I’ve been watching baseball for a long time, but have never seen what transpired Saturday night during the Angels-Dodgers game….
I’ve witnessed teams coming back from 10 run defecits, make huge ninth inning rallies and win games when down to their last strike; but never seen a team pitch a no-hitter and lose….
Unfortunately, that’s what happened to Los Angeles Saturday night, as Jered Weaver and the bullpen combined for a nine inning no-hitter against Brooklyn; only to lose 1-0….
As a lifelong Angels fan, this was the worst thing since the Game Five loss to the Red Sox in the 1986 ALCS….
Wow, just when it looked like the Halos had things going and were threatening to run away with the A.L. West, they get shut out twice in a row by the hated, carpetbagging freeloaders from Brooklyn. What’s next, the Dodgers and Raiders both win world championships? ….
If that happens, just point me to the nearest tall building and I’ll leap to my death….
Either that, or I’ll go back to L.A. County Jail and beg them to take me back….
I’ve been saying all season the Angels don’t have enough offense to get past the Red Sox and nothing this season has changed my mind. Yes, Torii Hunter is a nice addition and Vladimir Guerrero is heating up, but they still don’t have an answer for the Manny Ramirez-David Ortiz hammer….
Sure, the Halos are good enough to win their division and get to the ALCS, but that’s where it’s going to end unless they add a bat to match the Sox….
If I’m Arte Moreno, I’m not trading prospects or weakening my pitching staff; I’m putting in a call to Barry Bonds….
The other day, Barry said he’d be happy to play for the major league minimum, which is $390K. A day later, he said he’d donate his entire salary to charity, in order to “give kids a chance to see baseball.” Sounds good to me….
The fact Barry is willing to humble himself and take the minimum says to me he would not be a problem in the locker room. I can’t imagine him playing for free and then demanding his lazy boy chair, big screen plasma and half the room roped off to seperate himself from his teammates….
I like Hunter, Garrett Anderson and Casey Kotchman; but they don’t strike fear into the opposition. In the playoffs, nobody is going to pitch to Vlad because they’re crapping their pants over one of those guys….
But if Bonds is hitting behind Guerrero, the Red Sox will have no choice but to pitch to him. Ditto if the Halos hit Bonds in front of the Superfreak. With Vlad hitting behind Bonds, Barry will have his first opportunity in years to get pitches to hit….
I don’t want to hear anything about locker room problems, an overdcrowded outfield or Barry’s upcoming federal trial. I’m interested in winning, and without another bat the Angels will not go to the World Series….
If you can get the best player in baseball history for free, why the hell not?….
What a sensational performance by Manny Pacquaio on Saturday night, as he knocked out WBC lightweight champion David Diaz in nine rounds….
After absorbing a frightful beating, Diaz went down face first early in the ninth, giving the Pacman the lightweight title in his first fight at 135 lbs….
Forget about Manny losing any speed with the added weight, because he looked better and faster than ever. The hand speed was devastating, the power was frightening and Diaz was overwhelmed….
After the fight, Pacquaio said he felt stronger and more powerful than ever at lightweight, which means he could be moving up in weight again….
If he goes to 140, it sets up a fascinating matchup with British dynamo Ricky Hatton, who is a natural 140 pounder. A Pacman-Hitman matchup in England would break box office records and get a million pay-per-view buys. It would also be one great fight….
Hatton is too small for Welterweight, but moved up to challenge Floyd Mayweather several months ago. Ricky put up a gallant effort, but was predictably stopped in the 10th round. You can’t blame Hatton for taking the fight, because it was for huge money; but he’s much stronger at 140….
Which makes a fight with Manny so interesting….
Prediction: I have to go with the Pacman, who will have enormous advantages in hand speed, power and boxing ability. Look for the Hitman to get stopped in the middle rounds….
After that, who knows? There’s been talk of Pacquaio fighting Oscar DeLaHoya at 147, but it seems the Golden Boy is going to fight Miguel Cotto first, on December 6th. If Oscar can somehow win, what a titanic matchup DeLaHoya-Pacquaio would be….
Another gigantic matchup could be Pacman against Mayweather, which would break the all-time pay-per-view record….
Whatever the future holds, Pacquaio was spectacular Saturday night and moves to the top of the pound-for-pound list….
Years ago, Manny began as a 106 lb. Jr. Flyweight and then won a world title in the 112 lb. Flyweight division. Since then, he’s won championships all the way to 135 and probably will win a few more….
I know championships don’t mean as much any more, with all the divisions and alphabet soup organizations; but what he’s done is still a remarkable accomplishment….
Usually, a fighter loses some power as he moves up in weight, but Manny seems to get stronger with each additional weight class….
