When people find out I write about sports the question invariably comes up: what sport do you like the most? I always answer baseball which elicits strange looks. It’s as though they feel I’m strange because baseball is an old-timey sport that drags and is boring. After what happened on this final day of the baseball season, I hope people finally understand. more ›

I’m confused. The Dodgers are a franchise that is desperate for offense as evidenced yet again in their 6-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on a sunny humid Sunday afternoon. So it made complete sense that they shipped out a top outfield prospect to get a defensive catcher and two pitchers. more ›

LA Angels defeat Boston Red Sox 7-2. Looking to avoid going winless against the Boston Red Sox for the first time in their history, Alberto Callaspo’s RBI double and Hideki Matsui’s three-run homer in the sixth inning off of Josh Beckett (L, 3-3) gave the Angels the 4-1 advantage. It help to left Angel starter Ervin Santana (W, 13-8) whose only mistake was a hanging changeup left over the middle of the plate to David Ortiz that landed deep in right field. Santana ended up going seven innings being charged with another run in the eighth inning after leaving the game with the bases loaded an no one out. And instead of collapsing like they did in Wednesday night’s game, the Angels actually scored three more off of Beckett and reliever Manny Delcarmen in the seventh inning. The 1-9 record the Angels had against the Red Sox this season ties for the worst in franchise history with the 1999 team. more ›

Boston Red Sox defeat LA Angels 7-5. With a 2-2 tie going into the fifth inning, Alberto Callaspo hit his first homer as an Angel - a three-run dinger that gave the Angels the 5-2 lead. However that wasn’t enough to give the Angels the win. Adrian Beltre belted a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning off of starter Scott Kazmir to pull the Sox to within one, but it was a meltdown by reliever Kevin Jepsen (L, 2-3)in the seventh inning that did in the Angels. Jepsen made a wild pitch during JD Drew’s at-bat allowed Victor Martinez to score to tie the game, and hit Daniel Nava with the bases loaded to give the Red Sox the 6-5 lead and former Angels’ starter John Lackey (W, 11-7) the win for the Sox. The Sox added a run in the eighth. The Angels are now 0-9 against Boston this season. more ›

Boston Red Sox defeat LA Angels 6-0. Coming into the game Angels’ starter Jered Weaver (L, 11-8) had a lifetime 7.06 ERA in four games pitched at Fenway Park. Thanks to a grand slam in the fourth inning by Ryan Kalish, a solo homer by Darnell McDonald in the third inning and an RBI double by Victor Martinez in the fifth, Weaver’s ERA at Fenway ballooned to 7.76. Meanwhile Sox starter Clay Buchholz (W, 14-5) left the Angels punchless shutting out the Angels in his seven innings of five-hit ball. The Angels had a prime chance to put a dent into the deficit when they had the bases loaded with two outs in the eighth inning on reliever Felix Doubront, but Erick Aybar struck out swinging to end the threat. Torii Hunter made a spectacular grab in the second inning robbing Adrian Beltre at the Red Sox bullpen. more ›

San Diego Padres defeat LA Dodgers 6-1. On this day, the Dodger pitching couldn’t mask the somnambulant offense. Coming into this game the Dodgers starters had a 0.21 ERA in their last six starts giving up only one earned run in 43 innings. Well that streak had to end at some point with starter Hiroki Kuroda (L, 8-9) giving up three runs, the first runs since Vicente Padilla gave up a homer to Ike Davis of the New York Mets on Friday night. His inexplicable inability to throw a strike in the sixth inning led to his downfall when he gave up two runs to give the Padres the 2-1 lead. After a leadoff to Scott Hairston in the seventh inning, Kuroda was lifted. Hairston eventually scored on his brother Jerry’s double off of Jeff Weaver to give the Padres the 3-1 lead and tagging Kuroda with three earned runs. Jerry Hairston would score Chris Denorfia’s single off of Weaver for the 4-1 lead. more ›

LA Dodgers defeat San Diego Padres 2-0. For six innings the Dodgers offense continued to be anemic. It wasn’t until Andre Ethier, who was pulled from the starting lineup due to illness, pinch hit in the seventh inning with the bases loaded and two outs and grounded a single to left center field to bring in two runs. Thankfully for the Dodgers the starting pitching has been lights out with Chad Billingsley (W, 9-5) continuing to carry the torch with six shutout innings. Hong-Chih Kuo pitched two shutout innings striking out five while Jonathan Broxton got his 20th save by striking out nemesis Matt Stairs to end the game. Former Dodger Jon Garland (L, 9-7) did a good job of matching Billingsley inning for inning, but after the Ethier single he was done. more ›

Boston Red Sox defeat LA Angels 6-3. Well the Angels debut of Dan Haren (L, 0-1) didn’t go as planned. First of all having been upstaged by Matt Garza’s no-hitter that concluded just minutes before first pitch, he would eventually leave after being struck in the arm by Kevin Youkilis’ line drive back up the middle with two outs in the fifth inning. David Ortiz hit two homers which the Angels couldn’t overcome despite scoring twice in the eighth inning to get to within a run. But J.D. Drew hit a two-run double in the ninth to put the exclamation point on it. Haren despite not completing five innings struck out eight hitters while walking none. Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz (W, 11-5) wound up with the win going seven innings striking out seven while walking one. more ›

Boston Red Sox defeat LA Angels 11-6. The Angels looked like they would avoid a four-game sweep by the hands of Boston when they tagged starter Daisuke Matsuzaka for four runs in the first inning. But Angels’ starter Scott Kazmir couldn’t... more ›

Boston Red Sox defeat LA Angels 3-1. Red Sox starter and former Angel John Lackey pitched a jewel of a game against his former team allowing only a home run by Brandon Wood in the fifth inning in his seven innings of work. Angels’ starter Joel Pineiro had a trickier time of things despite giving up only two runs in his six innings... more ›

LA Lakers defeat Utah Jazz 111-103. While the Jazz got to within four points of the Lakers in the fourth quarter, the Lakers did not break in their win over the Jazz. The Lakers used their height advantage throughout out the game with Pau Gasol scoring 22 points with 15 rebounds and Andrew Bynum adding 17 points and 14 rebounds. Kobe Bryant scored 30 points while dishing the ball eight times. And was the Lamar Odom that we all saw with 11 points and 15 rebounds? It was nothing cute, nothing fancy. Just a dominating win. The Lakers now head up to Utah to see if they can pull off a sweep. more ›

Chicago Blackhawks defeat LA Kings 3-2 (OT). Kings right winger Brad Richardson made a horrendous turnover at center ice giving the puck over to Blackhawks center Dave Bolland who then passed it to a charging Patrick Sharp... more ›

Down 5-1 after five innings, the Angels scored twice in the eighth and three times in the ninth to pull out a 7-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox for the three-game sweep of the American League Divisional Series. Down 6-5 Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon intentionally walked Torii Hunter to load the bases. Vladimir Guerrero responded by lining a single to center field to score Chone Figgins and Bobby Abreu. This marks the first time the Angels have swept a series, and the first time they have beaten the Red Sox in the postseason exorcising 1986, 2004, 2007 and 2008. The Angels will face either the Minnesota Twins or the New York Yankees. more ›

LA Angels defeat Boston Red Sox 4-3. With the game tied 3-3, Howie Kendrick hit an RBI single in the top of the ninth to give the Halos a 4-3 lead. The question would remain whether the Angels would let a one run lead slip away in the bottom of the ninth. After Kevin Jepsen got Jason Bay to strike out to lead off the bottom of the ninth, closer Brian Fuentes was brought in to face David Ortiz. Contrary to Wednesday night's proceedings, Fuentes would strike Ortiz out. Although Fuentes would give up a single to Mike Lowell, he got pinch hitter Rocco Baldelli to pop up to salvage a game for the Angels. more ›

Houston Rockets defeat LA Lakers 95-80. You've got to be fucking kidding me. Let's take a look at the box score. The Lakers attempted 23 threes in this loss. In game five the Lakers attempted 13. While the Lakers were trailing by 15 in the second quarter it was very frustrating to see them settle for jump shots rather than take it to the hole. In the third quarter they responded well and cut the deficit to two, but then their defense fell apart. They made Luis Scola look like James Worthy while Pau Gasol looked like a big stiff. So let's review. No Tracy McGrady. No Yao Ming. No wins against the Lakers in the regular season. And now we're going to a game seven? more ›

LA Dodgres defeat Philadelphia Phillies 9-2. Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness wrote a post in the morning about James Loney not hitting a homer. On cue, Loney hit his first homer of the season, an Earl Weaver, against Phillies starter Jamie Moyer in the fourth inning that helped the Dodgers break the game open in a five run inning. While it wasn't a steal of home, Matt Kemp scored on a Randy Wolf bunt - not quite a squeeze play but just as effective. Meanwhile the pitching held things together thanks to Wolf's strong six innings giving up an earned run on a Jimmy Rollins solo shot in the second inning. The bullpen didn't completely implode which is all any Dodger fan can hope for. more ›

LA Lakers defeat Houston Rockets 118-78. The start of the game was very touch and go. The Rockets were setting good screens and moving the ball crisply. The was tied 18-18 at the 5:20 mark in the first quarter when the Lakers dropped the hammer. They took advantage of every Houston turnover making this game a complete laugher in the second quarter with the Lakers leading by 25 points at the half. The question would remain whether the Lakers had the killer instinct, and they answered it by going up by 40 points by the end of the third quarter. more ›

LA Lakers defeat Utah Jazz 125-112. All day the talk had been whether the Lakers should tank the game so as to try and avoid the Jazz in the first round. All of that was put to rest as the Lakers made a statement against the short-handed Jazz with a flurry of assists. The 39 assists was the most by a Lakers team at the Staples Center. The starters looked great, the bench looked great. It was just a great showing for a team getting ready for the real season to start. The Lakers 65 wins in the regular season is the third best in franchise history tied with the 1986-1987 team that went on to defeat the Boston Celtics four games to two in the NBA Finals. The Lakers will face the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs. more ›

LA Lakers defeat San Antonio Spurs 102-95. The Lakers started out strong in the first quarter shooting 64%, but the mileage from the road trip started to show in the second half. What was once an 18 point lead dwindled away to just two points with two minutes left in the game. But the Lakers withstood everything the Spurs threw at them giving them a crucial road win. The Lakers have yet to lose to the same opponent twice, and the win gives them their 20th Pacific Division title. They are the first Western Conference team to clinch a playoff spot, and with the Spurs now 8 1/2 games out of first place look to have firm control of the best record in the West. more ›

Boston Red Sox defeat LA Angels 3-2. This was the year the Angels were supposed to get over the hump. They beat the Red Sox eight of nine games in the regular season. The Angels nabbed the highly coveted Mark Teixeira before the trading deadline to provide a power bat to the anemic lineup. The Angels had a dominant rotation that would shut down offenses. Well in the four games against the Red Sox, the Angels couldn't hit worth a lick and made defensive blunders like they were the Florida Marlins infield. Game four was nothing different. Bad plays by Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar gave the Red Sox more outs to play with, and when you do that you're asking for trouble. The only team to win 100 games in the major leagues this season will be making appointments for tee time. Good night Angels, and good night Orange County. Now it's time for some big boy baseball. more ›

LA Dodgers defeat Chicago Cubs 7-2. Derek Lowe made only one mistake to Mark DeRosa in the second inning in his six innings of work, and the Dodgers used the long ball to give the them their second postseason victory since 1988. Things didn't look good for the Dodgers in the third inning when Andre Ethier struck out to end the inning with the bases loaded. But with the bases loaded in the fifth inning, James Loney recovered from swinging at two awful pitches and hit a belt-high change up out to the bleachers. This was the third grand slam in Dodgers history, the last two coming on consecutive days by Ron Cey and Dusty Baker in 1977. In the seventh inning Manny Ramirez dug a homer out of a ball that was no higher than a tee shot and blasted it deep in the bleachers while stumbling out of his shoes. Ramirez leads all hitters in baseball history with his 25th home run in the postseason. The Dodgers lead the best-of-five series 1-0. more ›

LA Dodgers defeats Philadelphia Phillies 7-6. The Dodgers do it again. They comeback from a 6-1 defecit after two innings to tie it 6-6 off of a Jeff Kent two-RBI double in the bottom of the ninth. While they could have shut the door closed, they would go into the ninth inning with a tie game. Jonathan Broxton pitched a perfect ninth inning getting two strikeouts, and a familiar hero came up to bat with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Yes, the Nomar Garciaparra that hit a walkoff homerun in that 4+1 homer game in 2006 came up big again with a line-drive homer that carried ever so delicately into the Dodger bullpen. That walk off homer gave the Dodgers the share of the lead in the Loser's Division, and all is well in Chavez Ravine. more ›

LA Angels defeat Seattle Mariners 7-4. The Angels looked like they would suffer a letdown after their weekend sweep over the Yankees by falling behind the Mariners 3-0. But aided with a Juan Rivera solo shot and Vladamir Guerrero two-run shot in the fifth inning, the Angels came back to show who's king of the AL West. They got three insurance runs in the eighth inning and just continue to steam through any and all comers who stand in their way. Just to show how dominant the Angels are, at the All Star Break they had a six game lead in the division. As of this victory the Angels have a 15 game lead, and at 75-43 have the best record in baseball. In related news, the Angels flagship station AM 830 KLAA (which is owned by the Angels) will be a radio affiliate for Notre Dame Fighting Irish football. more ›

So by now everyone knows the big Dodger news today. more ›

LA Angels defeat Boston Red Sox 9-2. All the Manny Ramirez bull aside, the Angels annihilated the Red Sox in this series. Josh Beckett getting the start for the Red Sox didn't phase Angels hitter any. In 5 1/3 innings the Angels got seven runs off of Beckett on 11 hits. And they did it all with newly acquired Mark Teixeira going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts batting third in the lineup. Make this eight straight games the Angels have defeated the Red Sox, and the second consecutive series the Angels have taken from the Sox. more ›

LA Dodgers defeat San Francisco Giants 2-0. The Dodgers get their major league-leading ninth shutout of the season as they quiet the Giants. Dodger starter Jason Johnson in his first start in two years went six scoreless innings giving up only five hits. On a very strange play in the sixth inning, Fred Lewis bobbled a line drive by Casey Blake into the left field stands, grabbed the ball and got James Loney out at home. However since the ball got bobbled into the stands, it was considered an overthrow allowing Loney to score the second run. more ›

LA Angels over Boston Red Sox 7-5. The Angels crushed Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka to the tune of six runs on seven hits in five plus innings. The small ball team went big ball as Casey Kotchman hit a two-run homer and Torii Hunter hit an Earl Weaver to account for five of the six runs in that fateful sixth inning. The Angels relievers did just enough to get the win for Jered Weaver who went 5 2/3 innings giving up three runs on six hits and three walks. Francisco Rodriguez despite giving up a solo homer to Manny Ramirez notched his 44th save of the season. The Angels have now defeated the Red Sox six consecutive times, the best record and best road record in baseball. more ›

LA Dodgers defeat Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5. While their ninth inning rally eventually stalled on Matt Kemp's pop fly to right field Saturday night, the Dodgers made sure their comeback Sunday afternoon down 4-1 in the ninth inning would not be stopped. In an almost identical situation as Saturday night Matt Kemp came to the plate with a runner on first and two outs in the ninth trailing 4-3, Kemp stayed patient at the plate until he found a pitch he liked. He promptly hit the ball to the left center gap for an RBI double to tie the game. He would score on Andre Ethier's RBI triple for the go-ahead run. This was only the second time this season the Dodgers had won a game when trailing going into the ninth, and if the Dodgers go on to win the division this game will surely be looked at as a turning point in their season. more ›

LA Angels defeat Boston Red Sox 11-3. The Angels came out of the All Star Break making a statement. To everyone who questioned their offense, myself included, they responded by scoring 11 runs on 14 hits. Now the question remains if they can be consistent with their hitting. Angel's starter John Lackey notched his 1000th strikeout and gave up only three runs on five hits in his seven innings. The Angels have now won three of four against the Red Sox this season including two earlier this season at Fenway and now look to be in good shape for the postseason. more ›

LA Dodgers defeat Cincinnati Reds 6-5. It looked like Brad Penny was still suffering from a stiff arm struggling most of his outing giving up five runs on nine hits in six innings. But the Dodgers, with an assist to the poor Red's defense, got him out of the game with a tie. After a single and an error to leadoff hitter Russell Martin and a infield out by Jeff Kent to advance Martin to third in the bottom of the ninth, Red's reliever David Weathers walks both James Loney and Matt Kemp to load the bases. Uber-rookie supreme Blake DeWitt grounds a 2-2 pitch to left-center getting a walk-off RBI single. It's wasn't pretty, but a slump-busting win is a win. Andruw Jones sat out of the game with a "sore knee". The Reds now haven't won a game in Dodger Stadium since July 2005 during the Jim Tracy days. more ›