And so after hearing the usual "Yankees are the best" and "How about them Yankees?" for the last few weeks...followed but the inevitable "Mom, when does baseball season start again?"....this week has been REALLY good! At least to Colin and I.

This week saw Taylor Swift win big time at the CMA's, a triple crossover week CSI, and new episodes of NCIS. The kids are finally done watching Treehouse and are now watching family channel. Can't get much better - right??

Oh, it does...

It's been sunny and warm! We were basking in NICE 20 degree (that's in celcius, people!) weather...and the sun has been out most of the week! Yay!! We've been to the park, playing outside and trying to avoid getting sick.

It CAN'T get any better than this, right??

Oh, but it CAN!

How?

Evan Longoria: Gold Glove. Silver Slugger

Apparently, Evan is "out of the country" and can't comment on his Silver Slugger award.

(Out of the country? I'm jealous!)

Anyway, here is what Evan had to say about his success:

Since Longoria's arrival to the Rays early in the 2008 season, he has come up big time and again and has received many accolades. Despite the many opportunities to fall in love with who he has become, Longoria seems to be the same guy he was when he first came to the team.

"I constantly try to humble myself," said Longoria earlier in the 2009 season. "If you don't, I'm sure that the game is going to find a way to humble you. Like I always say, I've got to come to the ballpark and do the same things -- and treat everybody the same and try to keep things as simple and plain as possible. I think the minute you start filling your head with those kinds of things, it's going to be the downfall of anything that's going good. So I try to keep myself humble and stay grounded."

The annual Rays honors were given out as well.

Ben Zobrist: Most Valuable Ray (Team Award)

Carlos Pena: Paul C. Smith Champion Award (Team Award*)

Jeff Neimann: Outstanding Rookie Award (Team award)

* The Paul C. Smith Award is particularly meaningful to the MLB.com family as well as sportswriters in the Tampa Bay area as Smith was a longtime Bay Area sports journalist. Smith died unexpectedly in 2005 at the age of 46; at the time he covered the Rays for MLB.com. Smith was a father, a friend, a baseball fan, and a consummate professional, which led to the BBWAA attaching his name to the award given to the player who best exemplifies the spirit of true professionalism on and off the field

____________________________________________________________________________

This past week was also Remembrance Day.

To all the veterans, current members of the Armed Forces, and all the families. We salute you and thank you.

I'll always remember my first ceremony. I was 5 and it was pouring and cold. But I got to meet a gentleman names Peter (yes, I still remember him!) he was a WW1 Vet. He thought it was neat that a little girl wanted to be at the ceremony and I thought it was neat that he wanted to remember his friends when everyone was crying. He asked me to help him lay the wreath at the steps of the cenotaph. He looked very sad when he placed that wreath down, and I just gave him a hug. At 5, I had no idea what it all meant or what one little hug can mean. Today, I can only imagine what that meant to him.

I leave you with this poem that is read at every Canadian Remembrance Day ceremony. I've had this memorized since I was 6.

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

___________________________________________________________________________

Due to the amount of censoring I had to do to write this - I'm breaking it into two parts. The one I will write now and the one i will write tomorrow when I can decipher what I wrote!

Ok....by the 6th inning - I have written 8 pages of notes about this game. A lot containing language that I will not post on here.

By the 7th inning, I was far too stressed and heartbroken to watch anymore. And that fact that I couldn't reach through the TV to smack the announcers...also since I have the "honor" of letting Amy know that the Yankees won in the morning...

____________________________________________________________________________

The Announcers:

I can't decide if the announcers don't like Scott Kazmir, Mike Scioscia or just the Angels team in general.

Let's see some award winning -  How dumb can you get - quotes...shall we?

1. "This is not what they wanted out of Kazmir tonight."

Good, we all agree on that.

2. "Kazmir really struggled tonight."

These announcers are really sharp, aren't they?

3. "With Kazmir pitching, you know that you'll have to use 2 relievers."

So what? Scioscia knew that.

4. "The Angels have seemed a bit off every game this series so far."

a BIT off? Where have you been?

The Questionable calls: 

The 5th inning: Swisher is at second, Scotty threw a pickoff attempt to Aybar who tagged Swisher but he was ruled safe.

**Replays revealed that Swisher did not beat the throw. **

"But Swisher would be the victim of another questionable call a few moments later. He reached third when Jeter walked to load the bases. And when Johnny Damon lifted a fly ball to center field, Swisher tagged up and scored the Yankees' fourth run the inning.

Or so it seemed. Center fielder Torii Hunter caught the ball and threw to third, and Swisher was ruled out. The umpires said he had taken off for the plate before the ball was in Hunter's glove, so he had not properly tagged up.

Again, replay showed otherwise. Swisher's foot appeared to be on third at the time Hunter caught the ball."

This recap is the best of the double play that Mike Napoli did, in fact, make in the fifth.

"More controversy ensued in the top of the fifth, and it left the Angel Stadium crowd in an uproar. The Yankees had Posada on third, Cano on second and one out. Swisher grounded back to reliever Darren Oliver, who threw home. Posada got caught in a rundown and hustled back to third. Trouble was, Cano had already advanced toward third, as well.

Napoli saw both runners off the bag and instinctively tagged them both -- Cano first and then Posada. But third-base ump Tim McClelland ruled Posada out and Cano safe.

It's possible McClelland was keeping in mind Rule 7.03, which states, "Two runners may not occupy a base, but if, while the ball is alive, two runners are touching a base, the following runner shall be out when tagged. The preceding runner is entitled to the base." In the replay, however, both runners were clearly not on the bag. "

Why I was talking/yelling at the TV

1. This is NOT good Angels baseball.

2. Scott was pitching frustrated and mad.

3. The homeplate umpire was calling quite a few strikes as balls. For both teams.

4. Morales should've stayed at first base and let Scott toss the ball to him for the out.

5. Nothing seems to be working for the Angels.

6. Scott does not normally throw his glove and hat when he walks into the dugout.

7. All the bad calls.

The Angels and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

Scott struggled (with a little help from the umpire too) and got frustrated really fast, and really early in the game. I know they traded for Kaz because of his history against the Sox and Yanks. Tonight, he just didn't have the command or frame of mind. The Angels and Mike Scioscia won't be happy. Angels fans won't be happy. Scott will be the most unhappiest of all. Especially since he threw is glove and hat down when he got into the dugout.

The Angels just didn't have what it took to beat the Yanks. They seemed lost in the first part of the game. And since Scott left in the top of the 5th - The Yanks have scored 6 times. The Angels - once.

I don't think it's fair to say that since Scott had a bad day, that they lost. Everyone helped dig the hole they fell into tonight. The offence was shut down by Sabathia and the defence was not very sharp. The Yankees were better and got the calls.

Bottom Line(s):

If Scott was looking to prove something tonight - he didn't get the result he wanted.

If the Angels wanted to prove something - it didn't work.

If Scott and the Angels wanted to stress me out and cause me heartache - it worked.

My hubby's rant after Scotty was taken out of the game:

"No matter how good you've been in the past, you may still lose tonight. But ever notice how when you lose a game like this people complain that you suck? If this was a regular season game, they wouldn't make such a big deal out of it. People forget that Kaz is our number 4 pitcher - 5 if you count Santana. And really, he didn't do much worse than Lackey or Weaver."

_____________

John Lackey (Game 1) - 5.2 IP, 4 runs on 9 hits, 3 BB, 3 Ks

Joe Saunders - (Game 2) - 7.0IP, 2 runs on 6 hits, 1 BB, 5 Ks

Jered Weaver (Game 3) - 5.0 IP, 3 runs on 5 hits, 3 BB, 4 Ks

Scott (Game 4) - 4.0+ IP, 4 runs on 6 hits, 4 BB, 3 Ks

 ______________

All game quotes are from the Angels homepage - Lyle Spencer's articles

HELLO??

IS THIS THING ON?

Isn't it great to have postseason baseball?

Even though my beloved team did not even come close this year, the wonders of the playoffs are still here.

Last night, I settled in to watch Cliff Lee and the Phillies dominate the Dodgers. It was the second inning and Phillies were ahead 5-0. The Dodgers were already in their bullpen.

Ahhhh...

The beauty of the postseason - you never know what each game will hold.

As the 7th inning started,  I decided to flip over to catch the tail end of my CSI show that I had been kinda, sorta following during baseball commercial breaks.

Then it happened.

The TV went black. Gone. Kaput.

Ok...let's be fair. The TV was fine....the cable wasn't.

In a state of panic, I ran downstairs to jump online.

NO INTERNET!

Some of you may have heard me complain about my cable provider this year.

They won't get MLB network or any decent sports package. They also have this annoying habit of having weird outages.

I can live without TV if I have the net. I can live without the Net if I have TV.

But to take away BOTH at the same time???

This morning, I'm back online. Still no TV.

After dropping off the younglings at school, I made a phone call.

After hearing the message on their tech support line, I figured I'd take my coffee and head downstairs to check my email.

Seems that there was a problem in the town nearby last night, and all cable and internet lines were broken. They were "working on the problem."

And how many times have we heard THAT line? Oh well...as long as they have it fixed by...oh say...

4:00pm. Just in time for the game in LA. See, today is when the Angels are going to start playing ball better - and start crushing the Yankees!

RIGHT, GUYS??  YES.

It's time. Enough with the errors, time to get serious!

And congrats to the Phillies on the win last night!

One team, two teams, three teams, four.

Not one less and not one more.

Everyone calls us the final four.

We each keep watch of our foes,

No one knows how the future goes.

There isn't a single game to waste -

We want the champagne, we like the taste!

Cleats are on, tied up laces,

Going through all the paces.

Teams one, two, three, four

Dressed for ball and out the door.

Our fans are here, the goal is clear.

To get runs in, and get the win.

Let's play ball! Here comes the fun,

Our fans went crazy when first game was won.

That was fast - who knew?

Ready for game #2.

"Let's go win," said the coach. "we're not done"

Before you know it the game was won.

We won again! What shall we do?

No time to dwell on game number 2!

To the airport we go, another city to see.

Unpack our bags and it's time for game 3!

First inning is here but have no fear.

We have a feeling it is our year.

From each fan we heard a cheer,

They want the win - that sure is clear.

"We're not done yet" said our foes,

"better to stay on your toes!"

"One more out and that's the game!"

The crowd held their breathe as the next pitch came.

"Strike three, you're out!" the ump's call was made.

in the crowd our fans had stayed,

in awe at how well we had played.

Game four was this evening,

Each player was believing.

Bottom of the 9th - let's have some fun.

Would you look at that? A walk off home run!

 A voice could be heard through the champagne showers -

"Bring on the Series - we know it's ours!"

****************************************************************************************

Inspired by the book "Witches Four" by Marc Brown

My kids' favorite bedtime story. :0)

All pics from yahoo.sports.com

Talk about comebacks!!

7-6 Los Angeles

The Angels did just that in the 8th and 9th inning to beat the Boston Red Sox and advance to the ALCS!

Scotty pitched 6 innings, but got beat up in the 3rd and 4th innings - the other 4 were scoreless.

"Kazmir, who had allowed only seven earned runs in six starts and 36 1/3 innings since coming to the Angels from the Rays on Aug. 28, departed after six innings, giving up five earned runs on five hits and three walks, striking out one hitter.

He did not have his usual fine command at Fenway Park, where he is 6-4 with a 3.05 ERA in 13 career regular-season starts and was 2-0 and 3.27 this year in two starts while with Tampa Bay."

Here is one of the tough moments for Scott - a 2 run jack for JD Drew.

Scott waits during the 5th inning...

Rivera - who is grounding out, but getting 2 RBIs here, get them back into the game.

After scoring on a single by Guerrero, Bobby Abreu (r) and Chone Figgins (L) celebrate with Kendry Morales (center).

"After Erick Aybar singled with two outs and Chone Figgins coaxed a full-count walk against Jonathan Papelbon, the Boston closer yielded an RBI double to Bobby Abreu, his third hit. Torii Hunter was then walked intentionally, and Vladimir Guerrero slammed Papelbon's first pitch into center field to drive in the tying and go-ahead runs."

Going to the ALCS!!!      Congrats Angels!!!

(all quotes are from the Angels homepage - the game pics are from ESPN and Yahoo Sports)

THEN...

My husband provided some "wonderful" comments this season...and I somehow managed NOT to file for divorce. He even made a bet with me in August. I ended up losing and had to write about why Saunders is better than Kazmir.

After a night shift, he figured he would be a good husband and would fill me in on the game from the night before...(this happened more than once...)

"Guess what? I got to watch a Rays game last night. Did you see it? Oh wait - We have satellite TV at work. Never mind. Anyways, the Rays got slammed! Totally crushed! I mean stupid little things here and there and the Twins were on FIRE! Run after run....they won 8-3!  The Rays just tried but couldn't do anything. Evan Longoria sucked big time. Couldn't even get a home run. Kazmir was so off that even the Yankees could've beat him! What do you see in that guy anyway? Maybe you should tell him to remember he's at a game! Oh, and it's 8:00 and the kids still need to get to school in half an hour. Are you getting up yet?"

Standard comments made during games:

"When is Kazmir going to start getting guys out?"

"Why do you even watch Scott pitch? He's not that good."

"You really think he's sexy?"

"An ERA of over 7? maybe it's time for Triple A."

NOW....

He thinks Kaz is a great pitcher! He's always asking me how the game went and how Scott did..........

Now that he's an Angel I get to hear this sort of comment all the time:

"Did you see that strikeout? Even Joe can't make them look that good. Really, I gotta thank you for that trade. Man, he's really on fire...can we keep him?"

"He's a great addition to the rotation."

"Wonder if he gets along with the other players in the clubhouse?"

I managed to say nothing. Nada. I was good.

For now...

***********************************************************************************************************

Sue's  question:

Sue from Rants, Raves and Random thoughts asked me this: "Will you be secretly rooting for the Angels in the playoffs now that they have your hottie Scottie?"

Shhh...Morales is at bat. (just kidding..the game doesn't start for another couple of hours)

Hopefully, Weaver can keep this winning in the ALDS going!

Wait, ummm...I mean...ahhh...Yes, Beckett will do fine tonight and Pedey should be back to hitting them out of the park.......

Oh, who am I kidding....  

GO ANGELS!

(what? you really thought I could cheer against Scott and his team?)

____________________________________________________________________________

It's a long weekend up here. Thanksgiving is on Monday. My parents are coming to visit. Sunday is the big turkey day for us. 

Good thing that it's an early game in Boston. I get to spend the afternoon flipping between the ALDS and whatever football game is on.

Have a great weekend!!

That's a wrap!

(idsgn.org)

Now it's time to get to work on the roster for 2010. They are also discussing coaching for next year in the next week or so...rumor has it there may be some changes made. The Rays have some work to do, and here is my take on where the Rays Front Office needs to focus.

First Base: Carlos Pena (.227 avg, 39 HRs, 100 RBIs)

No work needed.

Second Base:

Akinori Iwamura (.290 avg, 1 HR, 22 RBIs)

Reid Brignac (.278 avg, 1 HR, 6 RBIs)

Ben Zobrist (.297 avg, 27 HRs, 91 RBIs)

Sean Rodriguez (aquired in the Kazmir trade)

The Rays will most likely not exercise the option on Iwamura. I'd like to see Sean try second and see how that goes.

Shortstop: Jason Bartlett (.320avg, 14 HRs, 66 RBIs)

No work needed. Other than that whole arbitration thing...

Third Base: Evan Longoria (.281avg, 33 HRs, 113 RBIs)

He's the best - deal with it.

Catcher:

Dioner Navarro (.218 avg, 8 HRs, 32 RBIs)

Gregg Zaun (.260 avg, 8 HRs, 27 RBIs)

Shawn Riggans

This is where I think that the Front Office needs to focus on. Zaunnie is good, but probably not an everyday guy. Riggins still needs to prove himself.

Outfield:

Carl Crawford (.305 avg, 15 HRs, 68 RBIs)

B.J. Upton (.241 avg, 11 HRs, 55 RBIs)

Ben Zobrist (.297 avg, 27 HRs, 91 RBIs)

Gabe Kapler (.239 avg, 8 HRs, 32 RBIs)

Gabe Gross (.227 BA, 6 HRs, 36 RBIs)

Ok. Keep CC and Zobrist. Matt Joyce is a good back up. If Upton can play like he did these last few games, then we should be fine. If not, we may need to look at other options.

DO NOT GET RID OF CC OR ZOBRIST.......no - don't even think about it.....

DH:

Pat Burrell (.221 avg, 14 HRs, 64 RBIs)

Willy Aybar (.253 avg, 12 HRs, 41 RBIs)

Aybar is a decent hitter, and a good back up infielder. I think the Rays should look to get a good DH this off season.

Starting Pitchers:

1. Jeff Niemann 13-6, 3.94 ERA

2. James Shields 11-12, 4.14 ERA

3. David Price 10-7, 4.42 ERA

4. Matt Garza 8-12, 3.95 ERA

5. Wade Davis 2-2, 3.72 ERA

We'll be fine as long as Hickey doesn't mess with our staff next year. Let the new guys worry about pitch-to-contact, Davis and Price, and let the other three do their thing.

Bullpen:

Ugh. The bullpen. The reason why Advil was invented.

Ok...

Keep Wheeler (3.28 ERA), Howell (3.84 ERA) and Cormier (3.26 ERA). Perhaps Bradford.

Then go find some new relievers. STAT.

 (institutechildrenslit.net)

In the Afternoon...

Angels  4    A's   2

Scotty got his 10th win, and finished the regular season 10-9.

The best news??

"I'm trying to stand tall and get downward action with later break, sharper break," Kazmir said. "It's all about balance. I can't throw the slider before my arm is ready. If you do, you don't get good extension. By standing tall, I'm staying back, and that's giving me the balance I need.

"For the most part, it felt good. I threw a lot of sliders, especially to left-handers. And my changeup was good. All in all, for everything, it was the best I've felt since I've been here."

HE FOUND HIS SLIDER!!!

"This time, he was able to put hitters away with the slider, striking out Landon Powell in the second inning with it and Eric Patterson in the third. All four pitches Kazmir threw to Patterson were breakers."

"Sometimes you have to give the other team credit," said A's catalyst Rajai Davis, who had an infield hit in three at-bats against Kazmir. "The Angels do have a good pitching staff, and Kazmir's right at the top of the list as far as I'm concerned."

Then.....in Minnesota

Twins   5     Royals   4

Of course this helped too....

ChiSox 5     Detroit  1

And Voila! AL Central tied.....

Does a playoff race get better than this???

Last Night....in St. Pete

Rays  5     Yankees  3

That's win 13 for rookie Jeff Neimann...what a year he's had!

Up in Boston...

Folks got to see V-Mart blast one out....in a GRAND SLAM sort of way.

The Sox beat the Indians 11-6.

**********************************************************************************************************

Update 8:30am...

The Angels pitched Sean O'Sullivan last night, to give Scotty a few more days off.

The Angels won, and at the same time allowed the Red Sox to win the Wild Card race even though they lost to Adam Lind (3 home runs) and the Jays.

__________________________________________________________________________

I'm back from my blogging holiday...

In time to watch this happen:

Congrats to the Angels! They won the AL West last night with a win over Texas.

They play Texas again today - Battle of the Scotts. Kaz and Feldman are pitching tonight.

GO ANGELS!!

*******************************************************************************************************

Now what to write about today...

I could write about what went right and wrong for the Rays this year. But I won't.

I really don't think there is a need. The season is over, and the Rays will be golfing next week. Or going to Vegas, the Bahamas, Hawaii, Australia...or wherever. The baseball season will continue into October without my beloved Rays. Oh, there will be changes made this offseason for my boys. I will be following those as they happen.

But for now, I am gearing up for the postseason. Whatever I can see of it. Hockey is back now - preseason - but the hype up here in the Great White North says otherwise.

I have come across many different types of fans this year. Here are a few types that I have come across...I know there are many more, but these seem to be the most popular.

The "Die Hard" Fan

They stay up all night to watch west coast games. They live and die with their team all year. They know the starting line ups, the rotation, the relievers specialties, the music for all the guys. They know what games they have to win, which teams are the spoilers and which pitchers their teams are the best against. Their favorite words are "Pitchers and Catchers Report" and "Play Ball!"

The "I love my Team" Fan

They will follow everything about their team. But may not know the stats, or who are the switch hitters on the team. They generally know names, numbers and positions. They have been to games, and are planning on going again. They live for the season, and that season ends when the team is eliminated.

The "Stats Guru"

These fans will Statistics you to death. They know the batting average of Babe Ruth in his 4th game against the Red Sox. They know the pitching stats of each pitcher on their team. They will tell you that Felix Hernandez is a better pitcher than CC Sabathia based on some weird stat that makes the rest of us think they made it up. They do, however, come in handy when you are trying to explain to a Yankees fan why the Angels do, in fact, have a chance at making the ALCS.

The "Troll"

This is the fan who will hate on your team to get a reaction from you. They spawn on chatroom floors, and will attack at any time. They basically have very little knowledge of your team, but will google everything you say to try and get more "information" to annoy you. Just don't feed the trolls and they will go away. We hope.

The "bandwagon" fan

This year they like the Red Sox, last year it was the Angels, the year before that is was the Mariners...you get the idea. They pick a team every year - usually based on the winners of last season. They will come and talk all year - or until the team is out of the race. They annoy some fans, but are generally harmless. They fill the seats at the parks. Don't get your hate on for all bandwagoners - some will stick around for the long haul.

The "Learning Baseball" Fan

This is a newbie. They must be taught the ropes of baseball. Maybe kids, maybe adults just getting interested. It is up to the fans of the chosen team to take them under their wing and teach whatever they can.

The "baseball" fan

This is the fan who knows the teams, and may not have a favorite. They like the game, and will watch all season long - hopping from team to team, but not in a bandwagon sort of way. They are fun to talk too. They remind us that it is just a game after all.

Whatever kind of fan you are, remember that once you were a new fan to your team. So, be nice to the new fans, wear your teams' colors with pride, cheer your heart out, and above all - have fun. That's what this game is all about.

How do we describe EPIC FAIL?

The 5th inning of the game against Texas, that's how.

Let me set the scene for you. The Rays had a comfortable 3-0 lead. We (the Rays fans on the chat board) were talking about the possibility of Milton Bradley being traded to the Rays (which we were all AGAINST) when it happened.

It started when Matt Garza (I'm blaming Bob for this since he BROKE Garza's arm off his figurine) loaded the bases. He was able to get the next two batters out.

Then Byrd hit a GRAND SLAM.

UGH....ok...nothing you can do about that, right? Oh no, Matthew has to let Blalock to single so he can walk - not intentionally - Kinsler.

Bennett replaced Garza.

Murphy doubles, scoring Blalock and Kinsler. Rodriguez singles, scoring Murphy. Davis then singles. Not to be outdone, Borbon singles to bring home Rodriguez and Davis. Andrus walked. Hamilton doubles....bringing home all three base runners. He walked Byrd.

Thayer replaced Bennett.

He got Blalock to fly out.

All that to say the Rangers scored 11 runs with 2 outs in the 5th inning.