Friday, June 19, 2009

Post-Game 68 Thread: Out-Rallied By The Monkeys

ANGELS 5, DODGERS 4

We cannot seem to get the Rally Monkeys off our back. Despite a 4-1 lead off of home runs from James Loney and Rafael Furcal, Chad Billingsley falls apart in the sixth inning to bring it back to a tie game at 4 apiece, and then Juan Rivera grooves a Guillermo Mota fastball to deep, deep left to score the go-ahead run in the eighth inning. Angels win, 5-4, coming back with four unanswered runs in their last three frames.

There were some bright spots in the game. Furcal went 2-for-4 with a 2-run HR that scored Pierre. Loney's HR in the fourth inning, on a high fastball for his third shot of the year, was a monster shot. And Casey Blake made a wonderful web-gem grab behind third to snare an Erick Aybar pop foul, stranding Angels at the corners.

But the Dodgers left the bases loaded in the eighth when Beast Mode flied out to left. And even though Furcal led off the ninth with a leadoff single off of Brian Fuentes, then was sacrificed over by Orlando Hudson--but Blake struck out, Andre Ethier walked to set up the force at any base, and Matt Kemp struck out on four pitches.

Look, I've got nothing against the Angels; they've had a tough year and I'd like to see them win the AL West. But it would be nice to win a game against them every once in a while. Let's get a win tomorrow, okay Dodgers?

15 comments:

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Before, the Angels were a cute little team, with their mountain background and their stupid monkey. But now they're seriously pissing me off, and I want to see them fall apart faster than Brian McNamee when questioned by a senatorial committee.

Josh S. said...

Funniest moment of the night: Juan Rivera's dead-silent curtain call.

Frustrating loss. Usually I'm ticked at Torre for being quick with the hook. Tonight I'm ticked he didn't pull Bills when he was struggling.

But no, I have nothing against the Angels either. (I got caught up in the fun in '02.) It's not worth getting worked up over a "rivalry" that doesn't even mean anything until October.

Will Clark said...

Giants WIN...Giants WIN...

Orel said...

Congrats! You're only eight games back now.

Will Clark said...

Typically teams that start out hot in the beginning of the season fizzle down the stretch. The Dodger's pitching will crack under pressure

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

I believe it when I see it, Mr. Clark.

Will Clark said...

Just wait til Sept. Mr. LA Sports Fan

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Your statement confuses me. I doubt I will be alive by September of 2104.

NicJ said...

Giants fans go over .500 and get cocky. Weren't the giants like 7 games back when manny left? Wasn't this supposed
to be the time when they gained ground?

Josh S. said...

Oh, Will...

Steve Sax said...

"Will Clark" is sitting on the couch next to me.
He is grasping.

Steve Sax said...

NICE, Josh S. "Will" clicked through your link and is now on the ground in a pool of mush.

Thanks for the assists, NicJ and Mr LASF.

ubragg said...

Just finished watching the game from tonight on my DVR. Can anyone explain why Mota is allowed to pitch in a tie game? As soon as he came in, I knew we were done.

This is a coarse statistic and doesn't prove causality, but...

When Mota pitches:
Dodgers are 10-17

When he doesn't:
Dodgers are 34-7

Seems to match up pretty well with that sinking feeling I get whenever he enters the game.

StolenMonkey86 said...

So this is what I wake up to when I fall asleep at mdnight on the east coast? Bunting with Hudson? Wasn't he like 3-4 on the night with 2 doubles? And isn't he batting 3rd? Joe Torre, are you going to order Manny to bunt when he gets back?

rbnlaw said...

The worst part of this loss was watching it in Fountain Valley among 100 Angels fans. They were pretty quiet up until the 6th.

I, too, must admit to being caught up in the 2002 fandemonium, mainly because I live in Anaheim.
When the team moved to LA, I lost interest.