Tuesday, October 04, 2005 /
Wednesday, October 05, 2005 /
Friday, October 07, 2005 /
Saturday, October 08, 2005 /
Sunday, October 09, 2005 /
Monday, October 10, 2005 /
Friday, October 14, 2005 /
test
--
Richard Ceccarelli
http://pearly-gates.blogspot.com
I checked out ESPN.com's
poll for the ALCS and it looks like they expected the Yankees to win. The first 10 questions have something about the Angels and/or the White Sox. However, question 11 (about the weakest link in the batting lineup the White Sox will face), it shows Yankee batters.
With Finley's poor performance over this series (1-11, 4 K, 1 BB, 1 double, 4 sac, 1 RBI, and 1 run), shouldn't he purely be used as a pinch hitter. Either Quinlan or Kotchman should start, with Quins at 3rd and Figgy in CF in that case, and Rivera or DVo at CF and Kotch as DH in
that case.
Off to Chi-Town... Man, I wish I could've been there tonight... I was there in '02 when the Angels clinched... Last thing I remember was thousands chanting "Go home Yankees." Beautiful. Go Halos... Let's take them Sox...
Jeff... Wishing I was in OC right now...
WOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angels held the Yankees to 20 runs over 5 games. They also made A-Rod completely worthless and Giambi and Sheff were only a bit better than him. Fantastic pitching. And this is also why I felt Santana should have been the starter instead of Byrd in game 3. Don't party too hard, guys!
Think of it: 20 days without 24/7 Yankees/Sox coverage. That's almost better than heading to the ALCS.
Oh man, what a game! Great stop by Erstad.
Chicago, here we come baby!
I don't know if I can say this but Fuck you A-Rod! Fuck you, indeed!
Whatever happens from here on, it's been a pleasure spending the game in all your company.
It's 04.35 here, and I have to be up at 8.45!
"Calm eyes" strikes again!
Cap'n Clutch! With Clutchberries?!? We shall see...
Listen, it wasn't Finley's fault there was nobody on to bunt over! Was
it? Exactly!
K-Rod? We're all counting on you. Good luck,
Finley now below .100 for the series.
But he's a great asset in center field. Oh wait....
Finley truly sucks. Truly. That is all.
Why is Steve Finley hitting?
Flash Gordon vs. J. Rivera.
K-Rod!!!!! HUZZA! HUZZA! HUZZA!
In the 9th it will be our best vs. their best. In the meantime, let's build that lead!
You usually need Cinemax to see this kind of filth this time of night...
Bad things? Like 2002 playoffs?
let's go K-Rod! Show us a little of the 2002 magic!
For the record, I would have made the same move in Scioscia's position.
I don't like this move to bring K-Rod in the 8th. From what i remember
bad things have happened when they made this move in the past
This so-called "liveblogging" appears to be dead...
What did I tell 'ya? Four outs! What do I win?
Did I ever tell anyone that I LOVE THIS GAME? Because I do...
The Angels are getting more of the ball on Johnson, but are getting a little under it. Two innings left, 5-3 Angels.
I think it was Fox re: the tipping of pitches! Jackasses! East coast
bias! We couldn't have possibly have hit RJ that hard without knowing
what was coming, right? Screw FOX!
Vladdy with a single. Let's go GA! Arthritis be damned!
I don't bring in Frankie before the ninth period.
Escy gets out of trouble and it's 5-3 heading into the bottom of the
seventh. Let's GO ANGELS!!!
I think that you bring Frankie in the 8th, only if Escobar gets in trouble. Of course, it all depends on how many runs the Angels score this inning.
re: K-Rod: No more than 4 outs, I would think.
At what point do you just let it ride with K-Rod?
Richard: As a SoCal transplant living in New York I can assure you the
East Coast bias is very real.
Vlad and A-Rod RBI for the series?
Zero. Unbelievable.
That Scioscia is one weird manager. On one hand, he sticks with
"proven veterans" far too long (Erstad, Finley). On the other hand,
he's pretty good at going with rookies (Lackey, K-Rod, Donnelly in
2002, Santana this year). Which makes me wonder, what the hell did
Kotchman do?
Santana comes out to a standing O after giving up a homer and getting A-Rod to ground out. It's Escy time!
WTF, man? Last night they stayed with the game so everyone got a nice long look at Chacon's ovation. Tonight they refuse to show Santana's. What bias?
Cap'n Clutch comes through again! It must be those "calm eyes"! Damn,
I hate that man!
For the love of god, get someone up!
What the hell is Mike thinking? You've gotten 6 good innings out of Santana - why push your luck?
And here comes Santana for the seventh...he's going to make Scioscia
look like a genius or a fool. Either way, it's hard to believe this
kid started the year in Double-A...
Well, OC had a pretty bad at bat, swinging at several balls before grounding out.
Figgins finally has a decent at bat and gets a walk to load the bases against Johnson. OC is up...time to earn that money!
There may not be an ALDS MVP, but that's not going to stop me from handing out awards:
The Wally Joyner Memorial Trophy (aka. "The Brass Balls" Award):
Ervin SantanaAah Finley. Every team needs a specialist bunter.
Finley with yet another sac bunt! Runners 2nd and 3rd one out! Let's go AK!!
Maybe not! Rivera safe at first on a very close play at first!
Sometimes I think to myself why does Sciosia continue to trot Erstad
out there against lefties? And then he goes and does that...good form,
Mr. Erstad! Good form, indeed!
Nice play by OCab there...very nice...
Santana just has the Yankees completely out of their element right now. Everything after this inning for him is butter.
"We like the look in his eyes"?!? It's the eye of the tiger, it's the
thrill of the fight...
You know, I'm half expecting the next pick-off to first to be called a strike. This is awful.
Whatever McCarver. I'll take it.
Santana gets in early trouble, but gets Shef, Matsui and Cano completely confused. Bengie doesn't catch strike three and doesn't get it to Erstad at 1st, but Cano is called out for being out of the baseline (I think he was inside of it and basically blocked the throw).
Wow. That is a horrendous call, at least at first glance. Oh well - we'll just consider it comeupens for the strikezone.
You lot are lucky, us (few) Angels fans in England are doing without sleep this week, and hopefully longer!
--
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I added permalinks, BTW. Carrying-on a conversation without was too damn confusing.
The Big Unit makes quick work of the Angels in the 4th. Figgins looks terrible tonight.
Hey anon: You think you've got it rough? What's my boss going to say when I come into work shit-faced?
Santana gets through the 4th with no problems. With A-Rod, Giambi, and Shef coming up, you have to believe any trouble he runs into means Donnelly will come in.
re: Quinlan for Finley: Agreed. Johnson is going to be in there for the long haul. Finely facing a lefty once is a wasted at bat - twice is just unacceptable. Better to make the move now, I would think.
I'm an Angels fan living in New York and I can't believe it's only the
third! Work's gonna suck tomorrow!
With the Big Unit coming in to face Finley, shouldn't they bat Quinlan in his place?
Rivera fouls out to Matsui, who makes a great catch in the stands. The announcers say that when the player reaches over the fence, the fans can do what they want to knock it away from him...next time this happens anywhere, the front row needs to block the guy from reaching over.
Goddamnit. Where is Bartman when you need him? For the team guys! For the team!
Mr. Clutch flares a hit, and Vlad just runs to third despite the possibility of a catch and DP...then scores when Ersty copies Jeter from Game 4. 5-2.
re: Bengie MVP: Well, there is no such thing as ALDS MVP, but if there were, he'd be it.
Is Benjie the MVP of the series if we win this game?
GA doesn't get the whole ball, but OC scores tagging up.
BEHOLD! The AMAZING Shape-Shifting Strikezone! Step right up!
I think the strike zone is a low placed, oddly shaped rhombus.
I think the Angels have figured Mussina out, OC with a single, and Vlad getting some good rips in before singling OC over to third.
Santana
finally gets the low outside strike. Cano flies out to CF. Pretty strong example of Yankee bias: Joe Buck says that the Yanks played their last 7 regular season games on the road and now 10 of their last 12. Well, he didn't mention that the Angels
also played their last 7 regular season games on the road and 9 of their last 12 games there.
I have no faith in Santana right now. He can't keep walking batters, but I
don't blame him because the strike zone is absurd tonight. I have a feeling
we are going to need a lot of luck in the next 3-4 innings.
Santana is getting absolutely robbed by the plate umpire after that Figgins strike out.
Whoa - what happened to the strikezone in that last at-bat? Anyway, the
Angels lead 3 - 2 after two.
Figgins is struck out on a pitch that Santana wasn't getting called for strikes.
AK powers one to right center after Bengie singles and Finley walks, and Crosby and Shef run into each other. Two run triple!!! And I am not sure if Shef would have caught it anyways (it looked like it hit his arm just before teh collision). 3-2, Angels.
Hey Bubba: You forgot your cap...
Finley! Tied ballgame folks!
No Jack, one good at bat does
not make up for six months of futility.
Let's see if Finley can do anything but a) bunt, b) strike out or c) pop-up.
I feel bad for Kotchman...
Molina again! Single up the middle!
GA HOME RUN!!!! That was a fantastic at bat. He was watching every pitch the whole way, finding out what Moose had, and just looked confident about it. GA is back to pre-arthritic form right now.
Commercial Break: NEWSFLASH! Brandon Wood hit 4 homers today in the
AFL!! Um, OCab is signed for how many years exactly?
Santana finally finishes the inning by striking A-Rod out. I don't think he is in there beyond the 4th inning.
Maybe the Kid's just getting warmed up?
Santana blew the pitchout, and then Bengie pumped before he threw, allowing Crosby to get to 2nd.
WTF?!? A pitch out and the runner takes second anway? Dems da breaks, I guess.
Cap'n Clutch comes through again! Ugh...2-0...
Inflamed right shoulder for Colon? Lovely....
Vlad just misses on a throw to the plate. Santana needs to throw more strikes.
Molina catches Cano stealing...taking a lot of pressure off of Santana.
I feel good about Santana coming in...he has shown a pretty strong propensity to be a big game pitcher. Meanwhile, something that has become instantly more important: how is Wash and is he available?
Ervin Santana is coming in. This is about as inauspicious a start as one could have imagined.
Colon is done, and you could tell it on his last pitch. Santana is coming in, Colon goes out with a standing O. Thanks for giving it your all, big guy!
Scioscia and the trainer are checking out Colon. Colon wants to stay out there. He is going to be given a much shorter leash than he would have been.
Vlad hits the ball solid, but lines it right to Matsui.
McCarver is already kissing Jeter's ass.
I agree with
this comment that Buck doesn't realize that Colon gets stronger as the game continues.
After Joe Buck rips into Colon for being terrible so far, Colon fires one right by Matsui to end the inning. Decent start.
Shef got the same exact hit he got in Game 1 off Colon, barely reaching the outside pitch and poking it to RF.
I can't quite hear what the Angel fans were chanting to Giambi...any ideas?
Oh goody - Tim McCarver. Think he'll talk about Derek Jeter much?
RADIO ON!I am going to predict that the only non-starter the Yankees will think about using is Mariano Rivera. Leiter only comes in to face GA, Erstad, Fins, or AK. Wang and the Big Unit will be out of the pen if Mussina gets in trouble before the 8th. For the Angels, if Colon gets in trouble early, Santana has to be the first in, with Wash following if he is feeling better. Byrd would be after that if it still isn't the 6th, and then it would probably be Donnelly, Shields, Escy, and Frankie in the 6th-9th, with the only one not on a short leash being Frankie. The Angels offensive key is for their Thunder (Vlad) and Lightning (Figgy) to perform like they have during the regular season.
Scioscia likes to manage National League style. And
right now seeing Finley come to the plate is the same
as the pitcher batting.
Go Angels!
--Wayne
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Mark Saxon, the
Register's Angel beat writer, is
keeping a blog for the playoff run.
The lineups:
New York Anaheim
1. D. Jeter, SS C. Figgins, 3B
2. A. Rodriguez, 3B O. Cabrera, SS
3. J. Giambi, 1B G. Anderson, LF
4. G. Sheffield, RF V. Guerrero, RF
5. H. Matsui, LF B. Molina, C
6. R. Cano, 2B D. Erstad, 1B
7. B. Williams, DH J. Rivera, DH
8. J. Posada, C S. Finley, CF
9. B. Crosby, CF A. Kennedy, 2B
Seems fitting that - if they are to go down - the Angels go down with Steve Finley in center. Hey, remember when he was benched for the season?
Are you absolutely certain you read that right? I can't remember a time when Neyer picked against the Angels.
Rob Neyer picks the Yankees. I'm shocked, I tell you. Shocked!
The last liveblog for the ALDS. Hopefully not the last for the season.
Here's the
box, by the way.
Well, I agree that Figgins' throw should have been an error, but they also didn't call that one AK throw an error in Game 3 that led to three runs being hung on Byrd.
I think it would be easy to fault Shields or the Angels' offense, but all-in-all I thought this was a well-played game, and I think it is hard to fault the Angels (even Figgins' throw - another 2 inches, and Posada is out). I think we have to accept that these two teams are evenly matched (I mean look at their pythagorean records) and that a game five (a game in which the Angels have a considerable advantage, I feel) is a fair conclusion to the season. Anyway, this new live-blogging format is great, in general you guys do great work, and I look forward to tomorrow! Go Halos!
-Steven
I'm not going to pile on Shields. Without that Figgins error (which I just discovered was not ruled an actual error) the game is still tied.
Game over. The offense was terrible and Shields blew it. I think Scioscia pulle Shields a batter late (should have taken him out when it was tied, not when they were losing).
See you tomorrow, Yankees. With Bart vs. Mussina, I still like our chances.
Escy has some trouble with his splitter and walks two and has two wild pitches. But he is able to get out of it. This is it for this game. Either the top of the order gets 1 or more runs, or we play tomorrow.
Ok, it's up to Escy to get out of the 8th with no harm done, and then the Angels have the top of the order coming up (and they have three of the Angels' four hits). Let's do it!
Escy stops the bleeding, after walking A-Rod, by striking out Giambi on a wicked splitter and getting Sheff to fly out to CF.
God, everything and everybody is "sensational" with these idiots. Come up with a
new adjective, please.
I have to assume Rivera is coming in to start the 8th inning. The Angels have Rivera, Fins, and AK coming up...will they pinch hit for Fins?
And, by the by, the Angels bullpen has not been "sensational" all season. It's been sensational for
approximately one month.
Yankees ran on the pitch, Fig threw home, off target and Posada just made it in. NOW, Escy is coming in.
Chone Figgins chokes on it. What a terrible throw.
Shields gives up a single to Sierra, scoring Cano. Escy has got to be coming in now.
Shields is having a tough time hitting the outside of the strike zone and walks Posada after a single by Cano. Ruben Sierra is coming up, Escobar is warming up, 1 out...this is the key batter right now.
Erstad needs to stop swinging at Leiter's breaking ball. Seriously, every time, he is swinging at everyone of them every game.
Chacon is done after giving up a single to Bengie and Erstad coming up. Leiter is coming in...a good idea for the Yanks, but they better not leave Leiter in for more than Erstad.
Shields gets out of it, getting Sheff to ground out to Ersty. Let's give major kudos to John Lackey for his performance. He knew his job was to get through 5 innings and do his best to give the bullpen a lead, and he did that with fantastic pitching. He got in trouble because he walked four guys (the last was the only one that did anything) and only gave up two hits (one that Figgy would have caught in CF if he was there instead of Finley).
Sheff just knocked A-Rod in from 2nd. Sheff on 1st, 2 out, Shields is coming in.
Now that it is the 6th inning and the Angels are up 2-0, you have to believe Lackey will be on a fairly short leash, despite his excellence so far. Every inning after this one is one that Shields and Escobar are saved from going.
"Some people accuse Billy Beane of writing Moneyball - he didn't."
First of all,
"accuse"? Like it's some sort of crime? Secondly, I'm glad to see that this myth isn't taking on
Plastic Turkey proportions.
2 - 0 Angels heading to the bottom of the sixth.
Figgins knocks Rivera in with a double down the RF line. He is hitting the ball well since middle of Game 2. Now, Cabby knocks figgy home with a double.
Lackey gives up a double to Posada, but gets Crosby to ground out to him. Plus, two strikeouts...Lackey is at the top of his game right now.
The Angels are being too aggressive on the bases tonight. Vlad broke for second too late after he saw the ball was on the ground.
As much as I hate all of FOX's extra graphics and sound effects, I have to admit that the little Vlad montage gave me a chuckle.
Figgins thrown out at second after almost getting picked off. He has not gotten good jumps this series.
Figgins was out on the pick off at first and safe on the stolen base at second, so no harm, no foul.
Figgins just knocked one off of Matsui's chest, now OC, Vlad, and GA need to do something.
Lackey seems to have the Yankees completely flustered at the plate, striking out Jeter and A-Rod with Posada in scoring position. Of course, Chacon has dominated the Angels just about as much, except that GA did hit the ball hard once, and the Yanks haven't come close to doing that.
We've got a pitcher's duel on our hands. No hits for either side through three.
Apparently, Lackey forces Yankees to throw their bats into the stands, getting Jeter to do so in Game 2 and A-Rod tonight.
Bad call by the 3rd base ump (called a ball foul because it "hit" Posada on the foot), leading to a walk. Lackey needs to make sure to pitch like New Lackey, not Big Inning Lackey.
Lackey has been dominant so far. The Yankees don't seem to know what pitches are coming or where they are going.
Lackey gets two batters to hit week grounders to him in the 1st. He did this pretty well in Game 2, as well...it's a good sign and shows that they are not seeing his pitches well.
Lackey looked solid in the first - good velocity, nice break on the curve. We just need him to keep it up for five or six.
Game, Set, Match. Chris Burke hits a game winning home run with 1 out in the 18th inning.
Sixteenth inning now, after a DP to end the Astros scoring threat. This ties the longest game in playoff history (Astros-Mets, 1986). Roger Clemens is coming in.
The Braves-Astros game is now in the 15th, tied 6-6. The Astros only have Roger Clemens in the bullpen, and he will probably enter the game next inning, if it comes to that. This ties the longest LDS game ever (Seattle-NY, in 1995).
Rob is saying the same thing, I think from the same source.
Halo's Heaven is saying that ESPN said that Lackey is starting because Wash has a throat infection. Has the team lost faith in Wash? I mean, this strikes me as the same thing that the team did with Ramon Ortiz in Game 7 of the World Series in 2002.
Here's today's liveblog. Hopefully it'll be the last one of the ALDS.
Yankee fans may have grown convinced that Shawn Chacon is their lord and savior, but let's not forget that, despite only winning eight games, Jarrod Washburn had the fourth best ERA in the league. The Angels have the clear advantage in starters today.
Sean reports that Fox reports that Bengie Molina is expected to play tomorrow.
Uh oh, people are praising us within the posts. And the usual "I hate everything Pearly Gates stands for" people aren't making comments...we just might get big heads here. (And, by the way, thanks for the praise, it is much appreciated).
On another note, I was shocked that the "best fans in the world" (read: Yankee fans, or, alternatively, East Coast fans) would leave a playoff game in the 7th inning. I don't want to ever hear any smarmy comments about West Coast fans leaving games again.
Gutted that the game is off, was all set for a late one here in London, UK watching on
mlb.tv. As has been said, at least Molina gets another recovery day. Hopefully the guys can get to Chacon like they did with Johnson and give Wash some run support, something he's been lacking all season (only an 8-8 record with the leagues 4th lowest ERA tells the whole story)
Love the blog, I try and read it everyday and thank you guys for the work you put into it.
Go Halos!
Cool idea. I just wanted to see if it works.
GO ANGELS!
re:
Molina:
But the initial diagnosis was a bruise and X-rays were normal. It is doubtful Molina will play in today's game, but the catcher said he is OK. There is a chance Molina could be the designated hitter.
"If he can't move enough behind the plate and catch and squeeze a glove, it's doubtful he can swing a bat, but we'll play it by ear," Manager Mike Scioscia said.
Like Wayne said, hopefully the day off will do him some good.
Is there any word on what Molina can do with the arm yet?
Well, on the bright side, this gives Molina another
day to heal.
--Wayne
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The game’s officially been cancelled. They'll try to play it tomorrow at 7:30 local time.
Trying something new today - now anyone can contribute to this
liveblog, simply by shooting off an email to
pgcontrib.alds4@blogger.com! Anything you wanted to say in the
comments? Well, now you can say it up here. All I ask is that you
leave a name (and of course normal moderation rules apply).
-Richard
Here's a liveblog in case this one gets played. But judging from the pictures coming out of the Bronx, I don't see that happening.
My computer was hyjacked there for a few minutes there. And of course now that I get it back, the
game's over.
Light up the Halo! Just one more, guys.
Report: Bengie did not get his elbow broken. This does not mean he will be healthy, but at least it makes it more likely.
Escy gets through the 8th, giving up a solo HR to Jeter. One inning left.
Well, if I can be disappointed about anything, it is that GA didn't get his cycle (although, he
could still have a shot at it).
Jose gets a solid hit up the middle. Time for GA to get his double.
Vlad is walked with Jose behind him. I think the Yankees would have been tempted to do that even if Bengie was batting there. Jose needs to hit a good fly ball or a tough grounder.
Figgins just smashed the ball to LF and picked up a triple. He is hitting the ball really hard right now.
Oh, and Richard, it's good to have you posting this time. Let's hope blogger never screws us again.
Escy gets through the 7th with no problems. Top of the order coming up.
Fins salvaged another run with a good squeeze bunt. Great idea to do that since Fins basically sucks and was facing a lefty.
Cano pulled his foot off the bag on a force out at 2nd. Bases are loaded, no outs, Leiter is coming in to face Ersty.
Bases loaded! Strange play - the Yanks should have had an easy out, if not a double play, if not for Cano's foot coming off the bag for no particular reason. Joe Morgan doesn't agree with the call, because
*mumble mumble mumble*.RBI single by GA...its great they are getting to Flash. GA needs a double for the cycle.
GA drives home his fourth of the night. Still two on, none out.
He's lifted for a runner, and I'm out for blood.
This is bad. Molina gets hit in the arm, and he looks hurt.
Flash Gordon pegged Bengie on the left elbow...looks pretty bad.
Vlad hit a ball so hard that he can only get a single because of how fast it gets to the wall.
Shields wavers, but is able to get Cano to fly out with the bases loaded. Escy will be in for the 7th and 8th, Frankie for the 9th (or the 8th if Escy gets in trouble then) if things remain the same.
You'll be happy to know that
Jeff Goldstein's famed dancing armadillo is on our side (thanks
Floyd):
Well, before you get too excited, I should let you know that the little guy signed on as a substitute “Rally Monkey” for the Angels when the real Rally Monkey, “Pierre,” came down with a food poisoning after eating bad mashed banana off the pocked breasts of some enormous Bronx hooker.
The pay is decent—and the team plane is like an airborn Ritz-Carlton, he tells me—but he hates wearing the monkey suit (which he insists is the animal world equivalent of blackface), and most of all he hates “all those miserable fucking peanuts.”
Angels back on top 7 - 6, btw.
I'm not sure if you were aware of this or not, but this is only the
third time in history that a player (Chone Figgins) has started games at center
and third in the same LDS!
Thus went the most pointless statment to pass the lips of a sportscaster, ever.
Fig's first hit of the ALDS is a biggie...2 out, RBI single. Good bye, Small. Bring on the Tanyon!
Great job by Rivera. Hits a double and scores on an Erstad single. This is a huge run, tying the game, getting to Small, and stopping the Yanks' momentum.
The Yankees score another on a Cano double. Figgins made a great sliding cut off, and throw in, but he Matsui was scoring no matter what. The Angels pitchers have been collapsing after they have gotten two strikes on batters. Donnelly is out, and Shields is coming in.
What a disaster of an inning.
5 - 4 Angels heading into the fifth.
I don't know why you put the shift on Giambi with a runner on 2nd (they got beat by it in 2002, too). Figgins possibly saved the game with that diving catch.
Mike finally drags his fat ass out of the dugout and makes the pitching change that was quite clearly required two batters ago. Byrd completly lost it after that Matsui homerun.
After walking A-Rod (after an 0-2 count, he threw four straight balls), Scioscia pulls Byrd for Donnelly.
AK's error has allowed two runs to score now.
Another hit. Time for someone to crawl out of the dugout and calm things down.
"Mo" would appear to be with the Yankees at the moment. A homerun from Matsui and a rare error on Kennedy makes it
5 - 1 Angels, with the Yanks still threatening.
That'll do it for Johnson. 5 ER, 9 H in 3+ innings.
After a double by Ersty and a single by Quins, the Big Unit is done (and getting booed for his performance).
Byrd gets out of a jam by forcing Shef to fly out to deep center. Two innings until it is official.
Homeruns:
Regular This
Season Series
Yankees: 229 1
Angels: 146 5
Good play by Quins at 3rd...looked Figgins-esque and got the lead runner out at 2nd.
GA kicks ass!!!! He seems to be much more alive out there tonight than in the previous two games.
re: Agressive baserunning - Good point. You could see that with Cabrera stretching what would have been a single on any other day into a close double. Smart play.
Bengie, you marvelous fat bastard! I love every pound of you!
I agree with that, and I also like the aggressiveness on the basepaths. In this situation, you will either be out or score more runs.
I'm not sure if Kennedy being called out disappoints me. Hastened the end of the inning, didn't it? We can worry about padding the lead in the sixth...
Georgie has a history of
getting his way during rain delays, if you'll recall. But look on the bright-side:
Elimidate!
3 - 0 Angels after one half. Way to jump on 'em!
This is a time to speed these innings up. The Angels shouldn't worry about runs (as long as Byrd is on). I am not exactly surprise GA got one out on the Big Unit...Figgins and OC launched some deep fly balls that didn't quite make it. I am just glad there were guys on base when it happened.
Joe passes along
this bit of news:
The Kansas City Royals claimed righthander Joel Peralta off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Friday.
The 29-year-old Peralta appeared in 28 games for the Angels this season, going 1-0 with a 3.89 ERA in 34 2/3 innings. He held opponents to a .219 batting average, including a meager .178 mark against righthanded hitters.
Also from RotoWorld:
The Angels soured on Peralta, sending him down on Aug. 31 and never recalling him even though had a 3.89 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP in 34 2/3 IP this season. He turns 30 in March and he doesn't have setup man upside, but this is a fine pickup for Kansas City. He's likely to have a spot in next year's pen.
Peralta was a sixth-year free agent anyhow.
Two good things about the Red Sox being finished (losing 5-3 today): 1) it will be a lot more difficult to talk about the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry (which has been 90% or os of the coverage of the AL playoffs) and 2) they were the team I feared the most in the AL. Now it is time for the Angels to beat the Yankees and get coverage bias out of the playoffs.
You know, Joe Morgan and Tim McCarver are almost enough to make me completly ignore the playoffs. Radio on!
The lineup cards:
ANAHEIM NEW YORK
1. C. Figgins, CF D. Jeter, SS
2. O. Cabrera, SS A. Rodriguez, 3B
3. V. Guerrero, RF J. Giambi, DH
4. B. Molina, C G. Sheffield, RF
5. G. Anderson, LF H. Matsui, LF
6. J. Rivera, DH R. Cano, 2B
7. D. Erstad, 1B B. Williams, CF
8. R. Quinlan, 3B T. Martinez, 1B
9. A. Kennedy, 2B J. Flaherty, C
Again with Rivera at DH. And look at the rise of Bengie Molina - now batting cleanup in front of Anderson.
It's drizzling at Yankee Stadium right as of this moment. ESPN sounds confident that the game will get underway, but it'll be a race to five innings. I say let it rain - I'd consider it a victory to see Randy Johnson's ALDS wasted on four forgotten innings.
Here's the liveblog for today's game. That is, if there's a game at all. Weather.com says New York has a
90% chance of rain by gametime.
You can watch the radar
here. It may very well be the most exciting thing you see tonight.
Good night for OC sports: the Ducks make
a triumphant return to the ice.
Here's the box. Tonight was must-win for the Angels, Friday will be must-win for the Yankees. Byrd/Johnson is the only favorable pitching matchup they get in this series - if they don't take advantage of it, they're done for.
Frankie gets the save, giving up just a home run to Posada. Fig finished it with a great pick and throw from third. Now that he has the defense down, he needs to get his offense going. Off to New York! Oh, and Richard, this new liveblogging system works great...next time, you should add some comments.
Bengie, you marvelous, fat bastard! I love you!
So Blogger's finally back. I gave up on it when the two-hour maintenance outage entered its fourth hour. Gotta move this place to a new server.
Time for Frankie K. Let's finish this.
Mr. Clutch does it again!
Escy gets the job done. Vlad-Molina-Erstad are coming up.
OC!!!!!! After Figgins fails to drive in DVo from 3rd with one out, OC hits a solid liner to CF and both DVo and Fins score easily. Al Leiter is coming in to face GA. Angels up 4-2.
Rivera just reached on an infield single...by diving to 1st. Finley up, DVo is the pinch runner. Finley attempts the sacrifice, and Wang pulls Cano off the bag with the throw.
Escy comes in to relieve Shields, gives up a leadoff walk to A-Rod and then keeps A-Rod at first long enough to build a 1-2 count to Giambi. He then throws a pitchout, and they get A-Rod
easily on the attempted steal. Then Escy strikes out Giambi on the next pitch.
Erstad grounds out to end the inning, but it is good to see the Angels take advantage of A-Rod's failures. Three left, Shields is pitching, Escy and Frankie are in the pen. If the Angels bats could get anything going (top 4 guys are 0-14, reaching on an error and a hbp), then they have a good shot. Now, the other question of the evening...where the hell is Richard?
Bengie Molina, Mr. Clutch, knocks in OC to tie the game. First non 0-0 tie the Angels have had in the series.
A-Rod botched a grounder by OC. GA and Vlad coming up...something has
got to happen now.
Lackey is done after giving up a double to Bernie (Finley misjudged a ball over his head) and walking Tino. In between those, Erstad possibly saved a run (if the Yankees don't score now) by making a diving stop at 1st. The Angels infield is keeping them in the game right now. Lackey pitched an effective, if scary 5.2 innings. He certainly didn't have his best stuff, but he was able to avoid the Lackey inning that Colon got into. Now it is Shields' job to stop the Yanks and the hitters to get some runs.
Home run, Juanny Rivera! That's why he should bat 5th or 6th.
Figgins just possibly saved the Angels season with a diving stop at 3rd. If he didn't get it, the Angels are down 3-0 with Cano up and Matsui on 2nd.
Jeter just threw his bat at some Angels fans in the dugout box seats as he struck out.
So, blogger maintenance time sucks. Lost was great. The writers on this show do the best job of going "Whoa, that's pretty cool. Wait, now what does that mean exactly?" Meanwhile, the Angels have only hit one ball in the air. Their offense is pathetic.
Oh shit. I forgot about Lost. I've got the DVR set, but I
hate the idea of not knowing...
The game will probably be done right around midnight for me (with any luck, it will end a half inning earlier than a regular game). On the other hand, I get to watch Lost right before the game, stick that wacky paste stuff on my head, and see the monster eat Yankees once the game starts.
BTW, we're trying something new with the liveblogging tonight. The changes won't become wholly apparent until later on (though as this post demonstrates, posts will be in the proper chronological order among other things), but I think you'll dig them.
Bust out the coffee, Yankees fans - tonight's start time is 10:00pm back east. Can't expect this one to end 'till round about midnight, so get ready for the New York-centric media to go on and on about how we on the west coast schedule our days. Meanwhile, I plan to be in bed at the normal hour and fresh and ready for school in the morning.
"So you think that money is the root of all evil?" said Francisco d'Anconia. "Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?
"When you accept money in payment for your effort, you do so only on the conviction that you will exchange it for the product of the effort of others. It is not the moochers or the looters who give value to money. Not an ocean of tears not all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow. Those pieces of paper, which should have been gold, are a token of honor—your claim upon the energy of the men who produce. Your wallet is your statement of hope that somewhere in the world around you there are men who will not default on that moral principle which is the root of money, Is this what you consider evil?
"Have you ever looked for the root of production? Take a look at an electric generator and dare tell yourself that it was created by the muscular effort of unthinking brutes. Try to grow a seed of wheat without the knowledge left to you by men who had to discover it for the first time. Try to obtain your food by means of nothing but physical motions—and you'll learn that man's mind is the root of all the goods produced and of all the wealth that has ever existed on earth.
