1995esque

by Rev Halofan on Aug 23, 2007 9:47 PM PDT in Angels News

Blame of the Game: Ervin Santana

This type of choking that involves actively giving up comfortable leads in rapid order - the quick, massive choke that reverses a game's tempo faster than Bewitched's Doctor Bombay reverses a spell - this is the type of late-season, energy draining, faith waning play that poisons a good team's chances at becoming great.

It is the type of play that makes a team turn on the players at the fringe of chemistry, forevr brandishing selfish egotards like Jim Edmonds as clubhouse cancers because they let the biggest of losses wash off quicker and dance around the clubhouse in preparation for that night's hoochie like nothing too terrible had happened.

It is the kind of play that slashes open the monster below the belly, taking all of the guts out of a team and revealing them to be full of shit anyway...

A disheartening night to say the least.

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Santana

Pitched horrible with a 3 run lead

Get rid of Quinlan

by edhoo on Aug 23, 2007 9:38 PM PDT reply actions

Every angel

not named Guerrero or Oliver.

by Obscurity on Aug 23, 2007 9:39 PM PDT reply actions

Santana

no defending necessary.

With win-win-win, we all win!

by lightupthehalo on Aug 23, 2007 9:39 PM PDT reply actions

budde

wild throw to third gave the fifth run for matt stairs from second

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlTvSUCCqPo

by ANewFoundThrice on Aug 23, 2007 9:39 PM PDT reply actions

He would have scored anyway

Get rid of Quinlan

by edhoo on Aug 23, 2007 9:40 PM PDT up reply actions

what? things change with each new event occuring

santana probably buckles down and gets us out of it. Remember, each situation is different and he got beat on a strike up down the middle cause the run had already scored thus not that big a deal.

Bad Shields makes me unhappy...

by CaLiKrAzY on Aug 23, 2007 9:45 PM PDT up reply actions

haha.

ok maybe Santana doesn't have the focus of a Saunders but still the next time somebody say this and that would of happend the same I'll eat my hat.

Bad Shields makes me unhappy...

by CaLiKrAzY on Aug 23, 2007 9:48 PM PDT up reply actions

As soon as Stairs is on 2nd...

We should have had Mosely warming up at this point so that when this meltdown started to happen we wouldn't have had to suffer through Santana's "whatever" style of frustrated pitching that happens. Hopefully he would have been put in before Stairs gets his hit... but if he wasn't put in then he most certainly and justifiably would have been put in after the Stairs hit. THEN Mosely would not have thrown a wild pitch and tubby wouldn't have scored. You could see him giving up more and more with each 2 out hit. The guy is a mess and Budde did nothing to help focus him. Didn't this happen the last time Budde and Santana got together in the minors?

Santana is a sack... I hate watching him play as much as I hated watching Jeff Weaver last year. Such a disappointement.

The last world series champion in California has "Anaheim" written next to their name.

by Anaheim of Anaheim on Aug 24, 2007 1:13 AM PDT up reply actions

BOTG: Santana

He had 2 outs in the 5th, nobody on base, and then just imploded. Gave up three 2-out runs and that was the game.

The Jays had not scored 5 runs in a game on the road since July 14th. Even though the Angels hitters did little, 4 runs should have been enough to win.

Ain't no stoppin' us now. We got the groove!

by Fan Since 1981 on Aug 23, 2007 9:40 PM PDT reply actions

Maybe Santana

is better on the road now?

hmmm...

by cupie on Aug 23, 2007 9:41 PM PDT reply actions

Buddy and Kendrick get co-BOTG

0-8

by melvintoast on Aug 23, 2007 9:49 PM PDT reply actions

Budde shouldn't have been up in the 9th

What the hell was that guy even doing batting in the 9th? Where was Wood?

The last world series champion in California has "Anaheim" written next to their name.

by Anaheim of Anaheim on Aug 24, 2007 11:16 AM PDT up reply actions

There was that thing...

He did Monday night.

Only explanation I could come up with.

I wouldn't have wanted Wood up then either. Mathis was the only option off the bench, imo.

We'll be fine.

by ReggieBullits on Aug 24, 2007 12:53 PM PDT up reply actions

True

Mathis would have been the right call. I just thought Wood was supposed to be a "power hitter" capable of knockin' one over the fence. If it was between Budde... whose only here because of Napoli's injury and Wood, our Top Prospect who is supposed to be a power bat then why not throw the guy in there for an at bat? OH WELL the whole thing sucked after Blackballs gave up and started throwing BP with 2 outs.

The last world series champion in California has "Anaheim" written next to their name.

by Anaheim of Anaheim on Aug 24, 2007 2:55 PM PDT up reply actions

I was calling for Mathis too.

Of course, as a guest in a luxory box where people seemed more intent on standing around engaging social chat rather watch the damn game, nobody listened to me there, either. (Luxory boxes are wasted on idle minds.)

Bad News: Sosh failed to PH Mathis for "3 hit" Budde at an obvious opportunity.
Good News: Mathis is rising in stature around here, no longer being looked upon as a total waste of a minor league prospect.
Winner: bad news.

"And the halo shines tonight!"

by Stirrups on Aug 24, 2007 3:10 PM PDT up reply actions

Stirrups

If your comment was aimed at making us feel sorry for you having to watch a game from a luxury box, you'll get no sympathy here, my friend.

How was the braised bald eagle BTW?

by Higz on Aug 24, 2007 3:24 PM PDT up reply actions

I should do a diary about that experience

It was my first time in a luxury box (I ahve been in club boxes before). I was surprised to find afterwards that I have more fun in my normal seats.

Maybe that's because they ran out of the top-shelf bald eagle during the Yankee series.

"And the halo shines tonight!"

by Stirrups on Aug 24, 2007 4:16 PM PDT up reply actions

and how, pray tell, did you score those seats??

by ladybug on Aug 24, 2007 8:27 PM PDT up reply actions

See

here.

"And the halo shines tonight!"

by Stirrups on Aug 25, 2007 12:53 AM PDT up reply actions

Can someone explain to me who's ass

B Wood sucks to get all this love? In his last 10 in the hitter friendly PCL, he struck out 33% of the time while getting hits 26% of the time with 1 home run.

My Budde by contrast struck out 9% of the time while getting hits 30% of the time with 1 home run.

Reggie Jackson think's wood strikes out too much. The all time strike out leader only struck out 26% of the time in the MLB.

by melvintoast on Aug 24, 2007 12:54 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm talking to myself but I think I can answer

my own question.

According to baseballcube, wood was mashing in Rancho. Fine. He knows how to hit single A pitchers.

by melvintoast on Aug 24, 2007 1:19 PM PDT up reply actions

Santana

Left his cool in Boston. I still think he may get it together though in the near future.

by 44FAN on Aug 23, 2007 9:51 PM PDT reply actions

This was not 1995esque

The Jays made some great plays on D and Litsch threw his breaking ball all night long. Angels could have won, but it's over now. Turn the page, move on (cliche, but true).

The bigger issue is getting Kotch and Figgy back in the lineup, and Shields turned around.

Besides, on Monday August 26th, the Angels had a 4-run lead against the Red Sox in Fenway going to the bottom of the 9th. The Sox scored 2 runs with 2-out in the 9th to tie the game off of Percival. And then in the bottom of the 10th Damon wins it off of Shields with a home run. It was a sickening loss and I was sure that it marked yet another season-killing choke job by the Angels. The Angels were 3rd in the West and were behind Wild Card leading Seattle. Season over. The year? 2002.

Ain't no stoppin' us now. We got the groove!

by Fan Since 1981 on Aug 23, 2007 10:00 PM PDT reply actions

Panther!

by melvintoast on Aug 23, 2007 10:06 PM PDT up reply actions

1995... hmmm.... 71-56 up 6 games

Right now we're 74-53 up 1. What really hurt about 1995 was that we were up 6. We were even more than that. Eh.. Figgy Kotch and Nap hurt.

We were up 3 games at the break. We're taking the division.

by melvintoast on Aug 23, 2007 10:05 PM PDT reply actions

Is...

Santana the new Ortiz??? Ramon Ortiz that is! looking more and more like it to me!

You Better watch out, cuz i'm a War Machine!

by im4kiss on Aug 23, 2007 10:26 PM PDT reply actions

Think green. Recycle.

by melvintoast on Aug 23, 2007 10:38 PM PDT up reply actions

Santana

When will he learn the concept of "wasting a pitch?" Why groove a fastball to Stairs when you have him down 1-2?

by Ajax on Aug 23, 2007 11:06 PM PDT reply actions

Doug Padilla of the Daily News thinks Shields has

a wrenched arm.

by melvintoast on Aug 23, 2007 11:08 PM PDT reply actions

I had the same 1995esque feeling

after watching last night's game. There was no way we lose that game, Toronto was just coming off a three game home sweep at the hands of Fremont and then having to fly cross-country. Its going to be tough with Doc Halladay pitching tonight.

I would hate to be tied after tonight and have Coach Owens making his usual appearance when things are going good for the Fishermen.

A big FU to the A's and Dodgers....

by Crapper John MD on Aug 24, 2007 7:29 AM PDT reply actions

In My Humble Opinion...

I think that Sosh gives him another start or two at the most. If he blows the next one, he is gone, or should be. If it is a close game, but a loss none the less, then Sosh gives him another go.

The kid has potential, but if he can't hang in the next game then with the division being as close as it is, he has got to go.

Somewhere in Arizona Smokin' TumbleWeeds

by Rex DaKine Budler on Aug 24, 2007 7:45 AM PDT reply actions

Let's hope

the team isn't falling apart like the fans are. Nobody on this team other than GA cares about 1995. Two days ago we were celebrating a 18 run performance against the Yankees and a 10th inning walk off double by a rookie catcher. It's only August, keep things in perspective. If the M's keep playing like they do they might very well win the division, if so they would deserve it. But the pressures of September will decide this race and I put my hopes on the Angels. Who just two days, ago many even at east coast bias ESPN were saying were the best team in baseball.

by tanana40 on Aug 24, 2007 8:17 AM PDT reply actions

"It's only August"

We saw how well that attitude worked out LAST year...

Not that I'm giving up.

Light Up That Halo!

by Clutch on Aug 24, 2007 8:48 AM PDT up reply actions

In 2002 we were 75-52 two games behind the

Choakies. We saw how well that attitude worked out THAT year... It's time to give up on the team with the second best record in baseball.

by melvintoast on Aug 24, 2007 9:31 AM PDT up reply actions

The point is

we are not beating the teams we should be beating. Last night's game was such a horrible offensvie effort by everyone (with the exception of Vladdy), it reminded me of a team looking in its rearview mirror and not forward. The effort the last two nights made the first two games of the Yankees series look like a distant memory.

A big FU to the A's and Dodgers....

by Crapper John MD on Aug 24, 2007 9:46 AM PDT up reply actions

But we compete against the teams that are

supposed to be tough a la bosox, yankees, detroit.

by melvintoast on Aug 24, 2007 9:59 AM PDT up reply actions

I get your point

but getting swept by KC and making rookie and AAA call-up pitchers look like Cy Young dampens successes against the Bosox and Yanks...

A big FU to the A's and Dodgers....

by Crapper John MD on Aug 24, 2007 10:08 AM PDT up reply actions

FYI last year at 127 we were 67 and 60

and 5 games back.

by melvintoast on Aug 24, 2007 10:30 AM PDT up reply actions

last year

But last year we had a great July after a bad start. This year we have been in first place for a long time. Seattle is a machine right. Let's keep the pressure on them.

by tanana40 on Aug 24, 2007 10:25 AM PDT up reply actions