Head shakes and face palms

Baseball is a funny game. The very moment you think you have some it figured out; it baffles you again and again. The only thing we know for sure is that on any given day, anything can happen. The routine can become an adventure, the spectacular can look routine and when all is said and done you wind up shaking your head in amazement or with your face planted in the palm of your hands in total frustration.

As baseball fans all we can do is enjoy the ride, but sometimes that’s easier said than done.

Take the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. For the life of me, I can’t figure this team out. Doubt anyone else can either.

This is a team that continues to find ways to beat themselves; be it with poor defense, poor base running, poor plate discipline, poor situational hitting… you name it. It’s just hard to watch. But "watch" is exactly what we do and after a while - one starts to form some opinions...

I’m writing this blog on the fly. In other words, I’m basically writing whatever comes into my head. This seems like the best route to go today because quite frankly, I haven’t found the inspiration to write about anything specific lately and thus the absence of posts in recent days.

So what’s on my mind?

Let me start with Mark Trumbo. Are you kidding me? Most Angel fans thought he was good, but I doubt any of us really knew he was going to be this good. He’s clearly the most valuable player on the team to date and he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.

Mark Trumbo makes me smile. In fact, he might even make me a little giddy from time to time. When I think back to the comments that were made by a great many baseball analysts as to why he wasn’t as good as Eric Hosmer of the Royals and how his plate discipline was going to limit his production, etc., etc. I just smile. You might even catch me laughing out loud once in a while.

Like I said earlier – baseball is a funny game and despite the best efforts of those who like to do projections and such – sometimes, stuff just happens that defies expectations. Thank God for that.

And then there’s Mike Trout. Once again… are you kidding me? Everyone who pays any attention what-so-ever to baseball knew he was going to be good. I mean the whole baseball world kept telling us as much – but even still, here’s a 20 year old doing things that just aren’t supposed to be possible when you’re that young.

But you know what I like best about Trout? His smile. He flashes it a lot. He’s having the time of his life (as he should be) and winning over fans by the boat load. It’s refreshing to watch a young player play the game hard, without fear and have fun doing it. His production is tremendous and I have to pinch myself every time I think about being able to watch him for the next several years because if this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up.

Now, let me tell you something that I really, really love about both Trout and Trumbo. I absolutely love the fact that they play the game at full speed all the time. When they hit a ball on the ground, they bust their rear ends down to first base – every time. They never take a play off and if there’s anything that a fan appreciates more than anything – its maximum effort all the time.

You know who doesn’t do that?

I know you know who doesn’t, but I’ll say his name just the same – Albert Pujols.

I hate that. I hated the fact that I had to even write that. He’s not alone in that category, but he certainly stands out in my mind.

I know he’s older than Trout and Trumbo. If I wanted to, I could probably come up with all kinds of excuses why it’s okay that he doesn’t hustle down the line every time he hits the ball, but I won’t. It bugs me and it bugs my wife Cheryl too who is quick to point it out every time it happens.

It bugs me because I see guys like Josh Hamilton play every moment like it might be his last. It bugs me because no one is willing to call him on it. It bugs me just because this is the kind of thing that annoys me to no end.

There, I said it.

Like I said earlier – I’m just writing about whatever comes to my head and that includes stuff that I’ve been holding on to all season.

In fact, I picked up something early on that bugged me about Albert. It was the third game of the season against the Royals. It was the bottom of the first and Howie Kendrick was on second base. Albert was up to bat and Jonathan Sanchez uncorked a wild pitch. As the catcher was scrambling for the ball and Kendrick was making his way to third base – Albert had his head down, scratching the dirt with his feet to prepare for the next pitch.

In other words – he was NOT giving any direction to the base runner; instead he was focused on his at bat and nothing else. It seemed odd to me; even out of character.

It was the first moment when I found something that bugged me about Albert. Am I nitpicking? Probably. Hey, it’s what a fan does when he sits down to try and find something to write about for his blog.

Maybe I’m making a bigger deal out of this than I should. Heck, I probably won’t bring it up again – but today is one of those days to just let some stuff fly.

Now with all that being said – let me tell you something else that I noticed about Albert and it happened last night.

Like I said earlier – when you think you have something or someone figured out – something happens that makes you rethink everything.

In any case – in the bottom of the 9th after Albert had doubled and tagged up and run to third on a fly ball (showing good hustle) he stood at the base and looked to be cheering Kendrys Morales on who was up to bat.

It was a small thing – but I loved it. It was the first time that I noticed Albert looking like he really wanted to win a game.

I’m not saying he doesn’t want to win every game – I’m just saying it was the first time I personally noticed Albert acting like he really cared.

Please don’t take any of this the wrong way. I’m absolutely thrilled to have Albert on the Angels and I am looking forward to watching him play for the next ten years. I really and truly am excited about it.

Let’s just say that I’m still trying to understand him as best as any fan can. Maybe I never will understand him completely, but it won’t be for a lack of trying.

If you have spent any time on this blog at all – you know that this is what I’m all about. I’m not about statistical analysis (although I will dabble in that once in a while) and I’m not about any kind of in-depth player evaluation or analysis, etc. I’m about the fan experience and that’s what makes True Grich the blog that it is – for better or worse.

I absolutely love Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout. I am still trying to love Albert Pujols. I believe in time I will feel the same way adoring Cardinal fans felt about him for all of the years he was in St. Louis. I’m still looking for reasons to embrace him. Time will tell.

Please note that I haven’t been totally honest here. I didn’t write down everything that came to my mind. That would have involved a long Erick Aybar rant. I’ll spare you from that for now. Just saying.