Thursday, April 15, 2004
Painful Loss
So Jeff DaVanon can accomplish what John Olerud and Edgar Martinez can not. Hit a simple fly ball with a runner on third and less than two runs. And then we were 1-7. 2nd and 3rd no outs in the ninth and we can's score a run with Oly-Edgar-Boone?!! What have we done to offend the Baseball Gods?
Having a speed guy on the bench is a very nice weapon. Chone (pronounced Shawn) Figgins won the game by stealing 2nd and 3rd off of two different pitchers, and Wilson never had a chance at him either time. Reason number #27 that it would have been nice to invest in Pudge this offseason.
After watching the game through the Angels feed, I've decided that the Angels have passed the A's as my number one rival this year. Between Rex Hudler and Rally Monkey songs, losing to the Angels makes me want to puke. They are calling Vlad Guerrero, Garrett Anderson, Jose Guillen the "G Force" trip through the rotation. The Angels fan base is loving life right now, with fans lining up to get their heads painted Angel red.
I'm laying $5 on the Angels to beat the M's and Ryan Franklin tonight. Whatever it takes.
What went wrong
The two runs the Angels got in the second inning made me miss Mike Cameron, as I felt he might have gotten to the second run-scoring double, and Randy Winn *might* have gotten to the first. Raul Ibanez got caught stealing on a pitchout - Scioscia outthinks Melvin on that one (the Angels announcers praise Scioscia for being an ex-catcher and then remember that Melvin was an ex-catcher too. Hudler says, "But Scioscia won two World Series with the Dodgers, while Melvin was more of a journeyman." Ouch. Take that Melvin, Hud says you sucked as a player and that you now suck as a manager, too. Boone botched what should have been an inning-ending double play in the fifth (much as he did in the first series with Angels), and the next hitter drove in run #5. Leadoff walk in the ninth? C'mon Shiggy, you're better than that!
What went right
Boone's 2-run blast in the second inning was good to see. Olerud hits another run-scoring double. Winn hit well from the 7 spot. Hansen hit a RBI single with 2 outs, and his single started the ninth inning rally. Shiggy got out of a bases-loaded, none-out situation in the 7th without allowing a run. The key play was Ibanez throwing out Vlad at the plate. Bloomquist stole second to set up the tying run in the ninth, and Wilson drove him in after fighting through a 10-pitch at bat. Mike Myers struck out Garrett Anderson in the ninth fulfilling his LOOGY role perfectly.
Babe Ruth Revisited
Has anyone seen the stats from Marlins sophomore sensation Dontrelle Willis after two starts?!? 2-0, 0.00 ERA with 11Ks in 11+ innings. But that's not the impressive part. He is now 6 for 6 from the plate with a homer and 3 RBIs!!!
Seahawks Schedule
The Seahawks schedule is out and the one game I would get to see regardless (against Dallas) is the ONLY nationally televised game. Great.
Today's picks:
Reds (Acevedo) +155 over Phillies (Padilla)
Brewers (Sheets) +140 over Astros (Redding)
Braves (Ramirez) +110 over Mets (Leiter)
Rockies (Elarton) -120 over Diamondbacks (Daigle)
Money to date: +245 (picking dog/favorite = +403/-158, 7-7, 5-4) - Tigers hold on to beat the Blue Jays and Ryan Vogelsong and the Pirates get pummelled costing me $235. Just a bad day, yesterday.
Having a speed guy on the bench is a very nice weapon. Chone (pronounced Shawn) Figgins won the game by stealing 2nd and 3rd off of two different pitchers, and Wilson never had a chance at him either time. Reason number #27 that it would have been nice to invest in Pudge this offseason.
After watching the game through the Angels feed, I've decided that the Angels have passed the A's as my number one rival this year. Between Rex Hudler and Rally Monkey songs, losing to the Angels makes me want to puke. They are calling Vlad Guerrero, Garrett Anderson, Jose Guillen the "G Force" trip through the rotation. The Angels fan base is loving life right now, with fans lining up to get their heads painted Angel red.
I'm laying $5 on the Angels to beat the M's and Ryan Franklin tonight. Whatever it takes.
What went wrong
The two runs the Angels got in the second inning made me miss Mike Cameron, as I felt he might have gotten to the second run-scoring double, and Randy Winn *might* have gotten to the first. Raul Ibanez got caught stealing on a pitchout - Scioscia outthinks Melvin on that one (the Angels announcers praise Scioscia for being an ex-catcher and then remember that Melvin was an ex-catcher too. Hudler says, "But Scioscia won two World Series with the Dodgers, while Melvin was more of a journeyman." Ouch. Take that Melvin, Hud says you sucked as a player and that you now suck as a manager, too. Boone botched what should have been an inning-ending double play in the fifth (much as he did in the first series with Angels), and the next hitter drove in run #5. Leadoff walk in the ninth? C'mon Shiggy, you're better than that!
What went right
Boone's 2-run blast in the second inning was good to see. Olerud hits another run-scoring double. Winn hit well from the 7 spot. Hansen hit a RBI single with 2 outs, and his single started the ninth inning rally. Shiggy got out of a bases-loaded, none-out situation in the 7th without allowing a run. The key play was Ibanez throwing out Vlad at the plate. Bloomquist stole second to set up the tying run in the ninth, and Wilson drove him in after fighting through a 10-pitch at bat. Mike Myers struck out Garrett Anderson in the ninth fulfilling his LOOGY role perfectly.
Babe Ruth Revisited
Has anyone seen the stats from Marlins sophomore sensation Dontrelle Willis after two starts?!? 2-0, 0.00 ERA with 11Ks in 11+ innings. But that's not the impressive part. He is now 6 for 6 from the plate with a homer and 3 RBIs!!!
Seahawks Schedule
The Seahawks schedule is out and the one game I would get to see regardless (against Dallas) is the ONLY nationally televised game. Great.
Today's picks:
Reds (Acevedo) +155 over Phillies (Padilla)
Brewers (Sheets) +140 over Astros (Redding)
Braves (Ramirez) +110 over Mets (Leiter)
Rockies (Elarton) -120 over Diamondbacks (Daigle)
Money to date: +245 (picking dog/favorite = +403/-158, 7-7, 5-4) - Tigers hold on to beat the Blue Jays and Ryan Vogelsong and the Pirates get pummelled costing me $235. Just a bad day, yesterday.
