Thank you for never giving up, for remembering what’s important in life, and for remembering the fans. I know some of you may not be back, but thank you for distracting us from our lives for three hours a night, and giving us something to cheer for.

…Fans

Thank you for your endless support for the greatest team in sports. Thank you for being there for this team through thick and thin, and being apart of this wonderful Angels family.

Although this may hurt, this is a time to celebrate an epic season. We may not have made it to the World Series, but in my view this was the greatest season in Angel history. I really could care less what happens in the World Series, I may not even watch it. I think we have already won.

On behalf of the GoHalos.com team, thank you and God Bless.

- Tony C

I love telling the story. Anytime the subject of the Angels comes up I quickly roll into story-telling mode. Some enjoy my tale while others just listen politely then walk away no doubt wondering why I just wasted their time. I normally go on about details of that day, little nuances that are still very real to me. I will spare you, a true and like-minded Angel fan, those details but I do want you to know that I was at the “Dave Henderson game”.

I was on the left field side, with a great view of the field specifically Brian Downing in the outfield. I was a teenager with a driver’s license and nothing to do. The Dodgers introduced me to baseball, the Angels introduced me to passion for the game. I was weened on Cey, Russel, Lopes and Garvey but grew up on Disco Dan Ford, Don Baylor, Bobby Grich, Gary Pettis, etc. My seat was up high but as the game wore on I worked my way down closer to the action. It was a different time back in 1986 making this an easy task for a skinny teenger. By the time Dave Henderson came to bat I was just a few feet from the wall. The crowd was pushing behind me; we were all preparing to storm the field. It was a different time in 1986 indeed. The crowd noise was amazing, the push of the crowd would normally have bothered me but it didn’t that day; we were ready to be a part of something special. The Angels were going to the World Series. They were going to reward the Cowboy, Gene Autry, for his dedication to the team. This game was over, the final out being a formality – we were ready to charge the field and celebrate with our heroes. Then, it happened.

I remember just a few things after that blast from Henderson. Brian Downing dropping his head as the ball left the yard, the silence of the crowd as if a flip was switched and the over exuberant Sox fans after the game. One was carrying a red wagon with a Red Sox drum. It was pimped out with Sox flags everywhere. He banged that drum all around the stadium parking lot. I remember hating that we did nothing to stop him. I wanted so bad to knock the clam chowder out of that guy. But, we were beaten. The Sox beat us. It was the first series loss in MLB history that came in game six when there was still a game seven to play. We knew we were done and the next game just made it official.

The stigma of that loss stayed with the Angels. They were good after that, but never good enough. The Angels were relegated to mid-market and second-tier Southern California baseball status. Those were tough times. Whether or not Donnie Moore’s inability to successfully and completely let go of that loss contributed to his tragic death we will never know. But to say a cloud hovered over Anaheim was a gross understatement.

The sun began to peak through the clouds in the 90’s. The arrival of Troy Percival, Darin Erstad, Tim Salmon, Garrett Anderson, Jim Edmonds and others brought some real hope back to the stadium. This team was fun, exciting and carried a different vibe that the others before them. I remember knowing things were different when the team announced their biggest free agent acquisition at the time, the signing of Mo Vaughn. I remember thinking nothing had changed when Mo twisted his ankle in his first game. Turns out, that wasn’t the cloud re-grouping, it was just the cloud’s last hurrah!

The Angels were good again and it was time to lose the stigma of 1986 and I thought nothing could do that like a World Series win. But, when Darin Erstad clutched that ball right in front of the sign on the outfield wall commemorating the 1986 Division Championship, I was happy, but something was missing. I mean, I hooted and hollered. I made my kids think dad was crazy, yet again. But the 1986 itch was still there leaving me scratching, yet again. Why hadn’t a great win in 2002 against the best the National League had to offer done more to quench this frustration? Why didn’t a World Series Championship, in Anaheim, wipe away the pain of 1986? At the time, I didn’t know but now it’s all pretty clear.

The 1986 game wasn’t about a championship, the Sox beat the Angels but they didn’t win the Series that year. It wasn’t about winning a ring. It was, and please pardon the melodrama, more than just a game. No one realized that back then but it’s pretty clear now. That game left a mark. A mark so clear and pronounced that not even a World Series win would serve to completely erase it. To heal we needed more. For the cloud to pass we needed to tackle the stigma of 1986 head on and come away beating it. I know this is all very corny, but you are an Angel fan and I know you understand.

I wasn’t at Fenway 10/11/9, but it sure seemed to me that the top of the ninth in Fenway had the same feel we had at the Big A 10/12/86. The fans weren’t ready to rush the field only because they don’t let you anymore but they assumed the game was over just like we did 23 years earlier. Even the announcers assumed it was over mentioning in the seventh inning how worried Mike Scioscia must be about the upcoming Game Four. No, really, if you recorded it go back and replay the Angel half of the seventh, Red Sox Analyst Buck Martinez counted out the Angels and then spent the next few innings making up for the gaffe by reminding everyone that the Halos led baseball in come from behind wins. Their analyst had essentially put the game in the refrigerator (with sincere apologies to Chick Hearn), their fans were patting the Sox catcher on the back while they cheered “BEAT LA”. The stage was set, not for a Sox win however but for the Anaheim cloud to lift.

I was watching the game on TV and on espn.com. No idea why, just did. Espn Gamecast has this intriguing feature in the top right-hand corner that predicts the winner of a game in real-time based on “…historical situational statistics since the year 2000. The factors are inning, score, runners on base, current count and ballpark”. The dreaded “99%” showed up in favor of the Sox as the Angels were down to their last strike. It was at that moment that the similarities began to hit me. The crowd was as hyped as we were back in ‘86. The Angles were down to their last strike, like the Sox were back then. The Sox with their top closer on the mound, just like the Angels in 1986. I recognized what was possible, but it couldn’t happen, could it? The moment was now; it was there for the taking. THIS is what the World Series win couldn’t do. We needed this win. Not to close out the Sox but to close out the cloud!

Aybar’s hit was clutch and the spark that woke up hope in Angel fans. Figgins walked. That 99% for the Sox was dropping; the roar in Anaheim was subdued but growing. Abreu doubles to left. Left field. Angel fans, it was LEFT field. The cloud in Anaheim began to part. Hunter is intentionally walked and Vlady finishes it off. 7-6 Angels. You’re kidding right, 7 to 6? Wow. ESPN Gamecast flips from 99% Sox projected win to 80% Angels. Wow.

The checklist was eerie. To get past the funk of 1986 the Angels needed to do to the Sox what they did to them. No one will admit it, but it’s true. To erase the ghosts we had to battle them on the same terms and win.

• Sox needed to be one strike away – check
• Game had to be at Fenway – check
• Sox fans had to be at a fever pitch – check
• Sox had to lose – CHECK!

Now, the day after, more similarities are popping up. The aforementioned score, Angels lost in 1986 7-6, as did the Sox in 2009. Both teams had their best closer on the mound. The big hit was to left. I can’t say for sure but I have a feeling that a brave Angel fan left Fenway annoying just a few Sox fans too! The most eerie similarity or connection back to that game of them all however has to do with a fallen teammate. Weaver made a point to continue to memorialize Nick Adenhart by bringing his jersey out to celebrate at Fenway. Nick was born in 1986. As an Angel player will tell you, he was a part of this most recent victory. The link between 1986 and 2009 now complete; the cloud and stigma now officially lifted. Go Halos!

- Jose Salviati

Many of you are aware of the recent article by Buster Olney of ESPN. To start, my article is not a knock on ESPN or its writers. ESPN and its writer do a wonderful job of presenting us with all of the sports information we could ever need; however, the lack of objectivity in this column was pretty upsetting.

The article quoted an unnamed scout which is the first problem. Why should we care what one unnamed scout thinks about the Angels? That’s like finding one employee of a company who is upset with the company’s product and taking it as truth.

The article also stated that the entire Angels lineup consists of bad fastball hitters, and that the Red Sox wealth of fastball pitchers will make them look silly. I would like to ask this scout how an entire lineup of bad fastball hitters manages to hit nearly .300 for the season and .296 with runners in scoring position.

This scout’s conclusion was that the Angels don’t stand a chance.

Typically, opinion like this does not bother me. It’s the trend of bad information regarding every West Coast team, other than the Dodgers, among the top baseball commentators of not just ESPN, but every national sports news network.

I heard Steve Phillips say there is no doubt the Angels will start Scott Kazmir in game one of the playoffs. Keith Law said Ervin Santana would likely not make the playoff roster. Have they ever even watched an Angel game? I know its on late on the East Coast, but come on, do some research.

Again, ESPN is a great network, but there needs to be some accountability for their writers, and I don’t think the network will create that kind of accountability. It’s up to us to email, comment, and call in to these networks, and let them know how we feel.

In the end the Angels will have their chance to prove them wrong, and I think they will. But to set the record straight, the Angels can hit fastballs, and Josh Beckett allows nearly 4 runs per outing to the Angels. Go Halos!

Fastball Pitchers ERA vs. Angels

Josh Beckett – 4.50

Matt Garza – 10.80

-Tony C

So now that the hangover is over, it’s time to focus. So how do we beat those damn Red Sox? Here are the GoHalos.com top ten on how to beat the Red Sox.  Not that the Angels don’t already know these things, but it will be interesting to look for.

10.  Most obvious – win a game at home.

9.  For the fans – don’t sell your tickets to Red Sox fans.

8.  Start Kazmir in Fenway.  He is a proven winner there.

7. Score runs early. I know the Angels set a club record for comebacks, but the Red Sox are lights out after the sixth inning.

6.  Avoid our bullpen by throwing our starters late in the game.  Although with Santana out of the bullpen this may not be as necessary.

5. Steal relentlessly. Jason Varitek doesn’t have the arm he used to, and should allow us to take bags at will.

4. Out-pitch John Lester. Even with the injury, he is going to pitch well in the playoffs so we are just going to have to take a one to two run lead into the bullpen.

3.  Save the rally monkey!  The rally monkey rules have been relaxed lately.  Let’s save him for when it matters most.

2. Utilize the green monster. The Angels are stock full of doubles hitters, so they don’t even have to change their approach.

1. RELAX!  Nerves create mistakes.

-Tony C

So we are all pretty confident that the Angels are going to clinch the division during this series against the Rangers. Last year the team clinched the division with three weeks left in the season and the team became complacent. They lost there fire and weren’t ready for the, again, Red Sox.

This year winning the division would come with less than a week left in the season, and given what the Angels have gone through this year I doubt the leaders of this team will let them lose their fire. But this still leaves us with a final weekend series in a crowd-less Oakland Coliseum. So how should the Angels treat this final weekend?

Part of the success of the Red Sox has come with their “I’m not worried about it” mentality, but the Angels just aren’t this way. Many have called for the Angels adoption of this New England style, but that’s not are game.

In Rocky IV, because it’s always relevant, Rocky isolated himself with one thing on his mind, Drago! Vladdy should have a picture of Josh Beckett on his mirror, and Torii Hunter should be listening to “Hearts on Fire” on loop. Oakland will be the perfect place for the Angels to get their heads straight. In baseball, there is no better isolation than Oakland.

Focus, and keep your eye on the prize.

- Tony C

With Kendry Morales hitting again, Vlad hitting but struggling with runners in scoring position, and a Maicer Izturis wildcard, what will Scioscia do with the Angels lineup for the playoffs? Here is my choice and I think the most obvious.

3B – Chone Figgins
RF – Bobby Abreu
CF – Torii Hunter
DH – Vladimir Guerrero
1B – Kendry Morales
LF – Juan Rivera
C – Mike Napoli/SS – Eric Aybar
2B – Maicer Izturis/Howie Kendrick
C- Jeff Mathis/SS – Eric Aybar

You can see even with my “obvious lineup” there are still so many questions. Not to mention when to play Gary Matthews Jr., and Whether to DH Mike Napoli when Jeff Mathis is playing. As usual, for Scioscia it will be based on match-ups. Against left handed pitching, especially John Lester, Scioscia will likely load the lineup up with right handed hitters. Typically when this is done, Rob Quinlan makes an appearance in the lineup. Also, if the Angels go games one and two without significant run production you will likely see Izturis in the two or even three spot. I’m not crazy about this, but he does hit well with runners in scoring position. Scioscia also likes to play the hot hand, which creates a position battle at second base between Izturis and Kendrick, although you typically see Kendrick against good fastball pitchers like Josh Beckett.

You can see the difficult task Scioscia will have in putting together the Angels playoff lineup. The truth is, however, every other manager in baseball would love to have this problem. The Angels incredible offensive depth should make them injury proof.

Here are some other possible playoff lineups.

3B – Chone Figgins
RF – Bobby Abreu
2B – Maicer Izturis
DH – Vladimir Guerrero
CF – Torii Hunter
1B – Kendry Morales
LF – Juan Rivera
C – Mike Napoli
SS- Eric Aybar

3B – Chone Figgins
SS – Eric Aybar
RF – Bobby Abreu
DH – Vladimir Guerrero
CF – Torii Hunter
1B – Kendry Morales
LF – Juan Rivera
2B – Howie Kendrick
C – Jeff Mathis

Comment and suggest your ideal playoff lineup.

In the spirit of countering to the constant bombardment of east coast sentiment offered by ESPN I have decided to but together a West Coast Bias Top Ten. Thanks for letting me vent.

10. Don’t patronize us with Sports Center LA and Stewart Scott.

9. West Coast: 30 home runs = 30 home runs
East Coast: 30 home runs = 20 home runs

8. Baseball is a family game, not a single fat guy game.

7. West Coast: 30 home runs = 12-19 million dollars
East Coast: 30 home runs = 22.5 million dollars

6. The wave is a fun fan experience.

5. A regular season ticket is not worth $1500.

4. A Boston Red Sox announcer should not be announcing the playoffs. (On the other hand we could just pair him up with Rex)

3. Steve Phillips is not a GM anymore for a reason; therefore, he should keep his commentary to a minimum.

2. There are two other teams in the AL Wildcard race other than the Boston Red Sox

1. Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Detroit are the possible homes of the future AL MVP. New York should not even be in the conversation.

-Tony C