Heavenly Thoughts 2007

Ex-Angels Report 6/9/08

2008-06-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

copied from...
http://www.rallymonkey.com/pluggedout-blog2/index.php?entryid=228

Notes and Stats from former Angels players

-Bengie Molina leads all major league catchers with a .332 batting average. He also leads all cathcers with 40 rbi.

-Troy Glaus has finally found his power stroke hitting 5 home runs in the past 9 games.

-Darin Erstad of the Astros is hitting .351 (20-for-57) when he's playing in the field, but just .185 (5-for-27) as a pinch hitter.

- Troy Percival will miss Tampa Bay's series in Anaheim but should be ready when he comes off the DL on Friday.

- Bartolo Colon finally lost a game. He allowed 6 runs (3 earned) against Seattle on Friday. He's now 3-1 in 4 starts for the Red Sox.

-Orlando Cabrera has hit in 7 straight games

-Jose Guillen of the Royals has 4 multi-hit games in the past week along with 4 home runs over that span.

- Cardinals reliever, Russ Springer has extended his scoreless appearance streak to 14 games.

EX-ANGEL TEAM AB R HR RBI BB SO AVG OPS
Bengie Molina SF 205 24 6 40 8 13 .332 .857
Troy Glaus STL 219 25 7 38 37 41 .265 .814
Darin Erstad HOU 84 14 1 12 3 16 .298 .774
Jose Guillen KC 241 26 10 47 7 48 .266 .765
David Eckstein TOR 152 18 1 17 12 15 .270 .698
Alberto Callaspo KC 89 5 0 3 8 7 .292 .688
Alfredo Amezaga FLA 135 16 1 7 13 19 .252 .678
Orlando Cabrera CWS 257 36 3 22 20 30 .253 .634
Jamie Burke SEA 41 4 1 3 4 3 .220 .606
Jim Edmonds SD 139 9 2 13 14 31 .209 .593
Adam Kennedy STL 149 15 0 15 13 22 .248 .589
Damion Easley NYM 101 8 1 12 5 14 .238 .585
Jose Molina NYY 118 11 0 6 3 19 .220 .560
Nathan Haynes TB 44 3 0 3 3 12 .227 .504

EX-ANGEL TEAM G W-L SV IP BB K ERA BAA
J.C. Romero PHI 28 4-1 0 22.2 15 19 1.59 .244
Bobby Jenks CWS 25 2-0 14 25.1 7 16 2.13 .227
Kevin Gregg FLA 29 4-2 11 30.1 17 23 2.37 .176
Scott Schoeneweis NYM 30 0-2 0 26.1 10 10 2.39 .205
Russ Springer STL 21 1-0 0 16.1 9 13 2.76 .254
Troy Percival TB 22 1-0 14 21.1 4 21 2.95 .133
Kent Mercker CIN 15 1-0 0 13.2 8 6 3.29 .265
Bartolo Colon BOS 4 3-1 0 23.0 6 15 3.91 .280
Gary Glover TB 19 0-2 0 20.2 12 13 3.92 .272
Paul Byrd CLE 12 3-5 0 70.2 8 26 4.46 .275
Joel Peralta KC 18 0-2 0 22.1 4 17 5.64 .259
Chris Resop ATL 16 0-1 0 18.1 10 13 5.89 .239
Matt Wise NYM 8 0-1 0 7.0 3 6 6.43 .323
Jarrod Washburn SEA 12 2-7 1 59.0 16 36 6.56 .322
Derrick Turnbow MIL 8 0-1 1 6.1 13 5 15.63 .414

Cheap Tickets Offered This Week

2008-06-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

copied from...
http://www.rallymonkey.com/pluggedout-blog2/index.php?entryid=227

The Angels have some really good deals this week which you can only get by going to the Angel Stadium box office.

Monday 6/9 and Tuesday 6/10 - Buy One Get One Free

Wednesday 6/11 - Up to 80% off. As low as $3 each.

Sunday 6/15 - Father's Day - $3 tickets in the Upper View section

For Monday and Tuesday's games (6/9 & 6/10), the Angels are offering buy one-get one free tickets at the box office. To get the deal, mention the word 'SUMMER'. This "buy one ticket, get one ticket free" offer is available for seats in the Field Box, Terrace Box, Terrace Box Wheelchair, Club Loge, Right Field Pavilion and in the entire 500 View and 400 Lower View levels. Offer is only available at the Angels' Ticket Window.

For Wednesday's day game against Tampa Bay, tickets are as low as $3 each when you use the password 'HOME RUN'. $3 in the 500 View level and Terrace Box Wheelchair, $5 in the 400 Lower View level, $10 in Right Field Pavilion, Field Box, Terrace Box and $20 in Club Loge.

For Father's Day, tickets are just $3 in the entire 500 View level when you say the password 'DAD' at the Angels' Ticket Window.

Happy Birthday Rally Monkey

2008-06-09T12:50:00.001-07:00

copied from...
http://www.rallymonkey.com/pluggedout-blog2/index.php?entryid=226

Can you believe he's 8 years old!

The Angels trailed 4-1 entering the bottom of the 7th...

Garret Anderson singled
Troy Glaus walked, Anderson to second
Bengie Molina singled, Anderson scored, Glaus to third (4-2)
Adam Kennedy struck out
Edgard Clemente pinch hit for Orlando Palmeiro and struck out
Darin Erstad singled, Glaus scored, Bengie to second (4-3)
Kevin Stocker fouled out

There was more rallying in the bottom of the 8th...

Mo Vaughn struck out
Tim Salmon homered (4-4)
Garret Anderson struck out
Troy Glaus popped out

Scioscia then brought in Troy Percival in a non-save situation and, of course, he gave up a run. On to the bottom of the 9th with the Angels trailing 5-4

Robb Nenn came in to save the game for the Giants
Bengie Molina struck out
Adam Kennedy singled
Scott Spiezio pinch hit for Edgard Clemente and walked, Kennedy to second
Darin Erstad singled, Kennedy scored, Spiezio to third (5-5)
Kevin Stocker bunted and the Giants got Spiezio at home on the failed squeeze play, Erstad to second
Mo Vaughn singled, Erstad scored and the Angels won 6-5

About a coupe of the unknown players in that rally...

Edgard Clemente is the nephew of Roberto Clemente. He played for three seasons with the Rockies and Angels and hit .249 for his career. 2000 was his final season.

Kevin Stocker played 8 years in the majors. He had a career average of .254 and spent his final year with the Angels in 2000.

For a complete recap of the game, go here: http://www.rallymonkey.com/history.php?game=000606

Down On The Farm - 6/5/2008

2008-06-09T12:48:00.000-07:00

copied from...
http://www.rallymonkey.com/pluggedout-blog2/index.php?entryid=225

AAA-Salt Lake

Thanks to their huge start, the Bees have a comfortable 9 game lead in the PCL North. In May, however, the Bees were sub-500 at 13-16. First Baseman Kendry Morales batted .352 in May with 6 home runs. Third Baseman Matt Brown followed up his great April (.425 45-for-106) with a lousy May (.250 18-for-72) although his home run totals were up - 6 in April and 7 in May. Pitcher Nick Adenhart has struggled since returning from the Angels. In 4 starts he has allowed 15 runs - a 5.96 era. Reliever Jason Bulger has been striking out players by the bushel. In 14.2 ip, he has struck out 23 batters. His era is 1.23.

AA-Arkansas

The Travelers are 28-29, three games behind first place NW Arkansas in the Texas League North Division. The Travs have the best era (3.93) in the league and the worst batting average (.253). Two pitchers are among the league leaders in era - Dan Denham, 25, is third with an era of 3.02 and Robert Mosebach, 23, is sixth with an era of 3.53. Offensively, only two regulars are hitting above .260 - outfielder Jordan Czarniecki, 27, is hitting .318 and first baseman Michael Collins, 23, is hitting .283.

Whos on first?

2008-06-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

copied from...
http://www.rallymonkey.com/pluggedout-blog2/index.php?entryid=224

It's June 3rd. The baseball season is roughly 35% done.

Consider these two groups of teams.

Group 1

Seattle Mariners (88-74, 2nd Place AL West last season)
Colorado Rockies (90-73, NL Champion)

Group 2
Chicago Cubs (85-77, NL Central Champion)
Tampa Bay Rays (66-96, 30 games out of first in the AL East)

Which group includes the two teams with the best records in MLB?
Which group includes the two teams with the worst records in MLB?

Before the season started, the Mariners and Rockies were picked as favorites for their divisions. Now they both have records of 21-38 (.356), tied for the worst in the major leagues. How bad are they? Francisco Rodriguez has more saves, 23, than they have wins.

The Cubs were supposed to contend for the NL Central title, but the Rays? Not with the Red Sox and the Yankees in their division. I doubt the Rays can keep it up all season, but I said the same thing a month ago when they were playing well.

Just something to ponder.

Is this the Return Of The Rally Monkey????

2008-06-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

copied from...
http://www.rallymonkey.com/pluggedout-blog2/index.php?entryid=222

In case you weren't paying attention (perhaps the forthcoming Lakers vs Celtics finals has you sidetracked)...

The Angels just had a six game homestand.

Four of the games ended with walk-off hits for the Angels.

Monday, May 26 - Angels 1, Tigers 0 (12 innings)

Garret Anderson takes a 4-pitch walk with the bases loaded to force in the only run of the game.

Tuesday, May 27 - Angels - Angels 3, Tigers 2

After scoring two in the 8th inning to tie the game, Gary Matthews Jr hit a two-out single to score Sean Rodriguez in the bottom of the ninth inning for the victory.

Saturday, May 31 - Angels 3, Blue Jays 2 (10 innings)

Juan Rivera hit a one-out pinch hit single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning for the win.

Sunday, June 1 - Angels 4, Blue Jays 3

With the Angels down one run in the bottom of the ninth and the bases loaded, Howie Kendrick was hit by a pitch (Anyone remember the classic Simpson's Episode???) to force in the tying run. Maicer Izturis later hit a two-out single to score Casey Kotchman and ignite the Halos' fourth walk-off celebration of the week.

Ex-Angels 6/2/2008

2008-06-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

copied from...
http://www.rallymonkey.com/pluggedout-blog2/index.php?entryid=223

Notes and stats from former Angels in the majors...

From May 20 through May 28, Bengie Molina had 7 consecutive multi-hit games. The hot streak boosted his batting average from .276 to .339. Could this be the year Molina finally makes an All-Star team?

Jose Molina isn't faring as well. In 34 games, he's hitting just .218.

Troy Glaus has homered in back-to-back games and now has a whopping 4 home runs in 193 at-bats this season.

Tampa Bay reliever, Troy Percival injured his hamstring last Wednesday and is on the 15-day disabled list.

Fellow Rays' relief pitcher, Gary Glover, had a miserable May going 0-1 with a 10.50 era in 8 appearances. In April, Glover had a 1.69 era in 9 games.

Cardinals reliever Russ Springer had a great May. In 12 games, he had an era of 0.90 and a batting average against of .171.

After hitting .192 in April, Royals' of Jose Guillen hit .308 in May with 3 home runs and 21 rbi.

Scott Schoeneweis continues to have a great season. In 25 appearances (23ip) he has an era of 1.17 and a whip of 0.83.

Bobby Jenks recorded 8 saves in May while allowing only one earned run in 11 games.

Bartolo Colon returned from a minor league stint and has started and won 3 games for the Red Sox.

Met's rp Matt Wise is on the 15-day dl with a sore right shoulder.
The Atlanta Braves waived Chris Resop last week.

EX-ANGEL TEAM AB R HR RBI BB SO AVG OPS
Bengie Molina SF 186 20 6 36 8 13 .323 .860
Darin Erstad HOU 73 13 1 12 2 13 .315 .799
Troy Glaus STL 193 20 4 34 33 37 .269 .795
Jose Guillen KC 215 22 7 38 7 44 .256 .724
David Eckstein TOR 135 17 1 13 11 12 .267 .697
Alfredo Amezaga FLA 131 15 1 7 13 19 .252 .675
Alberto Callaspo KC 79 4 0 3 8 7 .278 .661
Orlando Cabrera CWS 228 34 3 15 19 28 .241 .620
Jamie Burke SEA 35 4 1 3 4 1 .200 .596
Adam Kennedy STL 136 13 0 15 11 21 .243 .577
Jose Molina NYY 110 9 0 6 2 17 .218 .548
Damion Easley NYM 86 6 1 8 4 12 .209 .518
Nathan Haynes TB 44 3 0 3 3 12 .227 .504
Jim Edmonds CHC 121 8 2 11 12 27 .198 .494

EX-ANGEL TEAM G W-L SV IP BB K ERA BAA
Scott Schoeneweis NYM 25 0-1 0 23.0 5 10 1.17 .187
J.C. Romero PHI 24 3-1 0 20.1 11 17 1.33 .244
Bobby Jenks CWS 23 2-0 14 22.1 6 14 1.61 .218
Kevin Gregg FLA 26 4-2 10 27.1 14 20 2.30 .194
Troy Percival TB 22 1-0 14 21.1 4 21 2.95 .133
Russ Springer STL 18 1-0 0 14.0 8 10 3.21 .259
Kent Mercker CIN 15 1-0 0 13.2 8 6 3.29 .265
Bartolo Colon BOS 3 3-0 0 18.0 5 13 3.50 .261
Paul Byrd CLE 11 2-5 0 63.2 8 24 4.66 .287
Gary Glover TB 17 0-2 0 16.2 12 10 4.86 .294
Joel Peralta KC 16 0-2 0 18.2 3 15 5.79 .250
Chris Resop ATL 16 0-1 0 18.1 10 13 5.89 .239
Matt Wise NYM 8 0-1 0 7.0 3 6 6.43 .323
Jarrod Washburn SEA 11 2-6 1 53.2 13 32 6.54 .318
Derrick Turnbow MIL 8 0-1 1 6.1 13 5 15.63 .414

Why do our prospects hit like pitchers?

2008-06-02T13:40:00.001-07:00

copied from...
http://www.rallymonkey.com/pluggedout-blog2/index.php?entryid=221

I wish I had an answer.

Some stats to consider.

Our prospects hit like pitchers...

Brandon Wood is hitting .106 (5-for-47)
Sean Rodriguez is hitting .175 (11-for-63)
The average pitcher in the National League has a batting average around .165.

Other teams' prospect can hit...

The Cincinnati Reds just called up their "Super prospect" Jay Bruce and he had 3 hits in his debut last week. And to prove that wasn't a fluke, he had a 4-hit game yesterday. The 21-year old Bruce is hitting .571 (8-for-14) in his first week in the majors.

Slow starts don't mean a thing...
In Troy Glaus' rookie season, he hit .218 in 165 at-bats with only one home run and he turned out pretty good...until the Mitchell Report. Glaus has 2 home runs this year in 187 at-bats for St. Louis.

Angels Record Deceiving

2008-06-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

copied from...
http://www.rallymonkey.com/pluggedout-blog2/index.php?entryid=220

Through 55 games, the Angels are 9 games over .500 at 32-23. They have also outscored their opponents by only 9 runs this season - an average of 4.25-4.09.

While on the surface this looks good since the Angels are winning close games, it foreshadows a bigger problem. Eventually the numbers will catch up and the Angels win/loss record will become much closer to .500.

Bill James, baseball stat geek extraordinarie, has a formula which works quite well to predict a teams record based on runs scored and runs allowed.

The formula is rs*rs/(rs*rs + ra*ra).

Using this formula the Angels should have a win/loss record of 29-26. The A's, who are currently two games behind the Angels, have an expected win/loss record of 33-20.

I realize that 'expected runs' don't mean anything, but the point I'm trying to make is that the Angels have overachieved thus far and unless they start outscoring their opponents by more runs, I expect Oakland to overtake them for first place.

How accurate is this stat?

Here is a look at expected wins vs actual wins the past few years for the Angels. In the past seven years, the difference has never been more than four games.

2007 - 94 actual wins, 90 expected wins
2006 - 89 actual wins, 85 expected wins
2005 - 95 actual wins, 95 expected wins
2004 - 92 actual wins, 91 expected wins
2003 - 77 actual wins, 80 expected wins
2002 - 99 actual wins, 103 expected wins
2001 - 75 actual wins, 77 expected wins

Angels to host 2010 All-Star Game

2008-06-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

copied from...
http://www.rallymonkey.com/pluggedout-blog2/index.php?entryid=219

It's finally official. After months of speculation, Bud Selig was in town today to announce that Anaheim will host the 2010 Major League All-Star Game. The game will be played on July 13th.

Anaheim has previously hosted games in 1989 and 1967.

Five teams have waited longer for the All-Star Game to return to their city - Cincinnati (1988), Oakland (1987), Minnesota (1985), Dodgers (1980) and Kansas City (1973).

There are three teams who have never hosted an All-Star Game - Tampa Bay, Arizona and Florida.

Predicted sites for future games (just guesses)
2011 Arizona
2012 Kansas City
2013 New York Mets
2014 Minnesota

Projecting Angels Stats at the 1/3 point

2008-06-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

copied from...
http://www.rallymonkey.com/pluggedout-blog2/index.php?entryid=218

The season is now 1/3 over. In 54 games, the Angels are 32-22 which projects to a 96-66 record, most likely good enough for a playoff spot.

So here are some projected season-long Angels statistics calculated by multiplying their current stats by three.

Projected RBI Leaders

84 Casey Kotchman
84 Vladimir Guerrero
84 Gary Matthews Jr
81 Garret Anderson

It's hard to imagine a 96-win club with no player knocking in 100 runs, but that's what the Angels are on pace to do. The last time the Angels didn't have a player with over 100 rbi was 1998 when Jim Edmonds led the club with 91. Last season Vlad led the team with 125.

Projected HR Leaders

30 Mike Napoli
21 Vladimir Guerrero
18 Casey Kotchman
18 Gary Matthews Jr
18 Torii Hunter

Napoli's power has been a boost to the Angels offense. It would be surprising if he maintained hitting home runs every 10.3 at-bats like he currently is, but so far so good. Last year, only Vladdy was over the 20 home run plateau with 27.

Projected Win/Loss Records

24-3 Joe Saunders
21-6 Ervin Santana
15-9 Jon Garland

There's no doubt that Saunders and Santana won't continue their torrid start, but without their stellar pitching the Angels would not be in first place. Remember, these two pitchers were supposed to be battling for the 5th starting spot in spring.

Projected Saves

63 - Francisco Rodriguez

Quite a nice number for someone who will be a free agent in the off season. The Major League record is 57 saves set by Bobby Thigpen of the White Sox in 1990. Thigpen was 27 at the time and wound up saving only 53 more games in his career.

First Place Angels AWOL in ASG Voting

2008-06-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

...copied from
http://www.rallymonkey.com/pluggedout-blog2/index.php?entryid=217

Major League Baseball posted it's first look at All-Star balloting today and to the surprise of nobody (and the delight of Selig and ESPN) the results are littered with Red Sox and Yankees and severly void of players on the first place teams.

Baseball only lists the top five at each position, fifteen for outfielders, so the real extent of the oversights can't properly be judged.

The Angels are first in the West and yet, if balloting ended todat, only Vladimir Guerrero would be an All-Star. In fact, the only other Halo to be listed is Torii Hunter who is 9th for outfielders.

The East-leading Tampa Bay Rays fare even worse in the voting. Despite having the best record in all of baseball, no Ray is higher than first baseman Carlos Pena. Ray outfielders Carl Crawford and BJ Upton are 13th and 15th respectively.

The Central Leading White Sox also only have three players amongst the top vote getters. DH Jim Thome is third highest, 3rd Baseman Joe Crede is 4th and former Angel Orlando Cabrera is 5th amongst shortstops.

As for the leaders, they are all either Red Sox or Yankees except in the outfield where Ichiro is second and Vladdy third.

Ex-Angels Report 5/19/08

2008-05-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

...copied from http://www.rallymonkey.com/pluggedout-blog2/index.php?entryid=216

Notes & Stats from former Angels in the majors...

- 37-year old outfielder Jim Edmonds was released by the San Diego Padres after hitting just .178 this season. The Chicago Cubs picked him up and he has played in one game with them going 1-for-4.

- Former All-Star reliever Derrick Turnbow was sent to Triple-A Nashville by the Brewers. In eight appearances with Milwaukee this year, Turnbow had an era of 15.63.

- Tampa Bay outfielder Nathan Haynes was designated for assignment when Cliff Floyd was activated off the DL.

- 40-year old, Kent Mercker, of the Cincinnati Reds, was placed on the 15-day DL with lower back pain.

- Orlando Cabrera continues to struggle. The career .271 hitter, who hit .301 for the Angels last year, is hitting just .225 this season.

- Darin Erstad hit his first home run of the season last week - a two-out, pinch-hit, three-run shot in the 8th inning to pull the Astros within one of the Giants in a game which the Astros eventually won 8-7.

- Jose Guillen has raised his batting average from .165 to .245 over the last 10 games. He has hit safely in all ten games and his hitting .500 (19-for-38) over that span.

- Mets\\\' lefty reliever Scott Schoeneweis has gone nine straight outings without allowing a run. In 17 appearances this season, he has only allowed two earned runs and has an era of 1.38.

- Matt Wise is back for the Mets after spending 6 weeks on the DL with a forearm strain.

- Jarrod Washburn recorded his first career save last Wednesday. He was Seattle\\\'s 8th pitcher of the game and pitched a scoreless 12th inning.

- Rays\\\' reliever Gary Glover has been roughed up lately. In his last 4 outings (2.2 ip), he has given up runs in three of them.

EX-ANGEL TEAM AB R HR RBI BB SO AVG OPS
Darin Erstad HOU 64 13 1 11 1 11 .313 .807
Troy Glaus STL 152 15 2 28 28 31 .263 .785
Bengie Molina SF 142 12 4 22 5 7 .275 .727
Alberto Callaspo KC 57 2 0 3 7 3 .298 .726
Jose Guillen KC 159 18 5 30 7 34 .245 .717
Adam Kennedy STL 111 11 0 13 9 18 .270 .638
David Eckstein TOR 118 16 1 12 6 12 .246 .637
Jamie Burke SEA 25 3 1 3 3 0 .200 .606
Alfredo Amezaga FLA 114 12 0 6 12 15 .228 .605
Orlando Cabrera CWS 173 27 3 11 14 21 .225 .585
Damion Easley NYM 63 5 1 7 4 9 .222 .566
Jose Molina NYY 82 7 0 3 2 13 .207 .541
Nathan Haynes TB 44 3 0 3 3 12 .227 .504
Jim Edmonds CHC 90 6 1 6 10 24 .178 .498

EX-ANGEL TEAM G W-L SV IP BB K ERA BAA
Scott Schoeneweis NYM 17 0-1 0 13.0 2 7 1.38 .222
J.C. Romero PHI 21 3-1 0 18.0 11 15 1.50 .246
Bobby Jenks CWS 19 2-0 10 18.1 5 12 1.96 .231
Troy Percival TB 17 0-0 11 17.0 2 15 2.12 .119
Kevin Gregg FLA 20 3-2 7 20.2 10 12 2.61 .222
Paul Byrd CLE 8 2-3 0 47.1 5 22 3.61 .262
Kent Mercker CIN 13 0-0 0 11.2 7 6 3.86 .279
Gary Glover TB 13 0-2 0 13.1 9 8 4.05 .283
Russ Springer STL 12 1-0 0 9.1 7 7 4.82 .316
Matt Wise NYM 4 0-1 0 3.1 1 4 5.40 .333
Jarrod Washburn SEA 9 2-5 1 45.1 10 28 5.56 .295
Chris Resop ATL 13 0-1 0 13.2 7 11 5.93 .259
Joel Peralta KC 10 0-1 0 13.0 2 14 6.23 .255
Derrick Turnbow MIL 8 0-1 1 6.1 13 5 15.63 .414

Top 10

2008-01-27T16:16:00.000-08:00

Top 10 Prospects and a little info on the top three.
1. Brandon Wood, ss
2. Nick Adenhart, rhp
3. Hank Conger, c
4. Sean O'Sullivan, rhp
5. Matt Sweeney, 3B
6. Jordan Walden, rhp
7. Nick Green, rhp
8. Chris Pettit, of
9. Peter Bourjos, of
10. Sean Rodriguez, ss

Wood: It's possible that Wood may never live up to his 2005 season, in which he had more than 100 extra-base hits. That doesn't mean he won't be a very productive run producer in the big leagues. He's got a career .528 slugging percentage and managed to make his Major League debut at age 22. At the same time, he made a pretty smooth transition to third base.
Wood still strikes out a lot and headed to Mexico this winter to work on pitch recognition. The real question now is where he'll play. Will it be at third for the Angels, where Chone Figgins is likely to play in '08? Could he move back to shortstop now that Orlando Cabrera is gone, though Erick Aybar appears to be the front-runner there? Or perhaps he'll end up calling another organization home.

Adenhart: One of the most intriguing picks in the 2004 draft, Adenhart has been rewarding the Angels for selecting him in the 14th round of that draft even though he required Tommy John surgery. Now they have one of the top right-handed pitching prospects in the game, one with a three-pitch mix who has played an entire season of Double-A ball and is just 21 years old.
Needless to say, Adenhart is way ahead of the curve despite the elbow surgery he had after being drafted. He'll move up to Triple-A and be knocking on the big-league door all season long. Should the Angels need help or decide to trade from their pitching depth, it shouldn't surprise anyone if Adenhart arrives in Los Angeles next season.

Conger: Conger battled injuries that have slowed his development, suffering a broken hamate bone in his right hand in his pro debut, sapping his power in '07, followed by missing 6 weeks mid-season with a lower back problem, followed by a hamstring injury entering fall ball. Be that as it may, the Angels have themselves a legitimate switch-hitting power threat from the catching position, which is a rare find.Conger despite the injuries, finished 3rd in slugging pct. in the Midwest League, though he didn't have enough at bats to actually qualify due to the time he missed with injuries. An offensive minded catcher, Conger profiles to hit for power in the big leagues from both sides of the plate. Hank makes hard contact to all fields with an aggressive approach at the plate. "Hyun Conger, given his nickname by his Korean grandfather in honor of Hank Aaron, has carried a lofty reputation ever since he swatted 34 home runs and helped pitch his Huntington Beach Little League team to within one victory of the 2000 Little League World Series. Now, he's the top catching prospect.

Santana Bouncing back after bad 07

2008-01-25T11:11:00.001-08:00

Resolute to regain a slot in the Angels rotation, Ervin Santana has drawn enthusiastic reviews for his work with Licey in the Dominican Winter League.

On Monday, Santana outdueled ex- teammate Bartolo Colon in a 5-1 victory over Aguilas Cibaenas in the DWL championship series. Pitching five scoreless innings, giving up just four hits and a walk while striking out four, Santana restrained a lineup that included Huston Astro’s shortstop Miguel Tejada, LA Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal and Cincinnati Reds third baseman Edwin Encarnacion.

"We've gotten solid reports on him," New Angels General Manager Tony Reagins said of Santana, who is 3-1 with a 2.13 ERA. "His concentration and confidence have been outstanding, and the locations of his fastball, breaking ball and changeup have been great. His last two outings, he didn't give up a run. He's pitching with confidence, and that's exciting to see."

In his short rookie season in 2005 with the Angels pitching for injured starting pitcher Kelvim Escobar, Santana ended the Season with 12 wins. In the 2006 season, he finished with a 16-8 record. After a disappointing start to the 2007 season where he went 5-11 with a 6.22 ERA, lost his rotation spot and he was optioned to triple-A Salt Lake Bees on July 18, 2007. He was recalled by the Angels on August 17, 2007 and regained his spot in the starting rotation. He is expected to compete with Joe Saunders for the fifth slot this spring. Manager Mike Scioscia has expressed confidence that Santana, at 25, can rebound and regain his stature as a frontline pitcher.

Offseason Week In Review - January 13

2008-01-13T13:25:00.001-08:00

Angels notes from the past week.

- Chuck Finley received one vote on the Hall Of Fame ballot in which Goose Gossage was the only player elected. Former Angel Bert Blyleven was 4th with 61.9% of the vote and Lee Smith was 5th with 43.3%. To be elected, a player needs to receive 75% of the vote. Blyleven and Smith will be on the ballot again next year, but Finley will not be since he did not receive at least 5% of the vote.

- Rumor 1: The Angels are rumored to be in trade discussions with the Chicago White Sox for Paul Konerko.

- Rumor 2: The St Louis Cardinals are looking to add another former Angel, Troy Glaus. Rumor has it that the Cards would send Scott Rolen to Toronto for Glaus.

Offseason Week In Review - January 6

2008-01-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

All is quiet on the Angels front.

Offseason Week In Review - December 30

2007-12-30T16:17:00.000-08:00

Another predictably slow week for the Angels and in all of Major League Baseball. Former Angel Darin Erstad was signed to a one-year deal with the Houston Astros. MLB.com has a nice article on the Angels year in review.

Happy New Year!

Previous Off-Season Weeks In Review:

December 23, 2007
December 16, 2007
December 9 , 2007
December 2, 2007
November 25, 2007
November 18, 2007
November 11, 2007
November 4, 2007
October 28, 2007
October 21, 2007

Chuck set to go on ballot

2007-12-28T15:06:00.000-08:00

For 14 seasons, with good, average and bad teams, Chuck Finley took the ball for the Angels and made good things happen. In terms of giving customers their money's worth, he was as dependable as they came.

Finley, a 6-foot-6 lefty with a mid-90s fastball and lethal split-fingered fastball, threw 2,675 innings in an Angels uniform, winning 165 games. Right behind him, with 2,181 1/3 innings and 138 wins, is Nolan Ryan.

Retiring in 2002, Finley is making his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot dispensed to voting members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Finley's career lasted 17 seasons, and he ranks 23rd all-time in strikeouts with 2,610.

At his five-year peak -- from 1989 through 1993 -- he was among the elite pitchers in the game. In his 1992 edition of The Baseball Book, Bill James ranked Finley second among all American League starters, behind Roger Clemens. Finley was 16-9 with a 2.57 ERA in 1989, 18-9 with a 2.40 ERA in 1990. He went 18-9 again in 1991, meaning he was 36-18 over a two-year period with teams that finished two games below .500.

Finley made it to the postseason as a 23-year-old rookie with the Angels in 1986, appearing in three games of the American League Championship Series against Boston and holding the Red Sox scoreless with one hit in two innings. He didn't return to the postseason until 2001, after moving to Cleveland as a free agent in 2000. Dealt to St. Louis in July 2002, Finley finished his career in style, beating the Giants in Game 3 of the NLCS that year in San Francisco in his final Major League appearance.

The big man from the Bayou with that big smile and easy going manner finished his career with a 200-173 record. He notched his 2,610 strikeouts in 3,197 1/3 innings, fashioning a 3.85 ERA. Those overall numbers are comparable to those of Hall of Famer Jesse Hanes, who was 210-158 with a 3.64 career ERA.

Five times Finley finished in the top 10 in the AL in ERA, and three times he was in the top five. Reflecting a consistency that made him a leader on any staff he graced, Finley won at least 15 games seven times, reaching double figures 12 times across 14 seasons starting in 1989. The Angels struggled through the '90s, but in 1997 they put it together and appeared capable of challenging Seattle in the AL West. But Finley broke his left wrist backing up home plate on a routine play, his season-ending injury a critical blow for the Angels as they finished second. He struck out a career-high 215 batters in 238 innings in 1996, yet his record was 15-16. Two years later, he racked up 212 strikeouts with a 3.39 ERA -- and finished 11-9 in 34 starts.

After the Angels released Finley, he was signed by the Indians to play for the 2000 season. He went 16-11 with a 4.17 ERA. He went 8-7 with a 5.54 era for the Indians in 2001, and then in 2002 went 4-11 with a 4.44 ERA in 18 games before being traded to the Cardinals for former Indians and now Red Sox player Covelli "Coco" Crisp.

He is the only pitcher to strike out four hitters in the same inning more than once, something he accomplished three times in the span of one year -- May 12, 1999 to April 16, 2000.

Finley was selected by the Angels in the 15th round of the 1984 Draft out of Northeast Louisiana University, but he did not sign. The Angels chose him again in the 1st round of the secondary phase of the 1985 Draft.

Filmography
Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit '99 (1999) (TV) .... Himself

Darin Erstad signs with Houston

2007-12-27T18:57:00.001-08:00

Former Halo Hero Darin Erstad signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Houston Astros today.

Erstad spent last season with the Chicago White Sox and hit .248 in 87 games. In 12 seasons (11 with the Angels), he had a .284 career batting average.

He will be used as a left-handed pinch hitter for Houston. Erstad replaces former Angels teammate, Orlando Palmeiro who was not offered a contract by Houston.

Offseason Week In Review - December 23

2007-12-23T19:47:00.000-08:00

Every week this off-season, I've compiled the top stories of the week on Sunday. However, nothing, and I mean, nothing, happened this week. With the holidays, I doubt that anything will happen next week either.

Happy Holidays.

Previous Off-Season Weeks In Review:

December 16, 2007
December 9 , 2007
December 2, 2007
November 25, 2007
November 18, 2007
November 11, 2007
November 4, 2007
October 28, 2007
October 21, 2007

Offseason Week In Review - December 16

2007-12-16T13:46:00.000-08:00

The Mitchell Investigation was the big baseball news of this past week. Despite naming many players, there seemed to be a lack of current stars included in the report.

Headlines for the past week (December 10, 2007 - December 16, 2007)

Mitchell Investigation Released

The long awaited Mitchell Investigation on steroid and HGH use in MLB was released. The list contained several players who spent some time with the Angels. They included: Mo Vaughn, Glenallen Hill, Adam Riggs, Randy Velarde, Troy Glaus, Gary Matthews Jr, Jose Guillen, Wally Joyner, Paul Byrd, Scott Schoeneweis, Ismael Valdez, Brendan Donnelly, Kent Mercker, Bart Miadich, Derrick Turnbow, Jason Christiansen and Jason Grimsley.

Tejada's not coming to Anaheim

Third Baseman Miguel Tejada was traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the Houston Astros for five players. Tejada was often rumored to come to Anaheim, but the Angels were not foolish enough to give up five players for him.

Former Halo favorites changing teams

David Eckstein was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Blue Jays to a one-year $4.5 million contract. Outfielder Jim Edmonds was traded by the St Louis Cardinals to the San Diego Padres for 3rd baseman prospect David Freese.

Angels do not re-sign McPherson

The Angels did not offer a contract to oft-injured 3rd baseman Dallas McPherson. He will now become a free agent with the San Francisco Giants currently listed as a team that is interested in him.

Previous Off-Season Weeks In Review:

December 9 , 2007
December 2, 2007
November 25, 2007
November 18, 2007
November 11, 2007
November 4, 2007
October 28, 2007
October 21, 2007

Mo Vaughn, Miguel Tejada, etc Linked To Steroids and HGH

2007-12-13T12:18:00.000-08:00

The Mitchell Report came out today with a list of 78 names of major league baseball players who were accused of using steroids and/or HGH.

The highest profile players have all been rumored to be on the list. They include Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada, Jason Giambi and Eric Gagne.

My favorite name so far is Mo Vaughn.

Other players with Halo connections are Glenallen Hill, Adam Riggs, Randy Velarde, Troy Glaus, Gary Matthews Jr, Jose Guillen, Wally Joyner, Paul Byrd, Scott Schoeneweis, Ismael Valdez, Brendan Donnelly, Kent Mercker, Bart Miadich, Derrick Turnbow, Jason Christiansen and Jason Grimsley.

That's all the names that pop up while searching the Mitchell Report for "Angels."

What I find most interesting is that of the 17 current and former Angels mentioned in the report, 9 of them are pitchers. I'm sure there will be a comprehensive list coming out shortly, but it is interesting that there are so many pitchers considering that public opinion has always been that the hitters benefit the most.

How is Brad Fullmer not on this list?

Angels let Dallas McPherson go to free agency

2007-12-13T00:09:00.000-08:00

The Angels have announced that they will not offer a contract to 3rd baseman Dallas McPherson.

By not offering the 27 year old McPherson a contract, he becomes a free agent and can be signed by any team without compensation to the Angels.

McPherson was a top prospect for the Angels following the 2004 season in which he hit 40 home runs for AA-Arkansas and AAA-Salt Lake. He was then basically handed the 3rd Baseman job as the Angels let Troy Glaus go via free agency. Then began his string of injuries started as he never played in more than 61 games in a season.

In 2007, he was out the whole year with back surgery.

Miguel Tejada Traded To Houston

2007-12-12T13:48:00.000-08:00

Whew. It seemed like the Angels were going to overpay for this guy. Instead, the Houston Astros did, sending five players to Baltimore for Tejada.

The Orioles receive pitchers Matt Albers, Troy Patton and Dennis Sarfate, outfielder Luke Scott and third baseman Michael Costanzo. Patton is rated the 3rd best Houston prospect and Costanzo the 5th.

The Angels have always been interested in Tejada, but the price was always too steep. Fortunately, the Angels missed again. Personal reasons for not wanting Tejada are his diminishing power numbers and career .228 batting average in Angel Stadium.

Mike Costanzo

Offseason Week In Review - December 9

2007-12-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

The Winter Meetings came and went without the Angels making a deal. The Detroit Tigers stole the headlines as they acquired Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from Florida for six prospects.

Headlines for the past week (December 3, 2007 - December 9, 2007)

Miguel Cabrera traded to the Tigers
Jose Guillen signs with the Royals and gets suspended
Gary Matthews Jr and former Halos Glaus and Schoeneweis not suspended

Miguel Cabrera traded to the Tigers

The Detroit Tigers joined the elite teams of the American League this week by trading for 3rd baseman Miguel Cabrera and sp Dontrelle Willis. The Tigers sent of Cameron Maybin, sp Andrew Miller, c Mike Rabelo, rp Eulogio De La Cruz, sp Dallas Trahern and sp Blake Badenhop in the deal. The Tigers will now have a Yankee-esque batting order with Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez and Gary Sheffield hitting together in the lineup.

Jose Guillen signs with the Royals and gets suspended

Malcontent outfielder Jose Guillen signed a 3-year $36 million contract with the Kansas City Royals. At 31 years old, Guillen will be a mature, good role model for the young Royals. Or, he will continue to be a whiny jackass who is suspended for the first 15 games of next year for admitted HGH use. Baltimore's Jay Gibbons was the only other player suspended.

Gary Matthews Jr and former Halos Glaus and Schoeneweis not suspended

While Jose Guillen and Jay Gibbons were given 15 day suspensions for HGH use, four other players with drug allegations were not given suspensions. Amazingly, three of the four are connected to the Angels. Current Angel Gary Matthews Jr was not suspended. Troy Glaus, Scott Schoeneweis and Cardinals' of Rick Ankiel were also not suspended.

Previous Off-Season Weeks In Review

December 2, 2007
November 25, 2007
November 18, 2007
November 11, 2007
November 4, 2007
October 28, 2007
October 21, 2007

Dallas v. Troy

2007-12-07T13:16:00.000-08:00

Dallas McPherson. Remember him?

The murmurs started even before the end of the 2004 season: The Halo’s had given up on one of their foundations, third baseman Troy Glaus. They were going to replace him with a young, talented prospect named Dallas McPherson. Even though Glaus averaged 36 home runs a season between 1999 and 2002 (the year the Angels won the World Series and Glaus was named Most Valuable Player), and even though he was an outstanding defensive player (he played shortstop at UCLA), and even though he was only 28 years old, he kept getting injured.

Glaus played in only 149 games combined during the 2003 and 2004 seasons, the same seasons he is now accused of using steroids. He insisted he would return to form with rest and rehab but the Angels were uncertain and then—luck of all luck—they found a Glaus clone in their minor league system.

Dallas McPherson was big like Glaus—6’4”/ 230 pounds to Glaus’ 6’5”/ 240 pounds—plus he hit for power and they wouldn’t have to pay him nearly as much. So while Glaus lingered on the disabled list, we got swift daily reports of McPherson’s exploits in the minors. When he was called up to the Angels for the final month in 2004, McPherson had driven in 57 runs in 67 games in Salt Lake City. By the end of that season the Angels were won over by the fact that it was time for a change; they let Glaus go to the Arizona Diamondbacks and installed McPherson at third base.

Almost instantaneously the hope that they had found another, younger Glaus in McPherson was confirmed. Regrettably the Glaus that McPherson reincarnate was the one who missed a crap load of games. And he missed a lot more than Glaus, actually. McPherson played in 101 games during the next two seasons, missing 223. His playing time was limited by a whole host of injuries: bone spur in his left hip, herniated disk in his lower back, back spasms, oblique strain and, yes, skin rash.

In his limited service McPherson has hit a total of 15 home runs. And Glaus? Well, after playing just 149 games the previous two seasons he played 149 in 2005 for Arizona, hitting 37 homers with 97 RBIs. The Diamondbacks then traded Glaus to the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2006 season. All he did there was drive in 104 runs and rank sixth in the American League with 38 homers. Meanwhile, back in Anaheim the Angels’ once-mighty offense was reduced to Vladimir Guerrero and a bunch of guys making the sign of the cross. Manager Mike Scioscia has had a trial with a parade of players at third base before he settled on Maicer Izturis and Chone Figgins.

Once touted as a 40-homer threat, McPherson was limited by injuries to 40 games in 2006 and missed all of 2007 after undergoing surgery to repair a herniated disk in his lower back. McPherson took his first steps in a comeback from back surgery when he played in the Arizona Instructional League this fall. But McPherson, 27, played in just 11 games in the Arizona instructional league this fall, hitting .240 in 25 at-bats with two home runs. He feels better about his chances of playing in 2008 . . . somewhere. "I don't care if I'm in A ball -- I just want to get back on the field," McPherson said. "I'm so far down the list right now, and rightfully so. I've had so many injuries; I was out for a year. I don't expect to be the starting third baseman, for sure, but I would like another opportunity."

The report is that McPherson is doing yoga in hopes of improving his range of motion, and said his instructional league stint went a lot better than he expected."My biggest fear was running the bases, and I was able to do that," McPherson said. "I was able to play third, a little first. I was able to bend down, move to my left and right, get out of the batter's box. I felt like my power was fine. I hit some good shots, drove the ball to the gap a few times. It was definitely something to build on."

But can we count on Dallas finally to produce like we thought he would back in 2004? Time will tell and the fear I have is that he will but it will be for a team that surprises everyone and makes it to the playoffs and Dallas comes back to bite us like a certain White Sox closer did.

The other Miguel and .228

2007-12-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

With Miguel Cabrera headed to Detroit, the Angels are supposedly interested in Miguel Tejada. While Tejada might help to improve the Angels lineup, he is definitely not a "Big Bat".

Tejada has been rumored to be a player who has benefited from steroids and his numbers might support that rumor. In the past four years, Tejada's home runs have decreased each season - 34, 26, 24, 18. Granted, with the 18 home runs, he would have been second on the Halos home run list in a tie with Gary Matthews Jr.

In those same four seasons, his batting average has remained steady - .311, .304, .330, .296 - but the Angels don't need another hitter with "gap-power".

The most staggering reason not to acquire Miguel Tejada is .228. That is Tejada's career batting average at Angel Stadium. There is no park in the American League where he has a lower average.

His career ops at Angel Stadium is .663 which is more than 140 points lower than the Angels' team ops at home last year which was .812. Reggie Willits had the lowest ops of any Angels regular last year and his ops was .735.

Angels fans, don't fall for the media hype. We do need a big bat, but Tejada is not that bat.

Tigers land Miguel Cabrera

2007-12-04T16:33:00.000-08:00

The Big Apple of many Halo fans eyes, Miguel Cabrera, has been traded to the Detroit Tigers.

Along with Cabrera, the Marlins are sending All-Star pitcher Dontrelle Willis in exchange for six players.

The Tigers sent of Cameron Maybin, sp Andrew Miller, c Mike Rabelo, rp Eulogio De La Cruz, sp Dallas Trahern and sp Blake Badenhop in the deal.

Maybin and Miller were both in Baseball America's Top 10 prospects last season. The Angels' two highest prospects were Brandon Wood (#8) and Nick Adenhart (#34), so the Marlins were able to get more from Detroit.

Also today, Angels GM Tony Reagins stated that the club never inquired about Twins starting pitcher Johan Santana.

Cameron Maybin

Offseason Week In Review - December 2

2007-12-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

Last week, the Angels traded Orlando Cabrera and signed free agent Torii Hunter. This week, nothing. With the winter meetings being held this upcoming week in Nashville, the Angels may again make some big moves.

Headlines for the past week (November 26, 2007 - December 2, 2007)

Arte Moreno speaks on Cabrera and the Mitchell Investigation
Angels lose minor league prospect Warner Madrgial
Troy Percival signs with Tampa Bay
Winter Meetings coming up this week

Arte Moreno speaks on Cabrera and the Mitchell Investigation

At last week's press conference to introduce Torii Hunter and Jon Garland, Arte Moreno made some interesting comments. First, regarding Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera, Moreno said that he thought the Angels had a deal done for him twice, but nothing was ever official due to the Marlins asking for even more players. Secondly, Moreno became the first MLB owner to say that the Mitchell Investigation (Steroid use in MLB) will list plenty of familiar names. The Mitchell Investigation report is due out sometime this month.

Angels lose minor league prospect Warner Madrgial

Through some procedural wrongdoings, the Angels have lost pitching prospect Warner Madrigal to the Texas Rangers. Madrigal was originally signed by the Angels in 2001 as an outfielder, but was converted to a pitcher two seasons ago. This past season, the 23-year old closer made 54 appearances at Low-A Cedar Rapids compiling a 5-4 record with 20 saves and a 2.07 era.
For the Angels to retain Madrigal's rights they had to place him on the 40-man roster before he could become a minor league free agent. They placed him on the 40-man roster on November 6th, not knowing that he was eligible for (and applied for) free agency on October 28th.

Troy Percival signs with Tampa Bay

Former Angel closer Troy Percival signed a 2-year $8 million contract to pitch for the Bay Rays. Percival retired last April as an Angel only to come back in June with the St. Louis Cardinals. His comeback was a success as he had a 1.80 era in 34 appearances. He is expected to be the closer for Tampa Bay whose bullpen era last year of 6.16 was the highest in the majors in over 50 years. Percival is reunited with manager Joe Maddon who was the Angels' bench coach while Percival was with the Angels. His contract also includes $4 million in potential bonuses.

Winter Meetings coming up this week

Tony Reagins will be in Nashville this week along with all of the other general managers to wheel and deal. The big names look to be Miguel Cabrera and Johan Santana. With an excess of starting pitchers, outfielders and middle infield prospects, the Angels have the potential to make some deals.

Previous Off-Season Weeks In Review

November 25, 2007
November 18, 2007
November 11, 2007
November 4, 2007
October 28, 2007
October 21, 2007

Torii hunter - The Rallii Monkii's Biggest Fan

2007-11-29T21:11:00.000-08:00

Doesn't Torii Hunter know that the Rallii Monkii is soooo 2002?

Hmmm, maybe this blog isn't the best place to say it, but what's done is done.

In any case, here's Torii's quote from yesterday's press conference...

"Then I thought about 2002, and the rally monkey. This rally monkey has been a thorn in my side and in my nightmares, so I'm just happy to be a part of this organization and be a part of the monkey. I thought about kidnapping him plenty of times, but now the monkey's going to be my friend. I'm really going to like this monkey. We're going to be in the malls together, walking the beach, everything. So that's my buddy and my new best friend - and Rex Hudler."

So if I were to read between the lines, does that make Rex Hudler a monkey?

Offseason Week In Review - November 25

2007-11-25T23:26:00.000-08:00

I often wish that mankind was capable of learning. For instance, when will sports fans learn that deals that get done are (almost) never started as a rumor. We have heard about A-Rod and Miggii Cabrera for months, yet we wake up one day and our starting shortstop is gone. And then later in the week, we have 36 outfielders.

It's not just the Angels, Lakers fans still talk about Jason Kidd rumors and Kevin Garnett rumors but there were no rumors of the Trevor Ariza trade. OK, that's my rambling...Oh yeah, one more, A-Rod...by the time we heard that he had talked with the Yankees, the deal was done.

Headlines for the past week (November 19, 2007 - November 25, 2007)

Angels acquire SP Jon Garland for SS Orlando Cabrera
Angels sign free-agent CF Torii Hunter for $90 million
Vladii Guerrero finishes 3rd in AL MVP Voting

Angels acquire SP Jon Garland for SS Orlando Cabrera

The one thing that everyone can agree on is that Bill Stoneman never would have made this trade. It also seems to be universally accepted that this deal is a prelude to a bigger "master plan." With the target of that plan being Migii Cabrera, the big hitting, big eating 3rd Baseman from the Florida Marlins. The Angels currently (temporarily?) have Maicer Izturis or Erick Aybar as the starting shortstop. And there are six starting pitchers - John Lackii, Kelviim Escobar, Jered Weaver, Jon Garland, Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana.

Angels sign free-agent CF Torii Hunter for $90 million

One year after signing CF Gary Matthews Jr to a 5-year $50 million contract, the Angels have signed CF Torii Hunter to a 5-year $90 million contract. Next week, I expect to see the Angels sign CF Andruw Jones to a 5-year contract. Apparently, Tonii Reagins' blueprint to success is to corner the market on center-fielders. I've heard that the Dodgers are trying to trade Juan Pierre.....

Vladimir Guerrero finishes 3rd in AL MVP Voting

Angels RF Vladimir Guerrero finished 3rd in voting for the 2007 American League MVP balloting. Vladii's .324 avg, 27 home runs and 125 rbi were nowhere near the .314 avg, 54 home runs and 156 rbi that winner Alex Rodriguez compiled, but nobody else was near either. Vlad finished 9th last year and 3rd in 2005 after winning MVP honors in 2004.

Previous Off-Season Weeks In Review

Its Hunting Season with Torii in Town

2007-11-22T07:57:00.000-08:00

The Halo’s who have been trying to land another strong hitter for several years, agreed to a five-year, $90 million deal Wednesday with free agent Torii Hunter, who hit .297 with 28 homers and drove in 107 runs for Minnesota this year.

Three teams -- the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals -- extended five-year offers to the former Minnesota Twins star, and the Angels seemed set in center field with Gary Matthews Jr., a superb defender who is entering the second year of a five-year, $50-million contract.

A seven-time Gold Glove winner, the 32-year-old Hunter will be the everyday center fielder and hit in the middle of the lineup, making it tougher for opposing pitchers to pitch around Guerrero.

Although Hunter's arrival seems to make last season's center fielder, Gary Matthews Jr. odd man out in an outfield with Guerrero in right and Anderson in left, Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said it would give him more options. Hunter said, "I've watched the Angels play for a long time, I've seen these guys work us [during the American League championship series] in 2002. They play the game the right way, they play hard-nosed baseball every day, they go first to third, which I like."

"Torii is going to be in center field virtually every day. Gary will be in the outfield almost every day, so the other two guys will split up the DH," Scioscia said in a conference call. "We want all four of those bats in the lineup."

The Angels, who for three years have been searching for a power bat to protect Vladimir Guerrero in the lineup, were in serious trade talks with the Florida Marlins for Miguel Cabrera, but Reagins refused to say Wednesday night whether they would still pursue the power-hitting third baseman. Two days earlier, the Angels traded Gold Glove shortstop Orlando Cabrera to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Jon Garland.

Reagins says he plans to "speak with Gary in depth" in the next few days and said the signing of Hunter "is no indication" that Matthews, who recently spoke to Commissioner Bud Selig about a 2004 shipment of human growth hormone sent to him by a pharmacy being investigated for illegal performance-enhancing drugs, is facing a lengthy suspension in 2008.

Reagins, busy so far this winter, likely will stay that way this winter since the Angels currently have six starting pitchers, plus Matthews, among others who might go in a trade. Reagins first contacted Hunter's agent, Larry Reynolds, this week. "They came in trying to get something done in a hurry and it worked out," Reynolds said. "In the past, we said we're going to pursue every opportunity to make our club better. This was an opportunity. I had the support of some people around me, then I got aggressive."

The deal doesn't bode well for the futures of Juan Rivera and Reggie Willits in Anaheim. Rivera, one of the team's most productive hitters and a solid defender in 2005 and 2006, sat out most of 2007 because of a broken leg and now moves to fifth on the outfield depth chart. Willits, who replaced the injured Anderson last May and provided a much-needed spark in the leadoff spot, batting .293 with 74 runs in 136 games, may be out of a big-league job. Both could be used as trade bait to get an even bigger bat such as Miguel Cabrera or an infield upgrade such as Baltimore shortstop Miguel Tejada, whom the Angels would want to move to third base.

Angels + Cabrera = Trade

2007-11-19T10:29:00.000-08:00

The Angels have made a trade involving Cabrera. Unfortunately, it's not Miguel Cabrera, but rather Orlando Cabrera.

The Angels are sending Gold-Glove winning shortstop Orlando Cabrera to the Chicago White Sox for 28-year old starting pitcher Jon Garland.

If this deal were made last week, I'd swear that it was a precursor to A-Rod coming to the Angels, but now I'm not sure. Do the Angels really think it's Brandon Wood's time? Is Miguel Cabrera coming, moving Chone Figgins to short? Are the Angels going to trade one of their starting pitchers for somebody? Is the Miguel Tejada to the Angels rumor finally going to happen?

In any case, it seems strange to me. Cabrera just won a Gold Glove and hit .301 with 86 rbi. He has only one year left on his contract so that could be a possible reason for moving him.

Garland is coming off a season where he went 10-13 with a 4.23 era. Garland's best year was 2005 when he was 18-10 with a 3.50 era. Garland also has one year left on a 3-year $29 million contract.

Offseason Week In Review - November 18

2007-11-18T10:58:00.000-08:00

American League awards were handed out and two of baseball's biggest names, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, are in the news again.

Headlines for the past week (November 12, 2007 - November 18, 2007)

Reggie Willits finishes 5th in AL Rookie Of The Year Voting
John Lackey finishes 3rd in Cy Young voting
Mike Scioscia finishes 2nd in AL Manager Of The Year voting
A-Rod Is Set To Return To The Yankees
Barry Bonds indicted on perjury charges

Reggie Willits finishes 5th in AL Rookie Of The Year Voting

Outfielder Reggie Willits finished 5th in voting for the 2007 American League Rookie Of The Year. Willits received two 2nd place votes and five 3rd place votes in the balloting. Boston second baseman was the runaway winner followed by Delmon Young of Tampa Bay, Brian Bannister of Kansas City, Dice-K of Boston and then Willits. Last year, rookie Jered Weaver also finished 5th in the voting.

John Lackey finishes 3rd in Cy Young voting

John Lackey finished behind Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia and Boston's Josh Beckett for the AL Cy Young Award. Lackey finished with a 19-9 record and league best 3.01 era.

Mike Scioscia finishes 2nd in AL Manager Of The Year voting

Manager Mike Scioscia received four 1st place votes, but it wasn't enough to beat out Cleveland's Eric Wedge for the 2007 AL Manger Of The Year. Scioscia won the award in 2002.

A-Rod Is Set To Return To The Yankees

Free-agent 3rd Baseman Alex Rodriguez looks to be headed back to the New York Yankees. After opting out of the last three years of his mega-deal, A-Rod has secretly dealt with the Yankees, shunning his agent Scott Boras. A-Rod is rumored to have signed a 10-year, $275million deal with the pinstripes.

Free-Agent Barry Bonds indicted on perjury

Tainted home run king Barry Bonds has been indicted for perjury and the obstruction of justice. It seems that he won't be returning to baseball in 2008 to pursue the 3000-hit milestone - he is 65 hits shy of 3000. Sadly, I'm starting to feel sorry for Barry. He's a jerk and a bad teammate. But doesn't the United States government have something better to do than to try and get Bonds to admit to steroid use? Aren't there bigger criminals? Bigger issues? I guess not.

Previous Off-Season Weeks In Review

Offseason Week In Review - November 11

2007-11-11T14:25:00.000-08:00

A slow week filled with post-Halloween sugar-induced hallucinations of A-Rod becoming and Angel and Miguel Cabrera becoming an Angel.

Headlines for the past week (November 5, 2007 - November 11, 2007)

Marlins want Howie Kendrick in any trade for Miguel Cabrera
Vladimir Guerrero wins Silver Slugger Award

Marlins want Howie Kendrick in any trade for Miguel Cabrera

Let the rumors begin. The Florida Marlins have said that any deal with the Angels involving big bat, bigger appetite, 3rd baseman Miguel Cabrera must involve Howie Kendrick. The Marlins are reportedly asking for Kendrick, 3rd Baseman Brandon Wood, SP Nick Adenhart and SP Ervin Santana. Bill Stoneman would have never made this deal and personally, I wouldn't either. But new GM's tend to want to make a splash and Cabrera and his size-40 pants would be a big one.

Vladimir Guerrero wins Silver Slugger Award

I'm not really sure this is news. I mean, of course, Vlad wins a Silver Slugger award. It is his 4th straight (in 4 years with the Halos) and 7th award overall. Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera also had nice offensive years, but were bested by Yankees Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter.

Previous Off-Season Weeks In Review

November 4, 2007

October 28, 2007

October 21, 2007

Rumor Mill

2007-11-10T16:08:00.000-08:00

Rumor Mill Spins

The Marlins might ask the Angels for Howie Kendrick and their top two prospects, third baseman Brandon Wood and pitcher Nick Adenhart for third baseman Miguel Cabrera.

By the Angels acquiring Cabrera, they probably would replace Kendrick by moving Chone Figgins from third base to second, even though they would weaken their defense at both positions this would help keep Figgy in the everyday lineup.

Cabrera Wins Gold Glove

2007-11-06T21:29:00.000-08:00

American League Gold Glove Awards were announced today and Angels' shortstop Orlando Cabrera won his first award in the American League.

Cabrera led all qualified American League shortstops with a .983 fielding percentage and also had a league low 11 errors.

Cabrera has won the award once before while with the Montreal Expos in 2001.

Jose Guillen Accused Of Steroid Use

2007-11-06T21:25:00.000-08:00

This steroid head hunt is hardly newsworthy, but it's always nice to pile on Jose Guillen.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Guillen "ordered more than $19,000 worth of drugs from the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center between May 2002 and June 2005."

Guillen was an Angel during the 2004 season. While with the A's in 2003, Guillen allegedly had the drugs shipped to the Oakland Coliseum.

Guillen joins Troy Glaus and Paul Byrd as former Angels accused of steroid use.

Offseason Week In Review - November 4

2007-11-04T20:05:00.000-08:00

The Dodgers sign manager Joe Torre and the local media is trying to make the A-Rod Sweepstakes a local competition.

Headlines for the past week (October 29, 2007 - Novmeber 4, 2007)

A-Rod Officially Opts Out Of Contract and Becomes A Free Agent
Reagins heads to GM meetings in Orlando
Angels Announce that they will not attempt to re-sign Bartolo Colon
Angels coaching staff re-signed for next season
Figgins has minor surgery
Angels place OF Tommy Murphy and RP Marc Gwyn on Waivers
Texas Rangers claim OF Nick Gorneault From Waivers

A-Rod Officially Opts Out Of Contract And Becomes A Free Agent

The Angels are considered one of the front-runners in the A-Rod sweepstakes. But do you really want the Angels to commit that much money ($350 million) for that long (10-12 years)? Negotiations can officially begin on November 14th.

New GM Tony Reagins Heads To First GM Meetings

Tony Reagins, the new Angels general manager, is heading to Orlando, Florida this week for the GM meetings. First time action for the new GM.

Angels will not re-sign Bartolo Colon

The Angels announced that they will not pursue free agent Bartolo Colon. Colon just finished his 4-year, $48 million contract with the Angels. It will be interesting to see what others team are willing to risk on Bart.

Coaching staff to return

Mike Scioscia's supproting staff will be back in place next season. Contract extensions were given to bench coach Ron Roenicke, hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, pitching coach Mike Butcher, bullpen coach Orlando Mercado, bullpen catcher Steve Soliz and base coaches Alfredo Griffin and Dino Ebel.

Chone Figgins has minor surgery

Chone Figgins underwent minor surgery to remove the hook of the hamate bone in his left wrist. Figgins suffered from a bone bruise for most of September limiting his ability to bat right-handed.

Roster Moves

The Texas Rangers claimed outfielder Nick Gorneault off of waivers. Gorneault, 28, had his first cup of coffee with the Halos this year, playing in two games and going 0-for-4 at the plate. The team also announced that OF Tommy Murphy, 28, and RP Marc Gwyn, 29, were placed on waivers making room on the Angels 40-man roster.

-----------------------------

Previous Off-Season Weeks In Review
October 28, 2007

2008 Schedule Released
2008 Spring Training Schedule Released
RP Chris Resop claimed off waivers by Atlanta

October 21, 2007

GM Bill Stoneman Resigns
Tony Reagins Introduced as new GM
Paul Byrd accused of HGH use while with Angels

Tradition

2007-11-01T15:34:00.001-07:00

Joe Torre was hired Thursday to manage the Los Angeles Dodgers, taking the job two weeks after walking away from the New York Yankees.
Torre's contract is reportedly for three years and slightly more than $13 million. Torre moves from one storied franchise to another, taking over a team that finished fourth in the NL West this season and hasn't won the World Series since 1988.

Ok that is that now for a rant. I do not care about the Dodgers so much, but they are from LA and growing up watching them with my father (His favorite team, but not the one whom drafter him. The Angels) I did grow up with the tradition that was Dodger Blue. I suffered through years with managers like Terry Collins, Buck Rodgers, Marcel Lachemann, Doug Rader, Cookie Rojas and Moose Stubing, and Gene Mauch all running the Angels while Tommy Lasorda ruled the Dodgers. I hoped for that kind of tradition. The Dodgers had the best players of the day. They had some new innovation, Nomo, Fernando, A cripple whom pitch hit to win a playoff game. They signed players but the mostly developed players from within. Orel Hershiser, Steve Sax, Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Fernando Valenzuela, Ron Cey, Don Sutton 5 World Championships, 9 Pennants, and 15 Playoff Appearances since they have been in LA. And only two of those playoff appearances since Tommy left town for Dodger retirement.

Now they sign the same manager whom only led one team to the playoffs before joining the Yankees. That team 1982 NL West Atlanta Braves. He started managing in 1977 with the Mets. Not much Dodger tradition. The Dodgers left tradition behind the day the Angles hired an entire staff of ex-Dodgers starting with Mike Scioscia.

It seems to me in recent years the team LA needs to follow, the one whose owner is not in debt, has money and the want to build what the Dodgers have lost, is the Angels and Moreno. Torre is a nice shinny Band-Aid that you get at the pediatricians office with cartoon characters. It looks cool but you still have the open wound underneath and you still have a band-aid on. Torre is not tradition except to say that he is starting to become one. One in which the Dodgers don’t win and have to cover up their mistakes with fancy cartoon band-aids.

A-Rod Sweepstakes Begins

2007-10-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez has declared his intent to opt out of his contract and become a free agent.

Let the A-Rod sweepstakes begin...

...And the many questions surrounding A-Rod and the Angels.

Why the Angels should get A-Rod.

He's young, healthy and one of the best players in the game. Over the past 10 years, he has averaged 45 home runs, 126 rbi and had a .302 batting average. He's above-average defensively and has 15+ steals annually. The 1-2 punch of Vladimir Guerrero and A-Rod would rival the Red Sox combination of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.

Where would A-Rod fit in the line up?

He would play 3rd Base, turning Chone Figgins back into an utility player. The same Chone Figgins who hit .330 for the Halos last year. It would potentially put Figgins on the trading block.

Why the Angels should NOT sign A-Rod.

Arte Moreno had already said that he doesn't think paying one player that much money ($30 million per season) is a good business decision. In addition, the length of the contract A-Rod is seeking, reportedly ten years, makes it a risky deal.

Why the Angels might surprise their fans and sign A-Rod.

They have a new general manager. New general managers like to make a splash and this would be a big one. Signing Barry Bonds would also be a big splash without committing long term money.

Has A-Rod made teams better in the past?

Yes, but not how you think. In 2001, A-Rod signed with Texas. They went from winning 71 games in 2000 to winning 73 games in 2001. A 2 game improvement. In 2004, he was traded to the Yankees, where they matched their win total of 101 from the previous year. So in the two instances of A-Rod switching teams, his new team has averaged one more win per year.

In A-Rod's last year in Seattle, the Mariners won 91 games. The next year without A-Rod, they won 116 games. A 25 game improvement! The same thing happened in Texas. In his final year as a Ranger, they had 71 wins. Their first year without him, they won 87. A 16 game improvement. Put your money on the Yankees next year if he leaves.

Will Angels fans be willing to pay for A-Rod?

The extra $30 million for A-Rod's contract has to come from somewhere. And the easiest place to get it right now is ticket revenue. Angel Stadium is already near capacity so selling more tickets isn't really an option. Unfortunately, ticket prices would have to be raised.

The Angels sold 3,365,632 tickets last season. If you divide $30,000,000 by 3,365,632, you get $8.91. In other words every ticket would have to be raised almost $9 to cover A-Rod's contract. Is that worth it to Angels fans?

Who is a more likely fit for A-Rod?

The Dodgers. Their grip on the L.A. market is weakening. It's still a Dodger town, but they don't have the Lakers/Clippers dominance that they used to.

Offseason Week In Review - October 28

2007-10-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a quiet week for the Angels as the World Series brings Red Sox Nation to unprecedented levels of arrogance and obnoxious behavior. I guess the Chowdas suffered for years as New York was arrogant and obnoxious and then suddenly Boston beats them and they collectively decide: "Hey, we can be way more wicked awesome obnoxious."

Headlines for the past week (October 22, 2007 - October 28, 2007)

2008 Schedule Released
2008 Spring Training Schedule Released
RP Chris Resop claimed off waivers by Atlanta

2008 Schedule Released

The Angels open on the road in Minnesota before coming back for the home opener against Texas. The Freeway Series is now the Freeway Game as the Angels and Dodgers play only once this year. The Padres are replacing the Dodgers for the remaining two preseason games.

2008 Spring Training Schedule Released

The popularity of Spring Training has really taken off in the past few years. It used to be a couple thousand fans in the sun and now it seems like there are sellouts every game. I suggest catching the Angels in Maryvale or Surprise where the crowds are smaller.

Chris Resop Claimed Off Waivers

Who's Chris Resop? Good question. The Angels got him for Kevin Gregg last season from Florida. Resop was up with the Angels for a couple of weeks in July and made 4 appearances. He had no record with an era of 4.15. At AAA-Salt Lake, he was 1-3 with a 4.57 era. Resop injured his pitching elbow in July and did not pitch the rest of the year. He has since had surgery and completed rehabilitation.

Previous Off-Season Week In Review
October 21, 2007

5 Year Anniversary

2007-10-27T13:23:00.001-07:00

It's hard for me to believe, but today is the 5th year anniversary of the Angels 4-1 victory in Game 7. Recap of Game 7.

Arm switching controversy continues.

2007-10-26T15:18:00.000-07:00

As the season ended just weeks ago the not much was heard about the less publicized arm switching controversy, but there are reports that it is starting up again. Sources tell us here at Rallymonkey.com that ex-GM Stoneman knew about the surgery through an "acquaintance" and that he himself might of been the very first recipient when he attempted to revive his career before heading to the Offices of the Expo's. Stay tuned for more on this breaking story.

Angels groundskeepers to hold annual canned food drive

2007-10-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

Here is an opportunity for anyone to take batting practice on the actual field at Anaheim Stadium.

The Angels Groundskeepers will be holding their 7th annual Thanksgiving Holiday Canned Food Drive on Friday, November 16th thru Sunday, November 18th at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Hours for the food drive will be 8 AM - 5 PM. Participants can enter Angel Stadium through Gate #1.

Fans will have the opportunity to step up to the plate at Angel Stadium and take a swing for the fences. Donations of two cans of food will be good for one swing against a pitching machine with a maximum of 20 pitches per participant. Fans may also donate $2 per pitch as well. Speed pitch machines will also be set up in the bullpens giving fans the opportunity to test their pitching skills for a donation of one canned food item or $1 per pitch. Additionally, fans will have the opportunity to shag fly balls in the outfield for a donation of $25 for 15 minutes. The Angels will provide bats, balls and helmets.

All proceeds will benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County in the fight against hunger during the holiday season. Those who are unable to attend but would still like to make a monetary donation, may send checks to: Second Harvest Food Bank, 426-A West Almond, Orange, CA 92866 or visit their website at www.feedoc.org

2008 Angels Spring Training Schedule Announced

2007-10-23T23:48:00.001-07:00

The Angels return to Tempe next February for Spring Training.

Here is the tentative schedule (updated 2/2/08)

2/28 vs Texas (Tempe) 12:05 PM
2/29 at Texas (Surprise) 12:05 PM
3/1 vs Cubs (Tempe) 12:05 PM
3/2 at Milwaukee (Maryvale) 12:05 PM
3/3 vs Oakland (Tempe) 12:05 PM
3/4 at White Sox (Tucson) 12:05 PM
3/5 at Seattle (Peoria) 12:05 PM
3/6 vs San Francisco (Tempe) 12:05 PM
3/7 vs White Sox (Tempe) 12:05 PM
3/8 vs San Francisco(SS) (Tempe) 12:05 PM
3/8 at Colorado(SS) (Tucson) 12:05 PM
3/9 vs Texas (Tempe) 1:05 PM
3/10 vs Oakland (Tempe) 1:05 PM
3/11 at San Diego (Peoria) 1:05 PM
3/12 vs Kansas City (Tempe) 1:05 PM
3/13 at Kansas City (Surprise) 1:05pm
3/14 at Chicago Cubs (Mesa) 1:05 PM
3/15 vs Arizona (Tempe) 1:05 PM
3/16 at Chicago Cubs(SS) (Mesa) 1:05 PM
3/16 at San Francisco(SS) (Scottsdale) 1:05 PM
3/17 -- OFF-DAY
3/18 vs Milwaukee (Tempe) 1:05 PM
3/19 at Oakland (Phoenix) 12:05 PM
3/20 vs San Francisco (Tempe) 1:05 PM
3/21 at Texas (Surprise) 6:05 PM
3/22 at Dodgers (Phoenix) 1:05 PM
3/23 vs Seattle (Tempe) 1:05 PM
3/24 vs San Diego (Tempe) 1:05 PM
3/25 at Arizona (Tucson) 1:05 PM
3/26 vs Chicago Cubs (Tempe) 1:05 PM
3/27 vs Colorado(SS) (Tempe) 12:05 PM
3/27 vs Los Angeles(SS) (Angel Stadium) 7:05 PM
3/28 at San Diego (Petco Park) 7:05 PM
3/29 vs San Diego (Angel Stadium) 6:05 PM

(ss) means split-squad. 1/2 of the team goes to each game. If there is a home split squad game and a road split squad game, expect to see the better players play at home.

2008 Angels Schedule Released

2007-10-23T23:25:00.000-07:00

The Angels will open the season in Minnesota in 2008 with the home opener coming April 4th against Texas. The Angels also finish the season at home against Texas.

The Mets, Braves and Dodgers will visit Anaheim during interleague play. The Angels will play at the Dodgers, Phillies and Nationals as well.

Here's a look at the tentative schedule

March 31 - April 3 at Minnesota
April 4 - 6 Texas
April 7 - 9 Cleveland
April 11 - 13 at Seattle
April 14 - 15 at Texas
April 16 - 17 Kansas City
April 18 - 20 Seattle
April 22 - 24 at Boston
April 25 - 27 at Detroit
April 28 - May 1 Oakland

May 2 - 4 Baltimore
May 5 - 7 at Kansas City
May 9 - 11 at Tampa Bay
May 12 - 15 Chicago
May 16 - 18 Dodgers (interleague)
May 20 - 22 at Toronto
May 23 - 25 at Chicago
May 26 - 28 Detroit
May 30 - June 1 Toronto

June 2-4 at Seattle
June 6-8 at Oakland
June 9-11 Tampa Bay
June 13-15 Atlanta (interleague)
June 16-18 NY Mets (interleague)
June 20-22 at Philadelphia (interleague)
June 23-25 at Washington (interleague)
June 27-29 at Dodgers (interleague)
June 30 - July 2 Oakland

July 4-6 Toronto
July 7-10 at Texas
July 11-13 at Oakland
July 18-20 Boston
July 21-23 Cleveland
July 25-27 at Baltimore
July 28-30 at Boston
July 31 - August 3 at New York

August 4-6 Baltimore
August 8-10 New York
August 12-13 Seattle
August 15-17 at Cleveland
August 18-20 at Tampa Bay
August 21-24 Minnesota
August 25-27 Oakland
August 28-31 Texas

September 2-4 at Detroit
September 5-7 at Chicago
September 8-10 New York
September 11-14 Seattle
September 16-18 at Oakland
September 19-21 at Texas
September 22-25 at Seattle
September 26-28 Texas

Offseason Week In Review - October 21

2007-10-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

Headlines for the past week (October 15, 2007 - October 21, 2007)

Stoneman Resigns
Reagins Introduced as new GM
Paul Byrd accused of HGH use while with Angels

Stoneman Resigns

The first big move of the offseason was made Tuesday as the Angels general manager, Bill Stoneman, resigned. Stoneman cited lack of energy as a primary reason for resigning. He is going to stay with the organization as a consultant to Arte Moreno.

Stoneman spent eight years as the Angels general manager including the team's only World Series title in 2002. He was responsible for bringing big free agents like Vladimir Guerrero and Bartolo Colon to the team as well as keeping homegrown talent (John Lackey, Francisco Rodriguez, Scot Shields, Howie Kendrick, Casey Kotchman) around.

Reagins Introduced As New General Manager

Tony Reagins was introduced as the man to replace Bill Stoneman as general manager of the Angels. Reagins was currently the Director of Player Development for the past six seasons for the Angels.

A former media intern, Reagins worked his way up the ladder in the Angels organization.

What remains to be seen is who has the power? Reagins, Scioscia or Morneo?

Ex-Angel Paul Byrd Accused Of HGH use

Indians pitcher Paul Byrd was accused of ordering human growth hormone from 2002-2005. Byrd did not deny taking the drug. Rather, he said that major league baseball knew of his prescription and permitted him to take it. He pitched for the Angels in 2005.

Bill Stoneman era over in the OC?

2007-10-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

Bill Stoneman, who built the Angels' only World Series championship team, presiding over the most successful period in franchise history, is expected to step down after eight years as general manager.

Stoneman's eight-year tenure as Angels GM is the longest since the franchise's first GM, Fred Haney, held the position for the Angels' first eight seasons. Though he was often criticized for a reluctance to make trades, the Angels had four 90-win seasons, made the playoffs four of the past six years, won the division three of the past four and became World Series champions for the first time in franchise history in 2002 during Stoneman's tenure.

The Angels have called a news conference for Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. to make what is billed as "a major announcement." The Angels would not comment on the record but indications are the announcement will be Stoneman's decision to step down as GM after eight years and move into a consultant's role with the team.

"It's going to be a baseball operations-related press conference," Angels spokesman Tim Mead said.

Multiple reports said Stoneman will remain with the organization as a consultant.
The Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site that Tony Reagins, the Angels' director of player development, is expected to become the new GM.

Los Angeles won its third AL West title in four years this season, but was swept out of the playoffs in three games by the Red Sox in the division series. The closest the Angels have come to returning to the World Series was in 2005, when they lost to the Chi Sox in the AL Championship Series. Angel fans won't easily forget the AJ Pierzinski-Doug Eddings-Josh Paul incident.

The Angels have made the postseason only seven times in their 47-year history, and four of those appearances came after Stoneman became their GM in the winter of 1999. After not reaching the playoffs since 1986, the Angels earned a postseason berth as a wild card in 2002 and beat the New York Yankees and Twins in the AL playoffs before defeating the Giants in seven games to win the World Series.

Stoneman, 63, was hired after the 1999 season. When Arte Moreno purchased the team in May 2003, Stoneman was given a contract extension. That contract ended with the 2007 season but included a mutual option for Stoneman to either continue as GM or step into a consultant's role.

Reagins, 40, is a 1991 graduate of Cal State Fullerton who has been working in the Angels' organization since 1992. He started as an intern in baseball operations and the marketing department then spent four years as the Angels' manager of baseball operations before being promoted to director of player development six years ago. Abe Flores is currently the Angels' manager of baseball operations and would be in line to replace Reagins as director of player development.

Under Reagins' direction, the Angels' minor-league system has become one of the most well-stocked and well-respected in baseball. Fifteen of the 25 players on the Angels' playoff roster against the Boston Red Sox were products of the team's farm system, the most homegrown players among the eight teams that qualified for postseason play this season.

Stoneman's decision to step aside -- and Moreno's apparent decision to promote Reagins -- leaves the Angels with a rookie general manager at the start of an off-season in which Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds could provide big-name options in the seemingly annual quest for a big bat.

Reading the Articles

2007-10-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

Ok it has been a few days now since the Halo’s were eliminated. I had a few phone calls and another few conversations with some of the people I work with on my feelings on what happened with the Halo’s. Well here they are. I did not read anything about the team tell this morning. Why? Was I depressed? Angry? Hoping it was all a bad dream? No is the simple answer. I just did not want to read or listen to people bash Scioscia and the Angels players. T.J. Simers, Bill Plashke of the LA Times make me just… well I don’t know how to even explain it.

Are they fans? Probably not. They came from towns far far away. T.J. Simers attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill. Bill Plaschke was born in Louisville, Ky., and worked in Fort Lauderdale and Seattle before joining the Los Angeles Times in 1987. They write the articles they write not as viewers telling you what you may not know or have not heard yet, but they write articles to make noise. Cause a stir. They may watch the game; they may even enjoy the game. But do they root for the Halo’s. Do they watch with regularity? No is my guess because after reading some of their articles they seem to be going for the flash and show.

In TJ Simers article, he talks about Scioscia blowing it. “Two weeks ago Sunday, the Angels, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians each had 92 wins, the Angels clinching and soaking themselves with champagne after securing a playoff berth.’ ’ Six games to play, time to go all out to give themselves the best chance of winning it all, and they proved my point -- unable to play their game effectively on the road, they couldn't even take advantage of a schedule calling for them to play against down-and-out teams in Texas and Oakland.” Ok this is a snippet of the article but all he does is say how Mike screwed up by not playing everyone like they were fighting for their lives. But I know for a fact that he could not have watched the team over the past month or else he would of realized we not only limped into the playoffs mostly on the backs of Seattle’s poor play, but we did it with a team that hardly looked like the team that won the first 80 or so games.

Yes we were hurt. Is that an excuse? No not from me, or from Scioscia but it is a fact we were hurt. We got our asses handed to us by a better team. Would home field have helped? Maybe, who knows? From GA’s eye, Vlad’s arm, the total absence of Mathews and the bullpen that had blown up over the second half of the year no wonder we got shelled.

Game two should have been ours. From the called strike that was a foot out on Kendrick that should have been ball four, to the catch made by the Boston owners son out of the glove of Mathis. We should have had that game. But Manny came through for them. That’s was a shame but shit happens.

Now Plaschke he is selling himself for more TV time and he now writes just to do that, sell himself. He is a TV whore. So I will not go into his nonsense except to say that Vlad did not choke like A Rod. He could not. A Rod played healthy, not happy but at least healthy. Vlad seemed to be happy but not healthy, probably not happy about loosing but just happy to be where he is at this point in his life. The comparison is not even close. So just remember if you read the LA Times just take it with a grain of salt, or a bag. They are trying to sell newspapers and become TV stars on ESPN. I do not know how to end this article except to say things are going to be interesting this fall and winter with free agents and the what if with A Rod. The team could look very much the same next season or it could be totally revamped. Stoneman could turn some heads this off-season.

ALDS Excuses

2007-10-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

Fielding questions about the Angels' loss in the ALDS...

The Angels need a big bat.

True. If you think about it, there are probably 30 teams in baseball who would like an additional "big bat". In this series, I don't think one big bat wouldn't have been enough, unless that bat was Manny Ramirez or David Ortiz. The "big bat" every Angel fan talks about is Alex Rodriguez. He would've been no help. In three playoff games this season, he has two singles.

The Red Sox own the Angels.

For many years, the Yankees absolutely owned the Red Sox. I think we're seeing that now with the Red Sox owning the Angels. There is no good explanation for it. The Sox are just a thorn in the Angels side. The same might be said about the Angels owning the Yankees.

Scioscia should have tried for homefield advantage.

False. Didn't you see how banged up the Angels were? Matthews couldn't even be on the postseason roster. Vlad was hobbled. There was no reason for Scioscia to push these guys to try and get home field advantage. Plus, in the past several seasons, the team with home field advantage has lost a majority of the series.

Stoneman should have made some trades.

The Atlanta Braves traded their future for Mark Teixeira. Are the Braves in the postseason? No. Did they even qualify for the playoffs? No. Did their record improve with Teixeira? No. (.523 pre-trade, .509 after trade.)

Dice-K vs Escobar

2007-10-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

The Angels have never faced Dice-K, so there are no batter-pitcher reports there. Likewise, the Red Sox did not face Kelvim Escobar this year. Escobar has seen the Red Sox many times in his past and has fared pretty well.

Escobar as an Angel against Boston

YEAR G GS IP W-L ER ERA 2004 1 1 6.0 0-1 3 4.50 2005 2 1 7.2 0-0 0 0.00 2006 2 2 14.0 1-1 7 4.50 2007 0 0 0.0 0-0 0 0.00 Tot 5 4 27.2 1-2 10 3.26
In 2006, Escobar made two starts against the Red Sox. He won his start at Boston (2 er in 6.0 ip) and lost at home (5 er in 8.0 ip).

In 2005, Escobar made one start at Fenway and allowed only 1 unearned run in 6 innings and received a no decision.

In 2004, Escobar pitched once against the Sox at Fenway and lost giving up 3 er in 6 ip.

Dice-K at Fenway

14 career starts
8-4 record
4.86 era
1.34 whip
.266 baa

Kelvim Escobar at Fenway

21 careerappearances
7 career starts
4-3 record
4.30 era
1.40 whip
.238 baa

Red Sox vs Kelvim Escobar (career) H/AB HR AVG OPS Crisp 5/14 0 .357 .971 Drew 1/5 0 .200 .533 Lowell 5/15 0 .333 .733 Lugo 4/7 1 .571 1.600 Ortiz 4/24 1 .167 .551 Pedroia 0/4 0 .000 .000 Ramirez 7/32 1 .219 .748 Varitek 7/21 0 .333 .833 Youkilis 1/6 0 .167 .333

Magic

2007-10-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

I remember back in 2002 I was working at a bad job, but a job that let me watch my Angels on TV. Funny thing was I had just moved to the Bay Area and even though I was a few hundred miles away from Anaheim I knew that there was something special going on. I could feel it from before they clinched a playoff spot. I watched them in Oakland as they beat the A’s just before the playoffs started. And when the playoffs did start I just knew it was magical. I went out and purchased a 3 inch screen portable TV, (later returned thanks to Target's wonderful return policy) and just knew I would get a lot of use out of it for a month.

Thanks to Scott Spiezio, Adam Kennedy, David Eckstein, Troy Glaus, Garret Anderson, Tim Salmon, Bengie Molina, Troy Percival, Chone Figgins (man he could run), Francisco Rodriguez and others I knew my layaway plan was going to pay off. Magic was in the air.

It was like going into Disneyland as a kid and being in awe of everything. We started with a loss in every one of those playoff series, but I knew we were going to win. And win we did over and over again. Sure there were a few loses sprinkled in, three in the World Series. But even after a lose it was no problem. We had magic.

Before that year we would hear things about the curse that was holding the Halo’s back, it was something to do with an Indian burial ground. I personally think it was due to the 12 or more cups of coffee Perci would drink during a game. JK. But we won and ever since then things have not felt as they did that year.

Was the magic lost with the World Series Championship? No, I do not think so. I still go back to Disneyland and even though I worked there and have seen it in its worst, it is still a magical place. One my five month old will experience this winter. But before then, I also want to think of the magic I feel when I watch the games like I did in 2002, because even though I have been to Disneyland and seen the World Series Trophy, it's still magical and I still think that nothing is going to stop me wishing on a star and believing what I know in my bright Red Angel Fan heart.

It's Just One Game

2007-10-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's game was just one loss. Just like the one loss to the Yankees in 2002 or the Twins in 2002 or the Giants in 2002 or the Yankees in 2005.

In fact, in every post season series the Angels have won in their history, they have lost game one.

But this game was different. Not that the Angels had to win, but they had to have a good showing and that was definitely not the case.

I'm not worried about the home field advantage/disadvantage or the Fenway Mystique. I'm worried because the Angels bats seem to have picked up from where they left off two years ago against the White Sox.

In their last five playoff games, the Angels have averaged 1.6 runs per game on 4.8 hits per game. Those numbers aren't going to get you very far.

Hopefully, the Red Sox are taking this day off to bask in the glory of their Halo Domination. Maybe their overconfidence will allow the Angels to steal one tomorrow and then come home and take care of business. Hopefully.

Angels post season results after losing the first game of the series (4 series wins - 2 series losses)

1979 ALCS Angels lose game 1 at Baltimore 6-3 and lose the series 3 games to 1.

2002 ALDS Angels lose game 1 at New York 8-5 and win the series 3 games to 1.

2002 ALCS Angels lose game 1 at Minnesota 2-1 and win the series 4 games to 1.

2002 WS Angels lose game 1 at home to the Giants 4-3 and win the series 4 games to 3.

2004 ALDS Angels lose game 1 at home to the Red Sox 9-3 and lose the series 3 games to 0.

2005 ALDS Angels lose game 1 at home to the Yankees 4-2 and win the series 3 games to 2.

2007 ALDS Angels lose game 1 at Boston 4-0 and...

Angels post season results after winning the first game of the series (0 series wins - 3 series losses)

1982 ALCS Angels win game 1 at home against Milwaukee 8-3 and lose the

1986 ALCS Angels win game 1 at home against Boston 8-1 and lose the series 4 games to 3.

2005 ALCS Angels win game 1 at Chicago and lose the series 4 games to 1.

Good Grief, Not Another Complete Game

2007-10-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

Add Josh Beckett to the list.

That's now 5 consecutive post season games where the Angels have not seen a reliever.

Beckett only threw one complete game all season and it was an 8-inning 1-0 loss at Cleveland.

Daisuke Matsuzaka starts in Game 2 of the series on Friday. He too has only thrown one complete game this season. Does he dare be the pitcher who breaks the streak?

I'm not sure what to think. I'm not ready to jump off the bridge and call Mike Scioscia the Marty Schottenheimer of baseball, but unless they show some offensive signs of life on Friday, the powers behind "Angel Baseball" might want to revamp the blueprint.

Consecutive post season complete games thrown against the Angels

Josh Beckett 10/3/07 - Boston 4, Angels 0
Jose Contreras 10/16/05 - White Sox 6, Angels 3
Freddy Garcia 10/15/05 - White Sox 8, Angels 2
Jon Garland 10/14/05 - White Sox 5, Angels 2
Mark Buehrle 10/12/05 - White Sox 2, Angels 1

In the 5 games the Angels have a total of 24 hits - 4.8 per game.

Game 1 Batter vs Pitcher Breakdown

2007-10-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

Josh Beckett at Fenway
34 career starts
16-11 record
4.51 era
1.22 whip
.244 baa

Angels vs Josh Beckett (career)
H/AB HR   AVG OPS
G.A. 4/10 0 .400 1.100
Cabrera    9/32 1 .281   .667
Figgins    1/8   0 .125   .425
Vlad 5/23 1 .217   .771
Maicer 4/17 0 .235   .572
Howie    3/8   0 .375   .750
Kotchman 1/3   0 .333   .667
Napoli 0/4   0 .000   .000
Willits    0/2   0 .000   .000
Rivera 1/10 0 .100   .350

John Lackey at Fenway

7 career starts
1-4 record
7.46 era
2.03 whip
.362 baa

Red Sox vs John Lackey (career)
H/AB HR   AVG OPS
Crisp    4/22 2 .182   .705
Drew 5/11 0 .455 1.227
Lowell 3/12 0 .250   .500
Lugo 4/18 0 .222   .578
Ortiz 10/26 2 .385 1.274
Pedroia 2/6 0 .333   .833
Ramirez 10/23 4 .435 1.668
Varitek    5/18 0 .278   .825
Youkilis 3/10 0 .300   .600

Everything "They" tell you about the playoffs is wrong

2007-10-01T14:55:00.001-07:00

The baseball postseason is like no other sport. What might be true in the NFL, NBA or NHL playoffs is not true in baseball. It is it's own beast. Any team really can win. So here are three things the media tell you that are statistically wrong.

1. The best teams have the best chance of winning the World Series.

I wrote about this back in early August (link) and found that regular season record has absolutely no bearing on postseason success. In the Wild Card era, 18 teams have finished with 100 wins or more during the regular season and only one of them (1998 Yankees) won the World Series. Incredibly two teams with less than 90 wins have won the World Series - 2006 Cardinals (83-78) and the 2000 Yankees (87-74).

Wins Teams Titles Percent
100-116 17 1 5.9%
95-99 31 4 12.9%
90-94 25 4 16.0%
82-89 15 2 13.3%

2. Home field advantage is an advantage.

I wrote about this last week (link). I researched the past 8 years (56 series) and found that the home team wins only 45% of the series. I only researched 8 years because prior to that the Division Sereies had a 3-2 format instead of the 2-2-1 format.

Records of Teams with Home Field Advantage
2006 1-6 .143 (Home team won 1 series and lost 6)
2005 5-2 .714
2004 4-3 .571
2003 2-5 .286
2002 1-6 .143
2001 5-2 .714
2000 3-4 .429
1999 4-3 .571
Tot 25-31 .446

3. To win it all you have to have momentum.

I just researched this back to 1999. 56 series should be enough to get some decent data. Momentum is hard to quantify, but I decided to use the team's record in their last 10 games heading into the playoffs. It's a stat we're all familiar with which makes it as good as any other.

2007 Records (Last 10) of playoff teams

BOS 6-4
NYY 6-4
CLE 6-4
LAA 4-6

COL 9-1
PHI 7-3
CHC 6-4
ARI 5-5
SDG 4-6

Either Colorado or San Diego will be eliminated later today.

The average post season team enters the postseason going 6-4 in their past 10 games. In the past 8 seasons 15 teams have gone 6-4 while 25 teams have been better and 24 teams have been worse. If you believe in momentum the numbers should surprise you.

Last 10	Teams	Series Wins	WS Titles
7-3 or better	25	22-21 (.512)	4
6-4	15	12-15 (.444)	0
5-5 or worse	24	22-20 (524)	4

Looking at it, there is no bearing on World Series titles or series wins based on momentum. Here's the chart broken down a bit further.

Last 10	Teams	Series Wins	WS Titles
9-1	3	3-3 (.500)	0
8-2	11	8-10 (.444)	1
7-3	11	11-8 (.579)	3
6-4	15	12-15 (.444)	0
5-5	13	10-12 (.455)	1
4-6	8	6-7 (.462)	1
3-7	2	3-1 (.750)	1
2-8	1	3-0 (1.000)	1

I'm not trying to say that you want to finish 7-3 like the Phillies. The point here is that momentum has no bearing on winning the World Series.

Regular season record, home field advantage and momentum are all myths when it comes to the baseball playoffs. The truth is every team has a 1 in 8 chance of winning it.

I'm not trying to explain why baseball is like this; I'm just saying that if you look at the history of the playoffs, it's anybody's game.

ALDS Times Set

2007-10-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

The ALDS playoff times have just been announced. Times are local to Anaheim.

Wed Oct 3 at Boston 3:30 tbs
John Lackey vs Josh Beckett

Fri Oct 5 at Boston 5:30 tbs
Kelvim Escobar vs Daisuke Matsuzaka

Sun Oct 7 vs Boston (Home game #1) Noon tbs
Jered Weaver vs Curt Schilling

Mon Oct 8 vs Boston (Home Game #2) (if necessary) 6:30 tbs
Pitchers tba - the team down 2-1 (if not both teams) will probably use their Game #1 starter.

Wed Oct 10 at Boston (if necessary) 5:30 tbs
Pitchers tba

Yankees @ Indians
1 NYY @ CLE Thu 4 3:30 pm tbs
2 NYY @ CLE Fri 5 5:30pm tbs
3 CLE @ NYY Sun 7 Noon tbs
4 CLE @ NYY Mon 8 6:30pm tbs
5 NYY @ CLE Wed 10 5:30pm tbs

ALCS
Fri Oct 12 Game 1 5:00pm FOX
Sat Oct 13 Game 2 5:00pm FOX

Mon Oct 15 Game 3 1:00pm FOX
Tue Oct 16 Game 4 5:00pm FOX
Thu Oct 18 Game 5 5:00pm FOX

Sat Oct 20 Game 6 1:00pm or 5:00pm FOX
Sun Oct 21 Game 7 5:00pm FOX

World Series

Wed Oct 24 Game 1 5:00pm FOX
Thu Oct 25 Game 2 5:00pm FOX

Sat Oct 27 Game 3 5:00pm FOX
Sun Oct 28 Game 4 5:00pm FOX
Mon Oct 29 Game 5 5:00pm FOX

Wed Oct 31 Game 6 5:00pm FOX
Thu Nov 1 Game 7 5:00pm FOX

Mets 'F' It Up

2007-09-30T18:03:00.000-07:00

The Mets blew it.

I'm not talking about the 7 game lead with 17 games to play. I'm talking about today.

The Mets lost and the Phillies won so the NL East is theirs. The Padres lost and the Rockies won forcing a one game showdown between the two teams tomorrow in Colorado to see who wins the NL Wild Card.

A one game playoff is nice, but if the Mets would've won, the crazy scenario of shear mayhem would've come to fruition - 4 tie-breaker games before the NL playoffs could even start.

But alas, Tom Glavine got only one out and the Mets lost. Now to see where the rank with the 1995 Angels in all-time chokes.

Ex-Angels in the playoffs

2007-09-30T14:10:00.001-07:00

A look at familiar names in the postseason.

Boston Red Sox - The only former Angel on their roster is Brendan Donnelly. Donnelly is out with Tommy John surgery. He last pitched on June 10th .

Cleveland Indians - Paul Byrd went 15-8 with a 4.59 era this season as Cleveland's 4th starter. He is scheduled to start Game 4 of the ALDS against the Yankees next Monday.

New York Yankees - Jose Molina hit .224 as an Angel this year and .295 as a Yankee.

Arizona Diamondbacks - Alberto Callaspo never played at the Major League level for the Angels but was a prospect when the Angels traded him to Arizona for Jason Bulger. The 24-year old Callaspo hit just .207 in 140 at-bats and probably will not make the post season roster. Outfielder Jeff DaVanon started the year with the D'Backs but was waived and signed by the A's in August.

Chicago Cubs - no former Angels.

Colorado Rockies - Ramon Ortiz was traded by the Twins to the Rockies in August. He has pitched sparingly for the Rockies allowing 11 earned runs in 12 innings pitched.

Philadelphia Phillies - JC Romero was acquired by the Phillies in June after the Red Sox placed him on waivers. The Phillies use Romero as a left-handed specialist and he has not allowed an earned run in 19 September appearances (13.2 innings). Last year with the Halos his era was 6.70. With the Phillies, it's down to 1.31.

San Diego Padres - There are no players on the Padres who have played for the Angels, but their managed by the Angels former pitching coach, Bud Black. Their hitting coach is former Angel Wally Joyner.

Other coaches with Angels ties are...
- Diamondbacks hitting coach Rick Schu (1b-3b 1990)
- Red Sox 1st Base Coach Luis Alicea (2b 1997)
- Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell (sp 1993-94)
- Rockies 1st Base Coach Glenallen Hill (dh 2001)
- Yankees Special Pitching Instructor Rich Monteleone (rp 1988-89, 1995-96)

Recap of Angels vs Red Sox games in 2007

2007-09-30T01:04:00.001-07:00

The Angels and Red Sox played 10 times this year with the Red Sox winning 6 of the games. Here is a recap of those 10 games. Recap links go to Yahoo Sports.

(Coming later in the week, Angels vs Boston player stats)

April 13 at Boston Red Sox 10, Angels 1
-The Red Sox scored 6 runs in the 8th inning to pull away. John Lackey started and allowed 3 earned runs in 5.2 ip. The Angels mustered only 5 hits off starter Tim Wakefield and 3 Boston relievers.

April 14 at Boston Red Sox 8, Angels 0
- Curt Schilling pitched 8 shutout innings as the Angels bats were again silenced (5 hits) in Boston. Hector Carrasco started for the Angels before giving way to Darren Oliver, Chris Bootcheck and Greg Jones.

April 16 at Boston Red Sox 7, Angels 2
- Ervin Santana started for the Halos and the Sox had 5 runs before Santana recorded an out. Josh Beckett hit Vladimir Guerrero on the hand in the first inning and he was forced to leave the game.

August 7 at Anaheim Angels 4, Red Sox 2
- Maicer Izturis' solo home run in the 7th inning broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Angels a rare victory over the Sox. Jered Weaver outdueled Curt Schilling allowing 2 earned runs in 6 innings. "I could have very easily shut those guys out tonight if I had executed some pitches tonight," Schilling said.

August 8 at Anaheim Angels 10, Red Sox 4
- Gary Matthews Jr was 3-for-5 with 4 rbi as the Angel bats exploded for 14 hits. Joe Saunders was shaky -giving up 4 runs in 5.1 ip. Chris Bootcheck and Darren Oliver came out of the pen and gave up only one hit in 3.2 ip.

August 9 at Anaheim Red Sox 9, Angels 6
- Dustin Pedroia hit a solo shot off of Garret Anderson's glove in the 7th inning to snap a 6-6 tie. Dustin Moseley made the start for the Halos and gave up 6 earned runs in 4.2 ip.

August 17 at Boston Red Sox 8, Angels 4 (Game 1 of DH)
- John Lackey had his worst outing of the season as the Red Sox scored 6 runs in the 1st inning off of Lackey. Casey Kotchman was 4-for-4 in the loss.

August 17 at Boston Angels 7, Red Sox 5 (Game 2 of DH)
- In the second game of the duobleheader, Ervin Santana returned from the minor leagues and retired the first 13 batters he faced. The Angels took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the 9th inning when Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez couldn't hold the lead. Shields struck out the first batter, then walked two batters and allowed a single to load the bases. K-Rod came in with the bases loaded to face David Ortiz. He threw a wild pitch allowing one run, then gave up doubles to Ortiz and Manny Ramirez as the Sox took a 5-4 lead. As Boston prepared for the doubleheader sweep, the Angels took advantage of Eric Gagne scoring 3 runs in the 9th to win the game.

August 18 at Boston Red Sox 10, Angels 5
- The Angels built a 5-0 lead going into the bottom of the 5th inning, but Jered Weaver couldn't hold it. The Red Sox scored 6 runs in the 5th including a grand slam by David Ortiz. The Angels managed just one base runner after the 5th and Justin Speier gave up 4 runs with two outs in the 8th inning in the loss.

August 19 at Boston Angels 3, Red Sox 1
- Joe Saunders pitched into the 8th inning allowing just one run and 6 hits. Scott Shields was shaky, allowing Saunders' inherited runner to score, but Justin Speier and K-Rod shut down the Sox for the win and a split of the series.

My National League dream of playoff chaos is still alive

2007-09-30T00:29:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I posted my dream scenario for the National League with the Phillies and Mets tying for the NL East lead, the Brewers and Cubs tying for the NL Central lead and the Phillies, Mets, Padres and Rockies all tying for the Wild Card.

With one day left, the only tie settled is in the NL Central where the Cubs have clinched the division. The Diamondbacks have also clinched home field in the National League playoffs and will face the Chicago Cubs in the first round. The NL East winner will have home field advantage in the first round against the Wild Card winner.

With one game left, here is how the National League shakes out...

ARZ 90 71 --- West 1
SDP 89 72 1.0 West 2 - WC 1
NYM 88 73 2.0 East 1t - WC 2t
PHI 88 73 2.0 East 1t - WC 2t
COL 88 73 2.0 West 3 - WC 2t

For maximum chaos, I would like to see the following happen on Sunday:

1) The Brewers beat the Padres. If the Padres win, they clinch a playoff spot regardless of the other outcomes. This loss would leave the Padres with 89 wins.
2) The Rockies beat the Diamondbacks to finish with 89 wins.
3) The Mets beat the Marlins to finish with 89 wins.
4) The Phillies beat the Nationals to finish with 89 wins.

If this all happens, here is how the standings would look Sunday night...

ARZ 90 72 --- West 1
SDP 89 73 1.0 West 2t - WC 1t
NYM 89 73 1.0 East 1t - WC 1t
PHI 89 73 1.0 East 1t - WC 1t
COL 89 73 1.0 West 2t - WC 1t

Two teams tie for the NL East title and would need a tiebreaker game and 4 teams would tie for the Wild Card requiring more tiebreaker games.

Here's a look at the tiebreaker scenarios...

The easy scenarios

1) If the Mets & Phillies have the same record, they will have a one-game tiebreaker in Philadelphia. The location was determined with a coin flip a few weeks back.

2) If the Padres win, they are the NL Wild Card. If Arizona loses, the Padres and D'Backs would tie for the NL West (and best record in the NL) but Arizona wins on the head-to-head tiebreaker 10-8.

If the Padres lose, all hell could break loose.

3) If the Padres lose and the Mets, Phillies and Rockies lose, then the Padres are the Wild Card team.

The tricky scenarios

1) Padres Lose, Rockies Win, Mets Lose, Phillies Lose

-The Mets & Phillies play Monday in Philadelphia to decide the NL East winner.
-The Padres & Rockies play Monday in Colorado to decide the NL Wild Card.

2) Padres Lose, Rockies Lose, Mets Lose, Phillies Win

-The Phillies are the NL East champion and will host the Padres in the NLDS.
-The Padres are the NL Wild Card and will start the NLDS in Philadelphia.

3) Padres Lose, Rockies Win, Mets Lose, Phillies Win

-The Padres & Rockies play Monday in Colorado to decide the NL Wild Card.
-The Phillies are the NL East champion and will host the Wild Card winner in the NLDS.

4) Padres Lose, Rockies Lose, Mets Win, Phillies Lose

-The Mets are the NL East champion and will host the Padres in the NLDS.
-The Padres are the NL Wild Card and will start the NLDS in New York.

5) Padres Lose, Rockies Win, Mets Win, Phillies Lose

-The Padres & Rockies play Monday in Colorado to decide the NL Wild Card.
-The Mets are the NL East champion and will host the Wild Card winner in the NLDS.

6) Padres Lose, Rockies Lose, Mets Win, Phillies Win

-The Mets & Phillies play Monday in Philadelphia to decide the NL East winner.
-The loser of the Mets vs Phillies game plays San Diego on Tuesday to decide the Wild Card winner. If the Mets play the Padres, the game will be in New York, if the Phillies play the Padres, the game will be in San Diego.

7) Padres Lose, Rockies Win, Mets Win, Phillies Win (The crazy scenario)

-The Mets & Phillies play Monday in Philadelphia to decide the NL East winner.
-The loser of the Phillies vs Mets game joins the Rockies and Padres in a 3-team tie for the NL Wild Card.
-With three teams, the wild card tiebreaker games will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday. The team with the best head-to-head record among the 3 finalists gets to choose if it would rather have a bye on Tuesday (the right choice) or play both games at home. The Rockies have the best head-to-head record between these 3 teams (regardless of the 3rd team being the Mets or Phillies) and I would assume that they would take a bye. In that case, the NL East loser and Padres would play an elimination game in either San Diego (if it's the Phillies) or New York (if it's the Mets) on Tuesday.
-The winner of Tuesday's game would then host the Rockies on Wednesday in the final tie-breaker game to determine the NL Wild Card winner.

That's it. See how simple it is :) But first, the Padres have to lose to the Brewers.

First Round is set - Angels @ Red Sox

2007-09-30T00:11:00.000-07:00

The American League playoff seedings are set and the Angels will open at Boston on Wednesday. Here is a look at the schedule. The start times have yet to be determined by MLB and TBS.

Wed Oct 3 at Boston
John Lackey vs Josh Beckett

Fri Oct 5 at Boston
Kelvim Escobar vs Curt Schilling

Sun Oct 7 vs Boston (Home game #1)
Jered Weaver vs Daisuke Matsuzaka

Mon Oct 8 vs Boston (Home Game #2) (if necessary)
Pitchers tba - the team down 2-1 (if not both teams) will probably use their Game #1 starter.

Wed Oct 10 at Boston (if necessary)
Pitchers tba

Lackey leapfrogs to ERA Lead

2007-09-29T01:47:00.001-07:00

With seven shutout innings against the Oakland last night, John Lackey lowered his era from 3.11 to 3.01. He also moved past Fausto Carmona of the Indians into 1st place in the American League.

He should win the title. Only two pitchers (Carmona & Haren) could pass him by throwing a shutout. Neither of them are scheduled to pitch again this year. Haren faced Lackey yesterday. Carmona last pitched on Wednesday and may throw a bit on Sunday. To pass lackey, he would need to pitch 3 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball. He could also beat Lackey by allowing one earned run in 6 1/3 innings.

AL ERA Leaders

1. John Lackey.....LAA 3.01 2. Fausto Carmona..CLE 3.06 3. Dan Haren.......OAK 3.07 4. Erik Bedard.....BAL 3.16 5. CC Sabathis.....CLE 3.21 6. Josh Beckett....BOS 3.27 7. Johan Santana...MIN 3.33 8. Kelvim Escobar..LAA 3.46

Two National League pitchers have lower ERAs than Lackey. San Diego's Jake Peavy has a 2.36 era and Arizona's Brandon Webb checks in with a 3.01 (percentage points lower than Lackey) era.

Last year, Lackey was 5th in the American League with a 3.56 era. He was also 5th in 2005 with a 3.44 era.

The last Angels player to win the ERA title was Frank Tanana in 1977.

Friday Night Standings & Stats Update

2007-09-29T01:40:00.000-07:00

With Boston and Cleveland both winning, the Angels hopes of home field advantage in the first round are officially gone.

As of right now, here are the playoff matchups
Angels (3) @ Red Sox (1)
Yankees (4) @ Indians (2)

Current AL Standings (Including Friday 9/28/07)

BOS 95 65 .594 --- 3 Games Left(2 vs MIN)
CLE 95 65 .594 --- 3 (2 at KC)
LAA 93 67 .581 2.0 3 (2 at OAK)
NYY 92 68 .575 3.0 3 (2 at BAL)

*Boston owns the tie-breaker against Cleveland by winning the head-to-head matchup 5-2 this season.

AL Batting Leaders (Including Friday 9/28/07)

Chone Figgins currently has enough plate appearances to qualify for the daily batting leaders. His .334 average puts him in 5th place in the AL. To qualify for the end of the season rankings, Figgins still needs 5 plate appearances in the Angels final 2 games.

1) .360 Magglio Ordonez (2-for-4 today)
2) .350 Ichiro Suzuki (2-for-5)
3) .341 Placido Polanco (2-for-4)
4) .337 Jorge Posada (1-for-2)
5) .334 Chone Figgins (0-for-3)

(Link to original post on Figgins and plate appearances.)

ROTATION SET; RESTING DONE.

2007-09-28T08:59:00.000-07:00

Ok Texas beat the ever living Dung out of us. But the regulars who rested against the Rangers (Vladimir Guerrero and Garret Anderson), most likely will play all three games against the Athletics. Don’t count on them playing every inning but after a few days off they will look to get their timing back and for the Halo’s to get back in form heading into the playoffs.

The pitchers have now been aligned for the first three playoff games and those lingering fans of Fatty (Colon) the rotation will be John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar and Jered Weaver. They will start in Oakland also in that order, and they won't be on pitch counts, though Escobar, who hasn't started since Sept. 17 because of shoulder inflammation, will be watched to make sure his arm is looking good.

The Angels must sweep the A's, the Red Sox must lose their final three games, and the Yankees have to lose at least once for the Angels to gain home field in the first round. But who cares. If they play the way they have for most of the season, showing superb starting pitching, and get back to that lock-down relief, hard line base running, clutch hitting and strong defense, Scioscia likes their chances no matter where they're playing -- even in Fenway Park, where the Angels are 14-22 since 2000.

Players, with question marks entering the final weekend of the season, could hold the key to Angels playoff fortunes.

1. Escobar, who is 17-7 with a 3.46 earned run average, suffers another shoulder setback Saturday, he probably will be replaced in the playoff rotation by either Colon or Joe Saunders.

2. Gary Matthews Jr.: He has missed 10 games in the last month because of a sprained right ankle; then Matthews landed awkwardly on the warning track in center field after flagging down a fly ball by Nelson Cruz in the first inning of the Rangers' 16-2 romp in Arlington irritating his left-knee on Wednesday and is uncertain for this weekend, and hopeful for the playoffs. But if Matthews can't go, Reggie Willits would start in center. Willits is a solid table-setter in the No. 9 spot, but he's nowhere near the defender Matthews is. But some times all you need is a little heart and you came up champs. EX factor did it for us in 2002 Little Reg in 2007?

3. Scot Shields: September has been a month of extremes -- the right-hander has been either dominant or hopeless. He struggled so much in August he was demoted from his setup role. The Halo’s need him to pitch well against Oakland to build momentum for the playoffs.

Playoffs:
Unlike past postseasons, teams have until lineup cards are exchanged before Game 1 to make revisions in the roster, in the event of last-minute developments.
Also, rosters no longer are frozen in a series once play begins. An injury, if documented properly by the medical staff, can lead to a replacement player being selected mid-series.

Thursday Night Updates

2007-09-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

The Angels had a much needed day off while the Yankees won and Red Sox and Indians lost. With the Boston and Cleveland losses there still is a glimmer of hope that the Angels will open at home. For the Angels to get home field advantage in the first round they would have to a) Sweep Oakland, and b) have either Boston or Cleveland go winless in their last 3 games. Odds of that happening are roughly 32:1.

As of right now, here are the playoff matchups
Angels (3) @ Red Sox (1)
Yankees (4) @ Indians (2)

Current AL Standings (Including Thursday 9/27/07)

BOS 94 65 .591 --- 3 Games Left(3 vs MIN)
CLE 94 65 .591 --- 3 (3 at KC)
LAA 92 67 .579 2.0 3 (3 at OAK)
NYY 92 67 .579 2.0 3 (3 at BAL)

*Boston owns the tie-breaker against Cleveland by winning the head-to-head matchup 5-2 this season.

AL Batting Leaders (Including Thursday 9/27/07)

Chone Figgins currently has enough plate appearances to qualify for the daily batting leaders. His .336 average puts him in 4th place in the AL, just a few percentage points ahead of Jorge Posada. To qualify for the end of the season rankings, Figgins still needs 9 plate appearances in the Angels final 3 games.

1) .359 Magglio Ordonez (0-for-0 today)
2) .350 Ichiro Suzuki (1-for-4)
3) .340 Placido Polanco (0-for-0)
4) .3364 Chone Figgins (0-for-0)
5) .3360 Jorge Posada (0-for-0)

(Link to original post on Figgins and plate appearances.)

My dream National League finish

2007-09-27T17:19:00.001-07:00

With four days left in the season, the American League playoff teams are all set. Things are quite different in the National League where 7 teams have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs. Here's my dream situation as to how the NL teams finish.

Current Standings (All Thursday games finished)

ARZ 88 70 --- West 1
NYM 87 71 1.5 East 1
SDP 87 71 1.5 West 2 - WC 1
PHI 86 72 2.5 East 2 - WC 2t
COL 86 72 2.5 West 3 - WC 2t
CHC 83 75 6.0 Cent 1
MIL 81 77 7.5 Cent 2

Here's what each team needs to do to maximize ties.

The Key Series
San Diego at Milwaukee - The Brewers need to take 3 of the 4 games. The Padres end with 88 wins and the Brewers would end with 84 wins.

The Mets need to finish 1-3 to end with 88 wins. They finish with St. Louis today and three home games against Florida.

The Phillies have 4 games left - one with Atlanta and a three-game home series against Washington. I'd like to see the Phils split 2-2, that way they end up with 88 wins.

The Rockies have one at Chavez Ravine tonight and then three at home against Arizona. Of the four games the Rockies need to win two to finish with 88 wins. The D'Backs have some flexibility. They can win 1, 2 or 3 games.

The Cubs play at Florida today and then finish with three at Cincinnati. They need to go 1-3 to finish with 84 wins.

If all these situations pan out, the Diamondbacks would have home field throughout, the Mets and Phillies tie for the East title, the Brewers and Cubs tie for the Central and the Mets, Phillies, Padres and Rockies tie for the Wild Card. Here's what the standings would look like...

ARZ 90 72 --- West 1
NYM 88 74 2.0 East 1t - WC 1t
SDP 88 74 2.0 West 2t - WC 1t
PHI 88 74 2.0 East 1t - WC 1t
COL 88 74 2.0 West 2t - WC 1t
CHC 84 78 6.0 Cent 1t
MIL 84 78 6.0 Cent 1t

That's it. There would be tie-breakers galore. So many, I'm not even going to try and figure out how baseball would solve them.

Go Brewers!

Wednesday Night Update

2007-09-26T22:21:00.000-07:00

Let's see, the Yankees won by 8, the Red Sox won by 5, the Indians won by 8 and the Angels lost by 14. Nothing like heading into the playoffs on a high note. The Indians also lost the night cap to the Mariners in 10, but that's understandable.

Barring a few small miracles, the Angels will be starting the playoffs in Boston next week. In fact, it could be official as soon as tomorrow. For the Angels to get home field advantage in the first round they would have to a) Sweep Oakland, and b) have either Boston or Cleveland go winless in their last 4 games.

As of right now, here are the playoff matchups
Angels (3) @ Red Sox (1)
Yankees (4) @ Indians (2)

Current AL Standings (Including Wednesday 9/26/07)

BOS 94 64 .595 --- 4 Games Left(4 vs MIN)
CLE 94 64 .595 --- 4 (1 at SEA, 3 at KC)
LAA 92 67 .579 2.5 3 (3 at OAK)
NYY 91 67 .576 3.0 4 (1 at TB, 3 at BAL)

*Boston owns the tie-breaker against Cleveland by winning the head-to-head matchup 5-2 this season.

AL Batting Leaders (Including Wednesday 9/26/07)

Chone Figgins currently has enough plate appearances to qualify for the daily batting leaders. His .336 average puts him in 4th place in the AL, just a few percentage points ahead of Jorge Posada. To qualify for the end of the season rankings, Figgins still needs 9 plate appearances in the Angels final 3 games.

1) .359 Magglio Ordonez (1-for-2 today)
2) .350 Ichiro Suzuki (2-for-6)
3) .340 Placido Polanco (1-for-4)
4) .3364 Chone Figgins (0-for-3)
5) .3360 Jorge Posada (3-for-6)

(Link to original post on Figgins and plate appearances.)

Chone does lead the American League in one category: caught stealing. He's been thrown out 12 times in 52 attempts. There are three National Leaguers with more, so he's not leading the majors.

It's a strange statistic considering the record for being caught is 42 and was set by Rickey Henderson in 1982. That happens to be the same year that Rickey stole 130 bases - also a record.

Good Links

Dispelling a myth: Homefield is an advantage in the playoffs

2007-09-25T21:03:00.000-07:00

Home field advantage does not exist in the MLB playoffs.

It is a statistically proven fact. In the past eight seasons, the home team has won 25 series while the road team has won 31 series.

Please stop calling the radio station after the game and worrying about it.

Think back to 2002.

Did the Angels have home field advantage?

Did they win the World Series?

The Angels went to New York, split two and won the series at home.

The Angels went to Minnesota, split two and won the series at home.

In the World Series the Angels had home field advantage and won in seven.

Three series and two of the three teams with home field advantage lost.

In fact, of the 7 post season series in 2002, 6 of the 7 teams with home field advantage lost.

Home field advantage does not exist in the MLB playoffs. Do not confuse baseball with the NFL or NBA, home field advantage just does not exist.

Last year, the Cardinals won it all. Not only are they the worst team in baseball history to win the World Series, they did it on the road. They didn't have home field advantage once.

In fact, the only team with home field advantage to win in the 2006 playoffs was the New York Mets who beat the Dodgers in the Division Series.

It's not always this much of a disadvantage, but the numbers favor the team WITHOUT home field advantage.

Records of Teams with Home Field Advantage
2006 1-6 .143 (Home team won 1 series and lost 6)
2005 5-2 .714
2004 4-3 .571
2003 2-5 .286
2002 1-6 .143
2001 5-2 .714
2000 3-4 .429
1999 4-3 .571
Tot 25-31 .446

So there it is. In the last eight seasons, the team with home field advantage has won less than 45% of the series.

The reason I only go back to 1999 is that from 1995-1998 the Division Series format was different. Currently the home team in the 5-game Division Series has games 1,2 and 5 at home. Between 1995-98, the home team played at home for games 3,4 and 5.

Here is a breakdown by series for the past 8 years.

Division Series 13-19 .406
League Championship 7-9 .438
World Series 5-3 .625

So, as it happens, you as an Angel fan would like to have the "road advantage" for the ALDS and ALCS and then the home field advantage for the World Series. With the American League hosting the World Series, the Angels look to have the advantage in 2 out of 3 series.

List of myths dispelled in recent blog entries:

List of myths to dispel in upcoming blog entries:

The Angels struggle against left handed pitchers.

Tuesday Night Updates

2007-09-25T20:55:00.001-07:00

After the Angels dropped another to Texas, their chances of getting home field advantage seem to be dwindling. The Yankees also lost on a 10th inning walk-off home run by Dioner Navarro. The Red Sox and Indians both won, tightening their grasps on first round home series'.

As of right now, here are the playoff matchups
Angels (3) @ Red Sox (2)
Yankees (4) @ Indians (1)

CLE 93 63 .596 --- 6 Games Left (3 at SEA, 3 at KC)
BOS 93 64 .592 0.5 5 (1 vs OAK, 4 vs MIN)
LAA 92 66 .582 2.0 4 (1 at Tex, 3 at OAK)
NYY 90 67 .573 3.5 5 (2 at TB, 3 at BAL)

AL Batting Leaders (Including Tuesday 9/25/07)

1) .359 Magglio Ordonez (2-for-4 today)
2) .350 Ichiro Suzuki (2-for-6)
3) .340 Placido Polanco (2-for-4)

x) .339 Chone Figgins (0-for-3)

Because Figgins missed a month to start the season, he needs 13 plate appearances with 4 games remaining to qualify for the batting leaders. (Link to original post on Figgins and plate appearances.)

Good Links

Dispelling a myth: Kendry Morales Is A Power Hitter

2007-09-25T11:55:00.000-07:00

Dispelling a myth: Kendry Morales is a power hitter.

I keep hearing Angels fans talk about the power that Morales brings to the plate. Just because he is built like a power hitter doesn't mean that he is a power hitter. He may develop into a power hitter, but right now he's not.

Proof
He has hit 8 home runs this year in AAA and in the majors in 362 at-bats. That is one home run every 45 at-bats (1:45). Projected to 600 at-bats, that's only 13 home runs in an entire season.

The strange thing is that he has shown some pop a few years ago in the lower minor leagues. In his first season (2005), he had 5 home runs in 90 at-bats at single-A Rancho Cucamonga (1:18). He was then promoted to double-A Arkansas where he hit 17 home runs in 281 at-bats (1:17).

Hopefully, he will develop power at the big league level. But the low power numbers at AAA Salt Lake City this year, make me think that he's still a couple of years away from hitting with power.

Year By Year HR Ratio and Projections

Year Lev HR   AB Ratio Proj
2005 A    5   90 1:18 33
2005 AA   17 281 1:17 36
2005 Tot 22 371 1:17 36

2006 AAA 12 256 1:21 28
2006 Maj   5 197 1:39 15
2006 Tot 17 453 1:27 23

2007 AAA   5 255 1:51 12
2007 Maj   3 107 1:36 17
2007 Tot   8 362 1:45 13

*Projections are based on 600 at-bats per season.

List of myths dispelled in former blog entries:

Robb Quinlan should never play.

List of myths to dispel in upcoming blog entries:

Home field advantage is an advantage
The Angels struggle against left handed pitchers.

Monday Standings Update

2007-09-24T23:46:00.000-07:00

Monday night standings update. The Angels and Yankees both lost while Boston and Cleveland had the day off.

If the playoffs started today the matchups would be:
Yankees (4) @ Indians (1)
Angels (3) @ Red Sox (2)

AL Standings

CLE 92 63 .594 --- 7 Games Left (4 at SEA, 3 at KC)
BOS 92 64 .590 0.5 6 (2 vs OAK, 4 vs MIN)
LAA 92 65 .586 1.0 5 (2 at Tex, 3 at OAK)
NYY 90 66 .577 2.5 6 (3 at TB, 3 at BAL)

Angels win the west.

2007-09-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Sunday night standings update

If the playoffs started today the matchups would be:
Yankees (4) @ Indians (1)
Angels (3) @ Red Sox (2)

AL Standings

CLE 92 63 .594 --- 7 Games Left (4 at SEA, 3 at KC)
BOS 92 64 .590 0.5 6 (2 vs OAK, 4 vs MIN)
LAA 92 64 .590 0.5 6 (3 at Tex, 3 at OAK)
NYY 90 65 .581 2.0 7 (1 vs TOR, 3 at TB, 3 at BAL)
(Boston has the tiebreaker vs the Angels due to a 6-4 advantage head to head this year.)

AL Batting Leaders (Including Saturday 10/22)

1) .358 Magglio Ordonez (0-for-0 today - sat out)
2) .350 Ichiro Suzuki (1-for-4)
3) .342 Placido Polanco (2-for-4)

x) .344 Chone Figgins (0-for-4)

Because Figgins missed a month to start the season, he needs 22 plate appearances with 6 games remaining to qualify for the batting leaders.

Good Links

Saturday night standings update

2007-09-22T23:56:00.001-07:00

If the playoffs started today the matchups would be:
Angels (3) @ Red Sox (1)
Yankees (4) @ Indians (2)

AL Standings

BOS 92 63 .594 --- 7 Games Left
CLE 91 63 .591 0.5 8
LAA 91 64 .587 1.0 7
NYY 89 65 .578 2.5 8

AL Batting Leaders (Including Saturday 10/22)

1) .358 Magglio Ordonez (4-for-5 today)
2) .351 Ichiro Suzuki (2-for-4)
3) .340 Placido Polanco (0-for-5)

x) .347 Chone Figgins (3-for-4)

Because Figgins missed a month to start the season, he needs 27 plate appearances with 7 games remaining to qualify for the batting leaders.

Good Links

Dispelling a myth: Robb Quinlan should never play.

2007-09-22T00:18:00.000-07:00

Dispelling a myth: Robb Quinlan should never play.

Robb Quinlan got the start last night against left handed pitcher Jarrod Washburn. While listening to the post game show it seemed that callers blamed Quinlan (and Scioscia's decision to start him) for the 6-0 loss.

Quinlan did go 0-for-3, but the other 8 Angels went 5-for-28 (.179).

What bothers me is that some caller who catches "every Angel game" is smarter than Mike Scioscia. I'm not saying Scioscia doesn't make mistakes, but he has a reason for putting Q in there.

Career AVG and OPS Against LHP

Quinlan_ .308 .847
Kotchman .261 .647
Morales_ .217 .522

How is this a hard decision?

For both average and power, Quinlan is a better choice. Quinlan hits 1 home run for every 25 at-bats against lefties. Kendry Morales has one in his career in 71 at-bats. Casey Kotchman has never hit a home run off a lefty in 119 at-bats.

List of myths to dispel in upcoming blog entries:

Home field advantage is an advantage
Kendry Morales is a power hitter
The Angels struggle against left handed pitchers.

Friday Night Standings & Stats Update

2007-09-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

Updating the AL race after all games were played Friday night. The Angels lost to Jarrod Washburn and the Mariners 6-0. The Indians and Red Sox both won, but the Yankees also lost in 14 innings against Toronto.

If the playoffs started today the matchups would be:
Yankees (4) @ Indians (1)
Angels (3) @ Red Sox (2)

AL Standings

CLE 91 62 .595 --- 9 Games Left
BOS 91 63 .591 0.5 8
LAA 91 63 .591 0.5 8
NYY 88 65 .575 3.0 9

Tiebreaker Refresher (1st tiebreaker is head-to-head)

BOS 6 games - LAA 4 games
BOS 5 - CLE 2
NYY 10 - BOS 8
CLE 5 - LAA 5 (Cleveland wins on 2nd tiebreaker)
NYY 6 - CLE 0
LAA 6 - NYY 3

LA Times Article on tiebreakers with three or more teams.

AL Batting Leaders (Including Friday 10/21)

1) .350 Ichiro Suzuki (0-for-5 today)
2) .354 Magglio Ordonez (2-for-4)
3) .344 Placido Polanco (2-for-4)

x) .343 Chone Figgins (0-for-4)

Because Figgins missed a month to start the season, he needs 32 plate appearances with 8 games remaining to qualify for the batting leaders.

Playoff Schedule
Playoff Ticket Lottery
h

s

AL Standings update - All Thursday Games Are Done

2007-09-21T01:02:00.000-07:00

The Indians, Red Sox and Yankees were all off today. The Angels won, reducing their magic number to 1.

If the playoffs started today the matchups would be Yankees @ Angels & Red Sox @ Indians.

AL Standings

LAA 91 62 .595 --- 9 Games Left
CLE 90 62 .592 --- 10
BOS 90 63 .588 0.5 9
NYY 88 64 .579 2.0 10

Tiebreaker Refresher

BOS 6 games - LAA 4 games
BOS 5 - CLE 2
NYY 10 - BOS 8
CLE 5 - LAA 5 (Cleveland wins on 2nd tiebreaker)
NYY 6 - CLE 0
LAA 6 - NYY 3

Don't piss off Vlad - The pictorial

2007-09-20T23:02:00.000-07:00

Angel fans know that you don't mess with Vladimir Guerrero. Tonight the Seattle Mariners got a lesson. Here's a step by step pictorial for other teams.

Step 1. Opposing pitcher "misses high and inside." Oops.

Step 2. Like most baseball players, Vlad does not like to have baseballs thrown at his head. "I will exact my revenge on your next pitch, Rookie!"

Step 3. Vlad swings with all of his mite and hits a home run.

Step 4. Vlad hits a home run. "Revenge is a dish best served fria," says Vlad.

Step 5. Vlad slowly trots around the bases.

Step 6. Vlad returns to the dugout a hero as old bald guys in the stands who paid way too much for those seats give you a standing ovation.

And the moral of the story is...Don't piss off Vlad...

and don't be the bald dude sitting in the front row.

Face OFF

2007-09-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

It is not often that a team in the MLB would say, “I wish we play the Yankees.” But every other team is not the Angels. Since Mike Scioscia became manager of the Angels the Halos have had this record against the remaining teams that will make the playoffs since the year 2000.

Remember Cleveland has had a record of under five hundred four of those seasons, so the totals will be skewed.

ANGELS RECORD VS TEAM SINCE 2000

Opp _G _W _L _Pct _RS _RA _Home _Road
BOS 67 30 37 .448 321 325 16-16 14-21
NYY 71 38 33 .535 337 356 18-17 20-16
CLE 72 39 33 .542 350 324 19-17 20-16

Wednesday night update - all games final

2007-09-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

All relevant American League games have finished. The Angels, Indians and Yankees all won. The Red Sox lost to Toronto and lost their hold on home field advantage as well.

With wins today, both the Indians and the Angels surpassed the Red Sox. And with the Yankees win, the Red Sox have only a 1.5 game lead in the AL East.

If the playoffs started today the matchups would be Yankees @ Indians & Red Sox @ Angels.

AL Standings

CLE 90 62 .592 --- 10 Games Left
LAA 90 62 .592 --- 10 Games Left
BOS 90 63 .588 0.5 9 Games Left
NYY 88 64 .579 2.0 10 Games Left

Angels Magic Number

It is currently 3. With a 4 game series against the Mariners coming up at the Big A starting tomorrow, the Angels should clinch a playoff spot at home for the first time since 1986. (September 26, 1986. The Angels beat the Rangers 8-3.) As soon as the Angels beat the Mariners once, the worst the Halos can do is tie for the division title.

Figgins & the Batting Title

Chone Figgins sat out today. He has 466 plate appearances so far and needs 38 more to qualify for the Batting Leaders. With 10 games to play, I guess that he needs to play at least 8 games.

AL Batting Leaders (Including Wednesday 10/19)

1) .354 Ichiro Suzuki (2-for-3 today)
2) .353 Magglio Ordonez (0-for-4)
3) .342 Placido Polanco (1-for-4)

x) .346 Chone Figgins (0-for-0)

AL Home Field Advantage Heating Up

2007-09-19T00:49:00.000-07:00

With less than 2 weeks remaining in the 2007 baseball season, the top four teams in the American League are separated by a mere 2.5 games.

I'm going to look at two things. First, the home and road records of these four teams to see who needs the top seed the most. Second, the record between these four teams since the 1st tie-breaker is head-to-head.

AL Standings
BOS 90 62 .592 ---
CLE 89 62 .589 0.5
LAA 89 62 .589 0.5
NYY 87 64 .576 2.5

The top team in the American League will have home field throughout the playoffs thanks to the AL's win in this year's All-Star Game. While all the teams have good home field advantages, nobody has a bigger difference between home record and road record than the Angels. The Halos are 26 games above .500 at home and one game above .500 on the road. The Yankees also have a big differential while the Red Sox and Indians have played well on the road this season.

Home
LAA 51-25 .671
NYY 49-27 .645
CLE 48-28 .632
BOS 47-28 .627

Away
BOS 43-34 .558
CLE 41-34 .547
LAA 38-37 .507
NYY 38-37 .507

Home WLP - Road WLP
LAA .164
NYY .138
CLE .085
BOS .068

Looking at these stats, it looks like the Angels should be shooting for the top record in the AL rather than resting everybody next week.

In the playoffs, the team with the best record plays the team with the worst record as long as the two teams are not in the same division. Right now the Red Sox are 1st and the Yankees are 4th. They are in the same division, so the Red Sox would play the 3rd team which right now is the Angels.

The Indians and Angels played 10 games this year and split them winning five apiece. The next tiebreaker is win-loss percentage within their own division. The Indians are 45-23 (.662) against the AL Central while the Angels are 28-19 (.596) against the AL West. Advantage Indians.

Record within Division (2nd tiebreaker)
CLE 45-23 .662
LAA 28-19 .596
BOS 40-28 .588
NYY 32-29 .525

Here is a breakdown of the head-to-head records of the 4 AL contenders. None of the teams play each other again so these records are final.

BOS 6 games - LAA 4 games
BOS 5 - CLE 2
NYY 10 - BOS 8
CLE 5 - LAA 5 (Cleveland wins on 2nd tiebreaker)
NYY 6 - CLE 0
LAA 6 - NYY 3

That's all the current information you need to know.

I'll post updates as the season winds down.

Updating Chone & Magic Number

2007-09-17T23:54:00.000-07:00

Updating a couple of numbers that have been discussed lately. All statistics include Monday's games.

1. How many more plate appearances does Chone Figgins need to qualify for the batting leaders?
2. Angels current magic number after Monday night's 10-7 win.

1. Chone is now hitting .347 (142-for-409) in 462 plate appearances. To qualify for the batting leaders, he needs 502 plate appearances by the end of the season. A plate appearance is any at-bat and includes walks, sacrifices and hit by pitches.

As a leadoff hitter, Figgins usually gets 5 pa per game, so with 12 games remaining, he needs 8 or 9 more games.

Current AL Batting Leaders
1) .357 Magglio Ordonez (Det)
2) .353 Ichiro Suzuki (Sea)
3) .342 Placido Polanco (Det)
4) .338 Jorge Posada (NYY)
5) .329 Mike Lowell (Bos)
6) .325 Vladimir Guerrero (LAA)

Can Chone catch Ordonez?

If Figgins gets 40 more at-bats this season, he would need 19 hits (.475) to surpass Ordonez's current .357 batting average.

Angels' Magic Number

With the Angels win today the Magic Number is now 5. (Article with explanation of Magic Number.) Here's the easy formula: Magic Number = 163 - Angels Wins - Mariners Losses. i.e. 163 - 88 - 70 = 5

Situations needed for Mariners to make the playoffs.

If the Angels win 5 or more games, they win the West.
If the Angels go 4-8 (.333), the Mariners need to go 13-0 (1.000) to tie for the West division.
If the Angels go 3-9 (.250), the Mariners need to go 12-1 (.923) to win the West division.
If the Angels go 2-10 (.167), the Mariners need to go 11-2 (.846) to win the West division.
If the Angels go 1-11 (.125), the Mariners need to go 10-3 (.769) to win the West division.
If the Angels go 0-12 (.000), the Mariners need to go 9-4 (.692) to win the West division.

All about magic numbers

2007-09-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

Listening to the post game show today, I realized that there is some confusion with the magic number and if the Angels will clinch at home this week.

First, let me say that the Angels should clinch at home sometime next weekend against Seattle.

After today's 9-7 come-from-ahead loss, the Angels are now 87-62 (.584). The Mariners also lost, so they are now 78-70 (.527).

With the Seattle loss, the Angels' magic number is 6. The magic number is the combination of Angels wins plus Mariners losses needed to clinch the division.

How to calculate a magic number.

1. First, find out the maximum number of games Seattle can win. There are 162 games in a season and Seattle has lost 70. 162 - 70 = 92. If Seattle wins out, they will finish with 92 wins.

2. Second, add one to Seattle's maximum wins. 92 + 1 = 93. Since the M's can't win 93 games, as soon as the Angels win their 93rd game, they clinch the division.

3. Now take the new number (93) and subtract the number of games the Angels have won (87). 93 - 87 = 6.

Quick way to calculate:

Magic Number = 163 - Angel Wins - Mariners Losses

Does Seattle still have a chance? Yes, but it is really slim.

Here's the chart after today's losses by both teams.

If the Angels win 6 or more games, they win the West.
If the Angels go 5-8 (.385), the Mariners need to go 14-0 (1.000) to tie for the West division.
If the Angels go 4-9 (.308), the Mariners need to go 13-1 (.929) to win the West division.
If the Angels go 3-10 (.231), the Mariners need to go 12-2 (.857) to win the West division.
If the Angels go 2-11 (.154), the Mariners need to go 11-3 (.786) to win the West division.
If the Angels go 1-12 (.077), the Mariners need to go 10-4 (.714) to win the West division.
If the Angels go 0-13 (.000), the Mariners need to go 9-5 (.643) to win the West division.

Can Figgins Get Enough AB For Batting Title?

2007-09-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

Detroit's Magglio Ordonez currently leads the American League with a .358 batting average. Ichiro Suzuki is second at .349 and Placido Polanco is third with .344.

Chone Figgins is batting .347 but is not included in the leaders because he does not have enough plate appearances (ab + bb + sacrafices) to qualify for the leader board.

To qualify for the batting title by the end of the season, Figgins needs to have 502 plate appearances. He currently has 443 pa with 17 games left. He will need to average 3.5 plate appearances per game the rest of the year to qualify and I think he will.

WhenFiggins leads off, he probably gets 4.5-5 plate appearances per game. So even if he takes a couple of days off, he should qualify.

Think back to May 31. Figgins had just been benched two days to "clear his head and work on some things." His batting average was an abysmal .133 (12-for-90) and Angel fans were calling for his head. He racked up 9 hits in 15 at-bats in a 4-game series with the Orioles and hasn't looked back.

Since then Figgins had hit .410 (124-for-302). And he is now within striking distance of a batting title.

It's hard to imagine that any player could transform himself in the middle of the season, but Figgins did it and I'm sure glad he did.

VLAD article

2007-09-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

OK I normally do not do this but after reading this article I thought I would link it because it was such a nice piece on Vlad.
Enjoy.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3015574

A Perfect 10 for the Home Team.

2007-09-12T08:20:00.000-07:00

The Angels are 9 1/2 games ahead of Seattle in the American League West with 18 games to play, and their magic number to clinch their third division title in four years is 10.

Starting next week on Thursday is a series that a few weeks ago seemed like one for the ages… Well one for this season to hang on starts. But with the stellar play of our friends from the north it could be either the plateau for a celebration or just another meaningless series until the playoffs start.

There are nine games between then and now and if both teams continue playing as they have over the past two weeks we should have this thing wrapped up some time before next Wednesday.

The Halos continue play this series against the O’s and then continue over to Chicago for a three game series followed by a three game series at home versus Tampa Bay. Seattle then comes to town for that previously mentioned explosive series before we finish on the road against Texas and then Oakland.

A magic number of ten with eighteen to play - not even the 1995 Angels could have blown this one.

New MLB Rule: Best Record Picks Schedule

2007-09-12T00:17:00.000-07:00

MLB has given a slight reward to the team that finishes with the best record in the American League. In addition to having home field, the team gets to pick which schedule it would like from two predetermined schedules. One of the schedules plays 5 games in 7 days, the other plays 5 games in 8 days.

Personally, I don't think this matters, but it seems like some Yankees and Red Sox fans think it's a big deal, so I'm passing it on.

This year, the two schedules are as follows:

Series A Series B Possible Times
Wed Oct 3 Game 1 10:30am, 2:00, 5:30
Thu Oct 4 Game 1 12:30, 4:00, 7:30
Fri Oct 5 Game 2 Game 2 2:00, 5:30
Sat Oct 6
Sun Oct 7 Game 3 Game 3 9:00am, 12:30, 4:00
Mon Oct 8 Game 4 Game 4 2:00, 5:30
Tue Oct 9
Wed Oct 10 Game 5 Game 5

The one obvious advantage is if you play Series A, you can have your #1 starter pitch games 1 & 4 and your #2 starter pitch games 2 & 5 on regular rest. Of course, you'll then be screwed for the ALCS, but who's looking ahead?

For what it's worth, here is the rest of the AL Playoff Schedule

ALCS
Fri Oct 12 Game 1 5:00pm FOX
Sat Oct 13 Game 2 5:00pm FOX

Mon Oct 15 Game 3 1:00pm FOX
Tue Oct 16 Game 4 5:00pm FOX
Thu Oct 18 Game 5 5:00pm FOX

Sat Oct 20 Game 6 1:00pm or 5:00pm FOX
Sun Oct 21 Game 7 5:00pm FOX

World Series

Wed Oct 24 Game 1 5:00pm FOX
Thu Oct 25 Game 2 5:00pm FOX

Sat Oct 27 Game 3 5:00pm FOX
Sun Oct 28 Game 4 5:00pm FOX
Mon Oct 29 Game 5 5:00pm FOX

Wed Oct 31 Game 6 5:00pm FOX
Thu Nov 1 Game 7 5:00pm FOX

Ex-Angels Report 9/11/07

2007-09-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

Notes & Stats from former Angels in the Majors

Troy Glaus was accused of buying steroids while with the Angels (article). He should probably get back on the juice as his home run total has dropped from 38 last year to 20 this year.
Jarrod Washburn has lost his last 3 starts and is 1-7 with a 5.32 era since the All-Star game.
After going 4-0 (3.82 era) in August, Jeff Weaver is 0-2 (12.38 era) in September.
Jose Guillen was 4-for-5 with 3 rbi in Seattle's 14-7 win against Detroit on Sunday.
Last Thursday, Bobby Jenks allowed an earned run for the first time since July 17th. Jenks had appeared in 18 games and pitched 18 innings during that span.
Bengie Molina hit two home runs yesterday in the Giants 5-3 loss to Arizona. It was his first multi-homer game since May 7th.
38-year old relief pitcher Russ Springer has not allowed an earned run in 11 straight games. Since the All-Star Break, he is 3-0 with a 1.73 era.

EX-ANGEL    TEAM AB   R HR RBI BB SO   AVG   OPS
Troy Glaus TOR 385 60 20 62 61 102 .262 .839
Damion Easley    NYM 193 24 10 26 19 35 .280 .824
Jose Guillen SEA 518 76 20 89 37 101 .290 .815
Jose Molina    NYY 42   6 1   4   2   6 .310 .786
Bengie Molina    SF 448 36 19 79 13 50 .286 .767
Scott Spiezio    STL 184 26 3 27 22 35 .272 .757
Jamie Burke    SEA 91 15 0   7   5 12 .308 .755
Jim Edmonds    STL 333 37 11 44 36 69 .246 .717
David Eckstein STL 379 50 2 27 21 21 .296 .702
Alfredo Amezaga   FLA 381 42 2 28 32 47 .265 .685
Darin Erstad CWS 281 28 3 29 26 41 .256 .660
Orlando Palmeiro HOU 95 12 0   6 14   7 .242 .619
Shea Hillenbrand LAD 69   6 1   9   2 12 .246 .608
Jeff DaVanon OAK 49   8 0   4   6 13 .224 .589
Adam Kennedy STL 279 27 3 18 22 33 .219 .572
Sal Fasano TOR 45   5 1   4   2 19 .178 .540
Alberto Callaspo ARI 131   9 0   5   8 11 .206 .507
Steve Finley COL 94   9 1   2   8   4 .181 .490
Josh Paul    TB 104   8 1   9   6 30 .192 .486

EX-ANGEL    TEAM G W-L SV   IP   BB   K   ERA   BAA
J.C. Romero    PHI 37 0-2   0 24.2 22 22 1.82 .154
Russ Springer    STL 67 7-1   0 57.0 18 58 2.37 .189
Bobby Jenks    CWS 61 3-5 37 60.0 13 53 2.85 .197
Brendan Donnelly BOS 27 2-1   0 20.2   5 15 3.05 .235
Kevin Gregg    FLA 66 0-5 29 75.1 38 79 3.23 .203
Matt Wise    MIL 54 3-1   1 53.0 16 42 3.74 .274
Joel Peralta KC 55 1-3   1 81.1 17 65 3.76 .273
Derrick Turnbow   MIL 69 4-4   1 62.2 37 80 4.16 .179
Jarrod Washburn   SEA 28 9-13 0 170.2 56 97 4.32 .271
Paul Byrd    CLE 27 14-6   0 168.0 24 82 4.34 .295
Scott Schoeneweis NYM 60 0-2   0 51.1 26 32 5.08 .284
Aaron Sele NYM 30 3-1   0 48.2 20 27 5.18 .355
Gary Glover    TB 58 5-4   2 68.0 24 42 5.29 .298
Jake Woods SEA 4 0-0   0 10.2   7   4 5.91 .220
Jeff Weaver    SEA 23 6-12 0 125.0 30 69 6.05 .319
Hector Carrasco   LAA 29 2-1   0 38.1 23 33 6.57 .272
Bret Prinz CWS 4 0-0   0   3.1   2   1 8.10 .286
Ramon Ortiz    COL 7 0-0   0 10.1   6   5 9.58 .341

Angels Under .500 Against Lefties

2007-09-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

With the back-to-back losses to Cleveland's CC Sabathia and Aaron Laffey, the Angels are now 16-18 (.471) in games started against left handed pitchers. They're 68-41 (624) against right handed starters. Could this be trouble in October?

The Angels hitting numbers are basically the same vs lefties as righties. Their team average against righties is .286, vs lefties it's .283. Not much different. Their OPS is equally similar, against righties it's .763 and against lefties, it's .769.

With the hitting numbers so close, the win-loss record might be a statistical aberration. In any case, I took a look to see who the Angels might face in the playoffs and how many left-handed starters were in each rotation.

Cleveland could be a playoff opponent for the Angels, but I doubt they would start Laffey despite his success today. Besides Sabathia, their 4-man playoff rotation would probably include three righties - Paul Byrd, Jake Westbrook and Fausto Carmona.

The Yankees, who as of today, would be the Angels opening round opponent have only one lefty- Andy Pettitte. Chien-Ming Wang, Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are all right handed.

Boston also only has one southpaw, Jon Lester. Their right handed starters include Curt Schilling, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield and Josh Beckett.

It appears that the Angels won't face more than one lefty each series.

Here's a look at the Angels player's stats.

VS RHP    VS LHP DIFFERENCE
AVG   OPS AVG   OPS   AVG   OPS
Quinlan .207 .574   .267 .679   +60 +105
Willits .273 .714   .333 .783   +60   +69
Mathis   .234 .690   .280 .837   +46 +147
Maicer   .274 .723   .300 .817   +26   +94
GA    .290 .819   .314 .891   +24   +72
Cabrera .302 .723   .325 .884   +23 +161
Napoli   .248 .805   .265 .805   +17    0
Kendrick .321 .789   .333 .875   +12   +86
Figgins .338 .829   .346 .894 +8   +65
Kotchman .290 .835   .279 .708   -11 -127
Vlad    .330 .946   .306 .956   -24   +10
Matthews .282 .808   .179 .565 -103 -243
Morales .333 .904   .227 .545 -106 -359

Salt Lake Loses 3 Straight, Series

2007-09-09T21:57:00.001-07:00

The Salt Lake Bees lost 4-2 today in Sacramento and were eliminated from the playoffs. After taking a 2 games to none series lead, Sacramento returned home and swept three games to win the best-of-5 series.

Nick Green took the loss for the Bees in his first game since being promoted from AA Arkansas. He allowed 4 runs in 7 innings.

After the game, 3rd Baseman/shortstop Brandon Wood and outfielder Terry Evans were called up to the Angels.

The moves leave only five players on the Angels 40-man roster not in the big leagues: Pitchers Jose Arredondo and Steven Shell, outfielders Nick Gorneault and Tommy Murphy and catcher Bobby Wilson.

MLB Flips Coins To Decide Tie-Breaker Locations

2007-09-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

MLB conducted coin tosses to decide where potential one-game playoff games take place. Evidently the Angels are a lock for the playoffs according to MLB since they weren't involved in any flips.

In fact, all the current division races in the American League required no flips.

In the AL Wild Card Race, the Yankees were the big winners (2-0) and the Mariners (0-2) were the big losers. Here are the results for the AL Wild Card.

Mariners @ Yankees
Tigers @ Yankees
Mariners @ Tigers

For the record, here are the NL results.

NL EAST
Mets @ Phillies

NL CENTRAL
Brewers @ Cubs
Cubs @ Cardinals
Cardinals @ Brewers

NL WEST
Padres @ D-backs
Dodgers @ D-backs
Rockies @ D-backs
Padres @ Dodgers
Rockies @ Padres
Dodgers @ Rockies

NL WILD CARD
Dodgers @ Padres
Phillies @ Padres
Padres @ Rockies
Cubs @ Padres
Padres @ Brewers
Phillies @ Dodgers
Dodgers @ Rockies
Cubs @ Dodgers
Dodgers @ Brewers
Phillies @ Rockies
Cubs @ Phillies
Phillies @ Brewers
Rockies @ Cubs
Brewers @ Rockies
Brewers @ Cubs

NL Flips Win-Loss Record

Diamondbacks 3-0
Rockies 5-3
Brewers 4-3
Padres 4-4
Cardinals 1-1
Cubs 3-4
Dodgers 3-5
Phillies 2-4
Mets 0-1

The Rally Monkey Must Be In Salt Lake

2007-09-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

The Salt Lake Bees rallied with two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Sacramento 11-10 in the second game of their best-of-5 playoff series. Adam Pavkovich singled home Matt Brown and Brandon Wood for the win.

It was the second consecutive night that the Bees came from behind in the last inning to win the game.

Brandon Wood led off the bottom of the 9th with a single. Matt Brown followed with a double that moved Wood to third. Pavkovich singled on a full count to right field scoring both runners. In their previous win, the Bees also did not make an out in their comeback inning.

The Bees trailed 10-6 in the 8th inning and rallied for 3 runs on hits by Tommy Murphy, Mike Eylward and Terry Evans and a key Sacramento error.

Six Salt Lake players had 2 hits in the game: Casey Smith, Tommy Murphy, Mike Eylward, Terry Evans, Nick Gorneault and Matt Brown.

The Bees play Friday night at Sacramento where they could close out the series. The winner of the series will play the winner of the Nashville Sounds (Brewers) vs New Orleans Zephyrs (Mets) series. New Orleans currently has a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series.

SI Report: Troy Glaus Accused Of Steroids

2007-09-07T15:55:00.001-07:00

Sports Illustrated has reported that former Angels Troy Glaus received steroid shipments between September 2003 and May 2004 while with the Anaheim Angels. (article)

Glaus received the steroids in the mail to a Corona address that was traced to him.

After playing only 91 games for the Angels in 2003, Glaus alledgedly ordered nandrolone and testosterone from Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, Florida.

Glaus continues to be slowed by injuries in 2004 and played only 58 games before the Angels decided not to re-sign him. Angel fans were angry when the Halos let the 2002 World Series MVP sign with Arizona, but whispers of steroid concerns soon followed.

Glaus played one year with Arizona before being traded to Toronto. Did the Diamondbacks have the same info as the Angels? And why weren't the Blue Jays informed or concerned?

The Sports Illustrated report was filed by Luis Fernando Llosa and L. Jon Wertheim. The same two writers who in March reported that Gary Matthews Jr had received steroids from a pharmacy in Alabama.

The above photo shows Glaus fielding ground balls during Spring Training of this season.

Is There A Catcher Controversy?

2007-09-06T11:21:00.001-07:00

Mike Napoli played last night for the first time in over a month while recovering from a pulled hamstring. In his absence, Jeff Mathis has performed really well. No player should lose their job due to an injury, but I wouldn't be surprised if the two split the catching duties the rest of the season.

It's not that Mathis has played that much better, it's just that the Angels believe he has a higher ceiling than Napoli. And the Angels love playing with the long term in mind.

Both catchers were in spring training in 2006 when the 23-year old Mathis beat out everybody for the Angels Opening Day starting catcher job. Mathis wasn't ready and proved it to everybody by hitting just .103 (4-for-39) before Jose Molina and Napoli took over the catching duties. More frustrating was that Mathis didn't do a good job defensively. He has been named the Angels' Minor League Defensive Player Of The Year three times, but wasn't ready for that at the Major League level either.

With Mathis being sent back down, Napoli came in and hit .286 (40-for-140) with a .990 ops before the All-Star Break last season. It seemed like Napoli was the catcher of the future; the guy that everyone expected Mathis to be.

Then Napoli had a bad second half. He hit just .122 in August and finished the second half hitting just .164 (21-for-128) with an ops of .624. Meanwhile, Mathis continued to work on his game and hit .289 at AAA Salt Lake.

The starting catcher competition was opened up again this spring and Napoli won the job. Napoli played well this season. He was solid defensively and was hitting .253 with an ops of .805, before his injury. Meanwhile, Mathis was struggling offensively at Salt Lake hitting just .244, 45 points lower than last season.

Despite Mathis' lack of offense in AAA, the Angels felt confident enough with him as a back up that they traded their veteran backup catcher Jose Molina to the Yankees on July 21st. One week later, Napoli injured his hamstring stealing second base and the job was handed to Mathis.

With nobody looking over his shoulder, Mathis was able to relax. Maybe being relaxed was the difference. He has done a great job defensively, saving wild pitches left and right. Offensively he has struggled until this past week. In the last seven games, he has gone 11-for-26 (.423) with 5 multi-hit games and has raised his average from .200 to .246. He has also hit 3 home runs this past week.

Right now, I think the Angels will have the catchers split time to give Napoli a chance to get back to game speed. So the controversy will be put on hold.

However, come game one of the playoffs, we'll see who starts at catcher and let the debate begin.

Colon pitches ok for Salt Lake

2007-09-05T21:09:00.001-07:00

Bartolo Colon made a rehab start today for the Salt Lake Bees in their playoff opener against the Sacramento River Cats (Oakland A's).

Colon allowed three runs (all earned) in 6 innings. He gave up 5 hits and walked none with two of the hits being home runs by Daric Barton.

When Bart left the game, the Bees were leading 6-3 and he was in line for the win. However the Bees bullpen tandem of Alex Serrano and Greg Jones let Bart down. The River Cats scored two in the 8th and one in the 9th to tie the game at six. The tying run was driven in by former Angel Lou Merloni.

The River Cats then scored two more runs in the top of the 10th. At this point, you have to wonder, do they have the Rally Monkey in Salt Lake? It looks that way.

Here's how the bottom of the 10th went for Salt Lake: Tommy Murphy singles, Mike Eylward singles, Terry Evans singles (Murphy Scores), Nick Gorneault singles loading the bases, Brandon Wood singles in two for the victory. Now that's efficiency, 5 batters, 5 singles and 3 runs.

Nick Gorneault had a team high three hits for the Bees. Brandon Wood, Matt Brown and Greg Porter each had two rbi in the win.

The second game in the best-of-5 series is Thursday night in Salt Lake City.

Wally World Returns again in Anderson

2007-09-05T16:11:00.000-07:00

So ok we lost today. GA continued his RBI streak and until Joe Saunders threw a 2 and 2 fastball to Mark Ellis, things were going good. Ellis cranked one over the left-field wall for a game-changing, three-run home run in the fourth inning. Ellis' 17th homer, which set a franchise single-season record for an Oakland second baseman, turned a two-run deficit into a one-run lead, and the Athletics went on to a 6-2 victory at Angel Stadium.

Saunders (7-3) retired nine of 10 batters through three innings but walked Marco Scutaro to lead off the fourth and gave up a one-out single to Jack Cust. Ellis followed with his home run, giving Oakland a 3-2 lead.

Reggie Willits and Orlando Cabrera opened the Angels' first inning with singles, and Garret Anderson lined an RBI single to right, giving the left fielder RBIs in 10 consecutive games, tying a franchise record set by Wally Joyner (1986) and Fred Lynn (1984).

Anderson has 27 RBIs in his last 15 games and a major league-leading 53 RBIs in 50 games since the All-Star break.

2nd Half RBI Leaders

52 Garret Anderson (LAA)
50 Bobby Abreu (NYY)
50 Magglio Ordonez (Det)
46 Carlos Pena (TB)
46 Ryan Howard (Phi)
45 Alex Rodriguez (NYY)
43 Pat Burrell (Phi)
42 David Oritz (Bos)
42 Garret Atkins (Col)

Playoff Ticket Availability

2007-09-04T23:11:00.001-07:00

This info copied from the Angels press release which can be found here.

Angels baseball postseason ticket lottery begins Sept. 5

ANAHEIM -- The Angels, in the midst of the American League West Division title race, today announced the launch of an online lottery system designed to give fans the opportunity to buy tickets for potential 2007 Angels postseason games at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Registration for the on-line lottery, which will be run through www.angelsbaseball.com, will begin Wednesday, Sept. 5th. This announcement was made by Angels' President Dennis Kuhl.

The Angels Postseason Ticket Lottery consists of a separate random drawing for each potential playoff round (American League Division Series, American League Championship Series and World Series) and applies to only games played at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Winners of the lottery will be randomly selected by MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM). Those individuals selected will be eligible to purchase up to four (4) tickets in the round in which they were selected. There will be no tickets available for sale on site at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, the Angels' Ticketmaster charge line or any Ticketmaster Ticket Center.

"We believe this MLB-sponsored lottery system affords our fans an equal chance to acquire tickets throughout postseason play," said Kuhl.

In order to register for the Angels Postseason Ticket Lottery, fans must sign up by filling out the online form completely on www.angelsbaseball.com, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 5th. There is a limit of one entry per person per household. Fans only need to register one time and their one-time registration will enter them into the lotteries for all three rounds. Complete rules for the Angels Postseason Ticket Lottery can be found at www.angelsbaseball.com.

Fans selected in the lottery will be notified by email and available tickets may be purchased on a first come, first served basis within a limited time frame. The opportunity to purchase tickets is non-transferable and tickets can only be purchased via a valid credit card.

Registration for the ALDS lottery closes at noon on Friday, Sept. 14th. However, fans that did not register for the ALDS may still continue to sign up for additional potential series until Oct. 5th. Single game ticket sales for the Angels' possible participation in the ALCS and World Series will be conducted in the same manner from the same pool of on-line registrants. The deadline for the ALCS lottery registration is noon on Sept. 24th. Registration for the World Series lottery closes at noon on Oct. 5th.

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
Ticket pricing for all potential Angels' postseason games will be announced at a later date. For more information, visit the Angels website at www.angelsbaseball.com .

25 Games Left - 6.5 game lead, sound familiar?

2007-09-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'm getting ahead of things, but the Angels' magic number is 20 with 25 games remaining. The magic number refers to the number of games the Angels must win and the Mariners must lose for the Angels to clinch the AL West.

The Angels are currently 81-56 (.591) and the Mariners are 74-62 (.544). So here are the situations...

If the Angels play .500 the rest of the way (13-12), the Mariners need to go 21-5 in their final 26 to take the AL West.

If the Mariners continue to win at a .544 clip, the Angels only need to go 8-17 to win the division.

The Angels have a 6.5 game lead over Seattle. Things are looking really good, maybe too good.

In 1995, the Angels had a 6.5 game lead on Seattle with 25 to play and we all know what happened that year. (The Angels finished 11-14, the Mariners finished 17-8 and the Halos lost a one game playoff to the Mariners.)

Despite the collapse of 95, the Angels have a 98.94% chance of making the playoffs this year according to Baseball Prospectus.

So get your hopes up as the playoffs near, but remember anything can happen in sports and sometimes it actually does. (UCLA 13, USC 9)