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The Halos took another bloody loss last night. After getting thumped by NL CYA Jake Arrieta in the first game, they had to contend with Jon Lester, who was 4th in the AL CYA voting just 2 years ago.
Historically, Jon Lester does not do as well against the Angels as he does against most everyone else. Historically, Lester doesn't like Angels Stadium. Historically, Lester doesn't like night games as well as day games. Historically, Lester doesn't care much for Angel Hernandez behind the plate. It's all there in the splits. But two games into this season and Lester gets to face Mike Drought, Albert Pothole and C.J. Chronic in the heart of the Angels order. And Angel Fernandez was most helpful on occasion.
Toss in an Andrew Heaney self-inflicted bloody nose, and we didn't have much of a chance.
Somewhere there must be a Groundhog's Day equivalent for baseball, when a team realizes that it awoke from Spring Training too soon and needs to climb back into its hole to regroup. This year, lets just call that day "Wednesday".
Don't sweat it, people. It's been a strange start all over the place. Spend your off day meandering through Oh-For-2016 Links:
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A Moment of Silence
Hat Tip to Rev, for directing me to the factoid that the voice actor we know all too well as the voice behind Admiral Ackbar has died. Erik Bauersfeld, of Berkelely CA., was 93. With the departure of Erick Aybar to the Braves, our need for the famous battle cry of The Admiral - "It's a trap!" - can now rest in peace.
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Everywhere In Baseball
Garrett Changing Things Up: Garrett Richards is throwing a changeup now, and throwing lots of them. As Jeff Sullivan over at FanGraphs counts up, Richards threw only 1 changeup all last year. On Monday he threw 9, and Sullivan dives into each of them. My favorite takeaway of that whole article is that "Richards threw his changeups harder on Monday than Felix Hernandez threw his fastballs." Amazing factoid...........
Hey Mr. Wilson!: C.J. Wilson failed to get a passing grade in his latest strength test over the weekend and is still benched. At this point, he is just hoping to be allowed to start the normal process pitchers go through to get ready for Spring Training. Who knows? Maybe he will get back up to form in time to get in some good starts before the season ends and impress next Winter's Free Agent buyers................
Big Boy Pants: Mike Trout has decided that all those millions of dollars he makes has earned him enough status as an adult that he can finally move out of his mom's house. He now has his own place. Just down the street..........
Slip Slidin' Away: The new Slide Interference rule is already getting a workout. On Monday we had Nick Markakis getting busted for a takeout slide. This thing costs BOTH the runner at 2nd AND the batter taking 1st base. We also, by the way, had Chase Utley taking a questionable shot at home plate yesterday with a slide that violates the very rule he infamously inspired in the playoffs last year. Since Utley was tagged out anyway, this went nowhere. Yesterday we had a more controversial outcome. Jose Bautista was called out and the Blue Jays run into a game-ending double-play. The Rays took away the win where the Blue jays had just taken the lead in the top of the 9th. That's gonna leave a mark..........
Topsy Turvy World: Here I am on the second day of baseball and I already find myself in complete agreement with an umpire. What the hell is going on around here? I need to check my temperature or something. Specifically, Umpire Dana Demuth is right on. If you are a fielder making a play on a ball and you wish to throw the runner out at first base, but that runner is impeding your ability to throw to the first baseman, THROW THE BALL RIGHT AT THE RUNNER AND HIT HIM SQUARE ON THE DAMN BACK! You cannot have runner interference unless the runner actually interferes. And the way a runner interferes is to impede a thrown baseball. As a fielder, you need to take all the guesswork out of the play. It's taught in Little League (at least it was when I was a toddler). Now, it's true that even hitting the runner will not guarantee an interference call. But NOT hitting the runner guarantees not getting the call..........
Priorities: And here is the most important news of the day. Which MLB ballparks have the most expensive, and least expensive, beer prices? The most costly would be Fenway Park, at $15.50 for a pair of brews. The Angels come in 2nd least expensive, at only $8 a pair. One might actually care to know how many ounces are being served in those least expensive beers at each stadium, of course...........
Baseball Value Pak: That beer article links back to a more comprehensive study of ballpark prices throughout MLB. Overall, Arte once again comes in first place with the lowest cost of two people taking in a ballgame. That is still pretty admirable when you realize the cost of living in OC, and Arte's payroll..........
Mutant Love: This is great. After John Oliver took the Yankees to task for their elitist attitudes towards the non one-percenters, selling Legends seats for a quarter to anybody who wins their contest drawing and agrees to dress down, we get the very bestest pair of initial winners possible. These guys dressed up as Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles...........
Mysteries of the Universe: We finally have an explanation as to why Major League Baseball kicks off a new season and then immediately takes a day off. It has everything to do with the weather. Mike Trout would be pleased..........
Vengeance: The Royals are fast becoming that neighborhood asshat who lucked into the best bicycle on the block, and now spends their time riding that cycle through your mom's flower garden. It's only a matter of time and things will not end well for that shiny bike. Right out of the chute, the Kauffman Stadium crew chooses to troll Noah Syndergaard by playing "American Woman" over the P.A. while Syndergaard was warming up. Syndergaard got his, though, blistering the Royals in a 2-0 victory. The effort was punctuated by this shut-down strikeout of Kendrys Morales with the bases loaded, on a 95-mph slider...........
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