Richards and Skaggs Show Major Potential in First Starts.

Last year, this time of the season, I was already blasting the Angels' acquisition of Joe Blanton.  Garrett Richards would be relegated to the bullpen, though he was trained to be a starter throughout our minor league system.  I feared this move would seriously ruin his potential and his worth to the team, and with that we'd lose his talents somehow.

I'm really glad that wasn't ultimately the case, though I still don't quite understand the move to this day. In the first game of the series vs. Houston, Richards showed once again why he deserved to be in the rotation all of last year - but then again, a 2-14 season sets the bar pretty low.

He did about as well as one could hope against a team coming off a couple wins - and pitching for a team coming off a sweep.  Richards' location wasn't quite as sharp as it looked to be all spring, walking five over five innings of work. However, he only gave up a single run on three hits, while also wracking up seven strike outs in those five innings, stopping the bleeding and giving the Angels their first win of the season.

Nothing like a momentum builder:

Such a filthy pitch - absolutely beautiful. I love his attitude on the field, and I definitely look forward to him having a break-out year this year. I really think it's going to happen.

It also helps that he was backed by a stellar offensive effort all around. Mike Trout had another Mike Trout kind of night, starting the game off with a home run, being intentionally walked with the bases loaded (securing an RBI in the process), and making a fantastic throw to the plate to take out Krauss for an outfield assist. Hamilton is smashed the ball as well, and Howie Kendrick finally got in on the action, combining for an overall 11 runs on 15 hits - more runs in one game than in the entire opening series at home.

I'm sure we all sat wondering if it was just a fluke after such a dreadful start - knowing the team's history in April, we're probably all justified in some healthy skepticism.  Fortunately, Tyler Skaggs came out and pitched an absolutely beautiful debut. Easily the best showing by a starter this season, Skaggs pitched incredibly efficiently, only needing 95 pitches over eight innings - the longest any Angels starter had pitched into a game this season - to get the win, giving up only an unearned run (on McDonald's error at third - though that ball was definitely smoked) on four hits, and impressively, only a single walk over those eight innings. It's a definite shame he wasn't sent back out for the ninth inning to get the team's first complete game as well - he didn't look like he was cooling off in the eighth by any means, and so this decision perplexes me (as the pitching decisions have this season, on several occasions, already). I get that Joe Smith was slated to get some work tonight, but why break up a thing of beauty?

It was great to see David Freese finally get in on the offensive action, giving the Angels a 2-4 night with a walk, two runs, and RBI as the team's DH for the night - better than he's produced while playing third.  Hamilton also continues to hit the ball hard, with his now-.500 batting average.

The question is - can it keep going? Today, Weaver will take the hill against Houston's Scott Feldman, a pitcher the Angels have seen a time or two in a Rangers uniform - good news for a team that tends to play significantly better - and hit better - against an opposing pitcher they know.  It's always a strange thing: the Angels just cannot hit a pitcher they've never seen, even if he's straight up from AA and has never had success before - the Angels can be that team to build some confidence against.  However, the Angels tend to do very well against those veteran players, even ones that are Cy Young-caliber pitchers, that most teams fail to succeed against. It's always been a strange situation to observe.

Looking forward to today's day game, and (hopefully) the Angels' securing of a first series victory.

Playing Catch-up.... Again.

So it seems that no matter what this team does, the pattern is being notably established.  Six years running now, the Angels have dropped the opening series (0-3 to the Mariners here in 2014, 1-2 to the Reds in 2013, 1-2 to the Royals in 2012, 0-3 to the Royals in 2011, 1-3 to the Twins in 2010, 1-2 to the As in 2009).  You have to go back to 2008 when the Angels swept the Twins in Minnesota to see a winning first series to the season.

So we can maybe say a couple things about these facts:

1. The Angels haven't done much since 2009, in terms of getting to the post-season.  This doesn't bode well, since these opening series, at least the past three years, have left the Angels so far in the dust of the AL West that they couldn't get out of the hole again.
2. At the same time, not all of these seasons were losers.  For example, the Angels were 89-73 in 2012, 86-76 in 2011, and 97-65 in 2009, despite going 1-2, 0-3, and 1-2 in the opening series of each year respectively.
3. It's still only the three games into a 162-game series.  No sense in hitting the panic button yet.  If this three-game sweep had occurred in June, no one would make a fuss of it.

I do have to say though, some really strange things going on in this first series.  Already, two pitchers not happy with the way they were handled on the mound - notably C.J. Wilson's intentional walk to Cano that ended up in Smoak's bases-clearing triple, and Hector Santiago's pulling after 83 pitches.  I know it's early in the season, but for both pitchers to have already voiced some kind of concern to the media like that, it seems like frustrations are already running high.

Guess I should've guest it was coming - the curse - when Don Baylor fell to his knees on the mound when we were at the game on Monday. Scary situation.

There were however, some good things to note. First, Mike Trout seems to not be phased by his contract extension - not that this is surprising in any sense (let's just hope we aren't making him regret it already, three games into 2014).  Second, (pretty much) everyone is healthy - even if they're not being successful right now, they will be, eventually.  Lastly, there were a lot of lucky bloops going on in the games, particularly against our starting pitching, and with Weaver sick on Monday, there's no reason to really believe things will stay this way - and eventually, the luck will turn around for our hitters, too (contact being made will find holes, sooner or later).  

Let's just hope that the mental errors - the base-running hiccups, the fielding errors, etc - minimalize, and the bullpen figures out how not to continually blow it.  A few players have looked okay - new pick up Joe Smith most notably - and there's still a really small sample size right now.  We'll find a rhythm, we'll hit a stride, we'll find some chemistry.  I just don't see this going the way of the last two years - or at least I'm praying it won't.

So some final thoughts:

• If the pitching continues this way - as it has for several years now (and has been getting progressively worse since Bud Black left for the Padres) - I'm not sure how Butcher could possibly keep his job. (I know it's not ALL his fault.  We are still living out the Reagins-era mistakes, specifically the dumping of our entire farm system of pitching in a relatively short time for little return.  However, even our long-term pitchers have started to slip and that's not a good sign, and that IS up to him.)
• I'm still not crazy about the lineup in some sense.  I think Howie Kendrick should be batting higher in the lineup (maybe where Freese is batting).  I know he hasn't had a hit yet in the regular season, but he is our most stable for-average hitter outside of Trout, and it might help to move him - who knows.
• The Astros, unfortunately, have gotten off to a decent start.  This might make it difficult to reverse course, and with the history of last year, even more difficult. But no better time than the present, they say.

Keeping my fingers crossed tonight.

Two blogs later, returning to the source.

Much has changed - marriage, new location, new job for me, and an entire lineup shift for my team.  There have been few constants, and the years have been up and down since my last post to this blog.  But one thing remains the same: I still love baseball.

Tonight began the first (but really third) official game of the 2014 Season. The San Diego Padres hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers, to a record crowd of over 45,000 of mostly split allegiance.  While I was working hard to really resurrect this blog within that time, I did make a few observations.

1. Cashner, though he gave up a few runs, has really good stuff. A couple of bloops that happened to find holes were really to blame for any damage.  Otherwise, the movement on his fastball was pretty impressive.

2. It seems to me that few of the players (particularly the infielders) in the Dodger's starting lineup trust Puig to do what needs to be done.  Hanley's cut-off of Puig's throw to third early in the game is testament to the sentiment, I feel.

3. Not only that particular instance of distrust, but a general lack of communication and chemistry throughout the Dodger's team - there were quite a few places where it looked like the players didn't know how to read each other (Wilson's bobble on a grounder in front of the mound, for example). That doesn't bode well for the team, especially with Kershaw out for an unidentified amount of time.

4. Petco remained true to its nature - a place where home runs go to die (one of a few very pitcher friendly parks).

As the Dodgers fall 2-1, and the Padres get off to a pretty good start (nice to see teams not give up after going down early in a game and staying there for 8 innings) albeit only a single game in.  What this game did secure is my love of the game, my general excitement for the season, and my renewed interest in resurrecting this blog now that I have some free time and energy! Tomorrow, true Opening Day, will be an exciting one, as my family and I will be in attendance with what will hopefully be a sold-out crowd at Angels Stadium as the Angels take on the Seattle Mariners.

Some Hopes/Projections for tomorrow (and the season at large):

• Weaver/Hernandez always proves to be a great duel, though the Angels have typically had a pretty good handle on King Felix's stuff.
• Trout will make his regular season debut as a rich(er) man, and so far it hasn't seemed to phase him in any sense - he's still incredibly ridiculous.  Looking forward to his continued dominance.
• The Mariners has made some pretty expensive acquisitions hoping to finally be able to keep up in the West.  While it seems many writers are still very skeptical, I'll wait to let it play out some before I make any judgment. 
• Speaking of which, Robinson Cano in a Mariners uniform... this one still surprises me, and I'm anxious to see how it works out for him, going from one of the largest stages of Major League baseball, to near-oblivion.
• Many Angels players have had incredible Springs - Howie Kendrick most notably (Trout aside).  I remember so much talk surrounding him as a young player about winning batting titles; while I don't think that it truly in the cards for him at this point, I do think he's going to have another solid hit-for-average season.
• I think this year we'll see the true potential of what has become a very expensive lineup.  Pujols looks to be healthy this year, and despite the injury to his calf in Spring Training, Hamilton has been very productive as well.  Even with losing (one of my favorites) Trumbo, this 2-3-4 looks like it might finally live up to the hype.
• While pitching is still a question mark (as many writers have been keen to note), this is a significant upgrade from last year's sad state.  With Blanton finally released, and some definite upside being displayed by Santiago and Skaggs, it can't possibly be worse than last year - and with the lineup clicking in ways not previously seen (the chemistry, sense of urgency, and overall camaraderie and positivity of the team is a MUCH welcomed sight), it should be interesting. I really like Santiago - definitely becoming a fan favorite (follows everyone on twitter and reacts! Makes you feel like he actually acknowledges you and reads you!) - and I think Skaggs could really develop well (even though I'm not sure he's quite ready to be an every day starter, again, better than the alternative).  I think I'm mostly looking forward to Richards being an every-day fixture, finally. I couldn't figure out why he wasn't last year, and so I'm glad to see that he will be given a true chance.  I think he's got great attitude and presence on the mound, and I really think he's got the potential to be dominating this year. Hoping for a break-out.

Until tomorrow - from the Stadium!

TRIUMPHANT RETURN? part 1: my own experiences at the park

Well, I've avoided posting this season because of the sheer volume of things going on in my own life, not to mention the sheer volume of craziness going on in the world of baseball this year. There is so much to say and I doubt I can fully cover all of it in one post. But it has been requested to me on several occasions now that I continue posting my thoughts. I don't know why anyone would want to know what I think, but I'll throw it all out there anyway.

This season has been extremely, well, interesting for a lack of a more descriptive word. I have seen my share of games this season, from a number of different views of the stadium. The first game I attended this season was on Wednesday, April 8. My boyfriend and I took our seven-dollar seats in section 425 in the lower view mvps (we have grown accustomed to these seats -- I'm fairly certain that if I could pull season tickets in those seats, I'd have no problem going to every game and loving it, even from up high). We watched, gen

uinely excited, as Nick Adenhart made his season debut. We'd been looking forward to his presence in our rotation, especially with three empty holes left by injuries.

When I woke up the next morning and went to work, everything felt normal -- I taught my first and second period classes just as usual, and returned to my room for my prep period. I turned on my computer, like normal, checked email and filled out my online roll sheets, and then did my daily routine of checking various sports-related websites. I was in absolute disbelief at the headlines, and the pictures. I'm not going to go into frivolous detail about it, but it took a few days before the sadness even waned. I guess some people think it is stupid for me to be sad and upset over the death of someone I didn't know personally, but those people can grow hearts. It was so strange and eerie that my boyfriend and I had watched him pitch just hours before... I just hope that the guy who did it gets served with Justice. And people like Bellasario (relief pitcher for the Dodger) and Chamberlain (pitcher for the Yankees) feel like the biggest jackasses on the planet -- because they are.

On a lighter note, however...

About a month later, my boyfriend invited me to another game. No, this is not uncommon. However, he did get tickets from his company, and we excepted to sit in club level, which was cool in and of itself, since I'd never sat in the club level at the stadium (well, at least until a few weeks later when his family ended up getting club-level tickets from a friend). But the surprises to follow were mind-blowing. We arrived at the stadium, met up in front with our host, and proceeded through the gate and into the elevator that would take us to our seats. When we got into the elevator, our host spoke with the elevator operator (yes, there is a guy that pushes the buttons FOR you) and pushed a button, and all of a sudden our elevator was not going up, but down. My boyfriend and I looked at each other with the indication of "no way, that can't be right." The doors open and we see a series of halls. The signs on the wall indicate numbers that go off in both directions, as well as "home dugout" and "visitor dugout." Yes, that's where we were.

We get into our "club" house, and this is what we see:

And then we walked up to our actual seats, and THIS is what we saw:

Isn't it beautiful? I went absolutely crazy. I couldn't breathe. But I could take pictures, and I definitely did. Here are a few:

Oh yeah, and THIS was our neighbor:

So this was probably the coolest night, pretty much ever. Even though we lost (the only game that series that we did lose to Boston, of all teams) it was an awesome game. Weaver pitched well, left with a no decision, and then the bullpen, notorious for blowing games in the early stages of the season, did what it was accustomed to doing at that point, which is another story entirely.

And that was just a little of my personal experience of the first half. Tomorrow, I'll go into more detail about what I think of the actual team and game play of the first half, and maybe even some predictions of the second half to come!

Until tomorrow!

WORD TO THE UN-WISE

Just because we DITCHED Frankie Rodriguez (yes, WE ditched HIM, not the other way around -- we didn't want him back, and with GOOD REASON) and didn't get Teixeira (OMG it's the end of the world without Teixeira) really doesn't constitute much weakness.  We went more than HALF of last season without Tex, and would have won games with or without Frankie (let's not talk about how many games he blew it or NEARLY blew it -- including game two of the ALDS we had such a great run going and he blew with a homer to J.D. Drew... yes, I'm still bitter about that one).  To put the Angels number 2 on a list of "losers" this offseason, and to say they will have a weak season, is ridiculous, over two players.  Did they not predict an 82-80 season last year too? Yeah, look how THAT prediction panned out.

Freaking morons.  SHUT UP.