Chivas USA too fired up after win?

Before getting into this post's topic, I wanted to take care of a little house keeping for fun.

Days of current Brandon/J/Andrew post strike: 6 days.

This month has the most posts since: June 2009 (27) and ranks 2nd all time for most posts in a month. Quantity, not quality.

On this date in LSF history:

On 6/30/2008 a post titled "A different choice, a sweep stopped, and the Gayest 100 ever" was the top story. It talked about how the 49-33 Halos beat the Dodgers 1-0 on the back of a huge John Lackey effort. Tyson Gay made an appearance as well.

On 6/30/2009 a post titled "No-Show Joe, Angels lose" was the top story. It talked about Joe Saunders going 3.67 short innings of 8 run ball in a big loss to the then second place Rangers. Hopefully not foreshadowing...

That was fun, but now to the business at hand.

Chivas USA, as has been explored deeply on this blog, has underperformed like reverse gang busters this year. Losing Kljestan to Europe, Bornstein to the World Cup, and various stars to injury hasn't helped. But, excuses are like brains: everyone has one (G rated). However, being 3-9-1 with a -6 goal differential and no team below you in the tables is serious stuff. We ant pretend that it wouldn't be happening if Borns was out on the back line all this time. We've been out shutout 5-2 this season, and you can't even blame ZTB for that. Head coach Martin Vasquez has to take some loads of blame. He has the talent to play at least .500 footie. What's the deal? 

Well, a couple of recent developments have completely changed the feeling around Goat Nation, and I'm wondering if it's good to get so geeked, or a slight mistake that could send us spriling even more. You be the judge. 

Midfield sensation Paulo Nagamura is back. The former MLS Champ was a fan favorite from 2007-2009, nailing 8 big goals. Despite being with Los Angeles, Toronto FC, and most recently Tigres UANL of the FMF, Naga has only scored for the Red & White. He's stoked to be back, we're stoked to have him, and Goat fans are pumping this up as a way to save the team.

Also, yesterday was a big day for Chivas. In 2005, Chivas USA was a big player in the US Open Cup, making it deep before getting knocked out by Los Angeles. From 2006-2009, however, we were eliminated by AYSO teams in the opening round. The US Open Cup has been around since 1914 and is one of the most storied domestic tournaments in the world (really, it is), so it has come as quite exciting news that Chivas made it out of the first round with a huge 1-nil win yesterday in front of their supporters at Cal State Fullerton over the Austin Aztex (I'm sure Mexicans appreciate the "cool" spelling change). It was #2 goal scorer Jesus Padilla (who wears the #10 because he's "the man") connecting from 18 yards out after a brilliant long ball from last week's goal scorer and El Salvadorian attacking midfielder Osael Romero that broke it open in the 12th minute against the USDL-1 leaders from Austin. Zach "The Beast" Thorton was solid in net, making two breathtaking stops against the 'Tex, and Chivas broke their seven game losing streak over all competitions. Now we've qualified for the quarterfinals against the powerhouse from Houston. Memories, painful memories. 

Obviously, it's a big win to try and give this team some spirit heading into this weekend's test against the Philly Union, but the headline seem a tad over the top. "Chivas ignores history, claims win over Austin," from the San Bernardino Sun. "FINALLY A WIN," all caps from LA Soccer News. Is this win over the Aztex really worth the hype? Sure we only had one win in our US Open Cup history prior to this, so it's big, but are we going beyond? Are we setting ourselves up for a biglet down this weekend? I hope not.

It's a big game for Chivas against Philly to try and get our MLS campaign back on track, and I'm interested in getting you all to come around and support the Red & White. Most of you don't have a MLS team to support (you don't like KC, Brandon; you don't like Toronto, Andrew), and I think it'd be fun if we actually all rooted for a team together. Chivas USA should be that team. To get you on board, let's meet some of my favorite Goats, and maybe you'll be so pumped, you'll want to get together to cheer Chivas on the rest of the way:

#22 Zach "The Beast" Thorton (Keeper): ZTB really burst back onto the scene in 2009 not only as MLS Comeback Player of the Year, but also as MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. He was last year's Chivas Team MVP, and he had to be to help us move on after Brad Guzan fled to Europe. He finished with 12 shutouts in 27 games. While he may not be playing at that level still here in 2010, he is still a force in the net. Of course, if he doesn't turn it around, you have former UCSB goalie (2001-2004) and Fullerton raised Dan Kennedy as our capable backup (and a possible favorite player for Brandon) So much to support at the GK position.

#13 Jonathan "Born Identity" Bornstein (D): Borns is a Los Al native who shined at UCLA, and showed the world he could hang with the best in the final two US games at the World Cup. He has 3 straight MLS All-Star nods (2007-2009), the MLS Rookie of the Year award (2006) and despite missing time for the World Cup, he has already pulled in an assist in 9 games.

#8 Mariano "The Trujth" Trujillo (D): The veteran of Pumas, Morelia, Atlante, and Santos Laguna of the FMF became a studly part of the defense last year with one assist in 18 starts, and has already amassed 3 helpers in 13 starts (every game) this campaign. He's a huge fan favorite.

#4 Michael "Umaña from heaven" Umaña (D): The Costa Rican has also started every match for Chivas thus far, and is a native of Santa Ana....Costa Rica. He's second on the team in minutes.

Other notable defenders: Dario Delgado, Marcelo Saragosa, and Ante Jazic. 

#18 Blair "Zips" Gavin (M): Also known as the "Louisville Slugger", Gavin has been a solid addition to the Goats in the middle of the field after being selected 10th overall in the 2010 MLS Draft from Akron. He recorded the game winning penalty kick in a shootout to send Akron to the National Championship game over UNC, making him an instant hero. So far in 2010, he has a goal and an assist, marking his presence with authority.

#10 Jesus "El Gringo" Padilla (M): The San Jose, CA native (and therefore Karen's favorite) was a solid player for the real Chivas in Guadalajara. However, they kind of take their players' "Mexicaness" very seriously. They are the only FMF squad to only field Mexican players throughout their history. While that would be racist in the States, is wildly popular in Mexico. Padilla, because of fans questioning his "Mexicaness" due to his US native-ness, was sent from Guadalajara to Chivas USA, and it's been a sweet deal for us. Not only did El Gringo break our US Open Cup curse yesterday, but he also has 3 MLS goals so far this season in just 12 games. 

#11 Michael "The Fighting Baptist" Lahoud (M): Lahoud would probably be Jon's favorite Chivas player, being that he was a huge threat from midfield at Wake Forest, including winning the 2007 NCAA National Championship. He was drafted 9th overall in the '09 draft by Chivas , and nailed a goal and an assist in a shortened campaign. In 9 games this year, he has two assists.

#7 Osael "Sal" Romero (M): Osael is the new guy, playing just 4 games since coming to the squad on loan from Vista Hermosa. He scored his first (of hopefully many) MLS goal in last week's loss to FC Dallas and set up yesterday's game winner to Padilla. More to come, hopefully.

Other notable midfielders: Sacha Kljestan (rest in peace out there in Europr), Ben Zemanski, and Gerson Mayen).

#17 Justin "Brains & Braun" Braun (F): Now we're getting to the stars, eh? Brauny leads the team with 4 goals, after a concussion shortened season kept his potential down last year. The SLC native is showing in his 3rd MLS year that he's the kind of guy who can lead the team.

#77 Chukwudi "Chuk Wagon" Chijindu (F): A native of Upland, Chukwudi has been a fan favorite since joining the team in 2009. He already has a goal and an assist this year, equaling his total from 11 games last year. The standout from UConn led his college in goals in his Junior & Senior years, and clearly has the best nickname on the squad. He kind of reminds me of "Better Than" Ezra Hendrickson, and therefore would qualify as a potential favorite for Andrew.

#29 Maicon "Carnával" Santos (F): 
The lone Brazilian on the team already has a goal in just 9 games this year, he became famous around Goat Nation assisting on a Kljestan goal one day after signing with the team last year, and for netting a goal against Los Angeles in the playoffs.

#9 Maykel "Missle" Galindo (F): Galindo has been my favorite Chivas player since joining the team in 2007 from the pre-MLS Seattle Sounders. He had 12 goals and 5 assists in his first season with the team (5th in the MLS), suffered through a sports hernia in 2008, and came back with 4 goals last year in just 15 starts. The short speedster who loves to shush the away crowd when he scores hopes to find his precious touch as the season goes on, either as a starter or a sub.

Well, I hope I gave you enough fun stuff about Chivas so you'll hop on board with me and make this 3-9-1 squad the team that we all root for together. I'm telling you, it'd be fun. Saturday at 7:30, Chivas goes against the Philly Union, and the season turnaround begins thanks to our unified support.

Support the MLS, soccer fans.
 

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Abreu cleans his plate, beats Rangers.

Despite some impressive hitting frm Vlad, it was his timely ninth inning strikeout that Angel fans will remember from last night's 6-5 win over the division leading Texas Rangers. The Impaler went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI, including a nerve wracking home run in the 7th, but looked foolish when Brian Fuentes K'd him up en route to his 14th save and the big Halo win to start the season. While Vlad may get all the headlines and highlights for his efforts (and failings), I'm ready to touch on a couple of other talking points after watching last night's big test.

+ J-Balls Piñata sure was able to get into jams and escape those jams with minimal damage, but it was frustrating to watch. He finished with 6 innings of 3 run ball, allowing 8 hits and 2 walks. Somehow he got the Rangers to leave 9 on base, saving himself from a tragic effort and turning it into his career high fifth win in the month of June. We're talking about bases loaded with no outs, and getting out with just 1 run tagged on. It was a precarious start, much like the other four he's won this month, but it worked.

+ Jepsen gave up the 2 run job to Vlad, and that's big news, but cut him some slack. While his ERA is 4.94 and his BAA is .252 (showing he's slightly overrated by Angel fans, including me), his K/9 is 11 (showing he's underrated by everyone else), and that makes him fun to watch.

+ Watch Brian Fuentes not get any press in the real media for getting the clean sheet in his perfect 9th to earn one of the biggest saves of the season so far. He punched out two, including a red hot Kinsler and a red hot Vlad, and ended by getting Mr. RBI Josh Hamiton out as well. If only he would have blown the save, his name would have been all over the place come press time!

+ Have the players completely given up on Dino Ebel as their third base coach? Should they? Aybar ran through a stop sign in the first inning and scored. Then, later in the game, Ebel waved Abreu home and he was out by a mile after a terrible slide. If you start to lose faith in your third base coach, all kinds of trouble comes up. Does Roenicke get back out there at some point?

+ Mike Napoli hit another home run (14), to increase his team lead to +2 on Torii Hunter, but I still wouldn't consider him in the Top 5 offensive talents on the squad so far this year. I'm sure Nap fans will be up in arms on this one, but he ranks 7th in RBI and 5th in OPS. Think about it.

+ Bobby "El Comedulce" Abreu (A-bray-ooh) still doesn't get the respect he deserves. He made a believer out of me last year with his ability to get on base, take pitches, and ome through with the big hit. He did it again last night with a 3 run double to break open the 3-3 tie. It was a pretty thrilling moment in a brilliant two out rally. The best part is that he produces no matter where he's fit in the Angels lineup. Big Bobby should be an All Star.

At 44-35, the Angels collected a game on the Rangers last night, and now trail by just 3.5. Thoughts of a sweep and a minimal 1.5 game deficit heading into a weekend series with the Royals are starting to dance around in my mind. Tonight is the final game in a more than stellar month for the Angels (18-8), and it's a tough one to call. The Halos send Scott "The Big Question Mark" Kazmir (7-6, 5.42) to the mound against Omar Beltre and his Major League debut. Beltre, whose name sounds like one of the old fake video game players who has two names combined from actual players, went 0-2 in AAA so far this year, but held an anorexic 1.25 ERA. The Rangers and their fan base seem to think he's the truth, and you know how debut guys often do well because their stuff hasn't been seen yet. He won't get memorable competition in his first outing as Mr. Shit At Home, Scott Kazmir again tries to turn around his misfortunes. Kaz is 0-3 with an 8.36 ERA in his last 3 home starts, but looks to bring his solid road work to the stadium (4-0, 2.35 in his last 4 roadies) tonight. Can we just blindfold him, fly him around in a plane for a couple of hours, and hand out Rangers t-shirt jerseys at the gate to make him feel he's on the road? 

Another problem solved by this lovely blog.

Got get 'em boys!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

World Cup Roundup Yishum.

Can you believe it's the tenth World Cup roundup post? Incredible.

Netherlands v Slovakia

Man, my cousin Daniel is on freaking fire with his pick for the Orange to win the cup. An early strike from Arjen Robben in the 18th put some hope in the Dutch fans, and they seemed to dominate the game from that point forward. It was a brilliant long ball that found the foot of the slashin Robben for the opening netter. Sealing the deal in the 80-something was Sneijder on a long drive, and Netherlands coasted to the win despite a penalty kick goal from Vittek in the 90th to cut the Slovak deficit in half. Netherlands have now won all four of their games, heading into their most difficult match in the quarterfinal round. So, Daniel, can the Netherlands keep up with Brazil?

Brazil v Chile

I watched this match via ESPN Mobile TV, and I must say, Brazil handles it. Chile didn't seem to keep up with the power and improv skills of the Brazilians, and it showed from first whistle to last. Juan and Fabiano scored within 4 minutes of each other on the halftime side of the half hour mark, and Robinho scored a third shortly after halftime to send Chile home in pain. Man, Brazil is good. The game against Netherlands may be a throw down, or it may be just another easy Brazilian win. It'll be interesting to see.

Japan v Paraguay

This was the game I was most anticipating over these two days, and it didn't disappoint. Thrilling play from both sides on both sides of the ball led to an exciting Nil-Nil draw after 90 minutes. The fans in the stadium all looked more nervous than excited, really. Extra time was upon us, with the possibility of penaty kicks looming on the horizon. In the first half of extra time, it was Paraguay earning the most thrilling chance. They pushed forward and had a brilliant first touch in the box that resulted in a point blank save from about 3 yards out. The second half of extra time saw little other than a Japan free kick that put a little pressure on. As the clock struck 120, the whistle blew, and we were headed to penalties to decide the match. Japan and Paraguay were trading back and forth until a Japanese defender stepped up to the mark. He had never scored a goal for Japan in his multiple starts, and yet here he was. We can let the second guessing begin, as he glanced his shot off the top bar and up, up, and away. Japan's Honda was able to bury their next shot to keep their hopes alive, but Paraguay's shooters were unstopable, and they advanced with the win on penalties. Rough.

Just to check my work, I picked Netherlands and Japan to win, so there you have it.

So far, the quarterfinals are:

Uruguay & Ghana
Germany & Argentina
Netherlands & Brazil
Paraguay & Spain/Portugal

My LSF Predictions to the semifinals are:

Uruguay, Germany, Brazil, and Spain/Portugal.

After this afternoon's Spain/Portugal match, we have a layoff until Friday when the quarters start.

Let's go Portugal!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

"Weekly" Football Post #70.

Domestic footie during the World Cup? Of course. The non-stop soccer action has set my soccer support aflame, and I think it's time to take a quick tour of my 3 favorite soccer squads.

Newcastle United: It's been highly publicized that 'Castle opens their EPL season on the road against former Chivas star Javier Hernandez, current English flop Wayne Rooney, and the rest of the Red Devils. Some around the EPL may be writing of my boys, but I'll quote the Toon Army chant, "Who the fuck are Man U?" Loads of rumors are hitting Magpie Nation about players bring brought in (Andy O'Brien, Danny Shittu, and J'lloyd Samuel to name just 3) but I think I'm ready to see the undefeated home side from the ECL try their luck at the premier level. Our Irish manager, Chris Hughton, is being given a chance at the top flight after leading us to promtoion, why not the players? So far, we're looking at Pancrate, Butt, Baheng, Danquah, Godsmark, Lough, and Morris all being marked to leave via free agency. But, we are still rolling with the brilliant talents of Kevin Nolan, Peter Løvenkrands, Andy Carroll, Shola Ameobi (my boy!), and Stevie Harper guarding the net. It all gets underway Saturday August 14.

Celtic: Once Neil Lennon was officially announced as the new Celtic boss, the expectations suddenly rose to new heights. After finishing second beind Rangers in the SPL twice around, us Hoops fans are getting anxious. Will Neil With The Deal be able to stand up to the pressure. The 39 year old Irish (albeit, Northern Irish) midfielder is ready to lead this club to a return to the top of the table in the same spirit of his playing days. Prior to their season opening match with Inverness on Saturday August 14 (a big soccer day for this guy), there could still be a bit of roster movement. For now, though, the Bhoys still feature the greats like Boruc between the pipes, McManus and Naylor at the D, Samaras and Fortune up front, and McGeady and Ki Sung-Yong in the all important middle. Again, a lot could change (like maybe Nakamura could come back from Japan?) before we start, but I'm getting excited for Celtic football.

Chivas USA: My MLS squad completes the Holy Trinity of my soccer support (I know, I know, I also root for Lazio, Guadalajara, and Sligo on the domestic level, but the Celtic/Newcastle/Chivas tridium is where my real serious interests are, as you know). Now of my favorite three squads, Chivas USA are the only 11 actually in the middle of their season. Dismal, dismal stuff really. So far this year, the Goats are 3-9-1 with a -6 goal differential. Um, Martin Vasquez, why do you suck so much? Surely to be sacked prior to the end of the year if it doesn't turn around...quickly. Forward Justin Braun has been a bright spot with 4 goals in 9 starts at the striker spot. Jesus Padilla has added 3 in 9 starts as well from the midfield. Losing Kljestan was really hard on this team. Having Bornstein up with the US team has been hard on this team. But, the resigning of Paulo Nagamura back from Mexico and the hopeful resurgence of ZTB in front of the net will equal a bump up in the tables. Next up is a Saturday match with MLS newbies from Philly, who share our lowly 10 point status. Hopefully we can put out a little more effort than in the 1-2 loss to FC Dallas on Saturday. It was sloppy play that spelled our defeat, and we need to clean it up for the Union match.

¡Chivas es mi vida! Olé. Support the MLS, soccer fans.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Halos rock the weekend.

It looks like it's the Rockies who will be eating our nuts, eh Brandon? The Angels ran their last ten mark to 7-3 with another series win over the weekend. My boys showed no hangover after the Freeway Series win, and no set of nerves heading into this week's big three with Los Rangers. I enjoyed the baseball weekend.

Friday: The 11 inning Rockies win in game one was the exception to the fun this weekend. The media loves to play up how the Colorado players showed up at 3:00 am on Friday morning. However, I don't see how 16 hours isn't enough time to sleep and prepare for the game. Clearly, it wasn't a problem for them. It was another waste of a nice Weaver outing, as he banged out 7 innings of 2 run ball with 11 Ks. The bullpen was not spot on, as Fernando Rodney coughed up a RBI single to Gonzalez in the 8th to let the game get knotted up. The game continued that way until the new Francisco Rodriguez (still needing a good nickname) allowed a double to the COL catcher, a walk to Mora, and a eventual game losing single to Jon Herrera. The Angels had a chance in the bottom half of the 11th to make something happen, getting a Abreu single and a JR walk to start things, but Napoli and Mathis promptly grounded out to end the threat. Only Napoli and Fransden had multihit efforts in the game that saw Mathis, Hunter, and Reggie gets RBI in the losing match. How about "The 'Cisco Kid?" Maybe something about how his hat is always so low...

Saturday: Godzilla smash!!! It was Hideki-son Matsui going grand-a-band-a-ding-dong in the first inning that carried the Angels to a 4-2 win in the middle test of the series. It was Matsui's 150th jack in the MLB (which doesn't seem like a lot, right?), and his 482nd career jack across both Japan and the States (there, that sounds like a lot). After giving up the slam, Rockies' starter Aaron Cook got the next 17 Halos out in order. Ba-dow! Luckily, Joey Joe Joe was putting forth some good work on the hill for the Red Hats. 7 innings of 2 run ball with 8 Ks had Joe saying he hopes this win is the turning point in his season. Um, how many of those have we had this year? Fernando Rodney redeemed himself with a scoreless inning, and BFF earned himself another (not scary) save. Including the Mats grand slam, the Angels had just 4 hits. Good enough me.

Sunday: Ah, they were saving their hits for the finale. 10 runson 9 hits did the job in game 3, as the Angels busted the Rockies 10-3. This game featured a fourth inning Napolini three run job that gave us the lead early on, and a Brandon Wood eighth inning insurance grand slam that pushed us way ahead for good. Maybe this can be the turning point for Wood. After the game, Wood said, "I wasn't worried about this or that. I was just being me." What a fag. One thing that got overlooked in the homer happy game was Erv Daddy going 6.67 innings of 3 run/7 K work, making his Hooters baby mamma proud. Shields, Jepsen, and 'Cisco combined to finish the game out in shutout fashion. Don't get to excited about Gas Can not allowing a run. It was just 0.3 innings and he gave up a hit. He's just a shell of his former self. It was also nice to see Erick Aybar (2 for 5) back at the top. And, I wouldn't be fair unless I pointed out Jeff Mathis' 0 for 4 with 4 Ks night. Happy, Nap fans?

With the winning weekend, we're 43-35. Sadly, the Rangers are putting down a streak similar to the '02 A's. But, we overcame that impressive streak from Oakland, and we'll overcome anything the Nolan Ryan's squad can throw at us. We're 4.5 back currently, with the A's running 10 back, and ESPN's back-to-back AL West Champions (Seattle) a whopping 15 shy of the lead.

We have our big chance to cut into Tejas' lead starting tomorrow as we share a three game test with our division leaders. Did you know the top two RBI producers for June are Josh Hamilton and Torii Hunter? Did you know Vlad is leading the Rangers with 60 brilliant RBI? Did you know Joel Piñero may have quite a good chance to win the opener against vulnerable 80's heartthrob Scott Feldman? Did yu know Mike Napoli is leading the Angels in jacks despite coming up in trade rumor after internet trade rumor? Did you know Vlad simply owns the Rangers? Wait... Am I buliding this series up enough? It's huge. 

By the way, the Mariners have signed Russell Branyan, so expect ESPN to start predicting a comeback from 15 back.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

World Cup Roundup Yisishiyagalolunye.

Adios bandwagon US soccer fans. I'm talking to you, Bill Clinton.

South Korea v Uruguay

Lee Chung-Yong really had me thinking the Koreans could pull this one out when he tallied the tying goal in the pouring rain in the 68th minutes, but Luis Suarez completed the double to push the South American side forward in the quarterfinals. Lee Dong Gook nearly tied things up to force extra time, but was denied by the Uruguay keeper, and ended the Asian sides dreams.

US v Ghana

A huge bottle of Chimay and 5 bottles of Firestone California Pale Ale between myself and my boss, along with a trip to the new OC Hamburger Habit, wasn't enough to quell the pain inside thanks to the US loss to Ghana this weekend. That Firestone CPA is pretty damn tasty, though. Let me just start by saying I'm a huge Jonathan Bornstein fan. Okay, that being said: What the hell is wrong with our defense? Pathetic. As usual, we played an uninspired first 45, letting the Black Stars stike the net just 5 minutes in. Our defenders were running with our backs to the African striker, which allowed him to waltz in. Challenge the man with the ball, guys. You looked like me trying to play defense in my roller hockey league because I'm not good skating backwards. Awful. We did well to earn a PK that Landon Donovan blasted off the wood work and in to draw even in the second half. It was a proud moment, and a moment when you felt we had this one in the bank. Again, though, we pushed and efforted with little to show for it. Ghana played some solid defense, and we were forced to extra time. Just 3 minutes in, and it was over. Ghana pushed forward, Carlos Bocanegra tried to bump and push the striker, and then stopped running and gave up when he couldn't shake him. That resulted in an easy goal passed Tim Howard, and a lead for Ghana with time left. In reality, the US never really put together very much over the remainder of the extra session. Even when we had a free kick just outside the box, our tired legs showed, and the lackluster effort led to getting the boot from Ghana yet again. The dream is over, US fans. Back to celebrating the MLS.

Germany v England

They say there are two teams Irishmen root for: Ireland and anyone playing England. Thus, my half German wife and my Irish self were pulling for a Rhineland blowout. We got it. England, broken by a horrible call that denied them a goal, got routed 4-1 in the round of 16 match. The Lobsterbacks fell back 2-nil and then had a stike go off the crossbar and down into the goal area by at least a yard, only to have the official say it was a no goal. That opened the flood gates, and Germany was able to capitalize on the turn of events. Goals three and four Germany seemed to be easily scored against a deflated British side, and our fiercest rivals were bounced at the same level as us. Be proud, US.

Argentina v Mexico

We kind of all new the Blue & White would take this one easily, but we pulled for Mexico anyway. It would have been nice if the opening goal for Diego Maridona's side would have gone off without a hitch. Argentina scored their first goal of a 3-1 win with a sequence featuring their forward offside by about 5 feet. It was pathetic, and the Mexican players surrounded the ref after they flashed the replay in the stadium. Argentina scored their second goal easily, after Mexico's defender simply coughed up the ball just outside his own box, basically handing it to the Argentina striker. It was awful, and outside of my boy (and now Andrew's boy) Javier Hernandez Balcazar's stunner, it was a laugher in Soccer City for the North Americans.

Let's check our work:

The winners I picked: US, Germany, Uruguay, and Argentina.

The winners that won: Ghana, Germany, Uruguay, and Argentina. 3 out of 4 ain't bad.

Let the World Cup roll on.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Abysmal

The text sent to me by my brother to describe the Dodgers last night. Now, you can put whatever inflection you want into that word; you can even shift the focus outside of the boys in blue. Did Fuentes balk? Maybe. Was Martin safe at second? Perhaps. Look here if you want to.

But those things don't matter.

Should Matt Kemp be trying to get a huge secondary lead from second in a one run game? NO. Horrible, childish mistake. Should Reed Johnson be jogging home? NEVER. Should Martin even be overrunning second with the all-important tying run scoring? Not at all. This is even more unforgivable since the play was happening right in front of him.

I was at the game last night. I had a post written about my feelings, but it was lost in an internet malfunction, so what you are getting is a 18 hour filtered Beasy coming at you. I didn't see either play last night because one dude in front of me had a huge head, blocking Fuentes, and the other stood up every play, blocking second base. I saw Carroll's ball bounce in and then a bunch of Angels fans cheering. I didn't look it up or watch it on TV, because it just didn't matter what new way we had found to lose a game. Then after reading a Triggs tweet, coupled with my brother's text, I felt I had to look it up. My opinion has changed little. The Dodgers lost that game, wasting an amazing Ely start (runs scored via error and GIDP), by not cashing in on multiple opportunities. The last sequence, which is broken down by the amazing people over at fangraphs, was only one of many. It's silly that Martin and Kemp are getting most of the blame, when Johnson and Ramirez (also jogging on Kemp's deep double) are not exactly sans guilt. The sweep is coming, Haeger's knuckler is probably already being smashed around the park, and though these sweeps aren't as bad since they come to teams out of division and league, it's not a good sign when you cannot beat anyone right now. I don't care if they're beating themselves, their play is simply, well, abysmal.

World Cup Roundup Yisishiyagalombili.

Before I start talking soccer, can I just quickly tell Dodger fans to shut up? Can you please stop complaining about a phantom balk or a bad call at second base? How about running hard throughout a play to ensure you cross home quickly to get the tying run? With just that half of an inning, and all the complaining going on after it, I've lost respect for the "typical" Dodger fan, and I'm pulling for the sweep harder than a janitor. See, soccer isn't completely taking over my life!

Italy v Slovakia

Huge love to ESPN Mobile TV for hooking me up with this game while I was at work. What a stunner! Robert Vittek's goal in the 25th minute got my hopes up for an upset, but as one of my coworkers pointed out, "There's a lot of time left and Italy is good." I agreed and watched, waiting for Italy to turn it around. Then, in the 73rd, Vittek buried his double and sent shockwaves throughout the soccer universe. While Italy cam back into the game, it was a 89th minute dagger that completely the brilliant upset for the Slovaks. Are you kidding me? Last tournament's champions have bee ousted? Both teams from the 2006 finals failed to escape the groups? You have to love it. Every citizen of the small farming country of Slovakia are going to celebrate long into the night after this one. Meanwhile, everyone in Italy is left wonderin what just happened. I'm pretty sure they'll all be drinking heavily tonight as well.

Netherlands v Cameroon

My cousin is looking more and more like a soccer genious every day. His Dutchmen scored big against the 'Roonies to win their game 2-1, win their group, and set up a thrilling round of 16 match with the upset crew from Slovakia. It almost wasn't so. After Persie nailed the opener at the 36th, the Orange thought they were cruising. But, a penalty shot was awarded just inside the second half to Eto'o, and Sammy didn't disappoint. The game was all of the sudden interesting, with both teams pushing forward for the lead. The Dutch were saved on a Huntelaar goal 7 shy of the final whistle to send Netherlands into a frenzy, and send another African team into the pile of those eliminated.

Japan v Denmark

Again, ESPN Mobile TV hooked my shteez up on this one, and I don't think I've ever been more proud of 11 Asian guys in my life. Japan only needed a draw to seal moving on, but instead they announced their greatness with authority, crushing te Danes 3-1 to secure the second spot in their group and a slot in the round of 16. Super star Keisuke Honda was the foot that made the difference with two stellar free kicks, an despite the Danes cutting the lead in half, Japan held on thanks to a stunning goal by Okazaki. Honda broke in the box with Oka, the Dane goalie charged him, and rather than taking the selfish shot, Honda passed to Oka for the easy tap in and third goal for the Rising Sun. Stoked!

Let's continue to check our work

Group E

LSF Prediction: Netherlands & Japan
Reality: Netherlands & Japan

I thought I was going out on a limb pushing Japan through, possibly being blinded by my love of Nakamura thanks to his stellar work with Celtic. But look! Here we are, and my prediction was dead on.

Group F

LSF Prediction: Italy & Paraguay
Reality: Paraguay & Slovakia

I don't really think anyone saw this coming. While I noted that Italy was an older squad, I didn't think that would be nearly enough to lead to them getting tossed out before the knockouts. Props to Slovakia. Paraguay is the obvious choice to come out, if you take Italy out of the picture.

Round of 16 matchups:

Netherlands v Slovakia

Sorry, Slovakia. Your enjoyable run has come to an end. It was really fun while it lasted, though. Netherlands moves on with ease.

Japan v Paraguay

Man, this is going to be the battle between these two groups. Two things I'm basing my pick on here. 1) Paraguay, although not needing big things, drew nil-nil with New Zealand. 2) I have an unabashed love for this Japanese national team and am ready for another surprising win. Japan goes through.

So far I've picked 9 out of the 12 teams advancing for a fairly decent 75 percent. I'm proud of that mark.

US/Ghana is just 45 hours away.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

World Cup Roundup Yisikhombisa.

Yisikhombisa means seven in Zulu, and it is with great National pride that I bring you the LSF's 7th World Cup post.

England v Slovenia

Was it just a pipe dream that Slovenia would be able to finish of the Brits? Well, I guess so, as the team we should have beat 3-2 got tipped by England 0-1 to start the day off. With Heskey riding the pine, his replacement Jermain Defoe buried the game winner for the Brits. 23 minutes in, Defoe stuck his foot out nearly blindly on a cross and gave the ball just enough redirection to befuddle the Slov keeper. It was all they would need, in a game where Wayne Rooney got hauled off and replaced by Joe Cole for an uninspired performance. In the end, though, England would escape the groups with a +1 goal differential and move on.

US v Algeria

With the games going on at the same time, the US was probably unaware that England had put the pressure on them and the option of advancing with a tie was no more. Despite that, the Americans played one of their most inspired 90 minutes of footie in recent memory. First off, they didn't allow any early goal as the defense held strong. Secondly, they continued to pound away with chance after chance, only to be denied by the wood work, the crafty keeper, or a bogus offsides call. Then, with the scored locked at nil-nil, and all experts calling for the end of the 2010 US World Cup dreams, something amazing happened. Clint Dempsey put a hard shot on that the Algerian keeper allowed to bounce off for a huge rebound. Thank the Soccer Gods, the ball came right to the magic toe of Landon Donovan. LD blasted the ball into the net in the 91st-ish minute and sent a nation into a frenzy. All expectations were realized. The US not only advanced out of the groups, but won our group with this brilliant victory. It is the first group win for the US in a World Cup since 1930. After the goal, we held strong, Algeria had their captain sent off for a second booking, and the boys mobbed Donovan and Howard to celebrate their accomplishment. We never lost in our 3 games. We earned a trip to the round of 16. And, most importantly, we did better than England! USA! USA! Yes!

Germany v Ghana

This game basically became the battle for the 1 and 2 slots in Group D after the Aussies and the Serbs battled each other for fun. Germany pounded home their golden goal in the 1-nil win in the 60th when Mesut Ozil took an impressive bullet shot from the top of the box than baffled the Ghana keeper. Despite Ghana pushing forward as much as possible, Germany came away with the win and the top spot in the group, while Ghana squeaked in via the 2 hole much like Mexico.

A brief thank you to ESPN Mobile TV for providing me the opportunity to watch both the US/Algeira game and Germany/Ghana games in their entirety while I should have been working. I love you, cell phone.

So, let's check out work:

Group C

LSF Predictions: US & England
Reality: US & England

I was hopeful, but also nervous, that Slovenia would advance with the US. But, I ended up being right about the two squads advancing from this underrated group.

Group D

LSF Predictions: Germany & Serbia
Reality: Germany & Ghana

Well, I was almost right. I thought that after qualifying ahead of Frnance, Serbia would be able to perform a little better. Of course, we now know that finishing ahead of France this time around doesn't mean very much. Meanwhile, Ghana came up solid with the tons of support they were getting from the African fans, and despite losing game three, they did enough to advance. Sorry, Socceroos.

Round of 16 matchups:

US v Ghana

I'm prett happy with this draw coming into the Round of 16. Look, I by no means am feeling like this is a lock for the Americans. Far from it. But, going against Germany would have been much harder. While Ghana is a quality team, maybe the best African squad so far, I have to go with the US here. We'll be celebrating with another pitcher of Stone IPA on Saturday for the game at Club Silkkkk.

England v Germany

Okay, if you're a hardcore soccer fan, this is the more exciting match to come out of he two groups from today. It's going to be a knock down dragout fight between two teams not stoked to be in the same bracket as Argentina. But, they'll focus on the task at hand, rather than looking to far into the future. So, what do you think? Germany looked solid for most of their group tests, and England looked beatable all day long. Germany breaks the Brits, and they'll be crying watching us go to the round of 8. Suckers.

Tomorrow we have Paraguay and New Zealand as well as Slovakia and Italy in the moring tilts with Cameroon and Netherlands as well as Japan and Denmark sharing the early afternoon spotlight. Group E is really Netherlands' group to win with Japan and Denmark throwing down for the second spot in an exciting match. Meanehile, Group F is wide open with all four teams holding a chance to get through.

Keep up the fun, soccer. Can't wait for Saturday.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

World Cup Roundup Yisithupa.

I think I'm finally going to have to give some love to the hated four letter. I found out yesterday that Sprint sturck a deal with ESPN Mobile TV, and I am able to watch every World Cup game from my cell phone. Just today, I enjoyed Mexico/Uruguay and Argentina/Greece from my cellie while I should have been working, and I won't have to miss a second of tomorrow's huge US/Algeria tilt. Thank you ESPN.

France v South Africa

This was a French team in shambles throughout this tournamen, and it showed. After 26 minutes a red card was flashed and the frogs were a man down to the hosts. South Africa took advantage to earn a 2-1 win and send the tri colored country back to West Europe humbled. While the win may not have helped the hosts escape elimination, it gave them a 1-1-1 showing, which isn't that bad.

Mexico v Uruguay

With the draw they are going to get, Mexico is going to wish they would have tried a little harder to earn that group win. They played flat sloppy with the ball, allowing Uruguay to capitalize in a 1-nil win on a header from Luis Suarez after a stellar cross. Mexico never really rallied, and advanced even with the loss. However, going up against Maradona and Argentina in the first game of the round of 16 is not what they were interested in. So much for the rumors that these teams would draw on purpose.

Argentina v Greece

Finally the Greeks are eliminated. The Argentines walk off the pitch with a fun 2-nil win to win their group and move on. Really, it was the Bipolar defense from the Greeks that sealed their fate. Sometimes they were stealing the ball from Messi with the greatest of ease, and other times it seemed as though they were confused as all get out. It was a corner that created a huge mess in front of the Greece goal that allowed Demichelis to put the ball in after 77 minutes. Gorgeous George Samaras, of Celtic fame around this blog, just couldn't carry the Greeks on his back. Man, Argentina is hot heading to the round of 16.

South Korea v Nigeria

I feel like some people thought I was nuts when I picked the Koreans to advance out of this group. A 2-2 draw with Nigeria secured the surprise Asian squad a trip to the round of 16. Jung-Soo and Chu-Young turned the game around after Nigeria started off with the lead, but the African side were able to find the equalizer later on. Another crushing defeat for the host continent, but a stellar move for Asia!

So, let's check our work so far.

Group A

LSF Predictions: France & Mexico
Reality: Uruguay & Mexico

Note that in my prediction I said that if Uruguay can beat Mexico they would advance. So, in all honesty, I can say that I was right. Right? So glad France is gone.

Group B

LSF Predictions: Argentina & S Korea
Reality: Argentina & S Korea

FACE! Bingo on this one. I pointed out that Greece couldn't pull it off because of their nation's overall problems and Nigeria was a team in transition. South Korea proved me right!

Round of 16 Matchups:

Uruguay v South Korea

As much as I want to ride South Korea out here, but after getting 7 points in their three games, I think the South American squad is going to get my nod here.

Argentina v Mexico

Man, this is going to be THE match. I can't see any way I'll miss this game. You have to support Mexico, but Maradona's boys won all of their group stage games, and Mexico couldn't muster much in two of theirs. Argentina marches on, and 3/4 of Orange County has their hearts broken.

Tomorrow, Group C and Group D will be decided. Slovenia meets (and hopefuly beats) England while the US tries to take it to Algeria to get into the knockout stage. Meanwhile, Australia and Serbia throw down while Ghana and Germany close things out. While we've all studied the various Group C scenarios intently, Group D is thrilling too. Currently, Ghana leads with 4 points, Germany and Serbia have 3 a piece, and the Aussies have 1. This just means that the Ghana/Germany game is going to be completely out of control. 

Keep in mind that #1 from Group C plays #2 in Group D and vice versa. So, if we can manage to finish second in our group, we'd be looking at the winner of Group D, which would either be Germany, Ghana, or Serbia at this point. Tomorrow is going to answer a lot of questions.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

It's that time of year again (again).

Finally, something other than soccer! The Angels and Doyers ar ready to square off, this time at THE Stadium, and it's time for me to finally answer back to Brandon's previous Freeway Series post. Back when we were all much younger and prettier, in early June, the Angels swept the Dodgers. The real LA natives outscored the Brooklyn import 20-8 over the three game series, but a 10-1 series opener really skews the data. Now, we get the final three of the year. At 38-31, the Trolley Dodgers continue to trail the first place Padres (oxymoron) and the second place Gigantes. Meanwhile, despite being hot, the Halos are 39-33 and continue to trail the equally hot (or maybe even hotter) Rangers after getting their spirits broke by Chicago on Sunday. It may not be the nearly first place series that Brandon previewed, but it'll still be fun.

If you think the Angels starting lineup looks weird these days, you're right. The injury bug has ben traveling with the team lately, and the list of victims is starting to get lengthy. Izturis was rubbed out to the 15 day DL on Wednesday, Erick Aybar continues to be day-to-day with a hip flexor since last week (and he's probably not going to be ready), Jason Bulger is on the 15 day DL, Kendry Morales is out for the season with his walk off broken leg, and the list of questionables and walking wounded goes on and on. That being said, Mike Scioscia has done some experimenting with the lineup, and it's either been a grand slam or a ground out. Let's break it down like a circus clown.

1) Howie Kendrick- My favorite current Halo sitting in the top spot of the order reflects how weird this lineup is. With .273/7/46 numbers, though, we're enjoying what he's giving us. He's been up and down this year, but overall looks mor consistent with the stick than most. No batting title this year, but hopefully he'll get back toward flirting with .300 once he escapes leadoff man hell.

2) Kevin Frandsen- What can I say about this Bellerman and San Jose State grad? When you think of getting a player to cover your ass before the season starts, you just want a guy who can temporarily fill in for your "real players." I don't know what Franny's VORP is, but he's making me happy. Not only has he filled in with injuries abounding, but he temporarily replaced Wood when he proved he's still not ready. With 2 hits in yesterday's game, Kev is hitting .352 in 23 games with only 4 Ks in 71 AB Believe it.

3) Bobby Abreu- Make no mistake, his name is pronounced "Ah-bray-ooo." Just ask Jose Mota. El Comedulce may not feel like he's having the same impact as last year, but he is just proof that slow and steady wins the race. I never knew how much I'd like this guy when we got him. I love hitter who take pitches, and he may be the best in the game. We're talking about a .359 OBP, 7 jacks, and 11 steals. He may not be in his prime, but he's like a fine aging finese pitcher.

4) Torii "Big Game" Hunter- What can I say about T Hunt? He throws himself into walls for balls, plays through injury, is arguably the best hitter on this team with Bam Bam out. He's the total package. .293/12/50 this season, and showing no signs of letting up. Without Kendry, Torii is our everything; the key to our success offensively.

5) Hideki Matsui- Probably the most glad to be returning to an AL park so he can go back to being just the DH. Man, talk about a streaky player. Godzilla was the hit of the party early on, leading the Halos in every offensive category. Then, he fell flat on his face, and his hitting became offensive to watch. Now at .266/9/40, you just never no what kind of mood he's going to be in. To hit, or not to hit? That is the question.

6) Mike Napoli (aka, the Ravioli kid)- Complete opposite of Matsui. Started out hitting like Charlie Brown kicking a field goal, and then turned into Babe Ruth all of the sudden. I seem to remember a streak where Napoli hit a home run in like 12 games and was getting 5 hits per game for a while. I made fun of all the Nap fans when Mathis was doing well, and he eventually shut me up. His OPS is .804 and he has 11 jacks. Just don't bring up his 71 Ks in 61 games. Brandon Wood has been making fun of him for that.

7) Juwanna Man Rivera- Good ol' JR is another one of our underrated offensive threats. I always like to mention how he was apart of one of the best trades on Angels history (JR and Ma$e for Jose "Be Careful" Guillen, who I thought we could never replace), and he's been paying off ever since. This year hasn't been his best in Halo red, but he's earning his contract. At .241/10/33, you'd like to see him reach base more, but he's my boy, and I like his stylish highlights.

8) Jeff Mathis- The Mathismatician is back. El Jefe was crushing the ball and playing brilliant dish prior to going down to a huge injury that slammed the breaks on his first very good season with the Halos. Now that he's back, I'm stoked. In just 12 games played this year, Math is hitting .310/1/4. We could have had big things if it wasn't for the DL stint, but if he can keep it up, I'm sure this'll change fans' perception of him, and they'll all say I was right all along. Welcome back.

9) Brandon Wood- The infield injuries have thrust the Wooder back into the mix, now at SS (because playing 3B must have been his problem the whole time). Ugh. The latest Dallas McPherson wannabe has shown some truly pathetic fielding as of late, and his bat has never come around as promissed. In 44 games (140 ABs), Wood is hitting .171 with 2 homeruns and 8 RBI. Would you believe our minor league slugger has just a .221 SLG? Now look, I've been hanging on with Wood all season while people bash him. I think he needed to get benched, and hoped it would do him well (I still hope that). But, when do we face the facts and try again next year? It's June 21 and he hasn't figured it out yet. Once Aybar gets back, send him back to SLC and let Frandsen finish it out at third.

Pitchers you'll see start for us:

Tuesday: Ervin Santana (6-5, 3.91)- He may be my wife's least favorite Angel, but I still think he's a stud. He's had 2 straight cruddy outings (6 ER in 5 against MIL and 4 ER in 5 against Oakland). Prior to that, he went 6 IP of 1 run ball against the M's, 7 IP of 1 run ball against KC, 9 IP of 3 run ball against Toronto, 7 IP of shutout ball against Chicago, and 6 IP of 2 run ball against Oakland. Those were consecutive starts. These last two are blips on an otherwise solid season. Of course, he is going against Kershaw.

Wednesday: Joel Piñero (6-6, 4.45)- J Balls Piñata has been hit or miss this year. Either the sinker is working and he's getting groundouts and killing it, or he's leaving the ball up and get blasted early and often. In his last two outings, it was the former. Joel (correctly pronounced "Yo-El") has allowed just 2 runs in his last 17 innings, including a complete game 1 run affair against these very same Dodgers 2 weeks ago. It could go either way, but he's going against Jelly Bean, so I'm hopeful.

Thursday: Scott Kazmir (7-5, 5.08)- The Kazmanian Devil has started to put out better and better starts lately, and that makes me happy. Although it seems like he's not even trying to go deep into games (see my complaints about him from this whole season), he's keeping us in games. Scott has allowed just 6 runs in his last 23 innings pitched, not allowing more than 2 in his last 4 games. That's a hot streak to help make up for some bum games earlier on. While the bullpen needs to be ready when he takes the mound, I'm proud of how he's righted the ship.

Bullpen: One of the areas I pointed out as a huge liability early on is finally coming around. The high points have been Fernando Rodney, Kevin Jepsen, the new Francisco Rodriguez, and even the emergence of Trevor Bell after a tough welcome to the bigs last year. The low points have been half of Brian Fuentes appearances, Scot Shields, and the injury to Jason Bulger. The bullpen has slowly ben getting better, and it helps when our starters have been going longer and longer.

Bench: Two words- stretched thin. With players who should be on the bench starting every day, it's getting iffy. Good thing we're not in a NL park this time around. Bobby Wilson is a capable second string catcher, Robb Quinlan brings some versatility to the field, and Reggie Willits is always able to get the crowd cheering his name for some strange reason. Like I said: stretched thin.

My predictions: Why do I feel like there is no way we'll be nearly as successful as we were two weeks ago against El Azul? Tuesday is really the highlight of this series with Erv and Kershaw throwing down. I think the other two are toss ups depending on how the Angels starters do. Whoever wins the first game will take the series 2-1. Alright, I'll bite: Angels 2-1. But I do guarantee, there will be no sweep in Mudville this week.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

World Cup Roundup Kuhlanu

Just another exciting World Cup post!

Ghana v Australia

I keep highlighting the Aussies because I gave them crap for changing qualifying leagues. Their latest effort, though, showed they have a little more grit than I thought. Down to 10 men, the 'Roos held a 1-1 draw with Ghana to keep slim slim hopes alive. After taking an early lead, Harry Kewell got called for a hand ball used to keep out a certain goal, and Ghana nailed a game tying PK. Most fans were sure that the Aussies were cooked, but give them credit for hanging on.

Cameroon v Denmark

How about the Danes? They eliminated Cameroon with a thrilling strike from Rommedahl. It was a 10th mintue netter from Eto'o that sent the 'Roon fans into a frenzy, but a hard working Denmark squad ame through huge on the comeback, including the brilliant move from Rommedahl that resulted in the game winner. This game, which I watched in it's entirety, was way more entertaining than I would have thought.

Italy v New Zealand

Did the All Whites come away with the most underrated shocking effort of the tournament so far. Written off for getting in through an easy qualifying route, NZ was expected to go three and out in the group. Instead, they shocked all the pizza eaters out there by holding a 1-1 draw with the current champs. Mark Paston was straight up amazing between the pipes, only allowing an Italy goal on a penalty. Despite dominating the match, Italy just couldn't get through. Props to the Kiwis!

Brazil v Ivory Coast

Am I the only one not shocked by the 3-1 win for Brazil. I didn't think Ivory Coast would be good this time around, and everyone laughed at me. Outside of Drogba's late goal, they didn't have much here. How about Kaka going off? These refs love to be in the spotlight. 

Portugal v North Korea

I would have woken up at 4:00 am if I knew this game was going to go down this way. A 7-0 win for Ronaldo's side is easily the most impressive win so far. I mean, I know North Korea is a shit team, but 7 goals is pretty unreal. After getting just 1 goal in the first half, Portugal struck with 3 to open the second half (53, 56, and 60) and 3 more to close the second half (81, 87, and 89). Tiago was the only multi goal player. Wow.

As we continue to work our way out of the groups, let's look at who seems to be coming out now:

A: Uruguay and Mexico are both +3 on France and South Africa.

B: Argentina has 6 points with South Korea and Greece each at 3. Nigeria has a doughnut.

C: Slovenia leads with 4, as the US and England both trail with 2. The US holds a slight advantage heading into Wednesday's big match with Algeria.

D: Ghana leads with 4, while Germany and Serbia each have 3, and the Aussies trail with 1.

E: Netherlands leads with 6, while Japan and Denmark work for the 2 spot with 3 a piece. Cameroon has a big nil.

F: Paraguay leads with 4, as Italy and New Zealand trail at 2. Slovakia holds fading hope at the bottom.

G: Brazil and Portugal are running away with the group of death.

H: Chile are at the top with 6 and the Swiss are trying to hold on to the second spot, but Spain has a chance to change their zero to a three against Honduras in about 25 minutes.

A lot of shifting will go on before we get to the round of 16, so we'll hold off judgment of the LSF predictions until it's set, eh? 

I'm nervous waiting for Wednesday morning.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

World Cup Roundup Kune

I have to warn you, this Kune (fourth) World Cup post finds me as a pretty angry dude. Let's get into it.

Spain v Switzerland

Man, this game was so sweet. Spain may have dominated possession, but the Swiss did just enough on defense to make it a brilliant effort. Then, in the 52nd minute, the Swiss came away with a thrilling and eventually game winning goal. The Spanish had their chances, but luck was with the Swiss Miss. Stunning.

Uruguay v South Africa

I feel bad for the host country. Two goals from grease ball Diego Forlan, including one on a penalty kick, led the way to a 3-0 victory for the South African side. The worst part was the SA keeper getting a red card for no real reason, getting booted, and letting the flood gates open for the away side. So, the Bofana are going to be the first host country not to escape the groups.

Argentina v South Korea

Wow, this was nearly the worst game so far. My South Korea squad are going to need to turn things around if they hope to beat Nigeria. A 4-1 win for the former World Cup champs was led by the first tournament hat trick since 2002. Gonzalo Higuain was in the right place at the right time, and the good Koreans were out of luck.

Nigeria v Greece

The Greeks kind of got handed a win against a 10 man African side in this 2-1 match. It was a soft shot botched by the Nigerian keeper that rebounded to Torosidis for the game winner. African Nations are struggling here, eh?

Mexico v France

I got to watch this whole match with a large group of French fans at a British pub in Cupertino. Um, yeah, I was pumped. Former Chivas star, Javier Hernandez (now making Andrew bat his eyelashes while he's at Man United) buried a goal just 9 minutes after coming in. France had some quality chances, but were far from last tournament's squad. Then, Blanco got the chance to take a penalty kick to seal the deal, and he tickled the twine to make it 2-0. Luchador masks, Aztec warriors, it was priceless. Way to go Mexico!

US v Slovenia

I knew that Slovenia was tricky good and that this would potentially be harder than the England test, but why did it have to go so pear shaped? First of all, our defense is flat bad. We come out sad and dreadful in the first 30 minutes of every game, and it showed again this time. The defense let Tim Howard down, and two Slovenian goals were there to prove it. The first time World Cup ref made a horrible hand ball call on Findley, and we thought that would be the worst thing he did. Down 0-2 after 45 didn't give us much hope, despite having a couple of good runs at goal. The second half, however, seemed like it was just a matter of time before we nailed some home. We outmatched the hell out of them. Then, finally, Landon Donovan drilled home an amazing shot from a bad angle just 3 minutes in the half. The Galaxy star made fans out of all his haters when he left no doubt burying the shot with some force. The tables turned, and they woud turn even more. In the 82nd, it would be the coache's son making all the noise. A long ball into the box was headed down by my boy Altidore, and came to the feet of Bradley streaking in. He booted the ball into the net, and with 8 minutes left, somehow, we were even. Now comes one of the worst things I've seen...in my life. The US was awarded a free kick with everything on the line. Donovan sent the ball in perfectly and Edu buried the ball into the goal and sent our entire country into a frenzy. But wait, the ref blows his whistle. Offsides wasn't there so that can't be it. The Slovenians were bear hugging Bradley, Altidore, and company the whole way, so there can't be a foul on the US. Let's ask the ref. "No comment." What the heck? You all saw it, as long as you weren't working (God Bless America for my week long vacation). There was no call to be made. The ref refused to say what he actually called. FIFA is letting him keep silent. It's like an NFL ref throwing a yellow flag, penalizing a team for 10 yards, but not having to say why. It's a complete joke. As they said on ESPN, "it's criminal." They finally got something right at that network.

England v Algeria

Wow, Algeria's goalie was smashing. We all were hoping for a nil-nil draw, and that's what we got! We needed no goals and a tie to help keep our dreams alive, and Algeria pulled it off! Man, the Brits are having a problem. Would it be that Slovenia and the US escape from the group, leaving England and Algeria behind? If there is a God...

Props to Serbia for their thrilling win against a 10 man German side, by the way. The goalie even stopped a PK!

So, we have one group game remaining. The US lines up against Algeria on Wednesday morning at the same time the Lobsterbacks line up against Slovenia. The breakdown isn't really that bad. If the US wins against Algeria, we advance not matter what. If we draw against Algeria, we advance if Slovenia and England draw and less than two goals are scored be each side. This is so huge. Win and move on. Don't even worry about the other game, just get the job done. The start of the game is what we're looking toward in Wednesday's game.

Let's go US.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

World Cup Roundup Kuthathu

Kuthathu means "three" in Zulu, and that means it's time for the third installment of the LSF World Cup Roundup. We'll skip the Germans thrashing the Aussies (who I called out for changing to an easier qualifying division, and it showed) and get to some more recent group tests.

Netherlands v Denmark

Own goal! Own goal! Is Daniel Agger is marked man in Denmark, or is it Simon Poulsen. After a Dutch cross, Poulsen tried to head a ball clear, but it bounced off the back of Agger to get Netherlands on the board. My cousin Dan has the Orange winning the Cup. Is he a soccer smarty pants?

Japan v Cameroon

I knew Japan would be hot! Despite a ringing shot off the post by the 'Roons, the land of the Rising Sun came out on top thanks to a 36th minute close range strike by Honda-son.

Italy v Paraguay

Damn! I watched this entire match, and Paraguay was awesome. They defended the I-tals perfectly in the first half and came away with a brilliant header goal on a set piece from Alcaraz. It looked as though we were in for a huge shocker of a game, but in the 60 something minute De Rossi saved an entire country by earning a point against the big ups from Paraguay. 

New Zealand v Slovakia

How in the world did the All White Kiwis come away with a draw in this one? A crazy game tying goal well past the 90th minute (sorry, Karen), gave NZ the shocking tie game. Here you have the Slovaks celebrating their first World Cup goal in a tournament opening match, and then boom, all of New Zealand is going nuts because they snagged a point from the Slovaks. Good stuff.

Ivory Coast v Portugal

Um, Ronaldo, you're supposed to put the ball in the net. Not off the wood. The group of death had a nice start with a nil-nil draw between Drogba's Dealers and Ronal-do'hs (commercial reference!)  Rockers. I think the nicknames will stick. Drogba came in for the second half ad made little difference.

Brazil v People's Republic of Korea

I think we have to actually give a little love to Kim Jong-Il's North Korea squad here. It took 55 minutes for Brazil to break through the communist defensive block. Robinho made it 2-0 before the North Koreans halved the lead to make it look a lot better than it actually was. Despite that, I'm proud of the country that I'm supposed to hate, as an American. Bad me.

3 really good games tomorrow, my favorite being the host country against "Have it Uruguay." Love the cup.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

World Cup Roundup Kubili

Thanks to Stone IPA from the tap at Silky's, our second (kubili in Zulu) World Cup post comes while I'm a little drunk. Enjoy it!

South Africa v Mexico

Man, was I pissed initially when they called offsides on El Tri early on! Then I learned the rules of soccer a little more closely, and I felt it was fair. In the end, it was an exciting start to the tournament. Rafael Marquez nailed a late equalizer after a nice Shamalamadingdong goal for the Bofana Bofana. 1-1 is fun!

Uruguay v France

I think the Uruguans made all of Ireland proud, battling France to a nil nil draw. Chances for both sides. Lodeiro became the first person to get sent off in the tournament, and the South American squad was able to hold off the frogs for the full 90. It was classic when Henry called for a hand ball in the box. Classic.

South Korea v Greece

I told you all that South Korea would come out of this group, and they handed out the biggest thumping so far, 2-0, to the economically ruined nation. A couple of pretty goals, too. Kimchee!!!

Argentina v Nigeria

Did you hear that Messi almost had a hat trick? Well, the Blue & White won 1-0, and Messi didn't have a single goal, be he almost had a hat trick. Kind of like Ichiro, like we discussed. Enyeama was a complete stud in goal for the African squad, and Oba Oba highlighted my Newcastle love with a couple of chances. Nice showing for Nigeria, really.

USA v England

What a freaking match. Awesome. A 1-1 draw is solid for us, and evidently "embarassing" for the Brits. Perfect. A point each, and our goal was so freaking sweet. Feck off to everyone who says Dempsey's goal was "lucky" or "a gift." Why are there so many Dempsey haters out there? The former Revs, current Fulham star has earned our love. Give it to him Speaking of the MLS, former Metrostar stud (not to mention Man U and current Everton boy) Tim Howard was off the charts. Being that I'm a Guzan fan, you can really take me seriously when I say that Howard earned my respect today. Not to mention my boy Altidore getting some manly chances. Good show, boys.

Friday against the Slovenian's should be a tough match.

Eye of the tiger.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

World Cup Roundup Kunye

Welcome to the LSF's first ever shot at World Cup coverage! We're calling it "The World Cup Roundup," and we're counting the posts in Zulu (one of the many official languages of South Africa). So, what better way to start off our first ever World Cup Coverage than to make some crazy predictions on the eve of the world's most popular sporting event? Shall we decide which two teams will come out of each group? Let's begin:

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, and France.

Coming out: France and Mexico

I'm not sure if there is much debate here. While there has never been a host team eliminated in the group round, not many are pulling out hope for Bafana Bafana. Uruguay may be sneaky, and will advance if they can beat El Tri, but I think our picks are safe.

Group B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, and Greece.

Coming out: Argentina and South Korea.

Okay, so we're going against the grain here. Argentina is kind of a lock with Messi, Tevez, and their coach's promise to run naked if they win the Cup. Otherwise, Nigeria is in a state of flux, and Greece barely qualified after missing the last Cup. Can South Korea and their recent 27 game winning streak lead them to get out of the groups?

Group C: England, US, Algeria, Slovenia

Coming out: England and US

Can I pick it any other way? I think this is a way more competitive group than people are giving it credit for. England and the US are going to throw down on Saturday morning (we'll be live at Silky's drinking American beer), and our whole country is pumped. Algeria will be in their first Cup since '86 and barely made it. Slovenia is underrated, shocked Russia, and is the sneaky team that could mess things up in our group.

Group D: Germany, Austrailia, Serbia, and Ghana.

Coming out: Germany and Serbia.

Again, we may be straying away from the "real media" here. Germany finished 3rd last time around, and should be a lock in this group. The second team escaping is harder. The Aussies moved to the Asia Football Confederation to get an easier path to quaifying, so that's lame. Ghana doesn't have much outside of Essien, despite going to round 2 last year. Meanwhile, Serbia finished even above France (and the hand of the frog) in qualifying, and may just be scrappy enough to surprise us.

Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Cameroon, and Japan.

Coming out: Netherlands and Japan.

Wow, now we're really stepping out. Netherlands is a winner. While they don't have the hardware to prove it, they an pound out wins with the best of them. The Danes, desite shocking Sweden and Portugal, barely made it in, and may have their best soccer behind them. Cameroon has Eto'o, but not much more. Meanwhile, Japan has huge expectations back home and is led by former Celtic hero Shunsuke Nakamura. I'm pulling for them.

Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, and Slovakia.

Coming out: Italy and Paraguay.

The defending champs may be older, but getting out of the group round should be a breeze, especially with this draw. The battle for second is really between Paraguay and Slovakia, but I think Paraguay's best ever qualifying run shows they have the talent to move forward.

Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, and Portugal.

Coming out: Brazil and Portugal.

This is the group of death? Brazil is, as always, odds on favorites to win the whole thing (they won't). North Korea is kind of an unknown, but how good could they be? Drogba may not be fit for Ivory Coast, and that, combined with this draw, will probably spell death in round one. Portugal should have Ronaldo back (right?), and Andrew would have me believe that he will easily lead them out of this group of death.

Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, and Chile.

Coming out: Spain and Chile.

Spain should be an easy in, despite somehow losing to the US in the Confederations Cup. Meanwhile, the Swiss recently loss to Luxembourg at home, Honduras really qualified on a wing and a prayer, and Chile is the second best team in all of South America. They may even be able to challenge the Spanish for the top spot.

So there are my picks. Let me know what you think. 

Enjoy the Word Cup, and enjoy our long suffering coverage of it!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Most underrated beats most overrated.

I'll start by giving huge love to LSF squad, the Chicago Blackhawks, for winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1961. Rest assured, the side of the blog was updated seconds after the win to reflect the accomplishment. With either Boston or LA winning the NBA, Chi Town ending their drought, and soccer titles aplenty, can we dub this the Year of Champions for us here at LSF? 

Yesterday, the Halos took another step toward giving us another title this year by popping the A's a good way.  A 7-1 win for the Red Hats has lifted our spirits right back up, kept us snug with the Rangers in the division race, and proven that last night may have been a case of the AL's most underrated pitcher beating the AL's most overrated pitcher.

We'll start with the bats. How about Erick Aybar? You replace him for a couple of games with Mighty Maicer, and BOOM; he wakes up. EA led the order off with a 4 for 5 game with 2 RBI, including a RBI triple. The middle of the order was on point as well. Hunter (3 for 5), Matsui (2 for 5), Napoli (2 for 5), and JR (2 for 4) combined for 4 RBI and 3 runs scored, and included the "Coors Cold Hard Blast" from JR in the eighth. Classy. The underrated player of the game on the offensive side goes to Kevin Frandsen, who despite bein picked off, scored 2 runs on a 1 for 4 night.

Joe Saunders has taken a lot of well deserved crap this season. He had a God awful start to the campaign. However, he has completely turned things around. After a complete game, allowing just 1 run and pitching out of jam after jam (2 DPs and 5 LOB for the A's), Joey Joe Joe is now 5-6 with a 4.35 ERA. 2-0 in June with just 2 runs allowed in 17 innings, he allowed 3 or less runs in 4 of his 6 starts in May. No one, outside of a handful of Angel fans have gotten behind the Colonel yet, but they should. At 4-1 in his last 5 decisions, Joe has turned the corner, and is back to being the Saunders we all know and love.

Dallas Braden, on the other hand, has to be the ALs most overrated pitcher. He tossed the perfect game (which isn't even that unique anymore) on May 9th against the Rays. He was the delight of Sports Center. He read the "Top 10" list on Letterman. He became a national figure. Has anyone talked about him since then? How about going 0-4 with a 4.75 ERA in his six starts since that gem? How about getting smoked by the Angels twice since that gem? How about we stop pretending this guy is a Cy calliber pitcher just because of one gem? Maybe my dislike for the A's in general is creeping into this a little bit.

At 33-29, we sit just 0.5 games back of the division leading Rangers. Oakland and Seattle are 2 and 9 back of the lead respectively. Today is a lunch time dandy where Ervin Santana (6-3, 3.29) looks to send Trevor Cahill (4-2, 3.21) and the A's back to the .500 mark. Cahill lost for the first time since May 16 in his last outing, and even then only allowed 3 runs in 6 innings. Prior to that he held down 3 runs in 19 innings. Dangerously crafty. Guess what? That May 16 loss was a 0-4 gaff to the Halos. Nice. Meanwhile, Erv Gotti is 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA since May 9. He's been so on point it's out of control. 11-2 with a 1.54 ERA in his career against Oakland. This should be a great series ending battle.

Is another series win on tap for the Halos?

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

'010 LSF Supreme Tournament of Suffering: Part Nine.

Welcome to the finals! It's been a long journey in our nine part series, and we've had some fun, but now it's time to get down and dirty and pick the winner of the losers!

Your 2010 First Annual LSF Supreme Tournament of Suffering finalists are:

(1) Newcastle United

One reason the Magpies will win: No EPL title since 1927.

One reason the Magpies shouldn't win: Promotion just one year after relegation last season, while winning the ECL title and going undefeated at home for an entire season.

(1) Wake Forest University

One reason the Demons will win: No National Title since the program was started in 1888 and only 2 Conference titles in that time. Maybe they'll join the PAC 10 as well?

One reason the Demons shouldn't win: Don't they seem better than that? In comparison to their historical .412 winning percentage, they've been fairly decent lately.

(2) Los Angeles Clippers

One reason the Clippers will win: No Championship ever...and Laker fans love to point that out.

One reason the Clippers shouldn't win: Playoffs not too long ago, and the "huge" upside to Blake the Snake.

Yes, I did more than "one reason" on a couple of those, and I think that's funny.

And the winner is...

The Los Angeles Clippers!

Wake Forest gets denied because they just don't feel as bad as they are on paper.

Newcastle gets denied because of the recent reprieve they gave fans from suffering by putting on one of the best second division promotion campaigns in recent memory.

The Clippers got a boost thanks to the effort of Brandon Davis being the only fan with the guts to make his case in the comments section of the tournament. That, and that they are just so very bad.

So congratulations Clippers fan. You have something to celebrate. At least for this year, your Clippers are the LSF's Supreme Squad of Suffering.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

It's That Time of Year Again

I guess I'm getting ahead of myself by a couple of days here, but my Comm Lab time is all our own right now, so I'm going to go for it. Angels versus Dodgers. Site #1 this year is Chavez Ravine (which is weird that they still call it that, since destroying the housing in it to create the stadium was such a touchy and controversial subject).

As unexcited as I am normally when this series happens, this year could be pretty good. The series pits two top teams from their respective leagues who have played well recently. Depending on the outcome of tonight's games (the Angels also have a day game Thursday) it could be a first place versus first place matchup. I'm hoping for it. As a fan, I've been pretty pissed off that the Padres are playing so well when clearly they are a horrible squad, offensively at least. It would make me happy if we could distance ourselves by another game tonight (I'll be in attendance, with a sense of foreboding and delight as it's Wainright versus Kershaw. Why foreboding? Because Wainright is great and Pujols doesn't have a hit yet this series. The delight is directly due to seeing Kershaw pitch, though that might not be so fun if he keeps walking people at the rate he has).

The Angels are also a great team, despite what ESPN or The MLB Network or my co-worker and Angel fan Billy tells you. They've had a slow start, but their roster is stacked and their division is unproven. Seattle did their dance of getting everyone hyped about them preseason, then flopping around like all the fish they catch up there. I swear that Oakland is just a bunch of smoke and mirrors. They seem prime to hover around 500 before dropping off at the end of the year. Texas has improved pitching and their hitting is still pretty good. Yet, as maybe Tommy will attest to, it's hard to believe in them. The Angels pitching is good, but has not lived up to expectations. Yeah, they lost the big Cuban, an TLSF favorite, but their lineup is leaps and bounds ahead of anyone else in their division, and among the top in the league.

Instead of me trying to give you a breakdown of the entire series, I implore my colleague, blog foreman, and Angel fan Tommy to break down the Angels' lineup, while I try and give you an account of the Dodgers. That way, maybe we can get a bit more of an insider's view into the series. Plus, it kind of sounds fun to me (or maybe I just don't want to spend time making assumptions about Angels players I haven't heard of).

1.) Rafael Furcal-started hot, but injuries forced him to the DL. Seems primed to break out, but don't hold your breathe. He hit his first home run of season recently, but that is not his game. His bunting is amazing, his OBP isn't up to par, and that spells less runs. He feels like the type of guy that could make or break a sweep, either way.

2.) Matt Kemp-his banner year behind him, Matt came out of the gates red hot and every Dodger fan had visions of grandeur. Then Colletti called him out for "not being the same Matt Kemp" (while he was leading the league in runs, home runs, and RBIs, mind you). Was it because he was getting caught stealing a bunch? He has dropped off significantly and I expect him to strike out many times against the Angels. His defense, along with his undeserved Gold Glove, have left a lot to be desired.

3.)Andre Ethier-While the fans were drooling over Matt Kemp's power display, Andre was quietly destroying everyone's face. Then, once Kemp started to struggle, Ethier's hype went through the roof. People were seriously talking triple crown, as he had a big lead in RBIs, a ridiculous lead in average (hitting over .370), and tied with an overproducing Kelly Johnson in home runs. Then he hit the DL after a pitching coach tagged his pinky with a ball before a game. A two week DL stint will dash even Ted Williams' hopes of the triple. He struggled after his return, but his power and hitting have increased of very late, so maybe we're back to a lethal (though not .370, that was just inhuman) 'Dre. Then again, he hasn't walked much since his return, so maybe he's trying to do too much and make up for lost time.

4.) Manny Ramirez-Is he this season's biggest disappointment? Well, not really. If you remember that he's really old and has been declining every year, maybe you should have seen this coming. He isn't hitting for average, power, or getting on base nearly as much as Dodger fans hoped. Nevertheless, they still love the shit out of him. Don't think of him as an easy out just yet, he will pop one on you if you get too greedy (and then marvel at it), but he's not the feared HOFer we're used to.

5.) James Loney-Basically a not as good Rod Carew-high average, no power. He has picked it up in the walks department and his base running has taken a great upturn, but if you have to point at someone's average or RBIs to prove their worth, you aren't seeing the whole picture. I mean, even Brandon Wood would drive in runs with Kemp, Ethier, and Manny getting on base in front of him all the time (sorry, I told myself I wouldn't take any shots; then again, he's down in the minors again, so all the best to him). Nevertheless, there's something to be said about actually driving those runs in at a good rate and hitting (singles) well.

6.) Casey Blake-The victim of an early season super slump has somewhat righted the ship. I still feel like he strikes out twice a game every game, but he does rake the pill over the left field fence if you get lazy with one. Steady defense at third and a beard to end all beard make him a fan favorite.

7.) Blake DeWitt (aka Blake DeHitt aka Casey Blake Griffin DeHitt Jr.)-Some of us felt coming out of Spring Training that this guy would be a pleasant surprise and a sturdy two bagger. And hey, he has! Well, of late he has been super good, but he seems like that +.280 bottom of the lineup hitter that gets those hits you really don't think are coming. Needless to say he is rough, notably on defense. His error (that for some unknown and confounding reason [home scoring] was not ruled such) at the game I was at in Colorado almost made me throw myself from the top of the upper deck into that cool (and quite inviting) little pond in the outfield. Don't expect anything crazy from him against the 'gels, but maybe, just maybe, he'll Craig Counsell you.

8.) Russell Martin (aka The Scourge of the Season)-Do you remember when this guy was being argued as one of the best catchers in the game? Silly in retrospect, right? Well, when he hasn't been assaulting babies on the field, he's been sucking on the field. It's just an embarrassment to watch. I mean, yeah, he might be a little better than some starting guys in the league, but he's just a total disappointment. But, let's try to say something nice here. He did offer to pay for all the little girl's medical bills, so he probably felt bad (who wouldn't?). He isn't as bad as Garret Anderson (no one in history is [this year, look it up], am I wrong?) and is hitting around .250, which isn't reason enough for me to hate him as much. I guess the only saving grace is that he's not Napoli (Ugh, pot shot number 2. Sorry, man. In all honesty, Napoli has been way better than Martin.).

Pitchers you'll see starting for us:

Friday: Chad Billingsley-If you need to have those silly numbers, Chad would qualify as our number 2, though he's pitched well enough of late to be the one on most squads. It didn't start pretty: Chad's first start was on a muggy, cold, windy day in Pittsburgh where he walked too many Pirates and just eked through five innings. It was the sole victory of my Pitt Trip, so we'll give him a reprieve. But we won't for the way he came out his next few starts, continuing to walk way too many, strike out few, throw too many pitches, and, the worst thing, give up too many runs. He has finally started nailing it down, though, so beware. Chad has arguably been our best starter over the past month and change. His strikeout numbers are up, ERA down. My predictions for him against The Angels Angels, though, are mixed. Two things come to mind for me. The first is Chad as the lesser talked about winning pitcher in the no-hitter thrown against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium two years ago (then again, Matt Kemp's reaching on an error was probably a hit). Speaking of that, what has happened to Jose Arredondo? The second thing I think about is Orlando Cabrera ruining Chad by stealing home off him at Angel Stadium. This is probably the Dodgers' best chance at a dominating start. That being said, I have the feeling that he could get lit up, the Dodgers lay an egg, and then we're down 0-1. Conversely, this game is at Dodger Stadium. So maybe the Angels throw another no-hitter, lose, and Chad calks up a quiet victory.

Saturday: John Ely-The brightest spot of the early season and the subject of a twitter phenomenon (my favorite twit, or tweet, if you suck, was "from" Frank McCourt in which he "said" that if his wife had cheated on him with Ely, he'd be ok with it.), Ely has a string of quality starts under his belt. The biggest part of the Juan Pierre deal, Ely has exceeded his nonexistent expectations. But he has gotten lucky, and honestly it feels like it could catch up with him really quick. Look, I don't think he is a fluke, just not a guy who's going to rack up a sub-3 ERA in his career. Plus, he's coming off his worst start of the season. This guy's fully capable of keeping the Angels off the bases, though I don't know if he can keep them in the park. I feel like a 19 pitch Abreu walk is definitely going to happen, and either a Kendrick or Nap-piece jack. If we lose Friday, there's going to be some pressure on him. Let us (me) hope that he can keep it cool.

Sunday: Carlos Monasterios (aka Monk)-I like this guy way more than I should. A Rule-5 pick that has been sparsely used, but with great results. That being said, if we get to Sunday victory-less, you might expect a sweep, and in a big way. Torre does not keep this guy in the game long, he has been shut down good, with no precedent for this success in his past. But what do I know? This little known pitcher could fool or confuse Angels hitters, and pitch 5 great innings. Just expect a lot of bullpen usage Sunday.

Bullpen-Broxton has been one of the best pitchers in baseball and Kuo has been obscene. Kuo has not given up a hit to a lefty this year, Broxton strikes out around two an inning. The rest of the pen is relatively unreliable. Outside of Jeff Weaver able to come in and get a big out here and there, and Belisario looking decent of late, we have issues. Ramon Troncoso has been run into the ground by Torre, and it's now starting to hurt us. He's giving up jacks waaay too much, and putting people on base. Sherrill is out, but wasn't good any way this year. Our knuckler Haeger is now pitching out of the pen, but he's had nothing but problems as a starter. The rest of our guys are minor league call ups, so I guess that could go either way.

Bench-A slight step up from years past, but nothing to write home about. Jamey Carroll has been quite serviceable and might get a start in this series. He's a slap hitter and that guy everyone says "plays the game the right way," which is just annoying. I look at him as a mini-Casey Blake. Reed Johnson apparently hits lefties well, but hasn't really this year. He's a good left fielder and will likely spell Manny on the Sunday day game. Backup catcher A.J. Ellis is a backup catcher, Ronnie Belliard is nothing but a strikeout machine who closes his eyes and swings as hard as he can, and Garret Anderson is pretty much like a mini-9/11. The bench is not where the Dodgers go to win games in late innings.

My predictions: Well, I think the Angels are just too hot to sweep, plus with the Monasterios Sunday game, you'd be a fool to pick Los Doyers. There's a chance we take the series 2-1, but I feel like Sunday's going to be a rubber match, and that it'll take a lot for us to win there: Angels 2-1. A sweep would make me really sad.

Introducing your first place Angels!

What a difference a couple of weeks make. I had the guts to declare the Angels season starting slump as over on May 27 when no one in the "real" media would, and now here we are. After 60 games, we're 32-28 and in first place in the AL West (0.5 games up on the Rangers). After 60 games last season, we were 31-29 and 3.5 games back of the Rangers...and we won the division. Hm. All this hub bub was about nothing bub. Beating the A's 4-2 yesterday was just icing on the cake for our sixth straight win.
 
Prior to the game, the Angels starting drafting for the future. We had five picks in the first round, which is all about solid front office work as Brandon pointed out. I don't mean to jump ahead of myself, but we drafted the second coming on Babe Ruth with our first pick. The Gatoraid High School Player of the year, Kaleb Cowart is a freaking mega stud. He's headed to Florida State next fall, but he sure left his mark on the scouts before leaving. He hit .654 with 11 jacks and 59 RBI, adding 36 steals without being caught stealing once. Add to that a 10-1 record on the mound with a 1.05 ERA and 116 punchouts in 73 innings pitched. Good gravy! Get ready Orem!

Okay, okay, I guess I have to start giving respect to Scott Kazmir. He has now won 3 straight, and last night was pretty acceptable. Super Kaz pitched 6.3 innings of 1 run ball with 5 hits, 5 Ks, and just 2 walks. A quality start! Against the A's! Alright, Kaz, I'll give you some love. This was finally a start to get excited about. Jepsen, Rodney, and Tito finished the game out, with BFF getting his 8th save of the year. Fernando is still filling the role I prescribed for him previously as the new old Shields, and the pitching continues to thrive despite being vastly overlooked thanks to the amazing coming around offense. Let's give the mound dogs some love.

But even I'll admit that the bats are the story. 8-1 since Kendry's freak injury, this squad is coming together at the right time. Just yesterday, El Comedulce blasted a 2 run bomb in the first, Aybar tripled home a run and then scored from third on a HK infield single. Bobby Wilson was the only Angels to have a multi hit game (2 for 3), but the boys spread it around to put 6 hits on Sheets. Because of that, we only stranded 4 on base. I know this is greedy, but can I request a little more offense tonight? 

Big Baby Jered Weaver (5-2, 2.74) doesn't really need it, but he'd like it. Our ultra ace goes toe to toe with Vin Mazzaro (1-0, 6.08). Mazzaro is a recent AAA call up and allowed 3 runs and 9 hits in 3.3 innings in his only MLB work so far. That's not making me kick rocks (worried) one little bit. Weav has allowed just 1 earned run in his last 16 innings. Should we all call Vegas and put money on this Halo victory?

I'm going to heaven, if we get consecutive win #7.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

'010 LSF Supreme Tournament of Suffering: Part Eight.

Welcome to the bracket finals!

Football Bracket:

(1) Newcastle v (2) Everton

Why the Mags suffer more than Everton: No titles in the EPL since 1927.

Why Everton suffers more than 'Castle: 23 years of no title, and a long history of relegation define this 8th place EPL team.

And the winner is... Newcastle. No homer here, just a football squad with a long profound history of suffering. 

Alumni Bracket:

(1) Wake Forest v (3) Providence

Why the Demons suffer more than the Friars: 2 Conference titles since 1888. No National titles. A lifetime .412 winning percentage. Can we even accept them as a real football team?

Why the Friars suffer more than the Demons: Only two final four appearances in their history, the last in 1987, and really poor play as of late.

And the winner is... Wake Forest. I never realized this until now, but Wake is just an awful, awful squad.

All American Bracket:

(2) Clippers v (3) Canucks

Why the Clips suffer more than the 'Nucks: No Championship in the history of the franchise (a lengthy 40 years), and it gets old playing the role of LA basketball laughing stock year in and year out (outside of people pretending to like the Clippers in '05/'06). 

Why the 'Nucks suffer more than the Clips: No Championship in the history of the franchise (a lengthy 40 years). Sounds familiar. Vannie fans have to suffer high expectations and frequent early playoff exits year in and year out.

And this winner is... The Clippers. Was there any doubt?

Well, Brandon, J, and myself each have a team in this year's finals. It'll be a three way fight to the death to determine the Championship:

(1) Newcastle v (1) Wake Forest v (2) LA Clippers

One of those three teams will be declared the first annual LSF Supreme Suffering Squad! How exciting.

Please make sure to leave your comments or ompletely long and rambling posts to help decide the winner. Serious bragging rights will be on the line here.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

5 straight and just 0.5 back.

Another weekend of baseball, another huge series win from the Angels. 3 straight wins over the 2010 AL West Champion Seattle Mariners (per ESPN) by a combined score of 27-7. Wow. Let's take a stroll through the last 3 days of hardball.

Friday: Joey Joe Joe hurled another solid effort, going 6 innings of 1 run ball. He didn't look great, allowing 10 baserunners (8 hits, 2 walks) while only punching out 1, but he pitched out of jams. 3 double plays is exactly what you need to keep the opposition from advancing into the danger zone, and that's what Saundo got. Francisco Rodriguez (no, not that Francisco Rodriguez) and Bozo Bell finished the game with 3 innings of 1 hit shutout ball. Meanwhile, the offense was busting Snell and company open. Matsui went yard in his 3 for 3, 3 RBI night, and was joined by Ma$e (2 runs scored as the leadoff man), and Howie (2 RBI) in the solid night category. 7-1 was a great way to start the weekend.

Saturday: Seeing the Angels rock their 1995 California Angel jerseys on "Turn Back the Clock Night" was so rad. They played like freaking studs in their old school threads. An 11-2 blowout win backed up by an amazing outing from Young Gun Ervin Santana (6 innings of 1 run ball) was just what we needed. Did I mention how much I enjored Mark Langston over Marc Gubicza this weekend. Makes me think we need a staffing change. Bulger backed up Erv with 2 shutout innings, and Gas Can Shields gave up 1 run in his inning of work (ugh). The offense was incredible, with Big Game leading the charge. The Hunt Dog went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI, including three massive doubles to silence the coffee addicted crowd. Maicer Izturis again proved this blog right by doing a great job in his second game at the top of the order (2 for 3 with 2 RBI, 2 runs, and a walk), Howie made me proud with a 2 for 5 2 RBI night, and Naps continued to be hot with a 2 for 5 and RBI kind of game. The M's were truly crushed, and even thoug FSW showed the game on tape delay, I was enjoying the huss out of it.

Sunday: Ah, nothing like a baseball game after church to enjoy with your wife and child. The Halos continued to abuse their Northwest rivals, and man was it a thing of magic. This time, it was a series sweeping 9-4 victory that kept our win streak rolling (now at 5 games). While J Balls Piñata may have had a bumpy ride (6 innings of 4 run ball, 9 hits, 3 BB, 5 K), he did well enough to keep us in the game. Jeps, Rodney, and San Francisco Rodriguez did shutout work in the final 3. Can we annoint Fernando Rodney as the new Scot Shields of old yet? I'm starting to think so. Mr. 8th inning shut down set up guy for sure. Of course, Michaelangelo Fusili Napolini was the hero of the game. He powered the O with a 4 for 5, 2 RBI, 3 run afternoon, including a dagger to the heart home run in the 7th that broke the tie game for good. EA Sports also thrilled us with a 4 for 5 effort in the 1 hole (wait, was that Maicer with fake teeth?), and Robbbbbbbbbbbbb played the role of the unsung hero, going 3 for 5 with a rib eye steak sandwich hold the au jus. 

38 hits, 27 runs, and a series sweep, and Mike Scioscia was nowhere near Seattle? Hm. I think we found our magic formula. Way to go, R Squared.

Also, it's nice to play Seattle, because it makes you realize we don't really miss Figgy or Kotch whatsoever. They're hitting .220 and .194 respectively.

Now we're 31-28. We lead the AL West in wins and trail the division leading Rangers by just a half of a game. I told that stupid punk, Mark Saxon, that we were turning it around. If only this blog was linked to ESPN, people would see how real fans actually know what we're talking about more than the talking heads employed by the networks. 

The road trip continues for night in beautiful Northern California as the Angels match up with their Magneto, the Oakland A's. This is going to be one heck of a 2/3 battle. Scott "You're better than this" Kazmir (4-5, 5.86) is going against Benny & The Jets Sheets (2-4, 5 flat). I wanted Sheets to sign with the Angels in the offseason and instead he went to my most bitter rivals. Sheets gave up 3 in 6 last time out against Los Halos in a LAA victory, but his home ERA is a clean and tidy 2.50 in 6 outing this year. Meanwhile, Kaz got wildly overrated after his last start, allowing 1 run over 5.67 against KC. Only we had the guts (or nards, if you will) to knock him back down to size. However, his 2.66 ERA at the A's park is his second lowest at any park in the bigs (I'm guessing Angel stadium isn't number one). Should be a wild one, and if I was a betting man (outside of my all you can eat/drink at Silky's NBA Finals bet with Chris), I'd put my money on a one run game.

Rub on some Vick's and pick up consecutive win #6!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē