Ok, the Freeway series is upon us. I personally will be attending Saturday’s game. As my step-brother, a Dodger season ticket holder, has a wedding to attend. Just in case you are wondering, yes, I will be wearing my Angels gear. Yes, I will be wearing a bullet proof vest under my jersey. No, I do not intend to get drunk and start gloating if we’re ahead.

This will be the 4th time I’ve ever been to Dodger Stadium. The first was back in 1990 I think, against the Cardinals, where I got my first autograph. . .from Tom Pagnozzi.  The second was in 2000 against the Mets from the right field bleachers, which was highlighted by the world’s worst attempt at having the world’s largest Mambo (during the height of Mambo #5 popularity) a Mike Piazza home run which bounced over my head while I was checking my pager to see who paged me, and Benny Agbayani giving me the classic "I’m scratching my neck with my middle finger." treatment after I told him he ran funny. The third and last trip was on Easter of this year against the Giants, which was highlighted by Jeff Kent getting slammed in the head by a Brad Hennessy fastball.

The keys to the series for the Angels?

Find someone else to pitch tonight. This isn’t exactly the prime situation to see if Weaver can redeem himself. He’s going against his childhood favorite team a year after departing their roster, pitching at -their- house. With Weaver’s tendencies to overthrow pitches and try to do to much. Things don’t look too hot for tonight. Especially going against one Mr. Aaron Sele. Sele, prior to his stint with the Angels, had always dominated us. Of course, this isn’t the Aaron Sele of old, as we found out while he was in an Angels uniform. You never know what’s going to happen.

Situational hitting. . .It killed us last night, its been killing us all year. Sure we can put up 11 hits, but when we have only 4 runs to show for it, what’s the use?

We’ll see what can happen. These next few weeks are pivotal for the Angels. If they can go into June within smelling distance of the A’s and Rangers, which they can, then I think they’ll be able to pull it off. If they keep fading, then I don’t think things are going to turn out so good. Time will tell.

Ok,

I have a few bones to pick about last nights debacle in Anaheim. First off, the game was mis-managed in the last few innings. Why was Mike Napoli squeezing? Why would you have a rookie catcher who was just peppering the ball drop a bunt down in a crucial situation? The pitch that Nap popped the bunt up on was a line drive waiting to happen. If you really want to squeeze right then and there, why not pinch hit with Jose Molina? Sure, every human being in the stadium would know what was up, but the way Aybar came flying down that line, he would have scored easily.  Then, the next inning. Why, when you have two of your best bunters up at the plate do you not squeeze? Sure, Kennedy’s last sac attempt didn’t pan out, but the Blue Jays played it perfectly. Cabrera is probably your best bunter aside from maybe Jose Molina, why not then either? Sure, when it comes down to it, no one executed. But better decisions could have been made to begin with.

Ok, so its been a few weeks. And my absence has corresponded with the Angels current nose dive. So, like a good fan, I have returned after a slew of mid-term papers and now have the ability to write again. So. . . .a few notes.

I believe Barry has been stuck on 713 since my last post. I just wish he’d just hurry up and hit 714 and 715 so we can get out of this Bonds induced purgatory that is taking away from so much of the game. Of course not that Bonds cares of course, because in his mind , he’s bigger than the game.  In a related topic. I’m thinking for starting the Russ Springer fund to pay any fines that might be levied against the pitcher in the wake his plinking of Barry. In another related topic, thumbs down to ESPN radio for covering each and every Barry Bonds plate appearance, when their own radio hosts are saying that -they- don’t care, its time to re-evaluate their definition of a ‘historical moment’ or a ‘significant moment’ Because Bonds passing the Babe is obviously not in the fans average eyes. Big Mac’s 62nd homerun was a historical moment. Dale Earnhardt’s death was a significant moment.  Bonds passing Ruth hasn’t the feel. Next year, I’m not going to remember where exactly I was when it happened or when I heard about it.

The Yankees came back from a 9-run deficit. AGAINST TEXAS PITCHING. Let’s remember all facets of the situation before we consecrate this moment into baseball lore. I’m not sure of what to make of the Yankees this year. All I know is that if I had to choose between the Red Sox and the Yankees to win the division, I choose the Blue Jays. And don’t think they can’t do it either. I don’t want to hear the ‘no experience’ argument. They’ve got 4 rings on their team so they have to personnel to lead them in the latter stages of the year.

Is it me? Or do the Tigers have the best record in baseball right now? And I wouldn’t be too quick to say that they might fade down the stretch either, they’ve got just enough of a veteran presence to keep them in line for an entire year too.

Meanwhile, my team the Angels. Are having hitting woes. Major hitting woes. Their lineup is alot like the Cubs lineup. Guys who have ok averages with absolutely no on base capability that are put around one upper echelon hitter. The difference is that the Cubs have lost that hitter in Derrek Lee, and the Angels still have him in Vladimir Guerrero. The Angels problem, in my mind, is Mickey Hatcher. Teams around the league have adapted to the Angels style of hitting by not throwing strikes. Hatcher, who was not exactly a patient hitter during his days as a utility man with the Dodgers, hasn’t preached to his guys the necessity of taking pitches and taking walks. Consequently, the Angels have gone out and picked up guys that aren’t patient hitters added to the fact that they’re stunting the growth of some hitters that have had better pitch selection in the minors. Kotchman is the big one. Kotchman was a contact hitter who could take walks. This year, he’s swinging at anything and everything, because the ‘aggressive’ hitting approach the coaches have instilled as ‘Angel baseball’. Well, it doesn’t work for everyone, this year is the perfect example. The staff needs to just let their hitters be themselves.

John Lackey. . . .The next big pitcher born in the state of Texas. What more do I need to say? Sure, he walked five, but he also shut down one of the hottest offenses in the league. He’s learning how to pitch, he’s eliminating the big inning that plagued him so much the early part of last year. Like it or not, the Angels are developing a deadly 1-2 punch that’s gonna carry their staff for years to come. That 1-2 punch is Lackey and Santana. You’d be hard pressed to find a better pair of young pitchers on the same team with the cieling that those two have.

Tonight is the start of a big 3 game series against the Champs, and the Angels pitching is beginning to come to form at the right time. Tonight is Weaver Vs. Garcia. Garcia has owned the Angels in the past, but alot of that was against a different lineup while he was with the Mariners. Freddie of course, was also one of the 4 guys who pitched one of the sick 4 complete games in a row last October. No doubt the Angels have turned the page on that mess. This is a new year, and the Halos have that mess behind them.

Saturday has Jose Contreras against Kelvim Escobar.  Although Contreras is hot, I have to give the advantage to the Halos here. Aside from the aformentioned October debacle, Contreras has struggled against us. I’ve never thought too highly of him, in fact, I’ll go so far as to say that he’s a flash in the pan and is due to fade back to earth a la Rick Ankiel and Hideki Irabu. Saturday night, I think will be the start of that fade.

Sunday is Garland Vs. Santana. The Erv is -hot-. Garland is not. Add that to the fact that Garland doesn’t pitch that well against the Angels and you have a recipe for the final game of a 2-1 series victory for the Halos.

You might be asking yourself "Hey, he has season tickets. Why isn’t he there to watch this big game?" Well I’ll tell you why. I gave my tickets up today because I stupidly thought that the Ducks were playing at the Pond tonight, added to the fact that this is a Big Bang Friday. I really didn’t feel like braving a closed parking lot and 20,000 extra people all trying to get off the freeway at the same time." So I gave my tickets to my uncle, and let him deal with the mess that in could have been. But of course, I felt like an idiot while watching the Ducks game on the TV last night.

Its an exciting time to be sports fan in Southern California. If the Clippers, Lakers, and Ducks make it through the first round of their respective playoff matchups, we have the possibility of having -every- professional franchise (that’s in season) in the LA area in action next Sunday with the exception of the LA Kings and Long Beach Ice Dogs, who are out of their respective playoffs, and the Galaxy, who play on Saturday. The includes the 4 California league teams, and the Avengers, and this little known US pro rugby league. Good stuff.

Its game time, catch you all on the flipside.

No Angels fan’s list would be complete without one of the biggest heroes of the 2002 World Series. Scott Spiezio’s place in Angel lore is secure with his Game 6 blast against San Francisco. Spiezio isn’t your typical baseball player. He has a flare to him, and I’m not talking about his red dyed goatee (which has resurfaced with the Cardinals). He’s never going to put up the great numbers. But he’ll do what is need to help the team out. A solid all-around defender, he found a home at the bottom of the Angels line up for 4 years, putting up decent numbers at the 7 spot. As a ballplayer, it takes something special to earn your way into the hearts of the fans. Spiezio delivered that, with the aforementioned home-run. It was a home-run bigger than any one of Aaron’s 755, the Babe’s 714, or Barry’s 711 (at current), because the stakes were so much higher. And there’s nothing that’s going to take that away from Scott, or from Angel’s fans everywhere.

The Angels are getting hot at the right time. First, let me say that the pitching was awesome. Its not often that you can say a pitcher struggled when he managed to strike out 10 batters and pitch 6 innings of shutout baseball, but it tells you how good Ervin really is. The back end of the bullpen is showing that they are the best in the game, hands down. My one concern about them is over usage. Scot and Frankie have pitched in 3 games straight while Brendan has pitched in 2 straight. There are still two games left in the series. The Angels could really use a blow out right about now. I think Bonderman is the pitcher to get it against, because Maroth is pitching his best baseball right now. However, against Bonderman, we have Carrasco in another spot start.

Once again, let me state my disagreeance with Mike on Carrasco. We have Saunders or lil’ Weaver that could have dealt with taking Colon’s. I mean, I could understand if it was one start, but we’re talking 2 maybe even 3 starts. Not a good idea. Factor in that the back end of our bullpen is used up, and we’re just asking for some trouble. The day off means that we -could- skip him in the rotation next time around if Bart isn’t ready, but that’s not Scioscia’s style to do so.

Kudos to Howie Kendrick on the call up. Although, again I was kind of surprised to see it. Aybar would have been the optimum choice, because now OC is the only guy that can play shortstop. I’m all for giving the guy a chance, but at the same time, you’ve gotta service the needs on the field, not just at the plate. If OC gets dinged up and needs to sit a few games, we’re SOL. But hey, I’m not Scioscia, he gets payed to make the decisions like that.

Kudos to Tim Salmon as well. He provided the offense tonight with his solo shot in the 2nd and RBI single in the 6th (I think). He’s fulfilling the roll of DH nicely, here’s to hoping that he breaks that 300 HR and 1,000 RBI barrier by the All-Star break.

In other news around, a big stickwithum to Todd Walker. The poor guy was robbed of base hits three times by spectacular defensive plays by the Marlins fielders. That’s the beauty of baseball though.

That’s all from us here deep in the hole. Talk to you soon.

Rex Hudler played the game with an enthusiasm and effort that seems to be a dying art. His hustle made him a fan favorite wherever he ended up. The wonderdog, as people called him, was the definition of a journeyman, playing 10 years in the majors and 10 years in the minors, including a stint in Japan. His three years with the Angels were probably the best of his career, amassing 30 of his 56 career homeruns as well as his best year as a pro when he hit .311 with 16 HRs 40 RBIs 60 runs scored, all career highs. His style of play is not unlike the Halo’s today; tough and scrappy. His charisma and enthusiasm lives on today in the Angels broadcast booth. His baseball legacy will always be the way he played the game, which was the way it is supposed to be played.

Career Totals: Avg: .261    56 HRs    169 RBIs     107 SBs
Angel Totals: Avg: .292     30 HRs     87 RBIs      29 SBs

So. . .We pulled it out. The Angels somewhat salvage this road trip, going 5-5, tied with Texas for the division lead. I’m not exactly thrilled about the way the Angels played this road trip, but the closed it out strong. This was a good chance to assert themselves early in the year and they didn’t due to the lack of consistency. Because, face it, they could have gone 8-2 easily on this road trip. Tommorrow is the start of the Tiger series. The Tigers are hot right now, winning their last 4 in a row and going for 5 against the Mariners as we speak. On Monday is Kenny Rogers against Ervin. Kenny has historically given the Angels fits, capped by that perfect game some 20 years ago (Ok, I’m exaggerating). Tuesday is Bonderman Vs Carrasco or Gregg, and Wednesday afternoon has the most intriguing matchup, pitting Lackey against Maroth. Both pitchers are on top of their game and I’m still debating on whether or not to leave work early to catch that matchup.

Sidenote: Doug Eddings has to be the worst umpire the world has seen. Yesterday, he blew a pickoff  call when Chone Figgins should have been called out. Then today, his strike zone was horrible. He was calling pitches (both ways) at the shoulders. The SHOULDERS. These weren’t borderline high strikes either, these were visibly above the letters. He -was- calling it both ways though. So at least he was consistently bad. But the point remains that the league needs to rid themselves of umpiring such as Doug Eddings or else the officiating system is going to go the way of the NBA, which has the worst officiating in the world.

Coming soon: I’m compiling a list of my favorite 25 Angels of all time which I’ll start posting soon. Why 25, you ask? Well, its a good number, that’s the size of a regulation roster, and besides, anything bigger might be stretching it. The only question about this list is if I’ll get it in over the course of the entire year.

Elsewhere around the league, Greg Maddux is just having an insane start to the year, reminding us of The Rocket last year. Maddux is probably one of the 10 greatest pitchers of all time in my book. If you look at his career, he’s never exactly played for offensive juggernauts and has always been solid, winning game after game after game. Roger is probably better, and so is Randy, but in the past 10 years that’s probably it. Schilling is close but I still rank him behind Maddux, but not by much.

Sticking with the NL Central, the vast majority of that division is showing its teeth early. You’ve got 4 teams above 500 and playing real good baseball. My prediction of a 100+ win season for the Cardinals may be in jeopardy because that division is stronger than I originally thought. I’m sure the Reds will fade though, but the Brewers are a team that could just catch fire and go on a tear. That’s the most interesting division in baseball.

I honestly don’t know what to say. I’m happy that we won today. Jeff Weaver pitched in typical Jeff Weaver fashion. (i.e 4 runs in 6 innings) to get the win. Honestly, that’s all I expect out of him, along with maybe a 1 run complete game and a few absolute bombings sprinkled in. That brings me to this statement. . . .I want Jeff Weaver’s agent. How does he get 8.4 mil a year? The guy has had one winning record in a season., and his career ERA is 4.44. Don’t get me wrong. I think he’s a good pitcher, but maybe good enough to earn half that. In my mind, an 8 1/2 mil a year pitcher should be winning me at least 15 games and losing me less that 10 along with having an ERA of less than 4.44. But that’s just me. Anyways, he got the win. I guess that’s all that -really- matters.

Tommorrow, we’ve got Esky against Loaiza. Kelvim is pitching like he can pitch and Loaiza is struggling pretty bad, although he had a decent outing last time out. But of course, given the Angels current run of inconsistency, I’m not going to put all my eggs in one basket. The bottom line is that they need to play more like they played today.

Sidenote: Mike sure has alot of faith in his catchers despite their performaces at the plate. Last night, I was surprised to see Salmon hit for Izturis. I was more expecting for him to hold off with Salmon until Mathis came up. Although Izzy isn’t as good from the right side, he’s still the guy I’d prefer to have up there over Mathis.

Another Sidenote: I was surprised to see that the Angels pull up Reggie Willits today when they put Juan Rivera on the DL. A good portion of Angel fans would have guessed Kendrick or Morales, I would have guessed either McPherson for a left handed option that could play 3rd in case Figgins was tapped to spell an outfielder or Curtis Pride as a lefty outfielder. But Willits is a good option. He’s a switch-hitting outfielder with decent speed, allowing Figgins to stay at 3rd if they need a starter. Heck, with Vladdy fouling that pitch off his thigh, I wouldn’t be surprised of he was penciled in as a DH tommorrow, allowing Willits to start at right.

More to come later in the day. I’ve got some errands to run.