Goodbye Garret Anderson...and I guess Mark Teixeira

Although a lot of attention has been paid today to the loss of Mark Teixeira from the Angels. I thought it appropriate to acknowledge the end of a true era in Angels baseball.

The end of the Garret Anderson era.

Anderson holds the Angels all-time club record for most RBIs, runs, total bases, and hits.

He is second to Tim Salmon in Home Runs with 272. Third in career batting average behind Vladimir Guerrero and Rod Carew.

He also holds the single game RBI record with 10 and the most consecutive games with an RBI with 12.

Yet the only thing I hear from Angels fans and news agencies is how Teixeira has left the Angels for the Yankees.

Anderson has spent 15 seasons with the Angels, not counting the minors.

Teixeira spent half a season with the Angels.

HALF A SEASON.

The Angels lost to the Red Sox WITH Teixeira on the team.

The Angels won a World Series in 2002 with Garret Anderson.

Yet in a news conference where the Angels discussed the loss of Teixeira, a reporter innocently asked if the Angels were going to re-sign Garret Anderson. Angels General Manager Tony Reagins responded with a barely noticeable "not likely."

Wow.

I may be a bit old fashioned, but shouldn't the Angels show at least a little concern for losing one of the greatest players in their franchise's history?

I know he's no longer in his prime and his best days are behind him, but shouldn't the Angels show at least a little loyalty and respect?

Red Sox nation is having a fit with just the possibility of losing Jason Varitek.

I'm thinking Anderson meant more to the Angels than Varitek does to the Red Sox.

Where is the outrage Angel fans?

I'm sad the Angels aren't going to re-sign Teixeira, but we hardly knew the guy.

Even with the guy in the fold, there was no guarantee the Angels would win a World Series.

Don't get me wrong, Teixeira is a great player but last year was the first time he reached the post season.

One post season appearance in his career.

One.

If he's so great, why was that his first post season appearance?

He piggy backed his way in too.

The Angels were 11 games ahead in the division when they acquired Teixeira.

Although, I agree the trade needed to be made at the time, I now honestly believe the Angels would've beaten Boston without Teixeira.

I know, I know, call me crazy.

But I believe the only reason why the Angels lost to the Red Sox was over confidence.

I think if Casey Kotchman was at first instead of Teixeira, the Angels would've been more focused, urgent and sharper.

We all saw that the Angels were relaxed and cocky during that series. They felt they could flip the switch at any time.

The truth is we all know pitching is what wins in the post season. The Angels have that in spades.

So although its trendy to lament the loss of Teixeira today. I choose to acknowledge a true loss to Angels nation today.

Goodbye G.A.

YOU will be missed.

Top Ten Quotes of 2008

New York Daily News released a list of the Top ten quotes of 2008.

Some really classic lines here, most related to the past election.

My favorite:

"The fundamentals of America's economy are strong." — John McCain


Enjoy.

1. "I can see Russia from my house!"

— Comedian Tina Fey

2. "All of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years."

— Sarah Palin, responding to a request by CBS anchor Katie Couric to name the newspapers or magazines she reads, broadcast Oct. 1.

3. "We have sort of become a nation of whiners."

— former Sen. Phil Gramm, an economic adviser to Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, quoted in The Washington Times, July 10.

4. "It's not based on any particular data point, we just wanted to choose a really large number."

— a Treasury Department spokeswoman explaining how the $700 billion number was chosen for the initial bailout, quoted on Forbes.com Sept. 23.

5. "The fundamentals of America's economy are strong."

— McCain, in an interview with Bloomberg TV, April 17.

6. "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."

— the Treasury Department's proposed Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, September 2008.

7. "Maybe 100." — McCain, discussing in a town hall meeting in Derry, New Hampshire, how many years U.S. troops could remain in Iraq, Jan. 3.

8. "I'll see you at the debates, bitches."

— Paris Hilton in a video responding to a McCain television campaign ad, August 2008.

9. "Barack, he's talking down to black people. ... I want to cut his nuts off."

— Rev. Jesse Jackson, overheard over a live microphone before a Fox News interview, July 6.

10. (tie) "Cash for trash."

— Paul Krugman discussing the financial bailout, New York Times, Sept. 22.

10. (tie) "There are no atheists in foxholes and there are no libertarians in financial crises."

— Krugman, in an interview with Bill Maher on HBO's "Real Time," broadcast Sept. 19.

10. (tie) "Anyone who says we're in a recession, or heading into one — especially the worst one since the Great Depression — is making up his own private definition of "`recession.'"

— Donald Luskin, the day before Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, The Washington Post, Sept. 14.

Pacquiao destroys De La Hoya

Wow.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think Pacquiao would dominate the fight like that. Oscar De La Hoya was simply overwhelmed by Pacquiao, he never landed a meaningful punch and Pacquiao quite simply dismantled and broke down De La Hoya in every facet of the fight.

The truth of the matter is that Pacquiao is now beyond a doubt the pound for pound champion in the sport of boxing.

Congratulations Pacman!!!!

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao

I know Boxing is an old man's sport, but I'm really looking forward to the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao fight.

Even though it's a huge mismatch.

Personally, I feel it's a no-win-situation for Oscar De La Hoya.

To be completely honest, as a boxing fan, I think it's kind of pathetic that De La Hoya is fighting the much smaller Manny Pacquiao.

To me it feels like a desperate attempt by him to gain the support of a Mexican audience he's never had. To most boxing insiders, it looks like he's fighting Pacquiao simply because he's famous for defeating Mexico's best fighters, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez and Marco Antonio Barrera.

I like a good fight as much as anyone, but De La Hoya is FOUR inches taller than Pacquiao and has a SIX inch reach advantage over him. Not to mention that Pacquiao is going to move up TWO weight classes to fight De La Hoya.

Can you realistically script a more lopsided fight?

To me the physical mismatch is equivalent to the difference De La Hoya had against Bernard Hopkins in their fight.

We all know how that ended.

I do believe that Pacquiao has a better shot than De La Hoya did though. He's faster and quicker than Oscar. Pacquiao has a good shot if he boxes with De La Hoya and tries to win by decision. I also think it was a good move by Pacquiao to take the fight. Besides the money, it gives him more visibility and international fame in the sport. It's a win-win situation for Manny.

Don't get me wrong, I still hope that Manny wins and I'd love to see him knock De La Hoya out.

But let's be realistic. Pacquiao is going in as big underdog. It would be a huge upset if he won.

Last week during the Ricky Hatton match, the HBO announcers said that even if Pacquiao loses the match to De La Hoya, he'll still be considered the pound for pound champ because of the big jump in weight class he's making.

I agree.

But I'll still be watching on December 6, because I love Pacquiao and I'm hoping for the epic upset.

But if Oscar wins as expected, I hope he steps up and tries to fight someone his own size. Maybe someone like Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto.

Those two would dish out a beating on Oscar he won't soon forget.

I think the Golden Boy wouldn't be so Golden anymore.

The Slide of Life

Note from Ray: This is a legacy post from my personal archives (pre-2024). For my latest Movie Reviews and Highlight Reels, click here.

When I saw this picture of my children on our backyard slide, the first thought I had... after... of course how cute they looked, was what a fascinating story that my wife captured with this photo.

For some...the slide of life is fun, for others...not so much...especially when you're not the one in control.

Glory Days

I was recently doing some SEO research on me and my site and I stumbled upon some reviews of my theatre performances in college.

It looks like the Los Angeles Times has released a batch of archived reviews.

Without spending too much time researching and reminiscing....cause that would be kind of pathetic...I found three reviews.

Apparently...judging from these reviews... I might have been pretty good.

Here's an excerpt from a review of my performance in Macbeth.

"Raymund Manukay’s Macbeth, without delving too much into detail and subtext, is a forthright and honestly confused political parvenu. He doesn’t understand his failures, thinking he’s totally right to begin with, and especially in his “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” speech on hearing of Lady Macbeth’s death, Manukay has a reserve and a distracted air that is effective." - October 20, 1998

Then some more kudos in the play Cloud Nine.

"All the actors deftly carve portraits of characters making the uncomfortable transition between eras. Raymond Manukay is exceptional as the boy in servitude to the African raj and as the career-conscious Martin in Act 2."
- October 16, 1997

And yet another review from the play Ah, Wilderness.

Raymund Manukay stands out for his naturalism and reserve as the crafty salesman who lures Belle away from a tiddly Richard."
- March 26, 1998

And finally another review from the play Equus.

"As the stable owner who hires Alan and furthers his passion for horses, Raymond Manukay is solid and strong." - October 25, 1999.

So what do I take away from all this?

Obviously...it's that I'm fucking awesome....and I'm heading to Broadway. I suggest everyone start kissing my ass...now... so I can mention you in my Oscar acceptance speech.

Laid Off from Mahalo

Note from Ray: This is a legacy post from my personal archives (pre-2024). For my latest Movie Reviews and Highlight Reels, click here.

I was laid off from my full-time, in-house position at Mahalo.com on Tuesday.

The reasons for this can be found here.

Basically the culprit is the well publicized problems with the economy.

It's hard to fault the business sense behind this decision, but obviously this was a devastating development for me and my family.

The security of a salaried position with benefits is something that a person and their family can't truly, truly appreciate...until it's lost.

The past several days I've experienced a wide variety of emotions, such as sadness, disappointment, regret, depression and of course anger.

But after several days, I think back to my nearly two years at Mahalo and many great memories come to mind. The camaraderie, respect and friendships that develops with a group of hard working, talented people in the trenches of an immense and ambitious project is an experience that I will cherish forever.

The accomplishments we made as a group, especially in the early days were awe inspiring.

The elation I felt winning employee of the month, literally brought me to tears.

The fact that I was singled out, above such a hard working and talented group of people was an accomplishment I will carry with me for my lifetime.

It's something that still makes me smile, even in the midst of such a dark time professionally for me.

But as much as I take this personally, I know that my story is a very similar tale to others out there suffering similar fates at this time.

Especially my fellow, talented, co-workers, who also lost their jobs after dedicating their lives to the great product we have today.

All is not lost however, even though I am no longer an in-house guide, I've accepted a gracious opportunity to work as a remote guide on contract. The opportunity allows me to keep working for the site, while trying to find another full-time job with benefits.

It's a position that I can hopefully keep, even when I do find another job.

That's how passionate I feel and how much I believe in Mahalo.

So I now look forward to the next chapter in my life and to the exciting opportunities which will inevitably come my way.



Recommendations for Ray Manukay's services can be found here.

New Star Trek Pics hit the net....

From MTV

Pics from the new Star Trek movie have peppered the net and I have to say I'm pretty impressed.

Of course like most Trekkers, I do have some reservations, but I'd say that what I've seen so far looks good and the franchise is in capable hands with J.J. Abrams.


From AICN
Interesting...er...I mean "fascinating" that Spock looks so angry here.





From UGO
A look at most of the cast....and some of the production design.




From JoBLO
Bana as the bad guy....perfect. Romulan maybe?



From IGN
Kirk in the ice...climbing away from an escape pod maybe.



From Trek Movie.com
Looks like a starship is in trouble.

Still looking forward to seeing Old School Spock....maybe soon?

Welcome to the world!!!

Note from Ray: This is a legacy post from my personal archives (pre-2024). For my latest Movie Reviews and Highlight Reels, click here.

My good friend J.B. Ingels is now a daddy.

Welcome to the world baby Bowie Elizabeth Ingels-Moss.

Born October 6, 2008, 9:30 A.M. 6 pounds 1 ounce.

Angels Heartbreaker...

There's a lot of ways to lose a baseball game. But tonight's game was especially painful.

Lots of what if's....

What if Kendrick handles the double play ball in the fifth?

What if Scioscia didn't call for a bunt in the ninth?



What if Aybar actually lays down the bunt?

What if Willits plays the pop ball for a single instead of diving for the ball in the ninth?



What if Gary Matthews Jr. is in right field instead of Reggie Willits in the ninth?

But when it all comes down to it....the Red Sox were the better team.

The Angels should've been able to overcome all that adversity.

The Angels were out-played, out-coached and overwhelmed.

It's especially painful for the young players. There's little doubt that they carry the most blame for the team's poor play in this series.

Howie Kendrick was horrible, simply horrible, defensively and offensively.




He honestly didn't deserve to be on the field. He looked overwhelmed by the experience. It was the kind of performance that can destroy an entire career.

Hopefully he can overcome it.

Erick Aybar was only slightly better, his blown bunt killed the season for the Angels. It's a burden he will sadly carry for a long, long time...until he can one day, possibly, redeem himself.

I feel horrible for those guys. It's going to be a long off season for them.




Mike Scioscia over-coached the team at times, and under-coached in others.

Not his finest hour...at all.

His really poor showing, in all honesty puts him in the hot seat.

This team did not look prepared. They looked nervous, tight, and overwhelmed.

As much as I like Scioscia...I don't know who else to blame for that poor showing.

Very sad. Heartbreaking.

All I can say...with a heavy, heavy, heart...is wait until next year...again.

Not Tonight...

"We're not getting eliminated tonight." - Mike Scioscia

Angels 5, Red Sox 4

Angels Playoff Frustration

This is probably not a good time to write a post about my feelings right now.

There is a good possibility I'll write something I'll regret and an even greater possibility I'll write something stupid.

But I think one of the reasons to have a website is to record one's own feelings at a specific period of time.

What I'm feeling right now are frustration and anger at unbearable levels.

After the Angels 7-5 playoff loss tonight, the team is at the brink of another lost season.

Not only that...but by another sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox.

Pathetic.

I'm going to do something I'll probably regret.

I feel the need to irrationally vent.

Someone needs to pay.

I know it's not productive to lay blame at a specific person's feet.

So I'm going to choose a few.

Since I'm in a highly frustrated mood...let's go ahead and do that tonight.

Without the benefit of a clear head and good night's sleep.

What the hell...maybe it'll make me feel better.

Keep in mind that my opinion is hardly educated, or respected and is quite frankly emotionally driven.

Not to mention, probably not coherent or rational in any way.

Anyways, let's begin, first scapegoat...Mickey Hatcher.

If a team is unable to get an extra base hit in two games in the playoffs...who else are you going to blame but the hitting coach?

Of course a hitting coach doesn't hit for the team, but he should be able to get the players in the right frame of mind to do their job. Prepare them for what they might see from a pitcher. This particular team's inability to hit in the post season is inexcusable.

This team won 100 games in the regular season...they had the best record in baseball. They have talented hitters such as Vlad Guerrero, Mark Teixeira, Torii Hunter and Garret Anderson.

Somebody should be able to get an extra base hit.

And yet the only extra base hit by the Angels in the series has been a triple in the EIGHTH inning of tonight's game by Chone Figgins.

It's obvious that this team is not prepared, or doesn't have the confidence to succeed.

Mickey Hatcher is the one to blame for that.

Now I don't think he should get fired, I like the guy, but I do think he should be moved to bench coach and have someone else take over hitting coaching duties.

Because whatever Hatcher is doing, teaching or saying...IT'S NOT WORKING!!!



Scapegoat number two....Howie Kendrick.

I'm not sure where all this talk of one day becoming a batting champ came from. But this kid doesn't have what it takes.

No way...not ever.

He'll be a solid role player...I guess.

He probably won't become an all-star or even a star.

Batting champ? Give me a break.

The guy can't even stay healthy. He has a horrible eye, and his swing is way too long.

To top it all off, for several seasons now we've seen that Kendrick lacks the ability to hit in the clutch when it counts.

This guy only gets meaningless hits, against mediocre talent...in unimportant games.

I'd take Adam Kennedy over this guy any day.

Today's box score for Kendrick, 5 at-bats, 4 strike outs with 6 men left on base....6!!!

Pathetic.

That's not going to get it done.

He is obviously one of the main reasons the team has lost and is in this position.

And if I hear anybody else call him a future batting champ, I'm going to shove my rally monkey down your friggin throat.



Scapegoat number three.... Francisco Rodriguez.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, single season saves record...blah, blah, blah.

I would've traded any one of those saves for just one hold tonight.

When the team needed him most in the ninth inning of game 2 of the ALDS, he couldn't shut the door.

Three outs, that's all the team needed. Momentum had already shifted in the Angels direction. They needed Frankie to shut the door.

Instead he gave it up...two run home run by J.D. Drew.

Epic Fail.

The worst kept secret in baseball is that K-Rod is one of the most over-rated closers in the game.

His lack of production in the post season since 2002 is proof.

Not to mention, his antics after a victory are inexcusable, his pitching choice is sketchy, and to top it all off, speaking from experience, since I've actually had the opportunity to meet the man on several occasions...the guy is a jerk. He's cocky, arrogant and rude to fans.

Goodbye and good riddance.

Have fun pitching for the Mets...thanks for 2002...but you won't be missed... ingrate.



Scapegoat number four....Mike Scioscia.

Scioscia builds a team that depends on small ball, speed and timely hitting, then is shocked when the team fails to execute against excellent pitching.

Why?

Championships depend on the long ball. It's been well documented.

This small ball crap doesn't work.

The team is brain washed into believing in small ball...and when the team needs a home run...they can't execute...cause they don't know how.

This philosophy doesn't work.

I'm sorry, aggressive soft hitters, with poor on base percentages doesn't win championships.

I'm not even sure why he adopted this philosophy, it's certainly not how the team won in 2002.

Furthermore, although I see no shame in losing to a talented Red Sox team, it's become clear that the Angel franchise has no strong leadership.

Whether it's a lack of leadership at the management level, the coaching staff or in the club house, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim do not seem to have the mental preparation, toughness and confidence to compete at the highest level, when it counts most.

Especially against the Red Sox.

I'm not calling for the firing of Mike Scioscia. But I believe he needs to re-evaluate his stubborn, ineffective tactics and take a long look in the mirror.

This team has no excuse to be playing this bad...none.

God, I'm so pissed....another pathetic, heartbreaking season from such a talented team.

What a waste.

Recap.

Who's to blame:
1. Mickey Hatcher
2. Howie Kendrick
3. Francisco Rodriguez
4. Mike Scioscia

For the record, who's not to blame:

1. Mark Teixeira
2. Torii Hunter
3. Vladimir Guerrero
4. Garret Anderson

Hot Clicks on SheNeedsIt.com!!!

     

Mahalo Daily featuring.... Me

I finally made my debut on Mahalo Daily.

I play Skip Jifferson Jr. a satisfied Mahalo beach towel owner/operator.



As you can tell...I was playing it straight...but the editing, sophisticated CGI and terrible acting turned it into a comedic performance.