I just don't get this Chris Young thing. He's the kind of pitcher the Angels usually pound (or at least he's not the kind of pitcher they usually can't touch). He threw 95 pitches today, and I'd say about 90 of them were fastballs- no offspeed stuff and no deception. Yet the Angels- with the exception of Vlad- were baffled. Young's line against the Angels this year- 12 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO. Mind-boggling.

I plan on live blogging the games in Oakland, so hopefully I'll have something of interest to say then.

Wow. That was- without a doubt- the game of the year. It seemed like the Angels did this every night in 2002, but tonight is the first time that I've felt that same excitement this season. Do you suppose it's rubbing-off from the Dodgers?

I'll have more later, but right now I'm engrossed in the Seattle/Oakland game, which Seattle looks poised to win.

UPDATE: And it's over. Madritsch tosses a complete game three-hitter, and the Angels take sole possesion of first place. Sweeeeet!

UPDATE: Rob asks if this win makes me any more excited about resigning the Troys. I'm starting to come around...

In today's Register, plague upon humanity Randy Youngman tries to revive the Randy Johnson/for prospects trade rumor that ran rampant at the trade deadline.

Can't this crap wait until the season is over?

UPDATE: Don't try to look for the Randy Johnson rumor in the online edition- it was a blurb on the sidebar of his print column.

I think Dennis Miller said it best:

"James Broland sells mufflers- can't he bring one home and strap it to the old lady's pie-hole?"

Barbara, here's a little advice: Next time you want to make a political statement, get a ghost writer to do it for you. That way you won't come across as completely ignorant. Also, try not to stress a point that is contradicted by the very act of making your point.

NRO Corner gives Babs a pretty good Fisking- the first of many, I would assume.

That smell? That's the guys over at Athletics Nation shitting themselves.

Escobar was working on short rest, and was nails. He only threw 80 pitches in six innings, which is a good number if Scioscia intends to start him on short rest again in Oakland. And eight runs? For Kelvim? He must have felt like it was Christmas morning. That's as many runs as the Angels had scored in his previous four starts combined.

Is Vlad trying to make a late push for MVP, or what? Common sense would lead one to believe that Gary Sheffield has it all but locked-up, but since when has common sense decided the MVP race? Now that the race in the AL East is pretty much over and out of the national spotlight, the focus has shifted west- off Sheffield and Ramirez and onto Vladimir Guerrero. This is an opportunity for Vlad to have the last word and leave a strong impression on voters. If he has a huge series in Oakland- and the Angels win the division- he will win the MVP. You heard it here first.

...and this time it's not in reference to President Bush! This one comes from Peter Gammon's new column, in which he describes the Sabermetrics community as "stats Nazis" (via Crank):

Cabrera is a dashing, 78 rpm defender who sometimes almost plays too fast. But he gives himself up when necessary, pounds high fastballs and clearly loves playing on a Red Sox team that is in contention and sold out every game all season. . . Roberts is right about Cabrera, and the same thing can be said about Derek Jeter -- who the stats Nazis will insist from their garages isn't an exceptional shortstop -- and Brian Roberts. On the other hand, there are some star-type players that are not as good on a pennant contender.

I like Gammons a lot, but that is in very poor taste. I believe it was in jest, but he should know better. Also, it's rather odd that the man who wrote a glowing article about advanced defensive statistics would, just a week later, demean the community which creates those statistics by calling them "Nazis".

I am amused by the "in their garages" portion. It sounds as if he's specifically referring to bloggers. Geez- you bring down one major media outlet, and all of a sudden you're in everybody's crosshairs...

UPDATE: The "stats Nazis" remark has now been replaced with "statheads". Smart move.

Thanks to this decision by Microsoft (fuckers), my new e-mail address is ceccarelli@gmail.com.

UPDATE: Speaking of Gmail, I have 5 invites left, so if you want in shoot me an e-mail.

UPDATE: Just gave away the last invite.

Aaron Gleeman is shocked into silence by this quote from John Kruk:

No, not the American League MVP or National League MVP. I'm just talking about the most valuable player in the game today.

This year, I'm giving it to Chone Figgins of the Angels. Where would this team be without him? I can tell you one place they wouldn't be -- in the hunt for a playoff spot.

[snip]

I know about Bonds and Pujols and all those guys. But they show up to the ballpark every day knowing they're going to play and where they're going to hit in the order. Not Chone. He has to take a few grounders all over the field, and then find some time to hit. If you think that doesn't sound like a big deal, imagine going to work every day and not knowing what your boss will have you do that day -- but you have to be prepared for all of it.

What Aaron? Are you questioning the infallible logic of John Kruk- the greatest baseball mind the world has ever known?

Wow, there's a shocker.

UPDATE: Josh makes a good point in the comments: "I get the funny feeling that the Player's Union cares more about the "without pay" part than the suspension."

Me too.

He may have lost some of the zip on his fast balls, but Troy Percival still has balls of steel. What a performance. It's almost enough to make me endorse him as closer for another season... almost.

You can't blame Scoiscia for giving Colon a chance to close this one down himself. The back end of the bullpen needed the rest, as Frankie and Percy had combined for five innings in the past two days. And you can't blame Colon for getting himself in that ninth inning jam- it looked like he still had good stuff, and the two hits he gave up were just cases of superior hitting.

UPDATE: Sean actually saw this game in person. Lucky bastard.

I had a few more thoughts on this whole Jose Guillen situation, but thanks to a veterinary emergency this morning, everyone has beaten me to the punch (be sure to check out Rob, Sean, and Chronicles' takes on this. UPDATE: Oh, and Josh too.). It's all been discussed to death, so I only have a few things to add:

• First of all, questioning the manager's judgment is a problem. It's one of the bigger problems a team can have, and can lead to clubhouse chaos. But this wasn't the first time a player has questioned Mike Sciosica's judgment (Ramon Ortiz, anyone?), and it certainly won't be the last. If both Guillen and Scioscia were willing to put this episode behind them, and Guillen was willing to accept some sort of lesser punishment quietly (perhaps a couple days' suspension and a fine), it would have been much better for everyone involved.
  
  By suspending him for the season and getting a media fire-storm started, Angels management has doubly shot themselves in the foot. Not only are they now without one of their best hitters, they are now stuck with an un-tradable clubhouse cancer. Not smart. Unless Guillen was such a distraction that you couldn't wait another moment without destroying the team (which I don't believe he was, as I will cover in a bit), they should have waited until the end of the season, when they could have traded him for something of value.
  
  
• Which leads to my second point: I think we're all jumping the gun by discussing Guillen's replacement, and I don't mean Adam Riggs. Everybody is starting to spend Arte Moreno's money without asking themselves the most glaring question: is whatever we get to replace Guillen (whether it be a starting pitcher or a bat) going to have the same value?
  
  Jose Guillen was a damn fine corner outfielder this season, despite playing with injuries that sapped his power throughout. Not only that- he was cheap. Bill Stoneman had him locked-up for $3 million next season, an absolute steal. Now that the Angels have made him virtually worthless as trade-bait, will they find a replacement of comparable ability without taking on salary (or worse yet, another team's clubhouse cancer)?
  
  
• Personally, I feel that suspensions like this should be reserved for the most heinous of sports-related crimes- I'm talking Latrell Spreewell territory here. "Putting yourself ahead of the team" is not that kind of crime. I suppose that if someone is intent on being a distraction, you need to get rid him. But was that really the case here? Was Guillen really a distraction that would have effected the Angels down the stretch?
  
  Judging from some of the player's quotes, I would say no. Bengie Molina was quoted as saying "he's a good teammate, I would be more than glad to have him back." More than glad? It sounds like Bengie is a little less than glad that he was suspended in the first place. Later he was quoted as saying "I didn't realize anything was going on..." and "It's a huge loss for the team, a huge loss." It almost sounds as though the loss of Guillen is more of a distraction than having him in the dugout, at least in Bengie's case.

You may now commence with calling me an idiot.

In today's Times, Arte Moreno spoke-out about the team's non-existent negotiations with first-round pick Jered Weaver:

"Obviously when you draft him, you'd like to sign him, get him into the system, let him work with the coaches, see what his talent is and try to prepare him for spring training," Angel owner Arte Moreno said. "It hasn't worked out that way.

"The agent is trying to get the best deal, and MLB is looking at the macro thing. For us, the question is, what kind of budget do we have?

"Looking at your money, are you going to pay someone this amount who has never played, or sign a free agent? We're trying to line up the numbers."

I like that sentiment, but shouldn't you at least be talking to each other? From the sound of things, it still appears that neither side is in any kind of hurry to get this deal done (or even started, for that matter). What do you have to lose by making an offer?

Amazingly, no one was killed. Not even the folks in a car that would eventually be clipped by the careening plane.

This is so not over.

If you live in Orange County you've probably at least heard of the Haidl family. The father, Don, is an OC Assistant Sheriff and the son, Greg, is a serial rapist. This is the kid who video taped himself and several friends gang-raping a local girl. He got off on that charge in a sham of a trial, then promptly assaulted another girl. Sometime between the two sexual assaults he was also busted for possession- and by "busted" I mean the Sheriff's buddies drove him back to daddy's house.

I don't suppose it's much of a shock that Greg Haidl grew up to become a juvenile delinquent. Dad does have an extensive history of corruption in his career in both private business (was accused of defrauding the government and embezzlement as head of Nationwide Auction Systems, but got off on technicalities) and in public service (bought his position as assistant sheriff as fund-raiser for Sheriff Carona). It must run in the family. Oh, and his mother aint no saint either; after the first rape alligations surfaced she posted ads looking to dig-up dirt on her son's 16-year-old victim. Classy.

(It's almost impossible to find even a word about this in the pages of the OC Register, so the best place to look for more information is the local IndyMedia Mags, like OC Weekly. Just skip past all the anti-Isreal and anti-Bush filth.)

Well, in a move that was long overdue, Sheriff Haidl resigned his post yesterday, citing the need to focus on family concerns. It's about damn time. It's unfathomable to me how he's managed to hold on to his job this long (well, I suppose it's not really all that surprising when you consider that the entire OC Sheriffs Department is corrupt).

Hopefully this will level the playing field for prosecutors attempting to put that little punk son of his away for a long, long time. Too bad they can't do the same to dad. Both of them are just begging for a severe ass-kicking. What I wouldn't give to be the one who gave it to them...

I did a little bit of investigation into this whole 'cursed tickets' thing, and I found that it dates back to the Fourth of July. Here are the details:

Sunday, July 4th- Los Angeles 6, Angels 2, Record: 0-1

Friday, July 16th- Boston 4, Angels 2, Record: 0-2

Sunday, July 18th- Boston 6, Angels 2, Record: 0-3

Monday, July 19th- Cleveland 8, Angels 5, Record: 0-4

Friday, July 30th- Seattle 5, Angels 6, Record: 1-4

Tuesday, August 10th- Baltimore 11, Angels 3, Record: 1-5

Friday, August 13th- Detroit 5, Angels 3, Record: 1-6

Saturday, August 28th- Minnesota 7, Angels 1, Record: 1-7

Wednesday, September 8th- Toronto 1, Angels 0, Record: 1-8

Saturday, September 11th- Chicago (AL) 13, Angels 6, Record: 1-9

Saturday, September 18th- Texas 2, Angels 0, Record: 1-10

Tuesday, September 21st- Seattle 7, Angels 3, Record: 1-11

Friday, September 24th- Oakland 6, Angels 3, Record: 1-12

Now for some perspective:

The Angels' record since curse began: 43-30 (.589), and 20-19 (.513) at home.

The Angels' record in games I attend: 1-12 (.077)

That cannot just be coincidence. The Angels have played .500+ ball at home over that time. That means I've got a better than 50% chance to see a winner every time I go out to the ballpark. But that coin keeps coming up tails, again and again.

So what should I do about this? Is there some type of ritual I can perform? Is there a man with a goat I can see? I need help!

Well, I'm off to the game. If we lose you know who to blame.

Heh.

This must give you some hope of catching the A's. It doesn't bode well for fending off the Rangers, I grant you, but we'll climb that mountain when we come to it.

So now the Halos are tied with the Rangers, both two games back of the Athletics, who are reeling. If the Angels can get their shit together by tomorrow night (don't count on it- I have tickets) they can hop in the driver's seat. And, optimist that I am, I see success written all over these probables:

Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday:

Those numbers might not look great by themselves, but consider that John Lackey has been hot as of late (1.67 ERA in September) and Mark Mulder has been... well... not so much (8.22 ERA in September). Jarrod Washburn also appears to be hitting his stride (2.81 ERA in September) after returning from the DL. So, all-in-all, this is the best possible match-up the Angels could have hoped for. It's their three best pitchers, against the A's three weakest.

It's as if destiny has set this up. Now the Angels must capitalize.

Yeah, this is a good use of paper: (via Right-Thinking)

California became the first state Thursday to ban weeding by hand on most farms, saying the work is too backbreaking for laborers.

Under a rule approved by the California Occupational Safety and Health Division, farmworkers, in most cases, will not have to stoop to pull weeds, but will instead be given long-handled tools that will allow them to work without bending over. The rule takes effect within two weeks.

I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad idea, though I would question the wisdom of putting more restrictions on business at a time when the Governor is trying to lure business back to the state. It's just one of those "only in California" things- the latest in a crazy week or so for our esteemed leaders in Sacto.

First we outlaw necrophilia (the ban itself wasn't shocking- the absence of one previously was). Then we nearly give illegal immigrants the right to acquire drivers licenses (though cooler heads- lead by the Governor and his big, red 'veto' stamp- did prevail). Now this "weeding ban" stuff.

What's next? Gay marriage? Oh wait...

If you watch any of the cable news networks on any kind of a regular basis, you've surely seen the anti-Patriot Act ad campaign being run by the ACLU. Their "Keep America Safe and Free" (notice the emphasis on 'and') campaign is incredibly misleading and short on facts.

One of the points that I take the most exception to (though I do take exception to all of them) is the ACLU's assertion that the Patriot Act allows government officials to break into and search your residence without warning or provocation. The implication being that we are all now susceptible to the fascist tactics of Bushitler and his crony Ashcroft. Of course, what they fail to mention is that the authorities still require a warrant, a process which has not gotten any easier with the passage of the Patriot Act. All the act changes is now the authorities don't have to tell you that they're coming, or that they've been there. Big deal, right? I mean, they've got the warrant, they're coming in sometime and there's nothing you can do about it- same as September 10th of 2001. Only now they leave your place nice and tidy!

Now a group of concerned citizens calling itself the "Coalition for Security, Liberty and the Law" is fighting back against he ACLU's disinformation campaign. If you care about the security of our nation, you should support their cause. Contacting your congressman with a message of your own is a good place to start.

Calamity is the perfect glass wherein we truly see and know ourselves.

-Sir William Davenant

This is so not over. Remember- perhaps the only team playing as badly as the Angels right now is the Athletics. This is still doable.

And, if by some chance we do continue this collapse, and we do finish third behind Oakland and Texas, major changes will have to be made. I'm talking people getting fired. You can start with Mickey Hatcher.

And the 'cursed tickets' strike again. I'm going to do you all a huge favor and burn my remaining tickets...

All there is to say about Aaron Sele's performance is: "I told you so". He was so bad it is impossible to illustrate with words alone- you would really have to see the pain and frustration on my face and hear the groans of agony in my voice. Meanwhile, Ramon Ortiz (the man who should have started this game) was throwing the ball well, if not spectacularly, in relief.

Don't let Dallas McPherson's four-strikeout performance get you down. Even with the strikeouts, I thought he worked the count well (three of them came on full counts). He just didn't hit the "fastballs" (if that's what you really want to call Jamie Moyer's slop) tonight. The most impressive statistic you can draw from McPherson's first few games is his 4.5 P/PA. If he keeps that anywhere near four, he will be successful.

It's looking like McPherson will get that chance now that we know that Adam Kennedy is done for the year. It's a complete tear of the ACL and a partial tear of the MCL. I keep hearing people say "it didn't look so bad when it happened". Well, I thought it did. When your entire body goes to the right, and your knee decides to head off to the left, it can only be bad.

I'm not too worried about this. Sure, on the surface it seems that Kennedy is a huge loss, considering that he's been hot recently and his gold-glove defense. But I think we all know in our heart-of-hearts that Chone Figgins and Adam Kennedy are a wash with the bat (both are dead-even at a .269 GPA) and I am of the opinion that Figgins could be a very good defensive second baseman. Look at these numbers:


This a tiny sample size for Figgins at second (just 11 games), but they show that while Figgins is a substantial downgrade from Kennedy (who wouldn't be?), he is not far below league average at the position. Also, keep in mind that Figgins' career ZR at second is well above .900, and I think he's a lot closer to that than to .700.

Now, think about what you've seen with your own eyes; Figgins certainly has the range- there can be no doubt about that. His problem at third has been the throw- not that he doesn't have the arm mind you, but it looks like he is often rushing it. Combine that with less-than-perfect footwork, and you'll get a few funky plays.

Footwork and throwing not being so much a problem at second, I think you will see Figgins excel at the position. He'll remain a downgrade, but he should at least bring adequate glove work. Now if only he could start hitting again...

Of course that's just me looking for the silver lining.

Baseball Crank brings up a great question that needs to be answered:

Is there more evidence supporting the conclusion that a) the Bush campaign colluded with "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth", or b) the Kerry campaign colluded with Bill Burket and CBS in the "Ra^thergate" scandal?

So why was the media so quick to jump to conclusion a, and so slow to acknowledge the possibility of conclusion b?

I know I said that I needed to take some time off from this team, and I fully intended to follow through on that. But then I flipped in from Monday Night Football (force of habit) and saw that Dallas McPherson is starting at third. Well, now I have to watch.

UPDATE: Franklin just drilled Vlad in the helmet, forcing him out of the game. I don't ever advocate violence, but one of the Mariners better leave this field on a stretcher.

And if Vlad is misses even one game... so help me God... Ryan Franklin... I'm gonna... grrrrrrr!.

UPDATE: Dallas McPherson crushes a double for his first major league hit, setting up an Adam Kennedy sac fly to score the first Angel run in 19 innings. 1-0 Angels in the 3^rd.

UPDATE: Angels win 5-2 and are now 2.5 back in the division.

You may all exhale, as Vladimir Guerrero appears to be fine. He was taken to a hospital for tests (which were negative), and was back on the bench by the late innings. Thank the lord.

McPherson was 3 for 3 with a double and walk. McPherson looked very good. He worked the count well in all four of his plate appearances, and he crushed a couple of fastballs. His defense wasn't too shabby either. Very impressive start. Get used to seeing him in the lineup, because Adam Kennedy's knee injury looks rather serious and Chone Figgins is his likely replacement.

This is the first of a multi-part offseason preview. Do not take this as a sign that I've given up on the season- I haven't. In fact, I'm more optimistic about our chances than at any point this season (mainly because I'm delusional, and I've managed to convince myself that the offense is sure to turn it on against the Athletics' "big four"). The only reason I'm posting this now is because I've had it in the can for a week now, and I want to beat the other Angel's bloggers to the punch (suck on that Rob, Sean, and Chronicles!).

Rotation:

Bartolo Colon (under contract through 2007, $11m in 2005)

It would be hard to describe Bartolo's first year with the Angels as anything but a complete and total bust. Brought in to be the Angel's long-awaited ace, he struggled for most of the season with his command, his velocity, and his weight. His strong finish does lead to some optimism that he may yet earn his massive, immovable contract. Bartolo will be a fixture in this rotation through at least 2007, mostly because of said contract.

Jarrod Washburn (arbitration eligible)

Wash has taken a couple steps back from his amazing 2002 season. He is not the ace we saw then, and will never be that ace. But he is an excellent 3rd starter, and I do hold out hope for some improvement as he learns to master the split-finger. He's arbitration eligible once again (I believe this is his final year, but I could be wrong) but I would expect to see him long-termed this off-season.

Kelvim Escobar (under contract through 2006, $6m in 2005)

Escobar was clearly the ace of the Angel's staff this season and is an absolute steal at $6 million in 2005. Expect another strong season.

John Lackey (no contract, not arbitration eligible)

Lackey proved to be an enigmatic starter in 2004, earning the nickname(s) "Dr. Lackey & Mr. Hyde". He put together several of the team's best performances of the season, but was also blown-up in more starts than I care to remember. I still feel that Lackey can be a solid 4-5 starter, and with the opportunity to get him back on the cheap, the Angels are sure to have him back.

Ramon Ortiz (club option, $5m in 2005)

Ramon was in and out of the rotation all season, and while he was absolutely shelled in his first several outings (stumbling through the worst stretch of performances I've ever seen), he did manage to resurrect his season- first in the bullpen, then as a starter. It is abundantly clear that Ramon does not have the makeup, the control, or the consistency to be a contributor on a championship-caliber ballclub. But he does have the stuff, and that is sure to intrigue the Angels, who hold a $5 million option for 2005. I don't think they will exercise that option, but if they might, because at the very least Ramon is decent trade-bait.

Aaron Sele (free agent)

So-long, sucker! Have fun in involuntary retirement.

Bullpen:

Troy Percival (free agent)

Troy Percival's days as an effective closer are past. He has made it be known that he would like to return with a contract similar to this season's ($8 million), but there is no way the Angels will be willing to pay that. He'll likely be closing for some non-contender for the minimum next season.

Brendan Donnelly (no contract, not arbitration eligible)

Still effective, and despite his age (33) is only entering his fourth year of service. Will be renewed for the near-minimum.

Kevin Gregg (no contract, not arbitration eligible)

My man! It's doubtful that he'll be given a fair shot at a rotation spot, so he'll be relegated to mop-up and log-relief duty. When will there be justice? Will be renewed for the near-minimum.

Francisco Rodriguez (no contract, not arbitration eligible)

With the departure of Percival, Rodriguez is the most likely candidate to step in to the closer's role. If he does, I wouldn't be surprised if the Angels rewarded him with a long-term contract. Otherwise, he will be renewed for the near-minimum.

Scott Shields (no contract, not arbitration eligible)

I would imagine that Shields will slide into the primary set-up role in front of K-Rod (although the Angels may look to fill that role through free-agency). Will be renewed for the near-minimum.

*note: You may have noticed the phrase "will be renewed for the near-minimum" was used several times in reference to the Angel's bullpen. Donnelly, Rodriguez, Gregg, and Sheilds are all between one and three years of service, meaning they can have their contracts renewed automatically by the team if they fail to reach an agreement. That means the Angels could have those four arms for a grand total of about $1.5 million. That is this organization's greatest ability- they can assemble one of the game's best bullpens for almost nothing.

Summary

This is odd. (via Crank)

ESPN.com columnist Rob Neyer has issued the following apology for posting a recent controversial book review on a commercial Web site:

"I messed up.

"A couple of weeks ago, I had a visceral reaction to a new book about a Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Shortly thereafter I posted a customer review, under an assumed name, on Amazon...

[snip]

"...An enterprising baseball writer put two and two together, and suddenly my identity became a story, if not the story, which was exactly the opposite of what I'd intended. Four years ago I wrote a book about my experiences at Fenway Park, and this too became a part of the story. I realize, in retrospect, that I've got a special responsibility to both myself and ESPN, with regard to my credibility and the company's, and my "anonymous" review didn't do anybody any good..."

The book in question would appear to be Steve Kettmann's new book, "One Day at Fenway", which attempts to tie together the story of one Red Sox game from the experiences of several fans, writers, and players. Blending together many points of view to create on story is an interesting idea, but one that Kettmann apparently failed to flesh-out.

Neyer, having written a similar book several years back, had a bit of an over-reaction to Kettmann's book, and decided to post an anonymous review on Amazon. Neyer's original review was posted under the name "Ike Farrell" but has since been deleted. You can see a new, no less scathing review by Rob (under his own name this time) here (scroll to the bottom).

A perfect crime? Not quite... it wasn't long before Newsweek's Ken Davidoff exposed Neyer's fraud.

So it looks like Rob's got a bit of a journalistic ethics problem on his hands. I actually find Rob's reaction to the book quite refreshing (though the way he went about expressing it was far from respectable). At least he didn't supply one of those vapid 'slap on the back' book jacket quotes, that you know comes from a guy who didn't even read the damn thing. Having said that, I can see how alienating the beatwriters' club would be a problem for someone in Rob's profession, so perhaps it wasn't the best idea in the world.

You can see Rob's side of the story here.

"Neo-Nazi, Communist Extremists Make Big Gains in German State Elections"

Lovely. This is what happens to bloated socialisms. "Hell is paved with good intentions..." as they say. You can't say they weren't warned.

First Russia slides back into a totalitarian dictatorship, and now this. When did it become 1980 again?

Soooooo pissed... must resist urge... to break... keyboard!

MOTHER FUCKER!

That's it- I'm done. I wash my hands of this team. At the very least I need a few days off.

Two straight shutouts. Four asskickings in five days. All at the hands of pitchers who have no business being in the big leagues. What's the problem? Is it complacency? Is it the video coordinator's fault? Is it bad advance scouting? Do the Angels even have advance scouting? Whatever it is, it needs to be fixed right NOW.

This confuses me greatly.

What possible legal grounds can "Forum for Equality" have to challenge a constitutional amendment banning gay marrage? Are they hoping that a court will rule the Louisiana constitution unconstitutional?

Interesting article in today's Register about out-of-state contributions coming from California (and OC) residents.

The candidates making the largest withdrawals from the political ATM that is the state of California are Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, and his Republican challenger John Thune. The pair are locked in a tight and closely-watched race (second only to the Presidential race in terms of national attention) for South Dakota's Senate seat.

Thune has managed to raise almost $700,000 in the state, with $173,000 of that sum coming from OC. 18.7% of his total warchest comes from California. To get some scale, consider that California's own Republican Senate challenger, Bill Jones, has collected just $2.6 million from in-state contributors (just under four times more than Thune has received) and just $126,000 from OC (a quarter less than Thune's total).

If you want to stay up-to-date on the Daschle/Thune Senate race, visit the Daschle v. Thune blog.

The entire Angel's lineup should line-up against a clubhouse wall and let Kevim Escobar give each and every one of them a punch in the face. It's only fair.

I think I'm going to stop going to Angels games. This was at least the sixth straight loss that I've attended (it could be a few more, but I didn't start keeping track until about a month ago). You know how Rob has his "magic tickets"? Well, mine would appear to be fucking cursed.

Personally I prefer the Ewing theory...

One game back...

The headline on Drudge was "3.7 Mag. Earthquake Rocks Kentucky".

'Rocks' Kentucky...

Oh, to live in a world where a 3.7 magnitude earthquake is considered "newsworthy"...

In this post I asked if Randy Johnson will get serious Cy Young consideration despite his unimpressive record (he has since gotten back on the sunny side of .500). But hey, why stop at a Cy Young? Should Randy Johnson be the MVP of the National League?

Ok, stop laughing.

No, seriously- there is something resembling a case to be made for Unit. Jeff at Leone For Third made the observation that Randy Johnson accounts for more of his team's total VORP than any other player in baseball, and it 'aint even close:

Barry Bonds VORP: 128.2
Rest of Giants: 301.3
% of team VORP due to Bonds: 29.8

Ichiro VORP: 71.2
Rest of Mariners: 241.7
% of team VORP due to Ichiro: 22.8

Randy Johnson VORP: 63.5
Rest of Diamondbacks: 17.9
% of team VORP due to RJ: 78.0

*as of September 9th. Lifted from Leone For Third.

Now obviously this is more a condemnation of the Arizona DiamondBacks than anything else. And, in reality, Randy Johnson can hold no real claim to the MVP award. In fact, it's asinine to even suggest so.

But isn't this the old sportswriters' argument? It's semantics- what the media use to justify stealing the award from someone they just plain don't like. "The MVP is the player most valuable to his team." That's how it goes, right? Well, in that case, there can be no doubt- Randy Johnson is the most valuable player in all of baseball.

Or is it the best player on the best team? I don't know- I get confused sometimes.

Wouldn't it be great if we could all agree that the MVP is the best player in baseball, period? Oh, if only life were that simple (or if only sportswriters had a little bit of common sense)...

Wow. (via Right Thinking)

UPDATE: Reader Jeff points out that this guy has a history of putting his kids in the middle of these campaign events and exaggerating stories of abuse. So the title of the post still holds true- someone is going to hell for this, the only question is who.

I found myself feeling sorry for the Mariners in that four-run seventh. To give up not one, but two runs on a freak play like that (granted, it was a horrendous throw from Boone. He does know that the "one-hop to the catcher" rule is only for outfielders, right?), well, that's just gotta suck. In the grand scheme of things that one mistake didn't mean all that much, as it was followed by a couple more gaffes which made those two particular runs academic.

Yes, I felt sorry for the Mariners. It was a moment of weakness that only lasted for a few seconds, and then I realized that Mariner fans' misery is Angel fans' joy. It did nothing to temper my celebration over a much-needed win.

I know what the talk is going to be on all the Angels message boards tonight. People will write stuff like "...hey, Sele kept us in it, and that's all you can ask from your starter..." in an attempt to convince themselves that Sele could be an effective starting pitcher down the stretch. I'm not fooled.

Let's not kid ourselves here- Sele was awful. He was just as awful as he was in his last start, just a whole lot luckier (I have a feeling the luckiest part was the fact that he drew the Mariners anemic lineup this time around). This reminds me a lot of Ramon Ortiz's start in Oakland back on April 25th (here's what I wrote after that game)- there was talk then of a possible turn-around because Ramon only allowed two runs. But few people (outside the blogosphere, that is) seemed to take notice of the walks, the line-drive outs, or the multiple double plays that saved Ramon's bacon that night.

I still stand by my claim that anyone but Sele should hold the fifth starter's role, most preferably Kevin Gregg. This win changes nothing.

Stoneman talks money

Bill Stoneman concedes that the Angels payroll will drop substantially, to about $100 million- down from about $112 this year.

That's nothing to worry about, what with the Angels having over $40 million in expiring contracts (not counting Appier or Salmon).

(I would like to take this time to point out that Carl Pavano would fit nicely in this new budget. That is all.)

Speaking of expiring contracts...

Troy Percival would like to re-sign with the Angels. Even better, he's willing to offer the club a bargain basement, hometown savings: this 36 year-old closer in decline can be yours, for the low, low price of only $8 million.

Yeah, right.

McPherson to skip winterball

Dallas McPherson will not play in the Dominican Winter League as initially planed. Instead, he will be married in Virginia where he and his new family are building a home.

That's OK, it's not like he had to improve his plate discipline or anything...

Are you kidding me!? Are you fucking kidding me!?

Too pissed for words.

"I've been saying it for months, and it's looking more true everyday- this election isn't going to be close, and we'll know it by September 15th."

I said that on September 2nd. The day of reckoning is upon us. Let's look at where the race stands:

• Most projections have Bush winning the electoral vote handedly (Bush 285, Kerry 253; Bush 284, Kerry 254; Bush 291, Kerry 233; Bush 291, Kerry 247).
  
  
• Bush's lead in Florida has expanded to five points.
  
  
• Bush's lead in Ohio has expanded to ten points.
  
  
• Bush has pulled within three points in Michigan, and four points in Maine.
  
  
• Bush has taken a four point lead in New Jersey- a state he lost to Gore by more than 15 points.
  
  
• Bush's lead in Arizona has expanded to double-digits.

I would be ready to call this thing, but I'm too superstitious.

If you're a fan of blogs, you must read this (the comments, specifically). You will be laughing for weeks.

The big CBS statement we've all been waiting for all day (you've been waiting too, right?): (from Drudge)

"We established to our satisfaction that the memos were accurate or we would not have put them on television. There was a great deal of coroborating [sic] evidence from people in a position to know. Having said that, given all the questions about them, we believe we should redouble our efforts to answer those questions, so that's what we are doing."

Well, that's just a whole lot'a nothing. "Redouble our efforts"? What the fuck does that mean? All efforts to confirm the authenticity of these documents should have been exhausted before they made their way on to the air.

And as Kerry Spot points out, note the use of the word "accurate" instead of "authentic". I have a feeling that will come into play sometime down the road.

UPDATE: Here's the statement CBS sent to their local affiliates. Their conclusion?

The editorial content of the report was not based solely on the physical documents, but also on numerous credible sources who supported what the documents said.

Through all of the frenzied debate of the past week, the basic content of the 60 MINUTES Wednesday report - that President Bush received preferential treatment to gain entrance to the Texas Air National Guard and that he may not have fulfilled all of the requirements — has not been substantially challenged.

CBS News will make every effort to resolve the contradictions and answer the unanswered questions about the documents and will continue to report on all aspects of the story.

So now they are willing to give up the fight that these memos are real, but still maintain that the report was truthful.

Un-fucking believable.

So, in summary, this memo should have read:

OK, we lied about the memos. You caught us. But we wouldn't ever lie about the content of our stories- promise. We will continue to present slanderous accusations about the president and support these claims with no evidence. Don't worry, you can trust us- it's not like we've ever lied about anything (except the memos).

-CBSNews

UPDATE: It looks like several local CBS affiliates are in revolt, deciding to show movies in place of the CBS Evening news. One CBS Radio affiliate even went as far as to switch to a FOXNews feed.

Good to see someone has some balls.

The Pasedena Star-News (never heard of it before today) asks Angels relievers about their experiences in the Network Associates Coliseum bullpen in the aftermath of the Frankie Francisco chair-throwing incident: (via Pinto)

Angels relievers were anything but surprised that a major incident occurred near the visitor's bullpen area at Oakland's Coliseum. They have been taking abuse there for years.

Certainly, it has been nothing on the scale of Monday's fracas, which ended in Texas Rangers reliever Frank Francisco hurling a chair into the seats, resulting in his arrest.

But going to Oakland, Brendan Donnelly says, means two things: Hearing a stream of blue commentary from overzealous fans and wondering if security will be sufficient enough to handle it.

[...]

"They're right on top of you, and they're probably the most (outwardly) obnoxious fans,' Percival said. "Over the years, the Oakland fans have probably been the worst. People in Boston and New York will tell you you suck, but they appreciate baseball. In Oakland, it is a totally different atmosphere.'

Well, that last part is true- Oakland fans do totally suck. I just don't know if that kind of comment is going to make things any easier for the Angels when they close-out the season with a three-gamer in Oakland.

There was a lot of criticism of the Rangers (Buck Showalter specifically) for blaming the incident, in part, on a lack of security- a problem they claim was brought up with the Oakland front office on several occasions and was never acted upon. If this article is true, and the Angels have made similar complaints in the past, then I think we should see a fine for the Athletics here. They should bare some of the responsibility for not keeping their house in order.

It's been shown again and again (and again, just a few days ago by Maya); the Angels can't deal with off-speed pitches.

Bobby Madrisch (who rubs me the wrong way, and is now the player I most love to hate) fed the Halos a steady diet of changeups and curveballs, and the theory was once again proven to be true. It took nine innings for the Angels to finally make a dent, by which time they were pretty much out of it.

Washburn looked strong. Stronger than his last start at least. I still don't understand the decision to bring in Donnelly to face Bloomquist (who was lifted for Winn, who hit a homerun). Why does it matter that Washburn has had a little bit of trouble with Bloomquist in the past (the selective use of statistics on the part of Mike Scioscia is mind boggling)? He's a .239/.276/.313 hitter- if one of your supposed "aces" can't handle that, he deserves the loss. But hindsight is always 20/20.

We can take small consolation in the fact that Rangers managed to pull one out against the A's. Still two games back.

Q: I thought this was an Angels blog? What's with all the politics?

A: This is an Angels blog. It's also a political blog. It's also a blog about grilling, competitive horse walking, nerd fights, and a bunch of other crap.

Q: Stop with the politics! Talk about the Angels!

A: That's not a question, but whatever. Let me explain first why I do this blog.

It's fun. I enjoy writing about the Angels and baseball more than just about anything in this world. But even the most satisfying of hobbies can get tedious. Keep in mind that I do this for nothing other than satisfaction- it's not like I'm getting paid. If I weren't having fun I would simply walk away from this blog in a heartbeat, with no second thought.

I have to spice it up with my other interests to keep it interesting for me. So next time find yourself moaning about the lack of baseball content and the abundance of political ranting, remind yourself that without the politics there would be no baseball.

That, and the fact that there's just not a whole lot to talk about on any given day. If this blog were restricted to only Angels coverage, I would make about one post a day (either that, or start writing about shit like Deer Jerky like a real sports writer). That's probably not interesting for you and certainly not fun for me (once again, you the reader don't really enter into the equation. I'm the important one here.).

Q: No really, I'm going to stop reading if you don't stop the politics.

A: That's still not a question. Here's how I look at it:

There are 6 billion people in this world.

5,999,999,850 of them don't read this blog.

What's one more?

I'll make you a deal- consider it before you take your ball and go home: Start your own blog, and keep reading my blog. I'll send as much traffic as I can muster your way, and I promise that I will be your most loyal reader. This way you can bombard me with your political rants, and then we'll be even.

Q: Who are you?

A: I'm a nineteen yea... you know what, just read this bio.

Q: You're one of those "Stat-heads", aren't you?

A: Yes, I do tend to look at the world of baseball through sabermetric glasses.

Q: Sabermetrics?

A: From Wikipedia:

Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the acronym SABR, which stands for the Society for American Baseball Research.

From David Grabiner's Sabermetric Manifesto:

Bill James defined sabermetrics as "the search for objective knowledge about baseball." Thus, sabermetrics attempts to answer objective questions about baseball, such as "which player on the Red Sox contributed the most to the team's offense?" or "How many home runs will Ken Griffey hit next year?" It cannot deal with the subjective judgments which are also important to the game, such as "Who is your favorite player?" or "That was a great game."

Q: Why do you like Jeff DaVanon so much? Jeff DaVanon sucks!

A: Fact: Jeff DaVanon does not suck.

Fact: You suck.

Q: Do you have a commenting policy?

A: Not really. My only policy is to have more people comment. There are a few no-no words that will get you banned (let's keep the Hitler comparisons to a minimum, and no references to a person's sexual preference please), but for the most part you can say what ever you want. Feel free to insult me all you want- there's no crushing of dissent here.

UPDATE (12/27/05): Thanks to "Jacob", I now have now two simple addendums: 1) The comment section is for mature debate about the issues put forth in the post. If you refuse to stick to the topic at hand, you get banned. 2) Logic and reason are your friends. Rather than attempt to decipher incoherent ramblings, I will simply ban their author.

Q: Will you link my blog?

A: That all depends- do you ever use the word "teh" when you mean "the", or "sight" when you mean "site"? Then no...

Chances are pretty good that I'll link you up no matter what, even if your blog has nothing to do with baseball or politics.

Q: I have something I want you to see- where can I send it?

A: My e-mail is ceccarelli@gmail.com.

Q: Do you know where I can find naked pictures of Jeff DaVanon/Ann Glaus/Troy Percival/Kris Benson's wife/Mark Kotsay's wife/Catherine Bell?

A: No, but I do know where you can find psychologist...

Q: Hey, what happened to St. Caroline?

A: You added a hyphen. You want http://pearlygates.blogspot.com

Q: Do you know anyone in the Angels front office?

A: No. Do you? Can you introduce me?

Q: Most of the random phrases at the top of the page make no sense. What do they mean?

A: "Because you know Catherine Bell and Jeff DaVanon would have the best babies ever." Read this.

"I've got a fever and the only prescription is more balloons!" Read this. (courtesy of Joe)

"We're special. Short-bus special- but special nonetheless." Read this.

"Yes, Virginia, there is no such thing as clutch hitting." Read this. (courtesy of Joe, again)

"Living in a Danish cultural imperialist wasteland." and "In loving memory of our dearly departed Wally Joyner." Read this.

Last update: 10/30/04

The Provo Angels, the Angels' rookie ball affiliate, won their first Pioneer League championship with a 4-2 win over the Billings Mustangs. J.R. Renz hit a game-winning two-run homerun in the eighth, and Mitch Arnold got the save with a scoreless ninth.

Congrats to the Provo Angels, and their manager Tom Kotchman!

You may have seen this ESPN article which finds that MLB owners have donated to Republican causes at a far greater rate than Democratic ones. That's not much of a surprise, as Bush is the former owner of the Texas Rangers, and baseball players and insiders have skewed to the right for as long as anyone can remember.

Strangely, Arte Moreno was not mentioned in the piece despite the fact that he is an out-spoken supporter of the President, even once enjoying a lunch with Mr. Bush.

I did a little bit of digging, and here's what I found:

• Mr. Moreno has given at least $21,000 to political causes in this election cycle.
  
  
• His single largest donation was $10,000 to the Arizona Republican Party.
  
  
• Moreno has given $2,000 to Bush/Cheney '04 primary campaign- the maximum allowed under campaign finance laws. There is no record of a contribution to the Bush/Cheney general election campaign as of today.
  
  
• He has made at least $2,000 in contributions to the re-election campaign for Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, a Republican. Strangely, there seems to be two separate FEC filings for this contribution.
  
  
• Finally, Mr. Moreno made a $5,000 contribution to the "Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball Political Action Committee"- a non-partisan PAC that fights for MLB's political interests. Judging from the PAC's other filings, I'd say they have an interest in keeping the status-quo.
  
  
• Mr. Moreno's wife, Carole, has made matching contributions to all those causes, plus a $500 contribution to "John Shadegg Friends"- the re-election campaign of Arizona representative John Shadegg, a Republican. Mrs. Moreno's contributions total $21,500.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Arte Moreno?

Here's an interesting angle on this whole Ra^thergate scandal. (via LGF)

Think about it: who is the world's foremost document forgery expert? Why, that would be Frank Abagnale Jr., of Catch Me If You Can fame.

His opinion? Forgeries, and piss-poor ones at that.

UPDATE: From the Kerry Spot (sorry, no direct link):

Dan Rather and John Roberts just ignored everything that has been revealed about the memos in the past few days, and these two truth-whacking goons had the guts (and that's not the word I want to use) to claim, "Laura Bush became the first White House insider to doubt the authenticity of the documents. But she offered no evidence to back up her claim."

I sit here, typing slackjawed at their audacity.

You and me both.

Remember when the buzz around the baseball world was the Red's new theory of "pitching to contact"? Throw strikes, use the defense, don't put guys on, keep pitch counts down, and all of that stuff?

Yeah, that didn't go so well. Lee Sinins points out that the Red's pitching staff has put together a historically inept season:

• "The Reds set a team record by allowing 210 HR in a season."
• "They've set the NL record for worst HR vs. the league, among non Rockies staffs."
• "The Reds have also moved to 7th on the NL single season list for worst team RSAA."

It actually seemed to work for a little while (4.14 ERA in May), but I think we all knew that it was a house of cards.

According to RSAA, the Reds have assembled the most ineffective staff since the 1998 Marlins, a club that went 54-108 behind staff-ace Jesus Sanchez. Somewhat surprisingly, Hardball times has them listed at a FIP of 4.99, just slightly behind Colorado (5.08) for worst in the NL (Seattle and Kansas City have also posted higher team FIPS than the Reds).

UPDATE: On a related note, be sure to check out Peter Gammons' new column on the continued quest within the sabermetrics community to quantify defensive contribution.

From the OC Register:

Even though Aaron Sele has lasted a combined five innings and given up 16 hits and 15 runs in his past two starts, the Angels are sticking with him. He will start Thursday. The team had been debating between Sele and Ramon Ortiz.

One of the factors is that Sele is 18-8 in his career at Safeco Field.

Also, in news from the future, the Angels were blown out by the Mariners on Thursday night.

Long-time commenter Josh Mandir has joined the blogosphere with his entry entitled "The Acerbic Alchemist". Go check it out.

The Angels won, Escobar was nails, blah, blah, blah. Whatever. Now on to the exciting stuff- did you see the A's/Rangers bullpen brawl?

It's a brave man who talks smack, then ducks so his girl friend gets hit in the head with the retaliatory chair-throw. That's chivalry for you...

Don't get me wrong- Frankie Francisco's actions were inexcusable, and I'm sure law enforcement will be involved. Francisco should be suspended for... well, forever really. I'm thinking a year at the very least (what does aggravated assault fetch these days anyway?). MLB has got to drop the hammer here, and put a stop to these players going into the stands, no matter the provocation.

UPDATE: The A's win in ten, 7 to 6. The Rangers are good for nothing.

UPDATE: ESPN is reporting that Frankie Francisco was arrested after the game and charged with "aggravated battery". According to this law website:

Aggravated battery is a more serious form of battery, and is considered a felony, (i.e. punishable by death or more than a year in prison) unlike simple battery which is a misdemeanor (i.e. punishable by less than one year in prison, or by fine only). It varies by state, but the acts most often defined to entail aggravated battery include:

use of a deadly weapon

battery in which serious bodily injury occurs, and

battery against a child, woman or police officer.

Check, check, and check.

I wonder if his bail bondsman will allow him to leave the state when the it comes time for the team to head back to Texas...

I knew the VRWC was behind this "Ra^thergate" stuff...

from Defeat John John

In the same LA Times article:

Scott Dunn, resembling a Hooters waitress in tight orange shorts and a T-shirt knotted above the navel, was one of several rookies forced to wear ridiculous-looking outfits on the flight to Seattle. Casey Kotchman wore a woman's equestrian ensemble, Matt Hensley an Elvis get-up, Dallas McPherson a Superman suit and cape, and Kevin Gregg a Garret Anderson uniform...

Courtesy of Troy Glaus?

Are you shitting me?

The Angels have not ruled out sticking with Aaron Sele as their fifth starter although the veteran right-hander has a 19.80 earned-run average in his last two outings.

"His stuff was as good as it's been in five years," Manager Mike Scioscia said of Sele's last start, a 1 2/3 -inning appearance Saturday against the Chicago White Sox in which he allowed eight runs - four earned - and six hits. "That's what encourages us."

Mike Scioscia seems to have a crippling fear of real change (crippling, that is, for the Angels). Sure he's fiddled with the rotation all year (and handled it fairly well, I must admit), but we've been in this exact situation several times before, and he has failed to address it properly. Ortiz is ineffective in the fifth starter's role, so he's replaced with Sele. Sele is ineffective, so he's replaced with Ortiz. And so on, and so forth, continually running in circles, hoping for one more effective start. I have dubbed this phenomenon "Scioscia's Cycle of Suck".

What it comes down to is this: both guys are a crapshoot. And you know who else is a crapshoot? Kevin Gregg is a crapshoot- and a young, promising one at that. Is there one good reason not to give Gregg at least one start?

At the very least, let's continue with the cycle and put Ortiz back in there over Sele. It's only fair, and Ortiz has been the (slightly) more effective of the two.

Bill Callahan got himself in a tight spot when he called the Raiders "the dumbest team in America". I never could understand what the big deal was- it was an indisputable fact. The Raiders were clearly the dumbest team in the NFL last year, and quite possibly ever to step foot on a football field.

It's good to see that some things never change.

Me thinks it's time to start jumping back on that Kevin Gregg bandwagon. Yeah, yeah... I know he gave up a couple of runs in relief tonight, but when faced with the choice between Aaron Sele and Ramon Ortiz, the darkhorse starts looking awfully good.

But don't take my word for it; decide for yourself:



Gregg has clearly been the superior hurler- and it's not particularly close. Why not give him a shot? He can't possibly screw up any worse than Sele did tonight.

All you need to know about Sele's performance: I've never heard an Angel booed off the field before. It happened tonight.

Now let us never speak of it again...

Here are my 2004/05 NFL picks, for your amusement and ridicule:

NFC East:

1. Philadelphia
2. Washington
3. Dallas
4. New York Giants

NFC North:

1. Minnesota
2. Green Bay
3. Detroit
4. Chicago

NFC South:

1. Atlanta
2. Carolina
3. Tampa Bay
4. New Orleans

NFC West:

1. Seattle
2. St. Louis
3. Arizona
4. San Francisco

AFC East:

1. New England
2. New York Jets
3. Buffalo
4. Miami

AFC North:

1. Baltimore
2. Cincinnati
3. Cleveland
4. Pittsburgh

AFC South:

1. Indianapolis
2. Houston
3. Tennessee
4. Jacksonville

AFC West:

1. Oakland
2. Kansas City
3. Denver
4. San Diego

NFC Wildcards: Green Bay and Washington

AFC Wildcards: Cincinnati and Kansas City

NFC Champ: Seattle over Atlanta

AFC Champ: Indianapolis over Oakland

SuperBowl: Indianapolis 30, Seattle 13

Season MVP: Peyton Manning (IND)

Most Wins: Seattle (12)

First coach fired: Butch Davis (CLE)

First draft pick: San Francisco

I've taken down the 9/11 tribute because it was a little too disturbing for some. So let me just say this:

God bless the families of the victims, and God bless America.

Boy, that Dallas McPherson is something, huh? I can tell he's gonna be a star. Granted, he didn't actually get an at-bat, but the way he ran the bases... well, it sucked. He's damn lucky that ball dropped in, because he was a dead-duck. I see some Vladimir Guerrero has already rubbed off on the young man.

By the way, what was up with the McPherson/Galarraga cock-tease in the 7th? Does Scosicia think that's funny? Oh, and great job putting Kotchman in instead. Obviously you want the guy who's hitting .240/.302/.302 against righties in there just because he's left-handed. It makes perfect sense... I guess.

Lackey was a bit shaky. It seemed as though he was afraid to throw his fastball early in counts, so he was constantly pitching from behind. His curveball looked pretty good break-wise, but he wasn't getting it over for strikes either. But you can't hardly complain about 2 earned in six innings.

K-Rod got bombed on in his one inning of work, and only got out of it because of some fine defense behind him (Chone Figgins is actually starting to look like a serviceable third baseman with the glove). This seems to be a pattern for K-Rod- string together about two weeks of shut-out baseball, get knocked around for an inning, repeat. Check out his game log- 13 of the 17 ER he's allowed this season have come in these so-called "bad innings" (which I define as one run for every 1/3 IP). C'mon Frankie! Spread em' around a little!

So anyway, the Angels did their job by beating a bad team (how novel!). Now it's up to the Tribe to give us a little bit of help (they're currently in extras with the A's).

UPDATE: Prayers answered: Indians 4, A's 3. Angels now one game back.

Mike Krahulik, one of the proprietors of the web's best blog/webcomic, Penny Arcade, is the proud papa of a new baby boy. His name? Gabe, of course.

Congrats Mike and Brenna!

I'm not pretending to be an expert on the subject, but by all accounts, these memos are forgeries- and crudely manufactured ones at that. The evidence is so abundant (the superscript, the proportional spacing, the kerning, the line breaks, the typeface, and the centering) that, at least in my opinion, there is no doubt that these documents were not produced in the early 1970's.

Now both Dan Rather and CBS News have signaled that they are willing to stand behind these documents, and that there will be no apology, retraction, or investigation:

This report was not based solely on recovered documents, but rather on a preponderance of evidence, including documents that were provided by unimpeachable sources, interviews with former Texas National Guard officials and individuals who worked closely back in the early 1970s with Colonel Jerry Killian and were well acquainted with his procedures, his character and his thinking.

In addition, the documents are backed up not only by independent handwriting and forensic document experts but by sources familiar with their content. Contrary to some rumors, no internal investigation is underway at CBS News nor is one planned.

It would be nice if CBS could produce one of these "independent handwriting and forensic document experts" to support there assertions, but I'm not holding my breath.

Why would Rather take such a stubborn position? He's basically given himself two possible outcomes- a) pray to God that the memos are somehow proven authentic and go on with his life, or b) resign in disgrace. Now that there is very little doubt that the memos are fakes, Rather's days look to be numbered. (There is one other way that Rather could possibly escape with his job: If he or CBS could prove that the copies they released are recent transcripts of hand-written memos, this could all blow over. That is extremely unlikely however, as the memos are filled with anachronisms and appear to have been artificially aged so as to appear to be authentic- both points which must be explained.)

Why would he put his career on the line like this? Powerline guesses that it's because he's more involved in this scandal previously thought. Almost certainly Rather pushed hard for the story- that much we can assume based on his well documented biases. But did he supply CBS News with the actual memos? I suppose it's possible. That would also account for how the memos got on the air without an appropriate vetting.

As for the producers of CBS News, I hope they have their resumes in order, because there isn't anything that could save them at this point. Even if the memos are real, this whole affair was handled so sloppily, everyone involved will likely be looking for new jobs. The refusal to investigate the matter will just serve to compound the problem.

Whatever happens, one of the most biased newsrooms in American media is headed for a shakeup. Hopefully they get it right this time.

Oh, and hoo-ray blogosphere! Can you imagine that there was a time when the media was allowed to get away with this shit?

UPDATE: Here's a compendium of evidence against the memos. He finds 23 seperate issues with the memos. Twenty-three.

The Athletics finally stumble, getting swept by the Red Sox, and how do the Angels respond?

They lose two of three to the Blue Jays.

Unacceptable.

Check out this memo released by CBS claiming to be from one of President Bush's NG COs (supposedly written in 1973, on a typewriter), in which the author claims he was urged to "sugar-coat" Bush's service records.

Now look at the same memo, typed in Microsoft Word (which obviously was not available at the time) this morning, with no changes to Word's default settings.

You'll find that the two are exactly the same- right down to the location of the superscripted 'th' in 187th.

If you're going to perpetrate a fraud against the President of the United States, you should really put a bit more effort into it. And if you're a media outlet planning to release these documents, you should really put more effort into investigating their source.

UPDATE: More evidence of forgery: The general that Killian refers to in the memo, Gen. Walter B. Staudt, retired in 1972- a year before the date on the memo.

I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this, that probably involves some sort of time travel device, which Killian used to travel forward in time to pick-up a word processor, than back in time to when Gen. Staudt was still his CO. You see, perfectly reasonable...

Apparently we're still talking about this name change stuff.

According to ESPN, Arte Moreno has the city of Anaheim by the balls, and may be able to extort his way out of the clause in the stadium lease that requires the team to identify itself as "Anaheim". The city needs Moreno's approval to build a football stadium on the Angels Stadium parking lot, giving Moreno the leverage he needs to market his team as he sees fit.

Seeing as how this whole scenario hinges on the NFL stadium deal- which I don't see happening- it doesn't put me on the edge of my seat. Besides, does the name "Los Angeles" really sell all that many more shirts than does "Anaheim"? I thought OC culture was all the rage these days.

Chronicles recognizes K-Rod's relief strikeouts achievement by remembering the man who previously held the record, De Wayne Buice, and his team- the 1987 California Angels.

It's an interesting history lesson- for me especially, as I was two at the time.

Yes Chronicles, you are very, very old...

When looking at one of Bartolo Colon's starts, I don't even look at his statistics anymore- the radar gun tells me all I need to know. Tonight it was reading 97 on a regular basis, and that equals a win.

Garret Anderson has now hit five homeruns in his last 16 games, with a .686 SLG over that time. I think it's safe to say that the arthritis is having little effect on his power stroke at the moment. Perhaps there is hope that his new contract won't be a albatross around the Angel's neck.

Oh, and thanks to the Red Sox, we are now within spitting distance of the A's (1.5 GB). Hoo-ray!