Thoughts on a border skirmish

Tonight I went to the finale of the Freeway Series. Yes, yes, the
Angels won 4-2. Yes, the series this year went two to one. Bravo and
fair game. As a Dodger fan who actually appreciates the Angels, it's
great that Southern California is getting all this recognition...SI
and Sporting News both have us facing off in the Fall Classic. If so,
I look forward to it. I do have to get a few things off my chest,
particularly as I have been to about 120 Angel games over the last
decade and probably a tenth of that in my Dodger gear.

First, somehow, somewhere (most likely on the east coast), somebody
has decided the Dodgers and Angels are rivals, almost mortal enemies.
I hear it in the stands, feel it with every peanut that hits my jersey
(your aim is getting better, but you're still not breaking through).
We are not rivals. That position, at least in the minds of Dodger
fans, was filled long before we travelled west and certainly long
before Gene Autry brought American League ball west. We had a fierce
rivalry between boroughs in New York and when the O'Malley family
heard the call (hopefully not from the Village People) to Go West,
they called on the Giants to come along for the ride. Baseball needed
the Giants/Dodgers as a package deal as much as they needed the "No,
No Nanette" rivalry out east. Fueled by Juan Marichal's not-so-civil
war with Johnny Roseboro, Bobby Thompson's "Shot Heard Around the
World," Mike Marshall (II) and his finger, to as recently as Steve
Finley's Grand Slam in 2004, the Dodgers and Giants always found each
other standing in the way of something they want. What do the Angels
have that the Dodgers would want? Personally, I'd say the list begins
and ends with Mike Scioscia, but the team had a chance to get him and
passed it up.

Now, what do the Dodgers have that the Angels don't? The Los Angeles
market? Let's get serious for a moment. Orange and Riverside
Counties have done everything in their collective powers to distance
themselves from Los Angeles. What better than a successful sports
franchise to help establish Orange County as a separate but equal
entity to the "second largest sports market" in the nation? Instead,
your intrepid owner decided to try to latch on to the "Los Angeles"
name. As a native Orange County-ean, I find this offensive. Any
Angel fan who can claim to sit in as Jim Abbott struggled in his debut
against the Mariners or one who saw Nolan Ryan obliterate strikeout
records or even one who claimed Dean Chance as his pitcher of choice,
this should offend you to your very marrow. What claim does Boyle
Heights have to your heritage? How can Pico Rivera, Westwood,
Glendale, and Burbank lay claim to the past, present, and certainly
future of what has become one of the elite franchises?

As I left the stadium tonight, I heard the cat calls. Any
knowledgable baseball fan would recognize that a team with eight
regular starters (less Reggie Willits) would likely obliterate a team
that started one regular (Wilson Betemit the sole starter for the
Dodgers). Clearly, Grady Little and Mike Scioscia had different goals
going into this exhibition. In both cases, I'd say those goals were
reached (so long as Kelly Stinnett never dons a Dodger jersey again).
The Angel big league squad is quite ready for Texas. Your Stingers
and Arkansas Travelers look to be just about ready to step in at a
moment's notice. The Dodger minor leaguers can go back to Las Vegas
or Jacksonville knowing what they need to work on and our regulars
were either already in Milwaukee or resting for their debut on
Monday. The three games were exhibitions--the results count for
nothing. What compels the Angel fans to prance around on Orangewood,
State College, and the like as if they just clinched the division?

Why the hatred for the Dodgers? The teams are practically identical.
Both hang their hopes on two of the best, though historically fragile,
rotations in the league. Both will rely heavily on relatively
unestablished youth to balance their older players. Neither are
expected to reach the home run totals of the 2000 Angels. Both have a
rich farm system. Aside from the contrasting managers, the only real
difference is the front office.

Early on the strong advantage went to Arte. He was the guy who
lowered beer prices whereas Frank McCourt was the guy who could barely
afford the team and was likely to turn Chavez Ravine into a giant
parking lot for a mega-apartment complex. Moreno picked up four solid
free agents while McCourt and Paul DePodesta quickly dismantled a
Dodger playoff team. Once Moreno went after the Los Angeles moniker,
the fortunes reversed. Popular players have disappeared from the
Angel lineup--Eckstein, Erstad, Kennedy, Glaus, Bengie Molina...even
Troy Percival wasn't granted the opportunity to retire an Angel. The
Dodgers, meanwhile, found guys like Nomar Garciaparra, Rafael Furcal,
Wilson Betemit to replace the popular defections. Dodger Stadium
remains largely unchanged while the Angel bullpen is now the "El
Torito 'little bull' pen," the Chevrolet glorified dot race, the
Budweiser pavilion. We are now treated to commercials between half-
innings.

Sure, Moreno's background is in advertising so I guess I can concede a
little on his ability to make money, but the beer is more expensive
than ever.

Still, there's something completely different about the fan. The
Angel fan I grew up next to would never boo a brilliant dive into the
hole to snatch a base hit away. They would never toss condiments at a
fan of another team. They especially wouldn't celebrate an exhibition
game as if it counted for anybody who had a uniform number lower than
70. I would expect this behavior of a Devil Ray fan after beating the
Yankees. I'd expect it from the Nationals after a Nick Johnson home
run off John Smoltz catapults them to a four-game sweep over the
Braves. From the Angels, though, who have a recent World Series
trophy, who have appeared in the playoffs each year barring 2003
since, I think it's time to expect something more.

It's time to establish your own identity. Maybe it's better if you
don't look for a rival. The Red Sox are trivial without the Yankees,
the Giants and Dodgers just another team without one-another. The
Angels should and could be that team without peer, the one for whom no
other team's fortune makes a world of difference. The Dodgers have
enjoyed a synergetic relationship with our freeway neighbors. We've
waited for years for the Angels to get a taste of true success. I
know I gave an Eric Gagne signature fist-pump when you knocked our
fiercest rivals out. For three of the four years since, the Angels
have been among the top of the American League. I truly hope it
continues--you can go 156-6 so long as those six losses are against
the Dodgers. And, when we meet in the World Series the niceties will
once again subside. Until then, however, remember that you've been to
the pinnacle. You've stared down the most storied franchises in the
American League time and again. Act like you've been there and don't
pretend that a game in March means anything.

Don Tootin' wrote:
>
> As I left the stadium tonight, I heard the cat calls.

Don't get all holier-than-thou. As I sat in Dodger Stadium Friday
Night, proudly wearing my red, I had the distinct displeasure of hearing
a large portion of the crowd display their class by chanting "Angels
Suck", even after it was 13-4.