[socal_parrot]

Great article, as an Angels' fan who saw his first baseball game as a small child when the Angels played at Wrigley Field, I can not be more excited. I shuddered last week when Jared Washburn was accused of a crime and I had visions of Tony Phillips. After a horrible start, these Angles have shown their resilience. They have overcome several injuries this season. If they can stay away from bug bites a la Wally Joyner and if Sioscia can manage his pitching staff better than Mauch, this could get exciting.

[BluesDuke]

Scioscia is a better handler of pitching than Gene Mauch was. Scioscia is also a smarter small-ball manager than Mauch. There used to be a cliche about Mauch's managing - "He manages for one run at a time and that's what he loses by...one run." This is anything but the truth about Scioscia's style. He seems to balance between a strictly small-ball manager and the kind that Casey Stengel had been in his better years with the Yankees: if you have an opening, push with all your might where you can. Sciosia is also a smarter handler of a bullpen than Mauch - who often as not managed as though he was afraid of his bullpen.

[sultan88]

"I shuddered last week when Jared Washburn was accused of a crime and I had visions of Tony Phillips."

I became friends with Tony Phillips during the '87 and '88 seasons when he was with the A's. Then lost track of him when he became a Tiger. He ended his career with the A's in '98, when he broke his leg against Chicago. I knew he had a problem with drugs in the late '80's but overcame it. What incident are you referring to?

His game worn jersey hangs on my wall.