I had to race to a sports bar and then beg a guy to post a quick thanks for the season from his i-phone when the game was over just so everyone could have somewhere to commiserate. CRAZY frickin’ day.

howie kendrick looked overmatched out there.

The problem was Izzy was out. So the choice was do you bring Howie in when he is not ready or a AAA guy.

If Izzy is not hurt, he bats second, Andy in RBI position, and we win the first round. No doubt in my mind.

More playing time equals better results, and howie was bad earlier in the year when he returned from injury. I know hindsight is always 20/20, but i would have really taken the AAA guys here and left the other ones for mayyyyybe pinch hitting.

You said that the Middle IF failed to show up……Ummmm RF did NOT show up either.

RF – Rivera (1-8) and Matthew (0-5) Combined 1-13 That is a CRAP SHOOT!!!!!!!

Another What If……….

What If Scioscia listened to the Fans and what laangels.com pointed towards…..
Started Morales in RF (2-4, 2B)?

Tumble weeds and twisted tales
These the bad lands where the ANGLS fail

am glad Sean Rodriguez didn’t make an appearance. That would have been an automatic strikeout. Maybe Wood could have helped. But, thinking Rodriguez would have made a difference is a bit of a stretch.

Now let’s lock up Tex for the next few years. ;)

HK crapped the bed. I still like HK and I expect him to be an all-star but not this year.

I’d like to congratulate the Angels on a terrific season. 100 wins is quite an accomplishment.

The Angels didn’t play up to their ability during the series, but the games still had many exciting moments. In the end, I think the Halos simply made too many gaffes.

I thought the series was going back to Anaheim after Willits made it to 3B with only 1 out last night. Although it was exciting, there was absolutely no reason for Scioscia to call a suicide squeeze. A medium range fly brings home that run and the Red Sox would be behind the 8-ball. If Scioscia didn’t think Aybar could put the ball into the outfield, pinch hit.

The strike zone was erratic last night, but I thought it was equally so. Jon Lester got a gift with that called K to Teixeira to end a half inning, but I didn’t think that the umpiring was a game-changer.

My hat’s off to Mark Teixeira. The man was a stone-faced killer the entire series. Big Tex walked if he didn’t see his pitch, and he made several run-robbing plays defensively at 1B. He should be your #1 priority this off-season. I think that Arredondo can close for you. Don’t spend big bucks on K-Rod.

Torii Hunter and Chone Figgins also played a fine series, though Chone didn’t show up until game 2.

It’s amazing how Jekyll-and-Hyde your line-up is with a lead-off man on base. It’s seems like a mental thing as much as actually having a base-runner.

You need a new team leader if John Lackey is that guy now. His defense let him down, but he shouldn’t show that frustration on the mound. I particularly thought that with Kendrick’s bobble last game. There was no way Ellsbury would be doubled-off at 1B. One team, one goal. Act like a leader and pick your defense back up.

My series MVP votes are split three ways: Jon Lester, Jason Bay, and Howie Kendrick. I’m not sure who helped the Sox the most.

I do not know about the rest of you, but this year was fun and exciting. Granted, we lost in the playoff and looked terrible again but there were a lot of bright spots. I for one am disappointed and sad we are eliminated but not all hope is lost. There is always next year and that is the beauty. We all get to kick back for a year and ponder what went wrong and what could have been, but it doesn’t change anything. So I will be sitting every day signing onto HH in anticipation of the next season to watch our favorite team kick some more ass and get a little closer to that prestigious peak, the world series. Thank you all for a great year and hey, we’ll be back!

Guy went 7-21 and played great defense. To say he was “absent” is a bit of an overstatement.

Now Kendrick was terrible.

And how about Tex and Vlad and Hunter, Those guys were all great. So much for the Vlad doesn’t do anything in the postseason talk. Can we do away with that now?

I can ever remember in all my years as a fan.

At least in 2007 when we got swept, at least I could walk away saying “man Boston really kicked the crap out of us” Beat by a much better team. End of story.

This year however, we were very very close. I could taste it. All I ever really wanted to do was get passed Boston. Everything else was gravy.

And to lose all that on a game-winning hit at Fenway was just too much.

We are cursed.

1. Howie was clearly overmatched.
2. Our defense was pitiful, more or less across the board.
3. Sure Teixeira had a lot of hits, but how many were for extra bases? (Not playing the blame game, just saying that he didn’t get the extra base hits that he usually does.)
4. Vlad’s baserunning mistake.
5. The botched squeeze. (Again, not playing the blame game. On 2-0 Scioscia expected something over the plate, but instead it was an almost impossible pitch to bunt.)
6. Figgins not getting on base for three games.
7. Vlad’s continued lack of extra base hits in the playoffs.
8. Umpiring.
9. Izzy being injured.
10. The complete inability to get a real clutch hit (other than Torii’s last night).
11. GA’s inability to get a hit after his first two at-bats of the series (okay, maybe he had one).
12. Don’t even get me started on K-Rod.

Positives to take away:
1. Torii had a great postseason showing.
2. Naps was solid and had a stellar performance in game 3.
3. Teixeira, while he couln’t get “the big hit” was on base almost the entire series.
4. Vlad, for the most part, came out of his postseason slump.
5. Lackey looked great. Poor guy.
6. Saunders looked great.
7. Shields looked good, except for a bloop and a seeing-eye single last night.
8. Weaver looked great.

Not only did the angels get eliminated by Boston, again, but I watched two friends from work get laid off…one of which is a lifelong Angel fan. His family has worked for the Angels since the 70s (off and on) and the last thing he said when he left my office was “Go Angels”.

So today, I have no one to vent to about that loss and no one to discuss the ’09 season. I am seriously bumming right now and reading several posts from the game thread and randomly throughout this site bums me out even more. I see a lot of blame being placed, and quite frankly rightfully so, but the season is over and our team lost. Boston didnt win anything, we handed it to them time and time again. Regardless of who made what error or who hung which slider, its over….dammit. There are several things I wish could have gone differently, but we lost.

I have said it before and I’ll say it again…..I would rather miss the playoffs entirely than suffer another gut-wrenching series loss to Bahston. But putting things in perspective, I still have a job and a roof over my family’s head….for now.

It’s been a pleasure being a part of this community all season and the well-educated opinions. Lookin forward to the offseason chatter.

Bottom line was yes Texeira did get base hits and walks that not why we traded our future gold glove 1st baseman we traded for big hits in the post season that big bat we’ve been missing in post season but still he did a great job I’d like to see him back next year. The umps were clearly against us the entire series and the last call against willits the the head umpire jagoff said in a statement that he had possession of the ball when he tagged him all i have to say about that is next time there is a play at the plate and someone is tagged out but knocks ball loose they had better be out because the catcher had possession of the ball when the tag was made. I almost believe what a co-worker told me before the series started he said your angels will be eliminated whether they like it or not because major league baseball is going to try for a repeat of the NBA championship Boston vs. LA and then when they get they’ll go against LA just to prove Boston’s (the east coast) superiority over the west coast and doing it against the 100 win angels in the process is just icing on the cake my co-worker by the way is a dodgers fan who wanted a freeway world series as well and he could even see it before it started. THIS SUCKS!!!

Over and out: Angels, as usual, eliminated in Boston

There are a few certainties about Boston in October. The leaves will begin to turn. You’ll never be more than 100 steps from either a Dunkin’ Donuts or a historic landmark – or maybe both.

And the Angels won’t get past the Red Sox.

I think this should be printed out and posted to the locker of every player the first day of 2009 spring training.

Seriously though. That shit’s got to go.

Just saying.

HK had a choke of epic proportions.

But, Howie had 1 less hit than Garret Anderson, who bats 2nd.
To blame a series loss on your #8 and #9 hitters is weak, especially when the 2-6 spots had less xbh than the leadoff hitter combined. A leadoff hitter who had zero walks, 6 strikeouts, and reached base at a flacid .294 obp. The fact of the series was our big hitters only hit the ball hard 5 times all series, and the guy who hit 2 homeruns got benched for game 2. Reggie Willits’ defense is mediocre, his arm is atrocious, and he was in right field to end the game, exactly where you knew it was going to end. Tinker tinker tinker, and that’s what happens, you lose with possibly the worst player on the roster trying to do something ridiculous, like dive for a ball on the line, instead of playing that ball for a single. The squeeze is just more tinkering. Did we acquire “big bats” to have to mickey mouse our way to victory? Also, Sean Rodriguez was left of the roster so Rob Quinlan could be on the roster? More vintage Scioscia, and it stinks. Stinks to the tune of 1-10 in the last 3 playoff series.

The baseball playoffs are a crapshoot. They are in comparison to other sports, I don’t think you can argue that.

The best team in football and basketball wins more regularly in the playoffs compared to baseball. Bye Angels. Bye Cubs.

In 2002, you could argue that we weren’t the best team. We were just the hottest team in the month of October.

which is why it seems to be a wildcard they have to fight harder and waters96 is right i watched the 02 dvd over and over this season and you cant seem to see the same want and refusal to lose the 02 angels were a comeback team all year the rally monkey was only the rally monkey because they came back in late innings over and over again they had no quit but watching that even GA doesn’t have the same look and intimidation he used to which was a big part of him he can still get it done at the plate but with no intimidation these guys look like they show up to work do they’re job and go home. there’s no FUN its a game, no competitive drive (EVEN THOUGH THERE IS BELIEVE ME I KNOW THERE IS DON’T JUMP UP MY ASS ABOUT THAT) it just doesn’t look like there is anyway. they’re humdrum and non-chalant they need fire and i hate to say it but we need to drop players that are downers to be around and bring new life

The disappointment has worn off enough to post here at least.

As I said after Game 1, we were let down. The crowd gave 110% in game 1 and the guys really did not respond. Game 2 was more of the same. You just can’t lose two home games in a series, in any sport, and expect to win.

Does anyone find it ironic that the Sox, with their neverending string of 2 out “hits” (“hits” including the infamous pop fly in center) were really the lucky ones? We were ostracized (by Sox fans included) for being a “lucky” team, and look what happens. This frustrates me to no end.

By the way, did anyone else want to jump through the TV and punch that annoying fan in the Red Sox hockey jersey that kept putting his ugly mug in the picture during camera angles on the batter? Argh.

Also, there’s nice thread on AN about how our aggressiveness (the squeeze) cost us the game. Pot → meet kettle. Their style of play has really gotten them far. What a bunch of jealous losers.

/end venting session

in at least one catgegory:

In time, each man became a major league manager, and once again Scioscia beat Francona to the punch, as the Angels beat Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants to win the 2002 World Series. This made him a member of a fairly exclusive club: Men who have won World Series as a player and a manager.

We found ourselves in an excellent position to win Game 2 after clawing back from the early deficit.

Frankie doesn’t blow it in the 9th, we easily find that elusive walk-off Panther. Plain and Simple.

Game 3 goes the way it did, maybe a little shorter since we’ve got more confidence.

Game 4’s a wash, as expected with Lester on the mound.

Game 5’s back in Anaheim with a charged up crowd and our team ready to put the final nail in Boston’s coffin.

Frankie blew it, and that was the end of that.

Walk him out that door.

What the hell am I supposed to do with myself?