Almost Done

Today is my second-t0-last day of "work." Beautiful. I look forward to the months of delayed paychecks.


Lakers

So I've been thinking about it, and the Lakers' 2009 title is a great example of the ultimate futility of fandom. I haven't been happy with the Lakers until two days ago. Until winning the championship, I was never really satisfied with their performance, and nonfactors like midseason losses to Oklahoma City just made me angry. As I sit here today, I'm finally satisfied with the team.

It's creepy. The only way I don't feel massive disappointment with a team is by their winning the championship. And that's a little crazy. The jubilation you'd expect to come with a Finals win isn't really there...it's more of a calm satisfaction.

A heartbreaking loss always hurts worse than a miraculous win feels good.

With that said, that satisfaction I feel is a pretty enjoyable feeling by itself. Watching idiot bandwagoners in Rajon Rondo shirts stare at the ground when I walk by in a Kobe jersey is downright fun, as is the sudden silence of the thousands of Lakers haters who must now find new material with which to bash the Lakers and Bryant. Red Auerbach's annoying legacy has been surpassed by less-annoying Phil Jackson, LeBron James is doing 2010 bicep curls, and Dwight Howard has acquired a new nickname..."Nick Anderson." And I think, ultimately, this is what I'm enjoying most. Fandom is a combination of faith, love, and rivalry, and winning a title does a lot for the faith and rivalry aspects.

I think something really needs to be said about free throws. I've said it before and I'll continue saying it until NBA players learn to stop being stubborn idiots and decide to help their teams. In the only game of the Finals that really mattered (that would be Game 4, duh), the Magic shot 59.5% from the free throw line. Howard went a pathetic 6 of 14. Turkoglu went 8 of 13. That's 13 missed points from a spot on the floor where most jumpshooters shoot 60%. In other words, Orlando shot a lower percentage on uncontested straight-on shots than they would have with JJ Redick shooting jumpers from the same spot on the floor.

Despite this, Dwight Howard doesn't want to use the backboard? He trades a 2-2 series tie and embarrassing banked free throws for a 3-1 series deficit and the pride that comes with missing your free throws like a man.

This is not a player I want on my team.

Make your free throws however you can. Particularly for someone like Howard who's going to get clobbered routinely, use the damn backboard. It's there for a reason. When you're that tall, let gravity help.

Any NBA player who shoots less than 75% from the free throw line is selfish. It's that simple.


Angels 9, San Francisco 7

I understand now why people think the Dodgers are good. The NL West is unbelievably bad.

Coming off a three game series sweep of the Padres, the Angels again found power in their wimpy lineup, with Aybar, Abreu, Rivera, and recent callup Sean Rodriguez all hitting balls over the fence. Torii Hunter continued his torrid streak with the bat, but managed to hurt himself running into a wall with an 8-0 lead. Whoops.

X-rays were negative, and Hunter hopes to return Friday against the Dodgers. Frankly, the Angels are nowhere this season without Hunter. They are, shockingly, just 2 games out of first. Interleague is hilarious.

Oh yeah, the game wasn't as close as the final score indicates. John Lackey went 7 innings with 10 strikeouts, giving up 3 runs on 10 hits. Yes, that's a weird linescore. The Arson Crew gave up 4 runs, 3 of those coming on a ninth inning two-on, two-out blast by Pablo Sandoval off Kevin "DFA" Jepsen.

Jepsen, along with Shields, and, to some extent, Abreu, all lost big by playing in the WBC. Never again.

Lackey also got the first hit of his career, which included a little RBI next to it. He's now 1-27 lifetime.

Tonight sees yet another starting pitcher for the Halos, with Sean O'Sullivan taking the hill in place of an injured Ervin Santana. Hate to say I told you so, but Santana is unlikely to be okay unless he gets TJ surgery. Escobar is also back on the DL. Shocking.

Game's at 7 Pacific.


Miscellany:

• Not much here today, just a better picture of Thiessen with the Cup.
  

Your 2009 NBA Champions!

Lakers 99, Orlando 86


The Curse of Marcus is dead, it seems. Other terms which can be retired: "Soft" with "Pau Gasol," "can't win a ring without Shaq" with "Kobe," and "old" with "Derek Fisher."

I don't have a lot to say right now, although I'm sure I will later. I'm just so excited to finally own a fan championship, so excited for the city of LA, and so excited to see the greatest basketball player in the world earn his fourth ring.

You'll notice the obvious color changes...these should be around for a little while, but not too long. Also, there's a new addition in "Banners in the Rafters" on the right sidebar. Let's hope for more.

More later. Also, the Angels won, and convincingly so. Gotta love the NL West.

Fish from downtown!

Lakers 99, Magic 91 (OT)

I just love looking at the box score for this game. Kobe Bryant goes 11-31. Trevor Ariza goes 6-14. Lamar Odom goes 4-10. You see Dwight Howard with an almost quadruple double, 16 points, 21 rebounds, 9 blocked shots, and 7 turnovers. Turkoglu went 8-13. Then you see Derek Fisher went 2-7 from behind the arc.

And somehow, after all that, those are the only numbers that matter. Two shots, two threes, those six points transforming the Lakers from treading water at 2-2 to dominating a series 3-1. And I sit back, and I wonder aloud about all those times I've talked about how Derek Fisher needs to be on the bench, about all those questionable lineup decisions from Phil Jackson, and about Fisher's "defense."

And all those problems still exist. They just don't matter anymore.

Fisher nailed a three over Jameer Nelson with 4.6 seconds left in regulation. He drilled another one with 36 seconds left in overtime. The first shot tied the game, and the second iced it. Derek Fisher's Twitter just reads "3-1."

Jameer Nelson's failure to foul Fisher with 4.6 seconds left and a 3 point lead is representative of the countless blown opportunities for the Magicians. Hedo Turkoglu shot 8-13 from the free throw line. Dwight Howard shot 6-14. Those aren't just Shaq numbers, those are Shaq-at-the-beginning-of-the-season-when-he's-still-fat-and-lazy numbers. And they should be embarrassing. Dwight, this is the backboard. Backboard, Dwight. If you two work together, you'd shoot 95% on free throws. Hilarious, but my goodness, embarrassing.

Rashard Lewis was pretty much a nonfactor, outside another ridiculous falling away three that he always seems to hit in the fourth. Despite this, the Lakers still managed to win without playing any sort of defense, perimeter or interior, and it's frustrating to watch. But hey, they won.

And now they need one.

Oh, and I almost forgot: The officiating was atrocious, with the Magic shooting 17 free throws in the fourth to 0 for the Lakers.


Angels 1, Tampa Bay 11

It would be hard for me to care any less about this team than I currently do. They are managing to do absolutely nothing correctly. They can't hit, they can't pitch, and they can't field. About the only thing they can do right now is hover at .500.

You'll get better Angels analysis once the Finals are over, and better still once they call up Brandon Wood and Sean Rodriguez.


Miscellany:

• Tonight, I'll be one of seven viewers watching the Stanley Cup Finals. Go Pens!
• I'll be in LA from the 19th through the 27th.
• I'd like to hop in net sometime before I leave...roller hockey, anyone?
  

Jered Weaver is probably a decent goalie

Angels 4, Tampa Bay 3

I didn't catch this game, like, at all, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a win (and a Rangers loss). Goodness, Weaver is pitching well. 4 walks in 6 innings, which isn't great, but he only gave up 2 runs, a deficit the Angels "offense" is occasionally capable of overcoming. Of course, they led the whole game, so that's irrelevant.

Jeff Mathis is not good at baseball and shouldn't ever play.

Also, the seventh inning:

- D. Oliver relieved J. Weaver
- J. Dillon hit for R. Brignac
- J. Dillon hit by pitch
- B.J. Upton flied out to deep center
- C. Crawford hit by pitch, J. Dillon to second
- J. Dillon to third, C. Crawford to second on wild pitch
- E. Longoria intentionally walked
- C. Pena lined into double play, E. Longoria out at first

Um...yeah.


Lakers 104, Orlando 108

The Magic won by 4 points despite shooting a ridiculous 63%. Kobe missed 5 free throws and had a critical final possession turnover (again). You'd think they'd call a timeout when Gasol is lying on the ground clutching the ball...but you'd be wrong.

I'd be more concerned if not for the unlikelihoods that won this game for the Magic. The Lakers need to win one in Orlando and win the title at home and I won't whine. I still say Lakers in 6.


Jeff's Team 4, The Force 8? 9?

By far our best game, and by far my best game. We actually led 4-3 at one point in the second, but a couple softies and a couple nice shots ended that pretty quickly. Before the game, Jeff hit me right in the crotch on a shot behind me, which probably ended up helping. I've been playing like a hockey goalie...that is to say, I've been on my feet and dropped for shots. That hasn't really been working, and after writhing on the ground a little, I decided I wasn't gonna risk it again and stayed dropped down for most of the game.

Surprisingly effective, for the most part. I felt a little more comfortable with the pads from a lower position, and overall it just felt a lot more like broomball, which I am less terrible at. This strategy works better at preventing the crappy five-hole goals and tight angle shots, like those off faceoffs, but really sucks at defending a breakaway. I only bit hard at a deke once though, which was nice.

In other news, I have absolutely no use for my glove. I might as well just play with that arm tied behind my back, for all the good it does. I'll have to learn how to use it, because all it did today was deflect a single shot into the net and cover up anything on the ground.

I also seem to play better when I'm talking, which seems to be well in line with the rest of my life.

Here's a shot of my most raised stance. Without skates/ice, it's hard to drop down, so generally won't come up higher than this. I'm typically using a goalie stick as well, which puts my blocker in a better position, but this was a surreptitious photo on an illegal cell phone camera after the game.

A frightening scowl, indeed.

...and this picture below is a representation of my typical net coverage. Note the floating glove and the puck in the back of the net.
I give goalies a lot of crap for five-hole goals, but they are surprisingly difficult to defend. My employer currently owes me about 8 grand, some of which could go to goalie pants/jock, a helmet, and real chest protector, all of which are pointless at the floor/roller level but kinda important when you hit the ice.


Miscellany:

• The Pens won 2-1, forcing the Cup Finals to a decisive 7th game. Interesting note: The Red Wings have never played a Game 7 in the Finals in the years they've won.
• Should the Pens win, I'm going to petition Brad Thiessen to bring the Cup to Matthews Arena on the day he gets it. I figure maybe the guilt of his leaving would let me touch the Cup here at NU.
  
• I still can't get this bike out of my head. Belt drive! Apparently they're also near impossible to get. Trek makes a cheaper, 8 speed model as well. It'd probably look nearly as good if you replaced the rims with yellow/neon green deep vees, and maybe some matching handlebar grips.
  
• Tomorrow, MLB draft discussion, and a recap of my desire to strangle Jeff Boras with Manny's dreadlocks.
  
• If any of you read this on Facebook, do me a favor and leave a comment...my traffic figures are already at least one person higher than I thought.
  

The "bullpen"

First, I'm getting ready to write a piece in the Baseball for Newbies series on pitch counts and why they matter, despite every Angel fan going "GAWD Scoscaias is an itiot, Lakcey only threw 117 pitches through 7 innings, he should of left him in."

Also, I don't typically write because I'm bored, although I do tend to spend more time on the blog during periods of boredom. But today, I'm bored, and I'm writing. Don't expect quality (not that you ever should, really).


Angels Bullpen

At this point, I don't really know what the Angels should do about their bullpen. It's been their most glaring problem, and while I don't think it's their biggest issue*, it's definitely number two, and with the number of games they've blown, fans are calling for wholesale changes.

While it's true that a lot of the bullpen inconsistency is a direct result of rampant injuries to starting pitchers, it's a good idea to take a look at the relief pitchers' tRA vs ERA:

Oliver: 2.18 2.92
Arredondo: 2.82 2.74
Shields: 6.20 6.62
Bulger: 4.18 5.25
Speier: 5.32 5.06
Fuentes: 3.82 4.95

Mixed results here. League-average tRA is around 5 and league-average ERA is around 4.50. It loks like Shields/Oliver are a little unlucky, Bulger is a little more unlucky, and Fuentes is unluckiest.

Bulger's getting killed by his HR percentage, with over 10% of everything hit in the air leaving the park. Fuentes, on the other hand, is dealing with an unholy .386 BABIP, likely unsustainable long-term but still frustrating to observe now. With a similar line drive percentage two seasons ago, he was a BABIP of .248. That was lucky, but his career BABIP is right around .300, so perhaps he's due for some regression to better stats.

Scot Shields is giving up 35.7% fly balls and 35.7% groundballs, both well off his career averages which tend to give him groundballs at a ~50% clip. He's definitely hurt. Arredondo, on the other hand, is trading some outs for line drives, and with his LD% more than 7 points higher than last season, is getting murdered by a .394 BABIP. Ouchies. He's unlucky at the moment.

Overall, it's a mixed bag for the relievers, and their struggles are magnified because the offense sucks. That said, there should be at least small amounts of improvement in the coming weeks.

*Their biggest issue is a lack of team slugging percentage, a problem which would be mitigated by sending Kendrick down, Figgins to second, and Rodriguez/Wood to short or third. This front office can't be as dumb as they act, but...maybe they are.


Lakers

I'm missing tonight's tip-off because I'll be getting murdalyzed in floor hockey, albeit in my own pads this time. That said, the Lakers are playing above-average basketball at the moment, which probably won't be enough to win game 3. Tonight's game will come down to, as always, perimeter shooting/defense. If apparent headcase Rafer Alston can't overcome his shooting woes, and Jameer Nelson continues to suck, then that just means more time for Courtney "Can't Hit a Layup" Lee and JJ "LOL Duke Sucks" Redick, which happens to be great news for the Lakers.

I'd like to see better defensive strategy from both Bynum and Odom. Bynum's strategy thus far has been "aim for the arms," which isn't particularly effective when there are referees around, while LO has been playing "run away from the guy with the ball," which isn't particularly effective unless he's defending me. Odom gets away with bad defense because he does so many other things quite proficiently...Andrew, not so much.

Sasha Vujacic has, by the grace of god, seen very little playing time. Maybe PJ reads this blog. Also, crow alert: Fisher's been playing well.


Miscellany:

• Things no car needs, from personal observation: horn, blinkers, high beams. Everybody uses a horn when they shouldn't, fails to use blinkers when they should, and the only people using high beams are the same assholes using their horn.
• New two-wheeled love interest.
• It's below 50 and raining. Welcome to Boston, please check your pleasant weather at the door.
• PayPal is really good at taking your money, but really bad at returning it.
  

ShamPau

ShamPau, courtesy of Memphis.

Lakers 101, Orlando 96 (OT)

A lucky win for the Lakers, but sometimes you make your own luck in the playoffs. Lamar Odom had a superb game scoring 19 points on 8 of 9 shooting (and 3-4 from the stripe), with IPNO favorite Pau Gasol chipping in 24, including 10 of 11 from the free throw line.

Kira, Mark, and I were discussing our imagination of Pau's persona, with Kira frequently chipping in with first-person moments of third-person Gasol monologue. In his overtime and-one, she yelled "PAU WANT BALL! PAUUUUUUUUUUU!" as Gasol stood yelling under the basket. Mark later remarked on this supposed conversation:

Gasol: Hey Kobe, we win game?
Bryant: Yes.
Gasol: PAU! Kobe, want shower with Pau?

Even the NBA can be fun sometimes.

The Lakers won this game despite making absolutely no adjustments to the Orlando offense, which sought to trade points in the paint for threes. While they missed those threes in Game 1, they weren't in Game 2, yet Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, and JJ Reddick (of all people) were left open for critical threes. The Lakers still have no concept of perimeter defense, and they'll lose games in Orlando if they don't force shooters to take jumpers inside the arc.

Trevor Ariza, my favorite player in the NBA since moving to the starting lineup, had an awful night, going 3-13, but came up with 3 steals and continues to be the Lakers best defender on 9 out of 10 plays.

I encourage Stan van Gundy to continue putting Jameer Nelson out on the floor. He's ineffective and sloppy, but hey, Rafer Alston shot 1 of 8, so maybe that's all he's got. Dwight Howard had 17 points and was still a nonfactor, as several of his 4 blocks were Magic fouls anyway. He shot 5-10, something I'll take from an opposing starting center any day.

As far as the Angels...well, if you're going to give up grand slams, at least do so when the other team hits, not walks, its way onto base. The bullpen is historically bad.

"Fuck it, let's pitch." -Ervin 'Magic' Santana

Angels 2, Detroit 1

The Angels are 3 games into that season-requirement 7 game winning streak I've previously mentioned. I missed most of tonight's game, but caught the ninth, pretty much the only inning of consequence, as the Angels scored 2 runs, with the gamewinning RBI coming on a Howie Kendrick groundout to shortstop with the bases loaded. That groundout followed a rare sight: An intentional walk to Maicer Izturis.

The Halos were mostly unable to produce any semblance of offense against Tigers starter Justin Verlander. But Verlander was matched by Santana, with Ervin throwing substantially fewer pitches and going 8.2 innings. His fastball is still not there, and I'm growing leery of continuing to trot out a power pitcher who's lost his power. But tonight, he had a good slider and managed to escape every inning unscathed until the ninth, where he allowed a run on an Ordonez single and was relieved by Brian Fuentes.

Fuentes threw 3 pitches to get his 15th save, with the third pitch resulting in a foulout which Chone Figgins managed to catch over the outstretched gloves of several Tigers fans. Memo to Tigers fans: You've gotta make that catch.

A good win, after which Jose Mota interviewed Santana on the field. When asked about his nosebleed, Ervin replied something along the lines of, "Yeah, it started in the bullpen, but I just said, you know, fuck it, let's pitch." On live TV. I love it.


Lakers 100, Orlando 75

I'm not as high on this game as many Lakers fans, mostly because Orlando's 29% shooting is unsustainable. That said, encouraging signs:

• Andrew Bynum matching Dwight Howard when on the floor, both offensively and defensively, if not outplaying him.
• Kobe Bryant having a mediocre shooting night, but still picking up 40 points and 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and only a single turnover.
• Stan van Gundy illustrating why he's earned the title of Panicky Stan, or Master of Panic, or Stan van Panic, etc.
• Josh Powell hitting a step-back three. I swear, the kid's underrated.
• DJ Mbenga. Sure, he had two passes bounce off his hands, but the man speaks like 9 languages. He's a scholar, god dammit.

If the Lakers play with the same level of intensity in game 2, they walk away with a 2-0 lead. I'm still not happy with their perimeter defense and their unwillingness to drive at Howard, but they're largely unbeatable when they play to their potential.

Finally, for the record, the 2-3-2 format is so unbelievably dumb that I'm shocked the NHL hasn't tried it. A road team can win only their home games and still have two elimination games. A home team winning only its home games gets one. That's nonsensical.

The Finals, and How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Rehab Assignments

I'm going to start with Ervin Santana. I've covered this previously, but Santana probably doesn't recognize his own fastball. Where he used to overpower hitters with a 94 mph average fastball, he now averages a flat 90 mph. The movement, particularly late break, which he used to generate swinging strikes and weak grounders, is almost completely gone. His slider, a devastating pitch last season, is missing most of its horizontal break and he's having a harder time throwing it for strikes.

In other words, Ervin Santana needs one of two things, maybe both:

1. Another, longer rehab assignment where he regains confidence and arm strength.
2. Tommy John surgery.

The rehab starts should be a no-brainer. The TJ surgery is another story. Regardless, I don't like the way the Angels handle surgery for their pitchers. The front office has given away months and years of seasons with (worthless) rehab and DL stints before giving in to surgery. Ligaments don't really heal, at least not the way we view muscle regrowth. They need to be slowly rehabbed over months, or receive some sort of surgical intervention. Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar are two pitchers who screwed around with "rehab" before finally getting surgery and resuscitating their careers.

So, Ervin...this season is probably screwed anyways. Get the surgery and play strong in 2010.

As far as the team, I maintain that they'll be fine if they can fire off 7 or 8 wins in a row. Their win over the Mariners came when they held a 2% chance of victory, while their loss the night before came when they held a 97% chance of winning. Betting on baseball is stupid, as both games should make quite clear.

On the other hand, if they continue to struggle to stay above .500 for much more than another month, they're in trouble. I don't think Texas' rotation or defense are likely to hold up, but they're playing .800 ball against the West, and two months of that might be all they need. The Angels need to improve their 9-12 record against the West if they plan to make the playoffs.

Beating Seattle seems like a good way to start.


NBA Finals

Deep down, you know this kid misses Shaquille.

Lakers and Orlando. Both teams looking for titles without Shaqtus. The NBA's newest star facing off against one of the most storied franchises in basketball, a franchise with the most fundamentally sound player since Michael Jordan.

One coach has a porn stache. The other has some sort of Zen bullshit going on.

Whoever wins this series is going to win despite coaching, not thanks to coaching.

If I'm Phil Jackson, I force Orlando to run their offense through Dwight Howard. Play good perimeter defense and force the ball into the post to Howard. If he picks up 40 points, that's fine. Look at the benefits. Howard is huge and will get tired if he has to hold up an offense for 40 minutes a game. He's foul-prone. If he has to sit, they lose their most potent offensive weapon. Moreover, Howard presents the biggest matchup issue for the Lakers. But he also has the least potential on the offensive end...he can't shoot threes, he can't hit free throws, and he doesn't have the high post moves that Gasol has.

Play perimeter defense. Seriously. Derek Fisher should see very little playing time in this series if Jackson knows anything about basketball.

Force the Magic to run their offense through Dwight Howard and the Lakers win the series in 6.