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.  

Checking in long enough to bash Keith Law

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.

Vote Halos

Angel fans, I have a bone to pick with you.  For whatever reason when it comes to all-star voting – you (okay – we) are an apathetic bunch.  By in large our fan base lacks passion and that really shows when it comes time to putting Angels on the all-star team. 

It’s a darn shame that Tim Salmon never made an all-star team.  As one of the teams with the best attendance, there really isn’t an excuse for that gigantic mistake.  We felt content to leave it up to the players and coaches to see to it that Salmon made a team instead of voting him in as a starter.  That didn’t work out so well now did it?  Look, I was as guilty as anyone in that case.  I admit it and I regret it.

As a fan base – we suck sometimes.  I don’t know how else to say it.  Sure, we can fill up a stadium when it’s play-off time, but we don’t do the other things that make a fan base great.  Look, I know some of you are great fans, but by in large – we just don’t support our team in all the ways we should and one of those is by voting for deserving Angels when all-star ballots are available.

You know where I’m going with this don’t you?

Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout deserve to be all-stars; more than that – they deserve to start, but in order to make that happen they have to be voted in. 

Now, if you call yourself a die-hard Angels fan and you haven’t voted for Trumbo and Trout – shame on you.  Seriously, it’s not that hard and no one (at least not me) is asking you to vote 1,000 times.  I’m not even asking you to vote a 100 times (although that would be nice).  All I’m asking is that you vote the 25 times Major League Baseball will allow you to vote (on-line) per email address.

Doesn’t Trumbo and Trout deserve as much?

The only Angel who is in the top five of votes for any position thus far is Albert Pujols and he’s fifth among American League First Basemen. 

I’m not asking you to vote for Albert (Paul Konerko is much more deserving in my opinion) and I’m not asking you to stuff the ballot with all the Angels.  All I’m asking is that you vote for the two guys who have given you the most joy this season and that’s Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout.

When you look at the league leaders in statistics, you’re going to see Trumbo and Trout well represented.  Trumbo is 10^th in batting average (.326), 9^th in RBI’s (47), 6^th in OPS (1.009), and tied for 11^th in homeruns (16).  Trout is 6^th in batting average (.337 – just qualified last night with enough plate appearances), his .929 OPS is 14^th best, he’s 4^th in stolen bases (19) and is playing gold-glove caliber defense.

Did I really need to cite those stats to you? 

Look at this way – both players are having phenomenal seasons – if everything goes the way they should they will both have fantastic careers.  Trout has already been compared to several Hall of Famers and although it’s early in both their baseball lives – they are laying the foundation for careers of significance.  When all is said and done – part of their legacy should be as all-star game starters.  Not just participants, but as starters.

Do you hear me?  Does that resonate with you at all?

Let’s not leave it up to the players and coaches.  Let’s not forget the mistakes we made in not making sure Tim Salmon made a team.

Think about the players we never voted on to the squad as starters and then left for another team where they voted them on.  Players like Jim Edmonds (2000, 2003, and 2005) and David Eckstein (2005).

The list of players who we voted on to the starting squad is small.  It includes Vladimir Guerrero (2004, 2005, 2007), who undoubtedly benefited on his popularity long before he became an Angel; Troy Glaus received enough votes in 2003 (one of his worst seasons), but failed to get voted into the starting lineup in 2000 and 2001 when he had monster seasons hitting 47 and 41 homeruns respectively.

Wally Joyner made one all star start in his career and that was in 1986; his rookie year.  Don Baylor only made it once; his 1979 MVP season.

Heck, Bobby Grich was only voted on as a starter once (1982) as an Angel (he was also voted on in 1976 as a member of Orioles). 

Angel fans loved Darin Erstad.  Did he ever get voted on as a starter?  Nope. Bengie Molina?  Nope.  Jim Fregosi?  Nope.  Garret Anderson?  Heck no.  Sure some of them made all-star teams, but it wasn’t because of Angel fans.

How about players who have been all-star starters prior to coming to Anaheim – only to not get voted on the starting squad again?  Well, there’s Torii Hunter for one.  Vernon Wells is another (okay, not the best example). 

There are players who continued to have success in the voting prior to and during their Angel careers – but they’re Hall of Famers – Rod Carew (4 times) and Reggie Jackson (2 times).  Even Fred Lynn had one all-star start as an Angel (1983), but had five prior starts as a member of the Red Sox.

Over time, Trumbo and Trout will get more and more of the national vote.  Their talents are too good to be ignored and it’s only a matter of time before the whole nation begins to appreciate them and recognize them as bona fide stars.  In the mean time – it’s up to us to push them into the spot light.

Look at the current vote leaders in the American League.  Do you really want a team full of Texas Rangers?  Just saying.

One last thing – some of you will whine and belly ache when the national media ignores the Angels or doesn’t give enough love to Angels having great seasons or even a great game and yet – when given the opportunity to push those players into the view of a national audience yourself (via all-star voting) – you sit on your hands.

Let’s do this folks.  #VoteHalos  Vote online now.

The 50 Greatest Angels (21-30)

We are now at the point in the Orange County Register’s (OCR) 50 greatest Angels where there shouldn’t be any real surprises. Then again, when you ask any group of people to come up with a list, there are always bound to be a few.

Today’s list reveals the following: Adam Kennedy (30), David Eckstein (29), Mark Langston (28), Chone Figgins (27), Jim Edmonds (26), Arte Moreno (25), Doug Decinces (24), Reggie Jackson (23), Chili Davis (22), and Dean Chance (21).

How appropriate is it for Kennedy and Eckstein to be next to one another? I mean, they were the 6-4 combo during the Angels greatest season ever and when you think of one, you should think of the other. They ended up higher on the list than I thought, but they’re deserving never-the-less.

Before we talk about the other players on the list, I have to ask – what was the OCR’s Mark Whicker thinking? Six of the ten players on today’s list didn’t make his at all. He did not vote for Chili Davis, Doug Decinces, Arte Moreno (neither did I), Jim Edmonds, Mark Langston, or Adam Kennedy. Other than Moreno – how in the world could he be so wrong? This is the kind of stuff I’d expect from Jeff Miller. Just saying.

So… Arte Moreno sure got a lot of love today. Four panelists had him in their top ten. Wow. Seeing how the rest of the panel thought of him definitely gave me reason to pause and wonder if I should have voted for him. I definitely considered it, but at the end of the day, I chose to only vote for one owner and he has yet to appear on this list.

As I look over the list, I have to say I have one major beef. I can’t believe Chili Davis is ranked this low. I voted for him as the 11th greatest Angel of all time. Davis ranks 6th among all Angels in homeruns (156), 5th in RBI (618), 9th in hits (973), and 8th in total bases (1,620). Quite frankly, Davis was a stud.

Another interesting player to look at on this list is Jim Edmonds. Now, I’ve heard some baseball people make a case that he’s actually a viable Hall of Fame candidate. OCR’s Sam Miller thought enough of him to rank him 12th on his list. He’s right about where I thought he should be at 26 (I had him at 25).

Kudos to Keith Sharon, Chuck Richter (AngelsWin), Mat Gleason (Halos Heaven), and Sam Miller for agreeing with me that Doug Decinces belongs in the top 20. The rest of the panelists should be put on some sort of double secret probation for not agreeing with us.

So far seven of the OCR’s top 50 weren’t on my list at all. I’m feeling pretty good about my top 20. I’ll be surprised if they’re not all on the list (two of them have already made the list – Davis and Decinces).

And… If I’m doing my math correctly, I still have 18 of my top 20 Angels who have yet to make the list and that means there are two more on my list that could make the top 20. I’m guessing one of them will be Frankie (I ranked him 35th) and the other… well; let’s just say that I ranked him “appropriately” at #26.

Two guys in my top 50 who looks like they’ll be left out include Ervin Santana (ranked him 48th) and Devon White (ranked him 43rd).

It doesn't look like Ervin Santana (ranked him 48th) or Devon White (ranked him 43rd) will make the list.

Until tomorrow…

Miracle in Minnesota. Oldest living man hits a triple

Jim Thome is about 115 years old. He hadn’t hit a triple since 2004; that is until June 28th of this year when he hit one against the Detroit Tigers. One would think the chances of him hitting a second triple in one season had to be about as likely as Reggie Willits hitting his first homerun. We’re talking long odds and slim chances.

It was darn near impossible to consider such a feat; unless of course, Juan Rivera happened to be playing left field and Thome decided to hit one… say in the direction of the man I’ve come to call a Tub of Goo.

I didn’t see it happen, but I had a very vivid picture in my head as Terry Smith of AM830 made the call. The ball went skipping off Rivera’s glove and if it had lips it would have been laughing all the way to the wall as Jim Thome, the 115 year old DH (okay he’s really a week away from his 40th birthday) went chugging into third for his second triple of the year. It wasn’t just his second triple this year; it was his second triple in nearly six years. SIX YEARS!!

It’s a good thing I wasn’t watching this on T.V. because there’s a chance I would have picked up the nearest object and flung it at the tube. Instead, I was listening to the call on the radio while driving, which was probably a heck of a lot more dangerous. A lesser man would have driven their car off the road or into a tree. How I managed to stay cool is beyond me. It could have been ugly.

Imagine having to explain what happened to a Highway Patrolman. I’m sure all I would have to do is utter the name Juan… and before I could even say his last name, the officer would say “never mind sir, I totally understand.” Heck, he’d probably give me a police escort all the way to the funny farm.

I can hear him now. “Lock him up boys, another victim of listening to the call of a fly ball hit to Juan Rivera while driving.” Friends shouldn’t let friends drive while Rivera is in a ball game.

Juan, Juan, Juan. Oh how you test me. You’ve made me come up with new ways of saying the word “stink.” Words like putrid and horrific fly off my tongue like they can’t wait to leave my mouth. Luckily I don’t swear, but I swear you make me want to in the worst way.

Rivera has some sort of super hero like powers. He can single handedly destroy the euphoria of a victory that came less than 24 hours ago.

I wish the Juan Rivera story ended here, but there was more (of course). Rivera, major league outfielder that he is, also lost a ball in the grey sky that ended up landng a good 30 feet behind him. That one left me speechless.

I know... I know I’m being too harsh, right? Wrong. Juan Rivera may not have lost the game, but he sure made the defeat all the more painful. He’s good that way.

Speaking of good; what good is Dan Haren? Haren is sporting a 4.55 ERA. And the man the Angels traded for Haren? Well, good ol’ Joe Saunders has a 4.24 ERA since going to Arizona. Neither is lighting it up, but let's not forget that Joe was Cheryl and my favorite.

I’m not a math guy, but even I can see that Haren is kind of picking up where he left off in Arizona and that’s not a good thing. Here’s some more math for you. Dan Haren is making $8.25 million this year. Compare that to Saunders’ $3.7 million. Wait, it gets better – Haren will make $12.75 million next year and that same amount again in 2012. Saunders will most likely have to go to arbitration to get a slight increase in his salary.

And to think some people actually wonder why I’m cranky this year. It’s one thing to take Cheryl and my favorite pitcher away from us, but it’s another to replace him with someone who doesn’t appear to be any better and costs the team a boat load more money.

I know the experts all loved this trade and because they love it so much, I even tried to justify it in my head; all the while hating to see Saundo leave. Well now, I'm getting grumpy.

Danny Boy; it’s time you started to show me something. The honeymoon is over and it’s time for you to live up to the hype. Cheryl and I even bought shirts with your name on it. Don’t make us regret that decision more than we already do. We wanted to show our support. Don't make us want to show you the door.

These are not good times. I’m just saying.

They're not so Athletic after all...

I hate the Oakland A's. I despise them. Yes, I even loath them.

Disclaimer: I realize that my hatred is not always rational and often times is based on my biased perception of how the A's do things and not necessarily how they actually do them. Whenever I rant about them, I might even exaggerate some things to make a point. Never-the-less, I am quite passionate about my utter disdain for them.

You see, I hate everything about the A's.

I hate their boring, stiff offense. They'd rather take a walk than hit their way on base (Go ahead, look at strike 3!). They don't appreciate the fundamentals of baseball and being aggressive on the bases is a sin to them (and no, Rajai Davis doesn't change things). They look down on the sacrifice bunt and their "hitters" refuse to expand their strike zone when they have runners in scoring position. Their mantra is "thou shalt not drive in a run with thy bat."

I believe their general manager is the most over-rated executive in baseball (maybe in all of the business world, for that matter) and it's appalling to me that Hollywood would even consider making a movie about Billy Beane. Word was Brad Pitt was going to play Beane. That's bad casting if you ask me. I think Jack Black would be a better choice.

I hate that the A's are touted as some sort of "small market" miracle, while a team like the Minnesota Twins has been largely ignored - even though they're more successful. The real miracle is that they haven't quite achieved Montreal Expo status just yet.

I hate their arm pit of a stadium. I hate that you could probably park the Queen Mary in foul territory there. Hmmm. No wonder they don't swing the bat much. They'd probably pop out in foul territory. I do find it oh-so-funny that the stadium was named after an anti-virus product (McAfee) - even though the place still looks like a germ infested play ground. They don't even have the good sense to get out of Oakland. I don't think they know the way to San Jose.

I hate A's fans. Well, maybe not all of them, but the ones that act like Moneyball Zealots/Billy Beane Wanna-Be's and think they're the be all to end all in fandom. They even have their own language... UZR anyone? Huh? Is that an assault rifle? I even hate the flag waving fans in their outfield seats (unless they're waving white ones). It's nothing personal. I haven't really met many in person, but I'm sure they kick their dogs and cheat on their taxes.

My hatred is deep rooted.

Disclaimer 2: Maybe my disdain has something to do with being at a game on July 4, 1971 when Vida Blue pitched a complete game to beat my Angels 2-1.

I hate that Carney Lansford began his career as an Angel and spent the majority of his productive years in Oakland. I hate that Joe Rudi had his best years in Oakland and then became an Angel. I hate that players like Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Nick Swisher end up being Yankees. This goes way back for me. Even guys like Reggie Jackson, Rickey Henderson and Jim "Catfish" Hunter became Yankees. Let's face it, the Oakland A's serve as a farm team that feeds their players to other major league teams. I've heard that the A's fans favorite pastime these days is making up teams of former A's and realizing how good they could have been.

I really hate it when ex-Angels become A's. Orlando Cabrera - you're dead to me. While I'm happy that former Angel Adam Kennedy is having a nice season, I despise the fact that he's doing so in an A's uniform. I'll cut AK a little slack because without him there wouldn't have been 2002. Speaking of their uniforms - I hate them too. Didn't the Robinson family wear those in "Lost in Space?"

I do love it when the Angels beat them and especially when they finish higher than them in the American League West - which has been a great trend lately. Soon to be five titles in six years.

Speaking of which...

I really love the idea that the Angels will most likely clinch the American League West this weekend while playing the A's. I love it so much that I chose this time to launch this blog (True Grich) now.

I hate the A's and you should too! After all, what's a rivalry without a little hatred?