A’s at Angels

The West Coast tour continued last Saturday as I made my way down to Anaheim for the A’s and Angels game. I only wish I could have gone to Disneyland while I was down there, but there’s always next time!

Being an A’s fan, I naturally have a strong dislike (or hatred) for the Angels. I like to mock their name, especially since they are not in Los Angeles or even Los Angeles County, and to add to the mocking is the stadium name. It’s Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Again with the ‘of Anaheim’ in there.

All mocking and joking aside, the stadium is actually really nice. Out front of the main gates there are the giant Angels hats and on the stadium walls are pictures of their star players. They had a bunch of booths all set up giving some stuff away and fan interaction, including the Angels All-Star Mickey Mouse which you can get your picture taken with.

Me with the All-Star Mickey Mouse

Outside the main gates

I was excited to about going down there because I have family down there that I don’t get to see too often. They were nice enough to pick me up and give me a ride to the game as they got tickets to the game as well. Aside from the fact that they had on Angels gear, it’s old school Angels gear from the California Angels days so I’ll let it slide. I also got to finally meet my friend Mike (@MyHami) from Twitter at the game. It was great meeting you!!

I should mention that there was a country music concert after the game. I am not really a country music fan. I like some, but not a lot. There were a lot of country music fans there, or at least a lot of people with cowboy hats and boots. The dress entire down there was different from any other stadium I’ve been to, aside from the country western apparel. I’ll leave it at that before I go all fashion major on you. Since I’m not a fan of country music, especially for people I’ve never even heard of, I got out of dodge. Plus, I had just driven 6 hours and had to drive another 6 hours home the next day, so I walked back to my hotel and got some sleep. Also, I realized walking back that I’m still not OK with what happened in Baltimore.

Moving on. We got there nice and early to see batting practice, which was cancelled due to a freak rain storm. Judging by how the A’s played, they needed to take BP. However, the rain had let up enough for them to workout on the field before the game. It was great to see the guys and they were out there signing autographs for everybody, which I always like to see, especially when fans of the other team where over there. The highlight was watching Jerry Blevins, Sean Doolittle doing running exercises with Yoenis Cespedes. He’d beat them and kind of chuckle looking back at them.

The Angels had my least favorite pitcher on the mound for them in CJ Wilson. I don’t hate him for being extremely corny in his Head & Shoulders commercial, but for his comments about Oakland and how much he hates playing there. Good, we hate you too. Sadly, he was very CJ Wilson like, pitching 8.1 innings allowing 0 runs on 3 hits. It was painful to watch. On the flip side, we had Dan Straily pitching, who despite a pretty good start, got the loss. Straily pitched 7 innings allowing just 2 runs, one on sac fly and the other on a solo home run. I’ll take the blame on the home run. I got up to go get my mini bat from the team shop and before I even got to the concourse, Alberto Callspo hit his fifth homer of the year. The employee at the entrance to the team shop felt the need to get all up in my face talking smack, so much so that another employee had to come over to him to tell him to stop. Yeah, an EMPLOYEE of the Angels. I expect that from the fans, but not somebody that works there. Klassy.

I was really excited to see Grant Green play, finally. I met him at FanFest this year and he’s the nicest guy, so I wish him well. I hoped his first hit would be like Stephen Vogt’s first Major League Hit, a home run. That didn’t happen. Clearly. Unfortunately, Green was just sent back down to Triple-A, but I’m hoping he’ll be back and better in the near future.

Some cool things at the stadium, the fountain/rocks in the outfield with a big A in the rocks. Fitting since the stadium is known as The Big A. They also shoot fireworks off from there. I admit, it’s cool. Nearby there is a Jack in the Box. Yes, there is a Jack in the Box in the ballpark. Not as cool as Fat Burger (AZ), but still fun. On the main concourse and to the right of the main gates is something cool. They have the trophy from the 2002 World Series, the one where they beat the San Francisco Giants, on display along with photos and other mementos from that season. Across the concourse from that is a memory wall with photos celebrating their achievements over the years. Pretty cool. I like when teams do that, I know Houston and Philadelphia both have something like that.

The 2002 World Series Trophy

Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA

A’s at Mariners

I have been wanting to go to Seattle for years. It’s not that far away and I’ve always heard great things about the stadium. My grandfather goes every year to see the A’s up there with some friends for a series and I’ve always been jealous. I almost have to laugh at the fact that I’ve seen the A’s all over the country, but not anywhere near where I live. The closest I’ve seen them is in Arizona.

First off, Seattle is really pretty, or at least what I saw of it.  It reminds me of San Francisco.  The guy next to me on the plane made fun of me briefly when I looked out the window as we were coming into Seattle and I saw Mt. Rainer.  It’s a huge mountain.  I’ve been to the Rockies and this pretty much made those look small.  He gave me a list of places to check out that were less touristy than others.  Sadly, that didn’t happen as my friend from high school that I was staying with, took a nap Saturday afternoon.  I had a great time anyway, so it’s all good.

Safeco is beautiful.  I would highly recommend getting up there to see a game, if you haven’t already.  There’ s Pyramid Brewery right across the street that was packed with people living it up before the game.  I’m a big fan of Pyramid, so I was pretty happy to see it there.  There’s plenty of fun places to hang out around the stadium, so I say get there early and have some fun.

I went to the game with my friend and his daughter, which was weird for me.  That sounds wrong and strange, but I’m so used to going to games alone that being with other people is weird to me.  I actually had people to talk to other than the strangers around me, but I talked to them too.  We were surrounded by A’s fans, which was GREAT to see.  There was quite a few A’s hats and jerseys on my flight home on Sunday night.  I can’t wait to go back for the final games of the regular season, it’s going to be crazy.

Our seats were pretty good, down the third base line just past the infield dirt so all the A’s players were stretching and warming up right there.  I brought my ‘Vote 4 Donaldson’ sign from Milwaukee, which my friend’s daughter was super excited to hold up when she saw Donaldson on the field.

The A’s had Dan Straily starting the game, which is usually a good sign.  He keeps getting better with each start he makes, and was amazing in his start against Texas earlier in the month.  Unfortunately, you can’t win every game, unless you’re Max Scherzer, but that’s another topic.  Straily only lasted 3.1 innings before coming out having allowed two earned runs on six hits and three walks.  Not numbers we are used to seeing out of him.  The Mariners scored twice in the 2nd inning, but failed to have a shutdown inning, allowing the A’s to score a run in the 3rd inning.

Now, I try to always walk around the ballpark I’m at to see what they have to offer and see the game from all over.  I guess I picked the right time to go, as the A’s rallied to score two runs to claim a 3-2 lead in the 5th inning.  I was so excited, plus I got to capture the rally from all over the stadium.   They kept the scoring going after I returned to my seat, scoring two more runs in the 7th inning to go up 5-2.  They just needed a shut down inning.

The bullpen, our glorious bullpen that’s been lights out all season, including a 19 inning game and an 18 inning game, struggled.  Big time.  Jesse Chavez, the hero of that 18 inning game, came in after Straily to pitch 2.1 innings of shut out ball.  Then things went south.  Jerry Blevins came in after Chavez, and didn’t have the stuff.  Blevins lasted 2/3 of an inning giving up three earned runs on two hits.  Raul Ibanez hit a three run homer to tie the game, and just like that, the momentum shifted.  Speaking of Raul, he is amazing.  I can’t believe that Yankees let him leave, especially after how he played in the post season last year.  He’s an oldie but a goodie.  Ryan Cook came in after the Ibanez home run, but met the same fate as Blevins.  The first batter he faced hit a ground rule double, but Cooke was able to save some kittens by getting the next two batters out.  Cook went back out for the 8th inning, but was pulled without recording an out while allowing two runs to score.  Sean Doolittle, who had been struggling lately, came in and retired the three batters he faced.  I like to think I helped him out there.  Every time I’m ‘Doolittling” at a game, he pitches like the Doolittle we have all come to love.  My friend laughed at me, but you gotta do what works!  I just wish Doolittle had started the inning, we could have been tied going into the 9th inning, rather than down by two.

I think I need to get a new jersey.  They win just about every home game I go to when I wear by jersey, but on the road, it’s now 4-3.  It has yet to see back-to-back road wins, but that does mean it’s due for a win on the next road game.  That next road game just happens to be in Anaheim, so it better get the job done!

Me after the game

“Doolittling”

Safeco Field
Seattle, Washington

Is There a K in Astros?

There is many jokes about the Houston Astros being the worst team in baseball this season, and they are all true.

It’s hard to believe that the Astros were in the World Series in 2005 when you look at where they are now.  In their first season in the American League West, the Astros are looking like a minor league team, and maybe not even a Triple-A one at that.  Right now, the Oakland Athletics are in Houston taking on their new division ‘rival’ and it’s clear the Astros have a lot of work to do in order to be competitive this season.  In 30 innings of play this season, the Astros have struck out a grand total of 50 times.  14 of those K’s came in their second game of the season in Yu Darvish’s almost perfect game alone.

The Athletics are in Houston right now and Dan Straily, the starting pitcher, has eight strikeouts in five innings.  Eight strikeout matches Straily’s career high, so it’s a pretty safe bet that he will have a new career high by the end of the night.  You want to feel bad for the Astros, and their fans, but they really haven’t done much to make themselves a strong, competitive team.  When you have the lowest payroll in Major League Baseball, you aren’t putting yourself in a spot to be competing with the other teams, and giving away games.  Just announced, the Astros are the first team since 1900 to have 53 strikeouts in the first four games of the season.  Wow.  That’s not really a record you want to be the proud owner of.  I hope they can find a way to turn things around a little bit, otherwise, it’s going to be a long and painful season in Houston.

Poor Houston….