los angeles angels of anaheim | Wait until next year

October 23, 2009

MLB play-offs braindump #10 – Angels stay alive

Being a responsible citizen and employee, I didn’t stay up for last night’s Angels/Yankees game, and frustratingly, the condensed game wasn’t ready on mlb.com as I wolfed down my breakfast this morning. So, I’ll keep this post cheap and cheerful, and rely on the couple of clips I did see.

The Angels managed to stay alive in the series with a 7-6 win. The series is now 3-2 in the Yankees favour, as it returns to New York. So, I’m not so sure the Angels will be staying in this for long, as they need to win twice in New York to make the World Series.

It looks to have been quite a game, with a particular flurry of runs in the seventh inning, in a real seesaw outing. The Angels got the perfect start, scoring four runs in the first. The Yankees came back with a vengeance in the aforementioned seventh, scoring six. The Angels’ seventh inning was a pretty good fightback in itself, with three runs putting them back in the lead. They then held on, despite the Yankees loading the bases in the ninth.

So…the series isn’t dead yet. And the Yankees are looking just a tiny bit more human and fallible. At least until the next game, tomorrow night, that is.

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October 22, 2009

MLB play-offs braindump #9 – Phillies reach the World Series

Last night the Philadelphia Phillies reached baseball’s World Series for the second year in a row, and are on course to retain their title.

The Phillies beat the Dodgers 10-4 on the night, and 4-1 in the series, to become National League champions, and will now face one of the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, still going at it in the American League series.

As the score betrays, this was a night for the hitters, not the pitchers. The highlights made it look more like a home run derby than a play-off game. There were sixteen hits in all, including seven home runs. Padilla for the Dodgers saw his post-season form grind to a halt, giving up six runs in three innings. His counterpart, Cole Hamels, wasn’t a whole lot better, giving up three runs, before being pulled from the game in the fourth.

The Dodgers had their chance to mount a memorable late comeback, but failed to make the most of loading the bases late on. And so the Phillies go through, and in all probability to face the Yankees.

Neither side is the most likable, so in the meantime I’ll be rooting for the Angels to turn around their series against the Yankees. As that looks like a losing battle, I’ll perhaps take this advice from Fear and Faith in Flushing, and reluctantly support the Phillies…

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October 19, 2009

MLB play-offs braindump #8 – How not to be an online baseball pundit

Last night I made the following comment on the Dodgers/Phillies series:

“So, we’re 1-1 in that series and if this game is anything to go by, we’re in for some very close-run games.”

I wake up this morning to find the Phillies have tonked the Dodgers, 11-0. Cliff Lee put in a superb pitching performance, striking out 10 and allowing just three hits.

Some pundit am I!

Both championship series continue tonight, with a rare early start for the Angels/Yankees game. I might actually catch the first few innings as it starts at a reasonable time for British fans. Otherwise, I’ll be catching the condensed game on mlb.tv, over my muesli tomorrow morning.

If you’re interested in catching some of the baseball, but don’t have TV access, or an online subscription, Matt at BaseballGB has the lowdown on the variety of ways you can catch some of the action for free. Well worth a read if you feel like dipping your toes in the baseballing waters…

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October 18, 2009

MLB play-offs braindump #7 – Weekend edition

I managed to watch all of Friday’s Dodgers/Phillies game, and certainly picked a good one. A really absorbing contest, a very much the proverbial pitchers duel. Pedro Martinez, for the Phillies, and Vicente Padilla, for the Dodgers, were outstanding. A real masterclass. Martinez gave nothing away, while Padilla had just the one bad pitch. Unfortunately for him Ryan Howard got on it for a solo home run. I caught Padilla pitching for Texas earlier this season, and while not brilliant, I thought he looked reasonable enough. However, I would never have guessed at the time that he’d be pitching so well, in the play-offs, and for the Dodgers too.

The Dodgers managed to fight back, and eventually won 2-1. So, we’re 1-1 in that series and if this game is anything to go by, we’re in for some very close-run games.

The Dodgers won essentially on Phillies mistakes, following misfields, and a walk with the bases full. Meanwhile, in an absolute epic last night the Yankees beat the Angels in the thirteenth inning, again after a fielding error.

There have been hour upon hour of top-draw play in the play-offs, but still the recurring theme is teams losing games after errors. I guess when things are that close, and teams so well matched, it is more likely that one terrible mistake will change a game, rather than one moment of genius. It really feels like in each game it is a case of who is going to blink first. And the Yankees, in particular, don’t look like blinking.

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October 10, 2009

MLB play-offs braindump #3

Two games last night…

Yankees/Twins – Yankees are going to win it all, aren’t they?

There is an air of inevitability around the Yankees this year. They seem bulletproof. No matter what, they just look like they are going to win. Last night they were 3-1 down in the bottom of the ninth, yet still got out of it, with A-Rod’s two-run homer. In extra innings the Twins had the bases loaded and no outs. Still, the Yankees stayed alive. Then, finally, Mark Teixeira scores a home run and the Yankees win. Again.

The Twins must be plain exhausted after playing approximately one million innings of the past week. I can’t see them getting back in this series, particularly against this Yankees side. Last night was their big opportunity.

Angels/Red Sox – Boston need to pull their Sox up (ahem)

Oh dear. I’ll never make a headline writer. The Angels looked strong again, and the series moves to Boston with the Angels now 2-0 up. The game was pretty close until the seventh, when the Angels scored three to make it 4-1. And that, my friends, was how it finished. No last-ditch excitement in this game. The Angels have done a pretty professional job of dispatching the Red Sox so far. I wonder if home advantage in the next game might help Boston improve, but it may be too little, too late.

Is it too early to think about a Yankees/Angels match-up for the American League title? A pretty mouth-watering prospect.

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