And on that note 

Posted 5:40 PM by Sean
No posts for a week as I actually get to take a vacation, see a couple of Angels games, and drive that twisty, pretty road up the Pacific coast. See you next week.

Yeah, okay, you can boo now 

Posted 8:48 AM by Sean
Congratulations, Jose. Now even I think you deserve whatever you get from the fans. Jose's latest:

"I have no respect for him any more, because I'm still hurt from what happened last year. Mike Scioscia to me is like a piece of garbage. I don't care if I get in trouble. He can go to hell.''

You know, if you're a Nationals fan, don't you have to have a sinking feeling about this? I mean, assuming you're bright enough to see a pattern when it presents itself to you. I guess poor ol' Jose was just crying on the inside when he signed with the Nats:

"It was the best thing that could happen, taking into consideration the way things ended last season between us," Guillen told the AP from his home in Miami. "I'm excited to be a part of the Expos and part of history, now that we'll play in the U.S. capital."

"I don't have any hard feelings toward Anaheim," Guillen said.

Hey, remember when we heard almost exactly that, back when Guillen signed with the Angels? About how grateful he was that someone was giving him an opportunity to just play ball, and show that his reputation as a clubhouse cancer was so unfair? And then, of course, all us sucker Angels fans found out that Jose's favorite pastime is exploding over phantom insults, then apologizing for it afterwards.

Guillen is baseball's Ike Turner, ladies and gentlemen. "Treat me with respect, you piece of garbage! You're a damn piece of garbage! Oh, baby, you know I don't mean that...c'mon back to Jose. Please? Jose loves you so much. Look, I brought you these flowers. Aren't they pretty? What are you still crying for? Look, will you just take the flowers? TAKE THE DAMN FLOWERS, BITCH!"

You know what, Ike? Tina never needed you. She still doesn't. Fuck off.

Two can play 

Posted 9:47 PM by Sean
Frank Robinson refused to bring the lineup card out for tonight's game, designating an underling to do so. I've got one word for Robinson, and it's got four letters.

B-U-S-H.

Wrong, wrong, wrong 

Posted 11:25 AM by Sean
Good Lord, what an embarrassment. And the worst part is that the Angels were in the wrong in nearly every particular.

Let's start with the easy stuff first: Orlando Cabrera committed two errors, arguably costing the Angels the game. So? It's frustrating, sure, but those were just the third and fourth errors of the year for Cabrera. Even after doubling his error count, Cabrera still leads AL shortstops in fielding percentage and has the fewest errors committed (tied with Michael Young). "Oh, sure," you say. "But Cabrera has to be a magificent fielder to make up for his failings at the plate. He's only hitting .249/.302/.367!" Fine. He's still at the top of the league. And his line is .304/.319/.478 in June. If you're going to call him a bad fielder based on what he did last night, I guess it's only fair to call him a good hitter based on what he's done in June.

The rest is not so simple. Or, rather, it's simple - I just don't like it.

1. Brendan Donnelly had a foreign substance on his glove. The rule is clear:

The pitcher shall not...[h]ave on his person, or in his possession, any foreign substance. For such infraction of this section (b) the penalty shall be immediate ejection from the game.

(Rule 8.02(b))

According to the umpires, Donnelly had pine tar on his glove, which qualifies as a "foreign substance." Complain all you like, but Frank Robinson was right, and had the right to ask the umpires to check Donnelly's glove. Donnelly's explanation that the pine tar was there to dry his hands is particularly weak; that's what the resin bag is for, Donk.

And that's where it should have ended; Scioscia should have shrugged his shoulders and said "okay, he's busted - sub Shields for Donnelly." This bush-league tit-for-tat crapola, getting in Robinson's face and then complaining about the laces on the glove of the next Nationals' reliever, was pretty poor. More importantly, it showed that Robinson had gotten under Scioscia's skin, which seemed to spread to the rest of the team, most notably to Scot Shields.

2. Jose Guillen is a jackass. But what else is new? I stand by my previous assertion that the fans booing him, particularly before the altercation, were showing a lack of class. Given Guillen's volitility, it doesn't surprise me in the least that he would start foaming at the mouth. I'm sure he felt slighted on Monday, and maybe justifiably so. That is in no way intended to excuse his behavior last night - I'll reiterate, he's an unprofessional jackass. He's a selfish prima donna. He's a prick. But let's get over it, okay?

3. That said, if the Angels really do think that Guillen ratted out Donnelly, he gets one in the ribs today. That's how these things work.

4. Candidate for bigger dipshit than Guillen: the scumbag "fan" who raced over from a different section to get in Ryan Church's face and flip him off after Church had been injured chasing a foul ball at the wall. Church was on the ground long enough for the trainer to come out and see to him, and Angels fans lost an opportunity to prove themselves better than the guy they were so enthusiastic about booing by not giving Church a courtesy round of applause after he got up. That one scumbag, though, deserves to be kicked in the nuts and exiled to Oakland.

All in all, this may not have been the worst game of the Angels season, but if not, it sure did a hell of an impression.

Let's turn the damn page, shall we?

Oh, yeah 

Posted 12:03 PM by Sean
Add Curtis Pride to the list of guys who will be putting pressure on the roster - he's started a rehab assignment at Salt Lake.

Items of interest; irresponsible rumormongering 

Posted 9:06 AM by Sean
As expected, Ervin Santana has been called up to make tonight's start against the Nationals. Following last night's 11-1 pasting, it will be interesting to see how the Nats approach Santana, and vice-versa.

Oh, and memo to the folks booing Jose Guillen's at-bats - show some class, gang. The guy carried last year's squad for a little while early in the season.

Sent down to make room for Santana was Casey Kotchman, whose 0-for-10 performance this time around (two starts, two pinch-hit ABs) brings his big-league line to .206/.279/.254 for his career in 126 at-bats. Guess that Erstad contract extension in 2002 wasn't such a bad idea after all, huh?

Meanwhile, Kendry Morales has been promoted to Double-A Arkansas after posting a .344 average at Rancho Cucamonga. If Morales continues to progress, we may see a fairly major logjam at the Major League level, considering that Maicer Izturis has already started playing rehab games at Salt Lake. Even promoting Izturis means that the Angels will need to send Robb Quinlan, Jeff DaVanon, or Juan Rivera down, so I'd think that Morales will get his shot no earlier than September (barring injuries, of course).

And here's something to think about: given that the Angels' offense - now improving, thank God - has suffered a great deal from a lack of DH, let us consider the possibiliy of this deal, or something similar, at the July 31 trade deadline.

Giants get: Jarrod Washburn (trade and sign), Casey Kotchman, and Brandon Wood OR Erick Aybar OR Alberto Callaspo.

Angels get: Barry Bonds.

That's assuming Bonds is healthy by then, or close to it, anyway. Bonds has said that he could see himself finishing his career as a DH, and has even specifically mentioned the Angels as a possibility. And the seriousness of his current health problems argue against his being much of an asset to the Giants for very long if he has to play the field when he returns. Interestingly, both Bonds and Erstad have contracts that run through '06, so the Angels could be rid of Bonds's salary in time to pursue a free agent first baseman, if they so desired (though Bonds is owed an additional $5 million per year through 2011, which the Angels would be crazy to take on; the Giants would need to pay some or all of that). The Giants also need to get younger in a big way, and if they're out of it at the trade deadline...

Call me crazy. But.

Rodriguez to skip winter ball 

Posted 11:05 AM by Sean
This is good to hear:

"I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize my career," Rodriguez said. "It's tough, because my family doesn't get a chance to see me pitch here, so it's important for me to pitch in Venezuela. But I can't do it anymore."

[...]

"That injury was a wake-up call," Rodriguez said. "I'm doing all the right things now. I have to make sure this doesn't happen to me again."

Whaddaya know, sometimes wishes do come true.