The Angels
had an opportunity to bring their fan base a little bit of joy at the end of
the season when they headed to Texas for a four game series. As it turned out – had the Angels won a
single game during that road trip they would have been responsible for knocking
the Texas Rangers out of the play-off picture all-together.
Wishful
thinking.
Not only did
the Angels stink up the stadium – they provided their fans with a great deal of
frustration, anguish, anger, and outright disgust. Take the second game of the series as an
example.
In the
bottom of the second inning with the score tied and one out, C.J. Wilson gave
up a line drive base hit to Elvis Andrus.
With Alex Rios batting – Wilson uncorks a wild pitch that sends Andrus
all the way to third base. Rios then
walks. Wilson then hits the next batter
Adrian Beltre to load the bases. Up
steps A.J. Pierzynski, who also gets plunked by Wilson to walk in a run. Up steps Jeff Baker and Wilson uncorks
another wild pitch and Rios scores.
That inning
– was all too familiar in a season of pathetic play. You have to work really hard to have an
inning like that and watching it is like suffering a slow, anguishing death
(not that I’ve actually experienced such a thing). It’s enough to send a sane man into a fit of
rage (no, I didn’t do that). After an
experience like that – you feel like part of you just died and that your life
was shortened considerably because of what you just absorbed with your own
eyes.
I imagine
that a lot of televisions were turned off at that point or at the very least the
channel was changed. In some cases, I’m
guessing an object found the front of the screen at a high rate of speed.
Even though
the game wasn’t over and there were two more games on the schedule, I knew then
that the Angels would probably be swept and that the Rangers would live past
162 games somehow. All I wanted was a
little bit of joy in having the satisfaction of seeing my team knock the
Rangers out of the play-off race; but no, that just wasn’t going to
happen. Of course not.
Obviously,
it was too much to ask. Thankfully, the
Rays would take care of the Rangers’ post season dreams instead.
Throughout
the season, I wanted this team to respond to adversity with a purpose and
silence the critics. Instead, they
rolled over when the going got tough. There were times when they couldn’t get
out of their own way and they couldn’t give away runs and opportunities to the
other teams they faced fast enough. It
was worse than a bad movie because this was real and it unfolded day after day
before our eyes.
To a fan
that is emotionally invested in a team – it was one of the most frustrating and
agonizing seasons ever.
There was a
time when I wasn’t nearly as emotionally invested in the Angels. Even though I am a longtime fan, my “fandom”
didn’t really escalate until Cheryl and I became season ticket holders. Sometimes, I long for those days when being
fan didn’t necessarily mean that I would live and die each day with the team
and my mood wouldn’t be affected by how they played.
Ok, maybe I’m
not that bad – but there are days when it all takes its toll.
So the
season is over and it’s time to dust ourselves off and get back to waiting for
the spring and the optimism that it brings.
I don’t know
how to fix this team. Sure, I have some
ideas – but what does it matter? As a
fan, I have to wait and watch to see what is going to happen.
Here’s what
I do know. The Angels need more players
like Kole Calhoun. There’s something
about a guy who actually looks like he loves playing the game and can actually
play it pretty well that’s compelling. His
kind of enthusiasm has to be contagious in the club house. He’s already become one of Cheryl’s favorites
and who can blame her?
This guy
plays hard – smiles a lot and shows no fear.
I haven’t noticed any deer-in-the-headlights moments from him unlike oh…
I don’t’ know… perhaps, Howie Kendrick for example.
I know a lot
of baseball people and even fans will say that chemistry and all the
intangibles aren’t real – but I don’t buy it.
I love players who have a chip on their shoulder and bring a certain
intensity to the game. I don’t think you
can have a whole team of individuals like this – but having some who can have
an impact in the clubhouse has to help.
Look at what
happened in Boston. That organization
set out to change the culture in the clubhouse and it worked. They brought in high character guys like
Jonny Gomes and Shane Victorino who helped change the mindset on that
team. In the process they traded away
guys who look great on paper - but not
so good on the field. Seemingly
overnight, the Red Sox were transformed into a team that brought a bull-dog-like mentality into every
game.
This make
over extended to their pitching as well.
You know, there’s a fine line between being intense and being a jerk and
they got rid of the jerk in Josh Beckett and in the process they freed up John
Lackey to be the John Lackey. I have my
issues with the things Lackey said about the Angels fan base on his way out of
town, but I have to say, part of me misses the guy who loves to compete and it’s
clear to me that guy is back.
I don’t like
the Red Sox, but I certainly respect what they did in the last year to bring
that franchise back to relevance.
When I look
at the Angels – I see a team without a soul and with no identity. That all died the day they let Torii Hunter
go to Detroit. When you think of the
Angels now – you think of the stoic Mike Scioscia, the angry Arte Moreno and
two highly paid and underachieving players in Albert Pujols and Josh
Hamilton. You almost forget that this is
a team that has Mike Trout who is arguably the best player in the game.
Fans are so
focused on the bad stuff that some of them miss the opportunity to enjoy Trout
on a regular basis. I’m not
kidding. There is so much that is wrong
and frustrating about the team – that not even Mike Trout is enough to draw
them in.
That’s
sad. We’re talking about a once-in-a
–generation type of player who is playing historic baseball. He’s doing things that have never been done
and he’s doing it as player who just turned 22 in August. Some are so disgusted with the team that they
spend more time speculating that Trout will leave when he becomes a free agent
rather than enjoying him in the here and now.
What does
that tell you?
This off
season is one of the most important in the history of the Angels
franchise. Whatever gains they made
during the years following the 2002 World Series is dissipating. A great many season ticket holders aren’t
going to renew. They’re fed up. They’re moving on. I imagine that if and when the team gets back
to being relevant, they’ll be back – but they’re done for now.
The team
needs a make-over – not necessarily a total redesign, but a make-over. They need Arte Moreno to step up and publicly
hold himself accountable. He needs to
face the music – and by that I mean the local media. He needs to take the shots and he needs to
respond by showing true leadership.
Sports fans love fearlessness in their athletes and the same trait
should be demonstrated in the front office and most certainly in the ownership.
We don’t
want to see an owner who takes punitive action by moving the media down in the
right field corner – we want an owner who’s not afraid to stand toe to toe and
fight for his team.
I’m
encouraged by the recent news of a united front between Mike Scioscia and Jerry
Dipoto. I believe the news that they’re
now working together as a team to fix it all.
This had to happen and I’m hopeful in the outcome.
Sports is
supposed to be fun and baseball is supposed to be America’s pastime. It’s time to put the fun back in being an
Angels fan and ownership needs to take the responsibility of making that
happen. The last thing anyone wants is
for their favorite baseball team to be a source of angst when it should be a
source of joy.
Right now –
there is very little; if any actual joy.
This can change. It’s going to
take hard work and patience from the fan base, but it’s possible. After all, its baseball and we know anything
is possible in baseball.
I know this post is overdue. My apologies. I won't make any promises about what is to come - but there will definitely be more to come. Thanks for reading.
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