A CITIZEN'S BLOG

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet."

Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene 2.

Well, Juliet was wrong, because as it turns out names mean a lot to the city of Anaheim. The Anaheim Angels are seeking to change their name from the Anaheim Angels to the “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim”, so the city has filed a temporary restraining order in Federal Court to enjoin them from doing so. The Angels name flip isn’t their first: despite never moving from Southern California since their creation in 1961, the Angels have changed their geographic name often, having been the “California Angels” from 1965 to 1996, the “Anaheim Angels” from 1997 to now, and they want to return (sort of) to the moniker they had from 1961 to 1964.

I hope the city of Anaheim is successful. Here’s why:

1. The new name, “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim”, is unwieldy, confusing and stupid. Are we going to start calling the Mets the "New York Mets of Queens"? The "Philadelphia Phillies of Broad Street"? It sounds bad. It sounds stupid.

2. The Angels don’t really play in Los Angeles. Sure, they essentially play in a suburb of LA, but people know where the city of Anaheim is and it is a slap in the face to the good citizens and taxpayers of Anaheim to call the team the Los Angeles Angels.

Click here to read more about the controversy.

Check out the always informative Aaron Gleeman's thoughts on Eva Longoria's professed love of sports. Also, click here for an article from the Inquirer about a Phillies fan currently being prosecuted for highjacking people's computers to launch cyberattacks to protest the team's personnel decisions. As I read this article I began to think about what might happen if a fan or a collection of fans were to band together and launch cyber attacks on the websites of rival teams. E.g., Red Sox fans outraged by the Yankees spending, spending, spending, decide to have some fun during the 2005 season with the Yankees ability to process ticket requests. A cyber war within baseball? Anyway, check it out.

With the Tigers out of the Carlos Beltran hunt, and the Astros having made their final offer, it seems likely that the contenders for Beltran's affections will dwindle to the Mets or the Yankees this weekend. He'll sign a seven year deal with the Mets next week. Ugh. Beltran, Pedro: the Mets might be hurting in future years, but they could have a good team for next year.

Monday: some thoughts on the weekend’s playoff games, and some thoughts on Phillies baseball. I'm working on an re-evaluation of Larry Bowa's managing, and I might surprise people with my conclusions.