Sunday will be the final home game of the season for the Angels. They will wrap up the season on the road, ultimately finishing in Seattle.
This was the first real home stand after news of the sale. I covered the game Monday and found the best story to be in the crowd. Gone were the “sell the team” chants and back were the smiles on faces and cheers for the team. It felt really celebratory for watching a last place team.
On Monday the Angels faced Kade Anderson and the Anderson/Bremner storyline as back to the forefront. The Angels tee’d off on Anderson’s straight fastball and roughed the kid up a bit. The story between these two is just getting started, though.
And in things that matter, Zach Neto was named the Angels nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award and I was able to get a few quotes from him on the honor. Until this day I did not know about his work with the Joe DiMaggio Hospital although I did cover his trip to Fleet Week this year.
Not the Angels but this happened this week and it was crazy:
On the field, the real fun is in Rocket City right now. As I began typing this the Angels prospects are up 6-0 in the third inning and I was kicking myself for going to the Angels game. It was 9-0 before I hit the Big A and the final ended up being 12-3. This team is on a roll.
Jacob Cozart is looking more and more like a steal for the Angels and he did his best De La Cruz impression.
If you are looking for reasons to feel good about the rebuild, look at AA. Not only is the team rolling in the playoffs, it is largely fueled by trade deadline pickups.
That’s not to say AA has all the prospects. A handful of A ball guys are looking like part of the rebuild as well.
On the big league field, Moises Ballesteros is on fire right now and looks like a great addition for the rebuild.
And for an Angels highlight, I had a solid view of this throw on Monday and Neto was incredible.
About the only bad news was Samy Natera Jr. being shut down for the season.
This might be the year to head to the AFL. The Angels contingent is looking legit.
I really want to get looks at Nimmal and Munroe. Add Victor to that list too. If I can squeeze out a few hundred bucks for a tank of gas each direction, I might just go.
For the first time in months I went to the game last night simply as a fan. Just me and a buddy at the game, no press stuff, no work, baseball as it should be. Had a blast and got great seats for next to nothing on StubHub. That last part will change under new ownership, but Angels games are still simply fun.
And I got to watch Meckler hit a walk off. Wade is a really good dude and it is a joy seeing him live out his childhood dream of playing for the Angels. His speed in the outfield and on the bases is a nice plus and I like his high on base and high contact game.
I’m sad to see this season draw to a close. I feel like it is finally getting good. For the first time in forever I feel like the Angels have some guys they can build around and some talent on the way. Add that to a team president who is engaging and proactive and a general manager with a track record of success and the ship is finally moving in the right direction.
So enjoy your weekend and link what I missed. Jim Abbott will turn 59 tomorrow if you want to feel old. I will do no real work, catch the game on Sunday, and spoil my son this weekend. So if you happen to hit the final game at the Big A, hit me up.
