A Wednesday afternoon that had weather in the mid 70's with partial clouds and a light breeze is a great excuse to be outside at a ballgame. With Weaver on the mound, and a spring training like attendance, it felt like a scrimmage that still meant something. Our cheap seats in section 426 became field level after telling the attendant that I just wanted to see my old seats where we had season tickets for 15 years. You can see my seats in this picture as they were on the opposite side of the stadium in section 113. It was a great white lie to sit up front one last time in 2013. As I looked out to the field, I saw no Trout, no Pujols, no Bourjos, no Kendrick, and Callaspo in a green uniform. Instead I saw Shuck, Cowgill, Calhoun, Green, and Romine. The only two constant Angels I saw were Weaver and Aybar. This reminded me of the teams Scioscia was successful with. Guys who were scraps in the system who played for eachother. Stealing bases, hitting behind guys, bunting, and beating out grounders.
After a solid first by Weav, Shuck led off the bottom of the 1st. I glanced at the scoreboard to see that his average was .291. A guy in his first full season in the bigs no taller than me was getting a chance because of an injured Borjous and in injured Pujols. Trumbo who is not a natural outfielder made the move back to first, moving Trout to center and giving Shuck the chance of a lifetime. He stepped up and produced all season, additionally making the catch of the year going over the wall next to the foul pole in left.
Aybar came up next and I started to think of how long Aybar has been with the Angels and I still think is one of the most underrated short stops, if not hidden gems in baseball. Bunts for hits, plays stellar defense, doesn't strike out, great arm, great feet, hits behind runners, etc. Hitting from the left side, his first two at-bats he took fastballs down the middle with the smooth approach of staying on the ball and hitting line drives to left center for knocks. As they say, "like poetry in motion" how easy he made it look. These two hits put Aybar in 2nd place in baseball this year with 47 multi-hit games. I hope they sign him to a 5-year deal when his contract is up.
Weaver continued to dominate. A natural fly ball pitcher who can hit his spots, deceive hitters, and change speeds would get mad at himself at every walk or hit he gave up. A true sign of a competitor even with the season basically over and the stands empty. As a big Weaver fan being a Long Beach State alum, I start thinking about the type of person he is. Simple, quiet, and friendly, Weaver draws the initials of the late Nick Adenhart in the back of the mound before he takes the rubber every inning. He has also named his newborn son Aden after him as a tribute. Additionally, Weaver being one of the top 5 pitchers in the AL took a pay cut to stay an Angel and so management could spend money elsewhere to help the team. His agent Scott Boras didn't even show up to his giant press conference in front of the home plate entrance. What a guy.
The three runs the Angels got came from moving runners over, stealing bases and putting pressure on the defense. Both innings the Angels scored in (4th & 5th) the A's had to play with the infield in. After Aybar stole 2nd, Calhoun worked a 3-2 count with 0 outs and pulled a grounder to second to put Aybar at third. Romine and Cowgill both had sacs. We all know Scioscia loves the "contact play" and it worked one out of the two times. Aybar's third hit of the game was a grounder up the middle for an RBI and the game clincher. Strategic offense and shut down pitching was baseball at its best and it was a great last game to watch live.
My last thoughts were about the A's and how they consistantly make the playoffs with no All-Star names on their roster. But their guys just play baseball the right way. Hitters are patient, pitchers throw strikes, and each player brings a certain skill set to the team. Their lineup featured no one hitting over 300, but yet mostly guys in the .240s -.260s. Again, each guy played a roll. Reddick is a power bat who plays all out defense; a combo that is hard to find. With a runner on first and two outs Shuck hit one past the first baseman and tried to stretch it into a double. Reddick fired one in on the money to bang Shuck out and end a potential threat. Callaspo who was picked up from the Angels made a diving stop down the 3rd baseline with Hamilton on 2nd and threw out a runner to end another threat. This may not have the stars to bring in 40,000 people to see, but they play the game hard and buy into the team strategy.
As we conclude the 2013 season and wonder if Scioscia or Dipoto will be sent off, we also learn about the window of opportunity for Arte Moreno to take the team elsewhere, and the future of Mike Trout when he becomes a free agent in 2017. A lot of questions linger in the future. Will Pujols ever be healthy? Will Hamilton and Trumbo learn to layoff pitches outside the zone? The questions have never been bigger for the Angels because of the star power and expectations. It should make for a very interesting offseason.
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