Everyone loves a parade

There seems to be this sentiment out there that if you don’t believe the Angels are going to win the west, you’re basically giving up on the team. Personally, I think that’s a bunch of baloney. Giving up would basically mean stop watching and most of all, stop caring.

That’s certainly not the case with me.

The way I see it, the Angels just aren’t good enough this year to overtake Texas. They continue to struggle to score runs and they just can’t seem to beat the better teams in the league. I don’t have to build a case against their chances; they’re done that on their own.

The perfect segue for another rant? Not today.

I’d like to go back to a happier time and that would be July 13, 2010 when the All-Star game came to Anaheim. More specifically, I’d like to share Cheryl and my experience at the Red Carpet Parade.

We were in New York for our first Red Carpet Parade and I have to admit the one in Anaheim pales in comparison. After all, the one in New York included multiple Hall of Famers and there were times when the parade came to a stop and gave fans the chance to interact with the players.

I remember teasing Tony Gwynn (who is a big supporter of El Cajon Ford in San Diego) about riding in the back of a Chevy truck. He had a good time with my comment and said something to the effect that he hoped they wouldn't see this.

We didn’t have any opportunities like that. The players whizzed by in the back of trucks, tossing out baseball cards and other chotskies along the way. They were often looking down into the bags that held all the goodies when they went by.

We kept wondering if they were going to a fire. A few did manage to wave and smile and acknowledge the fans.

As Ian Kinsler went by I couldn’t resist yelling “Get off our road!” and when Carl Crawford went by I was sure to let him know how much we wanted him in Anaheim next year.

We stood next to a Yankee fan and his son, who were actually very nice. They had traveled out from Atlanta (the dad is originally from New York and had the accent to prove it). They did their part by booing the Red Sox players. We (Cheryl and I) did our part by booing the Yankees (like Derek Jeter) Torii Hunter threw them some Yankee Fuzzy Dice, much to their surprise (and delight). Cheryl and I ended up with some Angel fuzzy dice, also to our own delight.

The players weren’t the only ones participating in the parade; the mascots were out in full force as well. It’s too bad the Angels don’t have a mascot. I guess we’re too cool for that. Whatever…

Some of the mascots I recall included Junction Jack (Astros), the Swinging Friar (Padres), Phillie Phanatic, Bernie Brewer, Billy the Marlin, D. Baxter the Bobcat (Diamondbacks), Gapper (Reds), Mariner Moose, Mr. Met, and Dinger (Rockies). I’m sure there were others.


Brian Wilson (below, left) of the Giants was amped up pretty good. He was standing behind the truck’s cab raising his fists in the air and throwing goodies into the crowd. Corey Hart reminded me of Chewbacca from Star Wars (below, right). I kept looking to see if Harrison Ford would be sitting next to him.



One surprise (at least for me) was seeing a calm, cool and smiling Jose Valverde (above left). He seemed very different from his on-the-field persona, where he appears to be a crazy man who might throw at a batter’s head at any time. I also thought the rookie-phenom Jayson Heyward (above right not in uniform) looked older than I thought he might.

Is it just me or does Ichirio (left) look a little bit like the Rally Monkey? Just saying.

The players weren’t alone. Many had family, friends or girlfriends along for the ride. It was kind of funny to watch them. You would have thought some of them believed the parade was for them, while most seemed to be soaking it all in and just enjoying the ride.

We soaked it all in too. Despite not quite living up to the Red Carpet Parade in New York; it was still a lot of fun. The fans were in a good mood and most of the players seemed to enjoy being a part of the festivities.


Some more pics below include Josh Johnson (Marlins), Josh Hamilton and his family (Rangers), Joe Mauer (Twins), David Wright (Mets).



You know I have to give some props to the Long Beach State DirtBags who were representing! Below are Evan Longoria (Rays) and Troy Tulowitzki (Rockies) who is sporting a mullet (link is to a very funny commentary from Vin Scully about "mullets").




More photos; below are Vladimir Guerrero (Rangers), Justin Verlander (Tigers), Vernon Wells (Blue Jays), and Nick Swisher (Yankees).



The biggest cheers for the day was reserved for the Angels' own Torii Hunter and Jered Weaver (as it should be).



Last, but not least are pictures of David Price (Rays), Ryan Howard (Phillies), Joaquin Soria (Royals), and the always classy Adrain Gonzalez (Padres).



Good times for sure. I'll be posting more stuff from the All-Star Festivities in the near future. I've got pics from the Homerun Derby and the All-Star game itself to share with you.

Dealing with spring training withdrawls

It’s only been a day, but I already miss being at spring training. Actually, I began to miss it the moment we headed home. It’s hard knowing there is baseball being played in the next state and I’m not there.

I can take some comfort in knowing that games will be starting this Thursday and I’ll be able to listen to them on the radio. Then again, that’s really small consolation because nothing beats being there in person.

I know I shouldn’t pout too much because Cheryl and I did go for a few days and there are many others who won’t get that chance this year. Well, let it be known that I have empathy for those who can’t make it to Tempe this year and the video clips below are just for you. It’s a little slice of spring training that I hope you’ll enjoy.

First up is an interview with Rich Thompson the Angels relief pitcher from Australia. It’s always cool to hear his accent. He’s also got a great sense of humor, as you’ll see when you watch the clips (there are two parts).





Thompson is one of several major league baseball players who has a Twitter account. You can follow Thompson (@chopper63) and others including Angel prospects Chris Pettit (@cpettit815) and Terry Evans (@TEvans23). Some players are much more active than others. Among the best is Texas Ranger reliever C.J. Wilson (@str8edgeracer). Torii Hunter (@toriihunter48)has a Twitter account as well; however, he hasn’t tweeted since July 10.

Wilson tweeted this today “We had our first int. squad today- got to pitch an inning. cutter was cutting too much, sinker was sinking too much! Need to tone it down.”

Sometimes the players don’t really tweet anything interesting; unless you like to know what they had for breakfast or what they’re watching on T.V., etc. Then there are times when they talk to one another via Twitter and you get to basically ease drop. Kind of strange, right? I suppose on some levels it is, but it’s not like they’re not aware that people are following them.

Some players actively ask for people to follow them on Twitter; like Michael Schlact of the Texas Rangers who had set a goal of trying to get 1,000 followers by opening day. He succeeded and as of this post has 1,010.

Some others I follow include Evan Longoria (although it seems like he basically a tweets ads for 2KSports), Nick Swisher, Matt Kemp, Chris Coghlan, and even Brad Zeigler of the Oakland A’s (I know that’s ironic). The players will often tell you about charity events they’re supporting or other appearances they might be making. The tweets really run the full spectrum.

You can send them messages through Twitter; however, it’s rare that they respond back. I’ve asked Zeigler about the foundation he’s created and he responded, but again that’s rare.

MLB (@mlb) has its own Twitter account and that’s the best place to learn which major (and minor) leaguers are posting on Twitter. You’ll find the #1 prospect in all of baseball Jason Heyward has an account among others.

In any case, here’s one more video for your viewing pleasure. This one is of Rafael Rodriguez, an Angels' reliever who saw some time with the major league club in 2009.

Got ear plugs?

It was nice while it lasted; real nice.

We had gone nearly nine years since the Yankees last won a World Series and during that time we could say with confidence that “you just can’t buy a championship” and that Alex Rodriguez was the biggest “post season choker of all time.” It was the best of times.

Last night, all of that changed and baseball as we know it may never be the same. The period between 2001 and 2009 will now be referred to as the good ol’ days and I couldn’t be more irritated.

I hate the Oakland A’s, but the last team I ever wanted to see win a World Series this year or any year was the New York Yankees. The A’s are the Angels’ divisional rivals, but the Yankees are basically public enemy #1.

Now, it’s as if all is lost. Pfffft. Gone.

The reign of terror is about to begin. If you thought Yankee fans were obnoxious before all of this; you ain’t seen nothing yet. They’ll be coming out of the wood work now, dawning crisp new Yankee caps and World Series t-shirts. They’ll have smug looks on their faces and their voices will be louder than ever. They will be in your stadium and mine. Nothing any of us can say or do will shut them up now. Instead of acting like they’ve been here (celebrating a championship) before, they will act like they never left.

We are all going to be made to suffer. It isn’t going to be pretty. Soon we’ll be reading about how the Yankees are on the verge of a dynasty. Congress will view the Yankees as an important business and divert tax payer money and stimulus payments to their payroll.

We’ll hear about how brilliant Brian Cashman is and he’ll be put in charge of the Federal Reserve. They will expound how deep down inside, everyone supposedly wants to be a Yankee – even Jonathan Papelbon. Nick Swisher will get his own sports talk show (but lose his job in RF next year to a healthy Xavier Nady).

The Supreme Court will rule that LeBron James is the property of the New York Knicks because he’s a Yankee fan. Billy Crystal will be inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame because he’s a Yankee fan. John Sterling will become the voice of every commercial in America.

Yankee fans will invade sports talk radio and internet message boards across the country where they will begin to propose lopsided trades netting them Albert Pujols, Joe Mauer, Roy Halladay and even Cliff Lee (who they’ll say isn’t good enough to crack their rotation, but will be a nice bull pen guy) and they will actually get their way.

Our computers will be spammed with pop up ads saying, “Yankees rule and your team sucks.” Microsoft will be come a Yankee asset and Warren Buffet will become a private investor in the club.

Matt Holliday will wear pinstripes next year and some how, some way, Major League Baseball will steal the all-star game away from the Angels and move it to New York. The Yankees won’t have to play any road games and they will actually receive revenue sharing from small market teams. Only Yankee games will be broadcasted to the public and Christmas will only come to New York.

We will pay for their victory, we will most definitely pay.

I guess there are worse things that could happen, right? Anyone? Please? Oh what the heck… congratulations New York, but know this; we’ll get you next year.

They're not so Athletic after all...

I hate the Oakland A's. I despise them. Yes, I even loath them.

Disclaimer: I realize that my hatred is not always rational and often times is based on my biased perception of how the A's do things and not necessarily how they actually do them. Whenever I rant about them, I might even exaggerate some things to make a point. Never-the-less, I am quite passionate about my utter disdain for them.

You see, I hate everything about the A's.

I hate their boring, stiff offense. They'd rather take a walk than hit their way on base (Go ahead, look at strike 3!). They don't appreciate the fundamentals of baseball and being aggressive on the bases is a sin to them (and no, Rajai Davis doesn't change things). They look down on the sacrifice bunt and their "hitters" refuse to expand their strike zone when they have runners in scoring position. Their mantra is "thou shalt not drive in a run with thy bat."

I believe their general manager is the most over-rated executive in baseball (maybe in all of the business world, for that matter) and it's appalling to me that Hollywood would even consider making a movie about Billy Beane. Word was Brad Pitt was going to play Beane. That's bad casting if you ask me. I think Jack Black would be a better choice.

I hate that the A's are touted as some sort of "small market" miracle, while a team like the Minnesota Twins has been largely ignored - even though they're more successful. The real miracle is that they haven't quite achieved Montreal Expo status just yet.

I hate their arm pit of a stadium. I hate that you could probably park the Queen Mary in foul territory there. Hmmm. No wonder they don't swing the bat much. They'd probably pop out in foul territory. I do find it oh-so-funny that the stadium was named after an anti-virus product (McAfee) - even though the place still looks like a germ infested play ground. They don't even have the good sense to get out of Oakland. I don't think they know the way to San Jose.

I hate A's fans. Well, maybe not all of them, but the ones that act like Moneyball Zealots/Billy Beane Wanna-Be's and think they're the be all to end all in fandom. They even have their own language... UZR anyone? Huh? Is that an assault rifle? I even hate the flag waving fans in their outfield seats (unless they're waving white ones). It's nothing personal. I haven't really met many in person, but I'm sure they kick their dogs and cheat on their taxes.

My hatred is deep rooted.

Disclaimer 2: Maybe my disdain has something to do with being at a game on July 4, 1971 when Vida Blue pitched a complete game to beat my Angels 2-1.

I hate that Carney Lansford began his career as an Angel and spent the majority of his productive years in Oakland. I hate that Joe Rudi had his best years in Oakland and then became an Angel. I hate that players like Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Nick Swisher end up being Yankees. This goes way back for me. Even guys like Reggie Jackson, Rickey Henderson and Jim "Catfish" Hunter became Yankees. Let's face it, the Oakland A's serve as a farm team that feeds their players to other major league teams. I've heard that the A's fans favorite pastime these days is making up teams of former A's and realizing how good they could have been.

I really hate it when ex-Angels become A's. Orlando Cabrera - you're dead to me. While I'm happy that former Angel Adam Kennedy is having a nice season, I despise the fact that he's doing so in an A's uniform. I'll cut AK a little slack because without him there wouldn't have been 2002. Speaking of their uniforms - I hate them too. Didn't the Robinson family wear those in "Lost in Space?"

I do love it when the Angels beat them and especially when they finish higher than them in the American League West - which has been a great trend lately. Soon to be five titles in six years.

Speaking of which...

I really love the idea that the Angels will most likely clinch the American League West this weekend while playing the A's. I love it so much that I chose this time to launch this blog (True Grich) now.

I hate the A's and you should too! After all, what's a rivalry without a little hatred?