Happy Anniversary To Me!

I planned on writing an entry last night, but that post would have been an "End of the Season" post, and since the Padres and Rockies are all tied up after 162 games and have to play a 163rd tonight, I have to wait.  After all, doesn't the season have to be over in order to do a review of it?

Instead, this post is the internet equivalent of putting a single candle into a Hostess Twinkie, lighting it, and singing "Happy Birthday" to yourself alone in a darkened room, as one year ago today I started this blog.  The complete text follows:

Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End

Posted 10/01/06 at 10:25 PM

As the day comes to a close, so closes another season of Major League Baseball. Tuesday will start another round of playoffs, culminating in a World Series that will guarantee the 6th different World Series Champion this millennium, as none of the teams in this year's playoffs has won a title since 2000.

In other words, my team and the reason for writing this blog, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, will not be playing anymore baseball this season.

The lights at Angel Stadium have dimmed, and while baseball continues in other parks around the country, we will see no more MLB in Orange County this year. We finished in 2nd place in the American League West, giving us our third straight winning season (a franchise record.) While some fans may be disappointed, considering that I never expected to see a World Championship come to Anaheim, I'm happy we hung in there as long as we did. For most of the time I've been an Angels fan, the team has been a second rate club, one with no expectations of victory from its small legion of fans. With the 2002 season still fresh in my memory, I still have a feeling of victory and vindication of my devotion to my team I never expected to have.

Yankees fans consider it a disappointing season when they don't at least make it to the Fall Classic. I consider it a gift when we make it to the playoffs.

With that, the 2006 Angels season was a success, and I can't be disappointed in them for coming in second to the Oakland A's.

So, we Angels fans will have to watch the playoffs for the first time in three years without our team. We'll be OK. We'll find other teams to cheer for, and more to root against. We have owner Arte Moreno's promise that money will be spent on free agents in the off season to strengthen our team. Soriano, Tejada, Manny Ramirez, Barry Zito, many big names are floating out there as wanting to be a part of the Halos next season. And we'll have to wait a few months to find out which of these (if any) will be wearing our red cap while playing in the Big A next season.

-Mission Statement-

With that, there are a few things I want to make clear about this blog.

I've spent the last month or so checking out other baseball blogs, particularly those at mlblogs.com

This will be a fan's blog of the 2007 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim season, from today (the end of the Angels 2006 season) until October (or early November if we make a World Series run!), the end of next season. And by "fan's blog," I mean one that encompasses MY feelings and experiences through the season.

There are plenty of blogs out there that deal with the author's favorite team, and some that follow news and rumors about those teams with the quality of a local sports page. But I don't want to just repost news and events that you can find in a million links through Google or Yahoo. I want this to be about me, as selfish and narcissistic as that sounds. As you read this (and I'm sure not many will, at least until the 2007 season officially starts), I want you to learn about me as a person and fan with my Angels as a backdrop.

I don't want the reader to feel the sterile aura of the press box as they read this. I want you to feel as though you're sitting next to me in the cheap seats, or in front of my TV, or in the passenger seat of my car listening to the game on the radio with me. Or missing the game entirely as something else happens in my life.

It's an experiment, and I hope it turns out well. And I hope you enjoy reading it, as that will make it enjoyable for me to write.

So comment as much as you wish, leave feedback, agree with me or disagree as you will. And get ready, as we have playoffs starting in less than 36 hours and Spring Training is less than 5 months away! in anticipation of starting this. There are some great baseball blogs out there (none really for the Angels, though), but every one I've seen has missed the point I'm trying to make with this one.