Al Bello - Getty Images
Empty Seats. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Final Score in New Jersey: Angels 6, Jersey Boy Yankees: 10
There were moments of hope and there moments of despair, until finally someone turned a light on and said "You are dreaming, come back to the miserable 2010 season..." and so the Angels continued their sleepwalking toward oblivion with a choke to defy all optimism as well as optical illusions. Joel Pineiro had the perfect fat strike zone for his pitching style presented to him and he left too many balls up in the ether of it. Many Jersey Boy hits later and a big lead had been established. Worst of all, a comeback to within one run saw the Angels load the bases with two outs in consecutive innings and fail to score.
And so the Left On Base stiffness rusts away at the season and the flat 80-MPH relief pitching makes those LOBsters all the more maddening. IF this was Scot Shields' final game in an Angels uniform, happy trails to you and the gascans in your baggage Shillzee.
Game Threads Roll Call: Slyintine, eyespy, Epic Dean, ~MMP~, red floyd, Rev Halofan, ryanfea, phoenix15, Gorbachav5, stuck in Romania, Moondoggy, cath619, Dono Romantico, Halos in DE, billhune, UK Halo, Halowood, DAD OF VLAD, opiejeanne, TheKingfish, howiestheman, angelsfan7, haloduck, maze88, RexTookMyStash, Angels_48, Halos Fan, sothball, hbhalofan, SoCalWine, Commander_Nate, Suboptimal, The OC Sports Geek, mastermind565, PhiSlamma, WiHaloFan, agent_99, chairmanofthebar, Figgi4life, linkbruin, Quad Fin Rider, sheisalovelyladyandmyapologiestoher, lightupthehalo, Carl G, cupie, RedFog, turs12, RedHatHalo, Xeifrank, Angels Angel, Ed@northridge, Quinlan's Goofy Swing, OC Awhole1, matthiasstephan, bc56274, 2pintsofbooze, raskul, AlanFalcon
Total Users: 58 • Total Posts: 1001 • Total Threads: 2
0 recs | 58 comments
This
Reminds me why i dont watch the games anymore. They lose every game i watch.
M.Napoli For President in 2012 - July 21, 2010
Your screen name is going to be really awkward in 2 and a half years
haloduck - July 21, 2010
Not to mention that Naps can't be president in 2012.
He has to wait till 2016.
That pesky constitutional age limit and all…
red floyd - July 21, 2010
Lol
It will be even more awkward if he’s the odd catcher out and not even on the Angels in 2013.
haloduck - July 21, 2010
Ageist!
rspencer - July 21, 2010
possible trade -- wood/shields for a couple of broken bats and a bag of game used balls?
bad pineiro was in effect, but they got back into it. scot “white flag” shields deflated any chance…
daze - July 21, 2010
BOG=Soth
Constantly allowing underperforming pitchers to continue, where’s the logic this season with Scioscia?
HALO N BRIMSTONE - July 21, 2010
Options?
What choices does he have, really? Excrement, crap and shit. They all stink.
jjackflash - July 22, 2010
Can't really blame the offense as a whole, because they still managed to score 6 runs and almost came back at one point.
So just the offense with the bases loaded in those 2 innings is to blame. Shields was trying his hardest to get BOTG honors though.
Also, not sure why Izturis didn’t PH for Frandsen with the bases loaded
~MMP~ - July 21, 2010
I voted for offense because of clutch performance
Just like it’s magnified when a pitcher makes ONE bad pitch that loses the game, it’s magnified for me when the offense struggles when the game is on the line.
To be fair to both sides, the offense did put themselves in a position for us to even care about LOBsters, and Pinata kept us in it after a shaky start. Both choked when the game mattered though (pitching with Shields, not necessarily just Pinata) so either would be a good choice for BoTG.
haloduck - July 21, 2010
Clutch performance
How about giving up 4 runs in the 7th inning of a 1-run game?!?
Brody - July 21, 2010
Yeah that is pretty terrible as well
That’s why I said both were good choices.
haloduck - July 21, 2010
Tough
boomer1 - July 21, 2010
We could be anywhere from 1 game out to 10 games out by Sunday evening.
I fear the worst.
bc56274 - July 21, 2010
I'm afraid of this next series also...
We have to win this series – this is a MUST win series.
angelsfan7 - July 21, 2010
already better
worse we can do is 9 out, rangers just lost.
vladtheimpaler - July 21, 2010
15 hits and 6 runs against the Yanks
I am not blaming this one on the offense. Sure, I would like for the offense to get a hit every time they have an opportunity to score runs. That, however, is not realistic. They scored enough runs to win this game, and in general did a very good job pressuring the Yankees.
We lost today because our starting pitcher and one of our relievers were awful. Giving up 6 runs in the first 3 innings is unacceptable. Giving up 4 runs in 1 inning of relief is even worse. Shields is clearly the blame of the game. If Rodney or Fuentes had done what Shields did, we would be calling for their heads.
Brody - July 21, 2010
Scot gets my BOTG vote for expunging any chance of winning the game
Big Easy Halofan - July 21, 2010
Ewww, that's going to take a special Shout it Out
PieceOfAase - July 21, 2010
Really need to have a third option for the vote
I would vote for both, because their was failure on both parts today
billhune - July 21, 2010
Lol, Sosh must have some kind of lvoe affair with this bullpen.
Especially Shields. I think it is getting a little late to let them “work” out their problems.
angelskid2210 - July 21, 2010
I pushed the wrong buttong - my vote should be for pitching
Of the relief variety (surprise!).
I feel like a Floridian.
Commander_Nate - July 21, 2010
glue factory for shields.
clover_black - July 21, 2010
you mean horse faced lackey?
DAD OF VLAD - July 21, 2010
shields can ride lackey into the glue factory
clover_black - July 21, 2010
Who is not doing their job relating to pitching?
Do we blame Butcher? Is he helping anyone be better? Do the same mistakes keep occurring?
Do we blame Reagins? Are there better options out there? Did he sign garbage?
Do we blame Scioscia? Is he misusing what he has? Same questions that apply to Reagins apply here as well.
Do we blame Arte? Is he acting as if he wants to win above all else?
Or is the personnel that is sitting down in the bullpen to blame, nothing management or coaching can do to help them?
Quinlan's Goofy Swing - July 21, 2010
Team Management
We don’t have a reliable arm in the pen aside from good old dirty sanchez… and he sucks.
Jepsen is still interesting but honing his ability is still in the works. His performance falls on Butcher’s head.
Anaheim of Anaheim - July 21, 2010
I'd say Scioscia
last night he put Shields in with a 6 run lead, and he pitched effectively. then today, he put him in in a close game, and we saw what happened. Also, pitching Shields on back-to-back days and expecting the same results does not seem like a winning combo…unless of course he pitched well in a close game THEN pitched with a six run lead.
Shields obviously should only pitch when we are either dominating or getting dominated. no more close game appearances for him.
2pintsofbooze - July 21, 2010
This was my thought
I think Scioscia got a little too excited about Shields’ recent performances and threw into the fire a bit early. I would have liked Shields to see non-pressure duty for another week or two before he gets thrown in the second game in two night with the game in the balance.
I think Shields still has something left, but when he can’t locate the fastball, he’s toast.
Gorbachav5 - July 21, 2010
It'd nice for the "media" to start asking these questions.
The buck has to stop at somebody, and it would be nice if there was some honesty with the FO in regards to their ineptitude.
Register going after Reagins was a nice start. Questions need to be asked, people need to be held accountable.
clover_black - July 21, 2010
A very good point
It highlights the fact that there are no sports reporters left in this town, just columnists and PR flacks. It’s sad, really; I used to get the Times pretty much only for the sports section; now, I don’t even read it online.
The sports section was the last bastion of true journalism, at least hereabouts, but it too has now fallen. We may have “insiders”, but we have no outsiders with press passes who actually ask questions, and then follow those questions up with more incisive questions.
Mel, Jim, Jim, ’Mud: I miss you.
rspencer - July 21, 2010
I can't say
But there does seem to be problems in the areas of player development and player evaluation. I think that there may be too strong a sense of loyalty in the organization to their non-player personnel.
Is Scioscia misusing what he has? I am loath to second-guess someone whose baseball knowledge is about a dozen orders of magnitude deeper than mine, but I think he is misusing his talent, and doing so on purpose to highlight the reality of the situation for Reagins and Arte. Just a guess, but that’s the only thing that makes sense to me when I see him do things like putting Shields in today in that situation.
rspencer - July 21, 2010
bulltimate fail
Bulltimate Failure Examples A & B
Darren Oliver – Texas Ranger
Darren O’Day – Texas Ranger
Special Bulltimate Failure Factoid
Brian Fuentes is our most consitent and reliable arm in the pen.
What we can conclude from this information – WTF???
Anaheim of Anaheim - July 21, 2010
I'm still mad we gave up O'Day for nothing
Gorbachav5 - July 21, 2010
I'm still mad we gave up Jenks for nothing
rspencer - July 21, 2010
Remember when everyone wanted to make Arredondo the closer?
Just sayin’…
Rev Halofan - July 21, 2010
he will turn it around
and K-Rod will return for less money
and horse faced bitch lackey’s wife will realize that Anaheim Hills has great schools
and Vlad will be traded back to us
and all will be well
DAD OF VLAD - July 21, 2010
Arredondo will turn it around?
Isn’t his career over???
firebird81 - July 21, 2010
No he got tommy john surgery and is with the Reds now. Not pitching yet.
hauldog - July 21, 2010
thought he got stabbed in the arm.....
daze - July 21, 2010
both
he got stabbed and then he got tommy john.
Rev Halofan - July 22, 2010
Stabbed Twice, in other words
jjackflash - July 22, 2010
What the hell happened to Rich Thompson?
Is he still in the bullpen or did we option him back to Australia for winter?
Commander_Nate - July 21, 2010
He pitched today
Epic Dean - July 21, 2010
He pitched the 8th
~MMP~ - July 21, 2010
Oh, well how'd he do?
I went to lunch in the 6th or 7th and all I heard was our Shields failing.
Commander_Nate - July 21, 2010
He pitched a perfect 8th vs
Teix, A-Rod, and Cano.
Slyintine - July 21, 2010
That's gonna be a wonderful story to tell his grandkids.
Stirrups - July 21, 2010
Mickey Hatcher
I know he gets written about a lot here, but it just seems like there is an overall decline in the hitting of the home grown talent. The decline in veteran hitting can be attributed to age, but Kendrick is batting below avg. Napoli and Mathis haven’t improved and we all know Wood’s story.
Looking back at past call-ups the same can be said for many of those, Kotchman, McPherson, Quinlan and others. Has too much credit been given to them in the minors, or is the problem here at the Major League level?
bighig - July 21, 2010
Napoli has been just fine. Kendrick got off to a slow start, as usual (hitting into bad luck), but he’s hit .340 with an .897 OPS the last two weeks. Mathis just wasn’t as good as people said he was.
I don’t think Hatcher is a great hitting coach, but I don’t think we can blame all of this on him.
Now if he screws up Trout, there may be a violent uprising.
Gorbachav5 - July 21, 2010
In these last 2 games the Angels outscored the Yankees 16-12
I have to blame the pitching on this one (although I’m not livid, Joel has been great for us so far). Still, when your team gives you 6 runs you should be able to work with that. Of course the Angel bats seem to pride themselves on not hitting with RISP.
Teixeira Who? - July 21, 2010
a split in Yankee stadium is about the best outcome we could have realistically expected...
no worries.
Take care of business against texas…..
norcaliangelsfan - July 21, 2010
3 out of 4....
and nothing less Halos.
norcaliangelsfan - July 21, 2010
Winning the west this year will require the best team management ever by Scioscia.
This team just doesn’t have the talent. If they win, Scioscia is manager of the year, and there shouldn’t be a close 2nd.
sothball - July 21, 2010
this is his shittiest team no doubt
but he is using the same formula. He can’t get them to overachieve, but I blame him when the same players are used in the same spot, with the same terrible results. Texas generally only knows how to lose, so until it’s official, I expect to have a stress filled birthday (it’s in early october)
Quinlan's Goofy Swing - July 21, 2010
Hold on a second
2001 was his worst team, don’t you think?
rspencer - July 22, 2010
It's debatable...
…this year has been a convergence of bad luck & downward trends…
- Morales injury.
- Under-performance by many veterans (Abreu, Matsui, Rivera, Rodney, Saunders).
- Severe under-performance by others (Shields, Kazmir).
- Completely MIA (Wood & Bulger).
- The worst base-running I have ever seen by a team known for sloppy-agressive base-running in the years past.
…very few good surprises…
- The only 2 that come to mind are Pineiro and Frandsen, with solid seasons by Weaver and Santana as 2 other possibilities.
…and still others that seemed to have been destined to improve this year but are either stuck or have mildly regressed…
- HK, Aybar, Jepsen, Mathis.
This makes for a wide array of challenges, and not much help anticipated from the minors or via trade. Considering we are currently 5 games behind the Rangers, it will take a lower grade miracle to win the west this year. I have my doubts that even Scioscia can get it done. Too many broken parts. If he does, he deserves manager of the year.
sothball - July 22, 2010
Dear Mr. Rev
Take out the second “will” in your pregame question for the Rangers game.
As per your “please inform me of language etc etc mistakes”
Yours truly,
Mr. V. Impaler
vladtheimpaler - July 22, 2010
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