With the NHL playoffs not resuming until Friday evening, I had my choice last night of sporting events: Watch the L.A. Clippers try to keep their series alive versus the Phoenix Suns in a pivotal Game 6 matchup, or watch the L.A. Angels of Anaheim of Southern California of the United States of America continue to stumble against the Toronto Blue Jays and the rest of the American League.
My husband made that decision easy. “I can only watch basketball the last 5 minutes of the game, even during the playoffs, so we are watching the Angels.”
Guess I had no choice really, although I can’t say I blame him. I haven’t been able to watch a full game of basketball in recent years, although I must say these second round matchups have been nothing short of compelling.
So we settled in to watch the game, although in my heart of hearts, I knew the Angels weren’t going to win. They remind me very much of the NY Mets of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s- they get your hopes up, until someone makes a bad pitch or there is a brain cramp in the field that leads to a minimum of 4 runs in the inning.
Not to be proven wrong, the Angels did just that- after tying the game late on a solo home run by Mike Napoli (a recent call up from the minors in place of a dismal Jeff Mathis), the Angels had the bases loaded in the 9th inning, only to have Tim “Mr. Angel” Salmon strike out to end the inning. The top of the 10th inning led to 4 runs by Toronto and another home loss for the Angels, who sport a home record of just 8-12, and 17-24 overall. That would almost be good enough for last place, but the Seattle Mariners, having played (and lost) one more game than the Angels, currently hold that distinction.
My husband, after the game was over, looked at me and said “What happened to this team? I know they didn’t go out and get any hitting, which was stupid, but what is with all the errors? Where is the defense? Where is the pitching? What happened to being in contention?”
My poor husband. At that point, I didn’t have an answer for him. All I could say to him was “Welcome to the West Coast version of the old Mets.” Not that he would ever understand, as he was never a Mets fan, but after all the stories I’ve told him over the years, I think he might have taken a hint.
Later in the evening, while watching ESPN news, a highlight of the Devil Rays and Chicago White Sox was shown. Right before they started the actual game highlight, they showed D-Rays manager Joe Maddon, standing at the top of the dugout with his game face on.
There it was, the answer to my husband’s question, like a sledgehammer to the face.
What ails the Angels isn’t completely a lack of power, mental errors which lead to physical errors in the field, or even the injuries suffered by many of their starting players this season.
No, what ails the Angels this season is the loss of Joe Maddon, bench coach extraordinaire to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Maddon, long regarded as one of the most knowledgeable men in baseball today, took over for Lou Pinella as the manager of the perennially basement dwelling Devil Rays this season. Though his choice to move to such a club may have been questioned, the similarity between these two teams currently bears more than just a striking resemblance to one another.
Both teams sport a 17-24 record, and both have had recent struggles as of late. While this is a common practice in Tampa, the Angels haven’t been this bad since their hangover World Series season of 2003. These two teams rank 13th and 14th in the American League in team batting, with the Angels sporting a .246 and the Devil Rays a lowly .233. Their home and away records are practically identical, with the Angels having an 8-12 record at home and a 9-13 record on the road. The Devil Rays? 9-11 at home, 8-13 on the road.
Where these two teams differ is pitching. The Angels are ranked 4th in the AL in team ERA with a 4.43 while the D-Rays 5.19 ERA signifies why they are losing games at their current pace. With no real number one starters on the Devil Rays staff, and a bullpen by committee, it is understandable.
But one thing I’ve noticed is the lack of big names the D-Rays have, and given a new ownership change and lack of a significant fan base, one can easily argue that playing games at home is just as bad, if not worse, than playing games on the road.
But the D-Rays have shown, both last year and this year, that they will try and compete with anyone. While they may not have the best talent, these guys compete. Carl Crawford is probably one of the most underrated players in baseball right now, given his speed, athletic ability, and his power. The Angels heart is, well, I’m still unsure.
Maddon was the cheerleader in the clubhouse in Anaheim, a guy with a love and passion for the game, and a passion to watch his players succeed. It was Maddon’s responsibility as the bench coach to put up a quote every day over the lineup card in the dugout, chosen from many classic authors and writers, to provide inspiration. He was the reason that even though the Angels never have anybody to protect Vladimir Guerrero in the lineup, would find a way to help Mike Sciosia motivate those boys to play hard and win. He has since taken his act to Tampa, where the players, at least not at this stage of the game, have found that same place. But they will. As young as they are, there really is no other place to go but up.
Ron Roenicke took over as the bench coach in Anaheim, moving from his long time position as the third base coach. But I don’t see that same type of fire that Maddon showed for many years. He is more of what you call a quiet leader, and I don’t think that is helping a broken Angels team right now. His replacement at third, Dino Ebel, is trying hard, but has made some questionable calls with the base running early in his stint with the Angels. Only time will tell how he really handles his new position.
So to answer my husband’s question, I told him this morning that he needs to look no further than the loss of Joe Maddon to help explain away what ails the Angels. And unfortunately, at the present, it doesn’t look like there will be any suitable replacement for Maddon, and most likely, there won’t ever be.
The GM of the Halos came on the radio before the season proudly saying how they were content to let their players develop instead of pursuing free agent talent. Lots of baseball left, and divisions are won in July/August so it's not time to press the panic button yet.
Please someone step up and name this team simply the Los Angeles Angels. The Rams were that way, the Giants/Jets play in Jersey and we can just get over the whole debacle.
In no way am I pressing the panic button here, although my husband I think has thought about it a few times in the last week alone. Bill Stoneman is a fine GM, and has done well for many years. I'm also a believer in this team, regardless of how poorly they performed. I just think that in the case of many teams, the departure of a specific teammate, coach, etc. affects chemistry, and that was the point I was trying to illustrate here.
I am in agreement about the team name..the people here in Anaheim need to get over it already. I put it that way here as a joke, but in reality, I have no problem calling them the LA Angels. Hey, if the NY Giants and the NY Jets both play in New Jersey, and they haven't changed the city name, it should be applied. But the Anaheim has to be there somewhere because of the lease agreement with the City, so the long name will remain.
What: What you suggest could very well be at least part of the problem with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Azusa, Cucamonga and all points east. If the clubhouse is allowed to become too quiet, so to speak, the rest of the team will often become too quiet, as well. I think this is what is up with the M's, too. Bob Melvin had his occasional fiery moments, and so does Grover, but--to players used to the eruptions of Mt. St. Lou (Piniella)--this was antithesis and the team just got quiet, and so did their bats. If someone doesn't do something about it pretty soon, it could become a permanent condition, I fear. All of the injuries for the Angels can't help, either.
sleepless: No, you are right in saying the injuries don't help. But injuries are not necessarily to be used as an excuse. I am an avid hockey fan, and watched (with much dismay I might add) the Philadelphia Flyers suffer devastating injury after devastating injury, and they still made the playoffs. Yes, Colon, Erstad and Garret Anderson being hurt certainly doesn't help, but a quiet clubhouse leads to bad feelings and other such. Blow-ups have already begun with the growing frustration, and I think if Maddon were still here, a lot of this wouldn't be happening right now.
I heard about Erstad going off the other day when reports were within hearing distance. That's not a good thing. Take it out on your teammates, but only in private....
In Erstad's defense, he was unaware the media were in Sciosia's office when the outburst was happening...apparently someone from within the organization heard what was going on and closed the door to Sciosia's office before his outburst. Notice, though, it hasn't helped: a 16-3 shelling on Friday, an 8-4 loss Saturday and a 7-0 loss today...the fact of the matter is, the team is broken right now, the chemistry isn't there, and if Stoneman doesn't move quickly, there will be even bigger issues for the Angels.
I can see it coming, and it could take years for it to fix itself. Like a bunch of the other teams, their premier players are getting older and more prone to injury. Their bullpen is in kind of a shambles, and let's not even talk about Jeff Weaver. They're playing a bunch of younger guys right now, just up from the minors, and they haven't meshed as a team yet (gee, why does that sound familiar?). Seems rebuilding is kind of the norm in the AL West this year, and most of the teams in the division didn't fare too well this weekend. So, I guess we don't count any of them out right now, barring one of the teams going on a real winning streak before the All-Star break.
Like the inclusion of baseball you timed your writing for this sport perfectly. Along with the NHL posts-- kudos to a very talented new writer.
Catching up your blog bud. I take the weekend break for catching up with family, friends, reading and outdoor activities with friends.
Fishing etc.
thought I say hey on your first all baseball post.
I see Norcal stopped in to and sleepless. Great readership so far.
-lgrw
Last edited by letsgoredwings on May 21st at 11:23 PM.
sleepless: You are correct in your assessment of the AL West as a whole. Not one team has really shown any dominance this season, and in all honesty, I do not expect any too. All the fun is in the AL Central and AL East (wow, there's a shocker) right now. And please, let's not get started on Jeff Weaver...I know the Dodgers, the Tigers and whomever else is just laughing it up right now.
lgrw-thanks for the comments. I would expect someone like yourself to give yourself a break and time with your family- who wouldn't? Thanks for catching up though, it is much appreciated.
A woman with a love and passion for all things hockey, baseball and writing. Ergo, here I am. I will primarily be focusing on hockey and baseball, but if another sport so warrants my attention, I will put my thoughts and opinions here, in this space. Well, it would actually be in the space to the left, but you know what I mean.
Allow me to apologize up front if some of my blogs are long...I'm working on that. For the record, should you see any slanted articles towards the following teams: New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Orange County of Southern California of the United States of America, or the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, that would be cause those are the teams I'm truly a fan of. But I will try to be as fair and unbiased as possible.Than ks in advance for reading!
