It's about that time, I guess, to start a thread about the Angels of Anaheim.

The Angels should score a ton of runs this year, I just suspect that they're going to be in a lot of 9-8 games because of iffy pitching.

Projected lineup:

1. Chone Figgins, 2B
2. Darin Erstad, 1B
3. Vladimir Guerrero, RF
4. Garrett Anderson, LF
5. Steve Finley, CF
6. Orlando Cabrera, SS
7. Dallas McPherson, 3B
8. Bengie Molina, C
9. Jeff DaVanon, DH

Finley was a good pickup, I think. He's in great shape and he's a 1,000 times better centerfielder than the awful Garrett Anderson (actually, I'd DH Anderson and put DaVanon in LF).

Pitching will be the key: Colon, Escobar, Washburn and Lackey figure to be the starters. Colon *must* get off to a better start than he did last year and it's still very iffy if Washburn has fully recovered from injuries. The bullpen figures to be solid, with stud Brendan Donnelly back at full strength and Frankie Rodriguez taking over the closer spot from the departed Troy "Even a 4-run lead isn't safe" Percival.

Oh, and Arte Moreno's honeymoon is soooo over for this longtime fan. Apart from the cringe-inducing embarrassment of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim f**k up, there was an article in the Times where he was complaining about how old Anaheim Stadium is and how he'd had offers to move the team. What an asshat! He's sadly mistaken if he thinks that he's ever going to be able to compete with the Dodgers in Los Angeles County and to whine about the stadium (what he really means is that there's not 6 levels of cash-cow luxury boxes) is absurd. The one good thing Disney did--renovate the stadium--was a big success; it's a really nice, clean ballpark, the Matterhorn rocks in center field being the only bad thing. After dissing the city with his naming crap, he's now angling for a new ballpark? f**k off, Arte, ya twat. Lowering beer prices was cool, but now you're acting like the billboard millionaire that you are. ***.

This thread should have a more accurate title:

2005 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

I think Jim's capitalizing ANAHEIM in the thread title shows his utter disdain for the Los Angeles attachment and that eh ahs no intention of using it. Much like the Bronco fans who still refer to their stadium as Mile High rather than the new corporate name.

Anyway no need to go on about the Angels as the Twins will be looking at them in their rearview mirror on their way to the World Series!

George, "disdain" is too mild. "Contempt" is more like it. After spending 30+ years having the Angels mocked as laughingstocks because they mostly totally sucked during that time, to have Moreno invite mockery in even the British press with his stupid name-change move (which is illogical both geographically and for what it's supposed to acoomplish) is just too much.

Now I remember how I felt during the Autry and Mouse years: love the team, hate the owner.

To carry the silliness that's surrounded the possible name change to a new and--if possible--more ludicrous level, State Assemblyman Tom Umburg has introduced the "Truth in Sports Advertising Act." Under the bill, teams that use one city in their name but play in another would have to disclose this fact. The bill requires the disclaimers to include letters of at least 12 inches in height on billboards and at least five seconds in each tv advertisement. Thus if the Angels choose to be the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim, the Anaheim must be prominent in billboards that now read "City of Angels" and tv
ads. It gets even weirder: in order to placate those trying to bring the NFL to Anaheim while calling them an LA team, the bill allows a city to exempt a team from these disclosure requirements.

Yet another head-shaking example of our tax dollars at work.

~Adam

Haha, Adam beat me to it. Sure, it's dumb on the same level as the pathetic "Freedom Fries" thing, but if it pisses off Moreno, then that's cool with me.

I'm in a weird position as a fan; after so many years of some of the most awful teams in major league history and all the heartbreak that is 1979 > 1982 > 1986 > 1995, I guess I should be happy that the Angels finally have an owner who's willing spend the $$$ on building the team. But there's something "off" about this team--it feels bought, instead of developed. That was one of the reasons I loved the 2002 team: it was mostly homegrown products (Erstad, Glaus, Anderson, Washburn, Percival, Lackey, Molina and especially Salmon etc.) and canny pick-ups of marginal players that bought in to the team concept (Eckstein, Kennedy and Spezio).

Single tickets go on sale March 5th.

Mr. Moreno and his staff knows that the fans and media will always call his team the Anaheim Angels even though the papers/tv/radio will say it the official way. I still think it is blunder to have change the name, but Moreno being the businessman that he is, he feels it is the right thing to do. He was interviewed by the local TV stations and he said that his daughter warned him he was going to be one of the most hated men in o.c. for the name change. It didn't matter to him - he was going to do it anyway. No matter what they're called now people will stay say Anaheim Angels.

Any Angel fans out there will miss Troy Glaus? I still miss Jim Edmonds.

I knew there was an old thread for the Angels! Anyway, in case you don't read the other sports boards you'll be happy to know that the Angels have picked up an enforcer!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/transactions
(listed under Friday 7/29 -- as of now it hasn't yet been corrected)
"Philadelphia Flyers: Traded right wing Todd Fedoruk to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for a
2005 second-round draft pick."

I just hope Bob Clarke uses the pick to get us some pitching help!

[ July 30, 2005, 06:12 PM: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]

I don't know...from what I've seen, the Flyers could really someone new at the hot corner. wink

~Adam

I await Jim Allen's analysis of the Angels bullpen in the last two games of the series with the Yankees in the "Jock Talk" section. After all, two Angels victories over the Yanks have been mentioned in "Jock Talk" in consecutive weekends. I would hate to think that the Yankees fantastic comebacks the past two days would be ignored due to west coast bias .

[ August 01, 2005, 01:43 PM: Message edited by: Cattledog ]

Methinks the Angels are hearing thundering footsteps from the East Bay.

IF I may channel the spirit of Jim Allen for just a moment, I imagine him posting something understated and subtle like:

I hate, hate, hate, hate the bracheocephalic cretins that populate the Angel bullpen. They are living, breathing proof positive that evolution can be reversed. I despise them with the intensity of 100 suns.

Or something like that.....

<posted with tongue planted firmly in cheek>

I hate to see any team get whipped by the Yankees -- especially due to a dumbass bad hop -- but it hurts least when it's LAA, the fave team of Athletics-hatin, Moneyball-illiterate, Flat Earth Society members.

Posted by SideOut (Member # 1514) on August 09, 2005, 02:48 PM:

The Angels had a commanding lead in the standings before the All-star break and now they're dead even with their heated rivals up in the Bay area playing in Oakland. If the Angels win all three games and I hope they do I think they'll get back their confidence and might play even better. It's not easy playin at the Coliseum. These three games will have the feel of a play-off atmosphere. Wish I was there...couple of my friends will have the cajones to wear Angel red - hope they'll be in one piece tomorrow night. A's fans can be vicious.

Good luck Angels!

Those are Raider fans who are disguised as A's fans and will all be gone in another week or so when the Raiders begin play.

With the whole naming brouhaha this year, I've deided to refer to the Angels as the Artist formerly known as Prince, but anyways....

I found it kinda funny that the Artists formerly known as Prince were the first AL team to clinch a playoff berth (with the 5th best record) .... while the 4 teams ahead of them aren't sure if they'll even be in the postseason

As a form of protest about the team name, two Anaheim (the city where the Angels do indded play their home games) city council members have turned down luxury box seats to all playoff games. One of the council members said he has not gone to any games this season to protest the silliness of "LA Angels of...." and will merely watch the playoff games on TV. He added that he hopes the Angels donate his unused ticket to a charity of some sort.

~Adam

Just about game time...

Let's go ANGELS!!!! Eliminate the nyy...

Whoa! This could be a really high scoring game. Already Angels 5 nyy 3 in the bottom of the 3rd.

What about Mike Mussina? This isn't a dig into his pitching, he just looks awful. How much weight has he lost? His former gorgeous ass is totally gone and he looks really gaunt. Is there news on his overall health that I missed? He's starting to look sickly, like Randy Johnson!

[ October 10, 2005, 07:19 PM: Message edited by: m1 ]

Bring Rodriguez on! Bottom of the 8th. Victory! On to the top of the 9th and the elimination of the nyy...

Thank you, Anaheim! Although you beat my Giants a few years back, let's celebrate eliminating the overpaid ynn. eek!

Congrats to the Angels. They did a great job. Their hitting was clutch throughout the series, and their relief corps was outstanding. They deserve the win. Good luck in the ALCS.

Good job Anaheim. Thank you for eliminating the team that is destroying the integrity of baseball.

Josh

There are some cuties on that Angels of Anaheim team! Santana, the Molinas, Izturis, Francisco Rodriguez, Garrett Anderson, Escobar, Rivera....

I won't mind seeing them playing another round at least.

Goodbye, Yankees. You guys never give up and fight to the last!

Since I congratulated the Red Sox (I can say it now--the Yankees season is done wink ) last year, I will congratulate the Angels this year, and especially, Jim Allen, for a well-fought series. Unlike my Yankees, the Angels played harder and deserved to win the series. Good luck in Chicago .

congrats angels!

adam kennedy is hot hot hot!!!

Way to go Angels! I thought my team was going to let me down tonight, but they came through like true champs.

The Angels slipped the 2nd round playoff tickets without a word to the Angel faithful, so we must again watch from the sidelines or pay enormous prices to go to the games. I guess I'll be going early and trying to secure me good seats, like in 2002. Buy low and sell high...get a good seat to the game and pay less than face value.

Fantastic job Anaheim! Very well done! Now, when the World Series is over, we'd like Orlando Cabrerra back, ok?

I admit I'd rather be playing NY now, but hopefully we can take the first two games in Chicago, since LA is tired....we'll see...
GO SOX!

The ALCS is going to be interesting. Anaheim could be on an emotional high from defeating the Yankees and making it this far, and that could pull them through, but will Colon be available for the series? Their rotation could hurt a bit. Also, the White Sox has since Friday to rest up and get the ducks in a row, and will be well rested...is that good or bad? Can't wait to find out.

So the Angels will play three games in three days in three separate cities (NY, Anaheim, and tonight in Chicago.) I can't recall this ever happening before.

~Adam

Didn't seem to affect them. Angels 3 White Sox 2. I thought the Sox would kill them in this game.

Seems like the Angels were underestimated and overlooked compared to some of the other teams- what do you think??

Congratulations to the Angels on their ALDS victory over the Yankees. That's twice they did it in the past four years. Even though it went to five games, the Angels looked better this series than the one in 2002. Good luck to the Angels and their fans.

I agree, Copper; they sure looked good against the Southsiders last night! If they can play that way in their third city in as many days, imagine what they can do with a home field advantage! eek!

But in my college-final-exams-week heart of hearts, I'd like to think if they can stay jacked on caffeine and win, so much the better! :cool:

...and the Halos are going down....GO SOX!

Didn't want to start a new thread for this, but last night's Angels/Mariners game provided us with something we don't see too often anymore: neither team used a reliever. Mariner Felix Hernandez and Angel Kelvim Escobar each went the distance. The lowly Mariners won the game, 2-0.

~Adam