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After the Dodgers had two days of picking on the kids while backed by their two aces, Garrett Richards turned in the best pitching performance of the series, striking out 11 Dodgers in just under 8 innings of work. The offense did it's usual crater job against an unknown starter to cost Garrett the win, but the Dodgers' shaky bullpen once again proved easy pickings for the Angel bats in the eighth, sparing us the humiliation of hearing about a season-series sweep all winter. The Angels are not making the playoffs and the Dodgers will. I think this much we've accepted. We can at least take solace that their pen is still awful and will once again prevent them from getting into the World Series.
On to the links!
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Angels Baseball
ROBERTO BALDOQUIN: While many of us wondered aloud why that international bonus slot didn't just go to Vladdy Jr., Baldoquin did nothing this season to make us feel any better about the decision to put all their eggs in his basket. Though there has to be some positives to pull from his first season as a pro, right? "Baldoquin hit .273 in both July and August after batting.184 before then. He didn't commit an error in his final 39 games after making 12 in his first 36. He got a hit in 11 of his final 16 games." It is also worth considering he hadn't played a game in two years and was used to playing three times a week as opposed to every day. That's aside from all the adjustments one has to make as a 20 year-old in a new country. Next year should be a very telling one for Baldoquin now that he's had time to acclimate.
KYLE KUBITZA: Apparently he's taking some reps at second to give him versatility. "He's going to work out at second and we'll see where it leads long term," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "We still view him as a candidate to be an everyday third baseman, but it's not going to hurt if he can play second." Sosh-Speak Translator says: He's definitely out as a candidate to be an everyday third baseman. We're looking to see if he can be just as mediocre at other positions.
JERRY DIPOTO: While most of us likely expected it, it looks as though our former GM will indeed be first in line to interview for the Mariners' vacant GM seat. Notice the first re-tweet? None other than former Register hack Mark Whicker, resorting to trolling on the same social media he mocked not so long ago, now that even the desperate fish wraps have shunned him. Oh, never mind....
ALBERT PUJOLS: A day after getting the best of him on the field, Clayton Kershaw joined Albert Pujols in a charity wiffle ball game to raise money for the two superstar's charities, The Albert Pujols Foundation and Kershaw's Challenge. The former raises awareness for children and their families dealing with Down syndrome while the latter looks to help at-risk kids in the U.S., Dominican and Africa. Good guys, those two.
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Elsewhere in Baseball
BOB MELVIN: The A's hand their skipper a two-year extension, keeping him in Oakland though 2018. "The thing about Billy is that he allows debate," Melvin said. "Spirited debate. I don't think he wants you to agree with him all the time. There's a system in place here, something we've all bought into, but on a day-to-day basis, there can be disagreements. Sometimes it might get a little heated, but I appreciate that I have a voice in it." So you're saying it doesn't have to be this way?
BASEBALL IN UGANDA: After their surprising surge in the Little League World Series, is it crazy to call Uganda the next hot bed for MLB teams to poach talent in the coming years?
OT: For the punk rock segment of our little tribe, I wholly recommend the new documentary on The Damned. While Don't You Wish That We Were Dead is far from the slickest rock doc I've seen, it was still cool to see the influential punk legends get the royal treatment after all these years. The next screening is September 12 at the Frida Cinema in Santa Ana.
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And now, being the full service weekend linkage institution that we are, here is the obligatory moment we take out of each Friday Thursday...for beer...(which works better on Thursdays anyway, because it gives you all some runway to take advantage of Friday goings on...)
Friday: California Craft Beer Summit takes place at the Sacramento Convention Center in Sacramento, and runs Friday and Saturday..........
Saturday: 6th Annual Brew HA HA beer festival at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado..........Brews & Bites 2015 at Mission Plaza in San Luis Obispo..........California Craft Beer Summit concludes today................Carlsbad 2nd Annual Brewfest at Holiday Park..........FigtoberFest at Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company in Buellton..........Santee Bluegrass Festival at Town Center Community Park East in Santee..........Beer in the Plaza at the Downtown Plaza in Healdsburg............River Craft Beer Festival at the Downtown Petaluma Riverfront............Annual Microbrew Festival at Two Harbors in Avalon, over on Catalina Island..........Bakersfield Village Fest at Kern County Museum..........The California Beer Festival tour hits San Dimas Saturday and Sunday at Frank G. Bonelli Park..........
Sunday: The California Beer Festival tour concludes its San Dimas tour stop..........
BEER BONUS #1: We continue to track the Ales for ALS 2015 project brought to us by red floyd. This week nothing is scheduled..........
Stay safe, everyone!
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(Thank you to Stirrups having our weekend beer guide ready to go before heading out of town.)
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