BASEBALL SEASON

It really doesn't seem that long ago that I was listening to Game 6 of the World Series online and experiencing one of baseball's greatest games ever played by the Cardinals, but it does seem like this off season has been dragging on forever. Since the Angels acquired Pujols, the anticipation for the Angel's season to get started has increased even more than normal. Only a few more days till Opening Day 2012 and I am so stoked. There is a huge expectation for the Angel's this season based on their potential line up and starting pitching. I would not want to be an opposing pitcher going up against the Halo's. Top to bottom they are very dangerous, with speed and power. They will be able to hit the deep ball, driving in runs and increasing run support for starting pitching which is huge because that is what they struggled with last season. Every thing about the Angels and their potential for this season gets me excited. As long as the bullpen can do their job and close out games, the Angels are the favorite in the West.

Not sure if I will make it out the Big A this Friday, but you know I will be watching the game some where.

Go HALOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PUJOLS an ANGEL!

As my wife would say..." O.M.G.!!!!!!" Over the past several days I have been getting ESPN notifications, updating me on the recent signings and trades in the MLB. Lots of talk and rumors of where big name free agents would end up signing filled radio stations, news reports etc.... but it was all speculation. The biggest free agent and the best player in the game right now is hands down Albert Pujols and like me, I am sure a lot of people were following along with the media to find out where he would end up playing next season. There had been a few teams that were reported to offer Pujols a deal, but the Angels were not in the conversation. I heard a lot of talk about, "What if????" or that would be cool if Albert actually came and played for the Angels but no one really thought that it would happen. Well, it did. I woke up Thursday morning and got on my phone, looked at Twitter and it was blowing up twitter. The Angels had swoopped in and offered Pujols a deal he couldn't refuse. 10 year contact at 254 million dollars. Ya, CRAZY!!! No doubt that the signing of the Pujols to the Angels makes them a front runner next season and a favorite in the American League. The Angels lacked the run support for their incredible starting pitching and now with Pujols in the line up it just makes everyone better. Angels fans from all over are so excited and can't wait for the new season to start. A lot to look forward to if you're an Angel fan for the next decade.

BASEBALL SEASON

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." ~Rogers Hornsby


I caught myself thinking and saying to myself the other night, "I wonder if there is a baseball game on TV that I could watch? Oh wait. Baseball is over." (Here I would insert a :( but you can imagine the immediate frown on my face)  October is the best time to watch baseball.  Nothing like the Fall Classic.  Play-off games almost every night, with the best teams battling to make it to the next round and become World Champs.  It's sad to say that the baseball season is over and we will have to wait till spring for it to start back up again.  I think the World Series was sooooo good that it gave baseball fans such a rush and excitement that it left many wanting for more.  Almost like an addiction.  Can baseball be an addiction? Depends on who you are asking I guess.  The off-season does leave many story lines of new GM's, firing and hiring of managers, blockbuster trades and signing of free agents. There will be much speculation to who signs with what team and which players will be traded.... blah blah blah.  Nothing will compare to the anticipation of opening day next year, and all baseball fans can hear, "Play ball!"

As for my Halos, the 2011 season left much disappointment and room for improvement along with high hopes and expectations for 2012.  The hire of DiPoto as the new GM for the Angles creates excitement and a breath of fresh air.  Changes in the front office will be good for the Angels as they move forward putting last season behind them.  It was a bummer that the Angels did not make the post season and from my point of view unacceptable with the talent on the mound for starting pitchers and the type of players we had defensively.  The main focus this off-season should be the production at the plate giving our outstanding starting pitchers some run support.  They have to start swinging the bat better especially with RISP.  The Angels had a lot of young prospects that filled in and had a really good season. At the top of that list would be Trumbo, the AL ROY.  He will be a player to watch grow and mature and become one of MLB's big bats.  One of the biggest blunders for the Angles last year was Vernon Wells.  The way I look at it is that he can't get much worse than last years production. The only way is up. I  believe he will have a much better season in his second year with the ball club.  There are still many questions about Morales and where he will fall into the line-up if he is healthy. There are also a lot of questions about the veteran players, Hunter, Abreu and their role moving forward.  Another pressing matter is the issue behind the plate.  I don't even wanna get into it about Mathis. I can't stand to watch him in the batters box.

I found myself paying more attention to baseball and the Angels more than ever this last year than in years past.  I think I credit that to the wonderful world of Twitter, being apart of the Angles Family and following a lot of significant people connected to the Angels as well as listening to sports talk radio every time I am in the car.  I am sure my wife Brooke loved it when we would have to get in the car to go somewhere during an Angels game and the first thing I did was change the station to AM830.  If i wasn't listening  or watching the games I would be getting updates on my phone. I would let her know if the Angels won that day or lost. She loves to go to the BIG A sporting her Angels shirt.  She constantly teases me about my signed Tim Salmon baseball I got this year and we get a good laugh about it.  I will have to post pictures about that soon and recap what happened, but it is a very cool story that I will never forget and will tell my whole life.

Anyways... This blog post ended up being much longer than I expected and I added a few subjects that  weren't really on my mind until I started typing.  I am looking forward to next season already with enthusiasm and passion. GO HALOS!

Lets Go Angels!

It wasn't that pretty of an offensive game for the Angels last night, but it was exciting to see a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the 10th inning to win the game. After 9 scoreless innings and almost a dozen guys left on base the Angles were able to score a run. It was another great outing for Jared Weaver, pitching a complete game shut out not allowing a runner past second base with a little help from the defense turning some double plays. The Angles ended up pulling out the victory and that's all that matters. It is good to see the Angles grind out these close games and get the W. It would be nice to see some more offensive production from guys and a lot more run support for the Halo pitchers. Several times last night we had guys in scoring position and failed to score runs. Mathis had a horrible game at the plate, striking out for the third out, once with bases loaded and once with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Tori Hunter had a great game with the bat. He had 3 hits, 2 doubles off the wall and a home run robbed from Seattle's left fielder. Though it was only my second game this season to be at the ball park, I am hoping to get out to the Big-A several more times. Especially when there is such a close race with Texas for the AL West.  Angel's pitching has been solid all year and everyone is waiting for the bats to get hot. Right now would be a really good time for more consistency with run support.  GO HALOS!