Well after a very hectic last couple of weeks, I'm finally back home in Southern California for the summer.
And just about the time that the Halos returned from their marathon 14-game road trip. Unfortunately, me being home means that my mlb.tv account is useless and I'm once again dependent on Terry. Though I'm not complaining about not seeing last night's game.
Last night started promising enough, with Saunders breezing through 2 innings (despite all those fly balls) and the Halos scoring some early runs thanks to Frandsen. It seemed like Joe could wiggle out of the jam in the 3rd - until Ryan Braun sent the ball over the fence for a grand slam. And Saundo never really recovered. Those that didn't hit the ball hard, he walked, regressing to his early season form.
(Terry mentioned a perplexing split between Joe's home and away performances. Much like Abreau's hitting splits, those kind of extreme results at home and on the road are interesting.)
Of course, it was clear that it was just one of those games, so the real news was Aybar's injury. After seeing the replay, I don't think that there was any intent from McGehee - it was just an unfortunate result of a hard play and an errant throw. Hopefully Aybar is only out for a week or so, because the Angels' infield depth is already stretched at the seams.
With the ineptitude of BWood, injury of Kendry, and fragile-ness of Izzy, the Angels are running out of quality players to plug into holes. Frandsen has been a pleasant surprise and very much a critical piece. But it'd be wishful thinking to believe that the Angels can pull another one of those out of Salt Lake. Aybar's injury needs to be short-lived, otherwise the Angels are in real trouble. The ironic thing is that in the preseason, many talking heads and bloggers (like me!) noted the lack of the usual Angels depth. They just figured the weak point was in the aging outfield, rather than the young, homegrown infield. But while none of the outfielders (including Matsui!) have hit the DL, five infielders have (Wilson, Mathis, BWood, Izzy, KMo). Just goes to show the unpredictability of a season.
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Showing posts with label anecdotes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anecdotes. Show all posts
15 June 2010
27 February 2010
"I still blame southwest!"
The Story of.. My First Playoff Game
I never had the chance to see a playoff game. My dad tried to get tickets to the World Series in 2002, but he was new to the whole buying-playoff-tickets madness and found that they were sold out and exorbitantly expensive. During the playoff run from 2004-2005 and 2007-2008, I was at school and admittedly not yet the fan I am now. But in 2009 my fandom had reached the point where I really wanted to see a playoff game.
Of course, there was the problem of class and that I was in Stanford not Torrance. So in addition to paying for tickets, I'd have to pay for a flight, skip class, find the time to actually study, and convince my dad that the money going to pay for my tuition isn't going to waste. It took a bit of convincing myself, but I snapped up some tickets for the ALCS. As a grad student not on a fellowship and going to a private school, the financial part wasn't trivial. I was also feeling quite guilty about skipping class, especially when I realized I'd have to skip an additional class to make my flight and that I'd need to take a midterm early (since I'd be missing it). But I knew that I would be incredibly excited and that a great game would be enough to make it all worth it.
In the end it was, but the real story is the beginning.
I never had the chance to see a playoff game. My dad tried to get tickets to the World Series in 2002, but he was new to the whole buying-playoff-tickets madness and found that they were sold out and exorbitantly expensive. During the playoff run from 2004-2005 and 2007-2008, I was at school and admittedly not yet the fan I am now. But in 2009 my fandom had reached the point where I really wanted to see a playoff game.
Of course, there was the problem of class and that I was in Stanford not Torrance. So in addition to paying for tickets, I'd have to pay for a flight, skip class, find the time to actually study, and convince my dad that the money going to pay for my tuition isn't going to waste. It took a bit of convincing myself, but I snapped up some tickets for the ALCS. As a grad student not on a fellowship and going to a private school, the financial part wasn't trivial. I was also feeling quite guilty about skipping class, especially when I realized I'd have to skip an additional class to make my flight and that I'd need to take a midterm early (since I'd be missing it). But I knew that I would be incredibly excited and that a great game would be enough to make it all worth it.
In the end it was, but the real story is the beginning.
03 November 2009
embarrassment
The Story of.. How I Got My First Authentic MLB Baseball
One of the drawbacks about leaving home to start grad school in Sept. 2009 was the fact that I wouldn't have the opportunity to drive down to the Big A for games when tickets got cheap. Mlb.tv helped, but I was soooo envious of those that got to see the clinching game vs. Texas. If I was in Socal then, you bet I would have found a way to be there.
So when the Angels came up to Oakland later that week, I made sure to get tickets so I could see them. They won both games I went to, but the first game was disappointing in that I got no autographs. So when I was able to get Kaz to sign my hat before the second game, I was happy. That is until a golden opportunity presented itself to me at the end of the 7th.
I had slowly worked my way down the seats as the game progressed. Partially because I wanted a better view (and there were plenty of empty seats), partially because I was freeeeezing in the shade. I finally made it down to the 2nd row behind the Angels' dugout in the 7th and was ready to ask for the ball at the end of the inning. I had learned my lesson from the first game that series and I had brought my glove. So when Jepsen struck out the last batter and Napoli jogged to the dugout, I stood and raised my glove for the ball. To my amazement, Naps threw it at me. I saw the ball arch up, I raised my glove... and the next thing I knew, it had bounced off my head and back into the field...
One of the drawbacks about leaving home to start grad school in Sept. 2009 was the fact that I wouldn't have the opportunity to drive down to the Big A for games when tickets got cheap. Mlb.tv helped, but I was soooo envious of those that got to see the clinching game vs. Texas. If I was in Socal then, you bet I would have found a way to be there.
So when the Angels came up to Oakland later that week, I made sure to get tickets so I could see them. They won both games I went to, but the first game was disappointing in that I got no autographs. So when I was able to get Kaz to sign my hat before the second game, I was happy. That is until a golden opportunity presented itself to me at the end of the 7th.
I had slowly worked my way down the seats as the game progressed. Partially because I wanted a better view (and there were plenty of empty seats), partially because I was freeeeezing in the shade. I finally made it down to the 2nd row behind the Angels' dugout in the 7th and was ready to ask for the ball at the end of the inning. I had learned my lesson from the first game that series and I had brought my glove. So when Jepsen struck out the last batter and Napoli jogged to the dugout, I stood and raised my glove for the ball. To my amazement, Naps threw it at me. I saw the ball arch up, I raised my glove... and the next thing I knew, it had bounced off my head and back into the field...
