Angel Stadium shootout

It’s a story that has been drastically overshadowed today, but ESPN is reporting that an off-duty officer shot two individuals following the conclusion of a game between the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night, June 24, at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

Allegedly, the two men assaulted the off-duty officer, who had taken his wife and two young children to the game. According to the article, the two men did enough damage to wound the officer’s head before he pulled out his weapon and started shooting. He hit the first guy, 25-year-old Carlos Velasquez, a Camp Pendleton Marine, in the face. That dude is now in critical condition. He got the second guy, 22-year-old Jose Velasquez, in the arm. He’s listed in good condition.

So why did a Marine and his younger brother attack an off-duty cop? And why did the cop respond with his firearm? My first guess is alcohol. Young enlisted men are sort of notorious for their alcohol consumption. Let’s say it’s their calling-card, world wide. And they’ve been trained to be overly aggressive, which often sparks fights.

Maybe the cop was wearing a Rockies cap. Or maybe he had an attractive wife. Whatever it was that caught the Marine’s (negative) attention, he apparently chose to mess with the wrong guy. Boy, howdy.

Sadly, this episode merely underscores the violence that has taken place at SoCal’s pro ballparks this season:

1) On Opening Night, a man died of head injuries after falling down a flight of stairs behind the cheap seats in Anaheim. Allegedly, he was involved in fight but a suspect has yet to be named in the case.

2) A man was stabbed several times in the parking lot after the Los Angeles Dodgers’ home opener. The man survived and a suspect has yet to be named in the case. 

What is going on this season? This is the kind of violence one would expect in Oakland, Detroit or Philadelphia. You know, places where the crime rate is always high. Not sunny SoCal. And at the ballpark, of all places? Seems a little more than bizarre.

And what happened to the officer’s family — his wife and two young children? They obviously had to be near the fray. Did they escape unharmed? What did they see?

Angels spokesman Tim Mead said he thought facility security was great and that they couldn’t have done much, which is probably true. How is anybody supposed to know who is strapped? One has to assume there is, on average, one undercover cop at a game per season. That’s at least one gun extra. How many Angel Stadium security guards carry sidearms so as to match any potential fire power? I’ve never seen a single pistol holster though that old guy on the scooter looks like he can handle a weapon.

So in this “isolated incident” no one counts on an off-duty cop with a gun, especially the two guys — one a Marine – heckling him about his haircut, his visiting team (Colorado Rockies) cap or hooting at his hot wife.

Makes you think about the next time you might decide you want to open your mouth and say something mildly offensive to someone you don’t know before throwing a bottle at that person’s head. That person might have a gun.

TUESDAY TALKING POINTS

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez will resume playing baseball games with Triple-A Albuquerque starting tonight, June 23, when the Isotopes play host to the Nashville Sounds. Ramirez, who can return to the Dodgers from his 50-game suspension on July 3, is scheduled to play three games at Albuquerque. Tonight’s game starts at 6:05 p.m. and will be carried live on MiLB.TV, while Manny’s at-bats with be carried live on ESPN television.

I think it’s a shame the other Isotopes players have to put up with this sideshow for as long as they do. It’s quite likely they’ll all construe the attention as positive, though, and accept Manny and the circus with a smile. Manny will charm and sign autographs and all the Isotopes players can say they were on the same team as ManRam, but the whole situation looks a lot like a walk of shame. That’s why I think he’s being placed in far-away outposts like Albuquerque and later, San Bernardino (he’ll be playing for the Inland Empire 66ers in the near future).

As his return date nears, all the inevitable questions will surface. When did you take steroids, Manny? Why did you take steroids, Manny? Are you undergoing a sex change? No? Then why the female hormones, Manny/Manuela? The Dodgers are smart to let some of those questions get asked somewhere other than inside Dodger Stadium. We’ll see if Manny will start answering.

I’m actually for changing the policy so that zero baseball can be played until the entire length of suspension has been served. I think it’s ridiculous that Ramirez can work his way into game shape by playing actual games before his suspension is up. Why does Major League Baseball give him 50 games when they only really make him serve 40? Seems hypocritical, in the least.

It also seems hypocritical for those writers who are heaping praise upon United States MNT head coach Bob Bradley after the side’s 3-0 victory over Egypt last week are the same writers who were blasting the coach for his lineup changes and tactical decisions earlier in the Confederations Cup. Granted, there aren’t too many kudos to be passed around after lopsided loses to Italy and Brazil so I can see why some writers were shocked into writing feel-good pieces about the suddenly maligned coach — the team was facing certain elimination and is now in the semifinals (the U.S. scored an improbable 3-0 win over the Egyptians). It was all very exciting and was only made possible by the tie-breaker scenario (goal differential), which is so totally Euro. At least in this case, the rules actually worked in the Yanks favor.

Lucas Glover winning the U.S. Open may end up working in favor of Lucas Oil, a “manufacturer of petroleum additives and oils for high performance engines” or motor and industrial oil manufacturer. The company should sign Glover to an endorsement contract before someone else does. I mean, how many Lucas’s are there out there, really? George Lucas and… well… there was that movie “Lucas,” but that’s about it. It makes perfect sense. And Glover has that hickory-sweet voice that sells well to your core market — NASCAR fans. I love it when a plan comes together.

I thought the plan was starting to come together for the Anaheim Angels. Now I’m not so sure. The team had run off seven consecutive victories but then drops 2 of 3 to the Dodgers over the weekend before getting blasted 11-1 by the Colorado Rockies on Monday, June 22. That was crap but then comes the bad news: starting pitcher Ervin Santana is headed to the DL to join fellow gimp Kelvim Escobar. The sky continues to fall on this team this season and only a weak division is helping their prospects, and I don’t mean Brandon Wood. What’s with that guy, anyway? He should be raking in the big leagues by now but it’s Sean Rodriguez getting the call up? Wood was supposed to be hitting 25 dingers-a-year last year and has yet to spend extended time with the Halos. Play him or trade him.

The San Francisco 49ers should play Alex Smith this season or trade him. Do they really need to continue to commit to this guy if he’s never going to grasp the starting job? If Sean Hill’s your guy, then he’s the guy. If head coach Mike Singletary says it’ll be an open competition, then say it’s Smith’s spot to lose and the next decision is final. If Hill beats him out (for whatever reason), then Smith gets dumped. Quit dragging out the inevitable. And quit making the team’s fanbase stew in a pot with a failed No. 1 overall selection. It’s bad for morale and it’s bad for business.

I like what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is telling players who run afoul of the law, that is: they are bad for business. Goodell banned Donte Stallworth from playing in the upcoming season after the player pled guilty to manslaugter. The commissioner has taken a hard line, one-year stance on players who do not follow the NFL’s conduct policy and I think it’s the right one. Goodell can’t have murderers/players on the field. It’s not the best PR move. Next up is Plaxico “Itchy Trigger” Burress. Goodell’s in a tough spot here because the only person Burress hurt was himself. I say the bum’s suffered enough.

One bum who hasn’t suffered enough is Richard Jefferson. Jefferson, who was with the New Jersey Nets when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals, was acquired by the San Antonio Spurs in a trade with Jefferson’s now former team, the Milwaukee Bucks. Apparently, Jefferson hasn’t had enough of losing to the Lakers in the playoffs and wants to try it again next season. The Spurs were hurt in this trade, giving away Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas, three key defensive pieces who helped serve as the backbone of a soft team. With Jefferson, the Spurs will score more points. Without Bowen, Oberto and Thomas, they won’t stop anybody.

Prep Impressions for June 9

I covered the Riverside County All Star Baseball Game for the Riverside Press-Enterprise on June 9, 2009 and came away thinking there’s going to be 31 Major League Baseball teams wishing they had selected Riverside Poly’s Blair Moore on the first day of the First-Year Player Draft.

Moore had three hits, stole a base and scored a run as the West defeated the East 5-3 Tuesday night at the Riverside Sports Complex on the campus of UC Riverside. His ninth-inning single put runners on first and third and proved to be enough pressure to force two passed balls which would plate two runs.

As suggested by yours truly, Moore was chosen as the game’s Most Valuable Player.

“I just tried to stay relaxed and put some good swings together before I go to college or get drafted or whatever,” said Moore, who’ll now wait to hear his name called on the second day of the draft before deciding between a pro contract or his verbal commitment to San Diego State.

A shortstop, Moore (6-3, 175 lbs) played all nine innings of the exhibition and made had a solid go of it, tallying four assists and and error. His finest play came in the eighth inning when he made a throw from his knees to first base to cut down a runner and halt a late rally from the East. It was the kind of effort that makes scouts drool.

“He’s a player,” said Norco’s Gary Parcell, coach of the West. “I hope he signs and doesn’t end up at San Diego State but I wish him the best of luck.”

Moore’s Riverside Poly teammate, Jake Marisnick, was chosen by the Toronto Blue Jays during the fourth inning of the game, or the third round of the draft, No. 104 overall.

Parcell’s top player, Matt Hobgood, was drafted with the No. 5 overall selection by the Baltimore Orioles. Hobgood must already be feeling “big-league” beacause he didn’t partcipate in the game or take batting practice as heralded. Instead, he showed up just before game time, had his name and accomplishment announced to the crowd, waved his cap and headed home before the applause died away.

I did make sure to get Hobgood’s phone number from a Norco teammate before I left the field and will attempt to make contact with the Gatorade Player of the Year for an upcoming article I plan to freelance to any one of several Maryland-area newspapers.