John Lackey

I never really took it personally when Lackey left. Without a doubt, he was a tremendously important player in 2002, but he never really felt like an Angel. Orlando Cabrera possessed the qualities of leadership and team identity that Lackey never did despite coming up through Montreal's system and playing only 3 seasons with a Halo. I don't find much glee in Lackey's historically poor season despite his contribution to an epic Boston collapse, but I do think the results were predictable.

Jeff Weaver drew the ire of Angels fans during his brief stint with the team for his on-field histrionics and apparent lack of ability. Lackey possesses a similarly fragile psyche, one which seemed unlikely to make an effective transition to the deranged Boston sports environment. Indeed, after several months of poor pitching and persistent grumbling from the press, he blurted "everything in my life sucks right now." He finished the season with the worst ERA in Red Sox starting pitching history and is entering divorce proceedings with his wife. It also sounds like he's got a mouthful of marbles when he talks.

My suggestion for Lackey? I'm not sure if this is even possible, but he hasn't had a single positive experience in the last year, so perhaps it's worth a try. First, he needs to request a release from his contract. If this doesn't void the contract, then he should have it voided as well. He needs to fire his agent and start calling teams. He should pitch for one year at the major league minimum for any team not located in Boston, New York, or Philadelphia. I have no doubt that with the pressures of a huge contract and a rabid fan base removed, he will return to form and earn the top-tier pitcher label he lost this past season. I have to imagine he'd receive a universally positive welcome in Kansas City, Pittsburgh, or Houston.

If you don't like the way something's going, change it. I'm sure the Angels would be happy to have you again.

"Big market" team

As Boston signs yet another multimillion dollar contract, the Angels lose out on a premier free agent once again.

The repeated failures to acquire top free agents despite constant promises to improve the team by all means possible are just as demoralizing as losses on the field. You expect the Nationals to have to overpay talent to get players to Washington - you don't expect the same from the Angels. Figuring out why players don't want to play in Anaheim or learning to overpay for elite talent* must be top priorities for the Angels front office.

I'm also convinced that MLB needs a salary cap, but that's a discussion for another day.

*Elite talent is not the same as good talent. Overpaying good (Hunter) and mediocre (Matthews Jr.) talent is not smart business practice, but overpaying for Teixeira or Alex Rodriguez or Cliff Lee might be. I don't think Crawford is elite, and I think overpaying for Crawford would've been a mistake. But there is a time and place for an above-market contract.

Fenway failure

With my graduation from Northeastern approaching at an alarming pace, my visit to Fenway Park last night to watch the Angels was likely my last trek to that godforsaken park for a major league baseball game. Aside from the potholed concourse with no view of the field, the $8.50 beer, the minuscule $5.00 hot dogs, and the hordes of unwashed Connecticutians, watching the Angels in Fenway Park has rarely been a positive experience. This game was no different, with the Angels failing to capitalize on a 2nd and 3rd, 1 out situation in the eighth inning of a tie game, followed by a miserable Juan Rivera drop of a routine fly ball to give the Red Sox the go-ahead runs.

Meanwhile, of course, Boston "fans" were threatening myself and the rest of the small Angels contingent with violence and general hooliganism. Well after the Angels had lost and the crowd was attempting to file out of the minuscule bleacher stairway, I was talking with a guy who seemed civil, yet ten seconds later told me he was "going to kick my ass." I left the field and found a shockingly large pool of congealing blood next to the famous Ted Williams statue. As the Doghouse says in Merrimack's arena, "this place sucks!"

As far as the game was concerned, the game turned on two plays: Abreu's double play groundout in the top of the 8th, and Rivera's inability to catch a popup in the bottom of the inning. Abreu, in my mind, needed to be able to hit the ball in the air, both for the sake of the game and as a professional baseball player. How many warning track flies does he produce in a season? Lengthen your swing and accept a strikeout over a ground ball. Rivera, on the other hand, earned praise for his defense last season. Don't believe it. He ran 30 yards to move 15 linear yards, slowed down before he needed to, and watched a ball hi the ground in front of him and bounce off the wall. This is unacceptable, and for all of Reggie Willits' faults, he would've made that catch.

I would write about Kevin Jepsen's "relief" effort, but talking about anyone who walks three batters in an inning is wasting words.

It is important to remember that it's May. The Angels, despite a 5-game losing streak (soon to be 6, with Lackey facing Piniero tonight), are only 2.5 (maybe 3.5) games out of first in the AL West with over 130 games remaining.

Finally, I take comfort in the Lakers. Despite my massively reduced interest in the NBA this season, mostly because the NBA sucks, I still love the Lakers for the worry-free entertainment they bring. Rarely am I concerned about them losing a game, I have faith that one of Bryant or Gasol will show up in any given game, usually both, and the regular season remains irrelevant for the team. It's a calming sense of security.

When does hockey season start?

Submitted Without Comment

You know those moments?

The moments when you teeter on the edge between absolute elation and unmitigated sadness? The moments you always remember because for a couple fractions of a second, you are completely separated from your consciousness and dropped somewhere else, feeling simultaneously in control and completely helpless? When every microsecond lasts an hour and every tiny motion is magnified, and it stops mattering whether you're hungry, whether you've gotta pee, whether it's hot, cold, or raining in your living room?

That moment happened for me, immediately after Papelbon released his pitch, and ended just after the ball touched the turf in front of Ellsbury.

Go Angels.

One more win

...and I will never have to put up with trash talk in this city again.

Well, except for the Kings.

Expect the unexpected

Which is more improbable?

-The Angels beat the Red Sox in the playoffs in Anaheim for the first time since before I was born, earning their first postseason shutout in franchise history behind a masterful pitching pairing of John Lackey and Darren Oliver.
-The Kings beat the Minnesota Wild 6-3 to open their season 2-1 despite allowing 13 goals over their first three games.

Wow.

Playoffs, whatever. Also, Kings and broomball coverage

Ordinarily, the playoffs excite me.

But not this year.

The Angels play Boston and New York plays Minnesota, and ultimately New York will play whoever comes out of the NL and slaughter them in 4, maybe 5, games.

It's boring. And the irritating part of all of it is that, when the Angels inevitably lose to Boston, Boston's just going to get mauled by New York. It's not going to be close. And I can't even whine about the Yankees' payroll. It's lower than it was last year.

A salary cap might not be a terrible idea.

With that out of the way, I would like to say this to the Angels:

Hey guys. It's me. I know I whine a lot about the way you guys play, but I really do actually like you. And because of that, I think you need to understand that you guys play terrible baseball every October. You think too much. Stop thinking. Have fun. You're playing a kid's game and making millions of dollars, there is no reason to tighten up and start gripping the bat so hard it breaks off in your hand. Relax. Nobody expects you to win anything anyway, so you have nothing to lose by pretending it's June and playing relaxed. If you can't beat the Red Sox, well, there's always next season, and maybe you'll finally have a good enough team come out of the Central or West to pick up a wild card spot and keep the New Boston Yankee Sox complex out of the playoffs so we can watch entertaining, small market baseball, for once.

Love,
Marcus


Kings 6, San Jose 4

I don't know what happened with me this offseason, but where I was only mildly interested in the NHL before, I am now captivated. Thanks to the ol' Slingbox, I watched the LA/San Jose game on the sixth while fending off various attempts by the mouse in Kira's apartment to eat my power cable.

It needs to be said that Jon Quick had a brilliant game. Yes, he gave up 4 consecutive goals to tie the game. Yes, he only saved 25 shots. But my goodness, his positioning and movement were flawless. All four goals came on the power play. He stopped a couple breakaways. And he showed none of the nervousness he displayed during the first game.

It's not often you can watch a goalie give up 4 goals and think he's playing on of the best games of his life. But he was.

Regardless, after the Sharks tied it up, I wasn't feeling great about the Kings coming back. They might be improved over recent years, but they're still the Kings, and any team that gives back a 4-0 lead to the reigning Western Conference points leaders frankly deserves a loss. But Teddy Purcell (yes, from Maine) took a shot from behind the goal line that caromed through backup goalie Thomas Greiss's five-hole in a textbook example of How Not to Hold Your Stance When Play Is Behind You.

That, and a Davis Drewiske career-first NHL goal into an empty net, gave LA two points on their march to the playoffs this season. They play the Wild tonight in a game I'll probably miss courtesy of another never ending Angels/Red Sox game.

Also, Ryan Smyth remains the Kings' best player thus far. What a great pick up.


I Killed Mufasa 1, Just Beezy 3

One of the reasons I enjoy goalie so much is the intense awareness that comes with playing such a stats-based position. That awareness is one of the things that lets a goalie separate a good game from a bad game, or a good goal from a bad goal, seconds after it happens.

It also lets me feel good about a game even when we fail to score more than one goal for the millionth time.

This was probably the best game I've played, and that includes my first-start shutout from two seasons ago. I made around 30 saves, 4 or 5 of those on breakaways, and had some poke checks that I couldn't have made until after my first hockey game.

It all came from a modified stance I use when I play hockey, something I haven't been comfortable enough to try in broomball until this week. It certainly looks a lot cooler, because the whole butterfly slide thing translates pretty well.

With a clean sheet through the first period and a half, their first goal came on a screen shot after a scramble...I was already out of position after having made a couple saves during the preliminary shots. The second goal came pretty quickly after, a nice top-shelf wrister that was put in the only place I couldn't get to. It is what it is. The last goal went straight five-hole and would've been a save with my old stance, but I'm learning to live with those for increased corner coverage.

We missed a penalty shot. Again.

If you can't admit when you're clearly, blatantly, obviously wrong...

...then you can't bitch like little girls about "verbal abuse."

Umpires Are Terrible

Courtesy of Neo8234 over at Halos Heaven, this is Gameday from the walk issued to Nick Green which tied the game:

Click image for full-size cheating.

That is a fucking disgrace. Pitch 9, the walk, is a strikeout. Without any question. I'd like to talk about how Fuentes sucks, but it's irrelevant. Blown calls cost the Angels this game.

I have a dream...

I mean, I'd prefer something better than a huge 486DX stationed behind the catcher, but this is still way better than humans.

Angels 1, Boston 4

The supposedly awesome the offense carried through the summer seems to be a product of fluke performances and luck, and you'd have to be an idiot to really think Maicer Izturis is an everyday player. Of course, the offense isn't really as bad as it's recently been, because Juan Rivera isn't really this terrible, and Vlad is stuck between being passable and being Vlad.

But this was a loss with lots of moral victories: The Angels made hard outs against Matsuzaka, including a Torii ball laced at the third baseman with men on second and third. Moreover, when Terry Francona idiotically brought in Papelbon with a 4-run lead, the Halos managed to scrape out a run, something I'm not sure they've ever done against Coin Slot. John Lackey pitched pretty well, although his fielding still leaves lots to be desired. At the same time, a third baseman really should be able to field a one-hop throw from the pitcher. Practice, Mr. Figgins.

I included the above Photoshopped image as an example of a situation which would improve the game of baseball. Check swings are impossibly hard to call, and yet umpires exhibit the utmost in confidence in exercising their judgment in an unbalanced fashion. Balls/strikes are hard to call, and yet umpires and the league remain steadfast in their assertion that blown calls are "part of the game." No. Enough. Replace them with our already 99.9999% accurate PitchF/X technology and end this farce.

I'll be at the Saunders/Byrd game tonight. Pray for offense.


Hockey

Hockey preseason is here! Well, for the NHL, at least. I maintain that I will write a complete preseason outlook on the Northeastern Huskies and, to some degree, Hockey East, before the season begins. The same goes for the Kings. I just need to get off my ass and get to it.


The mask is pretty much done, with the exception of the back plate. The bricks around the chin are a little messy, but overall, it's pretty good for something which required my artistic talents.

Play him off, Keyboard Cat

For those of you reading this on Facebook, click on "view original post" to watch the video.

Big news day

Holy crap. Let's start with ...

'Roids

So David Ortiz was on the juice. About 6 people in America are surprised. Look, his OPS in Minnesota was never higher than .839. His first year in Boston? 961. It increased every year until last season, when it dropped precipitously do .8877. This season? .720.

The 2004 Red Sox have now thoroughly earned the same asterisk which sits happily next to the '98/'99/'00 Yankees, the '01 Diamondbacks, the '02 Angels, and the '03 Marlins.

At this point, does it really matter? The whole league was juicing for a decade. There's no reason to keep players out of the Hall because the playing field was still level. It just happened to be artificially raised.


Kurkjian Doesn't Get It

Check this out. Yet another article about how pitch counts are supposedly stupid and don't help prevent pitcher injury. Yet more proof that athletes will never make good doctors. Josh Beckett actually gets it, and talks about how tired pitches are the worst pitches, but Kurkjian still misses this essential point:

Pitch counts matter because they are a last line of defense against Dusty Baker and Joe Torre.

If you have a pitcher likely to be abused, at the very least, make sure you have him on a pitch count so there's some minimum amount of attention paid to his health. I've discussed this previously.


Lamar Odom Resigns with the Lakers

About damn time. Why, hello 2010 NBA championship trophy.


Scott Feldman (and the Rangers) Are Playing Way Over Their Heads

Feldman's line in a 13-5 loss to Detroit: 2.1 IP, 10H, 6ER, 2BB, 1K, 2HR. I don't buy that the pitchers are better, and I don't buy that the defense is so improved that ERA's are tumbling from 5+ to 3.50. The Angels are lucky, but the Rangers are playing much better ball than their team makeup suggests. Regression, regression.


Idiot Gets Run Over By Train In Front Of My Dorm

I don't really believe in Twitter. I like it when athletes talk about relevant sports stuff, but for the most part, 99% of daily tweets are garbage.

But then, some idiot goes and runs out and gets hit by the T in front of my dorm. About a million cops show up, and I figure hey, why not, and tweet about it. Mark tweets about it too. Soon, BostonTweet gets wind of it and retweets.

You know that scene in Hackers, when Cereal Killer uses Razor and Blade's TV transmission hacks to broadcast to everything in the world with a TV tuner? And he turns around and goes "Dude, I kinda feel like god?" Well, this is sorta like that, kinda. Mark and I were literally the first people in the world to report news. This actually showed up over here today, which is pretty interesting, although I insist that my tweets did contain useful information. They also happened to contain humorous analysis, so eff you too, sir.

Some good news, for once

Angels 8, Boston 4

Wins over the Red Sox, at this point in the season, are little more than happy circumstance. Since all that really matters these days is divisional play, it’s hard to worry too much about inter-divisional losses, regardless of how infuriating those particular losses might be.

With that said, that was a thoroughly entertaining baseball game. It looked like Matt Palmer was about to remember he’s 30 and pitching every start in the majors for the first time in his life. He had given up four runs in two innings and allowed Jason Bay to single in the third. Then he retired 19 straight batters and earned his first complete game win while pushing his undefeated record to 4-0. Against the Red Sox.

Offense against a knuckleballer is inconsistent, at best. Wakefield, who has been so strong this season, was having a hard time throwing the knuckler for strikes, and I think he got banged around when he’d have to throw his “fastball” or curve for strikes. I’ll take a look at the PitchF/X data when I get a few minutes. The third inning was good to the Angels, with the five first Angels getting on base safely, and all five of them scoring. Mike Napoli’s 3-run shot to center might be cementing his reputation as a Boston-killer, and that’s certainly something I’m okay with.

Palmer was left in, throwing 109 total pitches, which is something Scioscia probably wouldn’t have allowed had Palmer already owned a complete game. It also shows his immense distrust of the bullpen, a distrust seeping to the batters, starters, and fans.

The Angels play Boston once more today at 12:35 Pacific. The season series is currently led by the Halos, 3-2. Pitching tonight for the Angels? Ervin “Magic” Santana. Gird your loins.


Lakers 117, Houston 87

Sure, they won by 40 points, but I’m going to ignore the positives of this game and focus on a glaring issue that pretty much everyone else has ignored. Yes, I realize it’s dumb to criticize a team that won a game by 40 points, but 1.) the Rockets are so shorthanded it’s almost mean to play them, and 2.) if the Rockets had hit their shots, we’d be talking about a much smaller margin of victory.

Perimeter defense. I don’t know what it is, but something about the Lakers defense must give guys like Brent Barry and Wally Sczerbiak wet dreams. It must be zone defense, because with about 15 seconds of ball movement, there is always someone open in a corner or at the top of the arc, waiting for the ball. It’s particularly aggravating when a big man is out at the perimeter playing defense against a tiny guard. It’s nonsense. As far as I’m concerned, zone defense is an admission that you can’t guard the other team man to man, and I don’t think it’s a scheme these Lakers are particularly good at running. LA has premier defenders in Bryant, Ariza, and Farmar. Use them.

In game 4, Houston shot 10-29 from beyond the arc. Game 5, they go 5-29, which is pretty much how that whole game went for them. Shooting an even 30%, though, you’d expect them to make another 3 or 4, which isn’t much for a team that loses by 40, but maybe it keeps the Lakers off balance. You can’t let the other team get an open look from three land every possession. The only difference in the two games from the 3FG perspective was that Houston made them in game 4 and missed them in game 5. They still got the same number of wide open looks.

They play again tonight in Houston at 6:30 Pacific.


Miscellany

Sports terms and phrases which need to be retired:

• “trey” as a reference to a three-point shot
• “he gone” when referencing a strikeout
• “Red Sox/Longhorn/Husky/sports team Nation”
• “saucer pass” in reference to anything that clearly isn’t a saucer pass
• “best shape of my/his life” when said by or spoken of an athlete
• “WNBA”
• “that’s a baseball/hockey/football play”
• “hitting his spots” when referring to a pitcher exhibiting good control

Nolan Silva

Angels 2, Seattle 3 (10 innings)

Say what you will about the late-inning theatrics of Scot Shields, the game should never have made it to extras: The one-pitch swinging out has returned.

I've illustrated that making an out on the first pitch you see is a very stupid idea. However, making two outs on the first pitch you see by grounding into a double play, particularly late in the game, should get you benched. The Angels decided to stop trying to play offense and instead wilted under the blazing 89 mph fastball of Carlos Silva. They are batting well below .100 with runners in scoring position and 2 outs on the season, particularly frightening when their organizational philosophy stresses RISP2 hitting.

Last night's goats? Howie Kendrick (0-3, 5 LOB), Kendry Morales (0-4, 3 LOB), and Mike Napoli (0-5). You'll see this result from Mike as a consequence of his swing, a swing that sometimes provides multi-homer games. But Kendrick and Morales both need to produce, particularly as they're not at the bottom of the lineup. But my personal choice for the "needs to sort out his approach at the plate" award goes to Vlad Guerrero, who managed to go 0-4 from the cleanup spot, including a pivtoal GIDP in the 10th inning.

The Angels will go through portions of the season with the offense looking a lot like this. If they can hover around .500 through these cold stretches, they'll be fine.


Miscellaneous:

• Beckett gets a 6-game suspension and umpire Joe "Dumbass" West pretty much gets called out. This is "right." Josh Beckett whines like the little bitch he is. This is "wrong." Josh, here's what you should've done. You should have stayed on the mound, said "Sorry, buddy," to Abreu, finished the inning, and complained to the umpire after getting three outs. The second you started walking towards the batters box, you gave up any right to be pissed off with a suspension. It's a good thing character doesn't count in the Red Sox organization or you'd be pitching for Pawtucket.
  
• By the way, it's hard to tell the difference between the Red Sox and Yankees away uniforms. Well done, Theo. You've given the Red Sox navy socks.
  
• The Lakers mauled the Jazz last night, and will have the opportunity to do so again as Uah gets the #8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The first game is at Staples on Sunday, unless the NBA screws with the playoff schedule.
  
• Joe Vitale's got a pair of goals and a pair of assists to his professional name already. Thiessen suited up as the backup goalie for the baby Pens earlier this week, as well.
  

Angels take series from Boston

Angels 5, Boston 4

Let me start off with this:


Josh Beckett is a five-year old having a temper tantrum on the mound. Since his days with the Marlins, he's been an overrated power pitcher whose success is entirely dependent on his inability to control his facial hair and a generally solid infield defense behind him. He is also an asshole of the highest degree, routinely breaking the unspoken code of baseball by throwing at players' heads countless times per season. When the Red Sox have their inevitable breakup with Beckett, as they have with Nomar, Manny, and Damon, you will hear idiot loudmouth Papelbon talking about how he was a "clubhouse cancer" and a "big pussy," while scrappy white guy Dustin Pedroia will mumble something about him not being a "team player" before devolving into a Tourettes-like hail of cursing.

The reason I mention this, by the way, was Beckett's pitch at Abreu's head which led to the benches clearing and the ejection of Torii Hunter, Justin Speier, and Mike Scioscia. Why wasn't Beckett tossed? More on that later.

The Angels, Abreu in particular, were able to bat Beckett around well enough to manage 4 runs over 6 inning. Their final run, which proved to be critically important, came on a monster Vlad line-drive home run off Okajima, who, like so many Red Sox relievers, isn't actually good. And you wouldn't expect him to be good with mechanics that awful.

Dustin Moseley pitched a hell of a game, giving up three runs over 5.2 innings, with only two of those runs being earned. He made two mistakes, one to JD Drew and one to Kevin Youkilis, and both pitches ended up in the stands. Arredondo struck out 2 over 1.1 innings of scoreless ball, and Shields miraculously worked around 3 walks to retire the side in the eighth. Fuentes hit no-name Nick Green to lead off the ninth, and Green would eventually score with 2 outs and Ortiz in the batters box. He managed to strike out Drew for the game's last out with a 1 run lead.
Overall, a good series for the Angels, who came 90 feet away from sweeping with a win in the second game.

The Angels will be selling Nick Adenhart patches for charity revenue, and I would like to be able to purchase a couple to add to future hats/jerseys. If anyone in Anaheim can grab a couple for me once they're released, I'd be happy to pay a premium for a finder's fee and shipping.

ALCS Musings

All right, so it's now finally time for me to become an impartial observer on the world of baseball. The Angels are out, the Red Sox are vanquished, and all that's left are two teams which I like more for who they beat on their trip to the Series than who they are themselves. The Phillies spared me from Dodger fans, and the Rays ended the Red Sox's season in a humiliating, painful way, guaranteeing a quiet winter from the pink-hatters out here in Boston.

For the next week or so, I get to watch baseball without caring who wins. It's a nice feeling.

That said, I hope the assholes at ESPN and other national media outlets have learned something from what is sure to be a poorly rated World Series. From the first day of the season, the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs got countless more hours of footage, analysis, and hype than any other team. The networks played off the success of Fever Pitch and quite literally marketed a team to the general public while ignoring perfectly capable ball clubs on both coasts and towards the middle of the country.

Now, they reap what they've sown.

Two unheralded teams are going to play for baseball's biggest trophy, and neither of these teams saw half the analysis on ESPN as the Red Sox. Hell, Manny Ramirez was a bigger topic of conversation than either the Rays or the Phillies for the second half of the season. One player. Over two teams playing for the World Series.

I want to believe that the networks have learned something from this. Maybe they've learned that it makes more sense to cover teams that are playing well, regardless of their clubhouse makeup or past success. The Yankees were irrelevant for months before the playoffs, but they received more press coverage than the Angels who were quietly assembling MLB's best record. The clear and obvious bias has to stop or the executives at ESPN, FOX, TBS, or whoever, can expect consistently bad and declining ratings for each playoff series.

Also, I would immediately fire national broadcasters who openly root for teams. For example, Chip Caray. When Joe Morgan sounds impartial, you know something's wrong. What would be nice would be a dual-audio format, where the SAP button uses one team's usual announcers and the main audio uses the other team's announcers. At least this way, the bias is obvious instead of being hidden behind the supposed neutrality of new announcers.

Finally, I think the playoff format is dumb. Baseball has a massively long season which rewards day-to-day consistency in a way no other sport really does. And yet, at the end of this season, the playoffs commence with a 5 game series that has like a million off-days between each game. My opinion? Every series is 7 games long and there are no off-days. Period. Make it like the regular season. Force teams to use five starters just like they did all season. This makes it more likely that the deepest team wins, not a team with two hot starters. Reward consistency, not streaks, just like the regular season.

Carbonated Beverages + Computer != Fun

Posting to this blog is obviously going to slow down a little now that the Angels' season is over, but with college hockey, the NFL, the NHL, and soon the NBA, I really don't have a good excuse.

First, a casual note about playing with racquetballs indoors: it's dumb. I tried to swat a ball away from my roommate, hit the open, full Coke on my desk, and knocked it directly onto and into my PC through the conveniently located fan grille on top. The machine instantly hanged, and naturally the vent holes were directly over my PCI slots, dousing my video card, TV tuner card, and motherboard with delicious syrup.

Amazingly, all that really got destroyed was my network port. Everything else works, so I've installed a PCI network card and everything seems to be working fine. While I was cleaning the residue off the board, you could see where the acidic Coke etched away parts of a few traces near a chip. Unbelievable. This is why I can't have nice things.

Anyway, here's some brief recaps before I start looking at some homework.


Northeastern 4, Alaska-Anchorage 2

I'm in a little pool with the guys over at DHD, with my sponsored players being Ryan Ginand and JP Maley. For every game the Huskies win, I donate $5 to the program for each goal one of those players scores, $2 for an assist, and a $5 bonus for the gamewinning goal. Naturally, Ginand had two goals, including the gamewinner, in Northeastern's second and final game in Alaska.

The game had online video, so I got to watch the Huskies in action for the first time. Joe Vitale had a quiet series, which is unusual for him, but Ginand and McCauley had two goals each for the weekend, Thiessen looked solid between the pipes, and the freshmen, Quailer in particular, didn't look lost and seemed to fit into Cronin's system. The first home game is Saturday vs. BC, so I'm both excited and nervous.


Patriots 10, San Diego 30

Look, the Patriots can't win if they don't have an effective pass rush, and they didn't. Phil Rivers had hours in the pocket to go deep to a few different receivers, so the loss here doesn't surprise me. Frankly, one of these two teams needs to make it to the Super Bowl, so I'm not opposed to the Chargers beating the Pats.

Matt Cassel looked like crap, which is generally what happens when the other team knows how to pass rush and your team doesn't. This game, again, not Cassel's fault.


Rays 9, Boston 1

The Rays, America's new favorite team, took a 2-1 series lead by beating Jon Lester. Finally. I don't care what the statistics say. Jon Lester is not a #1 starter, and that he's pitched like one all season just shows how novelty can affect opposing lineups. This is the first year Lester's really had the opportunity to show himself to the whole league, and he introduced a new pitch. His stats will regress next season, and I look forward to it.

Also, I think Lester believes this more than anyone: He's not just a kid who beat cancer anymore. Cancer shouldn't define him. He's past it, it's done, respect the guy for his accomplishments and stop talking about his cancer every time he shows up on TV.

Evan "Wunderkind" Longoria and BJ Upton both had homers in the third, and it just kept piling on from there. I thought the Rays were dumb when they gave a rookie a big, long contract, but clearly they knew what we all now know. Go Rays.


Phillies 7, Dodgers 5

The Dodgers have no chance in this series after losing the first two, but I'm not sure I really care anymore. It's hard to root for a team whose fans threw full beers at me at a Dodgers/Angels game. It's also hard to root for the Phillies, since I hate Philly fans (at least Eagles/Flyers fans), and a small part of me still likes the Mets.

Either way, Cory Wade, who's really been quite good lately, gave up a 2-run dinger to Victorino to tie the game, and it was pretty much all-Phillies from there. The Dodger bullpen is looking like a very soft spot in the neck of the franchise.

Ninth-inning analysis

There's a lot of banter over the weird suicide squeeze play that ended the Angels' season last night, so I'm going to talk about it also.

Let's start with the situation. Runner on third, 1 out, Erick Aybar at the plate. Reggie Willits is fast, leading off third, and is generally considered a smart baserunner, at least when compared with, well, Aybar.

So the count goes to 2-0. I presume Scioscia puts on the squeeze because he's been watching Aybar flail away at the plate for the last three games. Aybar misses the bunt, Varitek catches Willits running home, chases him down, and tags him out. Maybe. Why maybe? The ball squirts into left field during the play.

So here's what I'm going to look at:

1.) Was the squeeze a good play call?
2.) What went wrong with the execution?
3.) Was Willits safe because Varitek dropped the ball?

1.) The second link up there is a link to the Mariners site Lookout Landing. It's an interesting analysis on the intelligence of calling a suicide squeeze, and aside from Jeff's typical Angel bashing, he makes a valid point: If this play works, it's the best play call all series. Look, the Angels haven't been a top-tier offensive team since 2000, and haven't really even been above average since 2002. Erick Aybar has one hit in the series, albeit a big one, and is facing Boston's second-best relief pitcher in Manny Delcarmen. He can get the run home in a couple different ways:

• Deep fly ball
• Soft grounder to the right side
• Base hit

I know, you know, and Scioscia knows a hit isn't likely. A soft grounder looks like a reasonable chance, and a deep fly ball is almost as likely as a hit. So ideally, a soft grounder to the right side is what you want. What's an easy way to hit a soft grounder to the right side? Well, a bunt. The Angels had previously executed a successful suicide squeeze against Boston, and several over the course of the year.

I won't say it was a great play call, but it wasn't a terrible one, either. Those calling for Scioscia's head are looking for answers in the wrong place.

2.) The execution of the play was the problem. Aybar's a good bunter, but why they tried to run the play on a 2-0 count is confusing. Make him throw a strike, or otherwise, get him to 3-0 because you might as well expect a fastball down the pipe at 3-0. Second, Aybar NEEDS to make contact, and if he doesn't, he needs to interfere with Varitek. Period. If he can't hit the ball, he needs to get hit by the ball or prevent the catcher from getting to/throwing over to third. Worst case, Aybar is out and there's another chance.

Willits, also, needs to do a better job of getting back to third. Without his little stutter step, I think he can dive in under the tag of Youkilis. Even if he doesn't, he at least forces a throw and increases the chance of an error.

3.) Whether Willits was safe is another one of those calls in baseball where you just wish someone had written a damn clear rule for once. Frankly, I think he's safe. Why? Well, let's say a guy is running to first. The throw comes in to the first baseman who gets pulled off the bag but puts the tag on the runner by diving into the basepath. The runner touches first, the first baseman hits the ground and the ball squirts out. Every time, the runner's going to get ruled safe. This is the *exact* same thing that happened last night. Willits was running to third, Varitek dove, tagged him, Willits touched third, Varitek hits the ground and the ball squirts out. Reggie was safe.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a new rule to clarify this, much as they did with the 2005 Doug Eddings dropped-third-strike rule.

The Angels beat themselves this series. The Rays won't.

There will be a game 4

Today was an elimination day. And by today, I mean yesterday. I had virtually no confidence that this team was going to pull out a win, so I started accepting that my $120 ticket was just a ticket to watch my team play their last game of the season. I didn't wear my Erstad jersey, didn't wear the Lackey jersey, just an Angels sweatshirt and my hat. Low key, almost like a party for a friend who's leaving for a long time. I wasn't thinking about OBP, about Mark Teixeira getting signed, about Hokie Joe Saunders in the playoffs for the first time.

I was thinking about how much I miss baseball every offseason, regardless of how any particular season ends. I was relaxed, an unusual trait for me during any sort of playoffs, and I was ready to watch Garret Anderson and Frankie Rodriguez in Angels uniforms for, probably, the last time.

I walked off the ice after broomball, got on a bike, and rode to Fenway. Five hours later I left, relishing the opportunity to put on a hat for a still-relevant team at least one more day.

I said earlier that the Angels had to check off a laundry list of things to win this game. Let's see how they did:

• "Joe Saunders needs to pitch the game of his life." Close. Aside from that absolutely unacceptable three-run "single" (call it an error on Hunter or Kendrick), Joe was throwing balls and getting the Sox to swing at them. If I knew the Virginia Tech fight song, I'd be singing it by now.
• "Josh Beckett needs to be 2008 Josh Beckett." Check. Beckett was not throwing strikes, was not hitting corners, and was giving up home runs the way he used to before he turned into 2007 Josh Beckett.
• "Chone Figgins needs to do better." I said the Angels wouldn't win if he didn't get on base at least twice. He got on 3 times, albeit in 7 at-bats. He also scored a crucial first inning run.
• "Kendrick needs to sit." I said if HK didn't sit, he needed 2 or 3 hits if the Angels were going to win. He went 2-5.
• "Jason Bay needs to be thrown offspeed junk low and away." From my angle in the concourse, who knows what they threw him. All that matters is they kept him 0-5 and forced the lineup around him to work.
• "Francisco Rodriguez and Scot Shields are not allowed on the field." I dropped the ball on this one. Frankie was shaky as all hell, but got out of the inning. Scotty-do pitched 2.1 perfect innings, shaking off his Fenway demons and possibly securing his place as the Angels' closer next year. Also, thank you to Jose Arredondo and Darren Oliver.
• "Jered Weaver for closer!" It was a joke when I said it, but man, Weaver was uncharacteristically good. 2 innings pitched, 1 hit, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, and the extra-inning save, which isn't really a stat.
  

Look, I know, you know, and everybody knows that a return from a 2-0 series deficit is highly, highly unlikely. It's not impossible, but it's not probable, and I'm unconvinced the Angels can do it. But their win tonight was a big deal. It ended a streak of absolute futility against the Red Sox in the playoffs. It proved that Mike Napoli is the Angels catcher of the future. It showed that Scot Shields isn't washed up, that Vlad can actually hit in the postseason, and that the Halos can overcome deficits on the road and win games.

Also, regardless of my constant screams for a Wood pinch-hitting appearance in the later innings, Aybar came through with the most clutch hit in recent Angels history.

I was joking with the people around me during the 11th inning that "neither team wants to win this game." But the Angels did. This win is a hallmark of successful Angels baseball, and for that, bravo, boys.


Wildabeasts 0, Other Team 2

Broomball sorta took on a seconday level of importance today, and as a result, I played loose and actually had a good game. In fact, the whole team had a good game, and minus a cheapie goal and an empty-netter, this was the closest we could've gotten to a win without scoring.

With Jeff out with a concussion, I was sorta expecting an ugly game, marred with bad goaltending and penalty shots. In fact, the team seemed energized with Jeff cheerleading on the sidelines. The first period was a thing of beauty, with tape-to-tape passes from everybody and lockdown defense. I only saw a couple shots in the first, most of which were weak dribblers from defensive deflections.

The second period, also, was good, although our numerous breakaways never materialized into goals. The other goalie played barehanded and basically just dropped the stick when under pressure, relying on his hands to catch the ball. It's an interesting strategy, but I'm convinced staying in the butterfly with the stick and glove is more effective.

By the third period I was pretty tired. I let in a really dumb goal on my glove side at a sharp angle, a shot I need to start saving every time. My issue wasn't so much my reaction but my positioning. I spent most of the game trying to stay square to the ball, something that really helped my shot recognition and ability to save the high shot, but it left me vulnerable when I had to slide across the crease. I didn't get my shoulder against the pipe, and even my glove was wayyy too low to be particularly helpful. The ball hit the post, my shoulder, and the back of the net, and just like that, the game was pretty much over.

I left the ice with about 30 seconds remaining, but we couldn't generate any offense and gave them an easy empty-netter with about 10 to play. It happens.

I've got this coming weekend off, so hopefully my wrist will be back to 80 or 90% before the next game.