Not your everyday post about Mike Trout

You already know this, but Mike Trout is arguably the best all-around baseball player on the planet.  Ok, make that- universe.  That being said, he’s not Superman. 

Vladimir Guerrero frequently wore a Superman t-shirt under his jersey and in 2004 when he carried the Angels to the post-season he was indeed Superman.  He was a one-man wrecking crew that destroyed opposing pitching and came up with clutch hit after clutch hit in the final month of the season.  It is something Angels fans still talk about today.

Tuesday night – Mike Trout came up in the bottom of the 8^th inning with two men on and two outs with an opportunity to put the Angels on top in a key game that had the potential of putting the Angels a half game back of the Minnesota Twins who currently hold the second spot in the wild-card play-off chase. 

He hit the ball hard (110 mph, hard) and for a brief moment, we all thought he delivered.  He hit the ball hard all right - right to the second baseman who threw him out at first.

The stage was set for heroics.  He was the one player you most wanted to see in that situation.  It was disappointing.  Thus are the expectations we have on Trout.  What made it worse?  The following inning Justin Upton led off with a monster homerun.  If only…

Sept. 21 Update: Last night, with the Angels trailing by a run - Trout came to bat in the bottom of the 9th, with no one on base and two outs. He struck out to end the game and the Angels failed again to gain ground on Minnesota who had lost earlier in the day.

Mike Trout has deserved every single accolade he has received to date.  In fact, he probably deserves more than he’s received.  In some ways, he vastly under-rated and under-appreciated.  He is truly an amazing; dare I say, once-in-a-lifetime player. What he has done statistically, especially from a sabermetric view is astounding.  The world, err – universe, has never seen someone as truly remarkable as Mike Trout. Ever. 

Years from now – people will talk about Mike Trout’s statistics.  They’ll talk about his remarkable career from a sabermetric point of view.

The question is – will they remember his heroics?  Will there actually be heroics to remember?  Will there be moments; unforgettable moments, when he delivered the big hit, when the stage was the biggest and lights were the brightest?  Will there be memories of him lifting the team up in the hunt for a play-off berth or delivering a monumental moment in the post-season?

I hope so. 

Here’s the thing – the world is full of athletes who have amazing statistics, but aren’t necessarily memorable.  Think Dan Marino.  Think Charles Barkley. 

Fair?

I know, I know… we’ve put expectations on Mike Trout that no mere mortal could possibly live up to.  Then again, he has done super-human things at times.  His physical tools are Marvel-comic like.  He brings baseballs back from places that baseball never come back from.  He beats out grounders that defy physics.  He crushes baseballs the way a robot would crush them.

And yet…

He’s not Superman.  There are some players who you know in your heart and feel in your bones are going to deliver when everything is on the line.  Mike Trout hasn’t become that guy that opposing fans fear when he comes to the plate in a key situation.  He’s not David Ortiz or Reggie Jackson.  He’s not even Vlad Guerrero.

The potential for him to be that guy is there, but it hasn’t shown up on the field just yet. He doesn't have that reputation yet.

Now is the time.  There aren’t many games left in the season and the Angels are on the brink.  The train is teetering on the edge of the cliff.  Will he save us?

Don’t misunderstand me.  There isn’t another player in the universe I would rather have on my favorite team.  There isn’t another player in the galaxy I cheer harder for either.  I expect great things. I want great things.  I want to see Trout’s smile when he lifts a World Series trophy above his head.  I want the world to see how amazing he is and that’s not going to happen when games on the west coast aren’t even being watched on the east coast because of the lateness in the hour.

Baseball is a hard game.  Mike Trout makes it look easy most of the time.  No one is probably better prepared or works harder.  We just need to see all of that pay off now.  Today.  And in the next two weeks and hopefully beyond.

I want to look back and talk about Mike Trout’s heroics and not just his statistical prowess.  Sabermetric greatness doesn't do it for me.  I want memories.  Real life baseball memories.  Post-season memories.  I want Superman-like stuff from Mike Trout when it matters most. 

I know Trout can’t do it alone, but I also know the Angels can’t do it without him. 

He's human. We all understand that. Even still - we expect great things.  He's a once-in-a-generation player.  This is the time he has to shine, step up and do what needs to be done.  We are right to expect this - everything he's done to this point, allows us to have those expectations.  I won't apologize for it. 

The cameras are rolling and our eyes are on you, Mike.  I don’t want to blink and find it’s over.  I want to close my eyes and savor the moment.  

Caution: Winding Road Ahead

Somewhere out there in the great state of Minnesota, there’s a Twins fan who is writing or has written a post on his or her blog similar to the one I wrote last week about feeling better about their team.  I mean, the Twins were 0-9 prior to facing the Angels and now stand at 3-9.  That’s right, the Angels were swept by the winless Twins.  Swept!

Now, I’m all for creative inspiration, but I have to say – the Angels took this too far.  Are you kidding me?  Is this the kind of roller-coaster season the Angels are going to have?  Each of those three games were winnable.  They had leads.  They should have won each of them.  They didn’t and I’m back in that place I hate.

I’m in anxiety land; the “this-season-reminds-me-of-last-season” place.  Losing sucks.

This is where fear and loathing lives.  I really don’t want to go there.  Not even for a short visit.  I really don’t.  I don’t know if I can take it.  Again, I really don’t.

Baseball is a funny game.  Teams often lose the games they’re supposed to win and win the games they’re supposed to lose.  Match-ups that look like “pitchers’ duals” on paper often turn into Homerun Derbies in real life.  It’s all so unpredictable and this is the beautiful thing about baseball.  It’s also one of the frustrating things about the game.

So, here we go.  Buckle up.  Close your eyes if you have to.  Rub a rabbit’s foot.  Do whatever you need to do.  We’re just getting started Angel fans.  Regardless of where the road takes us; let’s just go-together.  Maybe we’ll have some laughs along the way.  Perhaps we’ll shed a few tears.  Who knows?

It’s baseball, people.  Anything can happen.

One out of ten never felt so good

I’m such a homer sometimes that it doesn’t take much to get me excited about the Angels. While it’s true I spend plenty of time ranting about this or that, my heart always wants to cheer instead of jeer. That’s just the way I roll.

Never mind losing the first nine encounters with Boston. Never mind being 7 games behind Texas. Forget all that because last night the Angels put together a solid game to win their last regular season game of 2010 against Boston.

Can I get a boo-ya? How about a simple Woot!?

There was something about last night’s win that was just so incredibly satisfying. Maybe it’s knowing that Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu took it upon themselves to hold a closed door players-only meeting. After which, Hunter guaranteed us that we would see a different team.

I will admit I was a tad bit skeptical when I heard about the meeting. Hadn’t there been other closed-door meeting this year?

Well, what do you know? It worked. The Angels actually came out and chased Josh Beckett to the showers. Anytime that happens, it’s a beautiful thing. I don’t know what it is (actually I do), but for some reason (maybe because I think Beckett is just a jerk); I get a lot of pleasure in Beckett struggling.

I’m going to savor last night’s win. More than that, I kind of feel like it gives Angel fans bragging rights for the year over Boston. If you look at it like a Heavyweight Title Fight, my thought process makes a lot of sense. It’s all about the last time the two teams faced one another.

Feel free to use that one with any Red Sox fans you know. I’m sure they’ll get a kick out of it.

Okay, so here we are with 40 games left in the season and the Angels trailing the Rangers by 7 games. The Rangers are trying to let the Angels back into the race by playing crappy baseball. It’s really nice of them to do this don’t you think? Now if the Angels would just capitalize on all this, we’d have something.

Quite a change in attitude I’m having, huh? I know what some of you are thinking… ol’ James is back on the bandwagon. If you’re thinking that, you would be wrong because I don’t hop on or off the wagon. I’m always pulling for my favorite team. It’s just that there are times when I’m not overly happy with them. It’s really that simple.

I’m not about to predict a miraculous come from behind rally to over take the Rangers. I’m just celebrating the moment.

This team still has glaring holes and it still has an uphill battle ahead. The Minnesota Twins are a dang fine baseball team and this three game series is going to be a battle for the Angels.

One game at a time. Bet you never heard that one before, right?

Look baseball is a whole lot more fun when your team is playing well and right now, I’m just hoping for just that. I don’t want to see them rolling over. If they’re going to go down, I want them to go down swinging. Let’s not make it easy for Texas.

Go Halos!

A tip of the cap to the Twins

So... the Twins are pretty good. What else can you say when your favorite team just got out hit, out pitched and basically just out played in a four game series. I mean we knew that Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau were exceptional players, but when guys like Delmon Young and J.J. Hardy hit like Babe Ruth all you can do is tip your hat and say, nice job Minnesota.

I suppose I should thank the Twins for letting the Angels win the opening day game. I didn’t endure the off season just to experience a start like this, but what’s a fan to do?

And isn’t it a little too early in the season for a three game losing streak? I mean it’s not like the call-in shows and message boards don’t have enough to talk about with Brandon Wood’s slow start and the never-ending debate about who should start at catcher.

And another thing, the three game losing streak kind of takes away a thing or two. We won’t be able to say the Angels haven’t lost a series all year. Nope, scratch that one off the list. We also won’t be able to say, the Angels haven’t lost three games in a row all year. That too vanished into thin air.

Then again, had those things been future topics, the moment someone would have mentioned them the jinx would have been in again. I guess it’s better to get it out of the way now.

Going into last night the bull pen hadn’t surrendered a run in ten innings. Of course, that fact was mentioned on the radio prior to the game; guaranteeing the kiss of death that they would give up runs. Boy did they ever. I’m sorry, but every time I hear one of those statements, I’ve come to expect the worst. It’s kind of funny, but not necessarily funny ha-ha, if you catch my drift.

I’ve got to say this about the Twins; I actually like them. I don’t think they get nearly the respect they deserve. I’m a little tired of hearing about the small market genius of Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s, when it’s the Twins that have really done one of the better jobs as a small market team. I like their players, their manager Ron Gardenhire, and I love the way they play the game.

That being said, I’d probably even like them a little better if the Angels had at least split with them. I’m just saying.

So, the A’s roll into town next. Now, if you’ve spent any time reading this blog, you know I really hate the A’s. I won’t try to explain that again now, you can just check out my first ever post on this blog for the history.

Just know this; I’m expecting the Angels to put a little beat down on the team from Oak-town over the weekend. Anything less will be a huge disappointment.

I say let’s squash any hopes the A’s might have as soon as possible.

Remember Nick

On a serious note; it’s been one year since the tragic death of Nick Adenhart. I don’t think there’s been a game at Angel Stadium where I didn’t think about Nick since his passing. The memorial outside the main gate is gone and so is his picture from the center field wall; however, his memory lives on.

It’s hard to not think about what might have been on so many levels. I imagine tonight may be a little emotional.

Tonight Adenhart’s memory will live on in the presentation of the inaugural Nick Adenhart Award which will be presented to Jered Weaver, who is being recognized as last season’s most outstanding pitcher within the Angels organization. Weaver is a fitting recipient on so many levels.

Lyle Spencer of mlb.com – writes about the pain of Adenhart’s loss in his column. I was struck by a comment from Bobby Wilson in the column. Wilson said, “Nick had so much ahead of him. I would have taken his place in a heartbeat."

There are so many stories; heart warming stories about the impact Nick’s passing had on people. Here’s one that’s sure to bring a tear to your eye, courtesy of Angelswin.com.

One thing the Angels don't do well

The Angels do a lot of things well; maybe too well. Every year they sell quite a few season tickets. There have been seasons when they’ve maxed out at 30,000 and I believe they’ve sold as many as 26,000 in the last couple years. Clearly, they don’t really have a need to advertise as a result of this built in fan base.

It’s a shame – because some of the best commercials I’ve seen are baseball commercials. That's not to say the Angels never run ads on T.V. - it's just that, well, they're never as good as those you are about to see.

Here’s a few for your enjoyment.

First up, Todd Helton receives a lesson on “Twitter”



Next up is a great one with Eric Young, Sr. and Junior.




Found this old one of Torii Hunter when he was with the Twins:



Another good from the Twins in 2009:



This one is a couple years old, but it’s still pretty funny:



A creative one with Yadier Molina.

Good will Hunter

I’ve been a Torii Hunter fan since long before he ever came to the Angels. When he signed with the Angels; I was beside myself. Since landing in Anaheim, he’s been everything I had hoped for and more.

Here is a guy who loves the game, appreciates the fans and doesn’t take anything about life for granted. He’s great in the community and isn’t afraid of the spotlight.

So imagine my surprise when I learned some Twin fans didn’t miss him. I read some things that caught me totally off guard when checking out the fine blog “The Daily Something.” Bill who publishes that blog and Mike from another great blog called “The Common Man” painted a different picture of Hunter; one that threw me completely.

Mike wrote in the comments section of a post on The Daily Something, “I think many fans (and I count myself in this group) don't miss his self-aggrandizement and his tendency to criticize other players in the media. In particular, he threw both Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau under the bus for not playing through injuries. I wish him well, but am ok with him playing elsewhere (especially for that much money).

Bill added “His general treatment of the Twins and their fans during his last year was just pretty questionable overall.”

These statements puzzled me; after all, Torii Hunter is very well respected athlete and widely recognized as a great club house presence. Hunter received the Branch Rickey Award last year, an award given out for exceptional community service. He also won the Marvin Miller Award in 2007, which is awarded annually to a player who’s on the field acts inspire others. The other barometer by which I measure a player’s character is by whether or not the Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia wants that player on his roster. If he’s good enough for Scioscia, he’s good enough for me.

Hunter had some solid years in Minnesota. I had never heard or read a bad word about Hunter and I had to wonder how could two die hard Twin fans could feel this way about him?

And then it hit me. Hunter is an Angel now. He’s not one of them; just like John Lackey is no longer an Angel. When players move on to other teams, our thoughts about them can quickly change. Perhaps it’s a way of justifying the loss. It’s easy to find things to “hate” about a player when they leave. I hated the idea of John Lackey in a Red Sox uniform. It didn’t matter how great he was prior to the day he signed with Boston; all the good he did was forgotten in an instance. In both cases their team wanted to keep them, but couldn’t. It’s hard to let go of players who have basically been the faces of their organizations.

When I really stop and think about all the great things Lackey did as an Angel, it really shouldn’t overshadow his going to Boston. Same goes for Hunter’s days in Minnesota. Okay, he said some things he shouldn’t have said and he signed a deal that was clearly out of the Twins’ price range. That doesn’t change all the great things he did in Minnesota.

Mike and Bill found Hunter’s comments (about Mauer) hypocritical. They’re right, his comments were very much that. Thing is, we are all hypocrites now and then. We all do one thing and say something else now and then. Hopefully, the good things we do over shadow those moments when we might not use the best judgment. Hopefully, people can forgive us when we slip up because we’ve done most everything else the right way.

I don’t think Mike and Bill harbor any deep resentment for Hunter, but it’s clear they’ve found reason (right or wrong) to move on without him.

Their loss is my gain. Well, not just my own, but the gain of all Angel fans. We are lucky to have a guy like Hunter on our team.

Last year at spring training Torii Hunter was in rare form. One day when he was done with his routine he did what he always does – signed autographs for fans. Some of the adults were a little aggressive and Hunter took note. He paused for a second to say, “Some of you adults should be ashamed of yourselves cutting in front of the kids. I know we’re all kids at heart…” With that a silver-haired lady said, “I’m waiting right here (down the line) for you Torii.” Torii looked up at the lady and said, “I’ll sign for you because you’re hot.” Next thing you know the camera was out and Torii was posing for a picture. Vintage Hunter.

Another time I saw a fan hand her cell phone to Torii who struck up a conversation with whoever was on the other end; someone he obviously didn’t even know. Who else does that?

Hunter goes above and beyond for fans. Every time I’ve seen him and I mean every single time, he’s been just awesome. Fans frequently heap their praises on him and he just smiles and says he’s just having fun. He makes every fan feel like a million bucks. You could say Torii Hunter has a little Buck O’Neil in him.

There’s no question that Hunter loves the spotlight and isn’t afraid of a camera or microphone. I’m good with that. I don’t see it as a bad or a selfish thing. It sure beats those athletes that go through their whole career avoiding the media, the fans and everyone else. When in the spotlight as much as Hunter is, you’re bound to slip up once in a while. After all, Hunter is only human like the rest of us.

I also know most of those who are sabermetricly inclined will also be quick to tell us how over-rated he is. They will talk about his OPS and his UZR and other such things. I don’t doubt it. He’s not as great statistically as some of his contemporaries – but when he’s robbing the opposing team of a homerun in the 9th inning, I’m not thinking about his UZR, I’m on my feet, screaming my head off and glad he’s on my favorite team. He’s a human highlight film and I go to games to see the incredible and Hunter often delivers just that. Years from now I’m not going to remember his UZR, but I will never forget catches like that.

Now, my friends in Minnesota might label me a casual fan because of that – but I’m betting I attend more games than either one of them. There's nothing casual about my passion for the Angels. I think those who aren’t as into sabermetrics get labels attached to them that are neither accurate nor fair. I’m fully aware of the trends evolving in baseball as it relates to statistics and I think it’s great. I just think that if the stadiums were full of people that made those things their primary focus going to baseball games wouldn’t be nearly as fun.

The Angels have historically been the whipping boys of sabermetrics and yet under Scoscia they have averaged 90 wins a season. They consistently outperform their projections and the last time I checked, winning is the object of playing the games.