The OC Disorder

I have nothing else to do on Winter Break, so here’s my NBA Team of the Decade, the sport I followed the most closely these past ten years.

MVP: Tim Duncan

1st Team
G: Steve Nash
G: Kobe Bryant
F: Tim Duncan
F: Kevin Garnett
C: Shaquille O’Neal

2nd Team
G: Jason Kidd
G: Allen Iverson
F: LeBron James
F: Dirk Nowitzki
C: Ben Wallace

3rd Team
G: Dwayne Wade
G/F: Tracy McGrady
G/F: Paul Pierce
F: Chris Webber
C: Dwight Howard

Honorable Mention: Chauncey Billups, Yao Ming, Gary Payton, Dikembe Mutombo, Chris Paul, Amare Stoudemire

So the other day I was driving around my home town and all of a sudden it hit me…

I REALLY HATE A LOT ABOUT ORANGE COUNTY!!!

Don’t get me wrong. There is a lot of redeeming values to Orange County, which is probably why I haven’t abandoned ship quite yet, but as I was sitting at a four-way-stop and almost witnessed four different accidents because of rude or just plain dumb Orange County drivers I got mad. Real Mad. And I started thinking about of the things like dumb drivers that I hate.

Well I decided to start a sort of “series” where I rant about these things and I will try to remember and update you with the things that have caught my attention.

So without further delay here is the first of many THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (Orange County):

#1 Insane Soccer Moms:

Now maybe this is more of a problem out here where I live in Yorba Linda, but I’m pretty sure we’ve all had the pleasure of witnessing or coming across one of these lovely ladies menacing around in their mini vans, SUVs, or ridiculously lifted trucks wreaking havoc on and off the road just so that they can get little Jimmy and Suzie to soccer practice, tae kwon do, etc.

I’m sure these ladies have a pretty hard life trying to make their children happy, but I’d rather not be disrespected or almost killed on a daily basis by them. I’m also a fond believer of adults acting like adults in situations where there may be a conflict.

You might be reading this thinking “Sean… aren’t you being a little dramatic about these women?”

To which my answer would be…  No. You are stupid and I am of course far superior and right when it comes to this subject matter.

Don’t believe me that these women suck? Well how about these little gems I found:

Lady Calls 911 Over Wrong Burger King Order (Laguna Niguel)

Woman A can’t park her SUV and Woman B confronts her about it. (Google Building, Irvine)

It’s sad to think that these women are raising the future of the world, our country, and this county…

Looks like the Mayans were right… the world is going to end very very soon.

The City of Anaheim lost another battle in its ongoing war with Arte Moreno and the Angels organization. They failed in their appeal of an earlier jury decision that sided with the Angels with regards to the naming of the team. Long story short, Anaheim doesn’t want a team called Los Angeles in their city while Arte worships at the altar of the almighty dollar. Speaking of which, both sides have spent nearly twelve million dollars on these legal proceedings. Hmmm, I wonder how that money could’ve have been better spent. Budget crisis? Landing a free agent?

But this isn’t about that story, rather the story, or comments, within the story. Once again, several readers of The Orange County Register feel the need to comment on a team they claim to have stopped supporting, although the millions of fans who pour off of the 57 year after year must make Arte beam. What must make him cringe, though, are the ignorant fans who feel the need to bring in his Mexican American heritage, although they conveniently forget the American part, the part of him that was born in Tucson, Arizona and fought in the Vietnam War. For some reason, they feel it necessary to focus on the Mexican part and make outrageous claims such as renaming the team after Tijuana or having Arte deported.

To these so called fans, I say get fucked. Arte’s heritage has no relevance to the argument at hand. All it does is expose your own bigotry. As a fellow perpetual foreigner in your eyes, I think I can say that even if he did change the name back to something you found more acceptable, Arte would not want your hateful dollars.

And finally, where are all the Orange County conservatives/libertarians/free marketers who just might own one or two suites at the Big A? Where’s the outrage over the People’s Republic of Anaheim impeding Arte’s business venture? Are you okay with hiding in your capitalist gated communities while these socialists try to tear down everything you hold dear?

The Rays are going to the World Series. Wow. Way to go. What a feat. They certainly deserve it.

I propose that they owe this new found success to the Angels.

No…just hear me out. They are a stellar team, and may have even beaten Anaheim, had we got past the ALDS, but there are larger forces at work.

We all know that baseball is a sport of tradition, streaks, and jinxes – and when those are ended, all shit breaks loose. Here we now come to my proof:

The Angels had never won a postseason game against Boston (or at least the last 11). They did this year. Streak broken. Boston then lost all their postseason mojo and failed to progress further than the ALCS.

What more do you need? So celebrate with your Florida brethren and enjoy there victories as your own.

-M

I’ve spend the last week letting my anger at the Angels subside.  This was suppose to be the season.  Nearly everything was going just right in September.  K-Rod was hot.  Mark Teixeira was hot.  Mike Napoli was hot.  Vladdy was heating up.  Everybody was getting healthier!  We were at near full strength when the playoffs began.  Finally, this was the season that we were suppose to kill the Red Sox.  Yet, playoffs began and a different Angels team appeared.  Even Mike Scioscia said in game 3 (I think) that the regular season Angels hadn’t shown up yet.  This team left so many runners on base.  So many scoring opportunities lost.  Huge lack of clutch hitting. AND fielding problems (the dropped pop-up in center field for game 3!).  All these problems have been consistent in the past postseasons for the Angels.  What’s happening?

It’s easy for people to play armchair analyst and blame Scioscia for the lack of energy in the team.  One of the LA Times columnists blame Scioscia for being too professional and business-like when it comes to the game.  But it worked in the regular season.  Does  Scioscia really need to go into cheerleading mode for the postseason?  Actually, a part of me thinks the team gets too worked up for the postseason.  Teixeira, who played well during the playoff series, acknowledged that baseball players, unlike football players, don’t need to hype to play well and that hyping actually makes players play worse because they get tense.  That thinking worked for Teixeira, who looked relaxed, focused, and patient at the plate.  I look at Erick Aybar, a young player that looked worked up at the plate, keep hitting into outs with runners on base.  He even inexcusably missed a bunt during a pivotal squeeze play that would’ve given the Angels the lead in game 4.  Instead, Aybar’s missed bunt caused the go-ahead runner at 3rd to be caught out and the Red Sox rallied to a walk-off series win.  Pretty disgusting.

One thing I know is this year’s postseason failure is not because of skill level.  The team had all the right parts and was probably the most well-rounded team in the playoffs.  It was all in the head.  It just simply looked like a different team with a different mentality.  The 3-4-5 hitters (Tex, Vlad, Hunter) did their jobs, but the rest of the team didn’t get on base or move runners consistently (especially Kendrick and Aybar).  These young, farm-raised players have supposed to mature in the past 2-3 seasons into resilent playoff ready players, but they obviously haven’t yet.  How much longer are we suppose to wait for a playoff-ready team?

I’m not going to get ahead of myself here. It was fantastic to see the Dodgers win their first postseason series in twenty years. And it came against the Cubs, who had a phenomenal regular season and the best record in the National League. Based on this performance, the Dodgers have a chance to go very deep into the postseason. They pitched well, hit well, and played solid in the field. It might be easier to beat the Brewers, but chances are they will be up against a strong Phillies team in the next round with a lineup that can wreak havoc on opposing starters, especially at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park. Just as the Cubs had to frequently pitch around the streaking Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers will probably end up doing the same to Ryan Howard. But the bats around Howard are better than what the Dodgers bring, so it won’t be easy. But I have some hope.

Read the rest of this entry »

As the Angels get ready for another playoff run, the LA Times released some news and columns about the future of the team.  One article reports on the financial situation with the team and the tough decisions General Manager Tony Reagins and owner Arte Moreno will have to make in the off-season.  Moreno doesn’t expect a bigger budget this year and will try to keep it roughly the same for 2009–about $120 million.  So Reagins is going to have to decide which of these free agents to keep: Garret Anderson, Francisco Rodriguez, John Garland, Mark Texiera, and Juan Rivera.

First priority should be Texiera because other than Vlad Guerrero, he’s the only other “real” big bat.  Every championship caliber team needs 1) great pitcher and 2) a duet of power hitters.  Anderson’s status depends on Gary Matthews Jr.’s status.  Matthews is essentially the 4th outfielder this year, which is something he doesn’t like.  He can decide to leave the Angels to another team that will give him a starting job.  Now if the Angels don’t renew Andersons contract (he’s 36 years old), Matthews may get the starting job that he’s looking for.  I value Rivera a lot because he’s another big bat and he has the possibility of replacing Vlad in right field.  Vlad should be put in the DH position to save his knees and extend his shelf life.  Garland is expendable and the Angels have shown interest in getting C.C. Sabathia for next year.  Sabathia would be an amazing pick-up to an already outstanding rotation (all five current pitchers each have 10 or more wins).

Lastly, we have K-Rod, whose job as closer has been called overrated by columnist Bill Plaschke.  Plaschke’s column argues that the closer job, while exciting to watch, can’t stand up to the importance of other positions.  “Closers get three outs. Closers do not hit three-run homers. Closers cannot pitch three-hit shutouts. Closers will never work three scoreless innings in relief.  Closers get three outs, and only after everyone else has first done their job,” writes Plaschke.  K-Rod is asking for a 5-year, $15 mil/year deal. Plaschke says the Angels should wisely spend their money on most important positions (starters and big hitters).  K-Rod’s job is more easily replaceable with the current talent they have, like setup-men Scot Shields and Jose Arredondo.  I agree with Plaschke’s assessment.  If we lived in a more perfect world, K-Rod would accept a smaller contract and stay because he likes the team.  But Johnny Damon’s taught me that no matter how much a team and the fans love a player, money comes first.