400: Angel 8; Rays 7

Vladimir Guerrero is trying to slug his way into the hall of fame AND into a big contract for next season. He hit two home runs, including the eventual game winner in the seventh inning, the 400th of his career. Kendry Morales hit his 24th and 25th homers of the year, the bullpen combined for 4.1 innings of one run relief, and Juan Rivera made a game saving grab as the Angels shook off their weekend series with Texas to take game one of their matchup with Tampa Bay.

Tampa got two runs in the first inning for the early lead, but the Angels stormed back in the bottom of the second, taking a 3-2 lead on the strength of a solo blast from Vlad, and RBI singles from Erick Aybar and Chone Figgins. Jason Bartlett's third inning homer tied the game briefly, but Kendry Morales homered right back in the bottom of the inning, a two run shot for a 5-3 lead. The Angels pushed the lead to three in the fourth inning, but the Rays fought back to tie it in the fifth, with Carlos Pena's home run eventually chasing starter Sean O'Sullivan from the game.

Morales' second homer of the game gave the Angels the lead yet again, but Jason Bartlett's RBI triple in the sixth inning brought the Rays even again. Bartlett finished a single shy of the cycle.

That set the stage for Vlad's heroics. He drove a 3-1 fastball off the foul pole in right field for an 8-7 lead and his 400th career home run. Following Juan Rivera's single, Vlad acknowledged the crowd with a curtain call to the delight of more than 37,000 home fans.

Kevin Jepsen, after a shaky seventh, worked a perfect eighth, and turned it over to Brian Fuentes in the ninth against the heart of the Rays order. Fuentes got Carl Crawford to bounce to second on the first pitch, and followed that by striking out Evan Longoria. Ben Zobrist, the Rays' last hope, drove a deep fly ball to the short fence in left, where Juan Rivera robbed a likely home run to preserve the 8-7 win.

Thoughts on the game:

• The Angels may have gotten their big bat at the trade deadline after all. Guerrero, in seven games since returning from the DL, is hitting 357/400/786, with four home runs (all solo). We'll forgive him for the 1-2-3 double play he grounded into in the fourth inning.
• Kendry Morales is, well, I don't even know how to describe what he's doing. Since the All-Star break he's hitting 349/374/771, with 10 homers. His OPS+ is comparable to Mark Teixeira (135 v. 144), and he's making $22 million less. The only real difference between the two is Teixeira's patience, but on this Angels team, that's not as important as it may have been last year.
• Trevor Bell makes his major league debut on Wednesday filling in for the injured Joe Saunders.

The Raveonettes w/ Living Things @ the Empty Bottle - 8/8/09

In the very early days of this blog, when I was still sort of experimenting, I wrote a short post about a band that I was going to be seeing in the near future. They were the headliner in a three act bill, and I was really only going because I wanted to see the second act, Autolux (who were, quite frankly, a bit disappointing). When I wrote that post, I was not sold on what I'd heard from the headliner. But at that show, I fell in love with the Raveonettes, and four years later, they keep getting better.



I saw the Raveonettes for the third time on Saturday night, the day before their set at Lollapalooza. And for the third time, they put on a terrific show. It helps that their music translates very well to a live setting. Drenched in feedback and distortion, they don't rely on slick production. This works for two reasons: First, it's much easier to replicate stuff in person that already sounds fuzzy to begin with; Second, that sort of sound, when played very loud, really envelopes the audience, and it's just not a feeling you can get via conventional media players. You're just drowning in it.



The Raveonettes are getting set to release their fifth album (if you consider Whip It On a proper album), and while their sound hasn't changed all that much, they've really gotten good at focusing on their strengths. Their lyrics are a little darker, but their sound is still bright, poppy, and laden with hooks. When I wrote that initial post, I described them as a sort of Buddy Holly as played by the Jesus and Mary Chain. They still fit that description, and it still sounds great, although their obvious affection for other acts of the period, like the Ronettes, is pretty evident as well (they even recorded a track with Ronnie Spector on their third album).

As for Sunday night, they were test driving some of the new tracks, which you can track down if you're so inclined. 'Suicide' is the one they played that I knew. But they hit the old stuff as well, dusting off Attack of the Ghost Riders from Whip It On. The rest of the set included (but was not limited to):

• That Great Love Sound (encore)
• Let's Rave On
• Aly Walk With Me
• Hallucinations
• Dead Sound
• Love in a Trashcan
• Red Tan
• Here Comes Mary
• Twilight (encore)
  

They played for about an 1:15 or so, which is set-length I can live with, even if there are a couple songs that they left out that I wanted to hear, like Noisy Summer and You Say You Lie. Noisy Summer is one of those songs that I was lukewarm on until I heard it live, at which point it really clicked, and has since become a favorite. Someone made a video for it, so I've posted it below. It's a great example of a song that sounds so innocent that you barely realize how abosolutely drenched in feedback it is. But once you realize it, it makes the song even better. Twilight was, again, a major highlight.

Noisy Summer


Twilight


Dead Sound

At Least They Got One: Angels 9; White Sox 5

It took a couple of days, but the Angels finally found the offense they left in Minnesota. Combined with an adequate performance from Ervin Santana, the Angels salvaged the last of their three game set at the Cell with a 9-4 victory.

The Angels got things rolling early with six runs in the first three innings, two on Jeff Mathis' solo shot, and one on a bomb from Vlad Guerrero, his first since coming off the DL on Tuesday and fifth of the season. Jason Nix hit a three run shot in the second inning for the Sox. In the bottom of the third, Santana, after plunking Paul Konerko to load the bases, walked Mark Kotsay, forcing in the Sox' fourth run, and things looked bleak. But Santana froze Nix on a 3-2 pitch for a called strikeout, and induced an inning ending ground out from Chris Getz.

Bobby Abreu hit his ninth homer of the season in the fifth inning. Kendry Morales delivered an RBI with his first hit of the series in the seventh inning. Erick Aybar slugged his fourth homer of the season in the ninth, and at that point the game was beyond doubt.

Santana lasted six innings and allowed four runs for his fourth win of the season, and Jason Bulger provided two innings of perfect relief to make sure the Sox didn't entertain any thoughts of coming back. Kevin Jepsen pitched a shaky ninth, allowing a solo homer to Dwayne Wise before recording the final out.

Thoughts on the game:

• The Angels attempted seven steals, but were only successful four times. The most egregious attempt came in the seventh inning when Guerrero broke from first base too early. Aybar, on third base, tried to come home on the play, but was cut down. Vlad later scored on Morales' single.
• Santana on the road in a day game is usually a perfect storm of suck. But he survived the three run homer and a very shaky third to close the game strong. His bases loaded walk came after he was up on Kotsay 0-2, and he almost walked Nix after getting ahead 1-2.
• The Angels drew five more walks, giving them 13 in the three games. That's usually enough to win, but they had only one extra base hit in the first two games. They pounded out five today, including four homers.
• The weather in Chicago has been perfect the last few days. I haven't even had to turn on the AC. But it's going to get very hot this weekend. The Angels are leaving at the right time.

Angels 2; White Sox 6

Jim Thome slugged two homers and Gavin Floyd pitched into the ninth inning as the White Sox downed the Angels for the second consecutive night. Again, the Angels offense never got going, and was unable to pick up Sean O'Sullivan, who was strong through five innings, but collapsed in the sixth as the Sox broke the game open.

The Angels took the lead in the first inning. Bobby Abreu singled with two outs, and Jermaine Dye's error on a Vlad Guerrero fly ball to right field allowed Abreu to come all the way around from first base. Unfortunately, that was the last run the Angels would score until the game was well out of reach in the ninth inning. The offense managed only six hits, one for extra bases, and grounded into three double plays.

Sean O'Sullivan, fresh off his AAA no-hitter looked sharp through three innings, allowing only one hit. Jim Thome got to him in the fourth for the Sox first run of the game. In the fifth inning, the Sox scored the go ahead run, and in the sixth, Jim Thome's three run shot off of Darren Oliver (two runs charged to O'Sullivan) put the game basically out of reach. Paul Konerko added a solo homer in the eighth inning.

Thoughts on the game:

• Apparently the Angels got a lot of rest on Monday's off day, and they haven't quite woken up. The offense has looked awful, with only one extra base hit in the first two games of this series.
• The pitching has not covered for the offense. John Lackey and Sean O'Sullivan delivered performances that were good enough to win when the Angels were scoring 10 runs per game, but the low output the last two nights have left their starters out to dry.
• Ervin Santana goes today on what was his nemesis before last season: Day games on the road. We'll see if he can turn around what has been a forgettable season so far, but if I were a betting man, I wouldn't wager that the turnaround would start today.

Angels 4; White Sox 5

The Angels left their bats in Minnesota. Following a series in which they pounded out over 50 hits and scored in double digits in all three games, the Angels managed only five singles against White Sox pitchers and failed to take full advantage of seven walks in a 5-4 loss to the White Sox to open the midweek series.

After the Sox scored single runs in the first and second innings on solo homers from Gordon Beckham and Carlos Quentin, the Angels scored three times in the third on only one hit, four walks, two wild pitches, and a passed ball, which was enough for the Sox to yank Jose Contreras. Unfortunately, Sox relievers combined for 6.1 innings of one run ball allowing just six baserunners, and the Angels were only able to push one more run across. Bobby Abreu delivered a sac fly in the fifth to give the Angels a 4-3 lead that they would take into the 7th inning.

The Sox tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on a two out double by Scott Podsednik and an RBI single from Beckham. John Lackey left the game after eight innings having allowed four runs (three earned), while striking out seven and allowing seven baserunners. Kevin Jepsen relieved him in the ninth inning and promptly retired the first two hitters he faced. But Jason Nix drilled a two out double to center field, and Scott Podsednik's drive into right center field chased Nix home for the game winning run.

Thoughts on the game:

• All four Angels runs came from runners who reached via the walk. Figgins walked three times. But the power bats that crushed the Twins last weekend didn't make an appearance last night.
• Bobby Abreu was named the AL player of the month for July, and his three RBIs in last night's game give him 32 in his last 29 games going back to July 1st.
  
• On the other hand, Kendry Morales, the reigning AL player of the week, was a non-factor: 0-4 with a strike out.
  

Angels 9; Indians 3

The Angels hit the century mark with their winning percentage at an even .600 as they took the rubber game against the Indians in an afternoon tilt. John Lackey continued to round into form, tossing seven innings and allowing one run while striking out eight. 70 of his 113 pitches went for strikes, and he allowed only three hits, though he did walk four hitters. The Indians learned before the game that reigning Cy Young winner Cliff Lee had been dealt to the Phillies, and they played as if they’d just lost their best friend.

The Angels got off to a fast start against Indians starter Aaron Laffey. The pushed across two runs in the first inning on RBI singles from Kendry Morales and Howie Kendrick. The Indians cut the lead in half with a run in the fourth, but the Angels broke the game open with a five run fifth inning. The first six Angels to hit in the inning reached base, thanks in part to Luis Valbuena’s drop of Juan Rivera’s popup to second base. Again, Morales and Kendrick provided the big hits, combining to drive in three runs in the inning. The Angels finished their onslaught with Kendrick’s homer in the seventh inning.

Darren Oliver pitched a perfect eighth. Shane Loux closed the game out after Bobby Mosebach struggled, allowing two meaningless runs in the ninth.

Thoughts on the game:

• Howie Kendrick had himself a day. He went 3-4 with five RBI and a home run. He’s now hitting .377 with 14 RBIs in July. Just another example of a Angel who has caught fire this month.
• John Lackey is starting to put it together at the right time for both the Angels and himself. The more he pitches like this into August and September, the more money he makes next season. The question is from whom he’ll be drawing a paycheck.
• Combined with the Rangers’ loss to Detroit, the Angels lead is back to 3.5 games, and Seattle is now 7.5 games back. They shouldn’t be counted out yet, but one gets the feeling the Rangers gave the Angels their best shot, and they may not have enough the tank to make another run.

Angels 7; Indians 6

The Angels overcame another shaky start, needed to come from behind yet again, and survived a second straight awful performance from Brian Fuentes to end their two game losing streak.

Jered Weaver turned in a mediocre outing, but gave the Angels a chance to win. He struggled with his control, needing over 100 pitches (nearly half out of the strike zone) for five innings of work in which he allowed four runs on four hits while walking three. Matt Palmer provided three excellent innings of relief and picked up the win in the process.

In the third inning, the Angels strung together five straight hits, leading to three runs. They may have had more if Chone Figgins hadn’t been eliminated at the plate trying to score from first base on Erick Aybar’s double. The Indians tied the game in the fourth inning, and took a one run lead on Jhonny Peralta’s solo shot in the fifth. The Angels finally caught up and pulled ahead with a four run eighth inning. Juan Rivera’s RBI single tied the game, but things looked bleak when Mike Napoli grounded into a double play. But after Indians reliever Tony Sipp walked the next two hitters, loading the bases, Gary Matthews Jr. delivered a three run double.

Brian Fuentes took the ball in the ninth and failed to record an out, his second straight awful outing. Jason Bulger relieved Fuentes with the bases loaded, and induced a grounder to first from Victor Martinez which led to a brilliant 3-6-1 double play, pulling the Indians to within one. Bulger got Peralta to ground to short to end the game.

Thoughts on the game:

• Give a lot of credit to Mike Scioscia for finally realizing that his closer wasn’t going to get it done and giving the ball to someone else. Bulger came into an impossible situation and got two ground balls to end the game. After two straight losses, the Angels really needed this one.
• Erick Aybar had two more hits. He’s having an unbelievable month. He’s hitting 439/465/598 for July, and he’s pulled his season numbers to 318/357/433, good for an OPS+ of 105, which is terrific for a shortstop of his defensive caliber. In the absence of Torii Hunter and Vlad, the slack has been more than adequately picked up by Aybar and Kendry Morales. This is a really fun offensive team to watch.
• Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, and Jered Weaver aren’t doing anything to convince Tony Reagins that the Angels don’t need to add a starter. But the replacement may be Sean O’Sullivan, who has looked solid at the major league level, and just pitched a no-hitter against Sacramento in AAA last night.

Michael Jackson's Dead

Guess that means we can all look forward to the Dandy Warhols' cover of Blackbird.

Undreaded: Angels 11; Rockies 3

The Angels used offensive outbursts in the first and second innings to jump out to a 6-0 lead and never looked back as they took two of three from the Rockies, who came into Anaheim red hot. Joe Saunders made sure the Rockies never got back into the came, picking up his eighth win in the process, and keeping the Angels in a first place tie with the Texas Rangers.

The Angels scored three times with two outs in the first inning. Following Torii Hunter's double play ball, the next four Angels reached base. Vlad drove in a run with a double off the wall in left center, and after a Juan Rivera walk, Kendry Morales and Maicer Izturis delivered RBI singles.

Vlad struck again in the second inning with a two out, two run home run over the wall in left center field, only his second homer of the season, and the first since shaving his dreadlocks.

The Angels added two more runs in the fourth, and one in the sixth to push the lead to 9-0 before the Rockies finally got on the board. Bobby Abreu closed out the scoring for the Angels with a two run homer in the eighth inning, his fourth of the season.

Joe Saunders worked 6+ innings, and allowed one run on four hits while striking out six. He left the game in seventh inning after allowing a home run to Garret Atkins and a single to Brad Hawpe. He pushed his record to 8-4, and lowere his ERA to 3.66, a little behind last year's pace, but solid nonetheless. Justin Speier struck out the side in the seventh, and after Rafael Rodriguez allowed to runs in the eighth, Darren Oliver worked a perfect ninth to close it out.

Thoughts on the game:

• It may be a momentary blip, but if Vlad is finding his bat speed, it will be huge for the Angels. His power bat could work as the mid-season acquisition the Angels need.
• Chone Figgins had three more hits. His current line, 330/405/422, is all-star worthy. And while Ichiro could play center field, Figgins' production while playing an excellent third base rivals what the Mariners are getting from Ichiro in right field.
• One more note on Figgins. He's also on pace for a career high in walks. Can you tell it's a contract year?

First Place: Angels 4; Rockies 3

After all the Angels have been through this year, it's hard to believe that they're in first place, but after handing the Rockies on their second loss in the last 19 games, the Angels have caught the Rangers atop the AL West.

Sean O'Sullivan provided his second solid start of the season. He allowed three runs on six hits in five innings. Troy Tulowitzki proved to be O'Sullivan's undoing. Tulowitzki walked in his first appearance. In the fourth inning, O'Sullivan threw his first pitch behind Tulowitzki. A few pitches later, Tulowitzki got his revenge by blasting a fastball over the wall in left field. Three innings later, Tulowitzki wasn't done. With Brad Hawpe on first, Tulowitzki drove a fastball at the top of the strike zone off the foul pole in left field, giving the Rockies a 3-2 lead.

The Angels offense did just enough to win the game, though they squandered a few opportunities. In the third inning, after Jeff Mathis and Maicer Izturis had reached base, Erick Aybar failed to get the sacrifice bunt down, hanging Izturis out to dry at third base. Chone Figgins followed with an RBI single, but was thrown out trying to take second base.

After the Rockies tied the game on Tulowitzki's first home run, Juan Rivera delivered one of his own, his 11th of the season, giving the Angels a 2-1 lead.

In the eigth inning, with starter Ubaldo Jiminez still in the game, the Angels fought back from a 3-2 deficit despite only hitting one ball out of the infield. Jeff Mathis walked to lead off the inning. Erick Aybar's sacrifice bunt was double clutched by Ian Stewart, allowing Aybar to reach safely. Chone Figgins' sac bunt attempt should have led to an out at third, but Stewart couldn't find the bag after taking the throw from Jiminez, and the Angels loaded the bases. Bobby Abreu delivered a two run single in the next at bat, giving the Angels a 4-3 lead.

Brian Fuentes, working against his former team, hit Chris Iannetta to lead off the inning. But after Ryan Spillborghs sacrificed, Fuentes struck out Garret Atkins and Clint Barmes for his league leading 20th save. All in all, the bullpen (Oliver, Bulger, Jepsen, Fuentes) worked four hitless innings, with Kevin Jespen earning the win.

Thoughts on the game:

• After Torii Hunter and Chone Figgins, conventional wisdom would suggest that Bobby Abreu has been the Angels' third best hitter. But Juan Rivera is slugging 100 points higher than Abreu, and on a power starved team, he's been pretty indespensible this year.
• It really makes you wonder. I know it's only been two starts, but Sean O'Sullivan struggled in Salt Lake, yet he comes to the big club and gives the team a good chance to win in his first two starts. Goes to show that minor league numbers probably aren't reliable indicators of a player's ability.
• Since May 1st, Brian Fuentes is 15/17 in save opportunities, with a respectable 3.31 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 16.1 IP. Take away the game against Seattle where he allowed a three run homer in the ninth, and his ERA is almost cut in half. He hasn't been lights-out dominant, but he's been effective, which is more than can be said for much of the bullpen over that stretch, last night's game notwithstanding.

Rocked: Angels 1; Rockies 11

Just the Angels' luck that they happen to hit the Rockies in the midst of winning 17 of 18, with two more games to go. This was a night where almost everything went wrong for the Angels. The good news is that you may as well have everything go wrong on the same night. No use spreading that stuff around.

Matt Palmer suffered his first loss of his Angels career, and quite frankly, he was due for it. It looked like it was going to be another typical Palmer start: struggle early, settle in and dominate, and wait for the bats to come through. He gave up three runs in the second inning on three singles, two walks, and two wild pitches. He responded by retiring the next nine hitters in order, and appeared to be on the right track. But in the fifth inning, after retiring the leadoff hitter, he allowed a single, a walk, and three run homer from Brad Hawpe, and the game was essentially over at that point.

The Angels offense wasn't much better. They mustered only three hits off of starter Aaron Cook. One off the bat of Kendry Morales left the yard, briefly giving the Angels hope at 3-1, his 12th homer of the season. It was also the Angels' final hit of the game. They managed just two baserunners over the final five innings.

The bullpen was once again the bullpen that we've grown tired of seeing this year. Rich Thompson, Rafael Rodriguez, and Jason Bulger combined to allow five runs in 4.1 innings.

Thoughts on the game:

• Not much to say really. Every facet of the Angels performance was worthy of defeat. The Rockies are hot, of course, but they didn't need to be to win this game.
• Since taking over the full time second base job, Maicer Izturis is hitting 333/429/600. That sounds great, but in those nine games he has 10 hits, and seven of them came in two games.
• Kendry Morales isn't putting up all-star numbers at first base, but he hasn't been bad, and I think he's been pretty much what the Angels expected. He's also been remarkably consistent, hovering around his current line of 272/322/515 for much of the season. I'd like to see the ISO OBP increase, but the power number (12 homers, 20 doubles) are solid.

Oh No! We Suck Again: Angels 1, Rays 11

hank God for the Lakers, because no one will care about this game. The Angels looked like they didn't care much either. Ervin Santana followed up John Lackey's brutal performance with one of his own. He lasted only 4.2 innings, and allowed six runs on eight hits, one of which left the yard off the bat of Evan Longoria. The bullpen was just as brutal. Rich Thompson only needed two-thirds of an inning to give up four earned runs. He allowed two homers, a solo shot to Dioner Navarro, and a three run blast to Carlos Pena.

On the plus side, it's not as if they wasted a great offensive performance. The Angels managed only four hits off of David Price and Grant Balfour. They didn't get any off of Randy Choate and Joe Nelson. Their only run came in the fifth inning on a Torii Hunter RBI single.

Amazingly, Price's performance wasn't good enough for the win. He didn't last the required five innings, primarily because his six walks and six strikeouts cost him 105 pitches through 4.1 innings. The Angels walked eight times in all, yet still couldn't muster more than one run.

Thoughts on the game:

• This team is very frustrating. Every time you think they've turned a corner, they do a 360 and end up right where they started. A series of good starts leads into a series of bad starts. Solid offensive games are mirages. I'm losing faith in their ability to put it together.
• This is the part where I try to look for positives, but I just didn't see any tonight. The three guys at the top of the lineup all get on base at nearly a .400 clip, yet they can't score more than one run. Again, frustrating.
• At least the Lakers won.

Wonderful Weaver: Angels 4; Rays 3

After a disappointing finish to the Detroit series, the Angels got off to a good start in Tampa Bay. That was no surprise, as their 2009 ace, Jered Weaver, was on the mound to start the series. It was his third straight win, and after going six innings and allowing two earned runs, it left his season ERA at 2.31, good enough for third in the American League. He kept the Rays off balance most of the night, working his change up to left handers with regularity, changing speeds and arm angles, and working out of a few jams. He struggled a bit with his command, walking four, but he made big pitches when he needed to. Tonight was an opportunity for Weaver to show that he's evolving from a throwier to a pitcher. He didn't have his best stuff, but he made it work.

The Angels got him some help early. Chone Figgins reached on an error to lead off the game. Bobby Abreu singled him to third, and two batters later, Vlad Guerrero delivered an RBI single for the first run of the game. Juan Rivera chased Abreu home on an RBI ground out. In the fifth inning, Howie Kendrick missed a home run by a matter of inches, but ended up with a triple. The umpires reviewed the play, but made the right call. Chone Figgins drove him in with a sac fly in the next at bat.

Tampa Bay finally got to Weaver in the sixth. After Evan Longoria walked, Carlos Pena doubled to put runners on second and third with no one out. An RBI ground out and a sac fly later, the Rays were within one run. The Angels added to the lead in the seventh, although they missed an opportunity to break the game open. Howie Kendrick led off the inning with a single, but was thrown out trying to go first to third on Chone Figgins' single. Bobby Abreu followed with an RBI double that would have scored Kendrick as well as Figgins.

Jason Bulger entered the game in the eighth inning and gave up a lead off homer to Ben Zobrist, but retired the next three hitters, two via the strike out. Brian Fuentes came on in the ninth inning, and promptly walked Joe Dillon. He almost did the same to BJ Upton, but got some help from home plate umpire Mark Wegner before getting Upton to fly to center. Fuentes induced a double play ball to second from Carl Crawford to end the game.

Thoughts on the game:

• Jered Weaver shows no signs of slowing down. He's very fun to watch, and he's really showing that he knows how to set up hitters and put them away with an array of pitches.
• Howie Kendrick is doing just enough to stay in the lineup. After five straight games without a hit, he has hits in five of his last six, including two tonight. He could be righting the ship before breaking out, or he could be bailing just enough water to stay afloat before sinking. Still, the signs for now are positive.
• Vlad is hitting .314 in his last eight games, but still not hitting for power. Hopefully the increased contact is a precusor to more power, but it's clear the Angels need to find power somewhere. They're scoring far too few runs for a team whose top three in the lineup are all getting on base at a clip better than .386, and can all run. They have table setters. They're just having a hard time getting those guys across the plate.

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.