No Excuses Available for Season Ending Injury

by Rev Halofan on Aug 5, 2006 12:49 AM PDT in Angels News

If you think Bartolo Colon is a fat freak, look at this snapshot of Ranger cookie-eater Gerald Laird on the jumbotron.

The news is sad for fans of Bartolo Colon, as a tear in his rotator cuff was revealed this morning. He may need surgery but will probably opt for an aggressive rehabbing program.

Bart is out for the season...

Must suck to be the Mariners, the only team Bartolo beat this season.

Still pissed at Bill Stoneman for not trading Ervin Santana or Joe Saunders for a big bat?

The news is neither welcome, nor particularly shocking. It is so sad to root for a team that competes against the Oakland Athletics, the only team ever adversely affected by injuries, the perfect, superior baseball team that, were it not for the misfortune of injuries would win 162 games every season.

Too bad we, as Angel fans, cannot ever use injuries as an excuse for losing on occasion, as all of those ache-and-pain excuses are perpetually hoarded by fans of one team desperate to keep the illusion that there is a genius at their helm. Hey, wasn't Oz a green and gold city?

Those poor foolish fans of the crystal ball method are, as of this writing, dismissing the importance of a Healthy Bartolo to our rotation. Don't let it bother you, the only thing more pathetic than the hopelessly unenlightened is the hopelessly unenlightened lobbying for their cheapskate multi-millionaire owner to tarp over 20,000 seats in order to herd the fools into one crowded camp of shouting "Poor Injured Us" in unison...

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Jerry Lard?

by John Hashcroft on Aug 5, 2006 12:50 AM PDT reply actions

I am, in fact

Still pissed. In fact, I'm even more pissed (if that's possible) at the moment. Of course it wouldn't have been worth it to give up Santana or Saunders with Colon the way he's been/is, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have worked something else out. If the focus is not on winning this year, the FO needs to say so,now. As of right now, I'm under the impression that we're trying to go all the way (or at least to the play-offs) right now with the team we have, and quite frankly it isn't happening. Stoneman seems to have taken July as the representative example of what we can do while ignoring the shitty (and far more representative) April, May, and June. Exactly what I thought would happen has happened: we've proceeded to go back down the shit-hole once the deadline is far behind us, and we still have currently useless players like AK and GA playing nearly everyday so Sosh can fulfill his veteran fetish.
Yes we've gotten better throughout the season, but Stoneman has no excuse for not acquiring what he should have acquired over a year ago. This is kind of like a kid trying to tell his parents something's wrong when his arm's falling off, but his parents keep telling him "well, we'll see if we can do something honey, but don't worry about it it'll be fine eventually" while the arm proceeds to fall off in the interim. This off-season is Stoneman's last chance: if he fails to get something done, Arte better the F call him into his office, present him with a few U-Haul boxes and say "I'm sorry Billy, but you're done. Now stop disgracing my office and get out."

End rant. Please don't hate me, I'm rather pissed off at the moment.

by Clutch on Aug 5, 2006 1:03 AM PDT reply actions

Stoneman can't trade Sosh's lineup card

Stoneman has to work, on some level, against Scioscia, by removing his temptations. Remember that Sosh was on record as wanting Bengie back this year, and I think Percy too (though I could be making that up).

If Stoneman is to be faulted, it should not be for failing to trade a much needed pitcher, or not landing a big-hitting left-fielder (we already have one right now). The opportunity lost was not trading Kennedy for some immediate help at 1B, or failing that, in the pen.

All that said, we're 3 out with 53 to play; Oakland is missing its ace, Napoli & Figgins are due to snap out of it any day now, and McPherson might help out before too long.

Scioscia, for all his deferring-to-vets faults, has broken in three rookies this year who'll be around for a long time, and may be in the process of bringing up a fourth (Saunders). To do that in a contending season is not easy at all; to do that while four other young players fail to pan out (though one of them gets crucial experience) is a more difficult juggling act than I think we give him credit for.

Meanwhile, Stoneman has kept intact the groundwork for another decade of championship-contending teams, by resisting the Plaschkesque calls to return to the glory days of Buzzie Bavasi by giving away the 21st century equivalents (at the least) of Dickie Thon, Tom Brunansky, Brian Harper, Bruce Bochte, Carney Lansford, Mark Clear, Willie Aikens, Devon White, Jose Cardenal, Mike Fetters, Dante Bichette, and Mark McLemore.

by mattwelch on Aug 5, 2006 12:10 PM PDT up reply actions

Wow.

D'you read every post?

by John Hashcroft on Aug 5, 2006 2:00 AM PDT reply actions

huh?

by cardinalwraith on Aug 5, 2006 2:15 AM PDT up reply actions

I am on record 2 months ago

That Colon was finished for the season. Now maybe Scioscia will stop forcing losing games by insisting to pitch Bart. Bring on the youth.

by SocalAngelFaninOC on Aug 5, 2006 6:26 AM PDT reply actions

Interesting article in the Dallas Morning News

yesterday.

Juan Gonzalez' former personal trainer was found with a bag of steroids and paraphernalia by the Canadian border guard when JuanDoh played for the Indians.

It had always been speculated that Juan juiced...even the increasingly credible Jose Canseco said so in his book (Canseco doesn't know Landis, does he?).

Anyway, the article went on to say that this personal trainer lives in Anaheim and trains some current Angels...including Bartolo Colon.

Now, I don't want to speculate.....

by KPBruin on Aug 5, 2006 6:57 AM PDT reply actions

Why???

Who do people here always, always, always take potshots at the A's when things go bad? It's insanity. Look at all the other blogs in this format. You guys are the only ones. It's very weird. Your latest rant about the a's and injuries - wha??? Like the a's don't realize the magnitude of colon's injuries? Like we don't know other teams get injured? Like we somehow don't have the right to complain about our best pitcher missing almost the whole year, and other injuries?

Jesus.

by Justavisitor on Aug 5, 2006 9:23 AM PDT reply actions

Because your your um, ahh, how should put this ...

rival

by eyespy on Aug 5, 2006 9:40 AM PDT up reply actions

Here...

Okay, I'm an A's fan. Losing Colon is huge. Whenever you lose a former Cy Young winner to injury, it sucks (I'm actually serious about that part). I'm totally sure had he been healthy, you'd only be a game or so back in the division. And the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs... never whine about injuries. Just the A's, yup.

Stephen Colbert: "Kids who look up to athletes become athletes themselves."
The Word: Or bitter sports journalists.

by jlaff @ Halos Heaven on Aug 5, 2006 10:21 AM PDT up reply actions

Indeed

I check in here every now and then just to see what the other side is saying and it never ceases to amaze me how much time and energy people here -- especially Rev -- spend deriding the A's. Kind of funny how often the folks on this site accuse the A's of "whining"... it seems to me that you folks "whine" about the A's and their fans about as often as A's fans supposedly "whine" about injuries, low payroll, etc. Do you know how incredibly lame that is? It's like there's a pathological obsession amongst some of you with finding every way possible to undercut the A's and insult their fans... shouldn't you spend more time worrying about your own squad?

Look -- NO real A's ran really thinks that our problems this year are solely attributable to injuries. You'd have to be wearing blinders to think that. This is a flawed team, not nearly as good as all the pundits thought back in March. But to compare Colon's problems to the collective injury problems that the A's have had -- Harden, Bradley, Chavez, Crosby, Ellis, Street, Duchscherer, Kennedy, etc. -- is pretty ridiculous. No one is saying that the A's are the only team that gets affected by injuries. The A's, in fact, were phenomenally lucky from 2000 to 2004 in that they were relatively injury free. The A's luck just ran out last year (well, the luck ran out, and their organizational approach to preventing injuries seems to have either lost its effectiveness or has been relegating to the waste bin), and now they have the same injury problems other teams have, albeit on a somewhat more pronounced scale.

Rev, let me ask you this -- if the A's are such an embarrasing organization, with an overrated GM, a cheap owner, idiotic pollyanaish fans, etc., why is it that since 2002 they are an even 45-45 against the Angels? NO TEAM plays the Angels more closely or evenly on a regular basis. Personally, I LOVE watching these games... it's honestly some of the most intense exicting baseball available, league-wide. You, and most of the people on this site, are so busy demeaning the A's, figuring out who on the Angels is to "blame" for a loss, that it seems like the quality of the games -- and the opposition -- is completely lost on you. Sometimes the A's just play better than the Angels, and they win. Sometimes they get more breaks. And vice versa. It's a good rivalry. Just try to enjoy it. It's a game afterall.

by JimmyJack on Aug 5, 2006 11:41 AM PDT up reply actions

Take some trash-talking, will ya?

Part of a "game" is taking the piss out of the rivals & their fans. If the rivals happen to be media darlings in some circles, with fans who like to "prove" things that can't be proven, and the worst stadium in baseball ... well, those are some ripe areas for smack-talk. Ditto in the other direction for the Rally Monkey, the Thunder Mountain rocks, Mickey Hatcher's dye-job, and Garret Anderson's 7.6-second sprint up the first base line. Relax.

by mattwelch on Aug 5, 2006 12:15 PM PDT up reply actions

there's a "little trash talking"...

and then there's what I usually see here, which is a complete lack of respect for the A's. That's the difference between this site and AN. Most AN users openly admit that no matter how bad the Angels might look in a given week, they're still the team to beat in the division. At least they will concede that. The amount of time spent here "trash-talking" (i.e., the A's are the most overrated team in the league, Billy Beane is an idiot, the media are all a bunch of idiots for drinking the Beane kool-aid, a's fans are idiots, their owners are cheap, their stadium is hideous, the children of a's fans are hideous... blah blah blah) only suggests a collossal inferiority complex to me, and I don't know why that would be... you have a more recent history of success, you should be happy about that. There's good-natured trash talking, and then there's what appears to be, if not the the raison d'etre, at least one of the primary purposes of this site: ridiculing the A's and everything they stand for.

by JimmyJack on Aug 5, 2006 12:29 PM PDT up reply actions

The Rev's a trash-talker

It's one thing that makes him so enjoyable. And among the regulars, I think there's plenty of respect for the A's, and enjoyment of the rivalry. Especially when we clinch on your field, etc.

by mattwelch on Aug 5, 2006 12:33 PM PDT up reply actions

THIS IS FUCKING FUNNY

First, everyone whines that all ESPN does is lube-stroke the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry to a slow hot October orgasm, leaving 28 teams out in the cold... so I try to light a fire under the rivalry out here and you sanctimonious Oakland Politcially Correct scolds throw cold water on a simmering feud. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU UNCTIOUS PRICKS WANT - A WAR OR A FRIGGIN TEA PARTY? SET DOWN YOUR GODDAMN PADDINGTON THE BEAR BEDTIME STORIES AND COME WRESTLE WITH THE PANTHER...

by Rev Halofan on Aug 5, 2006 1:09 PM PDT up reply actions

Mmmmm, Marmalade

by eyespy on Aug 5, 2006 1:15 PM PDT up reply actions

personally,

I like scones....blueberry please. Tea, plain.

I keep hitting "ESCAPE", but I am still here.

by ladybug on Aug 5, 2006 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions

Paddington

diggs marmalade sanmiches

But I guess you already knew that

by eyespy on Aug 5, 2006 4:01 PM PDT up reply actions

nope, I forgot

I keep hitting "ESCAPE", but I am still here.

by ladybug on Aug 5, 2006 4:48 PM PDT up reply actions

I think you need to read AN again

YOU may not take potshots; I really don't have time to cut and paste ALL the cheap shots aimed at the Angels or HalosHeaven. I have read a few entries that were downright VILE and NASTY and aimed at people on this blog and since it was on AN, completely unprovoked. Words like ALWAYS, ONLY and NEVER get you in trouble.

We have a few "friendly trolls" and we get along just fine with them, thank you very much. No insults, no rudeness; just typical friendly rival banter. It's the ones that come onto OUR site and start hurling aggressive, over-testosteroned bullshit that we respond to in kind. You wanna associate with the competition that's fine; just be human about it. "Do unto others....or get the hell out"

I keep hitting "ESCAPE", but I am still here.

by ladybug on Aug 5, 2006 11:26 AM PDT up reply actions

agreed

there is no excuse for that. But it's a TAD different over here. It's one thing to throw out some pot shots as part of a thread, but here, your front page diary entries take repeated shots at the A's and their fans. We're not talking about the guy who runs the site, not some knucklehead troll throwing his 2 cents into some random diary. Are them some idiots on AN? Yes. I'm often embarrassed by some of the stuff I read there. So what? Why sink to that level?

by JimmyJack on Aug 5, 2006 11:45 AM PDT up reply actions

oops

was typing a little too fast there. should have read:

there is no excuse for that. But it's a TAD different over here. It's one thing to throw out some pot shots as part of a thread, but here, your front page diary entries take repeated shots at the A's and their fans. We're talking about the guy who runs the site, not some knucklehead troll throwing his 2 cents into some random diary. Are there some idiots on AN? Yes. I'm often embarrassed by some of the stuff I read there. So what? Why sink to that level?

by JimmyJack on Aug 5, 2006 11:55 AM PDT up reply actions

agreed

but you need to remember one thing: you are only responsible for you; actions,statements et al. I don't agree with some of the stuff in here and think it way over the top. So I have some choices: stay and ignore it, call them on it or leave the blog. I don't leave the blog because there are some really good guys in here. I have called people on some of the wild statements and I have largely ignored bunches because I know it is a visceral reaction.

These guys are passionate about this team and baseball in general and most of the wild ass statements are said in the heat of the moment. Are they right? not always Are they logical? no It's comparable to KRod and his pitching. The guy is intense and when he gets a win, well, it shows. It's his intensity that makes him who he is. It's also this passionate intensity that I have seen AN vilify as "flaunting" and "throwing it in the face of __" He does not act that way as a 'in your face', it's just him.

You accept it & move on. Yeswecan has a friendly wager with some AN-ers. We have several A's fans who post here regularly. There are a couple of guys that post on AN. There ARE a couple of bad apples, but that does not define our group.

I keep hitting "ESCAPE", but I am still here.

by ladybug on Aug 5, 2006 11:59 AM PDT up reply actions

Do you want some cheese to go with that whine?

Does any HHer ever post on AN? If they do what do they talk about?

Not saying that its a bad thing. Its just when the A's fans come over here and post they always bitch and moan, or are outright nasty , and or stupid.

This is the Rev.'s site, and until he is served some sort of papers I don't think he has to run it any different than he has. We are all Angel fans here, and you are all are rivals.

If we don't post what we do on this site, and not be able to get away with it, where are we supposed to go. This only a fan site. These are only words.

Remember the 21st amendment. That was the one that lets all Americans say what is on their minds with no obligations.

So quit yere belly aching, and contribute something constuctive to the forums. Because we are not here to wipe yere noses, or change yere diapers.

by eyespy on Aug 5, 2006 12:19 PM PDT up reply actions

I'll bite

Who do people here always, always, always take potshots at the A's when things go bad?

Because A's fans are a bunch of whiny little bitches, and it's fun to tweak them. It's the same reason I love, love love it when Scioscia yells at an ump either from the dugout or on the field. Not so much because I like to see him stand up for his players, but because I KNOW it pisses off A's fans, and that's good enough for me.

by LA Seitz on Aug 5, 2006 12:42 PM PDT up reply actions

Picture this A's fans

Frankie pointing to the sky

by eyespy on Aug 5, 2006 1:17 PM PDT up reply actions

OH NO, not that

or making the sign of the cross after a great hit...that's some terrible stuff

I keep hitting "ESCAPE", but I am still here.

by ladybug on Aug 5, 2006 1:27 PM PDT up reply actions

My 2c

How many other pitchers who were abused during the World Baseball Classic need to go down this season before everyone decides it's a pile of crap?

Halo Hotline

by ScottD00 on Aug 5, 2006 11:50 AM PDT reply actions

THIS IS FUCKING FUNNY

First, everyone whines that all ESPN does is lube-stroke the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry to a slow hot October orgasm, leaving 28 teams out in the cold...

so I try to light a fire under the rivalry out here and you sanctimonious Oakland Politcially Correct scolds throw cold water on a simmering feud.

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU UNCTIOUS PRICKS WANT - A WAR OR A FRIGGIN TEA PARTY?

SET DOWN YOUR GODDAMN PADDINGTON THE BEAR BEDTIME STORIES AND COME WRESTLE WITH THE PANTHER...

by Rev Halofan on Aug 5, 2006 1:03 PM PDT reply actions

alright, I'll bite

All the while that us A's fans have been "whining" about our injuries and our low payroll (no, most of us have actually been whining about the fact that our team has generally played mediocre baseball for the bulk of the season and has not been much fun to watch, save a few weeks in June, but I digress), when I check over here, it seems that according to you guys, virtually all of the Angels' problems can be tied to the failures of Adam Kennedy, your #9 hitter. Are you kidding me? You want to know why your team hasn't been able to pass a seriously flawed, mediocre A's squad this year? I'll tell you why: your offense, its recent resurrection notwithstanding, still stinks. Your defense stinks. Your manager's "agressive" style on the bases runs you out of innings as often as it starts rallies. Your bullpen, beyond K-Rod and Shields, is mediocre. Your stand-pat GM had multiple bullets he could have used to pull off at least one impact trade without completely gutting the farm system, which would have immediately made the Angels the favorite to win the Division and go deep in the playoffs and instead, he does nothing. So what do the people around here do? They start trying to rationalize Stoneman's inaction and claim that it actually "saved" the future of the angels... Wood, Aybar, Saunders etc are the "future" of the organization and will allow the Angels to dominate for the next decade right? Maybe. Maybe not. See: Kotchman, Casey and McPherson, Dallas. The only sure thing I see is currently on your roster: Howie Kendrick. He's going to be great. Jered Weaver? Personally I'd never bet the future of my team's rotation on a Weaver. His brother looked damn good when he first came up too, then once the league figured out his herky-jerky mechanics, they pounded him. Mike Napoli? Should be a good player, but not a star. Your team's future is this: Lackey, Santana, Vlad, Kendrick and Arte Moreno's checkbook. The other stuff might work out, it might not. But if you think the A's will be perennial "chokers" (based on the last 2 seasons) that need not be factored into the equation, think again. I have alot of problems with what the front office has done this season, but I do know that they will put a team on the field that will compete with the Angels EVERY year. THAT is what will create, and sustain, a great rivalry. Snide comments in the blogosphere? Don't really think that makes much of a difference.

by JimmyJack on Aug 5, 2006 1:34 PM PDT reply actions

Great analysis

Let's see - first you say we totally suck, but then if we ditch all of our prospects we would go deep into the playoffs and we were fools not to.

But WE rationalize it away because one touted prospect had a bone spur on his hip and the other contracted mono?

You analyze our future as assuming Gregg Maddux will turn out to be another Mike Maddux - oops I mean Jered and Jeff Weaver

As far as perennial chokers go, the A's gag further bvack than the last two seasons - check 2003, 2002, 2001, fuck how far back do you want to go - win the pennant every February, choke it up in early Autumn...

JimmyJack, you sure ain't Michael Lewis...

by Rev Halofan on Aug 5, 2006 1:59 PM PDT up reply actions

Difference between Halofans & Beane-eaters

You know that you'll "compete with the Angels every year." We have a reasonable expectation to win the World Series every year, and grow irritable when the team doesn't look postseason-ready.

There are plenty of people here who like the protect-the-prospects approach, plenty who don't, and I don't see any of them re-tweaking "rationalizations" based on whatever Stoneman does or doesn't do at the deadline.

And your belief that the non-Kendrick part of the farm system might be a "maybe not" is almost as touching as the Beanetown rationalizations for the idiotic Loiaza signing.

by mattwelch on Aug 5, 2006 2:43 PM PDT up reply actions

Great Twisting of My Analysis

1) I didn't say you "totally suck", I said that you can't play defense and you've got a crummy offense. There's not a whole lot you could do at the deadline that would cause your team to magically start catching the ball better, but you certainly could have given your offense a huge boost, and given the strength of your pitching, that would probably be enough to beat the other teams in the AL in a short series. The Tigers, Twins, White Sox, Yankees, and Red Sox all have flaws and could be beaten... assuming you actually get to the playoffs and can score runs once you get there.

2)I never said you should trade away your entire farm system... it just so happens that you have enough depth that you could AFFORD to trade SOME of your prospects so you could win now and not mortgage the future.

Mono and a bone spur? Please! I will readily concede that you have some of the best prospects in the game (indeed, that's why some of the best bats available were well within your reach at the deadline). But they are just that: prospects, who have done absolutely nothing at the ML level yet. None of those guys is a sure thing. You've got every right to be optimistic, but don't assume that you've got the division gift-wrapped for the next 5 years because Brandon Wood has hit some home runs at AA. Kotchman and McPherson were supposed to be "sure things" and have not shown anything in the big leagues yet. Kotchman may be a useful player at some point, but doesn't appear to have much power. McPherson has made no improvement whatsoever since his breakout 2004. I certainly wouldn't bet that his crummy performance since then is attributable to a bone spur.
I can't believe you even used Jered Weaver's name in the same sentence as Greg Maddux... that has to be one of the most asinine baseball analogies I've ever heard. Jered Weaver has looked VERY good so far. But he's also only started 9 games. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
I agree, the A's have failed in the post season a bunch. I ask you though, what the hell does the A's "choking" in 2001-2003 have to do with this year's version of the team, next year's or beyond? The only remaining members of those teams are Chavez, Zito and Ellis. Their post-season failings notwithstanding, what does that have to do with how we play you? We've been evenly matched the last 4 years. Why did we lose in September of 04 and 05? There's probably alot of reasons, but to attribute it solely to choking is the lazy analysis I'd expect from someone who watches a handful of games a year. And I know that you don't fall in that boat.

by JimmyJack on Aug 5, 2006 3:38 PM PDT reply actions

ZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZ Zzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz zzzzz zzzz

by Rev Halofan on Aug 5, 2006 4:55 PM PDT up reply actions

thank you...the horse is DEAD

I keep hitting "ESCAPE", but I am still here.

by ladybug on Aug 5, 2006 8:40 PM PDT up reply actions

okay

nice copout.

ZZZZZZZZ. You might as well say "I know you are but what am I?"

i'm a little disappointed, actually.

On further review, maybe I shouldn't be. This sort of lazy, empty-headed response is fairly consistent with most of the stuff I've seen here. But then, I would expect that from a fan base that just discovered baseball in the last decade. Yeah, the A's are "chokers" because of what's happened over the last 5 years? Fine. Your team just became relevant in the last five years. You weren't even on baseball's map for the first 40 years of your existence.

by JimmyJack on Aug 6, 2006 2:34 AM PDT up reply actions

Um...

So wait, I missed something here...why exactly is Casey Kotchman getting put into the "proof that prospects can be busts" category? He hit over .300 with 7 homers last year in 100 at bats after his call-up at the end of the season. He has fucking mono. How many hundreds of millions of people in the world have had that at some point? He's 23, not 32. He'll be back next year and has shown PLENTY of pop. He has one of the best swings in pro baseball, and the projections on him, pre-sickness were considered just as much a sure thing as the guy that you concede is a sure thing (Howie Kendrick). Big fuckin' whoop...calling him off as being done? Why not do the same for Rich Harden or Bobby Crosby, who have been injured half of the damn time they've been in the pros.

Moving on to your little bullshit thing about Jered Weaver/Jeff Weaver. That is THE biggest cop out I have ever heard in my life: "I don't trust anyone with the name Weaver in his nameOMFGLOLWTFBBQ!"...you sound like a b-rate sports pundit who can't legitimize his arguments, so he resorts to petty squabblings. Jered Weaver has been DOMINANT since he came up...not just good, or noteworthy...down right dominant. His brother was highly touted, yes, but he was never placed as highly as Jered. He should have been the first overall pick of the draft, if not for Boras. It is no more of a cop-out for Rev to have said "zzzzzzzzzzzzzz" as it is for you to dismiss a player entirely just because he shares a bloodline with a washedup douchebag. If you're allowed to be an asinine fool who disregards a 7-0 (with a chance to have been 9-0) start with a sub-2.00ERA from a player because of a sibling who wasn't as good, then we're allowed to draw the obvious Greg/Mike Maddux parallel.

I also like how you so passively brush off Brandon Wood as that guy who has "hit some Home Runs". Yeah, Between the fall league and Minors last year he hit 57 of 'em. Let's also not forget the .321BA that went along with them...or that he is leading the league in XBH this year, too. You can try to skim over these things as best you want, but don't play us for fools...we know what kind of talent the Angels really have, and it's not limited to "that guy who hit some homers".

So you think it's lazy to say that Oakland is a late-season choke team? Frankly, what other analysis do you want from us? Having a different team doesn't mean crap...look at the Braves and how much there team changed over those 14 years, and they still did shit in the playoffs. Some clubhouses and organizations have a lingering amount of doubt that gets passed on from the older departing generation to the newer, arriving one, and that could at least be part of the problem. The other part is that the A's never put together well rounded teams...last year, their collapse is easily attributable to the fact that there team was so dependent on overworked rookies playing longer than they were used to. The A's have dropped 8 straight games in which they would have clinched a berth in the next round of the playoffs...that's not just some random fact, that can be attributed to something wrong with the actual teams that are being fielded. You guys know your clubhouse better...if it's not choking, i'd like to know what the hell it is that is causing them to fall apart THAT badly.

And lastly, don't come onto our boards to talk about a crummy offense. I went to the Angels-Oakland game this week (the only one the Angels won, thank God), and took as much of an unbiased look as possible at your lineup, and wondered what half of those guys were doing being fielded as a pro-baseball team. Not one .300 hitter in the group, a handful of sub-.240s, and almost all below .270. I didn't know whether to laugh or pity them. I honestly don't know how Oakland is a .500 team, because that lineup ain't that impressive, and the pitching staff's big 3 has been reduced from zito/mulder/hudson to zito/blanton/blanton's ass. i really don't get it...at all.

by Caseys Kiss of Death on Aug 6, 2006 4:26 AM PDT up reply actions

Brandon Wood

is leading the ENTIRE minor leagues in XBH!

Nice response to JimmyJack. I, personally, laugh at people that worry about what others say/think/write about their sports teams...I don't need them to like me to feel good about myself...

by johnnyangel101 on Aug 6, 2006 11:07 AM PDT up reply actions

OH DEAR

JIMY JACK - your arguments were so persuasive that twentyy Angels fans switched sides, oh please don't post on Halos Heaven again, you might convert all of Anaheim to your wicked Green and Gold ways.

WHADDA NINCOMPOOP...

by Rev Halofan on Aug 6, 2006 12:29 PM PDT up reply actions