Tagged: Playoff Run

E Is for Errors, Elimination and Exasperation…But the Angels Got Better

Were you aware that, in addition to being MLB “berth” month, September is both National Wine Month and National Bourbon Month? Whether or not this is coincidence, I can’t help but feel it’s appropriate…unlike some of those other special monthly designations like National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Month (thanks, but weren’t we all aware of alcohol in college, like extremely aware) and National Pork Month (I’m not entirely certain if this is more of a food thing or an offshoot of National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness thing but I was hesitant to see what the internets would tell me if I looked it up. You understand, I’m sure.) I can really get behind this September last month of baseball/alcohol appreciation tie-in thing. Suitable for comfort or celebrations, alcohol pairs wonderfully with all of your September needs. But I digress…

A few of my favorite things! - with shout outs to Paso Port, Chronic Cellars, Mitchella Winery, Barrel 27, Bodega de Edgar and Cypher Winery because you are all amazing and more people should try your libations.

So, the Angels lost to the A’s and now have a big old E next to their name in the AL West, the last team to fall prey to the dreaded E, though time zone bias did play a role in that. After the loss to the Jays especially, I was expecting this eventually. I am even glad it happened early enough to avoid having to watch Texas celebrate on our infield when I go to the game on Monday, but that doesn’t mean I am happy about it in general, you understand. Even so, Friday night was a good night at the ballpark if for no other reason than aren’t they always?

Angels hangout on the dugout fence during their first inning at bat. Vernon Wells says, "Damn it Trout, I said _don't_ look. Gotta learn to be more subtle, rookie. Check out my trick with the bat."

Fresh off a start on three days’ rest, Jered Weaver was a little overly strong in the first inning, giving up a homerun to Jemile Weeks in the first at bat and hitting Josh Willingham before settling down for six scoreless innings. Really, with 3 runs, only two of them earned, on 6 hits and 0 walks with 8 strikeouts? Weaver pitched well enough to win.

At the beginning of each inning, just before his first pitch, Jered Weaver turns away from the mound and touches his toes twice, then turns to the mound and writes an N and an A in the dirt with his finger in memory of his friend Nick Adenhart... this sign of the kind heart within the bulldog exterior is one of many reasons Weaver will always be one of my favorite Angels. Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Jered Weaver begins his delivery. He pitched well enough to win if the Angels' bats hadn't been stuck in customs or some such. Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

The bullpen, shown here largely in goofier relaxed moments, was solid too with Rich Thompson coming in to record the last two outs in two batters in the 9th.

Rich Thompson joins the game in the 9th. Thompson walks up to Midnight Oil's "Dream World," a cute choice for our Aussie reliever. Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

"What'cho talkin' about Chopper!" Rich Thompson indulges in the age old pastime of 'confuse-a-rookie' and judging from the look on Hank Conger's face, he's rather good at it. Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Scott Downs chats with the bullpen coach and catcher. "I swear Downsy, his strike zone was *this* big!" Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Sadly, Gio Gonzales was on and, as usual, largely incomprehensible to the Angels while our bats remained…Inert? Immobile? Stuck in customs? Whatever the reason, the team only cobbled together three hits while stranding 10 guys on base, only one of whom (outside of Torii’s solo homerun) actually made it all the way to third. You don’t win ballgames that way, especially against the A’s who, regardless of what their record says this season, can and will make a team pay for mistakes…mistakes like our boneheaded fielding error in the 8th, for example.*face palm*

And Gio Gonzalez was his usual A-game self and stymied the Angels yet again. Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Howie Kendrick takes a swing...sadly for naught. Howie was 0 for 4 for the night. But this season more often than not, HK47's bat had been a weapon indeed. Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Mike Trout takes a mighty practice swing...alas, Trout was yet aother 0-for this game. Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

First baseman Mark Trumbo and runner Josh Willingham move with the ball off the bat...it was a foul. Trumbo had a much better ngiht defensively and was responsible for 2 of the Angels 3 hits. Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game... (Seth)

I was disappointed with the loss to be sure, but accepted what was, at this point in the season, inevitable. I reminded myself that I had enjoyed a lot of the season, had enjoyed this evening out at the ballpark and that the Angels still had a small shot at clenching the wild card. And so I began to watch the final Friday Night Fireworks post game show of the season only somewhat deflated. And I was fine. Really adult about all of it. It’s only baseball, right? …right up until the bouncy Beach Boys soundtrack ended and the next wave of beautiful fireworks launched to the tune of Train’s Calling All Angels. Then the distinct explosions of glittering color blurred into an impressionist knock off of blue and red swirled with green, purple and yellow as tears welled up in my eyes and began to roll down my cheeks.

I am not proud of this fact. I am 35 years old and this was a baseball season, one of many near playoff misses I have witnessed in my lifetime. But…there was a wonderful quote that prefaced the broadcast of the 2010 All Star Game in Anaheim. I have searched and searched today, trying to find the exact quote, but the Interwebs have failed me. The gist of the quote is that baseball is a child’s game and when we watch the game we do so through a child’s eyes and with a child’s glee and so, for the span of a game, can remember however briefly the wonder and innocence of being a child. Baseball always fills me with a child’s excitement and glee, so looking back on last night I think it’s only appropriate that, for a few moments, it filled me with a child’s disappointment, raw and unencumbered by any need to put on a brave face and act the adult.

Ten minutes later and on into today, I have prospective and am back to disappointed but not crushed. Still, for those of us who do embody the quote I can’t find when around this pastime we adore, I think it’s important to embrace and acknowledge this side of ourselves. Even if it means admitting that all too often there absolutely is crying in baseball, this is also the side that allows us to experience unrestrained and darned near unreasonable joy over the feats of 25 men we don’t know on a field of grass, clay and chalk. The side of us that allows us to, for example, cheer again the very next day after a division elimination while we return to torturing ourselves with Wild Card elimination number math. I think it’s the child side balanced with the adult that allows me to laugh when I am happy and search for reasons to laugh even harder when I am disappointed or upset. To that end, I give you the rest of the photos I have selected from the game, all photos that made me laugh for one reason or another:

First basemen crack me up. Mark "Chatty Cathy" Trumbo and Jemile Weeks exchange pleasantries at first. "Damn, that Weaver is nasty. So, Trumbo, what's a good steakhouse down here?" Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Peter Bourjos, Mike Trout and Torii Hunter relax during a pitching change. Bourjos says, "Really Torii?!" while Trout is incredulous. Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Peter Bourjos, Mike Trout and Torii Hunter relax during a pitching change. Now, Bourjos and Trout are both incredulous. "Come on Torii, you expect us to believe that?!" Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Josh Willignham, Coco Crisp and David DeJesus kick back during a pitching change. Coco says, "Hmmm...what about a steakhouse? Jemile said Trumbo told him about the great place in Brea." Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Beware of jazz hands! Peter Bourjos strikes a pose halfway bewteen Ichiro and Dancing with the Stars during a pre-inning warm up. Angels vs. A's, September 23, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

And, hey, good news this evening! A stronger Angels performance earned a victory while the Red Sox lost to the Yankees…and the Rays won too but what can you do? The Angels also announced their team awards. Congratulations to Jered Weaver for winning the Nick Adenhart Pitcher of the Year award and to Mark Trumbo for the team M.V.P. award – neither a surprise and both extremely well deserved!! So, onward to the last four games of the season and hopefully the last four wins of the season. I am all for the Angels finishing the season as strong as they can whether that means a miracle Wild Card Playoff berth or just a final record that’s that much better.

Math Is Hard, Let’s Go to the Angels Game! + Rootin’ for the Enemy and Beware of Hitchhiking Mantises

I’m a freak, I admit it. I loved math in school. Algebra, geometry, trig, calc, it all appealed. I was even working on a math minor in college until multiple variable calculus. Trippy stuff that. Once I stopped being able to see what the shapes were doing in my head. *tap, tap* I’m out. But I still enjoy it. Problem solving. Statistics. Wonderful stuff! But this elimination number math? Yuck! That’s an entirely different story. 

Clearly Jered Weaver, Jeff Mathis and Dan Haren aren't overly fond of this whole elimination number math thing either. Angels vs. A's, May 25, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Oh I am familiar with it. Between my Dodger fan childhood and my Angels fan adulthood, I have _plenty_ of experience with elimination number math, I’m afraid, and just enough experience with magic number math to know that I significantly prefer that…then again, don’t we all? The Angels have certainly spoiled me more years than not this past decade but, especially with last season’s refresher course, I’m not too rusty to torture myself with endless “what if” elimination number math scenarios. Tom Godwin had the Cold Equations. I call these the Desperate Equations.

Could it happen this way?:

If the Rangers lose one and the Angels win two, and the Rangers lose one and then another one, and another two and the Angels win one and then another two and two more…

Or, maybe, could it happen this way?:

If the Red Sox lose one, and lose one more, and the Rays lose two, and the Red Sox lose one and the Rays lose two more, and the Angels win four…

So, one plus one plus two plus one… Hmmmm….anyone else overcome with an irrational desire to watch Clue? 😉

Say what crazy Angels blogger lady?! One plus two plus one plus what? Run that math by us one more time. Angels vs. A's, May 25, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

All equations point to the fact that the Angels still have a chance. But with another loss to their record, and especially if they continue committing those kind of errors, it’s a thin wisp of a chance, even after this evening’s win. If they win just about every game left. If the Rangers or the Red Sox and the Rays start losing, a lot. If. If. If…suffice to say, it’s pretty darned iffy. But stranger things have happened.

I still have hope. I am practical and this is far from my first September rodeo, but I have hope. And I have tickets to Friday night’s game against the A’s and Monday night’s game against the Rangers. One way or the other, however these equations work themselves out, I want to enjoy watching my team play as much as possible. After all, whether it starts at the end of October or September, it’s a long, cold, baseball-less winter. Gotta gorge yourself while the game’s in season…and if the solution to either of the equations works out to a be Red, Halo’d October, I want to be there to see it.

*     *     *     *     *

And sadly, as part of the Desperate Equations, I find myself once again rooting for the Yankees. The AL West is so…well…the AL West that this happens once or twice a season out of necessity. The enemy of my enemy is…still really distasteful to root for truth be told but, much like when I rooted for the Red Sox against the Rangers a few weeks ago, it has be done.

However, it amuses me to no end that Red Sox fans are rooting for the Yankees along with me at the moment. Red Sox fans, you’re a little newer at this rooting for the enemy thing than some of the rest of us, so I offer you the following advice from another favorite movie:

The shame is like the pain. You only feel it once.

And that is absolutely…not true. But the shame and the pain do get a little be better each time. Enjoy. 😉

*     *     *     *     *

On a more humorous note, when Seth and I stopped for gas on the way out of town this weekend, we noticed we had a hitchhiker on the pedal of my bike: 

Hitchhiking Mantis says, "Take me to your LoMo!" Cambria Trip, September 16, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

We tried to coax the little guy off, but he was so stubborn he would have none of it. And he had two broken back legs so we figured we would just let him be. Maybe the wind would give him enough of a lift to fly away when we took off. But no, the next morning when we went to unload our bikes for our morning ride, some 245 miles away, he was still in the truck bed and very much alive. This time he let us move him to the grass. Maybe he was hoping to catch some sort of wounded mantis transport for Florida? It was like the Incredible Journey in search of LoMo.

The Angels and Orioles Did Wha…La La La La, Not Listening!!

My husband just got a new job!! Lacking the ability to set off fireworks from my blog, execute a Nastia Liukin worthy tumbling run of joyous flips and whipbacks, or hire John Williams to compose an appropriately uplifting and celebratory musical score just for the occasion, I don’t think I can adequately explain the magnitude of our happiness over this news…so that extra exclamation point will have to suffice. He has a little bit of time in between jobs so to celebrate we headed up the coast for a long weekend at my inlaws’ place in Cambria.

However, just because I decided to take the weekend off from watching baseball games does not mean the Angels were supposed take the weekend off from playing them. Oh yes boys, I may not have been watching, so I missed all of the hit batsmen and other drama and will have to catch up when I return, but I saw those scores and can I just say? Yuck. Ouch. And what the hell was that?! And against a last place team too! Yes, this is baseball and in any given season the underdog pulls through a reasonable number of times but the fact remains that these are games the Angels needed to win. Good thing I am weekending in the land of relaxing views and copious amounts of wine!

Then on Sunday *poof* as if by magic, the bats reappeared (Hel-lo Erick Aybar!), as did the gloves and the arms. The pitching settled down. Our ace took the mound on short rest and, without the Texas heat compounding things, gave the team just what it needed. And ‘lo and behold we had ourselves a contending baseball team that actually played like one.

…which does , of course, raise the question, are the Angels still contending? After this weekend’s performance, salvaged on Sunday or not, do they still have a chance in Hell of making the playoffs? That’s a tough question…

I have a fantastic recipe for a chocolate mousse pie. It’s a deceptively simple recipe, just good bittersweet chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar and cream with splashes of vanilla and dark rum. The secret to the mousse is all technique and chemistry, so external factors like the weather or the temperature of the kitchen can ruin it all too easily. If something goes wrong and the chocolate in the ganache at the base of the mousse begins to seize, all you can do is whisk it for all you’re worth and hope you can get the whipped cream to blend in to make mousse. At this point, failure is almost certain and, chances are, all you will be left with is a sore arm and a lump of chocolate the consistency of greasy play dough sitting in a pool of thinning whipped cream. But every now and then, luck and just quick enough thinking are on your side, and everything whisks into a perfect suspension of chocolate in whipped cream awaiting only the addition of the meringue.

Honestly, I think this is where the Angels are right now. Whisking and hoping. They did a lot of damage this weekend and with only 10 games left in the season…I just don’t know. With Weaver pitching on short rest, we have our best possible pitchers lined up for the final series against Texas but more stars have to align on the way to that series for it to matter. We are 4.5 games out of first. It’s not just a matter of the Angels needing to win at this point, Texas needs to lose. A lot. But I haven’t thrown my cap – yes, the “ugly” one 😉 – down in disgust and given up yet. Any chance, no matter how small, is worth rooting for.

So, boys, for this next series against Toronto, did you remember to pack your bats? Gloves? Arms? Clutch? Drive? Best pitching performances? Fantastic! I trust you made a list and checked everything off just to be sure? Wonderful. Hopefully you rearranged your bags so you could bring all of this on as carryon luggage this time. We don’t need those bats or gloves to get lost at the airport again like they apparently did in Baltimore, now do we?

Let Us Have Angels, Wins and a Happy Ending

 

The show must…you know…

Go on!

It will be alright.

How will it?

I don’t know, it’s a mystery. 

Favorite lines from a favorite movie, having nothing whatsoever to do with baseball. And, yet, these are the lines I find running through my ever tangential brain as I contemplate the last remaining days of the regular season.

Three and a half games behind the Rangers, our intrepid Angel heroes head off to AL East to challenge two teams against whom they have had mixed results this season. Meanwhile, the Rangers enter the extremely soft finish to their overall-harder-than-the-Angels’ September schedule, and face off against two teams they have beaten bloody this season. At this point in our story, things look a bit grim for our heroes, statistically speaking, and the promise of three games against the Rangers to end the regular season doesn’t assuage all concerns quite as quickly as it did a few weeks ago…

But that’s just the numbers talking. Statistics and probabilities. The same statistics and probabilities that throughout the season predicted the Angels would be mathematically eliminated or right on the verge of it At this point. So, in the immortal words of Charlie Brown, tell your statistics to shut up. 😉  Somehow, every time they were on the verge of being too far out of the race to come back this season, the Angels have managed to come back. A crucial pitching performance. A dynamite play. A key walk off hit. The reemergence of the offense. How do things keep working out? I don’t know. It’s a mystery. But they do.

Can the Angels still squeeze their way into the post season, even now, either via an AL West title or the Wild Card? Absolutely! But will they? And, if so, how will they manage it? I don’t know. It’s a mystery. At the moment our probable pitchers list after Jered Weaver’s start on Wednesday is Dan Haren, Ervin Santana and then…a big series of questions marks. And that’s one of the mysteries that is key to the post season mystery ending on a cheerful note. Is it back to Jerome Williams and Joel Pineiro? Well, I like the first part of that thought. Will the Angels adopt a sort of three man/short rest rotation for the time being? If so, I sure hope if works better outside of the Texas heat. Make the right decision Sosh, because this is Double Jeopardy where the scores can really change…especially if Pineiro is on the mound and his sinkerball is still hiding underneath the sofa cushions in the clubhouse.

But there are more mysteries within mysteries. I’ve been saying all season that there are two Angels teams that seem to switch uniforms from time to time, the clutch team and the Keystone Cops. So which Angels team is landing in Baltimore? And in Toronto? For that matter which teams will the as-yet-to-be-determined Angels team be facing? The spoiler Orioles and Jays who easily bested the higher ranking Rays and Red Sox this week or the teams the Angeles were able to beat a few times? I certainly hope it’s the latter but I don’t know, it’s…well…you know.

Starting Friday night in Baltimore, the Angels need to go on a longer winning streak than they have been on all season and Texas needs to lose a few games. They Angels may be able to survive another loss or two, but only if Texas is losing as well and it doesn’t cost them anything in the standings. Is this likely? No. But I live for against the odds story book type endings and so, apparently, do the Angels. So, Let’s Go Halos!

Angels Take Two Against the Yankees! …Oh. Yeah. And That Play Too.

Peter Bourjos dropped the ball and then made a truly terrible throw. Oh no! Head for the hills! The sky is falling! The world is coming to an end! The Angels are finished! And, and, there’s no Santa Clause either!

Come on all you gloom and doomers. Yes, you really do sound that silly. The Angels just won the series against the Yankees, something we haven’t been able to do all season. And they won it with two days of stellar pitching and three days of offense each of which on it’s own could have been the entire offensive output for a whole series earlier in the season. And – and this is a huge and! – we kept pace with the Rangers in the standings over the weekend.

Yes, the boys were awfully close to sweeping and gaining yet another game on the Rangers and that makes the error especially disappointing, but let’s put this in perspective. A brilliant young centerfielder who has been one of the highlights of the season for so many of us this year, had a really bad day defensively…and it wasn’t even the whole day, though I am aware this play wasn’t the only gaff, just the biggest. That’s all that happened. 99.99% of the time he would have made the catch. Yesterday he didn’t. But he took responsibility for it to in the clubhouse without any drama, so hat’s off Peter. That’s the Angels way! Suffice to say, this is not the end of the world. The sky is not falling. The Angels are far from finished. And this error is not even solely responsible for the loss, even though the offense didn’t have three entire innings afterwards to score one more run and at least tie it up again…Oh. Wait. They did.

Okay, so that part about Santa Clause not being real? That was true but, I mean, you knew that already. Right? …Right? Oooops. *face palm* Um, you there. The rather young fellow in the back there who’s crying? Yeah, you. Sorry kid! Better go call your mom. Anyway, moving right along…

This series the Angels faced the Yankees while the Rangers faced the A’s whom they have owned all season. Gaining a game on the Rangers over the weekend was very unlikely. Keeping pace with them over the weekend given those two matchups was quite an accomplishment. Now we’re in Oakland for three days with one of my favorite lineups this evening and Jerome Williams and Jered Weaver headed for the mound Tuesday and Wednesday and the Rangers are headed to Cleveland. Remember how I’ve been saying September is going to be a two steps forward, one step back again kind of a month? The Angels took one step forward and another step right back over the weekend and this week they’re going to take that second step forward!!

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back. It’s a September Simon Says to the Season Finish, Folks!

And a September Simon Says is pretty much what I expected for the Angels push to catch up with those wily Rangers in this season’s wild, wild, a wee bit wilder than usual in fact, AL West. Yes, Tuesday night’s loss was frustrating. All those errors! Ugh! But Monday night’s win, with the Angels’ bats rising to the occasion to pick up Dan Haren, was glorious and this evening’s come from behind win was exhilarating, if a bit more exciting than strictly necessary. And, with Texas unable to do much against the pitching firm of Shields and Price – love that fan cave bit! – the Angels have gained one precious game on them, shrinking Texas’ lead to a mere 2.5 games.

Torii Hunter warms up in right field. Torii had an uncharacteristically rough first two innings in right but pulled himself out of the error cycle and more than made up for it with spectacular plays the rest of the game...would that Aybar, Callaspo and Izturis could say the same the next evening. Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

September is still young and I predict a lot more Simon Says-style steps forward and back in the standings before all is said and done. So hang on to your hats and glasses, Angels fans. I think this rollercoaster of a season is going to come down to the last three games when the Angels and Rangers clash in Anaheim, don’t you? In the mean time, what better place is there to soak in all the excitement of the closest division race of the season than the Big A? (Sorry New York and Boston. Yes, I am aware that your division race is closer, and that the end result is extremely important to you, but for the rest of us? It’s not that big a deal. We already know you’re both going to the playoffs.) Of course, I won’t be able to attend as many games as I want to this month, but I plan on heading out to the ballgame as often as my wallet and a very understanding boss will allow. Seth and I started with Monday’s game.

To the victors go the high fives! Jeff Mathis, Jered Weaver, Vernon Wells, Alberto Callaspo and Bobby Wilson greet the infield after the last out. Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

As I mentioned, this was not Dan Haren’s best night by any means. But like the veteran workhorse he is, he battled and kept the Angels in the game. And, like Jered Weaver in his equally turbulent Saturday start, this guy has lost pretty so many times this season, he deserved to be able to win ugly this time. It didn’t hurt that he was facing off against a rookie and that the Angels graciously decided not to make this rookie look like Cy Young award winner. 😉

Dan Haren pitching from the stretch, as he did frequently this game. It was not Haren's best outting but he still toughed and gritted his way tto a win with a little run support from his friends. Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Rookie Anthony Vasquez' 3rd start could have gone better. It also could have gone worse. Let's call this appearance inconclusive. Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

In both team’s cases, the relievers actually fared better than the starters. Kudos to Bobby Cassevah and Hisanori Takehashi for maintaining the lead. And while I certainly haven’t spoken with either reliever, somehow I am sure that in return they say kudos to the Angels offense for not handing them yet another one-run lead.

Bobby Cassevah took over for Haren in the 7th and pitched a 1, 2, 3 inning with two strikeouts. Suffice to say Bobby Cassevah is growing on me, and quickly. He gets extra points in my book for walking up to Hank Jr.'s A Country Boy Can Survive. Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Closer Cesar Jiminez took the mound amidst a rare flurry of Angels fan heckling. As he warmed up the entire left field pavillion let out a loud, soprano "Whooooooop" every time he pitched the ball and a "Woooooooooo" eevery time the catcher returned it. No matter how they timed their throws, the crowd matched them. It was funny mostly because you never hear stuff like that at the Big A. One wonders if he had a "special" moment with the fans that prompted it. Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

For the Angels offense truly was the key to this game. It was a thing of beauty! You couldn’t keep them off the base paths, a trend that absolutely must continue this month if they’re going to catch the Rangers. I say that it’s all well and good to rest a few bats here and there but, unlike Tuesday’s game, multiple bats should not be rested at the same time and when say Howie or Trout is sitting out the game, if his replacement isn’t getting it done in the field or at the plate they should be replaced in inning three or four, not inning nine. How about it Sosh, what do you say?

Vernon Wells takes a swing while Mark Trumbo leads off 3rd. Josh Bard is catching. Wells and Trumbo both homered this game. Mark's well-timed 26th Trumbomb was a two-run affair in the first inning tto give the Angels an early lead. Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Torii Hunter one pitch prior to knocking Peter Bourjos (who leads off 3rd) in with a triple. A now healthy Torii is swinging the bat much better than the Torii of the chronically bruised ribs from the first half of the season. Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Peter Bourjos looks downright pissed standing on first base after a walk in the 3rd. Was he mad he got walked? Did I just catch him in a rare non-sunny moment for no particular reason? Was Mariners' first baseman Adam Kennedy talkin' trash? Only Fleet Pete can say. Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

On second thought, maybe Adam Kennedy was talking trash because Howie Kendrick doesn't look any happier in this meeting of former team mates...maybe Jeff Mathis owes Kennedy rent money and he's bugging the other players to collect? Totally kidding of course. 😉 Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

The future is now! Peter Bourjos, Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout. Watching these rookies (and near rookie) come up to the big leagues and into their own while breathing new life into the veteran players has made my season. Seeing Trout and Bourjos in the same outfield a year early makes me giddy every time I their names in the lineup. And between the Trumbomb, Trumbo and Bourjos’ doubles and Bourjos and Trout’s speed everywhere, all three players had an excellent night.

The future is now! Mike Trout takes a mighty swing while Mark Trumbo leads off 3rd. I can't wait for a whole season of these two and the rest of the Angels rookie stars in the same lineup! Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Trout did miss robbing a Seattle homerun that several of the fans thought he should have caught. From my vantage less than 30 feet away, he would have had to dive into the 4th row to catch the ball. He’s good, but that wasn’t happening. Besides, as Seth and I joked afterwards, judging from the number of hits I get on this blog for “Peter Bourjos Butt,” “Mike Trout Butt” and even “(insert name of Angels rookie of choice here) naked” when there ain’t no booty shots here to be found (so you know that number of actual searches using these terms is exponentially larger), I think it’s safe to say that the young women (and likely some of the young men) of Orange County have…um…shall we say…caught Angels rookie fever. If young Trout were to sail into the stands, they might try to keep him for a souvenir.

The future is now! Peter Bourjos in center and Mike Trout in left warm up in between innings. This is but one sneak preview of the 2012 season!! Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Mariners outfielders Mike Carp and Trayvon Robinson warm up between innings. The Angels are not the only team hoping to benefit from a youth uprising. Both young players have looked very good, at least against the Angels. Can an influx of young blood help lead the Mariners to a winning season in 2012? Guess we’ll have to wait and see. Personally, now that we’ve knocked them to elimination, I would love to see the Mariners start an amazing winning streak immediately. You know, really take their bad season agressions out on the Rangers…hey, a girl can dream.

Trayvon Robinson and Mike Carp warm up in between innings. You can see Ichiro in the background. Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Trayvon Robinson leads off 2nd while Erick Aybar and Mark Trumbo prepare for the pitch. Aybar had a great night Monday. It just goes to prove that we need Howie Kendrick in the game as often as possible. Aybar between Callaspo and Izurtis is one error prone little dude. Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

And now for something completely silly…the Angels wonderfully goofy production staff has started airing short Q&A’s with the players on improbable topics in between innings. This evening’s fodder? ‘How many Jersey Shore kids can you name?’ and ‘Team Edward or Team Jacob?’ Needless to say, these are hardworking professional baseball players, not pre-teen girls. In most cases they didn’t even understand the questions, with humorous results. Ervin Santana’s expression shown below was the funniest, but Joel Pineiro with his “Is that the show with that chick that looks like a poodle?” had the best answer. Though Torii was pretty funny too. He scoffed at Twilight (though he did know what it was – he has teenagers after all) and said they should be asking him about “man” movies. When the reporter obliged and asked what his favorite action movie was, he was so taken aback that he sputtered and laughed at himself because he could not think of a single one.

Ervin Santana appears perplexed by the question. Don't worry Ervin, many of us join you in a collective WTF?! over Twilight. Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

And, let us not forget, rookie call-ups mean more rookie backpacks:

Mariners rookie relief pitchers display their backpack badges of rookie hazing. The Dora the Explorer and the cute kitty backpacks are pretty much par for the MLB course these days but the R2D2 backpack absolutely rocks! Angels vs. Mariners, September 6, 2011. Photo by This is a very simple game...

Ferris Angels’ Day Off…Sans Feel Good Ending

Mistakes happen. Everyone has a bad day now and then. I’ll do better next time. Combine these thoughts with a genuine I’m sorry and, in the real world, all are perfectly valid responses to failures. And, chances are, your boss’ annoyance will blow over, you’ll learn from your mistake and continue on with your work becoming an even stronger employee for the educational experience. …except when times are tough and, for better or worse, things are coming to an end.

Packing box encounters of the worst kind!

I started working for a well known mortgage bank in 2006, when the industry was still flush. I stayed with that same company for the next four years through a lot of…ah…well…Downturn? Recession? Near depression? I forget what term the economists eventually settled on, but at any rate, it was centered around my industry and it miiiight have stretched just a little bit farther than that to…well…everywhere. Heck, I think it might have even made the news. 😉

Suffice to say, texting my husband who was out of work at the time (same industry) “If the FDIC walks through *****’s doors today, on a scale of 1 to 10, just how screwed are you and I, because judging from the way the execs are behaving today, this is not an if…” is not something I ever want to do again. But that experience, and the two years of layoff musical chairs that followed, did put me a great position to know that when the excrement is hitting the proverbial fan, as human as it is to want a slack day, you take one at your own peril.

And that’s what the Angels took Friday night, a slack day. How else does one explain taking such a shellacking from the mighty offensive force that is the Twins lineup without Thome, Morneau, Mauer and Young? Our pitchers throwing balls and giving up walks like they were going out of style? The slumbering bats? The fielding errors? The lackadaisical defense? Total slack day.

Nooooooo! I'm not ready to pack up baseball for the winter and the Angels shouldn't be either.

Sure, everyone needs a kickback day from time to time. But when you come into work every couple of weeks to find a new, large stack of boxes lining the walls, making it convenient for security to hand them to whole departments or sections at a time for ease of packing up their desks? (And I know all too many of you know just what I mean) Yeah, this would not be the time for a kick back day. This would be the time to bust your ass, going above and beyond for the team. True, it’s different for most ballplayers. They make millions of dollars and many of them know they are coming back next season. But, Angels, do you remember how much it absolutely sucked to pack up your lockers in boxes at the end of September last season? Rumors were rife with how grumpy some of you were signing autographs that day and I can understand why. So let’s do everything we can to keep those boxes in storage for as long as we can, shall we?

I managed to somehow still have an office chair every time the music stopped.by making myself always useful, accurate, willing to bust my ass and take on an additional duty or three, and through no small amount of luck too. And this is what the Angels need now. No more mistakes. Yes, mistakes are human but when you’re close to the end of the season in such dire straits, there simply is no margin for error. No slack days. The Angels can have their fun, but they need to do so while winning every series in September, especially the one against Texas. Sweeping a few would be even better. Hey, I said this was possible, I didn’t say it was easy. And managers? The best team needs to be out on the field every day. If we are behind and offensively slacking, switch things up before the 9th inning please. Better yet, put the best bats out there in the first place. And here’s the luck part. We need Texas to lose more often than we do. A tall order indeed.

A tall order, but I’m not ready to give up hope yet. I left all residual exasperation from last night on the bike trail this morning. I’m psyched for tonight’s game and already hunting for a great deal on tickets for Monday and possibly next weekend. In short, I’m in this until the end. Are you, Angels? How about making us all believe it? Tonight. Sunday. Next week. And right on through September.