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Friday, May 30, 2003
Posted
5:19 PM
by Sean
Sports Illustrated has an article on "sports' most boring superstars," including Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, Tiger Woods, Mia Hamm, and, from the world of baseball, Bernie Williams. How in the world did anyone think this was going to be an interesting article? Sometimes the editorial decisions at the major sports media outlets just mystify me.
Sports Illustrated has an article on "sports' most boring superstars," including Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, Tiger Woods, Mia Hamm, and, from the world of baseball, Bernie Williams. How in the world did anyone think this was going to be an interesting article? Sometimes the editorial decisions at the major sports media outlets just mystify me.
Posted
3:01 PM
by Sean
The L.A. Times is reporting that Barry Bonds might want to DH for the Angels at some point in the unspecified future. The Giants have Bonds through 2005, with an option for 2006 (which presumably they'll exercise). This means he'll be 43 years old when he's available as a free agent, looking for God knows how much money. No thanks, man.
Under that item we have the news that Erstad flies to Tucson today to begin his rehab assignment. Realistically, it looks like he'll be back with the big club in about a week.
The L.A. Times is reporting that Barry Bonds might want to DH for the Angels at some point in the unspecified future. The Giants have Bonds through 2005, with an option for 2006 (which presumably they'll exercise). This means he'll be 43 years old when he's available as a free agent, looking for God knows how much money. No thanks, man.
Under that item we have the news that Erstad flies to Tucson today to begin his rehab assignment. Realistically, it looks like he'll be back with the big club in about a week.
Posted
2:55 PM
by Sean
The Angels beat the Devil Rays last night, 2-1. Well...maybe that's putting things a little too strongly. Jarrod Washburn certainly deserves credit for his performance, 6.2 innings of shutout baseball, and the bullpen brought him home nicely - particularly Brendan Donnelly, who pitched the final 1.2 innings for the save. But against Tampa Bay pitching, the bats scratched out only two runs, and those were mostly due to a wild pitch and an error. Okay, Brad Fullmer was out on a controversial call at the plate. But they also blew scoring opportunities, such as when Eric Owens broke for the plate on a double-steal waaay too early and was easily tagged out by the catcher. And clearly there's some guys in slumps: after terrific starts, Anderson, Fullmer, and Salmon have all seen their averages drop down to .300, meaning they've been batting significantly under that for the last couple of weeks. Ironically, after carping about a need for Erstad to return, about the only guy producing consistently is his replacement, Jeff DaVanon, who went 3 for 4 last night. In the last 11 games in which he's had an at-bat, DaVanon is 17 for 37.
The Angels beat the Devil Rays last night, 2-1. Well...maybe that's putting things a little too strongly. Jarrod Washburn certainly deserves credit for his performance, 6.2 innings of shutout baseball, and the bullpen brought him home nicely - particularly Brendan Donnelly, who pitched the final 1.2 innings for the save. But against Tampa Bay pitching, the bats scratched out only two runs, and those were mostly due to a wild pitch and an error. Okay, Brad Fullmer was out on a controversial call at the plate. But they also blew scoring opportunities, such as when Eric Owens broke for the plate on a double-steal waaay too early and was easily tagged out by the catcher. And clearly there's some guys in slumps: after terrific starts, Anderson, Fullmer, and Salmon have all seen their averages drop down to .300, meaning they've been batting significantly under that for the last couple of weeks. Ironically, after carping about a need for Erstad to return, about the only guy producing consistently is his replacement, Jeff DaVanon, who went 3 for 4 last night. In the last 11 games in which he's had an at-bat, DaVanon is 17 for 37.
Posted
2:37 PM
by Sean
ESPN has posted a story about former Texas Rangers phenom David Clyde, who's attempting to make a comeback of sorts as a pitching coach. A similar story appeared a few weeks ago in the local alternative weekly paper, the Dallas Observer. What seems odd is that the ESPN feature mentions neither the Observer article nor the fact that Clyde, despite being out of baseball for 30 years now, needs just 27 more days of service to qualify for a lifetime pension.
ESPN has posted a story about former Texas Rangers phenom David Clyde, who's attempting to make a comeback of sorts as a pitching coach. A similar story appeared a few weeks ago in the local alternative weekly paper, the Dallas Observer. What seems odd is that the ESPN feature mentions neither the Observer article nor the fact that Clyde, despite being out of baseball for 30 years now, needs just 27 more days of service to qualify for a lifetime pension.
Posted
2:28 PM
by Sean
This is odd: a day or two ago, there was a page up at mlb.com promising that once Roger Clemens won his 300th game, they were going to make it available for download. I meant to put a link up to it, since I think that's a great idea, and one that I hope gets extended to the games in their "Baseball's Best" library (current access to which is limited to 48-hour "rental" of a streaming broadcast). But now I can't find word one about it on the MLB site, which makes me suspicious that they got cold feet over the prospect of people putting the game up for grabs on file-sharing services. I hope I'm wrong - maybe it'll be more in evidence as we get closer to Clemens's next start on Sunday. If anyone knows one way or the other, drop me a line at purgatoryonline@yahoo.com.
This is odd: a day or two ago, there was a page up at mlb.com promising that once Roger Clemens won his 300th game, they were going to make it available for download. I meant to put a link up to it, since I think that's a great idea, and one that I hope gets extended to the games in their "Baseball's Best" library (current access to which is limited to 48-hour "rental" of a streaming broadcast). But now I can't find word one about it on the MLB site, which makes me suspicious that they got cold feet over the prospect of people putting the game up for grabs on file-sharing services. I hope I'm wrong - maybe it'll be more in evidence as we get closer to Clemens's next start on Sunday. If anyone knows one way or the other, drop me a line at purgatoryonline@yahoo.com.
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
Posted
10:09 AM
by Sean
Steve Bisheff at the Orange County Register has a look at some of the Angels' promising prospects at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, notably pitcher Ervin Santana and catcher Jeff Mathis.
Steve Bisheff at the Orange County Register has a look at some of the Angels' promising prospects at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, notably pitcher Ervin Santana and catcher Jeff Mathis.
Posted
10:05 AM
by Sean
Aaron Sele got pounded last night for six earned runs in 3.2 innings (and was followed by Mickey Calloway getting pounded for six earned runs in 3.0 innings). Sele was serving them up gopherball-style, resulting in three Oriole home runs.
Meanwhile, the offense showed few signs of life until the game was out of reach. They didn't have a hit until the fifth, when they were down 6-0, and even after making it 6-2 in the sixth Calloway failed to keep them in it, getting tagged for two in the bottom of the sixth and four in the bottom of the seventh.
Aaron Sele got pounded last night for six earned runs in 3.2 innings (and was followed by Mickey Calloway getting pounded for six earned runs in 3.0 innings). Sele was serving them up gopherball-style, resulting in three Oriole home runs.
Meanwhile, the offense showed few signs of life until the game was out of reach. They didn't have a hit until the fifth, when they were down 6-0, and even after making it 6-2 in the sixth Calloway failed to keep them in it, getting tagged for two in the bottom of the sixth and four in the bottom of the seventh.
Posted
10:00 AM
by Sean
Troy Glaus is the current leader in AL All-Star balloting at third base, with a slim edge over the A's Eric Chavez. Several other Angels are in the top 5 at their position, including Kennedy, Eckstein, Molina, and Fullmer. If voted in as a starter, Glaus would be the first Angel to make the starting lineup since Wally Joyner in 1986.
Troy Glaus is the current leader in AL All-Star balloting at third base, with a slim edge over the A's Eric Chavez. Several other Angels are in the top 5 at their position, including Kennedy, Eckstein, Molina, and Fullmer. If voted in as a starter, Glaus would be the first Angel to make the starting lineup since Wally Joyner in 1986.
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
Posted
5:52 PM
by Sean
The Angels got their obligatory White House visit today, a perogative of World Champions for lo these many years.
The Angels got their obligatory White House visit today, a perogative of World Champions for lo these many years.
Posted
5:42 PM
by Sean
Lots going on over the Memorial Day weekend:
The Angels finished up their homestand with a win over the Devil Rays, giving them a disappointing (all things considered) 3-3 record against Baltimore and Tampa Bay, and putting them at .500 for what must be the hundredth time this season. They just can't seem to pull themselves more than a game or two above even before slipping back down.
Memorial Day, in my mind, is the first milestone of the season - the first point at which you can look at how a team has been playing and get a sense of what they're capable of being. And, while we're still a long, long way from throwing in the towel, there's no question that this team is capable of playing much, much better than their record reflects. One needs only to look at how they dealt with the Yankees and Red Sox last week, or with Tampa Bay over the last couple of games, to see that they shouldn't be struggling against the likes of Baltimore. Given the somewhat tepid start to the season, the Angels have cause to be grateful that they're only 6.5 games in back of Seattle - a manageable deficit, but one that could balloon quickly if the Mariners reel off a big winning streak in the near future.
The Angels lost Troy Percival to a hip strain injury at the end of last week, and so their star closer will spend at least the next two weeks on the DL. This is a pretty big blow, but not as big as all that; they have a number of guys who've been pitching lights-out, and a closer-by-committee approach will probably work in the short term for the Angels much more effectively than it's worked for the Red Sox over the course of the season. I've seen a couple of articles that have mentioned Brendan Donnelly as a temporary replacement at closer, though, so it may be that he's merely pushed back to the 9th, with Weber, Schoeneweis, Shields, and Rodriguez handling set-up duties. Erstad continues to be the more important figure on the DL, and, though the L.A. Times reported over the weekend that he's finally showing some progress in returning from his hamstring tendinitis, but given that he's been quoted as saying that he'll blow it out before undergoing season-ending surgery, a thin sliver of doubt exists as to whether he's maybe just saying what he needs to say to get back into the lineup. I mean, I seriously doubt you could hide something like that, but the guy's pretty intense.
Tonight, the Angels start the second quarter: Memorial Day to the All-Star break. They'll need all the pieces to start fitting to chip away at that six and a half game lead (to say nothing of Oakland's four game lead).
Lots going on over the Memorial Day weekend:
The Angels finished up their homestand with a win over the Devil Rays, giving them a disappointing (all things considered) 3-3 record against Baltimore and Tampa Bay, and putting them at .500 for what must be the hundredth time this season. They just can't seem to pull themselves more than a game or two above even before slipping back down.
Memorial Day, in my mind, is the first milestone of the season - the first point at which you can look at how a team has been playing and get a sense of what they're capable of being. And, while we're still a long, long way from throwing in the towel, there's no question that this team is capable of playing much, much better than their record reflects. One needs only to look at how they dealt with the Yankees and Red Sox last week, or with Tampa Bay over the last couple of games, to see that they shouldn't be struggling against the likes of Baltimore. Given the somewhat tepid start to the season, the Angels have cause to be grateful that they're only 6.5 games in back of Seattle - a manageable deficit, but one that could balloon quickly if the Mariners reel off a big winning streak in the near future.
The Angels lost Troy Percival to a hip strain injury at the end of last week, and so their star closer will spend at least the next two weeks on the DL. This is a pretty big blow, but not as big as all that; they have a number of guys who've been pitching lights-out, and a closer-by-committee approach will probably work in the short term for the Angels much more effectively than it's worked for the Red Sox over the course of the season. I've seen a couple of articles that have mentioned Brendan Donnelly as a temporary replacement at closer, though, so it may be that he's merely pushed back to the 9th, with Weber, Schoeneweis, Shields, and Rodriguez handling set-up duties. Erstad continues to be the more important figure on the DL, and, though the L.A. Times reported over the weekend that he's finally showing some progress in returning from his hamstring tendinitis, but given that he's been quoted as saying that he'll blow it out before undergoing season-ending surgery, a thin sliver of doubt exists as to whether he's maybe just saying what he needs to say to get back into the lineup. I mean, I seriously doubt you could hide something like that, but the guy's pretty intense.
Tonight, the Angels start the second quarter: Memorial Day to the All-Star break. They'll need all the pieces to start fitting to chip away at that six and a half game lead (to say nothing of Oakland's four game lead).