Mike Trout Hats To Be Given Away June 18th
Here Fishy Fishy
Come June 18 the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim hope you attend that nights game against the Seattle Mariners to see baseball and be part of the Mike Trout promotional night.
That night the Angels will be giving away fish hats, more specifically a trout hat, if you will. It features, prominently and beautifully, a trout mouth agape in wonder and a trucker mesh in the back that kids these days wear.
Josh Hamilton eats candy bars Athletics fans throw at him
Eat It
Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton took the high road when dealing with a group of hecklers at Oakland Coliseum Monday night.
The Athletics held “Josh Hamilton Appreciation Night” Monday in reference to the fly ball Hamilton dropped in the final regular season game of 2012 to help the A’s win the American League West Division. Of course, Hamilton was a member of the Texas Rangers then, but the A’s still wanted to show their gratitude for the costly error with the Angels in town this week.
Furthermore, fans also chose to show their appreciation by chucking Butterfingers at Hamilton during batting practice as he shagged balls in right field which the former MVP decided to be a good sport and devour the tasty treats which rained down upon him.
MLB Predictions
Est. 1869
What’s lies ahead in the 2013 Major League Baseball season, well no one knows for sure but Opening Day is upon us and it’s time to roll out a few predictions. If you happened to listen to our live show this past week then you already heard those predictions.
Enjoy opening day, enjoy the season. I know I will.
American League East winner: Tampa Bay Rays
American League Central winner: Detroit Tigers
American League West winner: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
American League Wild-Card winner: Oakland Athletics
American League Wild-Card winner: Kansas City Royals
American League Pennant winner: Tampa Bay Rays
National League East winner: Washington Nationals
National League Central winner: Cincinnati Reds
National League West winner: San Francisco Giants
National League Wild-Card winner: Milwaukee Brewers
National League Wild-Card winner: Philadelphia Phillies
National League Pennant winner: Washington Nationals
American League Rookie of the Year: Wil Myers, Tampa Bay Rays
National League Rookie of the Year: Jedd Gyorko, San Diego Padres
American League Manger of the Year: John Farrell, Boston Red Sox
National League Manager of the Year: Bo Porter, Houston Astros
American League MVP: Yoenis Cespedas, Oakland Athletics
National League MVP: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
American League Cy Young Award: Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers
National League Cy Young Award: Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
WTF: Fox Sports West
What Are Interns For
As the old cliché goes, it’s spring training for everybody which includes players, umpires, announcers, and yes, even those behind the scenes of Major League Baseball telecasts need a little time to knock the rust off. For a classic example of just how bad it’s needed by all parties involved, look no further than the person in charge of graphics for Fox Sports West during Cactus League battle for Los Angeles between the Angels and Dodgers. With one of the Dodgers prized offseason signings, South Korea’s Hyun-Jin Ryu, taking the hill for his first spring appearance, a graphic appeared the 26-year-old rookie’s career stats unfortunately, with his official major league debut still one month away, he doesn’t have any of those number just yet.
Torii Hunter Delivers Popeye’s Chicken To A’s Fans
Love That Chicken From Popeye's
The best seat at the Oakland Coliseum just may be section 149 in the right field bleachers. Those fans are sometimes treated with free food, courtesy of major leaguers.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim right fielder Torii Hunter made good on a promise and delivered six boxes of Popeye’s chicken to the section during Wednesday’s game. Hunter promised the right-field fans that he’d buy them chicken two years ago if they stopped heckling him. He finally delivered.
Hunter isn’t the only one to deliver to the fans of section 149 as in April, Kansas City Royals’s Jeff Francouer had several pizzas delivered to the fans on the second annual “Bacon Tuesday” with a note reading “keep makin’ bacon.”
Roy Oswalt Unhappy With Bullpen Role
Not A Team Player?
Former starting pitcher-turned-reliever Roy Oswalt is not ready to reinvent himself.
“I’m a starter,” Texas Rangers’ Oswalt told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I’m not really a bullpen guy.”
Oswalt made his second appearance as a reliever with Texas on Sunday and pitched two scoreless innings. But he declined to go out for a third inning after just 30 pitches in the Rangers loss to the Kansas City Royals.
“He said he couldn’t go any further,” manager Ron Washington said. “He said he had enough.”
General manager Jon Daniels said:
“Roy prefers to start. We had a call to make and we did what we thought was best for the club. As we all know things can change. Right now we’re happy with the way things are set up but we understand his point of view.”
Oswalt was demoted to the bullpen July 31 after the Rangers acquired Ryan Dempster at the trade deadline. He didn’t take the decision kindly.
“Well, I mean we’re 4-2 in the games I started. I guess I should’ve been 6-0,” Oswalt said. “Two bad ones and won four of them so … I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes.
“It wasn’t my decision. I’m down there to throw when they need me, I guess.”
Oswalt made his first relief appearance of the season Thursday against the Angels. He was not available to repond after the game on Sunday.
Fernando Rodney Slays Angels Rally Monkey
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s Rally Monkey had to hide this weekend when Fernando Rodney and the Tampa Bay Rays came to town. For the second consecutive day, Rays closer Fernando Rodney took aim at the monkey after the game with his signature post-game bow-and-arrow gesture.
“Last night, I saw the son and shoot him and he gone,” Rodney said. “Today the father come. I said, ‘I don’t want no problem.’ I had an arrow behind me and I shoot it.”
“The Rally Monkey passed away.”
Police Don’t Tell Fans They Were Searching For Bombs At Comerica Park
Detroit Rock City
Detroit police made no announcement or call for an evacuation as they searched Comerica Park for explosive device while the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim played before nearly 34,000 fans.
The Detroit Free Press reported late Tuesday that an anonymous caller phoned a bomb threat to 911 around 8 p.m. Tuesday.
“There was no device found, and no evacuation was done,” police spokeswoman Sgt. Eren Stephens told the newspaper.
The threat follows two similar incidents in less than a week that shut down a tunnel and bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, for hours.
The Free Press says spectators and the media were kept in the dark while police and stadium security frantically, and quietly, conducted their search while the game continued. Nothing was found.
Spike Lee Catches Mark Teixeira’s Bat
40 Acres And A Mule
I’ve always said I have interest in an $8 baseball that comes flying into the stands foul or home run but a bat is a different story. They both can provide for a scary moment and at Yankee Stadium on Sunday director Spike Lee walked away with a prize possession belonging to Mark Teixeira and making me very jealous in the process.
WTF: Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim
Got Nothing On Something
Whoever is in charge of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim broadcasts sure nows how to dissect a baseball game as seen by this caption provided by Hyundai in a game against the Oakland Athletics.
Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Fire Hitting Coach
Albert Pujols Effect
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim fired hitting coach Mickey Hatcher on late Tuesday after Albert Pujols and many of his teammates have gotten off to dismal offensive start this season.
Hatcher’s dismissal was announced about 90 minutes after the Angels had 12 hits in a 4-0 victory over Oakland Athletics. A day earlier, Los Angeles lost 5-0 to the Athletics, a major league-worst eighth shutout loss already this season.
Los Angeles promoted hitting coach Jim Eppard from Triple-A Salt Lake to replace Hatcher, who had been with the Angels since manager Mike Scioscia, his former Los Angeles Dodgers teammate, took over the club in 2000. A 12-year major league veteran as a player, Hatcher was the Angels hitting coach during their only World Series title run in 2002.
“Offensively we have underachieved, and everyone shares in the responsibility of what has transpired thus far,” Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto said.
That’s putting it mildly for a club with one of the majors highest payrolls and enormous expectations for this season. Angels (16-21) has scored just 134 runs, ranking 22nd in the majors while setting a club record for shutout losses at this point in the season. The Angels’ on-base percentage is .301, worse than all but three teams.
Hatcher also angered Pujols a few weeks ago when he shared a few innocuous details about a team meeting with reporters. Pujols said he planned to talk to Hatcher about keeping clubhouse discussions private, although neither man commented about what happened after that.
Just three years ago Hatcher presided over a roster that set several franchise records for hitting and fielded a lineup with nine .300 hitters while the Angels reached the ALCS.
Shortstop Erick Aybar, who got a $35 million contract last month, is batting .187, and outfielder Peter Bourjos has been benched after his .193 start. New catcher Chris Iannetta slumped to .197 and Bobby Abreu was batting just .208 before Angels released him. High-priced outfielder Vernon Wells is in his second straight middling season, batting .242 with five homers. Howie Kendrick, an All-Star last season, is batting just .273.
Torii Hunter Leaves Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim After Son’s Arrest
What's In The Prosper Water
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim right fielder Torii Hunter left the team and has been placed on the restricted list after his son was one of five Prosper high school students arrested on sexual assault charges.
Darius McClinton-Hunter, 17, was one of two adults charged with sexual assault on a child, which is a second-degree felony, according to the Prosper Police Department. Two juveniles were also charged and a third was charged with unlawful restraint. The police department also said more charges could be filed. The investigation into the alleged crime started about a month ago.
Hunter was at Angel Stadium earlier but flew back to the Dallas area. The Angels said they do not know when Hunter will return. There is no time restriction that a player can be on the restricted list.
“The context is Torii has a personal matter to take care of,” Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto told reporters. “We’re certainly willing and able to allow him to take all of the time he needs to do that.”
McClinton-Hunter is a talented wide receiver that has drawn heavy interest from schools such as Arkansas, LSU, Oklahoma, Oregon, SMU and Texas A&M.
This isn’t a particularly damaging loss for the Angels on the field because they have coverage in the outfield with rookie Mike Trout now manning center.
Female Angel Fans Brawl In The Stands
Yeah this female brawl in the stands of a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is quite as good as the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees female fans brawl we posted back on April 30, but we’re posting because it’s appearing to be an epidemic with MLB ladies to duke it out.
Tim Tebow Booed
Pink Hats
Tim Tebow, the new backup quarterback for the New York Jets was booed at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night when he was shown on the giant video board even though he was wearing a Yankees cap.
Sitting in the third row next to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim dugout, Tebow cracked a smile and acknowledged the camera. There was a smattering of cheers, but most of the initial reactions were boos.
Tebow was acquired by the New York Jets from Denver Broncos in a much-hyped trade last month. He is expected to back up starter Mark Sanchez, even though Tebow rallied the Broncos to the NFL playoffs last season and became a polarizing sensation in the process.
Sitting next to Tebow was Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, also booed when he was shown on the scoreboard.
MLB Predictions
Est. 1869
What’s lies ahead in the 2012 Major League Baseball season, well no one knows for sure but Opening Day is upon us and it’s time to roll out a few predictions. If you happened to listen to our live show this past week then you already heard six segments of in depth breakdown in each division of each league but here is a cheat sheet to those predictions.
Should be an interesting year with another added Wild Card team to the postseason mix and one can only hope this season has a magical finish like last year. Enjoy opening day, enjoy the season. I know I will.
American League East winner: New York Yankees
American League Central winner: Detroit Tigers
American League West winner: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
American League Wild-Card winner: Tampa Bay Rays
American League Wild-Card winner: Kansas City Royals
American League Pennant winner: Tampa Bay Rays
National League East winner: Washington Nationals
National League Central winner: Cincinnati Reds
National League West winner: Los Angeles Dodgers
National League Wild-Card winner: Miami Marlins
National League Wild-Card winner: San Francisco Giants
National League Pennant winner: Los Angeles Dodgers
American League Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
National League Rookie of the Year: Drew Pomeranz, Colorado Rockies
American League Manger of the Year: Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles
National League Manager of the Year: Davey Johnson, Washington Nationals
American League MVP: Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
National League MVP: Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks
American League Cy Young Award: James Shields, Tampa Bay Rays
National League Cy Young Award: Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies
C.J. Wilson Pranks Mike Napoli By Tweeting His Phone Number
1-0 Wilson
Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim new pitcher C.J. Wilson was looking for a way to get back his former teammate and catcher Texas Rangers Mike Napoli after he was quoted in saying he couldn’t wait to hit homers off him.
Wilson thought the best way to get Napoli back after making such comments would be to tweet his former catchers cell phone number out to the world. Calling the number took you straight to voicemail where Napoli’s voice was on the answering message and you were told his mailbox was full as the prank clearly worked.
Wilson later tweeted “Okay I think we’ve all had a good time, I’m even with mike for saying he can’t wait to hit homers off me.”
Matt Kemp Handed MVP By TV Graphics Person
Close But No Cigar
Apparently someone in the Los Angeles Dodgers TV graphics department is not sold on Milwaukee Brewers Ryan Braun being able to retain the 2011 National League MVP and did something about it.
The graphics person decided to hold no court debate or revote and just handled it over to Kemp in his first at-bat against crosstown splash the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Kate Upton Teaches Circle Changeup To MLB Players
2K Sports hit a home run when they decided to select model Kate Upton to help sell MLB 2K12, their newest version of the series, as she has now also was been selected to be the cover girl of the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Perfect timing.
Upton stars along with Detroit Tigers and AL Cy Young award winner, MVP, and 2K Sports cover athlete Justin Verlander, David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays, Jay Bruce of the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitcher C.J. Wilson, were she teaches them the fine art of the circle change up.
Albert Pujols Name Dropped From St. Louis Restaurant
Imagine If He Left Oh Wait He Did
The owners of the St. Louis restaurant that beared Albert Pujols name, the Pujols 5 Westport Grill, dropped the slugger’s name from the establishment. The bar and grill opened Thursday with a new name, the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame Bar and Grill.
A 10-foot, bronze statue of Pujols likeness, donated in November, will remain on the grounds of the complex. Todd Perry, chief executive of the Pujols Family Foundation, said there were no plans to remove it. The restaurant does not own the statue. Business had slowed since Pujols signed a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels in December.
Restaurant owner Patrick Hanon said “it didn’t make sense” to continue his relationship with Pujols.
“The Pat Hanon family remains fully supportive of the mission and work of the Pujols Family Foundation and thanks Albert and Deidra for their friendship and partnership in the restaurant for the past five years,” Hanon said. “We wish them only the best.”
Pujols’ name had been associated with the restaurant since 2006.
“I want to wish Pat Sr., Dave, Pat Jr., and the rest of the Hanon family nothing but success and happiness with their new restaurant,” Pujols said. “They are passionate about what they do and that is why the Hanon’s are the best in the business.”
MLB’s Rookie Hazing
It’s that time of year where the MLB has come to a close and team veterans make the 2011 rookies show up to the ballpark in outlandish costumes. Earlier this week we posted the Colorado Rockies dressing up as characters from Star Wars and now now have a few others to bring you. Thanks to the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays for participating. And shame on those teams that haven’t yet exposed their rookie costume hazing photos.
If your wondering who the one player is singled out is, that’s Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim outfielder Mike Trout, who makes for one pretty nasty looking Lady Gaga.
Whoever decided that Astros second baseman Jose Altuve should be a jockey, that is just brilliant.
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
St. Louis Cardinals
Minnesota Twins
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
Lady Gaga aka Mike Trout
Washington Nationals
Fan Falls On Stairwell At Rangers Ballpark
Place Is Cursed
A 24-year-old male fan was knocked unconscious after falling 21 feet in a stairwell while leaving Rangers Ballpark on Saturday night in what police were investigating as an accident. The stairwell, near the home plate gate out of sight from the field, consists of a series of flights of steps leading from the upper deck of seats to ground level.
“It doesn’t appear that there’s any foul play that’s involved,” police spokesman said. “There wasn’t any fighting or anything like that going on.”
On July 7, Brownwood firefighter Shannon Stone died less than an hour after tumbling over a railing and falling about 20 feet to concrete behind the left-field wall. He had reached out to catch a baseball tossed his way during a game.
The Texas Rangers said in a statement after their 8-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Saturday night that the team was monitoring reports of the man’s condition. The injured fan got immediate attention at the stadium after falling about 9:45 p.m. and was then taken to a local hospital, the team said.
The accident occurred before the end of the game so the stairwell wasn’t yet crowded with fans. The man was with a group of people that he attended the game with.
Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin Player: Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander
Every Tuesday Sports Grind Entertainment presents you with the Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin Player of the Week. This week the recipient of this prestigious honor goes to Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander for being the first pitcher in the Major Leagues to reach the 19 game win plateau. Verlander’s season continues to be that of American League Cy Young Award worthy even with his latest performance against the Tampa Bay Rays, in which he surrender one run on three hits and struck out eight over seven innings. His 19th win equals his career high that he established in 2009 as well as winning his last seven seven straight starts. It’s a season that has him leading the AL in victories, strikeouts, winning percentage, innings pitched and opponents batting average. Verlander’s ERA of 2.28 is second only to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Jered Weaver. On top of it all, Verlander threw a no-hitter on May 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays, the second no-no of his career.
Congratulations Justin Verlander you are this weeks Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin Player.
Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin Player: Ervin Sanatana
Ervin Sanatana
Every Tuesday Sports Grind Entertainment presents you with the Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin Player of the Week. This week the recipient of this prestigious honor goes to Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitcher Ervin Sanatana for throwing a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday. Sanatana threw the first of his career and the ninth in the history of the Angeles organization. Santana in the midst of an underrated comeback season where he is approaching personal lows of 3.47 ERA, 1.16 WHIP.
On that special day he threw 76 strikes on 106 pitches, walking only one batter and striking out ten. He faced just 29 batters and collected 13 ground-ball outs along the way. The Indians scratched across an unearned run in the first due to an infield error, steal, wild pitch but that was it.
Congratulations Ervin Sanatana you are this weeks Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin Player.
Mama Margie’s Major Meltdown: Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
Every Thursday Sports Grind Entertainment will present you with the Mama Margie’s Major Meltdown. The recipient of this honor goes to the Seattle Mariners for their 11 game losing streak. Back on July 6 the Mariners were a .500 club and just 2 1/2 games behind the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the standings out in the American League West. Since then they have lost 11 in a row and dropped to 12 1/2 games back in the American League West. In exactly two weeks, the Mariners went from hopeful contenders to season over. The Mariners have scored two or fewer runs in seven of their 11 losses.
