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Move Over, Donnie Moore

Picpic_tiny by Rev Halofan on in Postgame Threads

The reason the Donnie Moore game hurt so much was the absence of any contention on the part of Angels clubs in the years afterward. We were up 3 games to 2, I can recall when the team left for Boston thinking "Hey we just gotta win one game there." We lost two. Donnie Moore's 1989 suicide (after shooting his wife, by the way, who survived his assault) turned a bad pitch decision into a legend. The pain of Dave Henderson's 1986 ALCS HR grew as the dry spell extended. If there had been hope - and a few of us tried to manufacture some any way we could while the franchise was beaten into a medium-market pulp - Bob Boone's call for a forkball would not have weighed down on us for sixteen years, becoming more magnified with each passing season.

Since then...

Frankie's HR to Manny last year. Washburn's HR to Papi in 2004. Frankie's HR to J.D. Drew tonight. Doug Eddings in '05...

The simple presence of hope is the reason none of these terrible events has stung as sharply as Henderson's hit. We have a great hope in our franchise these days. Ownership has made a world-class commitment to maintaining a championship-caliber club. For years I had thought nothing could have hurt as much as 1986, but the pain of Wednesday's loss brought on a rumination... We were still up in that ALCS, we just had to win one game in Boston. There was all sorts of "We can do this!" and of course, "Yes We Can." We didn't, and so the pain is actually an amalgamation of hindsight understanding the crux of failure and the hellish direction toward which it turned the franchsis. The pain of 1986 unveiled itself slowly over the years and a lot of it was the memory of the pain, which again, had much hope intertwined at the every moment it occurred.

And so, Wednesday after the game and into Thursday's off-day and night and even this morning, establishing that the pain of the Donnie Moore HR was not the most acute pain, and thinking about previous painful escapades, I concluded that the pain of losing on Wednesday might be the most acute pain I had ever felt as an Angels fan. The '04 squeezing, the '05 umpiring and even the '07 straight choking were  distanced in their negative impact, maintained even, by the anesthesia of the 2002 World Championship. Knowing how rare 100-Win seasons are, this club was either going to be one for the ages or one hell of a disappointment. Wednesday's loss turned out to be a painful first piercing of the armor.

Friday's game was grueling, but I was so pumped at the comeback to tie the game tonight that I thought, consciously, that the pain was finally over. I was pain free for about 3 seconds. And then Frankie threw that pitch to J.D. Drew.

And now the pain is here and now the end is near and I am trying to write this as fast and furious as possible to avoid its intensity, the intense pain, I have given up the rah-rah as this is the most painful moment in the history of this franchise as we know we are beat and we know Teixeira is not coming back to a loser club and we know that it will never be this perfect coming into October in the next two dozen or more seasons and we know the Dodgers are moving on to the NLCS and Boston will have beat us again and we know we have to pretend that there is still hope, hah-hah, rah-rah, I am not giving up oh save it if you cannot admit to the brain-splitting pain I question your fanhood, you have to know the pain, the pain, the pain that is too acute, too intense, so tight in the neck, dry in the throat and sweaty on the wrists as I type this trying to ease the pain, hoping some of this blood-stoping numbness will take the pain with it but it will not and this franchise lost so many fans and so much of its future and I am melting, melting, meltin ... oh the world, the world... the world...

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i know now is NOT the time to pick

but it’s Wednesday and Friday night, not Thursday.

any day you want to name it, the bottom line is that we’re being manhandled. period. the entire team (save for Vlad and Tex, it seems) is HORRIBLY un-clutch, over-matched and mentally beat.

i would love to know why our relievers can’t sit for half an inning and still go out and do their jobs. i would love to know how mickey effing hatcher still has a job after series’ like this. i would love to know why reggie couldn’t squeeze that ball. i would love to know why howie utterly sucks right now.

i’m more dead than pissed right now.

this hurts.

Kotch would've had that.

by howiestheman on Oct 3, 2008 10:57 PM PDT   0 recs

You read for shit

I was ruminating on Wednesday and Thursday – as I clearly wrote in that piece.

by Rev Halofan on Oct 3, 2008 10:59 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

i'm sorry

LET IT BE KNOWN THAT I CAN’T READ, AND AM, IN FACT, ILLITERATE.

and i’m not mocking you either, so please don’t take it that way.

Kotch would've had that.

by howiestheman on Oct 3, 2008 11:01 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I CLARIFIED IT

Wednesday after the game and into Thursday’s off-day and night and even this morning

thanks for not invoicing me for the copy-editing…

by Rev Halofan on Oct 3, 2008 11:14 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

look, i made a mistake

i’m sorry. i read past it probably too quickly and it was a bit unclear.
my bad.

i’m trying to stay positive-ish (or at least keep my mouth shut) so as to avoid Wednesday night part 2.

but thanks for clarifying just the same.

Kotch would've had that.

by howiestheman on Oct 3, 2008 11:16 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

you and I need to get new net handles

because howie kendrick is an abomination

by ihearhowie2.0 on Oct 4, 2008 9:08 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

small sample size.

;)

Give him another few dozen playoff games before making that assumption.

by Downing Rules on Oct 4, 2008 9:12 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

to be honest

a lot had to go wrong for us to lose these games, but howie kendrick i feel deserves more blame than anyone. He looked so overmatched, so out of his game under the pressure….he just confirmed so many angel stereotypes that we’re not a playoff team, built for the regular season, lucky, etc etc etc.

1 or 2 hits by howie and this series is entirely different

by ihearhowie2.0 on Oct 4, 2008 9:15 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I called him a LOB of shit

just yesterday…I’m feelin’ your pain …

I’ll bet that Howard’s TV superstores are going to feel that pain, too. Imagine the lack of foot-traffic going through there the next few weeks — they won’t see any business until the Bowls and NFL playoffs kick off. Howie’s the spokesperson for their business. Oops.

by Downing Rules on Oct 4, 2008 9:36 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Good Post

This season was our last chance for quite some time. Tex isn’t coming back. Vlad is getting too old. GA IS too old.

Write to the Angels front office. Get Tim Salmon's number 15 retired!

by KingF15h on Oct 3, 2008 11:00 PM PDT   0 recs

you forgot to mention

are young talent is disappointing

by UCIHalo on Oct 3, 2008 11:02 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Extremely Disappointing!

What about this great farm system I keep hearing about? I keep seeing great rookies come out on other teams, where are ours?

Write to the Angels front office. Get Tim Salmon's number 15 retired!

by KingF15h on Oct 3, 2008 11:04 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

i don't know

Howie “Mr. Glass” Kendrick, oh i mean, Howie “epic failure” KKKKKKKendrick is supposed to be a good hitter

i just hope hatcher can teach him to be a little more aggressive at the plate

oh aybar is going to be great too

by UCIHalo on Oct 3, 2008 11:08 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

you don't know how Howie is supposed to be a good hitter?

come on… i know you were around during the season. you saw what the rest of us saw. Howie is a great hitter. period.

what we’re seeing now, IMO, is a guy that never got his timing back after the injury. add that onto the already heavy pressure, and you’ve got yourself a very nervous, young hitter.

he’s in the big show, and he needs to get over it… i realize that. but it’s just an observation.

Kotch would've had that.

by howiestheman on Oct 3, 2008 11:11 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

no denial from me.

he’s been bad.

again, it was just an observation.

Kotch would've had that.

by howiestheman on Oct 3, 2008 11:15 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

you are good at being passive aggressive

by being aggressive passive and producing the same level of frustration in peole on this board. Funny, it is starting to seem intentional on your part.

by Rev Halofan on Oct 3, 2008 11:16 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

you think i'm intentionally trying to piss you off?

believe me, that’s the FURTHEST thing from my mind right now.
i’m trying to voice my opinion in a miuch calmer, much clearer manner this time around, once again, so as to avoid Wednesday night, part 2.

i really can’t do much more than i already am.

Kotch would've had that.

by howiestheman on Oct 3, 2008 11:18 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

HK hasn't been good over the course of a full season yet

Color me unconvinced. And unlike Kotchman, whose 2006 could be written off as a genuine fluke (mono?), Howie’s hamstring injuries are exactly the kind of thing that will recur.

Witty .sig goes here.

by scareduck on Oct 4, 2008 11:32 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

i'm not terribly convinced that this is wasn't a fluke

i could be wrong, but i don’d remember hearing anything about him having injury problems in the minors. why is it that he suddenly has some trouble with one leg? kinda freakish if you ask me.

maybe he’s just tweaking in the wrong way, and needs to make some sort of small adjustment. both times he strained the thing, it happened while running hard… does he need to stretch more? work on strengthening that leg?

Kotch would've had that.

by howiestheman on Oct 4, 2008 11:36 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Yeah I agree

Santana, Saunders, Weaver, Arredondo, those guys all suck.

Why do people always forget the pitchers in this analysis?

by LA Seitz on Oct 3, 2008 11:17 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

E X A C T L Y

our farm system has more fruit on the tree that has matured and born results than almost ANY club in baseball.

by Rev Halofan on Oct 3, 2008 11:25 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

screw it

at this point give saunders or santana a bat and let them pitch hit. Jesus

Relax... Everything is fine

by Sinatrasratpack on Oct 3, 2008 11:28 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

what good has our pitching done this offseason?

We need more offense

Write to the Angels front office. Get Tim Salmon's number 15 retired!

by KingF15h on Oct 4, 2008 8:10 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

i fear the same with Tex

the series isn’t technically over yet, but i don’t know how we can come back from this…

Kotch would've had that.

by howiestheman on Oct 3, 2008 11:02 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Sign Manny then Sign Tex....

Don’t give me any CRAP, those of you that think the Halos have the same odds of coming back and winning the series against THE SUX !!! The odds are about the same.

When I'm not at the stadium, I'd rather be watching my Halos back in Costa Rica!

by Dono Romantico on Oct 3, 2008 11:15 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Again I disagree

They’ll have four very high quality starters next year. That’s assuming they don’t re-sign Garland or anyone else. Honestly, I think they’ll sign Sabathia , but that’s a hunch.

Anyway, Lackey, Weaver, Santana, and Saunders mean they win the division next year. As for offense, who knows? Even when they have a good offense, they can’t score in the playoffs.

But the Angels will be in the playoffs next year.

by LA Seitz on Oct 3, 2008 11:05 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

thats the problem

we build for the regular season. we don’t need 5 above average starters, we need 3 awesome ones and a couple decent ones.

by UCIHalo on Oct 3, 2008 11:09 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I'm hoping they don't sign Sabathia.

I think he’s been overworked the past two years. He threw something like 240 innings last year and 250 this year. I seem to recall that he’d only topped 200 innings one other time in his career. My memory may be a little fuzzy about this, but I remember thinking his history kind of mirrored Bartolo Colon and we’d be getting an arm with too many miles on it.

by snowhor on Oct 3, 2008 11:31 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

pitching wins championships huh?

We have had the best pitching in the league for years. How many championships have we won?

Write to the Angels front office. Get Tim Salmon's number 15 retired!

by KingF15h on Oct 4, 2008 8:13 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Sorry, but I disagree
The simple presence of hope is the reason none of these terrible events has stung as sharply as Henderson’s hit. We have a great hope in our franchise these days.

2002 changed everything. Those games would hurt almost as much, be we’ve got a World Series. Yeah, we have the promise of more, but without that one, those games are daggers.

Also, the Moore game turned a win into a loss. The games you reference turned potential wins into losses. But they would have lost in 2005 anyway. 2004 too.

by LA Seitz on Oct 3, 2008 11:03 PM PDT   0 recs

2002 changed everything.

So true. I am not in pain this morning, because I can still open my eyes and see reminders of a ring at one time in my lifetime. It’s all good.

This has been a great regular season team, but oh well, beat again by the Red Sox. At least we lost to a really good team, one that knows how to win.

by Downing Rules on Oct 4, 2008 8:37 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

2002 did change everything

Expectations.

This is why it hurts so much.

Hostility abounds on Halos Heaven

by thrill000 on Oct 4, 2008 11:03 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

this is a pivotal moment in the franchise

I hope mentally we dont loose it.

One thing, If Coco is called out at second Frankie pitches a lot differently to JD and this could be a different outcome. Sometimes certain teams get all the calls, Just think when Michael Jordan drove to the basket and missed a shot, the whistle was blown becauwse “Hey he must have been fouled” it is the same here. Not for one individual but an entire team, check swings dont get called, bang-bang plays never go our way, pick offs dont happen for us (by the way was the ump just plain lying he said he tagged him on the arm but the arm was no where near the tage like he just had to say something and made it it up)
This is what hurts the most, knowing that if it came down to a close play we can’t count on it going our way. This is how it goes when things are down

Relax... Everything is fine

by Sinatrasratpack on Oct 3, 2008 11:05 PM PDT   0 recs

i agree it was a bad call

but playing the “what-if” game is only going to make this worse.

this sucks… badly. but we’ve got to try and forget about it.

Kotch would've had that.

by howiestheman on Oct 3, 2008 11:06 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Ed Rapuano deserves a kick in the balls

He can’t call a check swing. He can’t call a pick off. He is a true cocksucking piece of shit.

by LA Seitz on Oct 3, 2008 11:07 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

an eddings disciple

I know that what if game is a slippery slope, I was more pointing out how the breaks neve rgo our way against certain teams Yanks and BoSox, it almost feels like we are playing froma deficit from the get go.
Doesnt it feel like we are always playing from behind?

Relax... Everything is fine

by Sinatrasratpack on Oct 3, 2008 11:09 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

what if reggie made that catch ... the ball is in your glove, sorry, but that needs to be caught

what if frankie threw a fastball or a slider instead of 4 changeups in a row to drew?
what if ervin showed a fastball inside to bay in the 1st inning, instead of 5 sliders in a row?
what if this team could get a xbh with runners on?
there are plenty of what ifs, mostly concernign what if the angels could hit

by Quinlan's Goofy Swing on Oct 3, 2008 11:13 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

What IF....My Aunt had Balls....

When I'm not at the stadium, I'd rather be watching my Halos back in Costa Rica!

by Dono Romantico on Oct 3, 2008 11:17 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

what if ....

I was not second guessing strategy, or what if Soth put in so and so, or should of thrown a fastball etc… those are hypotheticals.
I am speaking of Facts…… the tag at second was no where near cocos arm as the umpire said he was out by a mile That is a fact. I am just stating that a bad call just because its not in the highlights that sportscenter will show didn;t seriously effect the outcome of the game.
Your responses even in typed from seems smug

Relax... Everything is fine

by Sinatrasratpack on Oct 3, 2008 11:18 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I'm sick of hearing this

That was a hard fucking catch to make

Write to the Angels front office. Get Tim Salmon's number 15 retired!

by KingF15h on Oct 4, 2008 8:14 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Again, I don't understand why we can't do all the thing s we normaly do in the regular season

in the postseason. Honestly. Learn to pitch.

http://inplaynoouts.blogspot.com/ - A blog about teams I like, written by me.

by Carl Johnson on Oct 3, 2008 11:06 PM PDT   0 recs

slider slider slider slider slider ... homerun bay. fastball changeup changeup changeup changeup ... homerun drew

when a boston hitter knows what is coming, he hits a homerun. the angels rarely get that deep in a count, and are happy with a single.

by Quinlan's Goofy Swing on Oct 3, 2008 11:09 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

My take on it

The better team has won the last two games. I don’t see what is so demoralizing about it. Never once in either of these games did I count on a win, I hoped, but come on, we have watched this team all year and know when a loss is coming. Maybe if they blew a 3 run lead, or had gone into the 9th with the lead. But a 1-0 lead in game 1, and scratching out a tie after so many epic failures with risp, nah, this isn’t so bad and it’s how most of their losses have looked … for most of Scioscia’s tenure. The team needs a different approach, it is no longer a mystery what scioscia or the angels are about, and it’s been exploited in the playoffs to the tune of 9 straight losses.

by Quinlan's Goofy Swing on Oct 3, 2008 11:07 PM PDT   0 recs

It also shows what a load of crap the team offensive strategery is

I wrote this screed about firing Mickey Hatcher two years ago, and absolutely nothing has changed. The bottom line is that the Angels have not developed a top-of-the-line offensive player with their RISP2 voodoo. They need to ditch it.

Witty .sig goes here.

by scareduck on Oct 4, 2008 7:38 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

right

that’s what i was saying.
just relying on small ball doesn’t cut it anymore. we need to ditch that (and probably hatcher) and reform the way we think offensively.

Kotch would've had that.

by howiestheman on Oct 4, 2008 8:59 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Hatcher

I don’t want to turn into a moneyball team, but the Sux know we are free swingers. They throw balls and we swing at them. It’s got to stop.

Bye Bye Ohio, hello Valencia!

by anaheimisnotla on Oct 4, 2008 2:58 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Cheers!

"i got 5ive on it"

by Funke5ive on Oct 3, 2008 11:21 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

finally someone with hope...

Show 'em your a panther... Show 'em what you can do....

by stuck in Romania on Oct 3, 2008 11:23 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

We optimists need to brace ourselves.

Sunday’s game thread is sure to be chock-full of Doom-mongering.

~Till the Halo burns out...

by Zu Long on Oct 3, 2008 11:24 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Then the optimists need to be OVER-OPTIMISTIC

That’s the only way you are gonna get heard in that game thread.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Specializing in maniac-ball since 2000

by halofan4life on Oct 4, 2008 8:36 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Two things to remember

(1) This series is not over. Really. Truly. Do not assume it is over.

(2) When the Sox lost in 2003, I seriously contemplated giving up on them. It was unhealthy, I decided, to feel as bad as I did over something about which I had no control. But a month later I was sucked in again and debating off-season moves and things have been great ever since. The Angels have a great ownership and a good front office. As painful as this may be now, do not give up. The Angels are a very good team, will be close to the mountaintop again soon, and you do not want to miss out on that ride (especially if they mount an all-time comeback in this series and win it).

by GoSox on Oct 3, 2008 11:17 PM PDT   0 recs

Dude, I know you're hear to console and whatnot

But seriously, get lost. This is not a good time for “GoSox” to be posting here.

Again, nothing offensive in your post, but seriously, if you were in front of me right now, I’d be suppressing the urge to want to kick the shit out of you.

by LA Seitz on Oct 3, 2008 11:20 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

i would have just shot him in the face.

by Rev Halofan on Oct 3, 2008 11:26 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I don't think it's over either, heck, I didn't think it was over last year ... until they fell behind

Before the game I always think they’ll win. Not once during these two games did I think, oh, we got this one. I’m not destroyed by these losses. Now, had they been up by 2 or more runs … and then lost, I would be a different animal.

by Quinlan's Goofy Swing on Oct 3, 2008 11:20 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Do Yourselves a favor...

Don’t Let GOSOX to get to you. I don’t have any problem with any Sox fan. He can’t control what the Halos do on the field.

When I'm not at the stadium, I'd rather be watching my Halos back in Costa Rica!

by Dono Romantico on Oct 3, 2008 11:22 PM PDT   0 recs

I think you're being overly dramatic here, Rev...

While tonight’s game was painful, it wasn’t nearly as bad as 1986.

In 1986, we didn’t have a World Series title. In 2008, we do. They can’t ever take that away from us.

We weren’t leaving in the ninth inning tonight, we were on the cusp of going to the World Series in 1986. Even though we only had to win one game in Boston in 1986, I knew we were dead after that debacle..

Your defending OPD champion. Respect it, bitches.

by bc56274 on Oct 3, 2008 11:28 PM PDT   0 recs

When you consider

there is that big belief that Tex will walk and GA will not be back and Vlad is getting older and slower it makes one think this is the other side of the mountain.

Willie Mays Aikens is FREeeeeeeee

by Angel Aviator on Oct 3, 2008 11:31 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Thats the past and this is now

I was one happy Angel fan then but it tends to wear off its not a 5 year celebration

Willie Mays Aikens is FREeeeeeeee

by Angel Aviator on Oct 3, 2008 11:34 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Okay, fine, forget 2002.

1986 was still worse than this. I remember crying after Donnie Moore gave up that homerun, tonight I was almost expecting it. It never felt like we were going to win this game tonight, in ’86 it was in the bag.

Your defending OPD champion. Respect it, bitches.

by bc56274 on Oct 3, 2008 11:37 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Now that I will agree with

I started this series with hope but not expectations just because they had won a 100 games or beat the BoSox 8 of 9. So I will agree with your post about 1986. I remember it like yesterday. 1 more strike………….

Willie Mays Aikens is FREeeeeeeee

by Angel Aviator on Oct 3, 2008 11:45 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

By nature Iam an optimist

and I want to agree with you, but imagine the Cubs fan, an old man, in the 1950s saying “We will always have 1908” … didn’t live to see another.