Kennedy, Eckstein and Spezio

I like interleague play. It's cool going to new cities and playing against teams you don't face very often. I've never been to St. Louis or Cincinnati so I'm looking forward to checking out both stadiums. St. Louis has been a trip I've been looking forward to since the schedule came out. I know more guys on that team than any other team in baseball. Adam Kennedy is one of my best friends in the game. Then you have Eckstein and Spiezio, just a bunch of solid guys. It's going to be fun playing them. Those guys were all part of our championship team. We had great chemistry. I loved hanging out in that clubhouse and it showed on the field. It was a special group. I really like this year's team too. We have a good mix of guys, a lot of young guys and a bunch of older guys who've done it before. We can show the younger guys how to win. The young guys are hungry and that brings a lot of energy to the team but it's good to have the mix. You need a little of both. I guess I'm kind of in the middle. I'm not an older guy but I've been to the playoffs three times so I know what it takes to win. Ultimately you have to have talent and we do. You can only teach the young guys so much. You need talent to hang. Early on for me, Aaron Sele and Dennis Cook were here and they took me out to lunch every day on the road and taught me how to be a big leaguer. They taught me everything. I mean how to tip, how to act, a lot of things that go into it that you just don't think about.

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• LovefromCA said June 08, 2007

  I'm really looking forward to these games against the Cards... it was sad to see three of the guys from the '02 World Series team get traded :( And now I heard they signed Percy to a minor league contract... should be interesting. Enjoy the road trip and seeing the guys! Good luck!!

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• Stretch002 said June 08, 2007

  First of all, thank you so much for writing this blog. What an amazing experience it is to have the opportunity read your thoughts and even post some of my own.
  How fun to travel and play in all of the different stadiums. Please write about your experience in St Loius. It seems like a GREAT baseball town. It is amazing to me that they have a roster full of our former players. The rumor mill says they might even sign Percival!
  Playing against your friends always makes it sweeter when you win. If you get to hang out with them, let them know we still think of them in Anaheim. We support our current team but still miss those guys. I was SO excited to see Eckstein win the MVP last year. The thought of him driving that bright yellow Vette around always puts a smile on my face...
  Best of luck for this roadtrip. You guys are awesome. Keep up the FANTASTIC work John.

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  • John_Lackey replied June 21, 2007

    Stretch - let me just tell you that St. Louis was a great place! Those fans are so passionate about baseball and are really respectful. I was able to hang out with AK (Adam Kennedy) and he was telling me what a baseball crazy city it is. As you may know, Percy signed with St. Louis and I believe is in triple-A. I only wish the best for him, he is all class. Thanks for following the blog, I'm glad to be in contact with the fans!
• LovefromCA said June 09, 2007

  Stretch... like you said, we do still think of them in Anaheim. Same with Erstad... they are all well-respected players and did a lot for the Angels. I only wish I could be in St. Louis to cheer them on myself.

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• caperkin said June 09, 2007

  Hey John, did you get to catch any of Curt Schilling's no-no attempt? I bet he will never wave off Varitek again will he? Can you just talk about briefly that relationship that pitchers and catchers have to determine exactly what they are looking at when a batter steps into the box? I think one of the most fascinating things in sports is watching pitch counts and trying to figure out just what you and the catcher are thinking, hoping that the pitch I usually call before its thrown is correct. Its a lot of fun and it really taught me a lot. Also I would like to add that I am really excited you made this onling blog to interact with the fans. I am a Yankees fan and I even think its really cool that I get to chat with you on here. Thanks again and if you ever decide to pitch somewhere besides Anaheim I'm sure there are a few folks in the Bronx that would love to have a pitcher of your caliber on the team. Keep up the great work!

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  • John_Lackey replied June 21, 2007

    Caperkin - I did get to see some of the highlights of the almost no-no. I don't think it was so much the wave off of Varitek as it was Schilling feeling that was the right pitch. Shoot, everything had worked until that point. As far as the catcher/pitcher relationship, it is crucial to develop the chemistry so the catcher can get a feel for what the pitcher wants to do. With us, both Nap and JMo are great at anticipating what I want to throw in certain situations. I have the utmost confidence in each of them.
• thdrmtngrl said June 09, 2007

  With interleague play do you get nervous or excited about actually getting to bat in the game? And with talking about things people taught you, who was your best mentor in the sport and in the big leagues?

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  • John_Lackey replied June 21, 2007

    Believe it or not, I actually used to be a decent hitter in my college days (Grayson CC) so I look forward to batting. The results haven't been too great but I did get a hit in the World Series! As far as a mentor, my dad has always been that person for me. He is a high school coach so it was always natural for him teaching me the fundamentals of baseball. There have been several in the big leagues, Percival, Sele, Bud Black - guys like that.
• Sumit said June 09, 2007

  Come on John... we've all heard stories of what goes on in a clubhouse! =)
  
  

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• ursportspro said June 09, 2007

  Hey John, I thought for sure that your favorite reason for loving inter-league play is that you'd get a chance to hit again. Man, your numbers are really impressive at the plate in College and High School! Keep up the outstanding work this year, personally I think if Josh Beckett ever starts losing sometime this year that you'll have a great shot at the 2007 AL Cy Young Award.....

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  • John_Lackey replied June 21, 2007

    Thanks man, I'm ok without the Cy Young....I'm interested in some other hardware if you know what I mean!
• jesda01 said June 10, 2007

  Hey Big John - Thanks for the blog, it is great to be able to talk with you. It was nice to see Eck, Adam and Spezio play and Edmonds too - miss them. I have to say as much as I miss them, I love watching our Angels - what A team. You are all doing such a great job all the way around. Like last night, watched the game last night, oh my what a hit from Santana, who would have expected. I heard he really has not had a lot of batting experience either. Cant wait to see you at the plate.....

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• designerguy48 said June 10, 2007

  I'm glad Kennedy, Eckstein and Spezio stick with baseball, and not acting. :)
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh-WIUGKk98

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  • BrianC6234 replied June 11, 2007

    That was funny. Great acting too. :)
• sportnut said June 11, 2007

  That Angels team was impressive. To win with guys like Eck and Kennedy was amazing.

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• BrianC6234 said June 11, 2007

  Great series in St. Louis. Too bad Spiezio had to hurt his old team so much. But it was great to see Santana get his first road win of the season. Nice hit too. The offense really missed Garret and Casey in game three though. I hope they're both ready to play Tuesday. The offense was great with them in the lineup.
  
  I agree NL baseball is kind of fun but I can't wait for AL rules.

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• bloodbrother said June 14, 2007

  awesome game today, John. Congrats on #10!

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• Rallymonkey5 said June 14, 2007

  Yes, great game. I can't wait till you get the start in the All Star game.

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• wallispdub1 said June 14, 2007

  one quick question for you John. you say that

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• wallispdub1 said June 14, 2007

  sorry..."Early on for me, Aaron Sele and Dennis Cook were here and they took me out to lunch every day on the road and taught me how to be a big leaguer. They taught me everything. I mean how to tip, how to act, a lot of things that go into it that you just don't think about." do you work with santana to get a handle on his road problems (Ie. getting his head in the game)?

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  • John_Lackey replied June 21, 2007

    I try and give all the youngsters whatever advice I can. With Ervin, he is working so hard to try and find some consistency on the road. He's going to get it figured out, he last start at Dodger Stadium was solid.
• jesda01 said June 14, 2007

  Hey John: Great Pitching - Congratulation on Win #10

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• BrianC6234 said June 14, 2007

  Great win for #10. Vlad really came through. I hope the rest of the offense wakes up though. They've been pretty bad this week. Way too many runners left on base. Time to get serious. I want another sweep against the lowly Dodgers. And hopefully they'll beat up on Homer today.

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• ralfo08 said June 14, 2007

  Napoli seems to have some new facial hair every day.

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  • John_Lackey replied June 21, 2007

    That's funny you say that - we have been given him a hard time about it. He has been experimenting to say the least. Not sure how comfortable that mess is with a catcher's mask on.
• BrianC6234 said June 14, 2007

  Lackey - I think the Angels really need to start playing better baseball. This week overall hasn't been what should be expected. You were fine in your game but the overall offense and defense has been very poor. This makes two straight games that Figgins has had errors. And Vlad just had an error too. This might not hurt the Angels against bad teams but this really needs to be cleaned up fast. You seem like one of the team leaders. Maybe you should get everyone together and get them to just do better. The Mariners and A's have been winning a lot lately. The Angels can't start having defensive and offensive lapses like this now. They need to play like division leaders.

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• bloodbrother said June 14, 2007

  The offense has been great this past week, man. That's their 2nd 6 run 7th of this road trip. To be honest, the pitching has kind of faltered a bit this month, and yeah, the defense has been sketchy lately too, but no way has the offense been very poor. They have won 11 of the past 12 series now(after today's victory and series win)

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• cjleeman said June 14, 2007

  Good job last night getting big number ten before anyone else. Keep it up Big John. You still got my vote as the number one pitcher in baseball.

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• DJSamurai said June 15, 2007

  Hey, I'm glad SOMEONE likes Interleague Play. I don't like my schedule to grow stale with the same opponents every year. Keep up the good work.

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• BrianC6234 said June 16, 2007

  This Dodger game against Derek Lowe is making me really angry. This ump is helping Lowe way too much. In the 6th Cabrera walked but ball four was called strike two and he ended up getting out. The Gameday on the Angel's site shows the real pitch location and only one pitch to Cabrera was a strike. Of course, Santana got into trouble and gave up two runs.
  
  One question, isn't it illegal to lean into a pitch and get hit? Jeff Kent did that to load the bases. What a classless jerk. I hope that pitch broke something. Vlad of course lead off with a double. He probably would have driven in two runs.

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  • BrianC6234 replied June 16, 2007

    I knew it. Derryl Cousins cost the Angels a big win. What a lousy umpire. His strikezone was lame. He supposedly is a hitter's ump according to Rory and Terry on the radio but you wouldn't know it how he helped Lowe all night.
    
    Jeff Kent needs a nice fastball in the side this weekend for leaning over the plate and getting hit. Make him feel some pain for that classless act in the 6th.
  • John_Lackey replied June 21, 2007

    You have to give it up for Lowe, he was on that night. We usually don't strike out tooo much as a team so if a guy gets us 11 times, you know he's on that night. The way I understand it is that you can't purposely lean into a pitch to get a free base. You have to make an attempt to get out of the way. It usually is left to the umps interpretation.