Friday, October 30, 2009

No Bang, Some Whimper

Right around 9:02 local time Sunday night, my productivity, social life and relationship all experienced sudden spikes in their immediate and long term prospects. Yes, the Angel season came to an end with the feeble strikeout of a bench player (an overpaid one at that), a rally in the top of the eighth having been negated by two inexcusable errors in the bottom of same. As disappointing as it was, in some ways it was a relief; even though they pushed it to Game 6, the Angels never seemed right in this series, and it went beyond just getting beat by a better team. Many of the players looked nervous at bat and in the field, and manager Mike Scioscia, as much as I love the guy, consistently over-managed by putting in the wrong pitcher or hitter at strange times. The Yankees may have won anyway, but it would have been nice to see the Angels play to their capabilities. 

Oh well. Only one team's fans are truly happy by the end of the season, and while I'm not among them this year, it was a good ride. The Angels had to deal with the sudden death of young pitcher Nick Adenhart in the season's first week, and it became a rallying point rather than a crushing blow. Obviously nothing can make up for what happened to him, but carrying Adenhart's memory and jersey with them all year was a nice tribute.

The offseason will begin immediately after a World Series I can't make myself care about much, and the Angels have some important players to re-sign or let go, and repeating success at a level even close to this year isn't guaranteed. Something tells me they'll be right there again, though, and with a little more luck maybe at this time next year I'll be writing about a championship. In the meantime, I've chosen to vent some of my frustrations of the last series in song form. Specifically, to the tune of Billy Joel's "Don't Ask Me Why."

Playoff games make Scioscia feel the heat,
He goes with matchups way too much,
Removes best players for some lesser-skilled,
But they don't come through in the clutch.

Pinch-hit for Mathis,
Maicer Izturis,
Mike, tell me why!

2 comments:

Tom said...

So many posts about baseball and nothing about my Twins' fabulous comeback and game 163? Seriously, nothing in the playoffs approached the excitement of that end-of-season drive, and the last game (even heard on radio) was among the best I've experienced. Granted, I can't say I've watched much baseball in my life. Just enough to know that unlimited payrolls don't work.

Hatfield said...

Oh yes, Game 163 was fantastic, an instant classic, but not being a Twins fan and not having as much computer access lately meant only writing about the Angels and only when I could squeeze it in. Every time I think I'm gonna have time for a whole slew of posts, fate intervenes. I think that'll change soon, but I've learned not to announce any plans, lest they fail to come through (i.e. the rest of Outside Lands, various album reviews).