LA keeps it classy. Not. Shocker.

Posted by: Kim


(I wanted to totally rip off Boston.com and use "Halo, goodbye" as my title because it is AWESOME, but, I used to write headlines for a living - no, seriously - and I just couldn't do it to the brilliant copy editor who coined that.)

So the Sox are going to the ALCS! Whoo! Yay! I love this team! I mean, I always love the team, but I really love this team! As fun as the '04 idiots were, that shtick was done being cute pretty quickly, and it's been a blast watching this group of professionals overcome so many injuries/shocking trades/unexpected brilliance exploding out of Tampa/etc. and storm the postseason again. AND JASON BAY! I promise I'm not talking like some bitter ex-fan-now-Manny-hater, but, seriously. What a role to walk into, and what a way to fill it, and all the while with an air of complete grace and dedication and hilarious cleanliness (is that just me? His uniform stays. So. Clean.). Omg, Sox, just, win it all for Jason Bay. And Jon Lester. I can't decide which story is better. (Okay, so it's Lester's. Tugs at the heartstrings and all that.)

Anyway, the Angels ... of Los Angeles ... of Anaheim ... the winged representatives of La-La Land and Disneyland ... whatever ... that left coast team that used to be one of my favorites ... did sort of help out by committing a lot of baseball suicide, for which, hey, thanks! And then they warmly congratulated Boston on games well played.

Or not.

Via the LA Times (story here):

"We lost to a team that's not better than us," growled pitcher John Lackey, who gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings. "We are a better team than they are. The last two days, we shouldn't have given up anything."

"[Sunday] night they scored three runs on a pop fly that was called a hit, which was a joke," Lackey said, referring to Ellsbury's pop that fell between center fielder Torii Hunter and second baseman Howie Kendrick in Game 3.

"[Monday] night they scored on a broken-bat ground ball and a fly ball that anywhere else in America is an out, and he's fist-pumping on second base like he did something great."

Asked to describe his feelings, Lackey said, "Like I want to throw somebody through a wall."

"I'm [ticked], I'm upset, this one's going to be with me for a while," Hunter said. "It doesn't feel good, because we're a better team than they are. But they're moving on."

Dear Angels:

Yes, you dominated the Red Sox in the regular season. Yes, you are 100-game winners. Yes, you cake-walked all over your cupcake AL West division (sorry, couldn't resist, but, dude. The Mariners.). I wasn't going to be one to take any of that away from you, but, bratty much?

Of note, Mr. Lackey: When players fail to catch a pop and it therefore lands on the ground in fair outfield territory, it is a hit. Duh. I mean, you don't even need a rule book for that one. If you're talking that crazy infield fly rule, it doesn't apply here, clearly. If you thought it should be an error on your fielders, well, what error? They didn't do anything. That was the problem, but, also, sorry. Their problem. Your problem. Ellsbury's hit.

Also, re: "[Monday] night they scored on a broken-bat ground ball and a fly ball that anywhere else in America is an out, and he's fist-pumping on second base like he did something great."

Um. What? Now you are angry because of the ballpark dimensions? Because they were not built in favor of your personal preference as to how far batters drive your pitches? I don't know. Pitch better then. Know the park. Know what you have to do. Forget the 'if we were playing somewhere else' crap. You weren't. If you were so much better in the first place, shouldn't you have beaten them anywhere, then? Or maybe you should have tossed your awesomeness all over Angel Stadium or whatever the hell it's called these days and, you know, won Games 1 & 2 so you wouldn't have to be forced to lower yourself to playing in a ballpark with such unacceptable dimensions during a must-win moment or make yourself look like an ass because you're whining about how the little guy crushed the curve you delivered right up in the zone for him.

ALSO. Re: Fist-pumping. Excuse him for ... being excited? A double off the wall at a clutch moment is a pretty great way to break your slump, especially in a Division Series game. And come on now, we're all used to a certain team's prized closer shrieking absurdly and blowing kisses at god after every save like he just won the World Series. I'll give you a hint: It's not Papelbon. Clearly your emotions runneth over during this interview. Let's not fault Pedroia for a fist-pump, please.

Love,
Kim

And now I will leave everyone with some fun pictures of nice boys playing in champagne. I guarantee nothing, but I'm fairly certain had this series gone the other way, not one of them would have reacted so ... ugh.




P.S. My favorite AL West team is the A's.
P.P.S. I'm still mildly petrified of the Rays. Wtf?