Hey Look! I'm Blogging About the Angels for the L.A. Times! Which is funny for all sorts of reasons. Anyway, if you don't feel like reading about Al Davis or whatnot, you can tinker with the blog to cover just baseball, or just the playoffs, or just the Angels. My first two posts are here and here.

10/01/2008 05:43 PM  |  Reaction (1)

Your Playoff Predictions: Now that Ozzie and the Guillens are back in black, thus allowing for maximum Angels Revenge, time for some predictions:

First round:
Angels beat the Red Sox in four. I'm tempted to predict sweep, for maximum Revenge purposes, but the Sox are still a good team and I can imagine some pain in Fenway for Game Three. First game will be by one or two runs, 5-3 or 3-2, something like that, with Frankie getting the save. Game Two will be more of a blowout, along the lines of 8-2, with Dice-K leaving before 5 and Ervin Santana cruising. Game Three will be the defending champs' last stand, but Lackey will seal the deal in Game Four.
Rays take ChiSox in five. Tampa's clearly the better team, but they (and especially their pitchers) will get the first-round yips, while Ozzie (who is my third-favorite manager in the bigs, after Scioscia and his Tampa clone) spins his magic. I would love nothing more than for the Sox to win, and for the Angels to take 'em in the ALCS in five games, again for maximum revenge-symmetry, but the Rays really are better.

Speaking of which, I'll repeat my challenge from last year: You think the playoffs are a "crapshoot"? Well I'm here to say that every year I'll pick from three teams to win, you can take the other five, and I will always choose the pool from which the winner will emanate. My pool this year: The Angels, the Red Sox, and the Cubs (barely squeaking by over the Tampa Bay Rays, who will be felled at some point by the aforementioned 2006 Tigersesque yips).

Back to the first round:
Cubs trump Dodgers in five. Though the Dodgers don't go without a spirited fight, without winning the first game (if not the first two), and without receiving about 5,000 home runs from Manny Ramirez. Whoever wins this goes to the World Series. And no matter what, ESPN & the national media will make this about the Yankees and the Red Sox.
Phillies take Brewers in five. Because C.C. Sabathia can only start two games.

Second round:
Angels beat the Rays in six. Scioscia-ball is the winner by acclimation, as the Beane-tards lick their Youkilisi.
Cubs beat the Phils in six. Though only after losing the first two.

Le Grand Orange:
Angels beat the Cubs in six. Thereby cementing their place as the premier, or co-premier, franchise since the (Angels-assisted) demise of the Yankees.

Leave your predix in the comments!

09/30/2008 07:13 PM  |  Reaction (16)

New L.A. Times Column From Me -- "McCain Resurrects an Old Stunt: The candidate has used his 'country-first' rhetoric before. But will the Great Man act turn into a self-parody? Will link to more stuff here soon, when I have more than 30 consecutive seconds.

Also, the Angels are a very good baseball team.

09/26/2008 06:12 AM  |  Reaction (5)

Hi! What are you doing down here?