The Comeback

I've been on a long hiatus but never worry, I'm like Tiger coming back after his knee surgery and this is my Bay Hill ...

A day removed from quite possibly the most touching, inspirational, emotional game in Angels baseball history, my family and I visited the ballpark to see the Angels take on Red Sox nation in game 2 of a three-game set.

And boy did the Nation come out in support.

There are three teams we Angels fans know are going to bring a wave of opposing fans and enemy colors: the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees. It's these games that test true Angels pride. Sure, Angels fans can cheer on the Halos when the Royals or Twins are in town, but when the Bronx Bombers come to Anaheim, the true Angels fans come out.

It didn't used to be like that though. Years ago, Boston fans would outnumber Halo fans nearly 2 or even 3 to 1 during games played in Anaheim, but ever since the Halos won the World Series in 2002, the numbers have reversed substantially.

The one thing you can't knock about the Red Sox fans is that they travel well. I'd say it was about 70-30 in regards to Angels/Red Sox fans, and why not? This rivalry goes back to 2004 when Boston ousted the 92 win AL West champs in the ALDS in three games en route to their first World Series in 85 years. They again eliminated the Angels in the 2007 ALDS (three games) and again in the 2008 ALDS (four games).

The ironic thing about this postseason trend is the fact the Angels have owned the Red Sox recently in the regular season, winning nine straight until today's 5-4 loss.

With the season in full swing and 157 more games on the schedule, the Angels look a little down from last year's 100-win squad. Minus Mark Teixiera (signed with the Yankees) and aces John Lackey and Ervin Santana (Disabled List), the Halos are turning to young prospects and seasoned veterans to carry the load. And someone called Shane Loux.

Stay tuned.

A few little things about the game today:

-- I wrote a piece on proper fan etiquette for Thursday's Daily Titan (Cal State Fullerton's daily publication: link here http://www.dailytitan.com/opinion/proper-fan-etiquette-this-season-1.1650736 ) and after going to today's game I realized I forgot one few thing.

5. When a beach ball is hit to you, grab it, hold it up, and proceed to hit it over your left or right shoulder. DO NOT HIT IT IN FRONT OF YOU! Hit the person behind right in the kisser for all I care, just don't make the mistake of hitting it forward. I saw this happen three times in the span of a minute at today's game. Three beach balls, gone in the blink of an eye. The commonality between the three? All of them were hit forward, consequently knocking them over the railing of the upper section of the stadium. There's no easier way to get fans to turn on you than by smacking a beach ball over the edge. You'll hear more boo's than Amateur Night at the Apollo. Believe me, I've seen it.

(A fascinating continuation of number 4: Three Red Sox fans were sitting behind us. Now, normally this isn't a problem. We've had Yankees fans behind us, Dodgers fans, you name it. We've heard our fair share of stories, but these fans took the cake. By the second inning I practically knew one of the guys' life story. He went to South Carolina for Grad School. Came back to the University of San Diego to get his MBA. He met his girlfriend the day he quit his job. He once had season tickets for the Padres - according to him, "something he'll never do again." And finally, his dad was from the Boston area. An interesting little twist: HE WASN'T EVEN TALKING TO HIS GIRLFRIEND ABOUT THIS! And mind you, THIS IS ALL BEFORE THE SECOND INNING! SOMEBODY STOP ME I CAN'T STOP USING ALL CAPS! Like I say, there's no problem with talking during a ballgame, but please, please, leave the personal stories for the personal and private settings - and Match.com.)

-- If I were a Major League closer, I'd come out of the bullpen exactly like Triple H, down to the last mouthful of water (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q3EER96TDs&feature=related). The funny thing is I'd do it whether I was at home or on the road.

-- Is there an easier way to tell Mike Scoscia is throwing in the towel than his "trailing" bullpen? I mean, when the Angels are tied or leading it's Jose Arrendondo or Scot Shields, period. When they're trailing (by one - surprisngly - or more), it's a littany of other rookies, has beens, and never was' (or is it 'never weres'?). Anyways, today we're down by one, top of the 9th, trying to beat the Red Sox for the 10th time in a row (in the regular season anyway) and out trots Justin Speier from the bullpen! JUSTIN SPEIER! Let's say in The Sandlot, when the kids are playing the team with the really nice uniforms, the game got kinda close (considering it didn't because the Sandlot kids were hitting jacks left and right). Let's say instead of bringing Benny in to close it out, they decided to throw Smalls out there for an inning or so. Smalls conitues to get rocked and inevitably they lose the game because of his inability to move the ball off the tee. Justin Speier would be the Smalls of the Angels. Needless to say, the first batter he faced, Jason Bay, hit a home run that hasn't landed yet. Or course, we lost by one. Imagine that.

Man, that felt good. Felt like I just hit a 20-foot putt to win Arnie's Tournament.