Even I Can Be Happy For Andy Pettite

Posted on May 19, 2012 by rob

The Yankees have cost many teams an opportunity to get to and celebrate a World Series Title. Like it or not, the Yankees are one of the best sports organizations in the history of professional sports and they have multiple rings and trophies to show for it. One of the players I really like is pitcher Andy Pettite. I am thinking I like this guy because he is the anti-modern athlete and what I mean by that is that he just goes out and does his job and consistently performs on the mound without attitude or yapping at other people. He is a smooth left handed pitcher that has given hitters trouble for years and to see him come back from retirement and throw a shutout was really cool.

He is very popular with the Yankees and fans because of the length of his time with the Yanks and because of his ties to all of the recent World Series Championships. It was impossible to know what he would bring after coming out of retirement since 2010. If the game the other day against the Reds is any indication of what he has left then Andy is going to really help stabilize the Yankees pitching staff. He is a good guy and even having my loyalty lie with the struggling Los Angeles Angels, I root for Andy because of it. Congratulation Andy on your shutout! In so many ways, I am not surprised that you did just that! Dominating!

Article By: Rob Brack

I Still Can’t Believe Lakes Helped Thunder Evaporate 8 Point Game Two Lead

Posted on May 19, 2012 by rob

How could they possibly lose that game? I am happy they won game three but they had game 2 also up 8 with just over two minutes to play and then the wheels came off. It is important to note that I would have preferred Steve Blake make that game ending shot but know that given the defensive rotations that he had the open shot and had to take it. There are not excuses for the sloppy play that led to the need to have Steve take that shot near the end of regulation but again I do not fault him. For those of you that are sending death threats via twitter you need to settle down. It is completely inappropriate to send threats to harm the Blake family over a missed shot. It’s funny though. I blame Kobe Bryant for that loss and I know he is on twitter so why didn’t he get threats. Kobe got a free pass on that his horrible and un-Kobe like play at the end of the game simply because he is Kobe. You wouldn’t have a right to threaten him either and I am pretty sure electronically when you threaten someone like you did the Blake Family that identifying you is only a matter of time so let’s just say that wasn’t the brightest move you could make.

Kobe threw this game away. He dropped a pass out of bounds, threw another one away to Durant, air-balled a three point attempt and clanked another one. He was said to be 0 for 5 in the last two minutes and this is my problem with him. It doesn’t matter what it costs the team it is always his shot to take. His flailing his arm in disgust after Blake missed the game winning shot was typical. Blake took the shot that was given to them on the out of bounds play. It is as simple as that. Had Kobe not been involved in two silly turnovers, they wouldn’t have been in that position.

The Lakers still could win this series. They are good enough. Oklahoma City is a good basketball team as well. Whoever wins this series will be tired for the next one for sure. We will see how the rest of the series goes. One thing is clear though and that is that the Lakers can plan for them and play them in a way that takes away their strengths. It gives them a chance to win this series. We will see how the rest of this series goes. It is very likely with the Clippers all banged up that San Antonio is going to sweep them in my humble sports opinion. This could mean that a well-rested Spurs team is waiting for the team that survives the war in the second round between the Lakers and the Thunder. The winner of this series will have earned it.

Article By: Rob Brack

You Won’t Find Me Kayaking Any Time Soon!

Posted on May 17, 2012 by rob

I can think of a couple of reasons not to kayak, but the encounter of a kayaker in Cambria recently while out with a group of friends only seals its fate as an activity that is not on my bucket list! Let’s start with the ridiculous reasons that I won’t kayak.

It is way too much effort. I admit that I have no skill or training when it comes to that kind of paddling and every piece of footage I have seen with someone who is not experienced with navigating a kayak and that twirling side to side paddle that goes with it looks disastrous. In fact it looks so challenging and people are so humbled by it that I think I am just fine out on my body board and catching waves. Watching people who are good at it though make it look appealing. I look at it as one of those close to nature activities that is physically challenging and healthy and I would imagine being out there in the ocean with the kayak and paddle comes with a solitude that is pretty special.

It may look fun for others but I am not even sure I could get over transporting it and carrying it down to the beach. Watching people lug these things around I would have to say I would pass on it for that reason alone. At Crescent Bay in Laguna, I was watching two guys try and get through the surf zone on kayaks on a pretty windy and blown out day. The surf wasn’t huge in any way but there was enough water swirling around, wind chop and wave frequency to make it a challenge. Keep in mind that most of Laguna Beach is a shore break so if you are not careful you could get crushed by even a two foot wave that wrecks your day. The two dudes had that typical I spend too much time in the gym muscle head look. Of course they walked around the beach with their shirts off and boats above their head as if to say look at me. One of them navigated through the shore pound quickly and headed out to the ocean.

As he realized his buddy wasn’t having as much luck he paddled back towards the shore to bark encouragement and instructions. No matter what he did, the timing was no good and he would get knocked out of the boat and have to go retrieve the boat and paddle. Several times the boat was washed in and he had to go retrieve it. At this point he was soaked and frustrated. and while this went on for 20 minutes a local kid that I call the “Mayor” of Crescent Beach was up on a hill above the beach laughing like some sort of cartoon character. He was loud and as obnoxious as he could be and it was childish but I understood why he was doing it and I have to admit it made me laugh a little.

So this chubby kid who has been picked on probably for being a little heavy sees this muscle head try and take the kayak out at his local beach. You know he hears it from his high school classmates about his weight. The type of kid that picks on him is that classic bully, jock and popular kid that has everything come so easy for him but apparently not easy enough to keep them from picking on the little guy or the not quite perfect. I saw it in high school as well. When he saw these dudes who look like they are in the gym every day and they thought they were the cool ripped muscle guys that could paddle the kayaks out at his little beach, they had this kid’s attention. The fact that one of the dudes was slapped around the shoreline was hysterical. Sometimes muscles don’t make a kayaker. It takes athleticism, experience, skill and an understanding of the ocean. Muscles in of themselves don’t translate into kayak expertise. His horrible experience and failure to launch was enough for me. Cross that off my list!

Recently a kayaker was the target of an ambush from below by a Great White Shark up in Cambria. White Sharks do this. They are not known for the best vision and they often confuse shadows above as meals. The kayaker reported that he was thrown 5 feet into the air and rolled. The shark took a bite out of the kayak and it was taking on water. He was able to get back in to the vessel and the pack of friends all scrambled to shore as fast as they could. They were lucky! The Great White Shark is only doing what it is programmed to do. Notice that the shark did not come back after it figured out that it wasn’t a food source. I am guessing wood that is sealed with fiber glass or resin doesn’t taste all that appetizing. The shark did ambush so it was a case of mistaken identity. It is rare but on occasion this accidental targeting can result in death for surfers, kayakers, divers, swimmers, body boarders and anyone else that is in the water and smack dab in the middle of the ocean buffet of the Great White Shark. There is a pretty good chunk of history that is tied to Great White Sharks and kayakers. The activity may be fun but I will not take that chance in the ocean!

Article By: Robert Brack

Lakers Win But Where Does A 7 Game Series Over Denver Put The Lakers

Posted on May 12, 2012 by rob

The Lakers have been an enigma all year long. They played well for stretches and played poorly for stretches. I realize there was a tremendous amount of change to deal with. While that may be used as an excuse for some organizations, that cannot be nor will it ever be a viable excuse for the most successful basketball team in the modern era and one of the greatest franchises in the history of professional sports. The Lakers are synonymous with winning.

What did tonight’s victory over Denver tell us? I am having trouble answering that question because I am still mad that it took 7 games and am frustrated with the inconsistency of the team. Kobe taking too many shots, Bynum disappearing mentally and emotionally and Pau getting physically pushed around the court by smaller guys has really upset me. In addition, the Lakers have found a way to minimize the play of Ramon Sessions and I feel like they need him. His skill has kind of taken a back seat and the whole point of getting him was to become the floor general.

The Lakers won tonight and I am much happier than I would have been had they lost but what is there to be really ecstatic about when it comes to the Lakers. Shouldn’t they have steamrolled the Nuggets or is that the arrogant and spoiled Laker fan in me talking? They should have closed out when they were up 3-1 but as a team were too disinterested in the close out game effort required to get the job done. It nearly contributed to their being eliminated in the first round and that is frustrating. How could this team let that happen? Is the truth that the Denver Nuggets are pretty solid and that players got healthy for the Laker series and they played great basketball? Is it a matter of the Denver Nuggets being nearly good enough to beat the Lakers and go to the second round?

I can’t answer these questions because on a night in night out basis we don’t know what Laker team will show up. I definitely want to give the Nuggets credit for the series they played but am struggling for the real answer. Is it that the Nuggets played so well or is it that the Lakers didn’t play well? This question could be widely debated and I don’t know where I stand.

What I do know is that the Denver Nuggets played solidly and they pushed the third seed in the West to 7 games while being in the final game pretty much the whole way. I also know that the Lakers failed to take advantage of their size advantage consistently and there is no good answer for why that it is. Perhaps Denver did the Lakers a favor. The Lakers will be coming off playing while Oklahoma City has been sitting around getting rusty. The Lakers will have to play better if they are to dispatch the Thunder to the off season. The Thunder will look to run the Lakers out of the building and finally avenge a close series loss in 2009/2010.

The Thunder are a very good basketball team with Durant, Harden and Westbrook. They will not be easy to beat. We are going to find out real quick whether the Lakers playing at their current level can compete with this team and this may take some of the praise away from Denver for how will they played as well as add to the knocks on the play of the Lakers. In other words, how the Lakers play early in this series may go a long way to illustrate that the problem is the Lakers level of play and not that a team like Denver is playing out of their minds. If the Lakers play like they did against Denver, you can expect the Thunder to beat the Lakers easily. I won’t be happy but as a realist believe that it has a good probability of happening.

We will see how things go!

Article By: Robert Brack

No Matter Who You Root For Its Hard Not To Appreciate Josh Hamilton

Posted on May 8, 2012 by rob

Josh Hamilton is not on the team I root for. In fact, he is a nemesis of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and yet I still am a fan of Josh Hamilton. Major League Baseball History was made tonight with his 4 home runs in one game against the Baltimore Orioles but that is just one element to the human triumph that is the man and the high profile athlete that is Josh Hamilton slugger for the Texas Rangers.

Josh Hamilton started with the Tampa Bay Rays who drafted him. Substance abuse and alcoholism derailed a once promising young career which could have easily denied Josh Hamilton and baseball fans across the country this historic night. More noteworthy is that those problems and the addiction could have cost Josh Hamilton his life. First and foremost is the health of Josh Hamilton!

After his behavior and relapses destroyed his opportunities in Florida he did finally get a chance with the Cincinnati Reds. He was traded to the Texas Rangers and from there he has come into his own. Josh was a part of an incident at the stadium that could have easily pushed him back into darkness. Somehow he pushed past the tragic death of Shannon Cooper who lost his life after trying to catch a souvenir baseball for his son Cooper thrown by Josh and falling to his death below. I can’t speak for Josh. I know he felt terrible and that is an incredible burden to carry and be tested with when you have a history of drug and alcohol abuse. In the off season Josh had a relapse and his ability to fight his demons came into question once again. It would be completely understandable if he slipped. Nobody knows what it is like to have been a part of a fan death like that. I have no experience base with which to tell Josh what he should do or how he should feel. You just can’t walk in his shoes on that one.

Somehow and some way the man has stepped back into the light. Even Josh would tell you it is a daily battle and I pray for his continued success, health and strength to fight his addictions. It can’t be easy. Tonight, Josh Hamilton has put himself in the history books and I am so very happy for the guy.

Congratulations Josh on an amazing night! Keep fighting your courageous battle and know that fans from all over major league baseball root for your health, success and continued sobriety.

Article By: Robert Brack

Reaction To Junior Seau’s Tragic Death

Posted on May 2, 2012 by rob

As a fan of the Chargers for more than 30 years, no player that I have rooted for on my favorite San Diego based pro sports team is more recognizable than Junior Seau. He embodied the work ethic, high standard for performance, determination, attitude, team mentality and leadership over a career that marks a Hall of Fame football player. I am saddened today as reports have indicated that the gun shots that police responded to at his home may have been self-inflicted and a suicide.

I don’t know why people do this but can tell you that I believe that even celebrity football players can get to a point where their plate is simply too full. One of the themes from a class I took at Cal-State University San Marcos “The Sociology of Mental Health and Illness with Dr. Alex During, was that the dividing line between sanity and insanity was paper thin. This made me realize that what we all deal with as a part of the human condition or the human struggle is significant and that we are all capable of getting to a point where there looks to be only one way out. I feel terribly for Junior’s girlfriend, ex-wife and three children who are left behind after this incident went down. I wish it never happened but the aftermath of Junior’s passing here on earth will leave his family grieving and searching for answers. I offer my heartfelt prayers to the Seau Family and for Junior I pray for the peace that he so tragically could not find here on earth.

What you learn when you see people spiral downward like this is that people need our help all of the time. We have created such an impersonal world of computers, social media, cell phones, texts and a mountain of other technological improvements that bring us together in certain ways and yet separate us in others. Our modern world is often cold. Technology may have improved our lives but it will never replace the need for human beings to be connected with strong interpersonal relationships.

I did not know Junior personally and what I know about him from his professional football days tells me he was a great guy. It is hard to be in the public eye as prominently as he was and fool everyone. He was a leader and the the kind of athlete everyone loved because he was competitive, successful and worthy of our respect. How he got to that point, assuming the initial police investigations confirm the death from self-inflicted gun shots, perhaps we will never know. All I can say about that is that I am sad to see him go and that I loved watching him play. When something like this happens as painful as the experience is, I would hope that we would take something positive away from it. In this case, there must have been signs that things weren’t going well. We need to take a step back and think about people that are important to us and watch for signs that things aren’t going well. We need to support and nurture each other so that there is an environment where people feel cared for even in their darkest hours. We need to have face to face discussions and make more phone calls and do all of the things that connect us. The world is a chaotic place and it seems like the potential for this type of event increases by the day and we have to do something about it. Junior was a father, a significant other, a brother, an uncle, a cousin, a friend and someone who needed help. If anything, I hope the unfortunate passing of Junior Seau forces us to take a look at our own relationships and to reach out to people that look like they are having a tough go of things to let them know they are appreciated and loved. If we all did this often and even when someone is not at their tipping point, we may not have people slipping through the cracks on us.

Thank you Junior for wonderful memories as a fan. Your family has my prayers for their working through the grieving process and putting their best foot forward as a family in your absence.

Rest In Peace Junior

You Will Not Be Forgotten!

Article By: Robert Brack

I Am Officially Changing His Name To “Mash” Kemp

Posted on April 29, 2012 by rob

Matt Kemp came up to the Dodgers with a lot of hype. He was regarded as a five tool player and yet somehow maturity had always seemed to get in his way. Last year he had a break out year with a .324 Average, 39 Home Runs and 126 Runs Batted In. Matt Kemp looked like the player that he was built up to be. Dave Winfield was one of my favorite players growing up and so when I read and heard the comparisons of this young guy to him, I was intrigued. I like everyone else heaped expectations on the young man that perhaps he just wasn’t quite ready to take on. His season last year proved that the talent evaluation was right on with Matt Kemp and his stellar performance gave him a runner-up in the National League MVP Award Voting. Despite not winning the award, Matt Kemp had a great season and it was so much fun to watch him play. He plays center field like a gazelle and hits with the best of them.

Today he drilled a two strike fastball for a 10th inning walk off home run against the Nationals. Thank God we did not have a repeat of the Kendrys Morales injury in 2010 and he plays tomorrow. After 21 games this kid has a .442 Average, 34 Hits, 2 Doubles, 11 Home Runs and 34 Runs Batted In. These numbers are insane. Here is what they project to if he holds this pace. Clearly Matt Kemp is not human.

Hits 262, Home Runs 84, Runs Batted In 185.

Nobody has ever put up a season like that one above. It may not even be humanly or physically possible but if there is a guy with the talent to make that happen then Matt Kemp is that guy. I am changing his name to MASH Kemp. No disrespect to his parents for the name that he was given but this guy is crushing the baseball so prodigiously that I am compelled to call him by the name MASH.

Continued Best Wishes MASH for a historical season!

Article By: Rob Brack

Mike Scioscia Losing The Blame Game In Angels Poor Start

Posted on April 28, 2012 by rob

There have been few if any bright spots in a disastrous start to the 2012 Major League Baseball Season for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Once upon a time, the cold, calculated maneuvering by manager Mike Scioscia made sense. The proof was in the results that he got with winning Angel Teams and there is no denying that. As it is plain for everyone to see, things aren’t going well for the Angels and as a fan I have to wonder if Mike will continue to do things the way he has given the results or will he change things up and grow? What do they say about insanity. ”Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result”. When things aren’t going well that insanity only magnifies on the baseball field and Mike Scioscia appears to be making the same mistakes over and over again with the Angels. It is even rumored that there is a disconnect between him and the players and that his maniacal controlling approach to managing the team at this point has players walking on egg shells to avoid getting in his cross hairs. In almost every application this type of leadership fails or is lucky enough to have some success but deteriorates over time. It doesn’t work and Torii Hunter making noise in the media is evidence that it is coming undone for Mike Scioscia. Torii is a good-natured, happy, positive, old school player and athlete that plays the game with the joy of a child and the competitive streak of a high profile baseball player. His attitude and consistent high performance make for a very popular player that is widely embraced by fellow teammates and fans. To say that it isn’t good when the ideal teammate and leader in the clubhouse is essentially giving the manager two thumbs down is an understatement!

In fairness to Mike Scioscia, he did win the only World Series the Angels have won in 2002. As baseball realists and Angel Fans are concerned, we must be reminded that the business of sports is a “What Have You Done For Me Lately” job. To make the money that Major League Baseball Managers earn and the lifestyle that this career affords them requires them to perform. I am quite sure that Angels owner Arte Moreno, who has been under fire year after year for disappointing finishes and his conservative approach to free agency spending, is extremely disappointed with being in last place when he spent over $300 million this off season with the signings of CJ Wilson and Albert Pujols. Who would have ever believed a prediction that the Angels would have 6 wins and 14 losses after 20 games prior to the start of the season? He has to be asking how this could be. Mike Scioscia is paid well to figure this out and get Arte a return on his investment in wins and all the signs point to a team that the manager has lost. The question is can he reel the team back in or will everyone just farm the season in.

I was keeping an eye on all the lineup changes by Scioscia early on not understanding why Trumbo and Morales weren’t in the lineup every day. Surely he doesn’t think that Callaspo, Izturis and Abreu give them a better chance to win. While I know that I can answer that question for the Angels, Mike Sciosica had about 8 different lineups in the first 16 games and appeared to not be able to answer that question. Mike talks about continuity and I am trying to understand how a full Spring Training in the Cactus League did not give the Angels their starting lineup. I don’t know why anyone would put Howie Kendrick on the bench within the first 18 games. He is young and one of their best players. On top of that Torii Hunter has had a closed door meeting with Scioscia over playing time and substitutions and he publicly said something to the effect of the Angels are going through the motions and nobody on the Angel’s team including the coach was giving their best effort. It sounds to me like the players are calling out the coach. That can’t be good. I had written the day before that if he brought Hisanori Takahashi in with his 8 plus Earned Run Average I would turn the television off because at that point I knew they would lose and it just wasn’t a good watch. Sure enough after Jared Weaver throws 6 scoreless innings up 2-0, Scioscia goes to the bullpen as if it was Scott Shields and Frankie Rodriguez to close the game. Not so much are the only words I can come up with comparing the bullpen now to the ones of previous years. He quickly allows the Cleveland Indians to score setting the stage to lose another close one. With that bullpen I don’t understand why the incredibly competitive Jeff Weaver isn’t allowed to go one more inning, but as force of habit is for Scioscia he feels the need to get the bullpen involved. I get the impression he is simply over thinking things. Jared is a number one pitcher and he is expected to battle through some tough spots. There was no good reason for him not to start the 7th inning.

TJ Simers of the Los Angeles Times has suggested that Mike Scioscia lighten up. In his scathing article he quoted a player that suggested Mike was suffocating with his heavy-handed my way or the highway approach. It made you think that players were actually afraid of the manager in that locker room and that isn’t good. The player that spoke to Simers anonymously indicated that if Scioscia knew he was the one talking he would have been in his office behind closed doors with the angry coach. I sense that there is some mutiny in this bunch and that perhaps Mike Scioscia and the Angels have run their course. Look what happened to Terry Francona in Boston. They collapsed down the stretch last year and the pitchers that Francona lost mentally drank beer in the clubhouse during games in an ultimate display of lack of respect. If this can happen to Terry and he won two World Series with Boston while exercising the Curse of the Bambino, then why should fans invest one ounce of energy trying to convince themselves that it can’t happen to the Angels and Scioscia. Los Angeles fans that are my age saw Pat Riley wear his welcome out with Magic Johnson and the Lakers after several championships and although this is basketball it supports the idea that at some point in time for every coach it is time to go! In the April 26, 2012 column, the prevailing theory is that Mike has been given so much autonomy that he has become arrogant, cold and hard to play for. It has been insinuated that Mike’s rule with the Angels has him above reproach and untouchable. He believes he is not to be questioned and I have news for him. The player and leader in your clubhouse that has always put team first, played hard, and maintained a great influence on this team over the last 4 years is Torii Hunter and somehow Mike Scioscia you have upset him. I think it is time for Mike to go!

According to Simers in his April 26, 2012 Los Angeles Times Article the criticism is not limited to the locker room and fans. TJ quoted the Angels post game co-host Morgan Spokny as basically saying Scioscia is screwing up! Terry Smith the play-by-play announcer has been critical of the Scioscia’s management of the pitching. AM 830 Radio which is a station that is known for being a Homer for the Angels and staying positive has recently been critical of the Angels and Mike Scioscia. Angel Fans and Bloggers are crushing Mike Scioscia for the team’s poor start and after a very expensive off season for the Angels that came with a mountain of expectation, one thing is crystal clear. And that is that nobody on this Angel’s Team is handling all of this well and they need to fix it quickly. The alternative is to let this slide continue and they will be out of contention for the playoffs by the end of May. If the early season continues to go that way, fans can decide if the effort that they gave is worth wasting one more minute watching this team in what may become a meaningless season where they simply imploded early. Mike Scioscia would have to pay in this scenario with his job. Right now as an Angel Fan, I am pissed at him and he needs to loosen up, let the players enjoy the game a little, and stop micro-managing the team. What is the worst that happens? They continue to lose and they fire him anyways? Maybe he needs a vacation! I know he is a good baseball guy. I know he is smart. I know he understands the pitcher-catcher dynamic and managing a game better than most. I know he wants to win. This time around, that may not be enough. We will see how this all plays out!

Article By: Rob Brack

Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Need To Go Fishing!

Posted on April 26, 2012 by rob

The Angels are horrible in 2012 despite a great off season with the signing of Albert Pujols, C.J. Wilson and the return of Kendrys Morales. Anyone who is paying attention to the futility that is the Los Angeles Angels of 2012 knows that pretty much nothing is going right. The team’s hitting has been atrocious and their relief pitching may even be worse. They can’t even win games that are well pitched losing three close decisions with one by Dan Haren and two by CJ Wilson. They wasted a great effort tonight by Jerome Williams and you are completely left scratching your head.

Quite frankly this is making my head hurt and as an Angel fan that expects more, I am upset. You have a lead off hitter in Aybar that is hitting .229. You have an all-star caliber second baseman in Howie Kendrick hitting .260. You have a 240 million dollar first baseman in Albert Pujols with no home runs, a .224 average and a recent 0-19 slump. Wells is hitting .243 and I am sickened that we gave up Mike Napoli for him. It becomes more apparent every day that the missing ingredient for the former Angel Catcher was simply an every day job opportunity which Mike Scioscia failed to supply. Why? Because Mike Scioscia loved a catcher in Jeff Mathis that couldn’t hit a beach ball if it were thrown right down the middle? This will never register with me as making sense. Then you have Peter Bourjos who is regressing as a full-time center fielder after a promising first full season last year. The dude is hitting .178.

The pitching is dreadful outside of Weaver, Wilson, Haren and Scott Downs. At this point if they start Santana who is 0-4 with a 7.23 era or relieve with pitchers Takahashi and his 7.5 era, Jepsen with his 11.81 era, Thompson with his 15.43 era and their closer Walden with his 8.31 era I will turn off the television. It just isn’t a good watch. There has been some decent pitching outside of the 4 disasters from Ervin Santana and a few others but for the most part their starting pitching has been decent with good relief pitching only from Scott Downs, La Troy Hawkins and Jason Isringhausen. Besides those three in the bullpen, it is ugly!

Manager Mike Scioscia has been messing with the lineup more than he needs to as well. I think in the first 16 games I counted more than half of those games having different starting lineups and I have seen reports saying it was 10 out of 12 games where the lineup was different. There is a carousel at third base that includes Mark Trumbo, Alberto Callaspo and Maizer Izturis. Trumbo actually has picked up where he left off last year with 3 home runs and hitting .342, but he is not a guaranteed starting third baseman in Scioscia’s mind. Could he be another Mike Napoli where we find out the dude is monster after he never quite gains traction with the Angels because the manager has him in and out of the line up like a platoon player? Scioscia is also screwing with the outfield rotating players in and out. If Vernon Wells hadn’t hit 4 home runs already I would say sit him now because he just isn’t going to be productive enough with a low average and an on base percentage below .300. The problem is that overall this team isn’t hitting and there hasn’t been enough continuity with moving them in and out of the lineup like Mike has done to see where the team is at. Keep Callaspo and Abreu on the bench. That is where they are at this point and if they can’t be professionals about it trade them. It gets worse because Torii Hunter has already had closed door meetings with Mike about his playing time and criticized him today for being a part of a team where nobody is trying at the level they should be or caring enough about winning. He insinuated with what he said that the ambivalence towards correcting their losing ways ran rampant in Angels clubhouse and this extended to the coaches and manager. While I may not see what he is saying fully, I do know that Mike’s constant tinkering with the lineup is really mind boggling and I hardly see any reason to sit Morales or Trumbo ever if they want to win.

As for Bourjos, he needs to go back to the minor leagues to fix whatever the hell it is with his swing and confidence that needs mending because he looks horrible. He should be a second lead off hitter in the 9th spot in the order or the first hitter with his raw talent but he doesn’t look capable of hitting well in either spot right now. For whatever reason it just gets worse and worse and this pace may be out of the race in the American League West by the end of May unless they start winning all of their games and in a hurry!

The Angels need to make some moves and once this is done Mike needs to resist the temptation as manager to tinker with things after he does it. First and foremost the Angels need to get younger with Wells and Hunter in the outfield. Peter Bourjos is not cutting it and should be sent to the minor leagues like yesterday to ease back into some semblance of confidence and productivity at the plate. We already watched Mathis hit .150 for two years and I won’t do that with Bourjos no matter how much Mike wants to stay with this kid.

The Angels need to look back into their past, draw from experience and remember the “King Fish”, Tim Salmon. This homegrown hero spent 14 years in the league all with the Angels and was a part of the only Angels World Series Champion Team in 2002. He had 299 career home runs, 1674 hits, 1016 runs batted in and a .282 career average. He was huge in the Playoffs and World Series in 2002. He came up with the Angels as a 23 year old young player and he did quite well.

The chance Tim got as a young fish in a big pond made him an Angel great that was productive year after year. The little fish grew up and became the big fish in Tim Salmon. That is the kind of homegrown and developed talent that the Angels need. That is why I am saying they immediately need to pull up the newest star fish in the Angels pond in Mike Trout who is torching Triple AAA at Salt Lake City with an average over .400. The time is now. Bourjos needs to be sent down anyways and he plays center field.

I have no perfect answers for a team that is the exact opposite of what I expected them to be at 6-13. I never would have guessed they would be this bad but this record currently is reality. Meanwhile the Rangers are killing everyone with great pitching and monster mashing at the plate! I hate to say this but to borrow from Chick Hearn as it relates to the Angels in 2012 trying to catch the Texas Rangers, for the Texas Rangers in the Western Division it is “In the Refrigerator, the lights are out, the butter is getting hard and the jellllllllllo’s jiggling”. The Angels are that bad and the Rangers are that good.

To improve on what they are doing right now they need to take pressure off the starting pitchers who must think that they need to go out and throw 9 innings while shutting out the opponent every time to have a chance. They can only do this with hitting. Bring Mike Trout up and put him in the number 1 slot. He will get more fastballs there and has the speed and batting prowess to make a difference now. Move Aybar back to number 9 where his suspect hitting won’t be as damaging as his .229 average is now. Put Bourjos on the bench or send him to Triple A to get his confidence back. Send Santana down so he can figure himself out as well. There is no reason this veteran should be pitching so poorly. Move Jason Isringhausen to closer and avoid Takahashi, Walden, Jepsen and Thompson who combined must have an earned run average around 9.00. Stop moving Kendrys Morales and Mark Trumbo in and out of the lineup. The team needs offensive production and they are both good hitters.

Callaspo, Izturis and Abreu are bench players right now. Too bad for them! They need to be ready if someone gets hurt. I know they want to play. I would too. They are not the only players in the league that believe with all of their hearts that they should be starting on their teams so Mike Scioscia needs to stop trying to make everyone happy. There are 9 position players and a designated hitter and that is reality!

So here is the lineup that gives them a chance and batting in this order.

Trout CF, Kendrick 2B, Pujols 1B, Morales DH, Trumbo 3B, Hunter RF, Wells LF, Ianetta C, Aybar SS.

Do not deviate from this lineup the rest of the year. Let them play through this because this is the best line up they have. Hopefully the pitching gets better and if it doesn’t I will be looking at their minor league pitchers for someone else that can help them. Garret Richards? We may need him as well!

Article By: Robert Brack

The Elusive Perfect Game

Posted on April 24, 2012 by rob

There have only been 21 perfect games including Don Larsen’s game 5 gem against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series of 1956. A perfect game is 27 batters coming to the plate and 27 batters failing to reach base. It is a rare feat indeed. This means a baseball that is put into play by hitters never finds a hole where a fielder can’t catch the ball or throw the runner out preventing them from reaching first base. It’s nuts! There have only been 266 total no hitters in baseball history making the perfect game 8% of the total no hitters. Including games started this year in major league baseball there have been approximately 11, 320, 926 games in the history of baseball taking into consideration a figure of 11, 305, 896 games logged as of December 2008 and 162 games played by the 30 major league baseball teams between 2009 and 2011, and the average of about 16 games per team played in 2012. The percentage of games played is ridculously small at 0.000015897938264520495. For those that wonder what this number really means it is about 1 perfect game in every 550,000 games played and that equates to 113 major league baseball seasons of every game played by every one of the 30 teams during a 162 game season. If that doesn’t tell you the perfect game is a rare feat I refuse to knock on a door where the lights are on but noone is home.

One of the weirdest things about the low number of perfect games is that there are 13 in the American League and 8 in the National League. Considering that the American League has a designated hitter my belief was that the National League would have more perfect games than the American League. I was stunned to find out that the American League had 13 total and the National League had 8. Even if we wanted to look at this from the first year of the adoption of the designated hitter by the American League in 1973, there have been 8 perfect games in the American League to 4 in the National League since so that is still crazy to me. It is odd to me because logic tells us that it would be harder to have to face a non-pitcher and hitting stud as opposed to 1 pathetic hitting pitcher per 9 batters.

There are some other interesting things about the 21 games with historical relevancies that are notable. Only 4 of the perfect games are represented by Hall of Famers in Sandy Koufax, Jim “Catfish” Hunter, Jim Bunning and Cy Young whose name is the basis for the award for the best pitcher yearly in each league. Of the remaining 17 only Roy Halladay and Randy Johnson will be inducted into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame. What does this tell us? It tells us it is hard as hell to do. It tells us the ball has to bounce the right way. It tells us that the pitcher threw strikes and were on their game that day. It tells us they pitched well. It tells us they were not wild. It tells us that the fielders behind them did a great job and it tells us that there was a lot of freakin luck associated with this stellar performance.

Phil Humber of the Chicago White Sox owns the distinction of Major League Baseball’s 21st perfect game and he is a great story. He was drafted in 2004 with the number 3 pick by the New York Mets. In 2005 he needed ligament replacement surgery that is dubbed the Tommy John Surgery. After that surgery he bounced around the league and did not win a game until 2010 with the Kansas City Royals. Last year he started 20 plus games for the Chicago White Sox and went 9 and 9 with a respectable earned run average beneath 4.00. His career was turning around. In 2 games this year, the 29 year old pitcher that has stuck with it even when circumstances could have taken his life down and alternative career path is the major league baseball history books as the pitcher with the 21st Perfect Game in Major League Baseball History. Putting that in perspective…The following pitchers never accomplished this: Bob Gibson, Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Steve Carlton, Orel Hershiser, Nolan Ryan, J.R. Richards, Mike Scott, Dwight Gooden, Fernando Valenzuela, Don Drysdale, Juan Marichal, Jack Morris, Tom Seaver, Jim Pamer, Vida Blue, Pedro Martinez, Don Sutton, John Smoltz, Curt Schilling, Tom Glavine, Whitey Ford, Warren Spahn and Ron Guidry. That is a pretty good list.

That makes what Phil Humber and the other 20 did, pretty special!

Article By Robert Brack