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His Own Bad Self · 04-17-2010, 02:07 AM

May 11, 2010

Has There Been a Worse Time for Baseball Fans in Los Angeles?

Forgive Dodger Fan and Angel Fan if they need reminders of their teams' respective division crowns last season. Only five weeks into the 2010 campaign, both teams already find themselves in last place. The Angels have lost six straight heading into a three-game series against Tampa Bay, dropping to 13-20, and the Dodgers have fallen in five consecutive games leading into their series at NL West-leading Arizona. They now sit at 12-19.

Neither of the managers involved is familiar with losing, either. Mike Scioscia has been at the Angels' helm for 10 seasons, eight of which saw the Angels finish over .500, and six of which led to playoff berths. Joe Torre, of course, is well-known for managing the Yankees to their four World Championships between 1996 and 2000, as well as leading the Dodgers to the NL West title last year.

"We know very well what we can do, so now it's just a matter of going out and doing it," Torre said after last night's 12-3 loss to Colorado. "From 1 to 25, we have players capable of playing championship-caliber baseball."

That may be true, but injuries have been partly to blame, so that some of those championship-caliber players are currently on the shelf. Most notable of those among the missing is Chad Billingsley, who tore his labrum on Opening Day and will be out for at least the next couple of months. Hiroki Kuroda, Jeff Weaver, and Billingsley's fill-in, Charlie Haeger, are the other significant pieces currently out with various ailments.

The same could not be said for the Halos. Until last week, when Howie Kendrick was lost for the season, the Angels' roster was largely injury-free. The losses of John Lackey, Chone Figgins, and Vlad Guerrero in the offseason have not been patched over well enough, and the offense has struggled noticeably. The Angels' trademark ability to manufacture runs appears to have deserted them. In the process of being swept by Seattle this weekend, the Angels left 36 runners on base, including 14 in last night's 6-2, 14-inning backbreaker, which was capped off by Jack Wilson's walk-off grand slam off of Rafael Rodriguez.

If Mike Scioscia was displeased by his team's failure to come through in the clutch, he was able to hide it, at least momentarily.

"Every team has rough stretches. We've just played at Boston, who's very good as usual, and at Seattle, who's leading our division. And in all of those games except for I think Friday, we gave ourselves a chance to win. All we need to do is take advantage of those situations. Kendry [Morales] has been great for us this season. He just had a bad day today. [Morales went 0 for 7 with three strikeouts, and 8 men left on base.] So did Torii [Hunter]. Baseball's like that sometimes."

One hopes for Torre, for Scioscia, for their clubs, and the fans thereof, that "sometimes" doesn't last all season.

04-17-2010, 02:07 AM	#7
His Own Bad Self All Star Starter Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,221	May 11, 2010 Has There Been a Worse Time for Baseball Fans in Los Angeles? Forgive Dodger Fan and Angel Fan if they need reminders of their teams' respective division crowns last season. Only five weeks into the 2010 campaign, both teams already find themselves in last place. The Angels have lost six straight heading into a three-game series against Tampa Bay, dropping to 13-20, and the Dodgers have fallen in five consecutive games leading into their series at NL West-leading Arizona. They now sit at 12-19. Neither of the managers involved is familiar with losing, either. Mike Scioscia has been at the Angels' helm for 10 seasons, eight of which saw the Angels finish over .500, and six of which led to playoff berths. Joe Torre, of course, is well-known for managing the Yankees to their four World Championships between 1996 and 2000, as well as leading the Dodgers to the NL West title last year. "We know very well what we can do, so now it's just a matter of going out and doing it," Torre said after last night's 12-3 loss to Colorado. "From 1 to 25, we have players capable of playing championship-caliber baseball." That may be true, but injuries have been partly to blame, so that some of those championship-caliber players are currently on the shelf. Most notable of those among the missing is Chad Billingsley, who tore his labrum on Opening Day and will be out for at least the next couple of months. Hiroki Kuroda, Jeff Weaver, and Billingsley's fill-in, Charlie Haeger, are the other significant pieces currently out with various ailments. The same could not be said for the Halos. Until last week, when Howie Kendrick was lost for the season, the Angels' roster was largely injury-free. The losses of John Lackey, Chone Figgins, and Vlad Guerrero in the offseason have not been patched over well enough, and the offense has struggled noticeably. The Angels' trademark ability to manufacture runs appears to have deserted them. In the process of being swept by Seattle this weekend, the Angels left 36 runners on base, including 14 in last night's 6-2, 14-inning backbreaker, which was capped off by Jack Wilson's walk-off grand slam off of Rafael Rodriguez. If Mike Scioscia was displeased by his team's failure to come through in the clutch, he was able to hide it, at least momentarily. "Every team has rough stretches. We've just played at Boston, who's very good as usual, and at Seattle, who's leading our division. And in all of those games except for I think Friday, we gave ourselves a chance to win. All we need to do is take advantage of those situations. Kendry [Morales] has been great for us this season. He just had a bad day today. [Morales went 0 for 7 with three strikeouts, and 8 men left on base.] So did Torii [Hunter]. Baseball's like that sometimes." One hopes for Torre, for Scioscia, for their clubs, and the fans thereof, that "sometimes" doesn't last all season. Last edited by His Own Bad Self; 04-17-2010 at 02:09 AM.