Okay, I'm going to write something today. I tried three different times yesterday to get something out there, but each time I only got a few lines on the page. Consistently posting something is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. As you've probably noticed if you've been visiting this site is I'm not a very good writer. But I like to write and it doesn't cost anything but my time, so here I am. My method of writing starts while I'm doing non-writing activities, such as the dishes, or standing outside having a smoke, or driving somewhere in my piece of shit pick-up truck with no radio. The idea starts in my mind and then forms itself into sentences and paragraphs. That's the easy part. The hard part is getting the crap out of my head and onto this page. Maybe you've also noticed that sometimes my writing is, I don't know...disjointed? What I mean is, I'll sit down and write, and get into the flow of the subject I what to write about and then I get interrupted by something - such as, my 2 year-old daughter needing me to take her to the bathroom for the 47th time, or the phone will ring. Whatever. So when I sit back down to continue writing, the thoughts and flow I had are gone and what comes out doesn't really follow what was previously written. A lot of the time what I've written in my head is forgotten by the time I sit down to put it on the page and what comes out is only partially what I wanted to say, leaving what is finally written as short and not fully forming the point I was intending to make. Plus, I think it'd be easier for me to write if the Angels weren't doing so well. Looking back at my previous posts, it seems like I've mostly been focusing on the negative aspects of the Halos; what needs to be improved, or what they did wrong...stuff like that. It's always easier to criticize and find fault than to look at the good things. Something I need to change, not only in writing here, but probably in my personal life as well.
So anyway, my first attempt at writing something yesterday was going to be about how I admire the Angels' management staff and their handling of the last couple weeks. Since clinching the division so early, I thought the team would become less focused, but Scoiscia has managed to keep the team on track while also getting the players enough rest to get ready for the post-season without losing anything from taking the time off. His attitude of "one game at a time" is paying off. This year's team is so much different than last year's play-off team because the players are rested and healthy. For example, Vlad Guerrero took 6 games off to rest his right knee. Since returning to the line-up, Guerrero says he feels much better and proved it last night by belting two home runs. The second homer came in the top of the 9th, breaking a 4-4 tie and carrying the Angels to their 99th win. Hopefully this difference translates into a different outcome than last year's sweep by the Red Sox.
The second attempt was about how some of the players - Garret Anderson, Mike Napoli, and Mark Teixeira are getting hot at the right time. That thought died when I realized Teixeira has been hot ever since joining the Angels
, hitting .362 and driving in 42 runs in just 51 games. In fact, Teix has been so hot he's gotten on base by either a hit or walk in 46 of the 51 games he's played with the Angels. Anderson is just doing what he did last year, suck until the All-Star break and then bust out an awesome second half. Since the break, Anderson has hit .338, and he's hit .367 in September. So he's not getting hot either, he's been on fire since July. Napoli on the other hand has heated up. He's hit a scalding .684 over the last week and has raised his average 47 points since September 10th. In that short time, Naps has hit 4 home runs, driven in 11 runs, and scored 7 times. What's impressive is his BB/K rate has greatly improved. Prior to the All-Star break, Napoli walked just 20 times while striking out 46 times for a BB/K rate of .435. Since the break, he's improved his BB/K rate to .682 resulting in a post-break batting average of .359 (compared to a batting average of .204 in the first half of the season). This is huge. To add a bat like that to an already impressive line-up will have an enormous impact on the team's success, plus it would take the pressure off of the big three (Teix, Vlad and Hunter) to carry the entire offense.
My third try at writing something was basically a variation of this theme. I was hoping the third time was the charm - obviously it wasn't.
Daily Notes:
- One of the guys over at Halos Heaven made the comment that the Angels and Rockies are the only two teams never to win 100 games or lose 100 games in a season. I thought that was interesting, especially because the Angels have been around a lot longer than the Rockies. The Angels sit right now at 99 wins with 3 games to play. This nugget of information about 100 wins is about to change.
- Another interesting thread at Halos Heaven is about motivational posters. A bunch of people have created posters with Angels' photos and many of them are very good. Check it out here.
- In this piece from the L.A. Times, Jon Garland states he doesn't deserve to be one of the post-season starters based on his recent performance. Garland had previously done well in the play-offs with the White Sox, but he's right, he's sucked lately. But you gotta love his attitude, not too many players would admit what he did.
- The Dodgers clinched the NL West division yesterday when the Diamondbacks lost their game Thursday afternoon. How cool would a Freeway Series be? The Dodgers have a long road to the World Series as they're definitely the worst play-off team (record-wise), but they have been good over the last month winning 16 of their last 22 games. Depending on which team is the wild card will determine who the Dodgers play in the first round. If the Brewers get the wild card spot, the Dodgers will play the Cubs. If the Mets or Phillies get the final spot, the Dodgers will face the NL East champ.
- The Minnesota Twins won an important game last night against the White Sox moving them into first place in the AL Central by a half game. The Twins play the Kansas City Royal for 3 games at home, while the White Sox host Cleveland. Chicago also has a make-up game against Detroit on Monday. I'm not sure if they'll play the game is its not needed.
- With either an Angels win or a Tampa loss, the Angels will clinch home field advantage.
Just submitted a long comment encouraging you to keep writing, but I got a message that I've submitted too many comments in a short period of time, even though it was first ever comment. I figured I should let you know in case there is some sort of technical issue going on. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that your insightful work is much appreciated. How about an analysis of the upcoming ALDS? You're probably working on it as I write this... Keep the great articles coming!
Ah, I see that my second comment went through. FYI, the first time I tried to post, I previewed the comment, checked the "Remember personal info?" box, submitted the comment, then got the "too many recent comments" message. The second (successful) time, I didn't preview the comment, didn't check the "Remember personal info" box, and just submitted it.
Just wanted to elaborate a bit on my first comment. I've been an Angel fan for most of my life, having switched allegiances from the Dodgers to the Angels when the Dodgers traded Bill Buckner, my favorite player when I was around 8-9 years old. I love reading about the Angels, and your blogsite has become my favorite. I like HH, the Rev is one of the funniest, most insightful writers around, but the comments (usually not by him) get a little too snarky sometimes. Chone Smith's blog is also great, but he doesn't write regularly enough in my opinion. I love how you post on a regular basis, and I love the content of your posts as well. Just as a recent example, I was wondering which reliever was most deserving of the final spot in the bullpen, and I appreciated how your post on the issue gathered together all of the relevant information/numbers so that I could see for myself. I also got the impression that the Garland trade was a great one for the Angels, and your post showed me why this was so. And the "Daily Notes" section fills me in on the Angels happenings of the day in one place. Can't wait for the ALDS, can't quantify this with numbers, but I think Vlad will come up huge, Scioscia giving him the extra rest sure seem to have helped. Go Halos!
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