  Their team had won their first series with the Angels since 2006.

As I sat with Cheryl and took it all in, I sort of felt sick to my stomach.  Sure, I had been at the stadium when large groups of Yankee, Red Sox or Dodger fans had made their appearance before, but this was different.  I felt like an intruder in my own stadium.  It was demoralizing and disgusting and it was even embarrassing. 

I’ve grown somewhat accustom to Angel fans not showing up for games like this.  I’m used to the fact that they don’t typically vote their players into the All-Star game and tend to disappear when the going gets a little tough.  It is what it is.  But still… this was “our house” and no one should be able to do what the Dodgers and their fans did last night.

I felt bad for the players even though they had a big hand in all this by not playing well enough to shut up the Dodger crowd.  I’m guessing Albert Pujols and David Freese never saw anything like this in St. Louis and Mike Trout probably never saw this happen to his childhood team – the Phillies.

I know that putting up with opposing team fans isn’t easy and that the idea of watching the game from the comfort of your own home is appealing for games like this, but I can’t help but be a little disappointed that Angels fans don’t feel the need to represent at games like this.

I’m probably going to get that “super fan” label (which isn’t usually used in a good way) because of my feelings on the subject, but I can’t help but say it just sucks when this happens.

It sucks that our team didn’t have the benefit of a real home field advantage.  It sucks that young Angel fans had to witness a stadium being taken over by Dodger fans.  It sucks that the loudest cheers of the night went to Yasiel Puig and not Mike Trout.  It just sucks all the way around.

So… what happens if these two teams find themselves in the World Series? 

Think about it.

Will Angel season seat holders sell out?  Will the Dodgers enjoy home field advantage at both parks?  It’s possible and what’s worse… the world will be watching. 

I can hear the jokes and snide comments now… Angel fans went to Disneyland instead of the ball park.  Anaheim is now Chavez Ravine South.  Red mixed with blue still looks blue. 

As much as the baseball fan in me would love to see a Freeway Series, I’m starting to hope that it never happens.  I don’t think I could take it.  It would be torture and I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of agonizing pain even if it’s just emotional or mental.

Even if the Angels were to emerge victorious (a most likely scenario) in a Freeway World Series – the journey would probably kill me.  Every pitch would be filled with high anxiety.  The distraction caused by loud fans dressed in blue would be all too annoying and the potential for being surrounded by in-the-stands-conflict would not be much fun. So, even though I would receive great pleasure in watching the Angels dominate the Dodgers, it just isn't worth the hassle.

I like my park to be cozy.  I would rather exchange banter with fellow Angel fans than have to ignore rival Dodger fans.  I like the park to be loud, but I’d like that to be in one voice all in favor of the Angels.  I’m funny like that.

So… enjoy the victory Dodger fans.  You had your day.  Hopefully, this will end up being the highlight of your season and come October, you’ll be forced to watch the Angels on television while your team heads off to vacation and you all turn your attention to Raider football.

Here’s hoping for an Angels/Giants or Brewers, or Cardinals, or Reds, or Pirates, or Nationals or Braves World Series.  Please, anything but a Freeway World Series. 

Unremarkable, but amazing

I’ve never been a fan of Marco Scutaro.  In fact, when he played with the Oakland A’s and A’s fan would chant “Mar-co…. Scoot-a-row” like one would chant “Mar-co Po-lo,” I found the practice annoying.  In turn, I would do my own version of that by saying “Mar-co…” and then follow it up with a nice quick “sucks.” 

Childish?  You bet.  Hey, sometimes you have to find ways to amuse yourself.

Well, that was then and this is now.  I’m not here to bash Marco Scutaro in any way.  Instead, I’m here to say that I like it when guys like Scutaro grab the spotlight come play-off time.  I’m a fan of the unpredictable, especially when an unsung ball-player does something to garner the attention of everyone watching for all the right reasons.

Scutaro is 36 years old.  He’s never been an all-star. He’s never won a batting title or even a Gold Glove.  He’s been grinding out a career since 2002, an unremarkable career at that.  He never hit more than 12 HR’s, has had just one double-digit stolen base season (14 in 2009), and has only made one other post-season appearance (2006 with Oakland).

For Scutaro to shine the way he did in the NLCS is amazing.  He became the first player to ever have six multi-hit games in the championship series.  He hit a whopping .500 in 28 AB’s.  To say he was in the zone is an under-statement.  His  NLCS MVP award is the first award he’s ever won in the big leagues.

I love it. Don't you?

He may not do anything in the World Series and it won’t matter because his team wouldn’t be in it without him.  That’s right – the Giants probably wouldn’t have made it to the World Series without Marco Scutaro.  That’s crazy when you think about it.

Think about this – he started the season in Colorado and was traded (with cash) to the Giants for Charlie Culberson on July 27.  Who’s Charlie Culberson?  He’s a second baseman with a minor league career batting average of .262 over six seasons.  His career OPS is a mere .695. 

Again... who’s Charlie Culberson?  He’s a former first round pick of the Giants (51^st overall pick in 2007).  Perhaps Culberson will go on to have a solid MLB career.  Perhaps not.  In any case – he will be the answer to the trivia question “Who was traded for Marco Scutaro in 2012?” for years to come.

What's funny is that most people probably thought the acquisition of Hunter Pence was the big splash the Giants needed.  Who would have thought that it would be Scutaro who had the biggest impact after all?

Scutaro has been traded for the likes of Kristian Bell, Graham Godfrey, Clayton Mortensen and others.  He could have gone his entire career without really being noticed, but now – now, he’s the toast of San Francisco.

Isn’t baseball great?  Think about it.  Marco Scutaro waited ten years to have the biggest moment in his career.  He’s a singles hitter; in fact – he led the NL in singles with 147.  It’s the first time in his entire career that he ever led a league in any offensive category what-so-ever.

You can’t make this stuff up.  Isn’t his story, great? 

Now, I don’t anything about Scutaro, the man – but his name has to be well known to baseball fans everywhere by now.  In a an era when some players make what seems like $6 million a game, Scutaro made that for this season (his biggest contract ever).  Good for him.

So here we are… I’m an Oakland A’s hating Angel fan, who remembers Scutaro from his days in Oakland well.  I used to mock him whenever he came to Anaheim and here I am singing his praises. Go figure. Go Scutaro!

Back to the future and some advice for Giants fans

I am writing to you today from the future.

The Angels have just won their fifth consecutive World Series; Mike Trout was named MVP, Kaleb Cowart and Hank Conger hit three homeruns each (which makes you wonder how Trout won the MVP, right?) and Ervin Santana threw his second post-season no-hitter of his career. Not a bad year, huh?

A man can dream can’t he?

What was your dream back in 2002? As I look back at that time, it never really occurred to me (at least prior to the Angels actually getting to the World Series) that the Angels could and would be World Champions. My confidence grew with every come-from-behind win. And once they won game 6 in come-from-behind fashion, I was as positive as one can be about their chances.

Sure, I always hoped I’d see the day, but I don’t remember a time when I said to myself, this is the year they’re going to do it. When you follow a team not knowing for winning as long as I have, you get used to certain things and your expectations become somewhat tempered. I think most fan bases go through the same thing.

Think about it – who had the Giants and the Rangers in the 2010 World Series prior to the start of the season? I have to wonder how often this happens; where a team or teams no one really thought would win it all actually gets that chance?

Ask a Giants or Rangers fan if they really believed in their heart of hearts that their team would be playing baseball in November (wow, did I say November?)? I doubt you’d find any. Okay, maybe a scant few (who probably say that every year), but seriously… think about it.

How many Angel fans thought their team would win it all in 2002 prior to that season? How about the Red Sox fans in 2004 or the White Sox fans in 2005?

Unless you’re a Yankee fan most fans don’t have those kinds of expectations; at least not year in and year out. Sure sometimes things happen in the off season that might make you believe your team has a shot (take the darlings prior to the 2008 season - Detroit Tigers for instance), but for the most part – unless your team has actually done it, you don’t necessarily expect it. I’m talking deep down inside where it’s really a core thought of your own.

Getting there changes everything and winning it all elevates it to another level.

Most Angel fans expect the Angels to compete for a World Series title every year now. Same goes for Red Sox fans, Phillies fans, etc., but the longer your team goes without returning or ever getting to the biggest stage in baseball, the less you expect that idea to become a reality.

Fact is it’s really hard to get to a World Series. There are so many variables that it’s really a testament to any team that gets that far. Some believe the play-offs are a “crap shoot” and some think it’s their team’s “divine right.” Whatever you believe, the fact remains that getting there is never something any team can take for granted.

It’s one of the beautiful things about baseball.

I love it when teams like Tampa Bay in 2008 or the Rockies in 2007 find their way to the World Series when no one really saw it coming. Regardless of the whether they win it all or not, it’s the idea that none of the so-called experts saw it coming.

And why do we call them experts when they fail so often? I guess it's really not important and the bigger question is why do we get bent out of shape when the experts don’t pick us? We should be celebrating when we get ignored or passed over, shouldn’t we?

Even when the two teams were finalized for this 2010 World Series, most “experts” picked the Rangers. They’re not looking so smart right now. Then again, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. It's just the way things go.

We love to predict things even though baseball and life in general is so unpredictable. It doesn’t even matter that we are wrong most of the time; we march on.

The other side of all this is how expectations will change. Once you win or even when your team gets close to winning, you start to think about the future and how many more times your team might win it all.

Watch.

Some Giants’ fans are already talking about a dynasty. Why? Because they have such great young pitching. All of a sudden, the mind set changes. Prior to this season most Giants fans hoped they would see a championship in their life time; now, many of them are starting to think about this becoming an annual event.

Caution: Things change when you have something to defend instead of something to prove. When you have something to prove, you don’t necessarily have a target on your back when you have something to defend, you most certainly do.

It's like this... Yankee fans are expecting pay back next year. Red Sox fans believe they will return and their failure to make the play-offs is only dependent on their team being healthy again. Angel fans believe the Rangers 15 minutes of fame (okay, it’s been longer than that) is about to expire. Dodger fans are… well, let’s let sleeping dogs lay.

My advice to Giants fans is to soak it all in. You might not get back here again. Don’t start thinking about next year and just focus on the moment. It will be here and gone before you know it. The past eight years since 2002 seem much longer than all those previous years of hoping and waiting combined. Seriously; embrace the moment.

DISCLAIMER: I realize that I’m writing off the Texas Rangers. I also realize that baseball can humble a team, a player or an entire fan base any day of the week. If the Rangers come back and win this World Series, I’ll have some crow to eat. So be it. I just want to make sure I make the point about how fleeting the moment of watching your team win it all can be and I can’t do that when the series is over.

And just so we're clear... If by chance it gets to the point where the Rangers might win this thing, I'd give them the same advice.

Evidence that the Loch Ness Monster is real?

I never thought I’d see this day. I mean seriously; there are a lot of things I thought I’d see before I ever saw the Texas Rangers in the World Series. Things like men landing on Mars or real life video of the Loch Ness Monster seemed much more likely.

I have to tell you. As great a story at this Rangers team might be, I am having a hard time with it. If you’re one of those Angel fans who are happy for Vladimir Guerrero, well then – you’re just a better person than I am. The idea that Vlad could get a World Series ring in Texas after six years without one in Anaheim just isn’t sitting well with me. Call me selfish; call me a jerk; whatever. The idea that it’s even possible for him to win in another uniform is just downright depressing.

Suffice it to say, I’ll be cheering for the Giants.

I admit, it will be hard to root against Bengie Molina, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. Let’s face it, I have had to endure way too many Yankee and Red Sox titles lately and even though those are tough to swallow, it’s something I’m familiar with. This whole Rangers in the World Series thing is another matter. It just leaves a sour feeling in my stomach.

I will say this about the Rangers. There’s a certain amount of satisfaction in knowing that Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira had to watch the Rangers celebrate their ALCS win. I mean, I’m sure both guys never thought they’d see the day when the Rangers would do something like that. Every time I think about that, I have to smile. Come on, it has to make you smile too doesn’t it? Here are two guys who left Texas for what they thought was a sure thing (getting to the World Series multiple times) in the Yankees only to lose to them when most people thought that just couldn’t happen. It’s just beautiful and I thank the Rangers for giving me that.

Now, I’m sure if I let myself, I’d find a lot of reasons to root for the Rangers; however, I just can’t go there. You see there are a lot of other things that really bug me about the Rangers.

First of all, what’s the deal with having red uniforms? It’s bad enough that you have a lot of ex-Angels are on your team, but stealing the team colors too? Then there’s the whole disliking Ian Kinsler thing and well, let’s just stop with that. I’d rather not focus too much on the negative today. Let’s just say it’s just easier and a lot less painful to cheer for the Giants.

Speaking of the Giants; one thing I really appreciate about them is that they’re not hung up on contracts. Barry Zito has a $126 million contract and he was left off the post-season roster. Aaron Rowand is in the third year of a five year, $60 million contract and he’s spending quite a bit of time on the bench.

The Giants are clearly about putting the best players on the field and that’s not necessarily something team’s do. I applaud them for that. I’m thinking about Scott Kazmir. Catch my drift Angel fans?

I’m also enjoying the fact that Jose Guillen hasn’t been on the post season roster either. If he was, I’d have a hard time watching the World Series all-together.

Also - I’m really liking the “cast off” image of the team. Guys like Pat Burrell and Cody Ross are good stories. One minute they’re out of baseball and the next they’re on the game’s biggest stage making huge contributions.

Other observations, thoughts and ramblings…

I’m happy that Bengie Molina will get a ring and a nice bonus regardless of which team wins it all. Steve Henson of Yahoo Sports points out that his time with both the Giants and Rangers is going to pay off big time. The Giants voted Molina a full share before the play-offs rolled around.

I loved the way the ALCS ended with Alex Rodriguez looking at strike 3 for the final out of the game. I don’t know what it is about A-Rod but most of my memories of him in the post season over his career are of him leaving his bat on his shoulder for better or worse. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d much rather see a guy try to put the ball in play than just stand there looking for a walk.

On the other hand, I didn’t like the way the NLCS ended because a guy like Ryan Howard should be trying to make something happen instead of watching it happen.

I wonder how much Cliff Lee is going to be offered this off season. I’m guessing the Yankees will offer him all of Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and all the Coney Island hot dogs he can eat. I’m hoping he ends up some place other than New York and/or Texas.

This post season has really provided us with some stud pitching. Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Tim Lincecum, Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia are as good as there are in baseball. They might be the five best pitchers in baseball not named Felix Hernandez. Remember when Josh Beckett was in their class?

I’ve been trying to look up the pre-season predictions from all the experts to see how many of them had the Giants and Rangers in the World Series.

I started looking last week.

I’m still searching.

ESPN? Nope. Fox Sports? Nada. Sports Illustrated? Negative. This could take a while.

It has to be out there; somewhere, right? Then again...

Isn't baseball great?

Last, but not least – check out Bengie Molina’s blog “Behind the Mask” as he details his emotions of winning the American League and going against his former team.

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.