Live Blogging - 8/28 vs. Mariners

And away we go!  Another night of liveblogging, another GREAT game against Seattle, a great day for me with my article published by MLB.com, and we lucky Angels fans get to listen to Rex Hudler and Steve Physioc again tonight!  Umm...  Well, I suppose three out of four ain't too bad.  I have a few minutes before game time, so I think I'll use this opportunity to complain.

A few years ago, I bought the first season of M*A*S*H* on DVD.  I've always loved the show, and having it available uncut was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.  When I popped in the first disc and checked out the special features, I noticed the greatest thing EVER done with a sitcom on DVD:  In the audio options, you had the ability to watch the episodes with the original laugh track or without it.  Naturally, I turned the laugh track off, and was surprised to find myself laughing at the funny jokes.  Without any prompting.

As I said last night, Hudler and Physioc are like a laugh track for baseball.  Rather than just calling the game, they feel that we fans at home are too stupid to know how to root, so they root for the Angels for us.  And I can't stomach that.

Perhaps I'm a bit spoiled, growing up in the Land of Vin Scully, but I feel that an announcer's job is to announce.  Not to be a dyed-in-the-wool homer.  Not to get overly excited on every play by the home team (I'm looking at you, Physioc).  Not to make stupid statements, ridiculous predictions, or otherwise interject opinions into the broadcast.

Simply announce the game.  Give the viewer some historical context, some trivia, some enlightenment.  But don't treat us like complete idiots.  I am an Angels fan.  I know enough to get excited when the Angels do well, I don't need announcers to prod me.  And I absolutely do not need anybody in the broadcast booth making excuses when my team screws up.

Hudler usually faces the brunt of my displeasure, but I have to say that Steve Physioc is at least as much to blame.  Listen to a Dodger game sometime with Charlie Steiner and Steve Lyons.  Much like Rex Hudler, Steve Lyons says some pretty idiotic things, but unlike Physioc, Charlie Steiner CALLS HIM ON IT.  He doesn't ignore it, he doesn't fuel it, he manages to somehow keep the atmosphere in the booth light and still let Steve Lyons know he's an idiot.

Not so with Physioc.

Steve Physioc really could be a good announcer if only he'd try.  First, he needs to stop putting up with the dunce he's been paired with in the booth.  Second, he needs to stop being such a homer and just call the game.  And lastly, he needs to learn to adjust his emotional timbre.  When listening to Physioc, he gets just as excited (which is very, very excited) when the Angels turn a double play in the 3rd, hit one up the middle in the 5th, or win the game with a walk-off grand slam in the 14th inning.  Vin Scully gets excited only at opportune moments; not whenever the Dodgers do somewhat good.

Oooh, game's starting!  More later...

7:11 PM:  Top of the 1st, no outs, 0-0:  Jeff Weaver on the mound for Seattle.  First of all, I think it's a shame that the Seattle and Anaheim rotations didn't line up to pit brother vs. brother tonight.  I'd have loved to see Jered Weaver kick his brother's *** out there.

While many Angels fans (bandwagoners) may disagree with me and think Hudler and Physioc are the best thing since Harry Caray, I'm sure there are few who will disagree with me and my hatred of Jeff Weaver.  And the fact that Jeff has now given up two hits with only one out makes me (and most of Angels fandom) smile and giggle with glee.  More than any one person, it is Jeff Weaver's fault that the Angels missed the playoffs last year.  Going 3-10 for the Angels while having excellent run support (and posting a 6.29 ERA in that period) was inexcusable, especially as he'd been granted a huge contract in the offseason.  The rest of the Angels staff was winning last year, yet he just got on the mound and kept losing and losing.  Eventually, not a tear was shed in Anaheim when he was designated for assignment to make room for his brother.

Unfortunately, this hack then signed on with St. Louis, where he went on to win a World Series.

It warmed my heart when he signed a big contract with Seattle this year, and proceded to become the weakest link in their rotation.

Garret Anderson strikes out on the hit-and-run, and Orlando Cabrera is caught at 3rd base. *****.  Middle of the 1st, 0-0.

Here's hoping the Angels remember how much this guy let them down last year.

7:20 PM: Bottom of the 1st, no outs, 0-0 Angels:  Ichiro leads off with a triple.  I completely forgot that Ervin Santana was pitching for the Angels tonight.  Great.  Well, if I can't get a brother-vs-brother match up, I'll settle for this one:  Last year's head case disappointment vs. this year's disappointing head case.

7:33 PM: Bottom of the 1st, 1 out, 5-0 Mariners:  Yeah, that's right, five runs.  And only one out.  Scioscia just went out and pulled Santana, so while the end result of the game is yet to be determined (though I'd bet the farm on who's gonna win this game), it seems that Weaver has won the Battle of the Disappointing Head Cases.

Boy, nothing better than having to go to the bullpen with only one out in the first inning.  Dustin Moseley is a long reliever, but tonight he's basically a starting pitcher.

I'm conflicted right now.  As an Angels fan, of course I want the win, and I hope Moseley comes in, shuts the Mariners down, and gets the victory.  But if that happens, then the sting of Santana's outing will not hurt so much, and it will be forgotten much sooner.

I mean, come on, the guy gave up FOUR TRIPLES.  In 1/3 of an inning.  Wait, strike that, they didn't score Beltre's hit as a triple, it's a double plus he took third.

7:55 PM: Top of the 3rd, no outs, 5-1 Mariners:  Nights like these make me want to take my anger out on Peter Angelos (owner of the Orioles) - last year, a trade was all but approved to send Ervin Santana and Eric Aybar to Baltimore for Miguel Tejada.

We probably would have done better with Tejada pitching tonight.

Either way, I have to remember that this team is capable of making up those runs.  Despite my pessimism, there is a chance they can come back.

Though it's not much of a chance.  Going down 5-0 in the 1st and having a starting pitcher not capable of making more than one out is **** on the psyche of the team, and it makes it very difficult to overcome.

I suppose it's not so bad that the last episode of "The Bronx Is Burning" is on tonight.  While I'll still flip back to the game during commercials, I won't miss watching this embarrassment all that much.

8:25 PM: End of the 4th, 5-3 Mariners:  Hmmm...  May be a lot of words I have to eat soon.  ****, I hope I have to eat those words.  None of them about Santana, of course.  Just about the game in general.

I can hardly breathe right now.  Nothing to do with the game, mind you.  I just went into my back yard, and one of my cats snuck out (all our cats are indoor cats).  I let them out once in a while if I'm going out, just to let them munch some grass and roll around on the pavement, so I figured there was no harm in it.  Well, the cat was sniffing around the patio, and came across a bug or something (I didn't see it).  He started playing with it, and it must have flown off, as he went chasing after it.  I'd give him some credit for what happened next, considering how dark it is outside, but cats are supposed to have excellent night vision, so I think it's just that this cat is stupid.  So he chased off after the bug or whatever it was, running straight at it and paying no mind to the ground underneath him.

Which ended abruptly in his path, giving way to my swimming pool.

Let me tell you, you haven't experienced comedy until you've seen a cat accidentally run straight into a swimming pool.

8:33 PM: Top of the 5th, 1 out, 5-4 Mariners:  And down goes the second Disappointing Head Case.  I suppose I should have been paying more attention, as the Angels have slowly started to come back in the game, but I've been too busy sending psychic beams of loathing to Rex Hudler, laughing at my cat, and wondering what the **** happened to Ervin Santana between last season and this season (best guess: his uncle touched him in a bad place after the Santana family Christmas dinner).  So Garret Anderson is now up with Cabrera (the tying run) at 3rd and Vlad (the go-ahead run) at 2nd.  And "The Bronx Is Burning" starting in 23 minutes.

I can't really go any further without giving a lot of credit to Dustin Moseley.  Hopefully, tonight is an audition for the 5th spot in the rotation and Ervin Santana has either a locker assignment in the bullpen or a plane ticket to Salt Lake City.

Anderson flies to Center - OC comes to the plate - cut off throws to third - Vlad SAFE!!!  GAME IS TIED!!!

What a throw by Ichiro.  This has to hurt the Seattle dugout, though.  They were given the gift of 5 early runs off Ervin "Batting Practice" Santana, and they can't hold onto it.  Of course, it's their own fault for signing Weaver.  Had they asked me, I'd have advised against it.  But nobody ever asks me.  Hence why they get in these situations.

Top half of the inning over.  But the Angels have tied it!

9:27 PM: Bottom of the 7th, 0 out, 6-5 Angels:  I don't know how it happened, but color me surprised as the Angels have taken the lead!  Unbelievable.  Simply unbelievable.

If this holds, it certainly looks like I'm going to have to eat some words.

Speier is in pitching now.  The crowd at Safeco Field was going insane in the first inning, and their silence now speaks volumes.  As I said earlier with the confidence of the dugout, it has to go double in the stands.  Last night John Lackey crushed the Mariners.  Tonight, the offense has negated the big hole in the starting lineup.

I can only imagine how deafening it would be in Anaheim if this happened.

10:05 PM: Bottom of the 8th, 2 out, 10-6 Angels:  "The Bronx Is Burning" is over.  Great series, it's a **** shame it didn't catch on.  Ooh, end of the 8th!

During a commercial at about 9:45 or so, I walked in to see the Mariners had tied it up.  Ten minutes later, I came back to see the Angels had gone ahead 7-6 and Vladdy was up with the bases loaded.  He then drove in two.  I got a call from my friend Scott, and while I was talking to him another scored.

As I said to him, this is truly the first time this season I've felt the Angels could win it all.  I've known they have the stuff since last year.  Sure, they started out crappy this year after that first road trip, but as they started turning it on, you knew this was the best team the Angels have fielded in a few years.  They've had all kinds of trouble with their rotation, but still have some of the strongest starting pitching in baseball.  They won through it all, and I've never doubted that they could stick it out and maybe win the whole thing.

But tonight is the first time I've truly felt it, experienced it emotionally.  It doesn't mean that I'll be shocked if they don't win the World Series or even the Western Division Championship - it only means that I'm willing to devote myself emotionally to the chase of the title, that my heart feels what my head has known for quite some time.

10:13 PM: Bottom of the 9th, 0 out, 10-6 Angels:  Shields in for the 9th (I didn't realize he was in for the 8th), but I'm happy to see that he's thrown a good inning and can close it out.  All Scot needs is a little confidence.  It's not a save situation (though if K-Rod were in, he'd quickly make it one), but if he can close this out without giving up a run, it'll go a long way to getting Shields back to the form he's recently lost sight of.

Well, there's a hit to Jojima.  Dammit, K-Rod is warming up.  I suppose I spoke too soon.  I'm by no means a master of all baseball knowledge, and I'm not all that familiar as to what exactly makes a save situation, but if Rodriguez comes in with a runner on and a 4 run lead, isn't that a save situation?  Butcher out to talk to him...  Whew!  Didn't pull him.  JUST SAY NO TO RODRIGUEZ!

These last two games have just been amazing to me.  The Mariners have been on our *** most of the season, a fierce competitor, having us Angel fans anxiously looking in the rearview mirror.  To go into their house with a slim two-game lead and shut them down in game one then show that the Angels will not be shut down in game two, it has to be disheartening.

Strike out.  one out.

Pop out to Morales.  Two out.

The fact that they could overcome the ding in the morale when Seattle extended their batting practice into the first inning tonight shows a lot, and that's the reason I now feel they can beat anybody.  I don't care how much a better team Boston is than Anaheim, in a short series these Angels can take them.

Ichiro up with two outs.  He started the slaughter with a triple in the first inning.

And the crowd.  To hear a crowd go from ecstatic in the first to resigned in the ninth, in a way it feels great. 

3-2 count to Ichiro.  Holy ****, Scot Shields strikes out Ichiro looking!

WHAT A COMEBACK!

As an Angels fan for going on three decades, I've experienced that resignation many, many times.  It's what makes a winning season so sweet.  In his resignation speech, Richard Nixon said "It's only after you've been in the deepest valley that you can truly appreciate how great it is to stand on the tallest peak," and in many ways I pity those fans who didn't care about this team until 2002.  They just don't know how majestic the view is up here.

The season ain't over yet, but this series (thus far) has been like the Yankees and Boston last year in August, when the Yanks swept the Sox in Boston and killed any chance of them making a run at the AL East.  If they win tomorrow, it'll be known as the "Seattle Massacre."

Or, at least it would be if anybody at ESPN or any other sports news outlet gave a **** about the West Coast.

10:37 PM: Final score - Angels 10, Mariners 6:  The game has been over for 15 minutes or so, but I just have to get a few more words in about this wonderful game.  It goes to show you how great a game we have here.  Even in a season of 162 games, every single one is important, and some can be of such importance that they end up being the one point in a season you point to where everything turned around, fell apart, or where everything came together.  I feel that this is one of those for both the Angels and Mariners.  Regardless of whether the Angels win or lose tomorrow, the last two games, but tonight's specifically, really showed the Mariners and the world who is in charge of the American League West.

I've always loved September baseball.  I love the pennant race, and the Wild Card has done nothing but make it more exciting by bringing more teams into it.  But this September looks like it's going to be something special.

It looks like it's going to belong to Anaheim.

Goodnight, and have a pleasant tomorrow.