Bleacher Report - Articles by Mark Bender

Sharks-Ducks: Game Two Playoff Preview

Mark Bender — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 11:06:57 -0400

With the Anaheim Ducks taking Game 1 this past Thurday in San Jose, it is now time for both teams to sink or swim. The Sharks hopes for home-ice advantage went down the drain with their loss to the Ducks.

In the majority of sports, you must have a "hot" team going into the playoffs, and with a change from J.S. Giguere to Jonas Hiller as their goalie, the Ducks are going with their "hot" goalie.

J.S. Giguere might have the playoff experience, but Hiller has guarded the net for the Ducks in the final run entering the playoffs. Hiller has seen play in the World Championships, the Swiss League, won championships, and proven that he can handle the pressure situations in the NHL playoffs.

With the trade deadline moves made by the Ducks, and the Ryan/Perry/Getzlaf (RPG) line playing at the top of their game, the RPG line has become a dominating force that is driving the Ducks' playoff train!

Add in Nokelainen, Christensen, Ebbett, Mikkelson and the return of Beauchemin, and Ducks have a strong team. Francois Beauchemin has helped to strengthen the Ducks defense with his recent return.

Game 1 was a hard-fought game by both teams, with the on-ice officials looking the other way on much of the play, letting the teams go at it.

The Ducks are fortunate to have a deep bench. With Whitney and Wisniewski, they add some punch to the Ducks that matches any other team in the playoffs. The Ducks have always been known for the first line, and both their power play and penalty kill units.

The second game in this series will probably be more important that the first game, especially if you are San Jose.

If the Ducks win the second game, they only have to win two out of the next five possible games, and Sharks must win four out of the next five games.

If the Sharks win, the series will be tied, and San Jose will only have only two home games in the series, and the Ducks will have three, so the Sharks will have to win at least one game in Anaheim to continue in their playoff run.

A Tale of Two Teams: Sharks/Ducks Series Preview

Mark Bender — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:58:22 -0400

The city of Anaheim, Calif. is now again at the center of attention regarding the best team in their sport once again reaching the playoffs. Except now, it is the Anaheim Ducks who aren't the favorite against the San Jose Sharks, like the Angels were against Boston in the 2008 MLB playoffs.

Being the team with the most wins doesn't guarantee success in the playoffs. The Ducks are 10-3 in their last 13 games, including a very competitive home series split earlier this month.

The Angels cruised through the 2008 season never being really challenged by any team from the American League West. With no team “pushing” them, they stumbled when they faced the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS. The San Jose Sharks have basically cruised through the 2008-2009 NHL season with no team from their division giving them any completion for the division lead.

Now the Sharks must enter the playoffs with a “clean slate.” What happened in the regular season is now wiped from the books. Based on the teams' play this season against each other, this should be a very physical game. Unfortunately for the Sharks, that’s exactly what the Ducks strengths are, but on the other hand, I don’t expect the Sharks to step back and not do anything about it.

It’s been said in many sports that it’s not how you start the season, it’s how you finish. The San Jose Sharks have come down from their early season performance and now are playing “flat line,” whereas the Anaheim Ducks are playing the best hockey they have played this NHL season. Just after the trade deadline, the Ducks starting peaking and now go into the first round against a team that wasn’t challenged.

The San Jose Sharks may be the favored team by the majority of the NHL fans, but I’ve personally got to go with the “underdog” on a hot streak. Even if the Ducks can’t pull off the underdog role, at least I’ve still got a team from California to root for in the next round.

Ducks in six.

Boy, Time Sure Does Fly!

Mark Bender — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:23:52 -0500

It is hard to imagine that it is less than one month before the Pitchers and Catcher report to spring training camp. I personally "lost interest" in baseball after the Angels were beaten by the Red Sox. I was able to spend time on an "Open Source" project that I'm leading the Documentation Team on, Go to some Ducks games, Build a few websites, and most importantly, spend some time with my family.

To most of the "die hard" Angels fans, the lack of being "able to pull the trigger" has been surprising to the majority of us. Maybe there is still time to "replace" what Mark Teixeira added to Angels is his brief time with them.

I feel like I have "baseball fever" coming on, so I'm looking forward to writing more articles.

So Close, Yet so Far: Boston Red Sox Send LA Angels Packing

Mark Bender — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:24:07 -0400

The LA Angels were a special team during the 2008 regular season. They had the contribution of every team member’s efforts when it counted.

Early in the season, the hitters made them contenders. Around mid-season, the pitching staff pulled through. And towards the end, both the offense and pitching staff kept the team in the games.

The Angels were in many ways fortunate to be able to clinch the American League West Division on September 10. But sometimes when you do the “best thing”, you end up with results that you don’t expect.

Clinching early allowed the Angels to rest their key players, and give Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, and others a chance to get ready for the upcoming playoffs.

Sometimes accomplishing the goal of winning your division early can backfire. Clinching a playoff spot so early can players out of the "must win mentality." Come playoff time, you can’t get that “must win mentality” going quick enough. By the time it kicks in, your team is already out.

That’s exactly what happened to the Angels in 2008. Even though a team that clinches early can rest its players, it also loses the momentum you build when the team is trying to earn a playoff spot.

The Chicago Cubs and LA Angels both had the chance to clinch their division early, and we all know the results of that.

Last year the Colorado Rockies came into the playoffs with momentum. This year, the Boston Red Sox and LA Dodgers are the teams with momentum still in the playoffs.

Many times during the 2008 season, the Angels were able to execute their game plan and win close games. Frankie Rodriguez played a vital role in many of those victories.

Yet the Angels weren't able to perform in the playoffs. Once again, they struggled against the Redsox and were eventually eliminated.

The Angels are known as a team that can execute when called upon. They are known for top-tier performances in key situations.

There is an old baseball saying that goes, “You live and die by the squeeze play.”

This was especially true for the Angels. Their season rode upon a suicide squeeze by Eric Aybar.

Unfortunately, the Angels season died when Aybar didn’t perform when he was called upon to bunt. If Aybar executed, the Angels might have won game four.

This could have completely turned momentum around in the Angels favor. They could have won game five at home and Mike Scioscia would have looked like a hero instead of a scapegoat.

For the Angels, that one play crushed their entire season. So close, yet so far!

Is There a Mr. Autry in the House?

Mark Bender — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:26:18 -0400

With the Angels' loss in game 1 of the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox, the Angels have their backs up against the proverbial wall.

The Angels finished 31-21 in one-run games (club record 19-12 on road) and 30-7 in two-run contests (17-2 at home). Along with 9 walk-off wins, the Angels are a team that knows how to compete.

Problem is for the Angels, it’s hard to compete against something you can’t see or control; The Boston Red Sox Curse!

Fortunately the Angels have something that the Red Sox team is lacking: The Angels fans and the spirit of the Rally Monkey!

The current Angels teams has had its back against the wall this season and have managed to win the games that were considered "must win" games. This Angels team knows how to "rise" to the occasion.

The Angels team in 2002 lost all of their first games in each round of that playoff season. This year's team also has a lot of great character, and has the ability to match the 2002 team's results.

Now it's time for the current team to "Cowboy up"! Let’s hope the team can exceed the definition of "Cowboy up", get back on your horse, don't back down, never give up, and do your best with the hand you've been dealt. I really feel that this team has been dealt the right cards and can "go all the way"!

Now all we need to do is page Mr. Autry!

A Great way to end and begin the season!

Mark Bender — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:31:35 -0400

It's hard to believe that the 2008 MLB regular season is over on Sunday. The Twins, White Sox, Mets, and Milwaukee might not know who is in the NL playoffs until as late as Tuesday. The LA Angels on the other hand clinched 18 days ago!

Keeping up with tradition (4th season in a row), I'm going to be attending the Angels game Sunday afternoon. But now that it's hockey season, the Anaheim Ducks are playing a pre-season game later that afternoon against the Vancouver Canucks. Now it's going to be a Dual Sport Doubleheader. I personally can't find a better way to end the baseball regular season, and kick off the hockey season with a doubleheader of both sports.

Those of us sports fans in the greater LA area are able to have these unique opportunities to attend dual sport doubleheaders.

Now I've got to make some tough choices:

Anaheim Ducks Regular season game or Angels Playoff game. Playoff games always win no matter what the other matchup.

I'll be at all of the home Angels playoff games, and will be writing a series of articles covering the Angels for BleacherReport.com and AngelsWin.com

If you are interested in contributing to this series of articles, be sure to check out the BleacherReport.com LA Angels Community

The Angels and the Red Sox: That Was Then and This Is Now, Part Deux!

Mark Bender — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:32:32 -0400

AngelsWin/BleacherReport columnist and L.A. Angels Co-Community Leader

Last year, at this time of the Major League Baseball season, the Boston Red Sox were the team taking major strides towards the playoffs. The L.A. Angels were the team that was “banged up,” and physically challenged as they battled for their playoff position. As history tells the story, the Red Sox, soon to be the World Series champions, held the home-field advantage against the struggling Angels.

What a difference a year makes!

Now, in 2008, it is the Angels who are the dominant, “fully rested” team, and the Red Sox are the “banged-up” team. And, as luck would have it, the Angels are now the team with home-field advantage against the Red Sox.

The Red Sox manager, Terry Francona, needs to make the hard decision of playing for the division win versus resting his players in preparation for the wild-card spot in next week’s playoff games.

It is similar to last year when Mike Scioscia and the Angels lost their momentum in the playoffs after resting their “banged-up” players the last week of the regular season. It’s really a tough call in these cases, but that’s what makes this time of year so much fun. You’ve got to love baseball with all the guessing games that go on!

J.D. Drew, out since Aug. 17, has recently returned to the Red Sox's lineup—sometimes, though, a player doesn’t “play up to their potential” when he returns from the DL. Mike Lowell is also having his share of physical problems and is currently due back in the lineup this week. It will be interesting to see how they do.

The Angels clinched their division on Sept. 10. Mike Scioscia has since been able to give his bench players like Reggie Willits, Gary Mathews Jr., and Rob Quinlan a chance to play on a regular basis, while giving his everyday starting players a well-needed (and deserved) rest from their long season.

Over the course of the 2008 MLB playoffs, I will be writing a series of articles that are being jointly published on AngelsWin and Bleacher Report.

I look forward to an exciting playoff season and sharing my experiences with my fellow sports fans.