Things that make you go hmmm

I’ll be honest with you. I really thought Vladimir Guerrero was done. Nothing I had seen in the last two years made me believe he would ever be the kind of player he once was. You know the kind of guy who could single handedly demolish an opposing team. The kind of guy who makes you go “wow” when he connects squarely with a pitch.

Boy was I wrong. In fact, I couldn’t have been more wrong. More importantly – the Angels front office guessed wrong too. Branch Rickey, the late legendary baseball executive once said, “It’s better to trade a guy a year too early than a year too late.” Mind you he said that before there was this thing called free-agency, but I’m guessing he’d have applied that theory to free agents as well.

Rickey was widely considered to be an innovator in his day. He was the man who signed Jackie Robinson and drafted Roberto Clemente. He’s credited as being the man who developed the frame work for the minor league system and is considered one of the greatest baseball executives in the history of baseball. One should take what he has to say pretty seriously.

That being said, the Angels clearly let Vlad walk at least a year too early and even if Rickey’s advice is correct, it doesn't make me feel any better the morning after Vlady basically demolished the Angels by himself.

Imagine how Tony Reagins feels. I wonder if he got any sleep last night.

You know what's worse? Vlad’s performance is magnified by the struggles of Hideki Matsui. While one guy is struggling to make contact the other is taking batting practice. It’s only natural for fans to compare the two and grimace. Some might even feel a little sick today. I’m serious. Ever had something you really valued stolen or lost? Remember that sick feeling you had? It’s like that for a lot of Angel fans today.

You know it was easy to smile and wish Vlad well when he was creating havoc against other teams, but when he started doing it to the Angels it wasn’t fun any more. It hurt. I guess we now know a little bit about how Ranger fans felt for all those years Vlad was launching rockets against their pitching staff. No wonder they wanted to sign him.

Last night's game was the kind of night nightmares are made of. Vlad hit a grand slam and a solo homerun. He had four hits and drove in five of the Rangers’ six runs. He owned the Angels last night and that trade mark smile of his was flashing all night long.

It was so bad, I swear I could see the pitchers in the Angels bull putting on helmets and starting to dig fox holes. No one beyond the outfield fence was safe.

Imagine being a 12 year old kid, who grew up watching Vlad do this for the Angels and then being at the game last night to witness a former Angel coming back to haunt his old team. It’s the kind of thing that can make a grown man cry, let alone a 12 year old.

I had intended to write about Tuesday night’s game before this post, but what’s the point? I’m too shell shocked to even remember much about Tuesday night (but I’ll try in a bit).

I doubt anyone saw this coming. There’s no way the “experts” saw it – especially the ones who picked Seattle to win the AL West. Even the folks who do projections didn’t see it coming either.

Bill James gave the most optimistic projection of 24 homeruns and an .877 OPS. Vlad is likely to blow that out of the water by season's end. He already has 18 bombs and an OPS of .962. I can't even believe that I'm typing those numbers. Are you kidding me? Vlad's comeback is like Rocky Balboa getting up off the canvas to beat the daylights out of his opponent. It's as unreal as Robert Redford in "The Natural." Did anyone check Vlad's bat? Was "Wonder Boy" etched into the wood?

On one hand I’m happy for Vlad. I’m glad he found the motivation within himself to come back with such vengeance. On the other hand, I have to wonder – where was this the last two years and where in the world was this kind of offense in the post-season? And did he have to do this against the Angels? Good grief.

Well it’s time to quote another great baseball man by saying it’s “time to turn the page.” I’m sure that’s what Mike Scioscia is telling himself and his team today. Time to move on.

A few quick notes about Tuesday night (a happier time).

Cheryl’s cousin Larry and his wife Cathy were out for a visit from back east and we invited them to an Angel game. Now, they happen to be huge Red Sox fans. I know, I know… I was horrified when I learned this. Okay, maybe not so much horrified as I was I was shocked and mystified. How did I not know this after years of being married to Cheryl? I'm kidding of course… Larry and Cathy are great baseball fans and I can forgive them for their baseball team preference; especially since the Angels finally got the Red Sox post-season monkey off their backs last year.

On our way into the stadium Cheryl and I introduced ourselves (along with Larry and Cathy) to Jeff Biggs and Jason Brennan. I have to tell you Biggsy looks much younger in person (I had only seen a picture of him on the AM 830 web site) and both gentlemen were kind to say they read this blog. We had been meaning to say hello previously but we hadn’t gotten to the stadium early enough until Tuesday night.

These two do a great job of giving Angel fans an outlet to talk about Angels baseball. Keep up the great work guys!

In any case – we had a great time showing Larry and Cathy around the park and the game itself proved to be outstanding. We even enjoyed the video tribute to Vlad – although Larry didn’t really appreciate the highlight of Vlad driving in the winning run against the Red Sox in the deciding game of the 2009 ALDS as much as Cheryl and me.

One funny (then again maybe not so funny) note – we were listening to Terry Smith on the radio during the game like always when Smith noted how Kinsler had only hit two homeruns this year after knocking 31 last year. You know what’s coming next don’t you? Bam! As soon as Smith uttered those words Kinsler went yard. I’m telling you it’s uncanny how often this kind of thing happens. I cringe every time I hear this kind of statement on the radio and I’m not even superstitious.

Okay, so the rubber game of the three game series is tonight and Jered Weaver takes the mound. I hope Weaver sends Vlady a friendly little message in the way of an inside heater the first time he faces him. Vlady is looking a little too comfortable up at the plate.

This is a big game (I don’t care what Scioscia might say) and I want the Angels to remind Texas whose the boss (And I’m not talking about Tony Danza either) tonight.

Now, let’s do this!

Baseball and Apple Pie

There’s a little family owned restaurant in Long Beach that my wife Cheryl and I have been going to for many years called Jongewaard’s Bake n Broil. They were established in 1965 and have been serving up delicious “home cooked” meals ever since.

So, why am I writing about a restaurant in a baseball blog? It’s kind of a long story, so bear with me.

The restaurant was founded by the Jongewaard family and Roger Jongewaard is a noted baseball scout. Roger was honored this evening by the Professional Baseball Scout’s Foundation (PBSF) at their 7th annual “In the Spirit of the Game” Dinner/Auction Event. Roger, along with Larry Barton, Jr., Marty Keough, Gary Nickels, Charlie Silvera, and George Zuraw received the “Legends in Scouting Award” – which is the PBSF’s equivalent of the Hall of Fame.

Roger has worked in major league baseball or more than forty years. In 2005 he was hired by the Florida Marlins as a professional scout. He spent nearly 20 years with the Seattle Mariners holding a variety of positions including Vice President of Scouting and Player Development from 1989-2003.

So, you might be wondering how does a Scout get into the PBSF’s version of the Hall of Fame.

Well, consider this… In 1987, Roger was responsible for convincing the then owner of the Mariners; George Argyros, to draft Ken Griffey, Jr. – when Argyros really wanted to sign a younger pitcher from Cal-State Fullerton named Mike Harkey. Roger is also responsible for the Mariners signing Alex Rodriguez in 1993 – when some thought Darren Dreifort should have been the first overall pick.

Other players signed by Roger and/or by the staff he oversaw in Seattle include Tino Martinez, Jason Varitek, Jose Cruz Jr., and Gil Meche. Jongewaard also signed current Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane when he was a scout for the New York Mets, along with another player of note; Darryl Strawberry.

Roger is no stranger to awards. He’s received many honors, including being the recipient of the Baseball America Roland Hemond Award for Lifetime Achievement in Baseball in 2004. He was also honored in 1999 by the Topps Company for his Distinguished Service to Baseball; and was inducted into the R.B.I. Hall of Fame’s Los Angeles chapter in 1996.

To top it all off, he has a great restaurant to boot.

Over the years, Cheryl and I have become regulars at Bake n Broil and have gotten to know Roger’s son-in-law Andy Child, who is married to Roger’s daughter Kristin and helps manage the restaurant. Andy is a Dodger fan and despite our interests in different teams we have enjoyed getting to know each other (Andy even comes to Angels Stadium from time to time). Anyway, Andy had mentioned to me that his father-in-law was a baseball scout; something I thought was pretty cool, even though I never gave it a lot of thought.

Well, a couple years back I was reading the book “Money Ball” (yes, even though I hate the A’s) and came across Roger’s name. He was prominently mentioned as the scout who signed Beane out of high school. All of a sudden it hit me; that this Roger Jongewaard was Andy’s father-in-law. I mean how many scouts named Jongewaard could there be? Okay, I may have been slow on the uptake, but it eventually registered with me.

When I read about some of Roger’s accomplishments, I was very impressed. Andy had never let on what a “big deal” his father-in-law was. When I mentioned to Andy that I had read about Roger in “Money Ball” – Andy said, “Yeah, that’s him.”

Earlier this year Andy told me that Roger was being inducted in the PBSF’s version of the Hall of Fame and when Cheryl and I (along with her parents) were in the restaurant this evening, Andy mentioned that Roger would be receiving his award this evening.

When I got home this evening I couldn’t wait to go online and read about the PBSF. I also did a little research on Roger as well; thus this blog entry.

By the way, if you love home cooked styled meals at a very reasonable price (who doesn’t?) and/or great breakfasts, incredible desserts (like lemon lush pie or German chocolate cake); you owe it to yourself to visit Bake n Broil. They’re located at the corner of 37th and Atlantic in Long Beach. It’s one of our favorites and we go there at least a couple times a week.

How good are the desserts? Good enough for major leaguer Ian Kennedy’s (formerly of the Yankees, now of the Diamondbacks), who’s wedding cake came from the restaurant. You could say Bake n Broil is the home for baseball and apple pie.

Roger and his wife Carol eat there on occasion as well and I was told by Andy they stopped by the restaurant this evening before heading up to Los Angeles for the big night.

Hopefully, I’ll have a chance to write more about Roger Jongewaard in future posts. In the mean time, I’d like to wish Roger big congratulations for the prestigious honor he received tonight and to thank him for his wonderful restaurant.