Craig, I’ve been around for all the Angels’ losses against Boston in the playoffs, even 1986.  And yeah, the sting of those have worn off, so this is probably just heat of the moment type reaction.  I have never felt more frustrated after an Angels game.  I literally yelled at the television on ball four, waking my kids up.

The Angels blew that game in a lot of different ways, but that only makes it worse considering they actually won the game - twice.  Green should have been called out a few pitches earlier on a check swing where he went around.  The Sox had scored a couple runs earlier after a botched call where Aybar lost the ball on a glove to hand transfer at second base that the umpire missed.  And then to miss that strike…I’m still livid.

I thought the replay showed that the check-swing was borderline, but certainly the ball four call to Green was not a good one. 
But reading the Angels’ quotes afterwards, they kind of coughed that one up themselves. The umps get an assist, but it was certainly the Angels who lost this one.

Nice little graph of the Green call here:
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2009/9/16/1034314/brian-fuentes-strikes-out-nick

Sure the Phillies gave up a run, in the 9th inning off the dregs of the bullpen - with a six run lead against the NAt’s, Charlie Manuel would have to be a doddering fool to do anything different…..on second thought, ignore this post.

For an Angels team that is supposedly loaded with players who approach the game the right way—I know this because ESPN announcers swear by it—Juan Rivera’s lack of effort on Victor Martinez’s fly ball was nearly as big a culprit as the blown strike calls.

A slight correction, Ben:

“But he was saved by the 1B ump, and then saved by the HP ump, and then he was saved by Juan Rivera’s utter lack of effort or desire on a flyball that very possibly could’ve been caught and then the Sox won.”

Besides that, Craig, I love the references today. I’m not sure you’ve reached Kent Brockman level of fame, though. I think you need to keep striving for that one…

THAT’S SAWX MAGICK DOOOD!!!1

SAY CHOWDA! - Freddy Quimby

To Daniel:
Re-watch the Aybar play: he never had control of the ball, and the check swing was an either-or play.  Stop blaming the umps for those two, please. 
I’ll give you the horrible “ball 4” call however, but in return you have to admit that Rivera bailed on that Gonzalez hit.

Jason - Aybar lost control of the ball when he reached in with his hand.  There was no bobble.  It entered his glove and only fell out when he pulled the glove back to make the throw to first.  It was clearly a transfer call.

The check swing was borderline but replays showed that he went.  Green himself grimaced because he KNEW he had gone around.

Yeah, Rivera should have gone after that ball harder.  But given that the Angels had won the game TWICE before that play, it’s irrelevant.

I saw the Sawx game too, and yeah, Green should’ve been toast on three pitches like he normally is, but the Halos have this habit of playing their unfundamental worst against Boston, and they never should have been in that position in the 9th anyway.  The Sox scored five runs earlier on an inning of squandered infield play, and despite his save total, Fuentes looks about as confident out there as a 5th grader with A.D.D. at a spelling bee.

If you get strike three on a batter with two outs in the ninth, doesn’t that mean you win the game?  Every time but last night.

On the Aybar play - when shortstops are coming across the bag to make a transfer on the double play, they almost never completely close their glove on the ball.  They take the ball into their glove and immediately move it back toward their hand for purposes of getting a fast relay to first base.  This doesn’t mean he didn’t have control and it certainly doesn’t mean that it wasn’t lost on the transfer.  The ball was in his glove and dropped out when he went to grab it.  It was a bad call.