Angels Lose to Red Sox...Again

OK, now that some time's passed, I think I can write about this.

FUCK!!!!

When I was a kid, the Angels SUCKED. Less than 10,000 people would go to Fan Appreciation Night. But, my brother and I would always get my parents to take us the games. I loved baseball, and the Angels were my team.

In the 80's, they got moderately good, especially in 1986. Most people remember that year as Bill Buckner letting the ball go through his legs enabling the Mets to win the World Series over the Red Sox. For Angel fans, it's the year Donnie Moore gave up the home run to Dave Henderson in game 4 when the Angels were one strike away from going to the World Series (Moore was so distraught that he later killed himself).

Now, the Angels are good. They go to the playoffs almost every year and they won their first World Series in 2002. However, since that great year, they've flamed out in the playoffs (normally, against the Red Sox). Last year they had a lot of injuries, but this year they had no excuses. They team was healthy and rested since they wrapped up the division so early. And they were playing well the last two weeks of the season.

They weren't aggressive enough at the plate in game one, and their pitching let them down in game two. In game 3 they showed some grit and came from behind to win in extra innings. All they needed was the same kind of effort in game 4 to play the deciding game five at home. They fought and came from behind and had a chance to win in the 9th, but lost in the bottom of the inning. What happend?

It's no accident that they Angels have been this good for this long because Mike Soscia is their manager. He brings a smart brand of aggressive baseball and has been able to teach it throughout the organization. But, in game 4, he made a strategic blunder when he had Aybar squeeze with Willits on 3rd and one out. Why?

Strategically, the Red Sox were better off with runners on first and third and one out, so they were not going to throw Aybar a strike. Terry Francona (the Red Sox manager) also knew that Socscia likes squeeze bunts (the player on third breaking for home while the batter bunts the ball). So, instead of intentionally walking Aybar, he had his pitcher throw pitches high and inside, which are very difficult to bunt. This is what happend for the first two pitches.

Then, inexplicably, since it was obvious what the Red Sox were doing, Soscia puts on the squeeze play. Aybar misses the ball and Willits gets tagged out. So much for the rally and the game's still tied.

So, instead of a one-run lead (assuming that after the walk to Aybar, Chone Figgins would do something good--he was 2-4 in the game and is generally too fast to hit into double-plays) and the best closer in baseball, Frankie Rodriguez, in to pitch the 9th, the Angels have to go with their setup pitcher, Scott Shields, who had pitched 2+ innings the night before. I don't want to recap the rest, but it was the Red Sox celebrating at the end.

I fear that the Angels are turning into the Braves of the 90s--good enough to go to the playoffs each year, but missing that extra spark to win it all. Given how sucky the Angels were when I was a kid, writing that sentence almost seems like heresay. But, when they have the best team in the league as they did this year, another first round flame-out is frustrating.

FUCK.