Harry How - Getty Images
Excuse me sir, but you are in my way.
Bobby Abreu lined a 3-2 slider from former Angel Darren Oliver into the right-field corner with two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth inning. The bases-clearing double snapped a 3-3 tie and was just enough fire insurance to save the game from the Angels bullpen. In the next frame, star-crossed Kevin Jepsen dangled a 1-2 cutter over the plate, which someone named Vladimir launched over the center-field fence for a two-run homer. Guerrero went 2-4 in his return to Anaheim as a house packed with loyal fans wrestled with mixed emotions.
In the eighth, the Angels needed two highlight-reel defensive plays from Mike Napoli and Torii Hunter to overcome a Rodney-Mathis tag team effort to blow a late lead. Fortunately, Fuentes did retire Kinsler, Guerrero, and Hamilton in order to close the game out. Joel Pineiro, who surrendered three runs in a six-inning struggle to keep the Rangers off the bases, took the win. Scott Feldman was awarded the loss.
All three meetings between the Angels and Rangers this season have now been decided by one run. The two teams have different strengths but ultimately appear to be evenly matched. The Angels will need to continue to get the best of their division rival in future head-to-head match-ups to overcome their current 3.5-game deficit in the AL West.
0 recs | 103 comments
Dude, it was 6-5, not 6-3
red floyd - June 29, 2010
Vlad's homer doesn't count
remember?
ryanfea - June 29, 2010
what homer
sctrojan13 - June 29, 2010
Vlad's homer
Made it 8-3 Angels. D’OH!
RallyMonkey5 - June 30, 2010
I see what you did there
red floyd - June 30, 2010
Fixed
Suboptimal - June 29, 2010
shhhh
I like the sound of 6-3 better
sctrojan13 - June 29, 2010
where my bitches at?
in Texas. ho where is my money? dont make me slap you. I made you bitch
DAD OF VLAD - June 29, 2010
OT-
Why is the K such a great triples park?
Figgi4life - June 29, 2010
defense
DAD OF VLAD - June 29, 2010
Wow
We’re the least triple friendly park
ryanfea - June 29, 2010
Too much noise
Triples are just really rare.
Suboptimal - June 29, 2010
Because
when you go there you’re playing the Royals?
LAASurfin - June 30, 2010
game bet idea
Will Fuentes pitch a 1-2-3 inning?
odds 250-1
DAD OF VLAD - June 29, 2010
Gave it to Fuentes. 2Ks and a groundout against Kinsler/Vlad/Cokehead is worth a Panther vote.
red floyd - June 29, 2010
they let
washington pinch hit?
sctrojan13 - June 29, 2010
pretty sure it was meth wasnt it
JayKim41 - June 30, 2010
If your
“red hot” bats can’t do any damage against Fuentes resulting in a 1-2-3 game ending inning…them quite frankly your team ain’t sh*t!
maze88 - June 29, 2010 via mobile
WTF
The Horse-face lackey is now 9-3
DAD OF VLAD - June 29, 2010
with an era similar
to hokie
sctrojan13 - June 29, 2010
Wins-Losses
For Pitchers is meaningless
ryanfea - June 29, 2010
Great game overall
Naps deserves some mention, at least. Solid homer, and good defense inn the 8th when we needed it. Good on Fuentes for shutting down the Rangers’ heart as well
TheKingfish - June 29, 2010
44FAN - June 29, 2010
Watchout
Chris Mathews is behind the screen
DAD OF VLAD - June 29, 2010
You never disappoint
halofan4life - June 29, 2010
I am not disappoint
RexTookMyStash - June 29, 2010
How about a shout-out to Frandsen for the screen on Andrus?
No Panther obviously, but as I watched the play happen I couldn’t help but to laugh.
halofan4life - June 29, 2010
or how about Frandsen for just starting the rally...
SoCalWine - June 29, 2010
Both of ^these^
But What a move he put on Andrus!
Really, that whole inning was launched by the efforts of Frandz.
Raaddad - June 30, 2010
panther goes to rex
fantastic trolling, my favorite response to his post was “Oh fuck you right in your fucking eyesocket with a giant rusty metal spike you fucking West-coast piece of trash.” by aquaman 56
sctrojan13 - June 29, 2010
I started a shit storm on the LSB post game thread
RexTookMyStash - June 29, 2010
I really should act my age one of these days
RexTookMyStash - June 29, 2010
Did you get the memo?
Here, I’ll give you another copy.
Downing Rules - June 29, 2010
Compared to LL and LSB
all I’m guilty of is mild ribbing. Those cowboys can take, b/c I know they sure can dish it.
RexTookMyStash - June 29, 2010
Screw that, no you shouldn't
acting your age is what seven year olds do best.
Caseys Kiss of Death - June 29, 2010
LSB is just a pile of shit that its pretty hard to get banned.
clover_black - June 29, 2010
just = such
clover_black - June 29, 2010
Naughty,
I laughed.
opiejeanne - June 30, 2010
Is it too late to post my photoshop entry from the deleted contest?
Caseys Kiss of Death - June 29, 2010
infinity rec
clover_black - June 29, 2010
Why wasn't I informed of this contest?
RexTookMyStash - June 29, 2010
Lawyers probably had something to do with it.
Downing Rules - June 29, 2010
Yes, do tell
Since I seem to be such a hot topic here lately… I’m rather interested to see what got posted in this “image contest” with a five-year-old picture of my face photoshopped on it.
Inkara1 - June 30, 2010
It was deleted before any postings were made at all
The only people who ever even saw it had to have been here during a specific, off-peak time window. I think it was up for all of 15 minutes.
Not sure why the picture being five years old is relevant toward anything, though.
Caseys Kiss of Death - June 30, 2010
Not really relevant to anything in particular... just stating a fact about the picture is all.
Inkara1 - June 30, 2010
You mean you don't look that good any more?
opiejeanne - June 30, 2010
Be careful, he may start stalking you
Epic Dean - June 30, 2010
He'd have to fly up to Seattle to do so.
opiejeanne - June 30, 2010
I'm in Where's Waldo mode right now.
opiejeanne - June 30, 2010
Seattle
RexTookMyStash - June 30, 2010
Close. Really close.
opiejeanne - June 30, 2010
Brilliant
WiHaloFan - June 30, 2010
My vote to Fuentes...
But great key contributions from a bunch of guys including Torii’s 8th inning snatch
muddybox - June 29, 2010
Why Fuentes?
I wanted to vote Vlad until I remembered it was 2010.
ReggieBullits - June 29, 2010
See my post near the top for why Stacheosaurus gets it.
red floyd - June 30, 2010
way to take care of business fellas.......
two more.
norcaliangelsfan - June 29, 2010
1 run games?
so does that make the rangers the new A’s?
SenorChuckles - June 30, 2010
Watching the game replay a bit
I like the way Mathis runs out and puts his arm around the pitcher for a sec
(Both Pinero and Rockin Rodney)I
It’s the Soth way of catching, methinks
Raaddad - June 30, 2010
POTG = Vladdy for his team leading 16th longball.
oh wait . . . that’s right , our DH only has ten HR’s and isn’t going to the All-Star game.
Wally's World - June 30, 2010
He probably would be
if he got to play in Arlington all the time.
Caseys Kiss of Death - June 30, 2010
Last year he played in the most left-handed HR friendly park in league!
You guy’s act like Arlington would make Brandon Wood have 12 HR’s by now.
Vladdy likes his home cookin!, wether he played in Detroit, Seattle, or Texas, his home #’s will be better.
hey, I get it, it hurts knowing the FO made the wrong choice, and it helps you guys to cover up the pain by pointing to a ballpark as the reason why he still mashes the opposing pitchers.
Wally's World - June 30, 2010
Facts
They don’t lie.
Home/Road Splits
Seik1177 - June 30, 2010
Splits
Player A’s Road Stats: .267/.320/.440, 6 HR
Player B’s Road Stats: .271/.333/.406, 3 HR
Player A obviously has more HR, but the #s are pretty much the same.
jjackflash - June 30, 2010
I'll take the 34 pts in slg% and 3 extra HR's please!
The other main difference you conveniently leave out are the home splits.
Player A’s home stats : 248/338/442 7 HR
Player B’s home stats: 374/413/626 10 HR.
Just face it: VLAD is a better player. He is faster, hits the ball harder, hits it farther, and does more damage to the opposing pitchers. We all know he likes Texas , but Texas a great player does not make.
*In the interest of full disclosure, Vlad is my favorite player. And I never liked Matsui, though I root for him now.
Wally's World - June 30, 2010
Vlad is better
but the player you see in Arlington this year is not the player we would have had we re-signed him, and that’s the key difference. Road stats by their nature are park-neutral. Ergo, a pretty good indicator of what to expect of him in an overall neutral environment (which is what Anaheim + the road generally is). You can’t chalk this up to Vlad “liking” home cooking either, as if he’d do the same anywhere. In his career BEFORE this year, there was a 20-something point spread in his home/away splits, which is virtually negligible. This year that spread is more than 270 points. Or, in simpler terms, the same point differential the separates the careers of Cesar Izturis and Mark Teixeira.
Caseys Kiss of Death - June 30, 2010
Of course
I left out the home #s. That’s the point: comparing apples to apples.
Vlad is having a good year. His home ball park makes it look like he’s having a better year than he actually is. I figured that was obvious.
The real surprise is that Vlad is healthy. It would have been unreasonable to expect that from him this year, given that he was supposed to be healthy last year after getting his knee fixed, and it turned out that he had the worst year of his career. And this was after he was supposed to be healthy in 2008, when his bat speed began to diminish markedly. He was clearly trending downward. I’m happy for him. I was really worried that he was going to look like Ken Griffey, Jr. did this year, which was rather sad. Clearly, the Angels had the same worry.
jjackflash - June 30, 2010
You are one antagonistic SOB
LAASurfin - June 30, 2010
Just watched the replays
absolutely loved Aybars play at home
OCangels - June 30, 2010
And that, my friend, is Angels Baseball.
red floyd - June 30, 2010
Seriously?
We don’t know how to pitch to Vladdy?? They didn’t watch film on how he was schooled with neck-high fastballs when he was with the Angels? Phenominal low (really low) ball hitter, terrible high-ball hitter, PITCH IT NECK-HIGH!!!!
Jimmmie - June 30, 2010
A few observations
Mike Napoli is a better defensive 1B than I thought he’d be. You never know what to expect when you give the mitt to a guy who last played there 5-6 years ago in the minors, but Napoli has caught everything hit near him, and shows some skill for receiving throws from infielders. In the 8th there was the line drive snag, but also a good play to keep his foot on the bag on the final throw by Aybar. I really hope the rumor mongers that have us dealing for a rental 1B are just blowing smoke, because it would be a huge mistake. We could not have hoped for a better Kendry fill in than we have in Napoli.
I really, really wish we had Vlad. I know the health concerns. Matsui is a good guy and an excellent clutch hitter. Vlad’s numbers would not be as dominant if he were not playing half his games in his favorite stadium to hit in. But watching him up there in another uniform just feels wrong.
I view John Lackey as a traitor. I can’t stand him now that he jumped ship to an enemy. He’s a filthy animal. Some might wonder why I don’t feel the same disgust with Vlad for signing in Texas. To quote Samuel L. Jackson, Vlad’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
RallyMonkey5 - June 30, 2010
You hate Lackey because...
he didn’t want to play for us. You love Vladdy because we didn’t want him to play for us.
Jimmmie - June 30, 2010
some of us wanted him to play for us
firebird81 - June 30, 2010
i understand...
…so did i, but we sympathize with him and still like him because he was no longer wanted by management. Lackey however, just didn’t want to be here, hence us hating him.
Jimmmie - June 30, 2010
there was a discussion here on HH about a year or 2 ago...
… I’m on record saying how much I didn’t like John Lackey, since then my opinion of him has turned 180 degrees. I really don’t think I’ve met a nicer more down to earth pro athlete. Of course it helps when they buy you beers and come say hello to you on your birthday. I just think its worth mentioning for all the haters out there that he was and still is very well liked at all the regular spots he used to frequent when he was with the angels. In a world full of self entitled pompus asshole pro-athletes, its pretty refreshing to meet and have an experience like that. I’m glad he proved me wrong.
AlohaHalofan - June 30, 2010 via mobile
Question:
are you a pretty girl or a middle-aged guy?
opiejeanne - June 30, 2010
Never mind.
I was fooled by your tiny icon, which is pretty cool but definitely not a pretty girl. Well, maybe in some circles.
opiejeanne - June 30, 2010
opie
you are the only person on the site here that can ask that question and it is not creepy
Rev Halofan - June 30, 2010
Better include ladybug along with OPJeans or she might go all voodoo on you.
sothball - June 30, 2010
It made me pause when I read it before I posted.
but I figured I would get a pass.
opiejeanne - June 30, 2010
All four, Abreu, Aybar, Fuentes and Piniero are POTG
Each one stepped it up when they had to, starting with Aybar. For me, Aybar set the tone from the beginning and I think the rest of the team fed off of his lead. I just hope the team continues this ‘panther’ style of game.
agent_99 - June 30, 2010
Pinata's best moment was what looked like his worst.
The fifth inning, bases loaded, no out, and Vladdy up.
He gets out of it with only one run, and barring a great slides by Andrus and Vlad to break up DPs, he would have got out of it clean.
red floyd - June 30, 2010
Some great quotes can be had on the LSB loss thread over there....
But this one takes the cake
" Well, generally, the team with less losses wins the West.
We’re still 5 games better."
Do we even bother to point out to this Texan that at the end of 162 game season the team with the least losses will also be the team with the most WINS?
firebird81 - June 30, 2010
my favorite quotes from LSB game threads last night (paraphrased)
- “chickenshit runs for a chickenshit team” (apparently, technicalities aside, the Rangers won the game last night…when you factor out these “chickenshit runs”)
- “the Angels have all sold their souls to Satan”
This shit is so entertaining.
dr-awkward - June 30, 2010
What's chicken shit about scoring runs with the bases loaded?
Texass had the bases loaded twice and score a grand total of 1 run
Epic Dean - June 30, 2010
My best guess...
is that Rangers fans would prefer Angels base runners remain on 3rd base indefinitely. Anything more is chickenshit.
dr-awkward - June 30, 2010
It's called a corollary
one implies the other.
blast21dave - June 30, 2010
That was a great game last night
Aybar coming home and Mr. Clutch Bobby Abreu coming through for us (I love me some Bobby Abreu), Naps homer, great defense by Tori and others, Napoli flashing that glove at first base, Frandenson and Mathis keeping things going, and Fuentes not blowing the save….Go Angels!
kbrown2225 - June 30, 2010
You spelled Franderson wrong.
snowhor - June 30, 2010 via mobile
Is he available?
ryanfea - June 30, 2010
I thought you got banned.
snowhor - June 30, 2010 via mobile
that was
a troll named rytean or something like that
Rev Halofan - June 30, 2010
Rev no get joke.
snowhor - June 30, 2010 via mobile
God I hope so
RexTookMyStash - June 30, 2010
Rev, I think we found your Googler. ^
snowhor - June 30, 2010 via mobile
Thought so too
after I read his comment that Frannie is cute.
opiejeanne - June 30, 2010
Rivera made a couple of sick catches last night that saved a few runs.
Commander_Nate - June 30, 2010
Closest thing to a dive Johnny does!
firebird81 - June 30, 2010
Hey Subopt!
Looks like you are going to be writing core front page stuff here regularly?
That is pure juice! I am so stoked. Was there an official announcement or something that I missed?
I’d seriously pay for this site.
LAASurfin - June 30, 2010
officla announcement
This is the official announcement. There.
Rev Halofan - June 30, 2010
Dad of Vlad?
’zat you?
LAASurfin - June 30, 2010
Oh wow, that was the wrong thing to say.
Even as a joke.
opiejeanne - June 30, 2010
Bah!
He has a good humor function. Misspelled official on an official announcement. Gotta get ribbed for that…
LAASurfin - June 30, 2010
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