Ever notice that the baseball season just rolls along with
or without you? I’ve been more than busy
lately and haven’t had time to put any thoughts on paper for a while. Never-the-less, the baseball season is moving
along. Shocking, right?
So, call this my better-late-than-never, just-past-the-half-way-point-of-the-season
– check-in post.
Okay, so are you pinching yourself every time you watch Mike
Trout play a baseball game (my arm is black and blue)? Can you believe that this amazing young man
is on our favorite team? I mean – there aren’t
enough superlatives to describe how great he is, let alone how much fun he is
to watch. And let’s really put the
emphasis on “fun.”
If you haven’t been to a game yet to watch Trout – you owe
it to yourself to make it to the stadium.
In fact, load up the car with kids, parents, grand-parents, whoever
because Mike Trout is a once-in-a-generation type of player. Be sure to warn them all that when Trout does
something spectacular –you might give them a shove… like a - did –you-see-that?
– kind of a shove. It could get
dangerous.
Believe the hype – better yet, go see what all the hoopla is
all about for yourself.
I’m not kidding folks.
Every time he steps on the field he’s liable to do something absolutely
spectacular, be it in the batter’s box, on the base paths or in the
outfield. Trout is so good he could
leave Chris Berman speechless.
If there’s a player in baseball who is more fun to watch
than Mike Trout, I sure would like to see him.
And then there’s Mark Trumbo… and before I get to singing his
praises, I have a bone to pick with ESPN’s Keith Law.
Keith Law hates Mark Trumbo.
I don’t know how else to say it, but he just does. At least that’s the impression I get every
time I read something Law has to say about Trumbo.
Take this bit from his July 2, 2012 post on ESPN about how
Trumbo didn’t deserve to be on the All-Star team. “If you're obsessed with current-season
performance, Austin Jackson certainly belongs on the team over Mark Trumbo, a
disaster with the glove whose early-season walk-rate spike has disappeared.”
Come on Law – lighten up.
I really think you take yourself a little too seriously. Mark Trumbo is an absolute blast to
watch. He hits absolutely mammoth
homeruns, plays the game hard (ever watch him run down the line?) and is the
kind of player who absolutely should be in an All-Star game. Besides Law – the game is for us fans – not people
like you who don’t know how to have a good time or appreciate the game for its
true beauty. Just saying.
Law loves to accentuate the negatives. Granted, he knows more about baseball and
how to break down players better than I ever will – but sometimes he goes a
little too far with his “campaign to be right.”
I know I should care less about what Keith Law has to say –
but there’s something about his pompous attitude that rubs me the wrong
way. I generally respect him as a talent
evaluator and usually enjoy reading his work (especially when he focuses on a
player’s mechanics), but sometimes he’s just a little twerpy to me. Sorry.
As right as he’s been about Mike Trout – and he’s been dead
on; he’s been just as wrong about Mark Trumbo – but he’ll never admit it.
Trumbo is one of the bright spots in the game and one of the
young stars of the game who deserves more praise and less bashing by the likes
of Keith Law in my opinion. Mark Trumbo
makes me smile so much my face hurts. He’s
given me a lot of moments of unbridled joy this season than Austin Jackson will
give anyone in his whole career.
Anyway… enough with Keith Law.
Okay – so how about Mark Trumbo Angels fans? We all knew he was going to be good – but hasn’t
he exceeded all of our expectations? Come
on – when he’s up to bat – do you leave your seat at the stadium? Do you get off the couch at home? Of course you don’t.
By the way – when Austin Jackson comes up to bat… well, you
know. I mean - let’s say nature comes
calling and Jackson is up to bat…. given my options – I’m heading to the
john. When Trumbo is up, I’m holding it
for as long as it takes.
Trumbo has that Reggie Jackson (no relation to Austin by the
way) quality about him. You know that if
he gets a hold of one – it quite possibly is going to be of the jaw-dropping
variety. The show he put on at the
Homerun Derby was must-see TV. He’s
simply impressive.
So… here we are 89 games into the season and the Angels are
trailing the Texas Rangers by 5 games. Most
of the experts talk about the Angels in Wild-card terms, but I’m not giving up
hope on a Western Division title.
The fact that so many analysts and the like are penciling
the Rangers in as division champs actually makes me feel pretty good. Face it – more often than not, these folks
are just wrong.
I’m not discounting how good Texas is. I mean I do consider them to be the second
best team in the American League. I just
like the Angels’ pitching and the offense has shown signs of being really good
when it has to be. I never feel like the
team is out of a ball game and I haven’t had that feeling in a while.
Look these two teams are going to square off 13 more times
between now and the end of the season. A
lot can happen just in those 13 games alone.
I can’t wait to watch every one of those games.
Let’s just say I like the Angels chances. I didn’t like them much last year or the year
before, but this year has a different feel to it. Maybe it’s the vibe I’m getting from my
rose-colored glasses. Maybe it’s the
euphoria of watching a little more than half a season of Trumbo and Trout. Whatever it is – doesn’t really matter.
The last two post-seasons have been a miserable experience
for Angel fans forced to watch other teams or not watch at all.
I believe this year can be special (how that’s for deep
analysis?). Deep down – you do too, don’t
you? The journey continues folks and
every game is a new adventure. It’s time
to get to the ball park and let yourself love baseball like never before.
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