Halos Heaven: FanPosts

Nolan Ryan's Record Breaker

WiHaloFan — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:32:51 -0000

Today (August 20th) is the 34th anniverary of Nolan Ryan setting the Guiness Book of World Records fastest pitch record. Here's something I wrote over at The Halo Is Lit.

On August 20th, 1974 against the Detroit Tigers, Ryan went for the fastest pitch record. I had spent the summer of 1974 in Alaska with my brother and his family, as he was in the Air Force and was stationed outside of Fairbanks. Back then, there wasn't much satellite coverage for T.V. (if at all) causing all of the programs to be two weeks behind the "lower 48" and the news was a couple days later too, making it harder to follow my favorite team. Upon my return home and for my approaching birthday, my mom took me to an Angels game that featured Ryan going for the Guiness Book of world records for the fastest pitch thrown. Since having a guy sitting behind the plate with a Juggs gun was still a few years away, aerospace contactor and builder of the Apollo space vehicle, Rockwell International, were called in to set up their sophisticated measurement gear to record the velocities of Ryan's pitches. At the time, my mom worked for Rockwell and I remember thinking it was pretty cool that her company was responsible for measuring the pitches and she had, what I thought, a small role in the event. I don't remember much about the actual game, but when doing research for this piece at Baseball-Reference, it appears to have been a really good game. Ryan dueled Tigers' pitcher Mickey Lolich for 11 innings, with both pitchers throwing complete games, but Ryan ended up getting the loss by allowing a single and stolen base to Ben Oglivie and a run scoring single to Bill Freehan in the top of the 11th. These were only two of the four hits Ryan allowed in the game, which also included 19 strikeouts. The results of the measurements of Ryan's pitches weren't shown until after the game and were displayed inning-by-inning on the Big A scoreboard. I don't remember the exact inning Ryan broke the record, but I do know it was late in the game, either the 7th or 8th. They showed the results for each inning, with a pause between each to build the suspense. When they finally showed the record breaker of 100.9 MPH, the crowd went wild...well about as wild as 12,000 fans can go.

Halos Allergic to Tropicana Orange Juice

Big Easy Halofan — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:50:26 -0000

After suffering one of the more life-sapping losses of the season, it may be hard to believe that there is something worthwhile to glean from an otherwise disastrous road trip. Yes, we witnessed a typical August bed-shitting by Scot Shields, who was in rare yet all too familiar form as he exhibited the composure of Frosty the Snowman in the proverbial greenhouse. We saw our lauded “defensive specialist” catcher air mail a throw that taunted Rays fans in the luxury suites with hopes of a souvenir. And perhaps most unfortunately, we saw an outstanding start by Ervin Santana wasted faster than Barney Gumbel at an open bar.

The reaction to continued failure at Tropicana Field? Initially, we responded with widespread choruses of curses and expletives (likely in unison), pointing fingers of blame at the numerous struggling Angels. Worse, a fair share of us, in the daze of full blown Tourret’s syndrome, validated our significant others’ disdain for our love of Angels baseball. Granted, it was amplified by sour defeat, but nonetheless.

The lesson learned from this? The Angels need home field advantage. Badly. Sure, you may say this is the talk of a defeatist. It is true that our lads have been very good on the road this season. However, the Halos’ regular inability to play in the ugliest MLB stadium and simultaneously swallow the dense, drowning godawful pulp that Tropicana Field continually pours down our throats is, for me, testament enough.

While that’s not what we want to take from this series, it’s all I can offer. Stay the hell away from Tropicana Field at all costs.

Poll

In which potential and traditionally challenging venue do you think the Angels have the best chance of success?

Team Needs a Shot in the Arm

hk47 — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:51:18 -0000

Los Angeles de Anaheim have last four of their last five. Granted they were playing really well prior to this most recent losing streak, but during another painful loss last night, I couldn't help thinking how we're suddenly making this home field advantage thing very interesting. I had an ugly 2005 Steve Finley flashback.

I think the team needs a shot in the arm. I think the Izturis injury was more of a setback than anticipated. I think Howie needs a day off. I am interested to see what Soth has up his sleeve.

I'd like to see a lineup change for a game or two. Maybe DH Morales for Rivera. Maybe sub out Howie for a day off. The guy's hitting .224 in August. Figgins can't buy his way on right now. Aybar needs a day off soon, who's going to play SS?

September can't seem to come soon enough to see guys like Brandon Wood, Jason Bulger and Matt Brown.

Is anyone else worried about the team right now? I think losing homefield advantage has really hurt us in playoffs past. It doesn't seem to be a big deal for Soth. I know we have been a good road team in 2008, but I'd rather be playing at the Big A in October.

Poll: where does Frankie rank?

elricsi — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:49:19 -0000

Obviously we have been spending a lot of time wondering if he is going to be resigned and how much he should get, but I think first we have to know: Where does he rank among baseball's best closers?

We all hope he sets the all time record for single season saves, but his peripheral numbers don't seem mind boggling. I mean his ERA is almost 3, but 4 of the other closers in the top 10 in saves have ERA's under 2. ERA is not exactly the best stat for relief pitchers, of course, you also need to account for how they do with inherited runners, and if they are in the National Minor League or not.

So, my question is, where do you put K-Rod?

Poll

How many closers are better than Frankie in 2008?

#1 Angel from ESPN & Baseball Tonight

Angel Aviator — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:28:34 -0000

The fans have voted and the votes are in. The top 3 Angels according to the votes gathered by ESPN are as follows

#1 Nolan Ryan (#2 HH)

Nolan received 60% + of the votes

#2 GA (#5 HH) came in second

#3 Tim Salmon (#1 HH)

The wonderful smurf Tim Kurkjian voted Garret Anderson as the teams #1 Angel. He backed it up with the numbers.

#1 in games played, AB's, Runs Scored, Total hits, DBL's, RBI's

He also talked about how he has been a All-Star 3 times winning the MVP in one, and being part of the only World Series winning team that the organization has ever had.

Seems to me the nation voted for the player that brought exposure and notoriety to the club.

Whats Halo Heavens thought on this?

Garret Anderson named Franchise Player

howiestheman — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:24:07 -0000

I was waiting for the night game to start on ESPN, so I had Baseball Tonight on in the background, and to my surprise, today was the day that they revealed their "franchise player" for the Angels.

Number 3 was Tim Salmon.

Number 2 was Nolan Ryan.

Number 1 was our lazy man himself, Garret Anderson.

Personally, I think Salmon would've been a more appropriate choice, but that's just me. It really could've gone either way, I guess. After the "reavealing", they actually had some really good things to say about GA.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised.

So... does GA deserve it, or should it have been Salmon or Ryan?

Poll

Angels Franchise Player?

Halos Heaven Invades Cleveland

ViolaHalo — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:02:05 -0000

OK, well maybe "Invades" is a bit too strong, but my wife, my infant daughter, two friends (Indians fans, but we'll excuse them for that) and I (wearing my Halos Heaven t-shirt!) went up to Cleveland for Saturday's game against the Indians.

We arrived just over an hour early hoping to see batting practice, based on my previous experience at an Indians game. Unfortunately they had already finished - it seems they open the gates 90 minutes before gametime on the weekends, and just an hour before during the week (last game I went to was during the week).

Anyhow - our seats were way up, but we spent a good bit of pre-game time down by the Angels' dugout hoping for a photo op or two. It was Indians Hall of Fame day, and they were inducting the Mike Hargrove (The Human Rain Delay) and the late Joe Gordon into their team Hall. This meant a bit more delay before the game, but I was able to get a few pictures of the players warming up.

In honor of the Hall of Fame inductions, the game was played "old-school" meaning that the outfield scoreboard was an image that mimicked the old Cleveland Stadium scoreboard, the announcer used a 1940s style to present the players as they came up to bat, and the only music was organ music. The 1940s-style intros basically consisted of the following: "At bat number 47, Howie Kendrick. Second baseman, 47, Kendrick. 47, Kendrick." Most of it was nice, though it would have been useful to see the batting orders and replays on the scoreboard. Otherwise it was a nice change from the normal frenetic promotion that we see at Major League Baseball games.

Of course the result of the game itself was great, but it was a sloppy one. Thanks to the Indians' pathetic defense (caused in part by the Angels' aggressive baserunning), the Angels were able to get a lead and thankfully hold onto it. Darren Oliver's inning was probably the most bizarre I've seen in a long time, as he got himself into and out of a bases-loaded, no out jam. Yikes! My wife said "we're not going to get out of this one unscathed, are we?" and I had to say I didn't think we would. Nice job Darren.

K-Rod's ability to hold onto the save in the 9th was a welcome change from his last few appearances as well, and we went home happy, but feeling very lucky to have won. Talked to a few Indians fans after the game (Indians fans seem to be pretty damned cool, by the way), who really liked to talk about the baby wearing her Angels' gear, as well as our respective teams' seasons (theirs=disappointing, ours=not disappointing).

I've attached below a picture of my daughter and I (again, note the Halos Heaven t-shirt) before the game, and the following is a link to a short slideshow of some of the pictures from the game: Click here for Slideshow

via farm4.static.flickr.com

Rumours and Rumours of War... David Eckstein

cupie — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 01:15:08 -0000

The big rumour on this blog, the internet, and the radio is that the Halos might trade for beloved David Eckstein.

It seems like the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim already have plenty of depth to survive the bummer of "The Boy King" going down for the season and the playoffs. I guess the thrust of all the rumours is if Aybar goes down, who do we replace him with? Figgins, Brandon Wood, Gary Discarcina, or if you ask Acuda Kendry Morales?

Thoughts?

Poll

Trade for David Eckstein?

Olympic Thread

AnaheimHalos61 — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 05:20:49 -0000

Dateline Beijing: Michael Phelps beats second place finisher by coming from behind and beating him by one one-hundreth of a second! This ties him for the record for most gold medals in one Olympic games. In the men's 100 butterfly phelps time was 50.59, while the silver medalist had a time of 50.58. Is anyone else pumped up about this awesome US Olympic team? USA! USA!! USA!

via z.about.com

BREAKING NEWS: Izturis to have season-ending surgery

howiestheman — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:17:28 -0000

According to Fox Sports, Angels' shortstop Maicer Izturis is going to have season-ending surgery on his left thumb.

Link To Story

So what does this mean for the Angels? Well, for starters, Erick Aybar just became the full-time shortstop, and Sean Rodriguez became the full-time backup. Will we see another platoon? I doubt it. But I'm sure we'll see more for Rodriguez than we all thought we would.

This year, Maicer was hitting .269 with 3 HRs, 37 RBIs and 11 SB in 79 games. Can Aybar dupicate that same production? I think so. Is there reason to panic? Not right now, no. If Aybar gets injured, then we can panic.

Another thing we may see is uber-prospect Brandon Wood getting some solid time at shortstop. While that may not happen for a few weeks, it remains an outside possibility.

Get well, Gazoo. We'll miss you.

Long Comments

yeswecan — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:21:45 -0000

Call me unsophisticated or ADD or whatever, but some of the comments on this site are reaching jackasstronomical lengths. I don't have time to read a 700+ word comment to a post! It seems to me like we've got a number of budding novelists here, and to them I say: Go write a book! I'd love to read it when I'm not on the Internet.

Don't get me wrong -- I love HH for its variety of opinion and interesting points of view on all things in the Halosphere. And I'm sure there are some very well-thought-out rationales for certain opinions. I just don't have the patience to read all six paragraphs of it.

And I certainly do not condone censorship outside of the rules of play here, but perhaps some self-censorship -- rather, self-editing, more specifically -- may be in order. More folks will be more likely to read it, then.

Poll

REACTION:

Best Angels Team Ever?

yeswecan — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:58:35 -0000

We all know that, based on the scoreboard, the 2002 Angels are technically the best Angels team in history. The proof is in the bling. But that's not what I'm speculating on here -- NOR am I making any prognostication for how this season will end.

But it's been so damn fun to watch this Angels team lately. And given their success not only in comparison to the rest of the league this year, but also relative to Angels teams of the past, it's worth considering this:

From pitching to batting to defense, this is the best Angels team ever. They are just resourceful as the '02 team, and they've got the deep threats of '82 or '86. Add superior pitching, and this '08 team looks like a very difficult team to beat.

I fell in love with the Angels when Nolan was around, so I think I've pretty much seen all of the likely candidates. This team looks like the best ever. Now watch me jinx the whole bloody thing, right?

Poll

Which is the best Angels team ever?

Angels Waivers

WiHaloFan — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:39:24 -0000

Has anyone heard which players (if any) the Angels put through waivers? I'm kind of curious if they're thinking about making any changes or if any players cleared.

I read that Aubry Huff has cleared. Don't know what his salary is or what the Orioles would want for him, but he'd be an upgrade over Quinlan wouldn't he? Something like Quinlan and something for him (if the Orioles would even want Quinlan)?

I'm not saying the Angels need to make changes and I think they can win it all with the team they have, but better is better...if Huff is really better than Quinlan.

Rosenthal's take on keeping the current roster together...

rghan — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:15:16 -0000

Keeping same lineup will get expensive for Halos

Rosenthal's more down on the Angels' ability to compete financially than I would have thought. Interesting. He also hints that Vlad's next deal will be in the $100 mil+ range, which surprises me. Lastly, he seems high on Morales and Trumbo, listing them as potentialy worthy replacements for Tex...

I think it's unlikely that Teixeira will get 10 years. $20 mil a year, almost certainly, but with the Yanks missing out on postseason revenue and with so many holes to fill, they might not have the inclination to blow the market away on two long-term superstar contracts, and right now they need pitching. That leaves the Mets, Red Sox, and Orioles as potential competitors for Tex. With the possible exception of Boston, not one of these teams has the financial cojones to leave Arte in the dust if he decides he wants Tex. I remain optimistic.

Outside the boxscore - K-Rod calls foul

Allison_a1234 — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:51:22 -0000

Francisco Rodriguez was stuck with his fifth blown save this season on Wednesday in a 10-7 loss in 12 innings to the Seattle Mariners and on his way out of the game, he was nailed with the first ejection of his career.

The Angels’ closer, who gave up three runs in the top of the ninth inning on a two-run double by Jeremy Reed and a RBI single by Raul Ibanez, was tossed after arguing with home plate umpire Gerry Davis on his way back to the dugout after he had been removed by Manager Mike Scioscia.

Check out what the umpire said:
http://fromthedugout.freedomblogging.com/2008/08/13/outside-the-boxscore-k-rod-calls-foul/

Blown Save Raises Questions

WiHaloFan — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:11:00 -0000

On Mayheminthehood, Highlandhalo, and my blogs (thehaloislit.com), I posted the following. Since we don't get much traffic I thought I'd post it here too, in order to get some feedback. Doesn't really say much, but here it is:

Last night's loss to the Seattle Mariners raises some questions the Angels will need to address this off-season, if not sooner. Closer Frankie Rodriguez, who will become a free agent after this season, looked awful in the ninth inning giving up 3 runs while recording just one out. K-Rod has been very good this season, on pace to shatter the season save record, but my perception of Frankie's season is that he seems to be living on the edge in most of his appearances. His BB/IP and H/IP are up, while his strikeouts are down. Not a good sign. Of his 56 games this season, he has only 17 appearances in which he pitched at least an inning and did not allow a base runner. This is the first time in his career he has allowed batters' OBP to exceed .300. Is he hurting? I don't know, but I went back and watched last night's outing and noted he topped out at 91mph. I then went and watched a couple games from 2006 and saw him throwing 94-95. It doesn't seem like he can blow hitters away like he used to. Instead, he's trying to hit corners or make hitters swing at curves and sliders out of the zone. Hitters have been more patient by not swinging at his off-speed stuff, waiting for him to throw a strike or taking a base on balls. Either way, resulting in more base runners. He no longer just goes right after a hitter with what used to be an overpowering fastball. Some pitchers will hide an injury while they try to work through it. Earlier this year, Indians closer Joe Borowski stated he felt like he was throwing underwater because his shoulder was hurting. He stated this after giving up 7 earned runs over his previous three games. Would have been nice to have mentioned that earlier, Joe. If Frankie is hurting would he say anything? He's got 15 million reasons not too. As his free agency approaches, an injury would jeopardize his big payday.

The Angels aren't going to make any changes this year, nor should they unless K-Rod's performances the next few outings match last night's, but their closer situation will become one of the off season's top priorities. K-Rod has already said he'll test the free agency market and is looking for a multi-year deal in the $15 million range. If this is the case, the Angels should let him walk. Use that cash to re-sign Mark Teixeira if they're able to. If not, $15 million can go a long ways in building a dominating bullpen. I've always been a proponent of not over-spending for a closer. There always seems to be good relief pitching available. The Angels already have a replacement available to them in Jose Arrendondo. He's the best pitcher no one is talking about. There are also options available in the minors in Jason Bulger. Bulger, who will be 30 later this year and is considered old for a minor leaguer, had a brief shot in the majors this year, but was completely ineffective. At AAA Salt Lake, Bulger has been very good. In 38 innings he's struck out 67 batters and has not given up a home run. Pretty impressive considering the small ballparks of the PCL. In his 5.2 inning this year with the big club he gave up 7 hits, 2 of those home runs, but less than 6 innings isn't much of a sample size. Last season, Bulger pitched just 6.3 innings and was somewhat effective. He struck out 8 and gave up 5 hits (0 HR). Again, not much of a sample size. Bring him up, if not now, in September and see what he can do with more opportunities. The Angels also have Kevin Jepsen down in AAA. Jepsen just turned 24 and was a Futures Game selection. At two levels this year, Jepsen has given up just 37 hits (3 HR) in 57 innings and has struck out 55 batters. Another course the Angels could pursue is through trade. The Halos have an abundance of positional players, both at the major league and minor league levels who can bring in bullpen depth. Either way, the Angels will have some tough bullpen questions to answer very soon.

Post break offense rocks

melvintoast — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:50:27 -0000

                OBP     SLG     BA
G Anderson      0.402   0.602   0.376
M Teixeira      0.433   0.620   0.340
T Hunter        0.402   0.701   0.338
H Kendrick      0.366   0.436   0.330
V Guerrero      0.380   0.582   0.319
E Aybar         0.373   0.435   0.304
C Figgins       0.360   0.314   0.284
M Izturis       0.321   0.400   0.260
J Rivera        0.275   0.452   0.233
J Mathis        0.304   0.388   0.194
G Matthews      0.265   0.107   0.107

                                OBP     SLG     BA
1       Baltimore Orioles       0.358   0.491   0.300
2       Seattle Mariners        0.344   0.439   0.300
3       Los Angeles Angels      0.363   0.490   0.298 XXXX
4       New York Yankees        0.363   0.459   0.289
5       Detroit Tigers          0.356   0.479   0.285
6       Texas Rangers           0.346   0.461   0.278
7       Cleveland Indians       0.345   0.461   0.273
8       Boston Red Sox          0.359   0.413   0.271
9       Minnesota Twins         0.334   0.406   0.271
10      Chicago White Sox       0.331   0.456   0.264
11      Kansas City Royals      0.312   0.392   0.256
12      Toronto Blue Jays       0.323   0.385   0.252
13      Tampa Bay Devil Rays    0.336   0.438   0.250
14      Oakland Athletics       0.289   0.319   0.218

here's some food for thought

halofan4life — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:37:34 -0000

I was going to post this as a reply to a fanshot, but after the third paragraph I felt it would spark better debate as it's own fanpost.

I understand that A LOT of players are controlled by either their agents, or the almighty dollar, but seriously, it can't be ALL of them can it? saw an interview with Tex not to long ago where he said "If it were all about money, i would have signed the contract Texas offered me. That's a lot of money to turn down, but thats not why i play." Vlad as well has stated in interviews that he DOES NOT WANT TO PLAY ANYWHERE ELSE, and i would not be surprised if he would take less to stay in anaheim.

I believe that the only anamolies that we have to worry about would be K-rod and Jaun Rivera. K-Rod because he has said before abuot having to worry about supporting his family and all, which is a complete crock, but if you're gonna be that egotistical then by all means, sign to the highest bidder wether it is us, the skanks or the dodgers or whoever. And i place Juan in this because no matter how good his attitude is, riding the bench all year had to have chapped his ass. Right now he is proving, why they should have played him everyday, and he is rubbing their noses in it.

I think Lackey for as good as he is has just as much character and class as anyone and I don't see him wanting to play somewhere else. And the same goes for GA, blue smoke has put in too many years to, IMO, want to wear any colors besides those of angel red and would probably take a discounted rate to do so, wether he is worht it or not.

I'm sure that I'm gonna hear from someone about Tex having Scott Boras as his agent, but then let me remind you of A-Rod last winter. After Boras had him opt ouit of his contract, A-Rod went back to the yankees ON HIS OWN to negotiate a deal to stay in New York, so Boras doesn't have complete control over his clients.

Maybe it's just me, but I think that it is still possible for players to want to genuinely play big league baseball, and that money is not their only motivating factor, like I said could be just me.

Games over .500 = lame

thrill000 — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:12:46 -0000

So the Angels are 32 games over .500. Great. Awesome. What does that even mean? It makes no sense. This is something that has always bothered me, and I'm not even a stat head.

By using the current method of Wins - Losses, we're saying .500 is however many loses a team has and however many more wins they have equals "games over .500". 32 games over .500 would mean .500 for the Angels is 43-43, but they've played 118 games, not 86.

The formula of Wins - Losses is quick an easy, but it really doesn't say much. We should be dividing that number by 2. That would give us a truer "games over .500" number. After 118 games a .500 team would be 59-59. If the Angels have 75 wins, then would should be 16 games over .500.

(W-L)/2 It just makes sense.

Does anyone really care though?

Vlad Guerrero wants to stick around. EXTEND HIM.

TheOptimist — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:21:24 -0000

I know this might be a bit late, but I felt I had to comment on this. With a hat tip to Rob at 6-4-2...

http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-shaikin10-2008aug10,0,3425244.story

So if this article can be believed, Vlad would like to stick around and end his career as an Angel. Now far be it from me to question Reagins and I know Arte says he wants to keep Vlad around, but...DEAR ****ING LORD SIGN HIM NOW. THIS IS NOT A HARD QUESTION.

Even at 75-80%, which is what he's been for most of the year, he's still put up around an .830 OPS, which we can certainly use. More than that, he's been tearing it up since the break and I give it even money he'll finish the year with 30 or more HR's, a .300+ avg, and a .900+ OPS. In a year where for half the season he was struggling with a leg issue and poor luck. If he wants to stay and he'll take a discount to do it, FOR GOD'S SAKE EXTEND HIM.