Happy days are here again

Two days ago it seemed like the Angels would never, ever win a game against Boston again. Angel fans far and wide were in a state of deep depression; despair was everywhere. Even though they days were getting longer with summer approaching, they seemed darker than ever.

And then it happened.

Despite the gremlins (Right, Bill Plunkett?) the Angels managed to pull out an improbable 5-3 victory in a 13 inning roller coaster that went nearly eight hours (including a 2.5 hour rain delay). Had they lost that game, I shudder to think of what Angel fans might have done next. Yes, it was that bad.

And then today… just a few hours later – the Angels would put on their hitting shoes and knock the living daylights out of John Lackey on their way to an 11-0 win. It was a beautiful thing.

And this; yes, THIS is why I love baseball. Just when you think you have it all figured out; just when you think all hope is lost – a game is played, player compete and the outcome that once seemed so predictable – takes an unexpected, almost unfathomable turn and surprises you. This game can turn a dark day into a happy one, just like that.

The Angels had 18 hits today. Lackey gave up ten of them and eight of the eleven earned runs. His ERA rose to 7.16 and just like that, the world seems like a better place. Food tastes a little bit better, the traffic seems a little bit lighter and peace on earth is sure to follow.

Oh the joys of being a baseball fan.

Embrace this one folks. The two wins were therapeutic. They virtually wiped away all the disappointment and frustration of the last two years and breathed hope into our lungs. And did I mention that John Lackey got his butt whipped?

This team has shown us something this season; its resolve. This is the kind of thing that builds champions. No matter how down the fans may have sunk, it’s apparent, the players kept at it and never gave up. Make no mistake about it – this was big. It was huge. It was important and perhaps when all is said and done, we will look back at the past two days as the turning point in 2011.

I can't wait for the next game and the next one after that. I can’t wait for more of this year's story to unfold before my eyes.

The 50 Greatest Angels (31-40)

Today’s list in the Orange County Register (OCR) of the greatest Angels (31-40) is very revealing. As I said yesterday, my list isn’t perfect and today’s list reveals some holes in my selections.

From the Register: Fred Lynn (40), Jered Weaver (39), Clyde Wright (38), Bryan Harvey (37), Scot Shields (36), Bob Boone (35), Bobby Knoop (34), Jim Abbott (33), Bengie Molina (32), and Torii Hunter (31).

You might be asking yourself how in the world did James leave Torii Hunter off his list? That’s a good question. How did I? When I was developing my list a couple months back, I had a reason for leaving him off the list; however, I can’t remember why now for the life of me. This is easily the biggest regret I have with my 50 greatest.

Hunter is easily my favorite current baseball player on the planet. It’s not even close. I goofed. What else can I say? At least I wasn’t alone. The OC Register’s Jeff Miller also left Hunter off my list. Then again, I’m not a fan of Miller’s at all, and being of the same mind set in this case is more than a little disturbing to me. Just saying.

Two others who didn’t make my list include Bryan Harvey and Fred Lynn. Both are probably deserving.

Enough about me… let me focus on the “blunders” of others!

Scot Shields was recognized as the set up man of the decade (2000-2009) and yet the OC Register’s Earl Bloom, Bill Plunkett and Mark Whicker left him off their list. So did AngelsWin’s Chuck Richter and Ellen Bell. Shame on all of you!

Then again, I should talk right? Hey, well it’s not about me. Let’s continue….

Keith Sharon of the OC Register left Jim Abbott off his list. Wow. Come on Keith, Jim Abbott? I’m trying to imagine Keith telling Jeff Miller (who ranked Abbott 11th) why he left Abbott off his list. I think we should be launching a full scale investigation into this (anything that will take the focus off my leaving Hunter off my list). By the way he’s #21 on my list.

Then there’s the case of Bengie Molina. Keith and Sam Miller (also of the OC Register) left Molina off their lists. Molina is one of my all-time favorites (yes, I have many) and I can’t imagine leaving him off this list. He might be the greatest catcher in Angels’ history (just a tick ahead of Bob Boone). The OCR’s Dan Woike ranked him 18th.

Speaking of Boone; Bloom and the OCR’s Dan Woike managed to leave him off their lists.

Highest ranked player on the list by our panelists? Jered Weaver was ranked 13th by Sam Miller. I’m betting Miller has a sabermetrics argument that will knock our socks off to justify this high ranking. Perhaps he should share it with Jenelyn Russo, Bill Plunkett and Jeff Miller all of whom left him off their lists. Go get ‘em Sam!

Kudos to Tim Mead and Randy Youngman who managed to have all of today’s players on their lists.

I’m afraid one of my 50 isn’t going to make the cut and that would be Joe Saunders. I admit he was a sentimental choice on my part (ranked him #49). If he’s not on the list by now, I doubt he’ll be on it at all. I am curious about Rudy May, who I ranked 47th. He has yet to appear and I would be surprised if he cracked the top 30. May is 9th all time in career strike outs by an Angels pitcher, among the top ten in complete games, and 7th in shut outs. It will be a shame if he’s not on the list.

Until tomorrow…

Blogging ain't easy... pass the turkey

Thanksgiving will be here in just a few days and I can’t help, but think about Torii Hunter whenever this holiday rolls around now. That’s because on Thanksgiving morning 2007, my wife Cheryl woke me up early in the morning to tell me that the Angels had signed Hunter to a five-year deal. I was a little groggy and didn’t believe her. I thought to myself that she must of heard wrong and the Dodgers probably signed Hunter. After all, the Angels had four more years of Gary Matthews, Jr. (GMJ) ahead of itself. I even told her as much (something she reminds me about from time to time).

I was beside myself when I finally confirmed the news. I couldn’t believe my favorite player in all of baseball was coming to my favorite team. It was a joyous day and the turkey even tasted extra-good that day, I’m sure.

Well, here we are three years later and I’m hoping Cheryl wakes me up Thursday morning to tell me some more unbelievable news. If that news happens to be about Carl Crawford; all the better.

It’s that time of the year and it always makes me a bit antsy. I wake up every day wondering if this is the day the Angels do something great.

Take today for example. It’s November 22 and this is somewhat of a significant day in Angels history. It’s actually the three year anniversary of the Torii Hunter signing I mentioned above. Talk about something to be thankful for!

It also happens to be the four year anniversary of the GMJ signing. Now that’s a real turkey. Somebody pass me some pie, I need to eat my way out of that memory.

Even though the days are technically shorter, they’re long days never-the-less - as we wait to see what’s going to happen next. It’s still very early in the off season and it may be a long while before anything significant happens. For some perspective, check out Sam Miller’s piece from November 17, 2010 when he outlined the dates that Arte has spent his money. Sam gives us a detailed timeline of all the significant moves and when they happened under Arte’s watch.

By the way, if Arte happens to spend some of his money on Adrian Beltre, I’d be pretty happy about that. I know, I know, I’ve already talked about this a couple times. I only bring it up again because I’d like to point you in the direction of Halos Heaven’s Matt Welch who does an excellent job of separating some of the facts from fiction in his “Adrian Beltre’s Walk Seasons, and Other Illusions.”

Speaking of illusions, I posted something last week about how the A’s seemed to be trying to corner the market on third basemen. Well, turns out their offer to Adrian Beltre was little more than a PR move according to reports on mlbtraderumors.com

Really? That’s the kind of PR the A’s do? I guess it falls in line with Money Ball on some level; I guess they’re making news without spending any real money. Whatever. I just hate the A’s.

Since it’s such a slow news day, err week… err month, I thought I’d spend a little time talking about the blogosphere.

I’d like to give a shout out to some Angel blogs out there. Blogging on a consistent basis is hard work. It takes a lot of time and dedication to try and keep a blog relevant and up to date. Here are some great bloggers who are doing exactly that:

Angels Nation broke in around April of 2010 and seem to be going strong.

AngelsWin has been around a while and is one of the gold standards in blogging. They’re much more than a blog, they’re more like a one-stop-shop for everything Angels. They have organized get-togethers, a message board, orginal content and much more.

L.A. Angels Insider is the handy work of Eric Denton. His site is striving to be much more than a blog as well. You can find great podcast interviews and other “insider” information on his site regularly. Eric has also told me that he’s developing other features on his site that are sure to be of value to Angel fans.

Monkey with a Halo is a blogging warrior. Garrett Wilson posts a lot of stuff on a regular basis. Nothing gets past this guy. He is currently taking a short break from blogging, but his site is always a great place to visit. He’s never lacking for an opinion on all things Angels and that's a good thing.

Halos Heaven is another of the gold standards in blogging. It is also much more than a blog with an absolutely huge following. Be sure to check them out for all the latest discussions, original content, news and much more.

The Angels Blog on the O.C. Register web site is easily one of my favorite places to visit on a regular basis. Sam Miller, Dan Woike, Bill Plunkett, Keith Sharon and the rest of the staff give you a little bit of everything. Fun videos, sabermetrics, news, interviews, photos, you name it – these guys are on it.

The Angels, in order is a very special blog. If you love baseball cards and the Angels than this blog is a little slice of heaven. The author goal is have a signature of every player who has ever been with the Angels. He’s posting his collection one player at a time starting with the first to debut as an Angel in 1961.

Last, but not least is a brand new entry into the blogosphere: This is a very simple game is penned by blithescribe who regularly comments on my posts here. Blithescribe provides some truly unique perspectives on the game of baseball and the Angels (of course). It’s a great blog and I hope this one sticks around.

There are a great many Angel blogs on the internet, the ones I’ve highlighted here seem to be the most consistent. In other words, they don’t disappear for months at a time. They’re also very good and each offers something unique for every Angel fan.

I have a more complete list on the right side of this blog, but again – consistency isn’t a strong point of all of them. Again, blogging ain’t easy. Just saying.

My hope is that we will continue to see Angel bloggers sprouting up all over the place because the more people we have talking about the Angels the better.