By Glen McKee, AngelsWin.com Columnist
You owe the rest of the season to me! Or, more specifically, my girlfriend Vanessa. Let me explain...
Seasons can turn on a single game. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be more valleys in the season or even that the Angels will make the playoffs, but after a game like the one on Saturday, you can’t say the team doesn’t have heart or it can’t fight back. Yes, the game a few days before against the Cardinals was almost as impressive. But this game, against the hated Red Sox, after the Angels looked so dead in the water – it feels damn good right now. And you owe that to me and my girlfriend.
It was a good Saturday before I turned the game on. I’d taken my daughter to see “Despicable Me 2” and it was better than I expected, much better. After that I’d spent most of the evening at my dad’s place, doing some Neil Diamond karaoke and watching Anderson Silva give up his UFC belt in the most appropriate fashion. On the way home I checked the score: 6-3 Boston. I listened to the game for the rest of the drive and it was 7-3 when I pulled in.
My daughter and girlfriend overrode me on what to watch when we got home; “Dodgeball” beat out the Angels game. I, of course, had to watch on the computer. I was in time to see the bottom of the 9th inning unfolding and not quite believing what was happening. As the movie went to commercial I had a chance to switch to the Angels game, just in time for Trumbo’s at-bat.
Vanessa warned me not to watch. “Bad things happen when you do,” she said.
I ignored her warning. I switched to the game. Trumbo looked horrible, striking out on three pitches with the winning run on 3B, to end the inning. I switched back to the movie. Vanessa didn’t have to say “I told you so.” It hung in the air like gas after a broccoli feast.
“It happens because you have such negative energy, you expect them to lose” she said. That’s true to some extent but not completely. I tell myself I expected Trumbo to come through, but did I really? “Just let it go. You need to stop watching.” Perhaps she was right.
I watched the 10th inning on my computer while waiting for Lance Armstrong’s cameo on “Dodgeball” (it came a few minutes after the win). I “saw” Aybar’s error on gameday and groaned to myself, suddenly realizing the game was indeed over and Boston was gonna win. I turned my attention to the movie. Pepper Fox was talking about a bold strategy and wondering if it would pay off.
And then…Josh Hamilton came through like a mofo. For the second time in a few days, no less. I switched to the game in time to see the postgame interview with Hamilton and hear him being humble and funny, and for one of the first times this season I truly appreciated having him on the team. And I felt like this season might still have some life left.
All because I didn’t watch the game. And because Vanessa told me to, of course.
It was a bold strategy, Cotton. I can’t wait to see how it pays off for the rest of the year. I’ll still watch, but sometimes – for the team and for the fans – I’ll turn it off.
