Above all, poise was missing

In the end, the one thing the Angels were missing, above all else, was poise.

The team that played so well, with so much confidence, in the regular season and the ALDS never showed up in the ALCS. Instead, we were forced to watch these tentative impostors dressed in red.

Where was the Chone Figgins who had a near .400 on-base percentage and regularly kick-started the offense all summer? Nowhere to be found.

Where was Kendry Morales and the explosive offense that had them showcasing all nine in the lineup averaging .300 at one point? They never appeared in this series.

Where was the excellent defense they displayed all season? It disappeared in the pressure of this championship series, blowing up terribly, first in Game 1, then even worse in the bottom of the eighth in Game 6.

The bullpen wasn't sharp, the managerial decisions were sometimes strange (the latest: why not Jered Weaver, instead of Ervin Santana, to open the eighth?) and the mistakes were unfathomable (The good Vlad Guerrero hit well, the bad Vlad got doubled off first base on a short fly to right.).

All that, and the strength of the team, the starting pitching, was overshadowed by the Yankees' overpowering CC Sabathia.

The Yankees closed it out in six games, winning 5-2 in Game 6, because they had the best pitcher in Sabathia, the best hitter in Alex Rodriguez and the best relief pitcher in Mariano Rivera. But they also won because they maintained their poise and confidence.

In other words, they acted as if they'd been here before. The Angels did not.

-- Steve Bisheff

Comments

[chuckster]

This series really hurt, the Angels played bad and the umpires didn't help either.
It did show me that Figgins needs to go. Vlad is done too. The Angels played scared.
I'm sure after what Scoscia did to Lackey in game 5 that he will not be back.
It's time to get the team set up to win a World Series not just the regular season.
It will never be good enough for us Angel fans to just win the west, this team really broke my heart (again) we expect changes next year.

[BillHalo67]

The two most disappointing Angels in the 2009 playoffs -- Chone Figgins and Scott Kazmir.

The three who consistently played at the highest level -- Jered Weaver, John Lackey, and Jeff Mathis.

Special Notice -- Vlade gets credit for knocking in runs against Papelbon and Mariano Rivera. Darren Oliver threw only one bad pitch.

Everyone else - either alternated between hot and cold or simply was adequate.

Overall, a good season with 97 regular season wins and sweep of Boston in ALDS but we came up two wins short of the World Series. We are probably the second or third best team in MLB behind the Yankees and maybe the Phillies.

[l.a.guy]

You know I'd like to attribute the Yankees victories to being the best team money could buy, and it may well be true, but playing smart doesn't cost anything. It's hard to figure what caused the mental miscues after watching them play a whole season of generally great defense. Whatever ever the cause, their chances of outlasting a superstar Yankees roster vanished along with their reliable defense.

Still, it was a great year. The Angels have legitimate rising stars in Aybar, Morales and Kendricks. They've got a good young core of starting pitching and Jepsen looks like the future of the bullpen. I'm proud of what they accomplished this year and the class they exhibited while doing it.

I can't wait for spring training to start next year.

And thanks to curmudgeon Steve Bisheff for doing the bulk of the work on this blog. His opinions, however misguided, made for good reading and amusing comments. :-)

[Buffalo Rob]

Chone Figgins played exactly the way he always has in the playoffs -- terrible. As far as I can tell, he's the worst playoff performer for any team in any sport that I have ever seen. It's too bad Mike never noticed and continued to bat him lead-off.

Thank goodness his contract is up and he's interested in testing the market. Let him torpedo someone else's team in the postseason.

[Grandpa]

No need to be second-guessing every little facet of this series. New York simply had the far superior team. There are no "what ifs" or mysteries here to ponder.

Already I've been reading places where Angels fans are saying "next year will be different," "next year we're gonna do this and that." Typical. Angels fans are so delusional. Their familiar "wait until next year" mantra is still ringing in my ears... from 2006. Stay off my lawn.

[LAprGuy]

There's also the point of ONLY facing the best pitchers in baseball. Over the course of 162 games, you see A-level pitchers maybe 10% - you pile up your "stats" against the others. Against Boston and NYY, they saw virtually only A-level pitchers (some Yankee relievers being exceptions). So the real question is: How many A-level hitters do the Angels really have? Torii is one. Vlad is another. Maybe Kendrick.

[Silver Lining]

Joy can always be found in sorrow if you look hard enough!
The demise of the Angels' 2009 season also means no more inane comments and sweet fawning for Angel fans to endure from Angel broadcasters Steve Physioc and Rex Hudler for 4 months!
We need the break.
Listen to a game described by Phys and Hud and any observer might wonder how it is each Angel player isn't already immortalized in bronze in baseball's hall of fame---
OR how each Angel must take the team name to heart by helping each little old lady cross the street on her way to the ballpark---
OR how Angel owner Arte Moreno must be (gotta be!) the second coming.
One 2009 broadcast highlight:
Physioc interviewing the newly crowned Miss America DURING a game versus the Mariners (WHY?) and asking the beauty queen how she would pitch to Griffey, Jr.! After responding she did not know, Physioc later asked the beauty queen how she would pitch to the next batter.
Guess what her answer was.
Priceless!
You see joy can really be found in sorrow.

[jtbwriter]

First off, the Angels were the 2nd best team in the American-Western Division Champs of 2009. Better then the Sox, the Rangers, the rest of the league. Those who are so swift to dismiss Chone Figgins, Vlad, Lackey don't know baseball and can't possibly have been fans of a team that suffered heartbreak but never badmouthed each other or the fates. Have any of them wailed about the bad breaks and 18 players on the DL or horrible umpiring? How many Angel players embarrassed themselves or teammates with bad behavior? This 2009 team is one to be proud of, and those who are openly shopping Chone Figgins can go jump on the Yanks bandwagon for all I care-the Angels should sign him and Lackey and Vlad for they are among those who got us to October. I look forward to a better outcome in 2010 with these Angels-heart and shoulders above the rest!

[Andre]

Kendrick is truly the dumbest defensive player in MLB. No doubt he can hit, but he continually makes mental and some physical errors, especially in the last two play-off runs. Where was he when the other day when the Yankees dumped a ball between the pitcher and first baseman. Half way between second and first base watching the Yankee going across the first base bag. Thanks for being engaged in the game. Much as I dislike Derek Jeter, he would have been standing on first base awaiting that throw.

[Kevin S.]

Mike Scioscia's moves didn't help. Why pinch hit Macier for the hot Jeff Mathis? Mike should have let Izzy play 3rd and saved Figgy to use as a pinch runner if he wanted Izzy to bat so badly. It's a shame that we'll never know if Mathis could have delivered to tie the game or give us the lead when he got pulled for Izzy. That is not how to play championship baseball. I hope Arte reams Mike for his over-managing of baseball players.

[Bruce S]

Yes, you're right, the Angels lacked poise. I don't feel the Yankees are significantly better than the Angels. But the Yankees do have established stars who are aren't afraid of the big moments. Our best players, Morales, Aybar and Kendrick are young and inexperienced.

Going forward I think they should try to sign Lackey and Oliver. Figgins and Vlad should go and Abreu should be signed to a one year deal. Figgins has got to be one of worst postseason players in history. I'd rather give Wood a chance then continue to watch Figgins kill us in the postseason. Although Vlad had a decent postseason, he is rapidly deteriorating and he has lost most of his power. He is primarily a singles hitter. Lastly, I think Scioscia is a horrible postseason manager. In game 6 he acted like he didn't know it was win or go home. He waited too long to pull Saunders and his decision to bring in Kasmir who has been terrible in the postseason and has had trouble throwing strikes was horrible. Why bring in Santana instead of Weaver? He makes Grady Little look good.

[highwayscribery]

C'mon Grandpa. Show some grace. If the Yanks were "far superior," the series wouldn't have turned on a few crucial moments like A-Rod's Game Two jack, or gone to extra innings twice. It would have been a sweep. It wasn't. There's no "delusion" in believing and loving one's team. We carry that with us from our childhood and continue to believe even when the salary rolls are hardly balanced. You need breaks and rolls and to be hot at the right time to go all the way. This year it was the Yankees' turn. How do you know what will happen next year.

And who cares about your lawn?

[Adam]

Jeff Mathis is basically the only one who hits all series. He somehow becomes the reincarnation of Johnny Bench and after lining a double early in Game 6 Scoscia decides to pinch hit for him with "Mighty" Maicer Izturis to get a lefty/righty matchup against Chamberlian. Unbelievable that you guys didn't mention the ineptitude and over-management of that decision in what was still a very winnable game at 3-1 in the 7th inning.

Lets not forget the equally egregious decision to bunt Mathis in the 8th inning of Game 5 after a leadoff double. The guy was 3-3 at that point and tied a playoff record by getting 6 straight hits. So genius Mike Scoscia decided to take the bat out of his hands and bunt Willits to 3rd. All Mathis needed to do was hit it to the right side and who knows he might've even got a hit. He was the hottest hitter in the series and it wasn't even close. It was reminiscent of Game 4 Boston in 08 where after a leadoff double by Morales, Scoscia, in all his brilliant wisdom decided to go bunt, bunt, **out! Boston in the bottom half also got a leadoff double and let all three guys swing away with a RISP with the last guy getting the series winning hit. Only Scoscia could royally screw up a leadoff double.

Scoscia did everything in his power to ruin game 5 from taking Lackey out too early to again "play the percentages" {while everyone knew with the season on the line you wanted Lackey pitching, not a soft tossing lefty}, to not letting Weaver pitch the 9th, to bunting Mathis in the 8th so he had to start his at-bat with 2 strikes. The guy is the biggest over-manager since Gene Mauch. If he was in New York he would never get away with his decisions. Even if he was managing the Dodgers the L.A. Times would be harder on him.

Saunders didn't have it from the beginning of game 6, at the first sign of trouble he should've brought in Weaver. I thought it was the last game of the season and we had to turn out all the stops. And how he brought in Kazmir before Weaver was staggering. But this isn't the first year Mike Loser has made questionable decisions.

Every Angels fan with a brain knew that when our genius manager brought in Washburn to pitch to Ortiz in Game 3 of the ALDS instead of Percival that Ortiz was going to go deep. Sure enough he did. What about his personnel decisions.

I've been saying that Kendry Morales should've been starting somewhere in our lineup for a couple years now, or at least since last year, and Brandon Wood should've had a lot more playing time this year but Scoscia loves the banjo hitters Figgins, Aybar, Izturis. I actually like Aybar and you need a couple of those guys on your team, but too many of those players and your team doesn't put enough fear to opposing teams in the playoffs. But Scoscia loves "Figgy" and "Izzy" and all these other cute names he mentions!

Steve Bisheff said earlier this season we need to resign Figgins. What a mistake. I want players who can perform when in counts and the sample size of the 04, 05, 07, 08 & 09 playoffs is definitely big enough that Figgins is overmatched when it counts. That, or he is just a major choke artist. Also except for 07 and 09 his regular season stats aren't that impressive. The 05 ALCS would've been a different story if Troy Glaus' bat was still at 3rd and was backing up Vlad. Troy had 4 very productive seasons after we let him go. He probably hit too many home runs for Scoscia's liking, especially in the playoffs like 02 and 04. Yeah, he's injured now but we sure could've used him for 05-07.

The free pass Mike Loser gets is unbelievable. Yeah, he's turned around this franchise but his in game over-management is beyond terrible. Time and time again in any important game you know our team is going to have to overcome over management by Scoscia. He's like the 10th man for the other team. I don't mind losing in the playoffs but I do mind when our coach essentially gives up and tells people like Jeff Mathis on a Mickey Cochrane like terror that he doesn't believe in him to get a hit, so bunt?!?! Also even if his bunt, bunt did work in Boston in 08, it was Boston! You can't just play for one run in our previous house of horrors. Oh, and after game 3 Kendrick should've started game 4. And what was with the Kendrick, "Izzy" platoon that existed after Kendrick hit .348 from early July to the end of the season?

I guess Scoscia is doing something right turning out perennial teams that don't just lose but completely crumble every post season and look lost, playing like scared little leaguers because at least he gets there. But his in game management and personnel decisions are astounding. I'd fire him.

[Tom S]

Your absolutely correct. Figgy should go. Lerts have Aybar lead off next year.