With a month and a half left in the regular season Frankie has already acrewed 46 saves, a number that anyone will concede is impressive. He has already become an All-Star this year, and many are arguing that he could win the American League Cy Young award.

But the numbers, and the acclaim are skewed. At least in this Angels' fan's opinon.

I would be the first to accept credit for Frankie, but to do so would be misleading and a disgrace to the game of baseball.

While K-Rod's number of saves is impressive one cannot help but be worried, and on the edge of their seat when he comes into a game. It would be reasonable to assume that there should be some level of confidence with a guy who has 46 saves as opposed to 5 blown ones, but (to put it nicely) everyone knows what they say about people who assume things.

Though Frankie has an impressive 55 strike outs in 50.3 innings pitched, he has also managed to walk 29 batters in that time. Perhaps more importantly is the fact that his individual numbers are not as good as they have been in the past, especially since his ERA is the highest it has been since his first full season in the majors in 2003. Additionally, he has already given up  more home runs this season (4) than he did in all of last year (3), while he has pitched exactly 17 innings less.

Even his individual numbers cannot express the duress that he puts on fans. Just this past Wednesday in a "crucial" (I say that with all sarcasm intended) game against the Mariners he blew a save. Blowing a save to the Red Sox is frustrating, but at least understandable. Yankees, the same. In fact any team is more understandable than the Mariners. A team that is 20 games back should in the same division should not be able to beat "baseball's best" closer. Plain and simple. Yet they did.

Furthermore, at least one of Frankie's "saves" was a single pitch. Thats right, one pitch. What happened to the days of 3 inning saves a la Sparky Lyle? That isn't to say baseball should revert to a two man rotation and the days of Cy Young himself, or even Firpo Marbury (baseball's first real reliever), but a one pitch save shouldn't count towards a record.

At the end of the day it comes down to the East Coast Media bias which is so prevelant throughout baseball. Because Frankie is hot he is shown on Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter, but his frequent inaccuracies are not highlighted in the same voluminous way. Frankie is truly a talent, but it is frustrating to see him be praised when he is consistantly walking batters and allowing hits- even if these do not result in losses.

Moreover, Francisco blew at least 3 saves for John Lackey in the 2007 season. The more wins would have made 22 total. 22 total wins coupled with a league leading 3.01 ERA and 179 strike outs would have placed him better than third in the American League Cy Young voting. It isn't his fault that the offense couldn't score him any runs last year (or earlier this year).

For those of you who are not Angels' fans, and love K-Rod... try watching him every night.

I went with The Mick by Mickey Mantle and Phil Pepe. I've been dying to get my hands on a good Mantle biography, and hopefully this will give me some insight on his half of Martin-Mantle extravaganza that was the 1950's Yankees.

In the same vein I found a book about the 1961 season, specifically as it pertains to the Mantle-Maris relationship, which I find fascinating. I can't wait to read it, so that I may be able to give a better historical perspecive on the current relationship between Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis who, while this is on a much smaller scale, have a similar relationship to the M&M boys.

I also picked up The Best Team Money Could Buy to get another perspective on the Bronx is Burning classic 1977 season, because, lets be honest, I can't get enough of Billy Martin and his antics. Also I find the idea of the first team to "buy" a World Series interesting, since I wasn't alive during a non-free agency era.

And lastly I bought The Bronx Zoo by Sparky Lyle. I think its a good idea to get away from the obvious 1941, 1951,1961, and 1977 seasons. And again, I can't get enough Billy Martin.

I can't wait to really dive into these, and I think (hope) that they will inspire some really interesting topics to write about.

P.S. Frankie Rodriguez is overrated.

The Red Sox got lucky that any team was willing to take that man off of their hands. It is disgusting how he has disgraced the position of left field at Fenway.

The card stock that Man Ram's baseball card is printed on is worth more than him.

Teixeira, along with Blalock and David Wright, quickly became one of my favorite non-Angels position players. There was no show-boatiness about him. Simply a guy who knew how to bat and how to field and look flawless doing it.

So last season when the chance for him to come to the Angels was first talked about, I naturally got excited. But not too excited because Bill Stoneman never made moves like that, especially not when a guy like Casey Kotchman was coming along so well after being brought up through the system. And, true to form, the Angels didn't get Teixeira as he went to the Braves.

When the idea of him coming to the Angels this season came up, I was again excited. But not too excited, this time for another reason altogether. This time I wasn't excited because that young first baseman had become one of the best fielders in the league, making oustanding plays by digging short hops out of the dirt and leaping feet into the air to catch the ball on a nightly basis. And his power numbers were up. And then there was the fact that he was frequently the only Angel hitting. In a season where my favorite Angel had been on the disable list for so long he and the other young guys had really stepped up to make the Angels a fun team to watch, even when we weren't scoring runs.

So one can imagine my excitement when I got a phone call from my friend, Mikael today-

"Hey Buddy, did you hear the news?"
"What news?"
"Teixeira signed!"
"WITH WHO?? US?"
"Yes!"

I couldn't have been more ecstatic. Finally I would have a chance to watch Teixeira play on a daily basis.

"For who?"
"Kotch."

And then the excitment went away and the heartbreak set in. Now it isn't that I'm not excited to have this quality player on my team. But honestly watching Casey defensivly has been so much fun over the past two years (the only times he has played 100 or more games in a season). And watching him mimic Garet Anderson at the plate has been nothing short of a pleasure. Casey has truly become an important part of the Angels' team, and I doubt that 8 more home runs so far this season is worth giving him up.

Perhaps more importantly it was silly to give up a guy who was so good for a veteran rental. Especially when that veteran rental is for a third of the season and hasn't had the opportunity to perform in the post season.

I never thought I'd say it, but I think getting Mark Teixeira was a bad idea. If he was going to stay for longer than the remainder of this season the deal would have been done by the end of the day. Hopefully I am wrong, but in the mean time good luck to Casey, however with talent like he has he doesn't need luck- he's good!

On the one hand we get the midsummer's classic. This one should be especially classic being at Yankee Stadium.

On the other hand that means baseball season is half way (or this year over half way) over.

Even that has an up and down side though. Baseball being over is always terrible, but that brings us that much closer to football.

And the offseason will be even shorter this year with round two of the World Baseball Classic, which I can't wait to attend with my Dad...

Perhaps the worst thing about this years All-Star game is that I most likely won't be feeling to well during it, as I am having my gallbladder removed tomorrow.

I still am trying to decide on a good Mickey Mantle book if anyone has any recommendations I'd really appreciate it...

... me either.

Now it isn't, obviously, that I embrace living in California, but rather the fact that watching the Angels beat the Dodgers is always fun.

And lets be honest, with Saunders starting Friday and Lackey starting on Saturday there is little to nothing to be worried about in regards to the Dodgers offense.

The real problem may be Garland on Sunday. It is a little ironic that the big name in the big offseason trade (Hunter was clearly the big offseason acqusition) has become the weakest link in the Angels rotation.

Obviously Lackey, Saunders, Santana, and Weaver are home grown talents. And with Mike Butcher as pitching coach up at the Major League level with them its easy to see why they are able to produce. Don't get me wrong, I am Buddy Black's biggest supporter, but it seems that the starters have been able to work well with someone who saw them at the early stages of their professional career.

It also doesn't hurt that Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis came up through the same system. It means that these guys are familiar with each other now, and with the way the Angels farm system works. Really it has proven to be a winning combo in the Majors, even though our offense rarely scores.

So, Garland remains the problem. Clearly, Garland pitches to contact. But that shouldn't be a problem for a team that relies so heavily on defense, like the Angels.

In a game of "one of these things is not like the others" Galand is the odd man out. He didn't come up through the Angels system. He hasn't worked with Butcher before. And he worked with his old catcher for a long time (the ever hated A.J. Pierzynski).

But regardless of what happens this weekend I'm looking forward to watching some good pitching in the relatively recent American Tradition, the Freeway Series.

Part of it was the appeal of one of the best pitching match-ups of the year in Johan Santana and John Lackey. Part of it was the chance to see David Wright in person again. And part of it was, admittedly, the three dollar ticket price. Really, it was a winning combo.

Seeing the Angels make big name Johan Santana, and his then 2.96 ERA look nothing more than mediocore was great. Even better was seeing John Lackey have his "bad inning" in the first by giving up one run. Jeff Mathis homering wasn't too bad either.

Jon Garland pitched the second game I attended, the third and final game of the series. This was the first time I had seen Garland pitch in an Angels uniform in person, and I was less than impressed. Maybe its because I like real power pitchers who strike out 179 guys a year. But even more than that, I don't like seeing my starting pitcher give up a bunch of runs. Call me spoiled by John Lackey, but even three runs is kind of irritating. Ok, lets be honest, if the Angels had an offense that scored over 4 runs EVER a starter giving up 3 in 6 or 7 innings wouldn't be so bad. But because the Angels can't score at will it is that bad, especially considering the hype around the trade that brought Garland to Anaheim.

Perhaps most importantly though I learned something about the game. Something I of all people should have known to begin with.

It probably has to do with the fact that time after time I'm disappointed by "fans" who wear Yankee and Red Sox hats that know nothing about the team, its history, or even MLB as a whole. But I had the preconceived notion that REAL METS FANS looked and acted like Kevin James.

Now, of course this is a stretch. I never really believed this, but I certainly didn't expect the guy in the Mets jersey and hat sitting next to my dad and I to be a Real Mets Fan. He clapped overly loud, my dad and I figured he probably lived in New York for all of three weeks and felt he had something to prove. He had tattoos all over. Honestly, he would be the last guy I'd expect to be a Mets fan. But after Tatis missed a ball he yelled "Wright would have had that," and he was probably right. So we started talking about David Wright. About how he was from Queens and about Shea Stadium. When I asked him how he felt about Shea being torn down he said it was "bittersweet," and at that point I knew he was a Mets fan.

So I learned not to judge a book by its cover. I of all people shouldn't have done this, after all, I'm a girl who lives and breaths for Baseball History. No one expects that.

So to all Mets fans, and baseball fans alike, that I have prejudged based on the jersey or hat you were wearing, I apologize and admit to my error.

Coral Marshall

TA: Dixa Ramirez

MUIR 50 Section W00

Final Research Paper

5 June 2008

Baseball's International History

            It seems that many nations that have a history of United States intervention and an imperial legacy of U.S. domination have also produced some of the Major League Baseball's best talents. It can be theorized that this is a direct result of the spread of the game of baseball by those who intervened in regions', such as the Dominican Republic, Japan, and Puerto Rico, sovereign affairs. Baseball has even changed and traveled within its host nation of the United States, and this case serves as a microcosm for the rest of the world.  Perhaps more interestingly is the journey that baseball has made back to the United States through the players who have come to love the game in their own nations. This is of special relevance this year as baseball is fast approaching its last stint in the Olympics (Beijing) and the sport is two years removed from its first World Baseball Classic (WBC, a baseball tournament between 16 nations to replace Olympic Baseball) and just one year away from its next. Baseball has become an international pastime, and I will discuss how baseball has traveled by analyzing baseball histories of different nations, as well as their relations to the United States, and biographies of some of baseball's most relevant players from the regions.

            Baseball within the United States has a storied history that few people agree upon. By the account of John Rosenburg, baseball historian, one of the recently popular ideas is that, baseball in the United States was developed in the 1800's as a game, similar to that of the British games cricket and rounders (Rosenburg 7). Baseball started as a simple diversion, and was equally as popular as cricket. However, according to Robert Edelman, University of California, San Diego, Professor of Russian and Sports History, after the Civil War (when the British backed the South) it became unpatriotic to support the game of cricket and baseball developed into the national pastime (Edelman 14 May, 2008). As baseball grew so did the opportunity for enterprise and the first professional team (members of which got paid), the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was formed in 1869 (Rosenburg 14). Once this club formed the National Association was created, and years later the American Association followed suite, the two of which are now Leagues, and constitute baseball's Major League. The game itself undergoes change on a constant basis, and as such a new issue of "the rules" is published every year. The basics, however, remain the same. Each team has a twenty-five-man roster, which opens up to a forty-man roster in September. A team taking the field consists of nine men, five infielders, three outfielders, and a pitcher. The significant difference between the two leagues is that the American League has allowed a "designated hitter" to bat for the pitcher since the 1980's.

            The game of baseball went with imperial intentions of United States' travelers on their journeys and as such the game spread throughout the world, however bringing players back from these regions (especially if they were of color) was difficult. Most relevantly, was the spread of the game to the Nations of Japan and the Dominican Republic, as well as the region of Puerto Rico. These areas have produced many relevant baseball players throughout the history of the game. With that notion being kept in mind, it is extremely relevant to consider that prior to 1947 Major League Baseball (MLB) was not racially integrated. In 1947 Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers from the Kansas City Monarchs (a club in the Negro Leagues) and baseball became integrated (under the watchful eye of Dodgers' General Manager Branch Rickey). This is not to say that people from other nations had not played in MLB prior to this, but they were "lighter-skinned" and had infact "played [at the Major League level] throughout the first half of the century," according to Alan Klein, who has studied baseball in the Dominican Republic for years (Klein 114).

            Jackie Robinson was born in Georgia but soon moved to Los Angeles, California with his mother and siblings.

California is a microcosm for what happened the world over with the history of baseball, as players were developed in leagues derived from the MLB in this case the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and later moved to MLB. Four of baseball's most historic players (among many others) came from California, three of which came directly from the PCL, which was the west coast equivalent of the Majors. These four players were Ted Williams (San Diego Padres, later of the Red Sox), Joe DiMaggio (San Francisco Seals, later of the Yankees), Billy Martin (Oakland Oaks, later of the Yankees), and Jackie Robinson (who was not allowed in the PCL do to the color of his skin, but did play in the Negro leagues for the Kansas City Monarchs).

            The PCL, during the 1930's to 1950's, functioned as today's Minor League equivalent, as players were brought up to the Majors after they had paid their dues. America is such a large nation that teams were only developed on the East Coast and Mid West, leaving the West Coast and South without teams, since travel was simply too costly and difficult. Baseball spread to the West Coast professionally in 1903 when the PCL crowned its first champion, the Los Angeles Angels (Bauer). Clearly, professional baseball came to the West Coast much later than it came to the East Coast (1869, as mentioned earlier), and these leagues (though popular) were not of the same level as the Majors, yet they produced Major League Level talent.

            It is in this way that the PCL, and California, functioned as a microcosm for the rest of the world. The MLB spread the game to another region, which adapted the game in its own way, and then the players who learned the game moved up to the Majors. The players mentioned above, who came from California went on to influence the game profoundly. Ted Williams was, my most accounts, the greatest hitter who ever lived, and was the last Major Leaguer to bat over .400 (with .406 in 1941), which means that for every ten at bats he got a hit four times. DiMaggio was the games' first five-tool player, meaning that he combined power, speed, average, arm strength, and he was a magnificent fielder. DiMaggio's abilities changed what Major League scouts look for in players. Martin changed the way the game was played through his managerial strategy in the 1970's and 1980's. Even though these men shaped the game, none was as influential as Jackie Robinson.

Clearly Jackie Robinson paved the way for other players of color and ethnic decent to play in the Major Leagues. One of the first players to follow in Robinson's footsteps was Roberto Clemente, who was born in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico and the United States have long, storied ties. Puerto Rico has been a United States territory since 1900, and relations between the two regions were strong prior to 1900 (welcomtopuertorico.org). The baseball timeline in this case is of the utmost importance, as discussed above, since baseball became professionalized and widely played during the late 1800's in the United States. As baseball gained popularity in the States it was logical for expansion of the game to come through entrepreneurs and the military to Latin America (Edelman May 19, 2008). Clearly in the acquisition of a new territory to a large nation military involvement would be necessary, and so baseball was brought to Puerto Rico.

Robert Kingsbury, Clemente historian, claims that "Athletic glory in Puerto Rico was not won on the track or in the field. It was won on the baseball diamond" (Kingsbury 14). Statements such as the preceding one show how valuable and meaningful baseball is as a part of life in Puerto Rico.

One of the first players from Puerto Rico to make it to the Major Leagues was Roberto Clemente, while Clemente was not the first Puerto Rican to reach the Majors he is certainly the most prominent. Clemente had a remarkable career with the Pittsburgh Pirates that was cut short when he died tragically in a plane crash while on a humanitarian aid mission. Clemente was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico in 1934 (Kingsbury 7). When Clemente was younger he was highly influenced by the "Puerto Rican Winter League games [he listened to] on the radio" (Kingsbury 11). A weekly event that was even more influential for the young Clemente was the opportunity to see these games in person on Sundays, especially with stars such as Monte Irvin who had come over from the Negro Leagues of the United States (Kingsbury 11). Experiences such as these are the prototypical example of how young boys from Puerto Rico fell in love with the game of baseball. It is in this case alone that Clemente was not the exception to the rule, as he excelled past his peers in most every other way, and went through the normal process for a boy at the time learning and developing the game.

Clearly baseball traveled from the United States originally via the military, but as the game became popular enough to spawn players of its own the Puerto Rican Winter League developed. The invention of the Winter League provided a place for young Puerto Ricans to see stars of Major League caliber play. Eventually when these youngsters matured it provided a place for them to hone their own skills in hopes of becoming more than a sugarcane farmer, like Clemente's father (Kingsbury 7). So as baseball influenced Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican culture, Puerto Rico in turn influenced baseball. Puerto Rico has, according to baseball-reference, produced 223 Major League Baseball players (baseball-reference.com). Of recent note the "catching Molina brothers" come to mind. The three Molina brothers, Bengie, Jose, and Yadier, were all born in Puerto Rico, and have all come to play the catchers position in the Major Leagues. Perhaps more impressively is that each of the Molina brothers has won a World Series Championship. The example of the Molina brother's drive shows that Puerto Rico has clearly influenced the game of baseball as the brothers have become some of the premier players at their position.

Another interesting case study of American dominance in Latin America (though in this instance it is not a United States territory) is the Dominican Republic. Again, baseball was brought to South America via the United States military and entrepreneurs journeying to foreign nations (Edelman May 19, 2008). In the case of the Dominican Republic baseball was first brought to Cuba "in 1866 [by] American sailors" and then "migrated" to the Dominican Republic "with Cubans who were fleeing their country" (godominicanrepublic.com). Americans did not bring baseball directly to the Dominican Republic, it was brought to Cuba by Americans who then as a result of American influence after the Ten Years War brought baseball to the Dominican Republic (godominicanrepublic.com). By the end of 1891 baseball had been brought to the Dominican Republic where it would quickly catch on as a favorite pastime of the people (Klein 114). Again military influence in South America brought baseball away from its original home of the United States, and to a new country that would harbor it in a new way.

A professional baseball league was created in the Dominican Republic during the 1920's when four teams were formed (goominicanrepublic.com). Unfortunately, during the late 1930's a digressing economy forced baseball down to the amateur level again in the Dominican Republic, but this gave many players the opportunity to play against traveling teams from the United States (godominicanrepublic.com). Clearly the Dominican Republic followed in the footsteps of American predecessors in professionalizing the game. Professionalizing here means not only that the players get paid for their services, but also that the entrepreneurs who fund the teams and leagues realize that by charging admission they have the ability to turn a back alley game into a profit turning organization.

These Dominican teams helped to "latinize" the game of baseball, and inherently change it (Klein 115). The players in the Dominican Republic put a different emphasis on what was important in the game. While the American players liked "power," meaning home run hitting and strike out pitching, the Dominicans "prefer[red ...] baseball smartness and 'hustle'" (Klein 115). This type of play is indicative of the ever-evolving style currently found in the Major Leagues. When a baseball fanatic reads the words "baseball smartness and 'hustle'" one name comes to mind, the young boy from the PCL Oakland Oaks previously mentioned, Billy Martin. Billy Martin took the same type of Dominican style play and incorporated it into his ever-popular managerial style of the early 1980's with the Oakland Athletics of BillyBall. BillyBall is a type of baseball where power hitting and pitching is not relied on, instead it is about getting a solid performance from a pitcher (about 7 innings with 3 runs given up) and small ball with a designated hitter. Small ball is all about "smartness and 'hustle,'" it is about thinking three innings in advance to prevent the other manager from outsmarting you, and about always stealing the extra base when the opportunity arises. Obviously, there is something to the influx of players from Latin America and the change in managerial style that was seen afterwards.

The Dominican Republic has produced more non-United States born players than any other country. The Dominican Republic has provided the Major Leagues with 464 players (baseball-reference.com). Currently, some of baseball's greatest stars are from the Dominican Republic in Vladimir Guerrero (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), as well as Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz of the same Boston Red Sox as the previously mentioned Ted Williams. With players such as the aforementioned ones the Dominican Republic was the early favorite to win the aforementioned WBC, because, interestingly enough, it seems that there must have been some change in Dominican play since Klein wrote his piece, as the three players mentioned above are some of the preeminent sluggers in the game today. Another notable change in the Dominican Style of play is that none of them is particularly delicate around the base paths. However, it should be noted, that Vladimir Guerrero does play for a team which employs small ball (BillyBall) so his power hitting efforts are not used as frequently as those as Ramirez or Ortiz. Regardless of the style of baseball these players use they have had tremendous impacts on the game- Manny and Ortiz brought two championships to Boston for the first time in 100 years, and Guerrero has helped the Angels sit atop the American League West since his arrival.

Japan and the United States have had many different relationships. During the 1800's missionaries journeyed to Japan to spread religion. Then during the 1940's there were tensions because of World War Two. And now there is an economic relationship between the two nations that is commonly demonstrated during games in which Japanese stars Ichiro (of the Seattle Mariners) and Hideki Matsui (New York Yankees) have advertisements in Japanese behind home plate. The relationship between these two G7 (Group of 7 industrialized countries) nations has evolved repeatedly throughout history.

According to Joseph Reaves, author of Taking in a Game, commodore Matthew Perry ventured to Japan in 1853, thus opening the western trade routes (Reaves xv). Afterwards, during the late 1800's the YMCA and missionaries were responsible for the spread of baseball to Asia (Edelman May 19, 2008).

Japan is certainly considered to be the most baseball savvy nation outside of the United States, in large part because of the baseball ties that have been made between the two nations. During the 1930's Lefty O'Doul, a former Yankee and skipper of the San Francisco Seals of the PCL, organized many goodwill trips to Japan "to play exhibitions and teach hitting" according to Kevin Nelson, California baseball historian, and author of The Golden Game (Nelson 264). These trips made baseball much more popular in Japan, despite the fact that the game already had a large following since formal baseball teams had been organized in the country since 1878 (Reaves xv). When Pearl Harbor hit tensions between the two nations exploded, and Lefty O'Doul took it "as a personal insult" (Nelson 264). O'Doul looked past the events of Pearl Harbor and World War Two as he, and the same kid from the PCL, Joe DiMaggio, journeyed back to Japan on goodwill missions. Eventually baseball between the two nations regained sturdy grounds and former Major League greats would even go play in the Japanese Leagues towards the end of their career, perhaps most prominently was former Angels' utility man (someone who plays many different positions) Rex Hudler. This way Major League Baseball influenced Japan again, as the players showed the Japanese how the game was played in the United States via first hand accounts. Here the game changed within the already existing leagues in Japan yet again.

Now Japan has returned the favor to the United States as it has produced many Major League caliber talents, as exhibited in the World Baseball Classic. During the Classic, which Japan won, Daisuke Matsuzaka was given the honor of being named Most Valuable Player. As a result the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees entered into a bidding war. The Red Sox (the same Red Sox of Williams, Ortiz, and Ramirez) not only won the war for Daisuke, but also the World Series with him as their number three starter in their rotation.

            In this Summer Olympic year of 2008 it is nearly impossible to watch a baseball game without hearing of how the game has gained such international appeal. Historically the internationality of the game has helped spread American influence to most portions of the globe, and those regions have given back to the game in the form of the talent which they have harvested. Broadcasters on ESPN, FSN (Fox Sports Network), YES (Yankee Entertainment System), and many others speak of the reaches of baseball. Even Sports Illustrated has caught on with the hype around international players as Kosuke Fukudome (A Japanese native, and former Japanese League star) was featured as their cover boy earlier in this 2008 season. It is inherently indisputable that travel in baseball has changed the game while broadening the horizons of many players throughout the world. As the game traveled to regions within and outside of the United States it changed those areas, but most importantly those areas changed the game and the way in which it is played today. The change that these players have brought to the Majors has made the game what it currently is, the American, and the World, pastime, and the World Baseball Classic will continue to keep it that way.

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Sports 9.

My finals will be done next week, thank goodness. I finished my final paper about baseball travel Thursday. I won't be able to post it until Monday, however, because I had to "turnitin.com" and if I post it on here the two will cross reference and I'll have problems with the University. After Monday, though, the print out of "turnitin.com" will be done and I'll be able to post! Its about 10.5 pages in length, but pretty interesting (or so I hope).

I don't know why anyone is surprised that the Mariners are so dismal. Bedard was clearly overrated, and the Mariners clearly overpreformed last season.

But the weather in California, at least here at UCSD, hasn't been so nice this spring. And I've been missing football more than ever this offseason.

Now this is odd, as I always miss football, but baseball is the love of my life, so it gets overshadowed. So for the past few weeks I've thought that maybe I missed football and wasn't as excited about baseball as I normally am because of the social aspect of the games. I figured I just missed by football buddies from back home.

Or maybe, get ready for the stereotype, I was just being a typical girl changing her mind and being dissatisfied with what I had wanted all along.

But when I woke up to go to class this morning and looked out my window with a view of the Pacific Ocean I saw gloom. And the only thing I could think was "I really miss football." And then on my way back from class the gloom turned to rain, and I missed watching Peyton and Eli in action even more.

Now it probably doesn't help that the majority of my Angels' gear is short sleeved for summer and whereas my Colts' stuff is full of jackets and beanies to keep me warm during the winter. So instead of wearing baseball attire I've been decked out in horseshoes still, even though the Super Bowl is three months removed.

I just wish it would get sunny so it would feel like baseball season here in California, instead of an extended football season.

John Lackey came off the disabled list.

And my dad and I attended our first Angels' game of the season.

Ok so they were on the same day. But that made it all the more exciting. I took the train from San Diego and met my dad at the stadium an hour before the game against the White Sox.

Perhaps the most exciting part of the evening was before the game itself, that is when I saw AJ Pierzynski mere feet away from me near the bullpen. Instinctually I started booing. I saw the name on the back of his jersey and started booing without even thinking about it, which prompted the rest of the people near the bullpen to boo also. The funniest part of all of this was that the coach who was playing catch with AJ started laughing along with us.

I proceeded to tell AJ that he was a cheater, and part of a tradition which put shame on the game of baseball. At which point he looked at me and shrugged. He was legitamately bothered by what I said. And honestly, after what he did in the 2005 Championship Series, I'm glad.

Lackey pitched a great game. Seven innings with one earned run (that really shouldn't have been earned). And it was great to see him back on the mound.

Now it really feels like baseball season.

Thats because John Lackey is making his return from the disabled list.

I really couldn't be happier.

Everyone knows last seasons stats. His league leading 3.01 Earned Run Average. And his 19 wins (which should have been more, had it not been for a certain reliever with a violent delivery). Even his 179 strike outs.

But those statistics don't begin to summarize what Lackey means to the team. The guy they call Big John is known as a work horse. How could he not be with his league leading two complete game shut outs of 2007. While that number may sound diminishing the fact that he pitched 224 innings in 33 starts last year has to be significant (thats fourth best in the league).

The passion and dedication required to work that hard toward a common goal is what leadership is really about. The Angels are lucky to have so many veterans in a club full of youngsters like Casey Kotchman and Mike Napoli. But despite this veteran presence in the clubhouse the pitching rotation has been missing its two keys in Kelvim Escobar and of course, John Lackey.

A club which doesn't have its two aces is simply not supposed to compete. But let the ESPN analysts and fantasy gurus alike cringe at the Angels' success this season as they currently sit half a game back in the American League West. Joe Saunders is not the highly toted prospect who was expected to start the season 6-0 before losing his first game to the (surprise) Rays. And Ervin Santana wasn't supposed to bounce back to start the season in the same fashion as Saunders. Yet both young starters have impressed everyone in the league.

But now it is time for everyone to step aside and see what the true anchor of the rotation can do. It should be interesting to watch Lackey after a month and a half on the DL after having a Cy Young caliber season.

But again I couldn't be more excited. And I have faith that he will come out of the gates just as strong as he did last season.

And, if Frankie Rodriguez stays as consistant as he has so far this season, Lackey could still make it to 20 wins. Sure, it is a bit of a stretch, but he has missed 7 starts so far out of the 33 he would have likely made in a full season. That means he should make about 26 starts this season... Well, we can always hope!