Ridiculous

Absolutely ridiculous. There is no excuse. You need to be able to score more than one run to beat the Royals in spring training.

Vlad, you're not 25 anymore. That was the single worst play of the game, probably of the season.

Chone Figgins is not a good leadoff hitter at the moment, nor has he ever been in October. My suggestion? Put Mark Teixeira in the leadoff slot, Guerrero at 2, Anderson at 3, and Torii at 4. Let's get the capable batters in there as often as possible. Switch Anderson and Teixeira if you want. Figgy is useless, has been useless for a month now, and will be useless unless he somehow flips back on the Nate Haynes switch and remembers how to hit.

Do something drastic, Mike, because you need to win game 2.

Questionable moves tonight:

1.) Gary Matthews Junior.
2.) Scot Shields in the ninth.
3.) Throwing a fastball to Jason Bay.
4.) Throwing a fastball to Jed 'Effing Lowrie.
5.) Not taking the free walks which Lester was trying to hand out.
6.) Not pinch-hitting for Erick Aybar in the ninth.
7.) Not pinch-hitting for Chone Figgins in the ninth.
8.) Not bunting one ball towards the geriatric, injured Mike Lowell.
9.) Vlad Guerrero...

The Angels have not won a postseason game I have watched. I have watched a sweep by the Red Sox and three consecutive losses to the White Sox. This team needs to figure out why it's so snakebitten in the playoffs and learn to hit mediocre pitchers parading as aces. Players making $10 million a year need to learn how to catch balls without making three-base errors. Managers need to learn that the ninth inning belongs to your best reliever.

I shouldn't have to root for a god damned hit by pitch in the bottom of the ninth to get the tying run to the plate. Papelbon throws straight fastballs. Mike Lowell is hurt. Try bunting for a base hit. Play Angels baseball. For some reason, every time October rolls around, Scioscia thinks he's managing the Yankees and stops doing the little things that make him a good manager and his team fundamentally sound during the regular season.

This has to change, and is starts and ends with the players.

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Post-cool-off period notes:

• Assholes who sell their playoff tickets to Red Sox "fans" are an embarrassment to us all and should lose postseason ticket privileges.
• Assholes who leave in the eighth inning are an embarrassment to us all and should consider watching Dodger games instead.
• TBS is home to the WORST coverage in Major League Baseball. Between the terrible commentators, the blatant homerism, the popping audio, and the dropping framerate, Bud Selig needs to find a better home for the playoffs.
• There's a lot of "same old story" shit going around, and regardless of its relevance, that's not really an appropriate comment to make after 1 game. In 2002, the Angels lost the first game in each playoff series.
  
• Narragansett Light is a perfectly acceptable pre- and during-game beer.

Miscellany:

• Jeff has suffered a pretty severe concussion and will likely be on injured reserve for this week's broomball game, at the very least. We'll miss the scoring and team leadership, but not the constant high-sticks and trash talk (just kidding!)
• I'm not an athletic trainer, but from what I've learned from Kira, Mandeville probably has a torn MCL. They were looking at his knee, and the tests they were running on it on the sideline were mostly in valgus, or lateral, stress. This means he'll probably only be out a couple weeks as opposed to the season, as one would expect with an ACL tear. Naturally, the school hasn't released any injury information because they like to be a pain in my ass.
• The Dodgers won a postseason game without Jose Lima pitching. Congrats to my childhood team.