Five Times in Six Years

For the fifth time in six years, the Angels have won the American League West. For those first 29 years of my life, I don't think I ever thought I'd see this kind of sustained success. And what makes it better is that I no longer think it's likely to end any time soon.

I posted this in a Baseball Think Factory thread, but I think it's worthy of its own post here. And

If you told me the day Teixeria signed with New York that:

• Vlad, Hunter, Lackey, and Santana would miss significant time (as in months);
  
• Saunders would suck hardcore for a while, then go on the DL before finally returning to form;
  
• Shields would miss almost the whole season;
  
• Speier would get worse;
  
• Adenhart would die;
  
• Escobar would not recover;
  
• Arredondo (remember how many people wanted him as the closer?) would suck donkeys;
  
• Kendrick would suck bad enough to get sent down at one point;
  
• That 31 starts would come from Shane Loux, Matt Palmer, Trevor Bell, and Sean O'Sullivan;
  
• That Brandon Wood and/or Sean Rodriguez would still not arrive;

yet they'd still clinch the division with a week to go, I'd probably be pretty surprised. If you had told me all those things, yet still said that at one point late in the season they would start 9 guys hitting over .300, I'd try to have you committed.

Before this year, I thought the window was closing for the Angels. Now, after what I've seen this year, I'm more convinced then ever that the window is wide open. The lesson? Do not ever doubt any team that is managed by Mike Scioscia.

Four fifths of the infield is made up of young, team controlled players. Two thirds of the outfield is locked up for the next few years. Four fifths of the starting rotation is either locked up or team controlled for the next couple years. The best pitchers in the bullpen over the last few months have been the up and comers. And three more excellent prospects got big league experience in the starting rotation, which should only serve to make them better down the road when their time truly comes. Top prospects in the system continue their development, and the team took advantage of multiple high picks this season to help restock the low minors.

On top of all that, the players who may leave via free agency are all highly paid. If the Angels lost all four of John Lackey, Chone Figgins, Bobby Abreu, and Vladimir Guerrero, they would cut $44.5 million from the payroll (including almost $10MM from Kelvim Escobar). They would need to sign a big bat for the outfield, and that's probably it. One of Bell, O'Sullivan, or Palmer could pitch in the fifth spot of the rotation, and Wood could take over at third base. This team is set up to compete for a while longer.

Is this a good time to be an Angels fan or what?

Prediction

If the Angels lose tomorrow (Sunday, September 27th), and the Rangers win, the Angels will not make the playoffs. That's just a gut feeling I have. The odds are pretty good that either the Angels will win OR the Rangers will lose. But if neither of those things happen, the Angels will miss the playoffs.

A Simple Solution to the Angels Bullpen Woes

The Angels bullpen has been its Achilles Heel all year. One wonders how much better the Angels' record would be if the starting staff had been healthy all year, and if that staff were able to turn leads over to a bullpen that could consistently get batters out. It's amazing that despite it all, the Angels still sit six games ahead of the Texas Rangers, poised to win their third straight division title.

But as the Angels gear up for the post season, there may be a solution to the ninth inning issues the team has recently faced. It's becoming increasingly clear that Brian Fuentes is not the answer. Since the all-star break, his ERA is a pathetic 6.38, and he's allowing opponents to post an OPS of .952. It's far too late to add a pitcher through an acquisition, and there are no Frankie Rodriguezes in the minor leagues, so no one is going to be snuck onto the post-season roster. Kevin Jepsen and Jason Bulger are intriguing options. Jepsen has been fantastic since the break, posting an ERA of 2.08 in 35 innings, while allowing a measly .513 opponents OPS. Bulger has been just as good, allowing an ERA of 1.99 while opponents are posting an OPS of just .634 against.

So the Angels can go into the post-season with either a closer who brings lights out stuff (Jepsen or Bulger), or a closer who brings playoff experience (Fuentes). But they might be able to do both. My suggestion for the role of post-season closer is Ervin Santana. I'm not the only person who thinks so. SenorChuckles over at Halos Heaven has offered the same advice.

In Santana's last 45 innings, he's posting an ERA of 2.96 and an OPS against of .717. Those numbers are solid, but keep in mind, he's put those up while pacing himself. Give him the opportunity to work in short stints, and you probably add a mph or two to his fastball. Let him cut loose a bit. He also give you the additional ability to work more than an inning if need be.

There's really no reason not to make this move. Santana has closer stuff. He has playoff experience. He's probably the odd man out in the rotation for playoffs. Lackey, Kazmir, and Weaver appear to be locks, and with two lefties in the pen (Oliver and Fuentes), Saunders is a good fit for the rotation. They don't need another lefty in the bullpen, and Saunders is pitching well enough since returning from injury to be a part of the post-season rotation. Don't let last night's game fool you. He had a rough inning that included only two hard hit balls, both of which should have been outs.

Will Scioscia do it? His usage patterns for Fuentes over the next couple weeks will tell the story. He's appearing less and less confident in his veteran closer. Santana in that role would leave the Angels' bullpen with a long reliever (Palmer), two lefties, and two power arm righthanders. But this is a move that doesn't harm the rotation and improves the bullpen. Santana's cool demeanor will serve him well in that role.

Mariners 3; Angels 0

In a totally unsurprising performance, the offense which could only score one run against Mariners rookie Doug Fister managed one fewer than that against Mariners ace Felix Hernandez. The Angels offense has seemingly been feast or famine of late, and last night was definitely famine. Hernandez had command of all of his pitches, and Angels hitters flailed accordingly, managing only four hits and seven baserunners, while striking out seven times.

Somewhat surprising, especially after the first three hitters, was the performance of newly minted Angel Scott Kazmir. His Angels career started with runners reaching via an error, a single, and a hit batter, leaving the bases loaded with no one out. Kazmir found his good stuff, however, and struck out the next three batters he faced to escape the first unscathed. He didn't stop there. He retired the next 15 hitters in a row and carried a shutout into the seventh inning. He left the game after allowing only three hits and one walk while striking out 8.

The Mariners got to Kazmir in the seventh. A leadoff walk to Mike Sweeney and a one out double from Bill Hall provided all the offense the Ms would need. Hall eventually scored on a steal of third and Mike Napoli's errant throw. Brian Fuentes allowed the Mariners' final run on a bases loaded walk.

Thoughts on the game:

• With the Rangers victory over Toronto, what seemed like a safe six game lead just two days ago has dwindled to 3.5 games. Considering that the Rangers have hammered the Angels this season, when one looks at the two teams' schedules down the stretch, one wouldn't be out of line predicting an AL West title for Texas.
• On the other hand, Kazmir's outing adds to a string of solid recent performances by the Angels' "real" starters, which should give the team some hope, assuming the offense can get back on track.
• High pitch counts continue to be a problem. Even good outings have been marred by early exits recently. That wasn't an issue the last few years when the Angels had a rock solid bullpen. With the shaky crew on the Angels' current roster, however, starters need to work deeper into games, or this team could be in trouble.

Fistered: Angels 1; Mariners 2

Just when you think the Angels are ready to finally put Texas away, both teams show that the race isn't over. The Rangers swept two games from the Blue Jays yesterday. Coupled with the Angels loss to the Mariners, the AL West lead now stands at only 4.5 games with a month left in the season.

The Angels' offense, prolific in Monday's series opener, failed to create many opportunities, and squandered the opportunities it did create. Mariners rookie Doug Fister allowed just five hits and two walks over 7.1 innings, and the bullpen closed the deal for the home team. The Angels put the lead-off hitter on base in six of their nine at bats. Three times the runner was erased via the double play (including a strike-him-out throw-him-out double play in the first inning), and three times the runner advanced no further than the base at which he started.

The night's largest failure came in the eighth inning. With the Angels trailing 2-1, Maicer Izturis led the inning off with a double to right field. But Erick Aybay fouled out, failing to move Izturis to third. Consecutive fly-outs from Mike Napoli and Chone Figgins stranded Izturis at second.

Ervin Santana became a victim of low run support for the second straight game. He lasted six innings and allowed only one run. But he was also a victim of his own high pitch count, leaving after 100 pitches even. Darren Oliver relieved him in the seventh inning, and allowed a two out double to Jose Lopez which scored Franklin Gutierrez from first base for the eventual winning run.

Scott Kazmir makes his Angel debut this afternoon, and he's tasked with outpitching King Felix, who goes for the Mariners. A bit of a tall order, and a reason last night's game was so important.

Thoughts on the game:

• Ervin Santana has quietly put together five consecutive quality starts. The Angels are only 3-2 over that stretch, but he's put up an ERA of 2.45 in those games. He needs to start working a little deeper. In the last four of those five starts, he's only lasted six innings. Still, he's starting to look like a guy who Angels fans can trust in the playoffs.
• The Angels offense has been inconsistent of late, and they're struggling to find the form that they showed in late July and August. Games like this are unfortunate reminders of what we've seen in the playoffs the last couple years.
• While all eyes have been on Texas, the Red Sox have been surging. They now sit one game behind the Angels and 3.5 ahead of the Rangers. This is meaningful for two reasons. First, they look more and more likely to win the wild card, which means they'd probably face the Angels in the first round, and I probably don't have to tell you what that means. Second, because the Angels can't seem to beat the Rangers this year, the wild card was a nice fall back option in case of a late season Texas surge. That option looking less likely, and if the Rangers nip the Angels at the wire, it probably means there won't be a 2009 post-season in Anaheim

Angels 10; Mariners 0

For much of the season, 2008 all-star Joe Saunders was firing blanks. After finally admitting to an arm injury, and spending some time on the DL, it's Saunders' opponents who are getting blanked. In his second start since returning from the DL, Saunders tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and three walks, while striking out four. He lasted 98 pitches, 57 of which were strikes. After loading the bases in the first on a hit and two walks, Saunders allowed just three baserunners over his final six innings. Trevor Bell, in his first major league relief performance, worked two perfect innings to close out the game.

With the Mariners' bats silenced by Saunders, it was up to the Angels to provide some noise, and they responded by bringing the thunder. After Chone Figgins scored on a Torii Hunter sac fly to give the Angels a 1-0 lead, Vladimir Guerrero crushed a fastball over the wall in left center for a two run shot. The Angels added another run in the third on Howie Kendrick's RBI ground out. Juan Rivera added three runs to the board in the fifth with a blast to left field that scored Hunter and Guerrero. Vlad struck again with a mammoth two run shot to the upper deck in left in the seventh inning. Kendrick's RBI single later in the inning closed out the scoring.

With the Rangers losing to Toronto, the Angels lead in the AL West now stands at six games. The re-emergence of Joe Saunders, and the acquisition of Scott Kazmir (if his last three outings are predictive) puts the Angels in a pretty good position to win their third straight division title.

Thoughts on the game:

• Kendry Morales is turning into a bona-fide star. He had three more hits last night, including two double, pushing his average to .314. He's slugging nearly .600, and his OPS+ (142) is actually two points higher than Mark Teixeira.
• More on Morales: His OPS+ has increased every month of the season from an April low of 113 to an August high of 191. He's simply been dominant since the all-star break, leading the AL in RBIs over that stretch. He hit his first home run this season as a right handed batter in mid-July. He's since added three more. He's becoming a threat from both sides of the plate.
• The competition for the post-season roster just got a little more heated in the wake of Bell's relief appearance. He was solid for two innings in his last start before falling apart. If he can show over the next month that he's capable of providing quality pitching for an inning or two at a time, he could be a big boost to the bullpen.

Three of Four in Baltimore: Angels 8, Orioles 5

The Angels relied on the long ball at the plate, while Ervin Santana followed up last week's gem with another solid performance as the Angels closed out a four game set against the Orioles with a 8-5 victory. The Angels needed the win to keep pace with Texas who won in Minnesota. The Angels' lead sits at 4.5 games.

The Angels started their scoring in the second inning with Kendry Morales' 26th home run of the season, a two run shot that barely eluded the glove of Nick Markakis. The two run shot gave the Angels a one run lead. With the score tied 2-2 in the sixth, the Angels' power bats came to life yet again. Maicer Izturis led off the inning by crushing a 1-2 fastball over the wall in right for a 3-2 lead. Two batters later, Vladimir Guerrero hit a two run shot for a 5-2 lead.

Nick Markakis powered up for the Orioles. His solo shot in the bottom of the sixth pulled the Orioles within two. But a half inning later, Vlad struck again. With Chone Figgins on second base and two out, the Orioles decided to walk Bobby Abreu intentionally to face Vlad. Big mistake. He drilled a Cla Meredith fastball into the Oriole bullpen for his second homer of the game, providing the winning margin.

Santana threw a lot of pitches (116), but just when it looked like he was done, he was able to complete the sixth inning, giving some small measure of rest to a bullpen that worked nine innings just the day before. It wasn't a brilliant performance, but it gave the Angels a chance to win. The Angels are looking for some consistency from Santana, and they have to be pleased about back to back quality starts. Darren Oliver worked a steady seventh and eighth innings, and after Jose Arredondo ran into some trouble in the ninth, Brian Fuentes came into record the one out save, his 34th of the season.

Thoughts on the game:

• There's only so much I can say about Kendry Morales. Another homer tonight, an average over .300. He's going to hit over 30 homers and drive in over 100 runs. But the stat I liked best in this game was his #pitches. Only Chone Figgins saw more than Kendry's 25. He's learning discipline, and if he can add patience to that power, he may outproduce Mark Teixeira over the life of Teixeira's contract.
• I'm sounding like a broken record, but in Vlad's 12 games since returning on August 4th, he's got a line of 370/431/761. Not a bad deadline "acquisition". This team could very well go into October as a much better unit than the team that has built this lead.
• Torii Hunter had the night off after playing all 13 innings yesterday. The strength of this team is its versatility, and that's going to be very important down the stretch as guys need a break here and there.

This Is a Punk Rock Band

It's not irony. It's not rock and roll. They're just talking to the kids.

I've now seen Art Brut* four times since June, and the only regret that I have is that I've missed the other five or six chances I've had to see them in that time. There's something to be said for music shows that are simply fun. I love the Super Furry Animals. I think the Walkmen are one of the finest live acts I've ever seen. But I've never had more fun at a show than I've had an Art Burt show.

They played last night at Subterranean with Team Band (who were a whole lot of fun themselves). Once again, they failed to disappoint. Loud. Energetic. Polite. Willing to mix it up with the crowd. If you ever have a chance, do yourself a favor and please, please go see this band live.

*I'd embed that video if I could, but it's disabled. It features Eddie Argos' girlfriend Dyan Valdes of the band Blood Arm, who is very nice. I chatted with her and Eddie for a bit before one of their shows at Spaceland in Silverlake.

Demons Out


Direct Hit Interview


Emily Kane

Back on the Horse: Angels 5; Orioles 1

After Friday's 16 run debacle, the Angels handed the ball over their big horse, John Lackey. Lackey responded with seven innings of one run ball, and was the beneficiary of a five run third inning as the Angels beat the Orioles 6-1.

All of the game's runs came in the third inning. After Brian Matusz started the inning by striking Jeff Mathis, he allowed the next five batters to reach base. Chone Figgins walked, Erick Aybar singled, and Bobby Abreu walked to load the bases. Matusz then walked Vladimir Guerrero to drive in the first run of the game. Juan Rivera singled to center, and Adam Jone's misplay allowed Aybar and Abreu to score. Howie Kendrick's ground out score Guerrero, and Robb Quinlan's single scored Rivera for the Angels' fifth and final run.

In the bottom of the third, a double from Nick Markakis scored Adam Jones, and that capped the scoring for the evening. John Lackey shut down the Orioles the rest of the way. He lasted seven innings, striking out six while allowing 8 baserunners. It's the type of performance the Angels expect from Lackey, and the type of performance they'll need if they make it to October. Kevin Jepsen worked a scoreless eighth, but Jason Bulger struggled in the ninth. He allowed a single to Melvin Mora and walked Felix Pie, creating a save situation. Mike Scioscia summoned Brian Fuentes, he quickly got three fly balls for his 33rd save.

Thoughts on the game:

• For John Lackey, that makes seven straight quality starts. He has an ERA under 2.00 over that stretch. Let's not forget that he's playing for a contract. And while he's had a rough go of it at times over the last two years, every quality start adds dollars to his next deal.
• It seems like I've written a lot of recaps lately in which I mention an inning in which the Angels see five, six, or seven straight batters reach base. Reminds me a lot of the 2002 offense.
• With Kendry Morales getting a rest tonight, the Angels offense had a mere five straight hitters in the lineup hitting over .300. Of those, only Bobby Abreu failed to get a hit tonight.

Voodoo Does that Voodoo That He Does So Well; Angels win 6-0

Ervin Santana has been an enigma all season. The velocity, the movement, the ability seems to have been there all year. Yet he entered tonight's game with Tampa Bay with an ERA over seven, struggling to find any type of consistency. He looked like Santana v2.008 tonight, simply dominating Tampa. Santana held the Rays to three hits, just five baserunners, struck out six, and completed nine innings in fewer than 100 pitches to earn his fifth win of the season. Coupled with the Rangers' loss in Cleveland, the Angels all but wiped out the weekend series, and pushed their AL West lead to five games.

Almost more surprising than Santana's performance was the Angels offense. Not the six runs so much as how they got them home. All six of the Angels' runs came with two outs, and five of them were driven in by Reggie Willits (2) and Jeff Mathis (3), both of whom are hitting under .220.

David Price took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before Juan Rivera led off with a single. With two out, Mathis delivered a base hit, but both runners took an extra base on an error by left fielder Carl Crawford. With two outs and two strikes, Willits delivered a two run single, advancing to second on the play at the plate. He was subsequently singled home by Chone Figgins.

An inning later, the Angels loaded the bases with singles from Vladimir Guerrero, Kendry Morales, and Howie Kendrick. Jeff Mathis then delivered a rocket of a double over the head of Crawford. All three runners scored, breaking the game open to 6-0, and the Angels never looked back.

Thoughts on the game:

• The Angels were quiet at the trade deadline, but the resurgence of Ervin Santana and Vlad Guerrero could be bigger than any acquisitions the Angels could have made. When Santana is on his game, he's one of the best pitchers in the AL. Vlad, meanwhile, has hits in ten straight games, including two more tonight.
• Vlad's two hits put him over .300 for the season. That means that the top six hitters in the Angels lineup, after tonight's game, are all hitting over .300. Howie Kendrick sits at .270, and Napoli, who is the top starting catcher on the team, is hitting near .300. This is really an incredibly fun offense to watch.
• Santana's effort meant the Angels didn't need to use the bullpen, but if they had, one guy we would not have seen is Justin Speier. The Angels gave him his unconditional release today with a season and a half remaining on his contract. It's sad, really. Speier's first season was excellent, but after last year's illness, he was never really the same.

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.