Yankees Show Some Class, Angels Lose Again. Halolinks.

Angels fall to Yankees, 7-5, despite a last-inning rally - latimes.com
Since a 6-3 victory over Minnesota in the season opener, the Angels have been outscored, 48-23, in seven games, a statistic that would have been more lopsided had Bobby Abreu not hit a ninth-inning grand slam against David Robertson on Tuesday. Nick Johnson (first inning) and Derek Jeter (third) hit solo home runs, and Jeter hit a run-scoring single in the fourth inning. Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run single in the sixth, and Jorge Posada's run-scoring double and Curtis Granderson's run-scoring single in the eighth gave the Yankees a 7-1 lead. Abreu followed singles by Howie Kendrick, Mathis and Brandon Wood with his ninth-inning home run, the Angels' first grand slam since Mark Teixeira's bases-loaded shot against the Yankees on Aug. 3, 2008.

I was going to write that the game wasn't as close as the score indicates, but then thinking about it a little more, it was. The Yankees probably wouldn't have scored their last two run had the score been closer, and the score could have been closer if the Angels were able to hit with runners on (except in the 9th). I guess the same thing could be said for the Yanks in this game too, as they seemed to threaten in each inning. Does any of that make sense? I didn't think so.

Matsui gets ring, hero's welcome in Bronx - angelsbaseball.com
Emerging from the visitors' dugout in his Angels uniform as the final player from the title cast to be introduced, Matsui drew a roar as his new teammates, manager Mike Scioscia and the Angels' coaching staff gathered on the top step. Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling called Matsui to the ceremony featuring Yankees legends Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra.

Nice scene, well scripted. Only thing missing was a sentimental, string-filled soundtrack. No, but seriously, watch the video. Matsui looks genuinely moved by the reception.

Angels players witness Manhattan man jump to his death - FOX Sports on MSN
A Manhattan man jumped to his death on Tuesday from the roof of the hotel where the Los Angeles Angels were staying for their series against the Yankees. At least two players, pitchers Jered Weaver and Matt Palmer, witnessed the suicide. "Weaver actually saw him splat," Palmer told the New York Daily News. "I felt kind of sick to my stomach...It's hard to see something like that and hard to take it." "It's obviously traumatic when you witness something like that, but these guys understand the privilege of playing baseball." said Angels manager Mike Scioscia.

Does Scioscia's odd quote here make anyone else think he's a pre-programed replicant? He couldn't go the "He's in the best shape of his life" route. Or the tired "We're just going to play one game at a time" response. So he went down the "We're just fortunate to be here" road.

Now or Never Time in Anaheim - Bleacher Report
Lackey is now being paid $16 million a year by the Boston Red Sox as a number THREE pitcher. That is an amount that the Angels could, and should, have matched. For him to accept such a demotion, something must have gone terribly wrong. That something took place in last fall's pennant contest. Lackey WAS struggling in his second start against the New York Yankees. But he wanted to continue when Manager Mike Scioscia relieved him. He left under protest: "It's MY ball, Sosch." It was a reasonable baseball decision. It was a terrible MANAGERIAL decision, because Lackey would go free-agent at the end of the season.

I've written some crappy articles, but compared to this pile, I feel like Shakespeare. This goofball thinks that Scioscia should have let Lackey finish the 7th inning of Game 5 against the Yankees. Not because the Angels would have a better chance to win the game, but because the Angels would have a better chance to re-sign Lackey in the off-season. In other words, as Scioscia's walking to mound, he should contemplate a players contract status prior to making an in-game decision?

Sports of The Times - Great Yankee Stadium Moments Now Include Matsui’s Return - NYTimes.com
Before the game, Derek Jeter was prodded to tell us something new about Matsui — two people not known for giving up clubhouse gossip, or much of anything else. "He is totally fluent in English," Jeter told the reporters. "He knows everything you guys are saying," which could be true. Matsui has been known to drop one-liners in English to American reporters he knows. Asked what he remembered most about Matsui, Jeter said: "When he broke his wrist, he apologized to his teammates. Never saw that before."

Okay, I'm going to admit it...I sorta like Jeter.

Working the count is part of the baseball - FOX Sports on MSN
"The difference between 1-2 and 2-1 is terms of expected outcomes is just enormous. It's the largest variance of expected outcomes of any one pitch," then-Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta told "Money Ball" author Michael Lewis. "On 2-1 most average major leaguer hitters become All-Stars, yet on 1-2 they become anemic nine-hole hitters. People talk about first-pitch strikes. But it's usually the first two out of three." Baseball Hot Streak One of the best illustrations of that split is Joe Mauer’s efficiency with a 2-1 count last year — a stunning .509 average. Yet, at 1-2, he dropped to .241.

This was the point I was trying to make in yesterdays Brandon Wood post. Wood seems to always be behind in the count. I don't know why that is, but I'm sure it's why he's doing poorly so far this season.

Their Winning Percentages Were Mediocre, But Were They? - Beyond the Box Score
Frank Tanana stands out over the rest. Tanana, of course, is the pitcher with the most career WAR to never receive a Hall of Fame vote. Bobby Witt, as much as I liked his strikeouts as a kid, simply deserved his fate. Bob Friend and Bobo Newsom both pitched for a long time at a clip moderately above league average. While there aren't a ton of Hall of Famers with less career WAR than them, there are some.

Tanana never received a Hall of Fame vote? I'm not saying he's a Hall of Famer, but he at least deserved some votes. Lame.

Sorry O-Dog there is no racism in free agency - FOX Sports on MSN
I would never argue that baseball is colorblind. Scrappy utility infielders, many of whom are white, routinely are over-valued. White players with tempers often are perceived as intense. African-American players with tempers often are perceived as hotheads. And we can talk about other examples, too. As I’ve written before, those conversations are important and necessary for a sport that needs not only more African-American players, but also more African-American fans. Alas, Hudson’s misguided remarks will do more harm than good, serving only to inflame the closed-minded.

Good response to a stupid accusation.

April 14 - BR Bullpen
1910 - In the season opener before 25,000 at New York's Hilltop Park, the Boston Red Sox, sport laced collars, the last major league team to wear a collar. Boston sends the New York Yankees into extra innings before the game is called at the end of 14 innings with the score, 4 - 4. Ed Cicotte starts for Boston, with Joe Wood relieving in the eigth inning. Hippo Vaughn goes all the way for New York, retiring Boston batters in the fourth and 12th innings on four pitches. He needs just three pitches in the 10th. The game took 6.5 hours and featured 34 mound visits.
1960 - Eddie Sawyer resigns as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies just one day into the new season. Sawyer, the manager of the National League champion "Whiz Kids" of 1950, is replaced with Gene Mauch, who begins a 26-year managing career in the major leagues.
1968 - At Astrodome, New York Mets pitcher Nolan Ryan earns the first of his 324 major league victories. The 21-year-old right-hander hurls six and two-thirds innings of three-hit, shutout baseball to lead the Mets over the Houston Astros, 4 - 0.

Your bookie would've sent a card had he known...
1941 - Pete Rose, infielder, manager; All-Star

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