Chronicles of the Lads

WE ARE CHANGING THE WORLD
Mike DiGiovanna today in the Times:

[Steve] Finley, who has 39 strikeouts and 19 walks in 240 at-bats, has been a frequent target on message boards, with fans ripping the Angels for making a two-year, $14-million investment in the 40-year-old outfielder, but knowing he was hurt didn't make the criticism any harder to swallow.

"I'll take my punishment, it's well-deserved," Finley said. "I won't use this as an excuse."

"Frequent target on message boards" -- the horror! Though this is a subtle use, and I'm probably reading too much into the reference, anonymous fans on message boards have begun to replace callers to radio talkshows as the Designated Id of Fandom for beat reporters. Though the blogs of the Halosphere aren't strictly part of the message board world, there is some overlap, and maybe it's better to be the Id than to be nothing at all.

As you know, this came in a story about Finley having been fighting a right shoulder injury since the second game of the season. This should probably make me feel bad for being critical of the Finley signing, but honestly, the possibility of a 40-year old breaking down due to injury was one of the key reasons I opposed the signing in the first place. I feel for Finley and wish him well, but it's hard to say that what's happening has been a big surprise. Hopefully his recent cortisone shot will help get him back to being the solid hitter tha Angels need.

***

Over at BTF, LA Seitz linked to an account of a wacky Jered Weaver event from last night:

And a day after making his professional debut, Weaver also played a part in Tuesday's game, though it was hardly as commendable as his one-run, three-inning outing Monday night.

In the sixth inning, Weaver was ejected from the dugout by plate umpire Lance Barrett for alleged taunting and making gestures toward the officiating crew.

"Somebody said something that he was acting like he was flipping a coin (at the umpires)," Quakes manager Ty Boykin said. "Somebody also said something about him holding up two bats and making bunny ears --- I don't know."

What the hell? I don't know anything about this bizarre event except for what you just read, and the web's resident Angel farm system groupie (where Seitz spotted the article in the first place) is with the Orem Owls now and has no further insight on the situation.

It is taunting someone to flip a coin at them? Did Geroge Raft know this?