Following a professional sports team has its ups and downs. I have been a fan of Los Angeles baseball for as long as I can remember. For the most part, it hasn’t been rewarding because we rarely put a competitive team on the field. We averaged one playoff appearance per decade until recently, when we had always been in the hunt for gold. The Angels’ crowning glory was in 2002 when Tim Salmon and the rest of Halo lifted the trophy and trotted around the Big A as we beat the San Francisco Giants in Game 7.

2008 had high hopes for Gene Autrey’s team. Yes, I know that he died and no longer owns them, but you know that he still looks at the Jumbotron in the sky. On a side note, Artie Moreno has been a great owner and has helped market the Angels much better than previous owners, including the Disney machine. Anyway, he back to baseball. We finished 2007 with solid pitching, good hitting and one of the best bullpens in the majors. But those pesky Red Sox beat us again and Artie knew we were missing a few pieces. With his wallet open, we signed Torii Hunter and in a surprise move traded Orlando Cabrera for Jon Garland. In hindsight I think this was a bad trade even though Garland ended up winning 14 games, he had a flashy 4.90 era. For those of you who don’t follow baseball, 4.90 is terrible. The public will never know the real reason behind the trade, however, I have a feeling the Angels organization didn’t love Orlando and wanted to get rid of his attitude.

Top 5 Angelic Moments of 2008

• Torri Hunter Signing
• Watching Saunders and Santana mature as pitchers
• Calling Jose Arredondo
• Trade of Casey Kotchman for Mark Teixeira
• Have the best record in baseball
• Saved record of K Rod

Top 5 Angel Lowlights of 2008

• Justin Speier’s Fall From Great To Just Bad
• Gary Matthews Jr couldn’t justify his $50,000,000 contract
• Listen to K Rod complain about his contract
• Izturus and Kendricks injuries near the end of the year
• Losing to the Red Sox again!

The Angels were solid throughout the year. We had the best or close to the best record all year and didn’t go into any major nosedives. We’ve had our share of injuries, too, but most teams have the same problems and have to rely on bench players and minor leaguers. The Angels have a great scouting department and we have some players almost ready for prime time on our double and triple-A teams. Most notable are Jose Arredondo, soon to be closer, Brandon Wood, soon to be our shortstop or third base every day, and Kendry Morales. We also brought in Sean Rodriguez, Ryan Budde and a couple of pitchers who filled in really well when asked. The best move the team made all year was trading the soft-spoken Casey Kotchman to the Atlanta Braves for the incredible Mark Teixeira. Tex provided gold glove fielding along with a solid bat in the middle of the lineup. He lived up to the hype and filled a hole around Big Daddy Vladdy.

But having the best record in baseball means nothing if you don’t win in the playoffs. Even though Tampa Bay was tough all year, I’d rather see the Angels play the Rays than the Red Sox. We beat the Boston filler during the year with a record of 8-1, but they have our number during the playoffs. So why did the Angels fall to the Red Sox again this year? In my opinion, our defense was the number one major culprit. There were some plays that, had they been made, might have turned the tide, instead balls were dropped and the failure to convert a crucial double play finished us off. Also blamed was the bottom of the order’s inability to get men on base and a highly suspicious suicide attempt in game 6 that cost us a chance to push the forward run. I’m not quite sure how a major leaguer can miss a bunt, but Erick Aybar did and the Red Sox beat Reggie Willits in a run that gave the Red Sox hope. Angles manager Mike Scioscia bet and lost on that call. I’m sure the radio talk lines were blown up blaming Mike for losing the game. However, I blame the batter that he should have done whatever it took to bunt that ball!

I’m not happy that we didn’t go further, but I wasn’t devastated. I think the teams’ victory in the 2002 World Series will keep me going for another decade or so. I was at game 7 against the Giants and believe me, having almost 50,000 people as big as me cheering for the same team was a once in a lifetime experience. And at least I’m not a Cubs fan!