Two observations about the L.A. Angels.

JPFair · Post by **JPFair** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 9:48 am

Many of you may, or may not know, that I'm an Angels fan. And, I have two observations about their team this year.

1) Vladimir Guerrero is the Baseball equivalent of an NFL "Shutdown" corner. He will definitely make runner think long and hard about testing his arm on a single to right while runners are on second. Has anyone ever witnessed the cannon of an arm that he has? It's phenomenal. While in Texas on a recent business trip, I went to see the Rangers play the Angels (Ameriquest field is a nice stadium) and I got to witness Guerrero warming up. He routinely throws the ball from the third base bag over the right field fence. Also, when warming up, he throws the ball from the 3rd base bag to an outfielder in right field who's crouched down in the catchers position. Not only that, but he's throwing STRIKES!! Vlad is the best player in Baseball, bar NONE! Barry Bonds doesn't hold a candle to Vlad. Simply put, Vlad is good for baseball!!

2) Francisco Rodriguez is headed for a hall of fame career as a closer. His slider is the best slider baseball has ever seen. And the kids only what, 23? AMAZING!! Anybody ever witnessed his slider?

air_hog · Post by **air_hog** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 10:18 am

Amen.

So what, we are off to a wie bit of a slow start, but we are still in first.

I'm looking forward to the playoffs.

The best thing about Vlad, he swings as hard as he can at ANYTHING. He just grips it and rips it and when he makes contact... GONE

Then K-Rod. K-Rod has the best slider is baseball, his slider is so good he could throw it 3 times in a row, and srike him out on 3 pitches.

Go Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

tsaler · Post by **tsaler** » Mon May 02, 2005 12:50 pm

Vlad Guerrero isn't the only outfielder who does that 3B-RF throw. Alex Rios from the Blue Jays also does it. I bet Jose Guillen could do it too.

air_hog · Post by **air_hog** » Mon May 02, 2005 5:32 pm

Johan Santana who?

--How bout them Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

tsaler · Post by **tsaler** » Mon May 02, 2005 7:55 pm

You're a fan of the team. Now I want you tell me God's honest truth.

Do you really like this "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" garbage?

air_hog · Post by **air_hog** » Mon May 02, 2005 7:56 pm

tsaler wrote:
Do you really like this "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" garbage?

Of course! 8-[

tsaler · Post by **tsaler** » Mon May 02, 2005 8:00 pm

If the Nationals get bought out by some group in Virginia, I think it would be terrific to call them the Washington Nationals of Norfolk. Terrific in a really, really not good kind of way.

Redskins Rule · Post by **Redskins Rule** » Tue May 03, 2005 9:32 am

Yeah the Los Angelos Angles of Aneheim name sucks and therefore the team sucks.

That pitcher can't keep his slider going all year. He's gonna have days when he just doesn't have it. I wonder what is ERA will be then. Its always nice to have a right fielder that can throw, but you need more then that to win games. I'm sorry, but I'm not sold on the Los Angelos Angels of Anaheim being a good team. At least not yet.

air_hog · Post by **air_hog** » Tue May 03, 2005 10:54 am

Redskins Rule wrote: That pitcher can't keep his slider going all year.

Ever hear of Mariano Rivera and his cut-fastball?

How'd that work out for him and the Yankee's a few years back?

Redskins Rule · Post by **Redskins Rule** » Tue May 03, 2005 11:47 am

air_hog wrote:
Redskins Rule wrote: That pitcher can't keep his slider going all year.

Ever hear of Mariano Rivera and his cut-fastball?

How'd that work out for him and the Yankee's a few years back?

uhhhh......uhhhhh.......ohhhh I found it!

http://worldseries.mlb.com/ws/index.html

That is from a few years back. I can have even more fun with it if you want to go too last year or this year.

No offense intended, but the Los Angelos Angels of Anaheim haven't showed me they're a good team yet.

tsaler · Post by **tsaler** » Tue May 03, 2005 11:52 am

Rivera lost his cutter this year. Okay, so if the Angels win a few championships and get a bunch of 100-win seasons, that's all fine and well. But just remember - eventually he's going to lose his slider!

JPFair · Post by **JPFair** » Tue May 03, 2005 2:21 pm

No offense intended, but the Los Angelos Angels of Anaheim haven't showed me they're a good team yet.

Winning the AL West last year, and having the line-up that they currently have doesn't indicate to you that they're a "good" team? I could see someone saying that they might not be a "GREAT" team, but with their lineup that includes the defending AL MVP, along with the best bullpen in the majors, and a Manager that led them to the World Series in 2002 must lead any reasonable baseball fan to at a minimum, accept that this is a "good" team. To say that they are not a good team is, I think, both inaccurate and baseless. The Angels, while arguably not the best team in Baseball, simply have to be considered, at a minimum, "good" by any knowledgable baseball fan/writer/observer. Most, if not ALL, reputable sporting publications predict that the Angels will win the A.L. West. Currently, and I know it's early in the year, they lead their division and their star player appears to be headed towards another MVP caliber year.

Good? Yes, they most certainly are!!

Redskins Rule · Post by **Redskins Rule** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:49 pm

JPFair wrote:
No offense intended, but the Los Angelos Angels of Anaheim haven't showed me they're a good team yet.

Winning the AL West last year, and having the line-up that they currently have doesn't indicate to you that they're a "good" team? I could see someone saying that they might not be a "GREAT" team, but with their lineup that includes the defending AL MVP, along with the best bullpen in the majors, and a Manager that led them to the World Series in 2002 must lead any reasonable baseball fan to at a minimum, accept that this is a "good" team. To say that they are not a good team is, I think, both inaccurate and baseless. The Angels, while arguably not the best team in Baseball, simply have to be considered, at a minimum, "good" by any knowledgable baseball fan/writer/observer. Most, if not ALL, reputable sporting publications predict that the Angels will win the A.L. West. Currently, and I know it's early in the year, they lead their division and their star player appears to be headed towards another MVP caliber year.

Good? Yes, they most certainly are!!

OK, OK They're good.

But when they play the Nationals on June 13th they're gonna suck, just like their name!

ANT7088 · Post by **ANT7088** » Tue May 03, 2005 7:25 pm

tsaler wrote:Rivera lost his cutter this year. Okay, so if the Angels win a few championships and get a bunch of 100-win seasons, that's all fine and well. But just remember - eventually he's going to lose his slider!

26 games into the season is considered a year????? He isn't doing good, but it's still a long season!

tsaler · Post by **tsaler** » Wed May 04, 2005 1:12 am

Well look, I'm not saying he's lost it and it will never be found. I'm just saying that, so far, he's lost it.

ANT7088 · Post by **ANT7088** » Wed May 04, 2005 7:46 am

tsaler wrote:Well look, I'm not saying he's lost it and it will never be found. I'm just saying that, so far, he's lost it.

He didn't "lose" anything! If you watch him all the time you'd know that! You can't win every game & when you face certain teams 19 times a year since 1996 eventually they're going to get your #! The only problem Mo is having is location, he'll turn that around & still end up in the top 5 with saves!

tsaler · Post by **tsaler** » Wed May 04, 2005 8:09 am

Okay, if you say so. I watched him lose it and get smacked around because of it. But I'm not in market, I don't watch a lot of Yankees games, so if he's got it back, then my mistake. But he did lose it. I saw it with my own two eyes.

ANT7088 · Post by **ANT7088** » Wed May 04, 2005 11:03 am

tsaler wrote:Okay, if you say so. I watched him lose it and get smacked around because of it. But I'm not in market, I don't watch a lot of Yankees games, so if he's got it back, then my mistake. But he did lose it. I saw it with my own two eyes.

Don't get me wrong, he's been getting more then smacked around so far & if he keeps it up he's obviously done! From what everyone has been saying, he hasn't lost his speed or velocity, it's his location. I guess we'll know at the end of the year, it's to early now.

tsaler · Post by **tsaler** » Wed May 04, 2005 11:12 am

Yep. The Yankees have a lot more problems on their hands than whether Rivera's lost his cutter. Location, movement, whatever. Doesn't really matter.

They've got trash in Kevin Brown. They've got a ruined outfield now because Womack just flat out is a second baseman and probably shouldn't be playing left field, regardless of how fast he is.

Robinson Cano is not ready, I don't think, to be a major league player, especially not on a team as hellbent on winning as the Yankees.

Their pitching stinks. Their fielding stinks. They need help fast, and the small market teams just aren't giving their best players away to the Yankees like they used to. It is good very significant that the Brewers signed Ben Sheets to a long-term contract, as did the Twins with Johan Santana. Normally these two players would just play for their teams as an audition for the Yankees, and then their teams would happily trade them away for whatever garbage the Yankees would offer them in return come postseason, or they would just neglect to re-sign them.

Well, that's changing now. The most disgusting thing I have seen in baseball this year was a comment made about David DeJesus, a very good center fielder and lead-off man for the Royals. A writer said that it was good that DeJesus was performing so far this year, as it was an audition for the 2006 Yankees. It's disgusting. The other teams in Major League Baseball do not just exist to provide good players to the Yankees!

JPFair · Post by **JPFair** » Wed May 04, 2005 11:23 am

I agree that The Yankees have a lot more problems than just Riveras cutter. I, and this is ONLY my opinion, personally think that Randy Johnson is in the twilight of his career. Their pitching staff is amongst the worst in baseball, and their overall team productivity doesn't seem to be improving. I totally agree that the season is young, and no one can count the Yankees out just yet. But, personally, I think they have a lot of problems that need to be addressed and the result will be a losing season.

SkinsLaVar · Post by **SkinsLaVar** » Wed May 04, 2005 12:10 pm

Go Dodgers!

Redskins Rule · Post by **Redskins Rule** » Wed May 04, 2005 12:17 pm

Yeah, the Yankees are so jacked up right now. I don't think Rivera will finish 5th in the league in saves for two reasons.

1. He has the Red Sox in his division.

2. His team has to be ahead in the 9th for him to stand a chance at getting a save.

air_hog · Post by **air_hog** » Sun May 22, 2005 9:06 pm

Great Vlad is out with a Partialally Dislocated Shoulder. I'd rather have him get a straight up dislocated shoulder. This is not looking good...

Maybe we can trade for Griffey!

air_hog · Post by **air_hog** » Tue May 24, 2005 1:36 am

Now K-Rod's on the DL too!!

Man, someone is out to get us this year. Oh well, at least our bullpen is stacked. I'm guessing Donnelly or Shields will take over for a while.

Here is/was my fantasy baseball team that are/ were on DL for a long time:

1.Berkman- Held on to him and now he's healthy
2.Sosa- Holding on to him, don't know why though.
3.Wade Miller- Held on to him, now he's better.
4.Bagwell- Dropped him, he's out for year.
5.Isringhausen- Traded him, but now he's back.
6.Percival- Holding on to him, but he might be out a while.
7.K Rod- Gotta hold on to him.
8.Schmidt- He's back on Tuesday.
9.Schilling- Holding on to him, hopefully he returns soon.
10.Gagne- Traded him for #11 guy...
11.Rolen- Traded Gagne to get him...

There it is, so far 11 guys on my team have been Injured or still are.

Guess that expalins why I'm in DEAD last :oops:

SkinsLaVar · Post by **SkinsLaVar** » Tue May 24, 2005 4:36 am

mmmmm Waffle Crisp