Angels 6; Jays 5

For the second straight night, the Angels got off to a quick start. John Lackey, trying to get back on track after some rocky outings, found a groove, lasting seven innings while allowing only two runs on seven hits. He threw 114 pitches, 69 for strikes, showing that he's apparently regaining his stamina.

The offense took advantage of Brian Tallet's shakiness in the first inning. Chone Figgins led off the game with a walk. He advanced to second on Erick Aybar's ground out, avoiding the double play by running on the pitch. Vladimir Guerrero singled him home. After Vlad stole second, it was Torii Hunter's turn to drive in the run. Another stolen base from Hunter and a Juan Rivera RBI double later, the Angels led 3-0. They pushed the lead to 4-0 when Chone Figgins singled home Robb Quinlan in the fourth inning. After the Jays pulled to within three, Mike Napoli's solo shot put the Angels back up by four.

Things got dicey in the eighth inning. Darren Oliver entered the game to start the eighth and allowed three straight hits. Justin Speier relieved him and allowed the first two hitters he faced to reach base before retiring the side. When the dust settled, the Jays had tied the game at 5-5. But the Angels fought back in the top of the ninth. Howie Kendrick bunted his way to first base to lead off the inning, and advanced to third on Chone Figgins' single. Erick Aybar grounded into a double play, scoring Kendrick for a 6-5 lead. Brian Fuentes struck out the side in the ninth, but not before allowing the go ahead run to reach first base.

Thoughts on the game:

• Chone Figgins was on base three more times, pushing his OBP to .385. Hopefully for Figgins, former Angels bench coach Joe Maddon is taking notice. He may be an all-star this year.
• Howie Kendrick is still struggling, but his bunt single probably saved this game for the Angels.
• Two straight quality starts for Angels pitchers. If they can get Ervin Santana straightened out, and if Kelvim Escobar returns strong, this could be the start of a good run.

Weaver Dominant Again: Angels 8; Jays 1

After a seemingly endless week of falling behind early and virtually losing games before they started, the Angels turned the tables on Wednesday night, getting off to a fast start and giving Jered Weaver plenty of run support on the way to his fifth win of the season. Chone Figgins opened the game with a single, and before Blue Jays starter Casey Janssen knew what had hit him, Bobby Abreu drove a pitch over the center field wall, giving the Angels a 2-0 lead.

It turned out those two runs were all they needed, though they would add six more. Jered Weaver was dominant in one of his best performances as a professional. He struck out a career high 10 hitters. He carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before Adam Lind and Lyle Overbay combined for two doubles and the Blue Jays' only run. Weaver lasted seven innings, allowing only three hits and two walks. He lowered his ERA to 2.26, second in the AL only to Zach Greinke's otherwordly 1.10. 72 of his 107 pitches went for strikes. Weaver appears to be in line to become the Angels' fourth starting pitcher to be selected to the All-Star game in the last three seasons.

The offensive explosion was unncessary, but still enjoyable. Figgins added two doubles to his first inning single, pushing hit batting average over .300. Bobby Abreu homered, doubled, and drove in four runs. Vladimir Guerrero, Maicer Izturis, and Erick Aybar each recorded two hits, as the Angels finished the game with 13, seven of which went for extra bases.

Thoughts on the game:

• Blame it on the contract year, but Chone Figgins has been an ideal lead off man this year. He's getting on base at a .380 clip, and has stolen 20 bases, while only being thrown out four times. He saw more pitches (23) than any other Angel last night, which is what a lead off hitter is supposed to do. With Bobby Abreu's .390 OBP and 15 stolen bases in 15 tries, the Angels' offensive woes don't start at the top.
• Jered Weaver is finally fulfilling the promise he showed in his first string of starts, and he couldn't be doing it at a more important time. With Lackey and Santana struggling, and Saunders running hot and cold, Weaver has been the Angels' ace. He's doing everything a pitcher with his velocity needs to do. He's commanding the strike zone, he's throwing everything in his arsenal for strikes, and he's keeping hitters off balance. Best of all, he's fun to watch.
• Two solid innings in relief from Jason Bulger and Jose Arredondo last night. Still looking for signs of life from the bullpen. This may be a mirage, but it's nice to see for one night. On April 25th, Bulger had an ERA of 12.86. Since that date he's allowed only one earned run and 13 baserunners in 15.1 innings, lowering his ERA to 4.43. He's struck out 13 in that stretch. If this is for real, he may be pitching eighth innings a lot from here on out.

Well, this sucks

I'm sure nobody who reads this site cares about this, except me, but Aleksandra Campesinos! is leaving Los Campesinos! She's the redheaded vocalist in the video. I can't say enough about how fun these guys are to listen to and to see in concert. I'm sad to see her go.

Mariners 5; Angels 2

The Angels lack of offense made life made life difficult for Angels pitchers. John Lackey pitched a good but not great 7.1 innings, allowing five runs on 10 hits while striking out only two. But the offense never came close to bailing him out after the Mariners scored three runs in the third inning, and the Angels dropped their third game in the last four.

Lackey seemed to have decent command. 68 of his 106 pitches were in the strike zone, and he only walked two, but he was not missing a lot of bats. He struck out only two hitters. In the third inning, the Mariners did enough damage to win the game as they strung together four hits, a walk, and a sac fly, pushing three runs across in the process.

Juan Rivera homered in the fifth to pull the Angels within one, but Endy Chavez drove in the Mariners’ fourth run a half inning later. The Angels threatened in the seventh. They closed the lead to two runs, and had the tying run on base with one out. But Jason Vargas struck out Mike Napoli and Howie Kendrick to end the threat.

• Juan Rivera had a nice game, with three hits, a homer and a terrific catch that robbed Russel Branyan of a home run.
• On the other hand, the Angels had only five hits. Two by hitters not named Juan Rivera.
• Maybe Lackey and Santana needed an extra rehab start or two. Neither have looked particularly sharp since coming back, other than one Santana start. Lackey’s ERA is now 6.05.

Angels 3; White Sox 1

The Angels salvaged the final game of their three game set against Chicago. Jered Weaver, who has clearly been the Angels ace this season, shined yet again. He needed 103 pitches to last eight innings, allowing one run on four hits while walking two and striking out eight. He improved to 4-2 on the season, and he dropped his team leading ERA to 2.36. Brian Fuentes allowed only a hit in the ninth inning to close out his 13th save. Fuentes has now allowed only one run in his last 9.2 innings of work.

The Angels, who looked lethargic at the plate in the first few innings, got all of their offense in the sixth. Jeff Mathis led the inning off with a single. Chone Figgins followed with a single of his own, and Bobby Abreu drove both of them in with a double to right field. Two outs later, Juan Rivera hit what was arguably the worst pitch I’ve ever seen into the gap in left field for an RBI double, completing the scoring. Gavin Floyd threw a letter high change up that didn’t move an inch, and Rivera killed it.

Thoughts on the game:

• Weaver’s fastball seems down a couple of ticks from last year, but his location and control have been phenomenal. He’s changing arm angles and hitting his spots. He’s really having an all-star season so far.
• Bobby Abreu was on base three more times in this game. His OBP of .414 is actually higher than his SLG (.408). With Chone Figgins reaching base a .374 clip, the Angels actually have some table setters at the top of the lineup.
• Brian Fuentes is really starting to pitch well. He’s not going to blow guys away, so he won’t post the dominant saves that we used to see from Frankie Rodriguez when he was on his game, but the Angels just need him to get outs, and he’s doing that now.

Angels 3; White Sox 17

The score pretty much says it all. Not one Angels pitcher delivered an acceptable performance. It started at the top. Ervin Santana allowed the first five batters he faced to reach base, and gave up three first inning runs. The Angels offense bailed him out, getting three runs themselves in the bottom of the first, two coming home on Torii Hunter’s 38th and 39th RBIs of the season. But then the roof really collapsed. Second inning, single, single, single, homer, walk, and Santana was gone.

As bad as Santana was, the bullpen wasn’t any better. Rafael Rodrigues, up for the injured Shane Loux, allowed six runs in three innings. Jason Bulger allowed a run in two innings (the Angels’ ace of the night). Justin Speier allowed two in two innings. Jose Arredondo allowed one in his only inning.

Fortunately for the pitching staff, the offense was just as bad. The Angels managed only four hits all night, and only one after the first inning. This loss was a total team effort.

Thoughts on the game:

• Good news and bad news. The good news is that Vlad Guerrero was back in the lineup, and Howie Kendrick felt good enough to get into the game after it was out of reach.
• The bad news is that Guerrero and Kendrick combined to go 0 for 6 with two strikeouts.
• On the plus side, there’s no sense in wasting good offense on a night when the other team scores 17 runs, so hopefully the Angels saved something for the last two games.

Angels 10; Dodgers 7

The Angels fought back from an early 4-0 deficit to take the series from the Dodgers in Chavez Ravine, keeping Matt Palmer from taking his first loss of the season. The bullpen showed some cracks for the second straight night, but the offense arrived to bail them out as the Angels moved back to the three games over .500 on the season. They remain three games behind the first place Rangers, who completed their sweep of the Houston Astros.

Palmer struggled early, as he's done a few times this season. He allowed the first four hitters in the second inning to score, three of whom came home on Jamie Hoffman's first career home run. But Palmer settled down and kept the Dodgers scoreless into the fifth inning before he was replaced by Jason Bulger. Bulger tossed an inning and a third scoreless, and was followed by Justin Speier, who also delivered a scoreless frame.

In the meantime, the Angels offense got rolling. In the third inning, Robb Quinlan doubled home Erick Aybar, and a Chone Figgins single chased home Quinlan to cut the lead in half. In the sixth inning, the Angels erased the deficit completely and took their first lead of the game. Following a Chone Figgins walk and Bobby Abreu single, Torii Hunter delivered an RBI single. It came just minutes after Hunter almost left the game following a dazzling catch made while crashing into the wall into the bottom of the fifth. Juan Rivera followed with an RBI single, and Kendry Morales got Hunter home on a sac fly for a 5-4 lead.

Hunter's two run single in the seventh pushed the lead to three. The Dodgers threatened in the bottom of the eighth. They pulled to within one and loaded the bases with one out. But Darren Oliver induced a first to home ground out from Rafael Furcal, and Juan Pierre lined out to second to end the inning. The Angels added three in the top of the ninth, and though the Dodgers put on on the board in the bottom of the ninth, they could get no closer.

• He wasn't sharp all day, but Matt Palmer continues to provide what you want out of a fifth starter, which is a chance to win. He's kept the Angels in the game in his starts, and the offense has responded.
• Another 16 hit outburst by the offense. It's not a reliable way to score, but they've won a few games this year with the same death by a thousand cuts approach that was so successful in 2002.
• Kendry Morales may not be Mark Teixeira, but he's providing nice production for about 20 million bucks cheaper, and he's actually been pretty solid, if not spectacular, at first base.

Angels 3; Mariners 0

The Angels shut out the Mariners and finished the series in Seattle by taking three games out of four. Joe Saunders righted the ship after last week’s poor outing against Texas. He worked seven scoreless innings before turning the game over to Scot Shields and Brian Fuentes, who combined to close out the Mariners.

The staccato style offense may have only provided five hits., but three of those hits left the yard. Juan Rivera hit his third home run of the year, and second in four games, in the top of the first inning, providing the winning margin. Gary Matthews, Jr. followed with his first home run of the season in the third inning.

Both home runs came against starter Eric Bedard, who was otherwise effective. He allowed only those two hits, and struck out six in five innings as he returned from injury. Howie Kendrick finished the scoring for the Angels with a bomb to left field in the eighth inning off of Garret Olson. It was his fourth homer of the season.

Thoughts on the game:

• The Angels bullpen has now tossed 10.1 consecutive scoreless innings, dropping their ERA over a half a run in the process. Make no mistake, this will be the key to the Angels success this year.
• A winning team needs two of a good offense, good starting pitching, and good bullpen. The offense is what it is, and that means that the pitching, ALL of the pitching, needs to pick up the slack. This is why I think the bullpen will be key.
• No Angel had more than one hit, though Mike Napoli walked twice.
• Howie Kendrick continues to show signs of life, albeit barely. He went 5-15 in the series with a double, a homer, and 3 RBIs.

Jakubauskas'd: Angels 0; Mariners 1

Ervin Santana showed the form that he brought to the mound for most of last season, but Chris Jakubauskas showed the form of Bob Gibson circa 1968. Santana’s 6.2 innings of five hit baseball weren’t enough to overcome Jakubauskus’ six shutout innings, during which he allowed only two hits and two walks. Jakubauskas earned his third win of the season in the process.

The Mariners provided the game’s only offense in the first inning. Ichiro Suzuki led off the game with a double to right center field. Two batters later, Ken Griffey drove him home with a base hit to right, and with that, the Mariners put the only run of the night on the board.

The Angels’ most dangerous threat came in the top of the fourth inning. After Jakubauskas retired the Angels’ first two hitters, Torii Hunter doubled to left. Kendry Morales and Gary Matthews Jr. followed with walks to load the bases, but Howie Kendrick, swung at the first pitch and flied out to right field to end the inning.

The Mariners got three excellent innings of bullpen work from Miguel Batista, Mark Lowe, and David Aardsma to close out the game. The trio combined to allow only two baserunners.

Thoughts on the game:

• Kendrick followed his two steps forward with a big step back. He was hitless in three at bats, and left four runners on base. As mentioned above, in the fourth inning, he came to the plate with the bases loaded, following two walks. Logic says you make the pitcher throw a strike, or even two, before taking an aggressive cut. But Kendrick offered at the first pitch he saw, and the Angels never threatened again. People are asking what the Angels will have to do with either Erick Aybar or Chone Figgins to make room for Brandon Wood, but the answer just may be “move one of them to second base”.

• The Angels bullpen, which entered the game as the worst in the American League, has now worked eight and a third consecutive scoreless innings. If they can bring their 5.91 ERA down by a run and a half by the end of the season, the Angels will win the division. It’s been their biggest hindrance to this point, and right now they aren’t ham and egging it very well, but with the starting rotation back in decent shape, if the bullpen gets going, their mediocre offense should be just barely good enough.

• Then again, the Angels were swept for the second time this season, and the second time in four games. Mediocre may be an optimistic assessment of the offense. Still, when everyone is back and healthy, they strike me a team that can win eight straight, and 14 of 15 at some point this season.
  

Still Perfect Palmer: Angels 6, Mariners 5

Matt Palmer needed a lot of help from the offense and the bullpen, but he gave the Angels a chance to win yet again, and his teammates responded, lifting him to fifth victory against zero losses as the Angels beat the Mariners for the second night in row. The Angels pulled to within three games of the first place Rangers, and moved two games over .500 for the season. They seem to have righted the ship a bit after last week’s debacle in Arlington.

The offense got started early against Felix Hernandez. The first four batters reached base. Chone Figgins led the game off with a single and Maicer Izturis drew a walk. Bobby Abreu and Torii Hunter followed with back to back RBI singles to give the Angels a 2-0 lead. It was gone by the second inning. Palmer served up a solo shot to Ken Griffey Jr. in the first inning, while Ronnie Cedeno touched him for a two run homer in the bottom of the second, giving the Mariners a 3-2 lead.

The Angels tied the game in the fourth inning on Howie Kendrick’s RBI single. The Mariners retook the lead on Ichiro’s fourth inning RBI double, but the Angels responded the next half inning with a little luck and two runs, the first on a wild pitch from King Felix. The took a 5-4 lead when a tailor made double play ball from Mike Napoli ducked under the glove of Jose Lopez and rolled into center field.

The Angels extended the lead and chased King Felix with Abreu’s two out double in the sixth inning. The Mariners clawed back to within one after Palmer allowed a lead off double to Kenji Johjima, who would later come around to score, in the sixth inning.

The Angels bullpen took over from there, as Bulger, Scot Shields, and Brian Fuentes worked four innings of scoreless relief, hopefully a sign that the bullpen is getting back on track.

Thoughts on the game:

• As I mentioned yesterday, I thought this was going to be a tough one for the Halos. The Mariners clearly had the edge in the pitching matchup, but the offense touched Hernandez for six runs, and the pitching staff made it hold up. The pendulum swings back to the Angels tonight, as Ervin Santana goes against Chris Jakubauskas.
• The bullpen was really phenomenal. Bulger, Shields, and Fuentes combined for four perfect innings, with nine of the twelve outs coming via the strikeout. Fuentes struck out the side in the ninth.
• Howie Kendrick had two hits, again showing signs of life. Unfortunately, he was inexplicably double off of first base when Chone Figgins hit a looping liner in the eighth inning. Baby steps.

Angels 10; Mariners 6

John Lackey made his second season debut, and wasn’t great. He allowed five runs, four earned, over five innings. But the Angels offense delivered 10 runs, and delivered Lackey his first win of 2009.

The Angels pounded out 15 hits, seven for extra bases. They left their pop-guns in Texas, and showed up in Seattle with a Howitzer. Kendry Morales hit two home runs, giving him eight on the season. Juan Rivera hit his second of the season. But perhaps the biggest hit of the game came from Torii Hunter. Trailing 4-2 in the fifth inning, Kendry Morales singled, and reached third on Howie Kendrick’s double. After a Chone Figgins strike out, Erick Aybar delivered an infield single, pulling the Angels to within a run. Bobby Abreu drew one of his three walks to load the bases. Torii Hunter followed with a double to deep right center field, clearing the bases and giving the Angels a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. Kendrick showed signs of life with two hits. In all, the bottom third of the Angels order (Rivera, Morales, Kendrick) combined to go 7-14 with three homers, a double, seven runs, and five RBIs.

Lackey was knocked around for seven hits in his five innings, but showed better control than he did in Texas, walking none. He was a victim of poor defense from Mike Napoli in the second inning. With Kenji Johjima on third base and Franklin Gutierrez on second, Ronnie Cedeno laid down a safety squeeze. Johjima broke for the plate only after Napoli decided to throw to first. The throw sailed into foul territory, and two runs scored on the error. The Angels bullpen allowed one run in four innings of work. Darren Oliver allowed the run in his two innings. Jose Arrendondo was a little shaky in a scoreless eighth, and with the save out of reach, Justin Speier worked a scoreless ninth.

Thougts on the game:

• Great production out of the bottom of the order, and Howie Kendrick better hope this is the start of a warming trend. With Brandon Wood destroying PCL pitching, Kenrick’s bat has emerged as the most likely to be replaced.
• Mike Napoli had two hits, but he also struck out twice, and his error cost the Angels two runs. It wasn’t one of his better games, but the bottom of the order really picked him up.
• Tonight’s win was important. As well as Matt Palmer has pitched, the Mariners have the better pitcher going tomorrow in King Felix, so it was important to get one on the board tonight. Wednesday won’t be a picnic either if Eric Bedard is healthy.

Swept back to .500; Angels 0; Rangers 3

The Angels fell back to .500 and 4.5 games behing the first place Rangers, as the offense came up empty against Scott Feldman and a trio of Texas relievers.

Jered Weaver went the distance, lasting eight innings while giving up three runs, all in his final two innings. His ERA climbed to 2.59. He allowed six hits and walked three, while striking out seven.

On the offensive end, the Angels were ineffective all afternoon. They amassed only five hits, and left runners in scoring position multiple times. Arguably their best chance to score came in the 7th inning. Following a Gary Matthews single, Howie Kendrick launched a fly ball to right center field. Josh Hamilton tracked it down and leapt into the wall the make the catch, saving at least one run.

In the bottom of the seventh, Hank Blalock opened the frame with a double. He advanced to third on a Nelson Cruz single, and scored on David Murphy’s sac fly. It was all the offense the Rangers needed.

Thoughts on the game

• Darren O’Day hasn’t been with the Rangers long, but he lasted an inning and a third, retired all four batters, and struck out two. He might look pretty nice in a bullpen full of guys that can’t get anyone out. Too bad the Angels let him get away.
• Jered Weaver has elevated himself to ace status so far this season. He’s been good enough to win in every start.
• Mike Scioscia probably wished he’d let Weaver go the distance in his last start. Instead, he pulled Weaver with a lead after 98 pitches, and the bullpen coughed it up.

Case Made: Angels 8; Red Sox 4

Matt Palmer overcame a shaky start and retired the last 19 Red Sox hitters he face. Mike Napoli saved a run by cutting down Jacoby Ellsbury trying to steal second, then blasted a three run shot to center field, which gave the Angels a lead that they would not relinquish.

Mike Scioscia, perhaps second guessing himself after last night’s bullpen meltdown, allowed Palmer to go the distance for his first major league complete game. Palmer surrended three hits in the first inning, including a two run shot to Jason Bay. In the second, he walked two and gave up a double to Nick Green as the Sox plated two more runs for a 4-0 lead.

But the Angels stormed back in the third inning against Tim Wakefield, as the first five hitters in the inning reached base. Reggie Willits, in for the ailing Gary Matthews, singled and stole second. Bobby Abreu walked. Torii Hunter and Kendry Morales delivered consecuting RBI singles, and Napoli cleared the bases with his bomb to center. Hunter added a solo shot of his own in the fourth inning, and the Angels tacked on single runs in the fifth and sixth for the final margin.

Palmer was the story of the game, however. He needed 109 pitches to complete the game, allowing four runs on five hits, all in the first three innings. He didn’t allow a baserunner over the final six innings, and finished the game with eight strike outs, improving to 4-0 on the season in what may be his last start for a while.

* Palmer has made a strong case to stay in starting rotation. Ervin Santana will start tomorrow, and John Lackey returns on Saturday, but Palmer has earned the fifth spot over Shane Loux for now.
* Loux could be a valuable weapon out of the bullpen, especially if he enters a game with runners on base. He’s a good sinker baller, and has an above average GB/FB ratio. Just what you want when you need a double play.
* Mike Napoli’s bat has become a must have in the Angels line up. I don’t expect his average to remain high, but he and Torii Hunter are the only power sources right now, and he has the ability to carry an offense.

Jered vs. Jeff

I don't really want to write about what happened at the end of last night's game, since it was fairly predictable. What was somewhat unpredictable was Mike Scioscia's hook, pulling Jered Weaver after seven innings and fewer than 100 pitches. He survived a dangerous sixth inning, but breezed through the fourth, fifth, and seventh, and appeared to be pitching well. Maybe Weaver told Scioscia he was done.

Regardless, that's just a lead in to something I haven't looked at in a while. The sentiment has been expressed by some members of the Halosphere (not to mention any names......rob) that Jered Weaver is simply a younger version of Jeff Weaver, and that his solid young career is simply a carbon copy of Jeff Weaver's solid young career, which eventually turned to crap. So let's see where Jered sits in comparison to Jeff at this point.

Some disclaimers: Jeff Weaver was 22 years, 135 days old when he made his first major league start. He also played on a crappy team, which undoubtedly affected his W-L record. Jered Weaver was 23 years, 235 days old when made his debut, and played on a much better team. Let's look at the numbers through 84 career starts:

Jered: 38-20, 508.1 IP, 3.59 ERA, 480 H, 142 BB, 1.22 WHIP*, 407 K, 59 HR, 1 CG.
Jeff: 30-37, 526 IP, 4.57 ERA, 538 H, 164 BB, 1.33 WHIP*, 357 K, 67 HR, 6 CG.

*WHIP typically doesn't inlcude HBP, and I didn't include it here, but Jeff had hit 38 batters to that point against Jered's 12.

Jeff has a clear advantage in complete games. Jered has sizable advantages almost everywhere else. He's been a run per game better. Both in the aggregate and per inning he's allowed fewer baserunners, struck out more, walked fewer, and allowed fewer homers. Jered has outpitched Jeff in every category through this point in their careers, significantly so.

I know what you're going to say. Jered started like a ball of fire and since then, he's been good, but not terrific. His numbers are skewed by that great start. Fair enough. Through his first seven starts, Jered was 7-0 with a 1.15 ERA, a 0.79 WHIP, had struck out 40 in 47 IP, and allowed only two homers. So let's compare Jered, minus those first seven starts, against Jeff's numbers above.

Jered minus first seven starts: 3.84 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 7.16 K/9, 1.11 HR/9
Jeff from numbers above: 4.57 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 6.11 K/9, 1.15 HR/9

Even if we ignore the best stretch of Jered's career, he's still outpitching Jeff in every important category by a significant margin through a similar career point. It's really no contest.

And the coup de grace? Jered is pitching better at this point than at any other point in his career, save for his first 10 starts. He's shouldering the load with Joe Saunders, and he's risen to the occasion. We'll be following this periodically, but I'd say that 84 starts are a pretty fair sample, and the verdict to this point is clear.

Sweep: Angels 4; Royals 3

The Angels didn’t generate much at the plate, but they took advantage of some Kansas City mistakes, and got some timely fielding from Torii Hunter to sweep the Royals for their fourth win in a row.

Shane Loux left after allowing three runs on seven hits in just 3.2 innings, but Darren Oliver and Scot Shields provided 4.1 innings of scoreless relief, giving the Angels offense an opportunity to get back into the game. They got their chance in the bottom of the seventh inning. After Kendry Morales was erased on what looked like botched hit and run, Mike Napoli walked. Howie Kendrick bounced one back to Jamey Wright, who threw an easy double play into center field. Kendrick then stole second, and Jeff Mathis delivered a two run single. Howie Kendrick should have been out by 15 feet at the plate, but Miguel Olivo couldn’t handle Jose Guillen’s throw. After an Erick Aybar single, Chone Figgins squeezed home Mathis for the game winning run.

Brian Fuentes came on in the ninth for the Angels and quickly gave up a long fly ball to Miguel Olivo. Hunter tracked it down, leaped, and pulled the game tying home run back into the park for the first out. After allowing a walk and a single, Fuentes induced a game ending double play from David DeJesus.

Thoughts on the game:

• Sometime aggressive baserunning takes you out of an inning, but the Angels forced the Royals defense to make plays in the pivotal seventh inning, and the Royals were not up to the task.
• If you missed Torii Hunter’s game saving catch, don’t worry. It will be on TV all night. It was a tremendous catch.
• Bobby Abreu’s production at the plate has fallen off recently, but he today he did what the Angels hoped he’d do when they signed him. He reached base four times, all via the walk.

You've seen it everywhere by now, but here's that catch:

.500!! Angels 4; Royals 1

Matt Palmer made his second straight excellent start, and picked up his second straight win. He lasted 5.1 innings, allowed one run on two hits, walked three, and struck out five en route to his third victory. He lowered his ERA to 3.06. Darren Oliver relieved Palmer in the sixth and pitched an inning and two thirds. He allowed two hits, and matched those with two strikeouts. Jose Arredondo and Brian Fuentes pitched perfect eighth and ninth innings respectively, as the Angels finally clawed their way back to .500.

The Angels offense pounded out ten hits*, including two each from Maicer Izturis, Juan Rivera, Mike Napoli, and Howie Kendrick*. Jeff Mathis singled home Mike Napoli in the second inning, and Napoli singled home Torii Hunter in the third. In the sixth inning, with Juan Rivera on second base, Howie Kendrick hit a high fly ball down the left field line. Jose Guillen reached the ball in plenty of time to make the catch, but much to the delight of Angel fans, he misplayed the ball. The ball rolled into the right field corner. Juan Rivera scored easily, and Howie Kendrick raced around the bases for an inside the park home run*.

*Note that these numbers may change. The Kendrick fly ball was ruled an inside the park homer, but I expect that ruling to change. The ball glanced off Guillen’s glove, and should be scored an error.

Thoughts on the game:

• Darren Oliver should be congratulated for recording his 1,000th career strikeout in the seventh inning.
• The bullpen is starting to come together, though right now it appears Oliver will be filling the role we expected Scot Shields to play. Emphasis on “right now” as that could change. But Arredondo and Fuentes are pitching very well.
• Tomorrow’s matchup should be excellent. Joe Saunders brings his four wins and 3.29 ERA against Zach Grienke and his otherworldly 0.40 ERA.

The Tim Salmon Interview

For a longer background, refer to this post. Long story short, Tim Salmon is helping to promote a test drive event for the Can-Am Spyder Roadster, which will take place tomorrow, Saturday, May 9th at Angel Stadium. You can test drive the vehicle, and Tim will be present for pictures and autographs.

As part of the promotional efforts, a few Angels bloggers were given the opportunity to individually interview Tim for about 15-20 minutes. We conducted the interview yesterday over the phone. Here is the full transcription (it's kinda long for this template, so beware). I should also just put the disclaimer here. I am NOT a professional journalist. My intention was not to ask penetrating or controversial questions. My goal was to ask the types of questions that I thought Angels fans would enjoy. When I write about the Angels, it's from a fan's perspective, and it's written for other fans. So to the extent that I don't live up to your expectations as a journalist, well, sorry. Also, for more Tim, see this interview at SoCal Sports Hub. The questions about slow starts and the 2009 Angels were mine (we shared info).

The Interview

Seitz: Great to talk to you. I’ve been a long time fan of the Angels going back to the late ‘70s, early ‘80s, so I was there for the entirety of your career watching and enjoying what you guys brought to the team. First off a couple of baseball questions, I wasn’t planning this, but I have to ask your reaction to the whole Manny Ramirez thing.

Tim Salmon: Pretty shocking, and as the hours go by, it becomes even more and more. I just did the Fox interview and they were saying something about the female hormone treatment which basically according to Jose Canseco is a masking agent for steroid use or something like that. I don't know all the details. When you first hear something like that you're shocked and you give them the benefit of the doubt and then the more that comes out, the more you go "oh no, we've got another A-Rod situation on our hands here."

Seitz: Especially considering it doesn't sound like they're going to appeal. the first excuse sounded like it was a mistake, but you figure if that was the case there would be some further action on their part, and it doesn't sound like there's going to be.

Tim Salmon: I know and that's usually a sign that there's something beneath the surface there. I just think for the game of baseball we just need to jump this hurdle and get it over with. Unfortunately there are still enough of these guys out there that it's going to keep coming back at different times. On one hand it's sad because you'd like to move on with the game and know that what we've got in place is the right thing and the game will survive and get better for it, and then these things just kind of pull it back.

Seitz: You played under a number of different managers with the Angels; Buck Rodgers, Marcel Lacheman, Terry Collins... What it is about Scioscia that gives him the staying power where other guys seem to wear out their welcome.

Tim Salmon: Scioscia has a unique style in that he's very personable, he's really interested in building team chemistry I think the coaching staff that he brings along with him really cultivates that in the clubhouse I think he's been blessed by the fact that the whole philosophy up and down the organization is on the same page. We have a minor league system that is being developed with great scouting. We're a factory of young talent so you don't necessarily need to go buy your way to a championship. You can fill it with players who are helping us get there with the young superstar of the team like a John Lackey. The building from within philosophy is really helping him because he's able to reload and keep himself on the winning end of things and I think as long as you're a winning manager, that's going to give you the most staying power. But I think it's his philosophy and his personality, the way he goes about dealing with people and managing the game. The managing part of the game, that's the part that maybe those who don't know him don't realize that he's such a student of the game, such a smart manager, never unprepared, very well organized in every aspect of the game. So I think organizationally speaking, he's the CEO and he's a phenomenal CEO. he handles every aspect of the game from top to bottom.

Seitz: Along those same lines, you've played for three different ownership groups. The Autry's were beloved by most Angels fans. Disney brought a world championship. But the success under Arte Moreno has been phenomenal both on the field and in the stands. What have you noticed under Moreno that seems to sustain the success?

Tim Salmon: Arte is probably what Mr. Autry was in his younger years. He's a passionate owner who wants to win and has the resources to make it happen, to bring in the necessary pieces of the puzzle. He's a great owner to play for because he's an owner who wants to win and he wants to win it all and there's no sidestepping that, and I think every player out there will tell you, you know in the organization what their objective is. There's a lot of years when they want to win and be competitive, but they don't want to do what they have to do to win the World Series, paying for the free agent or making the deal at the deadline, or making the commitment to something. Players know that, and over the course of my career I saw that too at times. When Mr. Autry was at the end of his career and we went through a rebuilding phase, with young players, that gave me an opportunity, but you knew there wasn't going to be that commitment to win a world championship. We were going to do the best we could with what we had, but sometimes it takes more than that, and you need resources. The Disney thing, we felt more like a stepchild. We were part of a bigger organization more corporate. there wasn't a lot of love necessarily. You have your GM, but beyond that, you didn't know where it ended. Nonetheless, we were able to bring in the right pieces. Stoneman and Scioscia came in towards the tail end of that ownership and that was the beginning of our success. They brought in the gameplan and it happened on their clock, so they get the credit for it. But without a doubt, Arte is the owner that every player in the country would love to play for. He's committed to winning and he just asks what you need, and if you can justify it and show how it's going to make a difference, he'll do it and there's nothing better than to be playing for an owner like that.

Seitz: The Angels history prior to 2002 is not necessarily something that a lot of new owners would embrace. But Arte seems to go out of his way to reach back to that era and reach out to former players. As a former player yourself, have you noticed those efforts.

Tim Salmon: Arte is about building a legacy and connections with the past and making the organization more than just what it is today. It's about bringing in the story behind it and what's brought on success from the past. And I see that. You see guys like Grich and Finley and Don Baylor and Rod Carew. You see these guys around the ballpark more. Why? Arte's out there asking them to come back, and that was something that was never presented to those guys in that way. Arte makes you feel wanted. But the one thing you need to know about Arte is that he's a very loyal guy, and his all of the crew that he brought along to help reorganize the Angels are all his frat buddies. So he's very loyal and very family oriented, and it shows. He's just brought that to the Angels. We have so many Dodger influences with Scioscia and some of the coaches, but I think the combination of the two, they're creating that with this organization. You're part of a family and legacy that isn't just about the time you were here playing. It's about more than that. He's done a great job of bringing all that back and doing the alumni stuff and as a young player, to come up and see these guys and think "I'm part of something bigger than just me." There's a sense of responsibility to the family so to speak.

Seitz: One thing that's taken place under Mike Scioscia is that the Angels have been focused on putting the ball in play, taking the extra base and aggressive base running, but you were always a very patient hitter drawing 90 walks per season, you always hit for a lot of power. When they came in, did you notice a change in philosophy? Did they try to change the way that you approached the game at all?

Tim Salmon: They did, there was a philosophy change. It took a couple years to kinda buy into it and see it in action. Whatever you want to call it. Everybody wants to call it the national league style, but more than that, Scioscia didn't call it that, and it may resemble that in some ways, but it comes down to playing the game right and understanding why the game is played that way and understanding the bigger picture. Scioscia was so much of a big picture guy. He always talked about the big picture, but at the same time, he could narrow it down the nuts and bolts of one pitch at a time, one at bat a time, and his whole philosophy, whether it's hitting and running, or moving runners, we're talking about being aggressive and not being station to station and not relying on a certain part of the lineup to win games, but really having nine guys who know how to play the game and all of the different variances to help you be successful, and there's not a greater example of that than 2002. We'd been beating our heads against the wall. In 2000 we had four guys hit over 30 home runs. We had all the power and offense you thought you needed, but for some reason, we couldn't get past Oakland who had the great pitching. Why is that? You gotta find a way to beat that good pitching and maybe sacrifice a bit of a home run swing to do what's right, whether it's taking pitches and working counts or moving the runner over and hitting and running and taking it upon ourselves that there isn't anyone on the team bigger than the team, to do whatever the situation calls for, and that was something that guys like Ersty and Eckstein and those guys set the table early on and said "anything that it takes to do the job". You would find yourself in the course of the year with a runner and second and no outs, and yeah I'm the clean up hitter, but the situation calls for this guy to get to third base. OK, cut the swing down and get him over. Give the RBI to the next guy. And I think what it comes down to is you end up learning how to play unselfishly. As much as we want to say it's a team game, at the end of the day, guys are always interested in what they hit, how many hits did they get, how many RBIs. Everybody's looking at their personal stats, and I think Scioscia really cultivates a mindset that as a team we're greater as a whole than we are as individuals, and that's why we won in 2002. We were able to scrap together two or three runs off the Zitos and the Mulders and the Hudsons where we couldn't do that in years earlier.

Seitz: On 2002, most people remember the two home runs you hit against the Yankees in game three, and the two home runs you hit against the Giants in game 2, the big one that ended up winning the game, but one thing that gets lost in the hoopla of game six, with the Spiezio home run and the Erstad home run and the Glaus double was the single that you hit to follow up the Erstad home run. A lot of time TV guys will say that you don't want to hit a home run because it kills the rally, but you restarted the rally right after that home run, and as a fan watching that game who had taken myself through the process where I was ready to deal with the defeat, that was the moment that I really believed that you guys were going to come back and tie the game. You had a guy on base with no one out. Was there a time for you guys in the dugout where you thought "Now we're definitely going to win this game and take it to game 7". Was there a moment where you all felt that?

Tim Salmon:Well when Spiezio hit the home run before that, to break that lead that they had and really spark the crowd, that was the re-energizing that we needed at the time because it was looking kinda like this wasn't going to happen, but I think Spiezio is the one that sparked us and got us going. But the one thing about that year is that my knee was bothering me and they started pinch running for me late in games, and they'd put Alex Ochoa on defense, and Figgy came in to run for me and I believe the next hit...all the sudden you have a base stealer on the bases who can take away the concentration from the pitcher which ends up helping the next hitter and the next hitter and the next hitter, so you're right, I think sometimes ya know, I've never really heard anyone mention anything about the base hit that I had, but in essence, you are right because it allowed us to put in our speedy guy which I think that had a big impact on the way that rally got going that inning, and giving Troy the opportunity to drive in the runs.

Seitz: Because you figure you get within a run, but you're looking at a pretty good bullpen, and you still need to score a run, but all of the sudden you get that leadoff runner on base and it's a whole different ball game, and I think you're right, that next hit was the bloop double by Garret Anderson where Figgins went first to third and I don't know if it had any effect on the way that Barry Bonds approached that ball down the line, but he did struggle with it, and once you had guys on second and third and nobody out you had to figure at the very least you guys were going to tie it.

Tim Salmon: The thing about that team that was awesome, and you hear it, every championship team says the same thing, it's all 25 guys. Every guy on that team played a role. every guy on that team had their day in the limelight during that whole playoff run. You can go up and down that lineup and each guy talk about what they did and that's what's so special, and we looked at the other dugout and they had Barry Bonds over there. They had the same stuff going on but all you ever heard about was Barry. It was Barry's World Series. And we had the mindset of "hey, nobody's bigger than the team", and they might have had that on the other side, but it definitely wasn't portrayed in the media.

Seitz: Tell me about this test drive event that's coming up.

Tim Salmon: Yeah, the Test Drive is Saturday (May 9th) at the ballpark at 12:30. It's an opportunity for everybody to come out and get on one of these Spyder Roadsters and the great thing about it is that you just need your regular driver's license. It's really made for the novice to get an opportunity to get on the street and get the feel of the wind blowing through your hair with all the safety and security of what you might have in a car or a quad, stability wise. It's a great bike and it's going to be a neat event, for everybody to come out. I'm going to be there available for pictures and autographs, but more importantly it's all about a chance to show off this one of a kind product.

Seitz: I know you’ve gotta run to another interview, but thanks for the time, Tim. As a lifelong fan it’s always nice to meet one of you guys, even over the phone.

Tim Salmon: Yeah, you take care and go Angels.

A Little Background on the Salmon Interview (coming soon)

Some members of the Angels blogosphere were given the opportunity to interview Tim Salmon for 15 minutes or this week to help promote an event that he'll be attending on Saturday at the Big A. He'll be on hand to meet fans and pose for pictures while promoting the Can-Am Spyder Roadster. It's billed as

One of the coolest and most eye-catching vehicles to hit the open road. The Spyder is a unique three-wheeled vehicle that has been making heads turn since its launch, and will continue to do so this month in Los Angeles as all Angel fans can test ride the Spyder roadster free of charge at Angel Stadium on May 9th from 10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Now I'm not really a motorcycle guy, but this thing does look pretty cool, and giving it a spin around the Big A parking lot sounds like fun. Apparently you don't need a motocycle license to drive one on the street. Unfortunately, I'll be 2000 miles away, but if you're in the area, you might want to check it out and take a few minutes to meet an Angels legend. It's supposed to be sunny and 79, so unlike those of us in Chicago, you can't use the weather as an excuse.

Watch This Space

Tim Salmon interview to be posted within 24 hours. Still transcribing.

Doc'd: Blue Jays 13; Angels 1

This game was over early, as the score indicates. Anthony Ortega retired just four batters, two fewer than he allowed to score. The Blue Jays scored two in the first and five in the second on their way to an easy victory. The cushion was far more than Roy Halladay needed. Halladay shut out the Angels for 7.2 innings before the hustle of Howie Kendrick and a two out single by Jeff Mathis got the Angels on the board.

The offense was as innefective as the pitching. The Angels collected just _ hits, and never really threatened. Gary Matthews probably had the roughest night for the Angels, going 0-3 with three strike outs in his first three at bats. It didn't matter, but Justin Speier followed up the other night's poor outing with, well, another poor outing. He allowed five runs in the eighth.

* Mike Scioscia was ejected in the top of the eighth after Justin Speier hit Rod Barajas, prompting a warning to both benches. It came right after Speier had allowed five runs in two batters, culminating in Lyle Overbay's three run homer.
* On the bright side, if you're going to give up 13 runs, you may as well do it when Doc Halladay is on the mound. Chances are three runs will be enough to beat you, so the rest are just superfluous.
* Two guys are going to have to go back to the minors when John Lackey and Ervin Santana come back. Anthony Ortega just made one of those decisions really, really easy.

No Relief: Angels 9; Yankees 10

Yet another night when the Angel offense delivers more than enough to win. Yet another night when the bullpen can’t hold on to a huge a lead. Rafael Rodriguez, Jose Arredondo, and Brian Fuentes combined for six earned runs in two innings, and blew a five run lead. This is starting to get ridiculous.

Jered Weaver shook off a tough first inning in which he allowed four runs. He followed it up with five scoreless frames, and left with a lead that he had to think was safe. But after a solid seventh inning, Rodriguez ran into trouble, and started the snowball that became four run eighth for the Yankees, with the runs evenly split between Rodriguez and Arredondo. Brian Fuentes entered in the ninth and failed to retire any of the four batters he faced. A walk and three singles later, the Yankees finished the comeback and celebrated a 10-9 victory.

The Angels got offense from almost everyone. Robb Quinlan was the only Angel who failed to reach base. Erick Aybar and Gary Matthews each had three hits. Matthews added four RBIs, three coming on a bases loaded triple in the sixth inning. Jeff Mathis drove in three runs, two with a single and one with a squeeze bunt. But yet again, their effort was undone by baseball’s worst bullpen.

Thoughts on the game:

A lot of people were happy to let Francisco Rodriguez leave. His numbers would be the best in this bullpen by far. The haters will point toward his post season struggles as justification for letting him leave. Well, good news. The Angels probably won’t have to worry about post-season failures this year.
The Angels drew 7 walks. That’s gotta be close to a record for this decade. And they still lost.
This is the sixth game in which the Angels have scored 8 or more runs. They ‘ve lost four of those games. That’s pathetic.

The Speier We Know and Don't Particularly Care For: Angels 4; Yankees 7

Just when you thought it was safe to bring in Justin Speier, he reverts to 2008 form. He allowed three eighth inning runs as the Angels dropped their first game in the new Yankee Stadium by a score of 7-4.

Anthony Ortega provided the Angels with a quality start, lasting 6.1 innings while allowing three earned runs. A fourth run came home on Bobby Abreu’s misplay of Derek Jeter’s fourth inning RBI single. Ortega allowed 10 baserunners, while striking out two, but he gave the Angels a chance to win, and that’s the best they can hope for. Scot Shields completed the seventh before Mike Scioscia turned to the surprisingly effective Speier in the 8th, who promptly turned back into a pumpkin. After retiring the first batter he faced, he allowed the next five hitters to reach (one on an intentional walk), and by the time he was done, the Yankees had turned a tie game into a three run advantage.

At the plate, Howie Kendrick shrugged off yesterday’s ofer and reached base three times, twice via the hit and once via the walk. He also stole two bases. Mike Napoli and Chone Figgins both delivered two hits, and both were caught stealing once. Napoli, however, did homer (his fourth) in his first at bat. Kendry Morales went cold again, going 0-4wi with three strike outs after his recent hot streak.

Thoughts on the game:

* Justin Speier’s ERA went up about three points, which isn’t really an indication of how he’s been pitching on the season. But he clearly didn’t have it tonight.
* Ortega’s quality start was a nice surprise, but the Angels really need to win games when either he or Matt Palmer give them the chance, because they probably aren’t going to give the team many chances in 2009. This team really needs John Lackey and Ervin Santana back. Sheesh, they need Dustin Mosely back. I can’t believe I’m writing that.
* Nothing against Jeff Mathis, but I’ll take the defensive deficiencies from Napoli in exchange for his far superior bat.

Three Straight: Angels 3; Orioles 2

After becoming the last team in the majors to win two games in a row, the Angels went out and won a third straight game, using the long ball and six strong innings from Shane Loux to sweep the two game set from the Orioles.

Loux had his strongest start of the season, lasting six plus innings, allowing one run on five hits. He allowed the run after loading the bases in the first, but limited the Orioles to a sac fly. In the second, he allowed a lead off triple to Chad Moeller, but got a ground out to first, followed by a comebacker the mound. Loux alertly froze the runner, and a short rundown ended with a Chone Figgins tag-out.

The Angels tied the game in the fourth inning when a Kendry Morales triple chased home Maicer Izturis. In the seventh, Orioles starter Koji Uehara had an inning he’d rather forget. He allowed back to back homers to Torii Hunter and Kendry Morales, and after retiring Howie Kendrick, he was drilled square in the chest by Gary Matthews. The injury forced Uehara’s exit.

Justin Speier continued his surprisingly strong bullpen work. He entered in the seventh with none out and Chad Moeller on second base. He promptly struck out the first two hitters he faced, and retired the third on a line out to end the inning. Jose Arredondo allowed a run in the either, but Brian Fuentes worked a perfect ninth for his fifth save, and preserved Loux’s first win of the season.

Thoughts on the game:

* In his last ten games, Kendry Morales is hitting .341/.372/.707 with four doubles, three homers, and 13 RBIs. It may be a hot streak, or it may be a sign of things to come, but he’s brought his season long production up to a pretty respectable level, with not awful defense. This is what the Angels hoped for when they realized Teixeira was gone.
* Speaking of Teixeira, he currently sits at .206/.363/.381 with 3 homers and 10 RBIs. Kendry, for the season, is at .275/.324/.464 with three homers and 14 RBIs. those numbers are actually fairly similar, thanks to Teixeira’s superior patience. I’ll take Kendry’s production for $20MM less.
* Justin Speier dropped his ERA to 2.08, and he’s rapidly making Scot Shields the fourth option out of the bullpen.
* Maicer Izturis made a diving play in the fourth inning on a Chad Moeller shot that makes you wonder why the Angels think Erick Aybar is the superior defender.

Hopefully good music news

I'm a little late to this party.  I don't know much about Pete Doherty.  I never listened to the Libertines.  I have no idea what Babyshambles sounds like.

But anything that might result in more creative output from Lee Mavers is a very, very good thing.

Up is Down, Black is White, and the Angels Bullpen Pitched Three Scoreless Innings

Signs of life from the Angels last night, especially from the bullpen. They managed to take the rubber match in the best of three series thanks to a solid effort from career minor-leaguer Matt Palmer, three innings of scoreless relief, clutch offensive performances, and four Tigers errors.

Palmer struggled early, allowing single runs in the first two innings before settling down in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. He struggled in the seventh, leaving the bases loaded. Daniel Davidson and Jason Bulger allowed the inherited runners to score, but Bulger got a key double play grounder to Chone Figgins to end the threat. Bulger followed that with a perfect eight, and Justin Speier pitched a perfect night to preserve the win.

At the plate, Howie Kendrick finally hit his first double of the season in the first inning. It took two bases loaded walks in the fourth inning for the Angels to tie the game. Torii Hunter his sixth homer of the season in the fifth to give the Angels their first lead. They added three more runs in the sixth, and four in the seventh, two coming home on Chone Figgins’ bases loaded, two out bunt single, which blew the game open. Bobby Abreu, Torii Hunter, Maicer Izturis, Kendry Morales, and Garry Matthews each had two hits.

With Seattle’s victory, the 6-9 Angels remain 3.5 games out of first, tied with Texas and a half game in front of Oakland.

Thoughts on the game:

• You kind of had to see it to believe it, but the Angels scored ten runs last night, only three of which were produced on balls that left the infield. Hunter homered, and Abreu and Izturis had RBI singles to the outfield. But two runs came home on bases loaded walks, three on infield singles, and two on Figgins’ bunt single (one of which was attributed to an error on the play).
• Bobby Abreu stole his eighth base, which leads the league. He also beat out an infield hit, which scored a run. He doesn’t look fast, but he is really running well. Now he just needs to deliver some extra base hits.
• Justin Speier is looking downright serviceable. He’s appeared in five games and only given up single runs in two of them. In 5.2 innings, he’s allowed only five baserunners, and struck out six. Right now, he’s their best reliever.

Yet Another Bullpen Implosion: Tigers 12; Angels 10

It’s starting to sound like a broken record, but once again, the Angels relievers were handed a lead, and once again, they imploded, allowing seven runs over the final four innings, turning a 7-5 lead into a 12-10 defeat.

Joe Saunders was not sharp, allowing five runs over his five innings, but Kendry Morales and the Angels offense delivered him seven runs. Justin Speier allowed a run in the sixth, but the Angels matched that and handed a two run lead to Scot Shields, who claimed earlier in the week that a adjustment to his mechanics had solved the problems he faced earlier in the season.

Time for another adjustment. He faced four batters and allowed all four to reach, two via the single, and two via the walk, one of which drove in a run. Jose Arredondo allowed the three runners he inherited to score, thanks in no small part to a miscue by short stop Erick Aybar.

Brandon Wood sat for the second straight game since his call up, but the Angels offense didn’t need him. Kendry Morales homered and doubled, driving in five of the Angels ten runs. Torii Hunter and Maicer Izturis each delivered three hits. Juan Rivera and Gary Matthews each picked up two hits. On the evening, the Angels knocked Tigers pitching around for 16 hits, but for the second time in a week, an enormous offensive outburst couldn’t make up for shoddy pitching.

Thoughts on the game:

• Brandon Wood’s call up has so far defied all logic. He’s the Angels top offensive prospect, and he’s now played seven games in the last 13 days. One would think that after missing time to attend funerals, the Angels would want him in the lineup every day. Calling him up just to have him sit makes no sense.
• For the last few years, the Angels bullpen has been a significant advantage, practically reducing games to seven innings for opponents. This year, not only is the advantage gone, they’re giving opponents a head start. They need to take at least a three run lead into the seventh inning or they’re in trouble.
• Crazy to think, but this team would actually be a couple games worse without Torii Hunter. Fortunately, everyone else in the AL West keeps losing.

Angels lose again

We’re 12 games in and it’s already getting difficult to find things to write about the Angels. For a change, the pitching was actually adequate. Shane Loux lasted seven innings, allowing 3 runs on 10 hits, while not allowing a walk. He was not helped out by his defense. No one was charged with an error, but numerous plays went left unmade, at least one which led to a run. Loux allowed single runs in the second, fifth, and seventh innings, all of the manufactured varierty.

Their failures were overshadowed by the bullpen yesterday, but the offense was responsible for today’s loss. They were completely dominated by Glen Perkins for eight innings. He allowed one run on four hits, and needed only 84 pitches in his eight innings. That’s three pitches per batter faced. So much for all of the talk about how the Angels preached plate discpline this spring.

Thoughts on the game:

• Bobby Abreu had two of the Angels’ four hits, and one of their two walks. He and Torii Hunter remain the only Angels providing anything remotely close to what can be called production.
• Daniel Davidson debuted, and allowed one walk in an otherwise uneventful eighth inning. That automatically makes him the Angels’ best relief pitcher.
• The Angels get a much needed off day to regroup. They have to start turning it around now.

Angels 2; Twins 9

Once again an Angels starter gave a good effort. Once again, Torii Hunter provided the Angels with offense, giving them an early lead. And once again, a complete meltdown by the bullpen undid their efforts, as the Angels fell to Twins yet again.

Hunter’s team leading 4th home in the second inning put the Angels in front early, but it was all the Angels offense could muster. Bobby Abreu and Juan Rivera, the only other regulars besides Hunter hitting over .300, each delivered two hits.

Darren Oliver allowed one run, but after a long outing earlier in the week, and a spring spent preparing for a relief role, he was pulled after four innings. That’s where the trouble started. Kevin Jepsen was again unable to throw strikes consistently, walking the first two batters he faced before allowing three straight hits and three runs. He wasn’t done. He allowed a fourth run on a wild pitch, and was credited with a fifth run allowed (four earned) when Rafael Rodriguez threw a wild pitch. Rodriguez went on to allow three runs of his own in the sixth inning, one earned.

Thoughts on the game:

• The bullpen, everyone but Jose Arredondo and Darren Oliver, has been awful. With starters hurt, and with pitches limited in the young season, that’s a recipe for disaster.
• I look at this offense, and I don’t know where runs are going to come from. Torii Hunter can’t do it forever.

This Is A Bad Baseball Team

Look at the bright side, folks. You won't be losing the float on those playoff deposits.

I'm not sold on the idea that an offense needs to walk and hit homers to score, but you also can't rely on stringing a ton singles together. Don't let the nine runs fool you. This is not a good offense.

As for the pitching, well, the front line guys are fucking head cases. They give up one hit and refuse to ever go back to the zone. You guys wanted Frankie gone, and you got your wish. Now we have no one, outside of Speiere (believe it or not) who can get anyone out.

No one in the minors to take over outside of Wood and Rodriguez. Crippling contracts to Matthews and now, apparently, Rivera. The run is over. This team will not return to the post-season until 2014 at the earliest.

Vlad, out for more than a month.

Season. Over.

Your Last Place Angels: Angels 3; Mariners 11

The Angels fell behind early, held a brief one run lead, then proceeded to get stomped by the Mariners in a seven run seventh inning that put the game out of reach. After yet another gamed marred by poor relief pitching and a lack of timely hitting, the Angels find themselves 3-5 on the season, 3.5 games back of the Mariners, and in last place in the AL West.

Torii Hunter’s fifth inning two run home run erased an early deficit and gave the Angels a one run lead. But Jered Weaver served up back to back gopher balls to Endy Chavez and Ken Griffey Jr. in the bottom of the fifth to regain a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. The M’s added a run in the sixth when Jered Weaver couldn’t handle a squeeze bunt. Kevin Jepsen worked out of the mess that Weaver left, but he allowed three runs in the seventh before turning it over to Jason Bulger, who allowed a single and two walks before giving up a grand slam to Ichiro.

In the seventh inning, trailing by two runs, the Angels strung together a Hunter double, a strike-out/wild-pitch to Kendry Morales, and a Juan Rivera single to cut the deficit to one. But after Jeff Mathis sacrificed the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position, Erick Aybar and Chone Figgins struck out to end the threat, and the M’s explosion a half inning later erased any doubt.

Thoughts from the game:

• Jered Weaver didn’t look very sharp. He threw a lot of strikes (60 in 89 pitches), but he got knocked around pretty well, giving up 10 hits. Not a surprise in an early game, but as their second best active starter, he really needs to pick up the slack.
• Erick Aybar looks lost at the plate. His 0-4 performance dropped his average to .150, and he left three men on base. With the Angels offense struggling, and with Brandon Wood’s hot start (.333/.333/1.067 - three homers and a triple in 15 at bats) and terrific spring training, you have to wonder how long the Angels can afford to keep him in Salt Lake.
• Last night’s game looked like a flash back to last October. The 8-9-1-2 hitters combined to go 0-15. Tough to get anything going with a big black hole like that in your lineup.

Quick Site Note

I think I mentioned last year that I was cross-posting some things at SoCal Sports Hub, a site that covers pretty much all professional and college sports for Southern California. I'm doing the same thing this year, and it looks like I'll be writing anywhere from 2-5 game recaps per week. I'm going to post them here as well, so whatever you see here will probably coincide with the games I'm doing for that site.

That's pretty much just related to Angels content. All of the other stupid stuff I write here will still be here.

Just One More Reason to Hate the Red Sox

I'm not really in a writey mood tonight, despite today's actions, so here are just some quick thoughts.

• Josh Beckett is a little bitch, and there's no doubt in my mind that he intentionally threw at Abreu. It was a goddamned fastball and it was nowhere near the target, or at least, nowhere near the target that had been set by Varitek. I'm sure it was very close to the target that Beckett selected.
  

• Not only did Beckett get things rolling with his pitch, but escalated the situation. Abreu had a right to be pissed and I'm sure he made that known. But Beckett walked in from the mound, pointing and yelling, and THAT'S when the benches emptied. Somehow, Beckett gets this rolling, escalates the situation, and four Angels get kicked out.

• Then again, maybe the umpires delivered the proper punishment by leaving Beckett in the game to get slapped around, finishing with a big fat L next to his name.

• If Beckett thinks the time out call came a little late, then here's a solution. DON'T WAIT A FREAKING HOUR TO THROW THE PITCH! He was taking a ridiculous amount of time to deliver the ball.
  

• There's simply no excuse for this: "Obviously, there's a lot of emotion in this series. Not only facing us, but the tragedy." Those were Beckett's post-game comments. So you throw at someone's head. Then you charge that guy running your mouth. Then you run your mouth to the opposing manager, and you blame their reactions on the death of their teammate. I'd call Beckett a total piece of shit, but I've taken shits that deserve more respect than him.

• Howie Kendrick parlayed yesterday's long at bat into some nice at bats in this game. He's really squaring the ball up well, and hitting it hard. I think he'll hit 10-15 homers this year if he stays healthy, and 35-40 doubles. But that's a big if with Howie.

• Another nice outing from Dustin Moseley, who's really a sixth starter who has been thrust into this role. He didn't lose his composure after the back to back home runs.
  

• I'm not concerned about the bullpen, but I'm probably at the level that comes right before concerned. For now.
  

• Now they go on the road, and hopefully this is a time to get away from all of the distractions. They're already a game and half back of Seattle, so it's actually kind of a big series.
  

More on Yesterday

This is just going to be kind of rambling and bullet pointed. For longer looks at the life, career, and death of Nick Adenhart, try the Rev, or Shane Demmit. They've both done far better than I could.

• I can't really explain how this hit me, although I suppose it was probably the same for most of you. I actually found out from a friend via email, who's initial message was simply "Holy Crap, Nick Adenhart!" Not having heard the news, I responded with my take on his performance from the night before. He then said "You must not have heard the news..." From that point on, the next three hours were just kind of an unproductive blur, and I can only say that fortunately I had some real work to do to pull me out of it. I'm still shocked, stunned, and I don't know how I'll react when the game starts tonight.

• I don't want to get too philosophical, but it's weird the way we treat "celebrity" deaths like these. Obviously Nick was the newsmaker, and his death is going to dominate all aspects of this story. But two other people died in that accident, and their deaths are just as tragic. So is the death of Brian Powers, the fan who died from the result of a sucker punch to the back of the head on opening night. Also, here's a tribute to Henry Pearson, a former CSUF catcher who also died in the wreck, written by his best friend (via Deadspin).
  

• These sort of freak occurrences always lead to discussions of fate and circumstance. If Lackey and Santana hadn't come down with soreness in the arms, Nick Adenhart probably would have been in Salt Lake to start the season. You can play that game forever, but it never gets you anywhere. I'm not particularly religious, but I can see why people find their faith important at a time like this. It's not pleasant to believe there was no reason for what happened. But life's a crazy game, I guess.
  

• There's lots of talk about why we treat drunk drivers so leniently. On the one hand, you wouldn't let someone get liquored up, then let them walk around with a rocket launcher or something, but when a drunk gets behind the wheel, he's essentially piloting a very large weapon. Maybe the reason drunk drivers have the opportunity to be repeat offenders is because so many people have done it. Judges, lawyers, legislators, etc. I would venture to guess that the vast majority of people I know have been behind the wheel when they shouldn't have been, myself included. There but for the grace of God go I, I suppose. And how can we really be tough on people who have made the same "mistakes" that we've all made? I'm not arguing for leniency in the slightest, I'm just trying to get to the root.

• That said, Gallo should face the stiffest charges allowable. He's a repeat offender, and his actions have taken three lives. In some sense, it's hard to understand the mindset. I'm not patting myself on the back, but in the few times I've driven when I shouldn't have driven, my recollection is that I was HIGHLY sensitive to traffic laws. Not a mile over the speed limit. Stop for an extra second at stop signs, just to make sure. I was so afraid of getting pulled over that I probably felt I was being conspicuous in my attention to traffic laws. Any cop with a lick of common sense would have to figure that someone trying so hard to stay within the rules has to be guilty of something. That doesn't make it right, of course, and if a small child had darted in front of me, my dulled reactions would have put both of us in a world of trouble. Then again, there aren't a lot of kids running around at 3:00 am, but that's neither here nor there. I can't imagine the arrogance of getting behind the wheel while drunk and actually speeding and flirting with red lights.

• There will probably never be a good time to ask this, but honestly, what do the Angels do now? Who takes that slot in the rotation?
  

• I think the last time I felt like this was 1991 when word leaked that Magic was retiring due to having contracted HIV. Just an out of left field punch in the gut that leaves you speechless for hours.

But the games must go on, and tonight the Angels will take the field against the hated Red Sox. I don't know how the players will react. I don't know how the fans will react. I don't know how I'll react. But I can bet that the outcome is going to seem pretty insignificant.

R.I.P. Nick Adenhart

Tragic news. Nick Adenhart was killed by a driver running a red light after last night's game.

I don't even know what to say.

On what was supposed to be a joyous evening for the organization, there probably (hopefully) won't be a baseball game at the Big A. I think I'll probably always from this point associate the HOF plaques of Chuck Finley and Brian Downing with this incident. Not their careers, of course, but just what was supposed to happen tonight.

Mental Midgets - A's 6; Angels 4

Nick Adenhart's six scoreless innings should have been enough to win. He escaped jam after jam, usually of his own making, before leaving after 98 pitches with a 3-0 lead. He allowed seven hits, walked three, and struck out five. He tossed two perfect innings, but I was impressed by how he responded with runners on. Last year, he was a disaster when pitching from the stretch. But last night he had to pitch with runners on in four innings, and three times allowed the lead off runner to reach, but still found a way to escape those jams and leave unscathed.

Unfortunately, his team could not hold the lead, and what should have been a nice night for Adenhart turned into a nightmare for the home team. After a solid seventh inning for Jose Arredondo, a Chone Figgins run pushed the lead to four. Scioscia, who would have turned to Shields in the 8th inning of a three run game, left Arredondo on the mound. He allowed the first two runners to reach before Scioscia went to Shields, who struck out Travis Buck, and induced a ground ball to third base from Mark Ellis. Instead of going to third for the sure out, which is what he undoubtedly should have done with a four run lead, Figgins chose to throw home to cut off Jack Cust at the plate. Napoli couldn't handle the throw, allowing Cust to score and Ellis to reach. A wild pitch and base hit later, and what should have been a three run lead was down to one.

Brian Fuentes, sharp in his debut, walked Giambi to lead off the ninth inning. After retiring Buck and Cust, Kurt Suzuki tapped a ball in front of the mound, and a miscommunication between Napoli and Fuentes turned a close play into no play. Nomar Garciappara's single drove in the tying run, and Matt Holliday gave the A's a two run lead they wouldn't relinquish.

I'm not going to revisit the meltdown thread on Halos Heaven, but personally, I place the blame for this game on Figgins. He made a huge mental error when he tried to cut off Cust at the plate, and it led to two more A's runs in the eighth inning, meaning Fuentes had no margin for error in the ninth. Fuentes failed to deliver, but that's going to happen over the course of a season. Poor performances are unavoidable. Mental errors are unacceptable. Gary Matthews, inserted as a pinch runner and defensive replacement, may have had a play on the Garciappara single in the ninth, but it looked like he lost it in the lights, and I'm not sure he would have gotten to it anyway. Make no mistake, I don't like Gary Matthews, but I don't find him at fault here.

Kendry Morales delivered two hits and is off to a solid start this season. Juan Rivera also delivered two hits, and Mike Napoli had an RBI double and a walk in his season debut.

An early test tonight, as the Angels throw jered Weaver, one of their true starting five against Brett Anderson, who is not the former lead singer of Suede.

A's 0; Angels 3

1 down, 161 to go. Nice way to start the season as Joe Saunders showed no signs of a dead arm, going 6.2 scoreless innings. He allowed only three hits, while walking and striking out two. He was probably on a pitch count of about 90. He finished with 93 pitches for the game, 56 of them for strikes. He fell behind a number of times, but generally seemed to find a strike when he needed it. He induced three double play balls, although the Angels infield only turned one of them, or else he may have completed the seventh inning. The A's threatened in the third inning, putting two runners on with only one out. But Jeff Mathis made a great throw to third to gun down Mark Ellis, who was the front end of an attempted double steal. Saunders got Orlando Cabrera to pop up, ending the inning.

The bullpen did its job. Jose Arredondo retired the only batter he faced. Scot Shields recorded his first hold of the season with a perfect eighth, and Brian Fuentes worked a perfect ninth for his first save as an Angel.

The offense pounded out nine hits, two each from Howie Kendrick, Vlad Guerrero, and Juan Rivera. One of Kendrick's hits left the yard, an opposite field blast to right center field over the big wall. For a guy who isn't supposed to hit for a lot of power, he hit the ball a long way. His other hit was an RBI single in the third inning. The newly patient offense looked a lot like the old 'not all that patient' offense, drawing only one walk. They did, however, work quite a few deep counts, and A's starter Dallas Braden was at nearly 100 pitches through six innings.

So far so good. Some opening day jitters, but the Angels won the way they're probably going to win this year. Good pitching, timely hitting, and a shut down bullpen. Now we get to see how the rebuilt rotation really works. Dustin Moseley takes the mound tomorrow against Trevor Cahill.

I Know It May Not Seem Like It...

...But it's opening day, and yes, I'm pretty excited. And yes, there will be Angels content here again shortly.

And Go Spartans!

Why You Shouldn't Smoke

Let me preface this by saying I love Ian McCulloch. I truly believe that he's probably the coolest person on the planet. And I love the current iteration of Echo and the Bunnymen, mostly because I became a fan after the initial breakup, and the reunion of the band has given me the opportunity to see them live a bunch of times. But Mac's voice is not what it once was. To wit, here are two versions of one of their best songs, 'All That Jazz'. See if you can pick up on the difference.

1983



2006

AC Newman and the Broken West @ Logan Square Auditorium - 3/25/09

So I've come to the conclusion that I'm really a horrible music writer. It actually has nothing to do with my skills (or lack thereof) as a writer. My problem is that I can't really criticize. I only go to shows that I want to see. Which means I only see bands that I know I already like, which means I'm going to like the show. Every review comes off as a fanboy review. So what follows is not a review, but a recap. I'm basically going to tell you why I like the bands I like so much.

This was a smaller crowd than my last Logan Square show. I saw Los Campesinos! with Titus Andronicus as the opener a couple months ago and the place was packed. The Broken West took the stage about ten minutes after 8:00, and the place was still half empty. Truth be told, I love the Broken West, and I think I've seen every show they've played in Chicago since 2007 when I first saw them open for America's finest live act, the Walkmen. They played a sample of the old album, but the bulk of the set came from thenew album and the first album, and it was all well mixed. The list:

• On the Bubble
• So it Goes
• Down in the Valley
• Gwen Now and Then
• Auctioneer
• Ambuscade
• Got It Bad
• Elm City
• House of Lies
• Perfect Games

AC Newman and band followed shortly thereafter, and I have to say, I really appreciate bands that play on time. They started shortly after nine, which is what I expect from a headliner when I see a show that's billed as an 8:00 show. Also, I have to give credit to the two females in the band (bass and violin) who were drinking wine. Rarely do you see wine consumed on stage.

Anyway, I'd say they played a typical mix of old and new. When an act is supporting a new album, you expect about 65-35 mix, and that's pretty much what we got. I think they played all but one song from the new album (honestly, at this point, I can't remember if they failed to play 'Elemental' or 'Thunderbolts'. It's been a day or so). And honestly, he played a couple songs from the Slow Wonder that I'm not crazy about (Cloud Prayer and Come Crash). But he hit most of hte highlights, and he closed with the Town Halo, which is still his best song, and is a great song if you have a violin player.

All in all a great show. Great venue, solid set, on-time, no complaints. Two bands that I really love. Hope they come back soon.

Upcoming:
Destroyer (May)
Doves (May)
Art Brut twice (June)
X (June)
Pitchfork Festival (July)

Some samples:

Broken West


AC Newman


AC Newman

Another Quick Thought

I'm really starting to sour on John Lackey. I don't know. If he thinks that complaining to the press is going to get him signed quicker, he doesn't know the Angels front office very well. And he's not really endearing himself to his fanbase.

"They got one of those on my last contract," Lackey said. "My performance outweighed that contract. . . . This is kind of my turn. They've had control for six years. Now they have to convince me."

Also, it would help if he knew how arbitration worked. You didn't sign below market on your last deal. You signed for what the market pays guys who can't become free agents. It wasn't a home town discount.

Wildcats Strike - Beat UCLA 89-69

If you set aside two hours of your day to watch this game, I hope you found something to do after about the first five minutes, because the game was essentially over that early. UCLA’s first six points came from the free throw line, but the story was how they got there. Hard, physically punishing fouls sent a message early on that Villanova was going to bully UCLA all over the floor, and the Bruins never really stepped up to the challenge. After Josh Shipp’s fourth free throw gave UCLA a 6-4 lead, the Wildcats went on a 24-5 run from which the Bruins would never recover.

You could look for someone to blame, but this was just a beat-down, plain and simple. Villanova was stronger, quicker, more athletic, and executed better than the Bruins in every aspect of the game. The Villanova back court routinely took the ball to the basket without much trouble. Dante Cunningham dominated the smaller Bruins inside, finishing with 18 and 10. Six Wildcats finished with double figures in scoring, and another finished with 8 points.

The raw numbers don’t look all that awful. Neither team shot over 50% (UCLA finished at 42.6% while Villanova shot 46.3%). UCLA outscored Villanova at the free throw line and the three point line. But two numbers tell the whole story are rebounds and turnovers. Villanova outrebounded the Bruins 39-26, including 15-7 on the offensive glass. The Bruins turned the ball over 20 times compared to only 11 times for the Wildcats. Those numbers translated into 20 more shots for Villanova, and the team with 20 extra shots is usually going to win.

So the UCLA careers for Josh Shipp, Darren Collison, and Alfred Aboya have come to an end. The trio combined for 11 of the Bruins turnovers and only 10 rebounds. Shockingly, Josh Shipp finished the game without a rebound. It’s their earliest tournament exit since Shipp’s first year loss to Texas Tech. Shipp ends his career with a career record for games started, while Collison and Aboya finish with more games played than other Bruin in team history.

The Bruins will now wait on the decision of freshman J’rue Holiday, who will take over his natural point guard position if he decides to come back. They also add length in a five man freshman class, each of whom stand 6′7″ or taller. But as they learned against Memphis last year, and Villanova this year, talent alone won’t get it done. They need to get tougher and stronger if they’re going to return to national prominence.

Think Happy Thoughts

I'll write about today's debacle tomorrow. But for now, stay positive.

Quick Thought

Arte, sign the checks. Get John Lackey signed. You don't have two guys who can step into his role like you did when you decided to let Frankie walk. You can't sign another starter on the cheap who can replicate his number like you did when signed Fuentes. If you're losing big time cash in the market, then be honest about it and let us know that we're in for some lean years. But if you aren't, then don't dick around with this. Get. It. Done!