Angels Sign Josh Hamilton, A Defensive Move

Late Thursday morning, radio host, Joe McDonnell reported that Angels were in "serious contract discussion" with free agent Josh Hamilton. Less than an hour and a half later, the Angels had signed Hamilton to a 5 year $125 million contract.

Angels fans erupted on Twitter with excitement! For the second straight season, Arte Moreno and Jerry Dipoto had snagged the biggest free agent available, and once again with great secrecy. This was a different kind of eruption for Angels fans than the previous signing of Albert Pujols last year though.

After the initial excitement of signing one of the top 15 players (arguably top 10) in baseball, fans began to become cautiously optimistic about the decision: $25 million per year is a lot of money, what about his demons, we didn't need another outfielder.

I could spend all day talking about how signing a player to a big contract past his age-30 season could be a bad move, but look at what we got with Torii Hunter. I could write how Hamilton could suffer a relapse or strain his knee, but the former is unlikely and the latter is uncontrollable. I could write how we now have 2 of the top 3 highest paid players in baseball (Vernon Wells and Alex Rodriguez would be the other 2), but this move wasn't about the money. This move was about how we did not need another outfielder. Let me explain.

After freeing up space in the outfield with the speedy (albeit unproven) Peter Bourjos, and a decent backup in Wells, the Angels had no need to go out and find another outfielder. This move was not about personnel, it was about market share.

With the Los Angeles Dodgers being the sexiest team in town again and grabbing all the headlines, the Angels looked pretty conservative signing only Joe Blanton and a couple of relievers in free agency. The Dodgers had traded for big name players and signed Zack Greinke away from Anaheim, while putting money into upgrading their stadium and doing it all in the name of winning for the fans. Some fans, including myself, would take a look at this new, exciting Dodgers product and say, "Hey, I think I'll risk my life going to LA to check this new thing out." Moreno, who is a highly competitive person could not stand for this. For fear of losing fans trying something new, he had to make a splash to get the spotlight back on his Angels again, and there was only one free agent left to do this with: Hamilton.

Add to the fact that signing Hamilton would take away their division rival's best player and this was more a defensive move by the Angels, trying to protect their market share, get the spotlight in Los Angeles back on them, and weaken the competition, than it was a player move to add a great bat to an already solid lineup.

If you don't agree with me, then why did the Angels spend the Greinke money on a position player when they could have easily just had Greinke, which would've filled their biggest need at starting pitching?

Angels Offseason Moves (So Far)

The baseball season may not be back, but I am! Last season was an emotional roller coaster that broke down near the end. A couple of us were left on the ride for a few hours before firefighters could come and get us, but we had a good time nonetheless. We may be in limbo with the upcoming season, but it's still a good time to be an Angels fan.

Now that we're ready to get back up again, let's break down the Angels offseason moves this winter:

THE BULLPEN

By far the most consistently broken and glaring problem the Angels have faced since the departure of Fransisco Rodriguez has been the dependability (or lack thereof) of their bullpen. Angels made some big moves and are taking some gambles in an effort to turn their biggest weakness into their biggest strength.

Ryan Madson

Two years ago (pre-Tommy John surgery), Madson was one of the biggest surprise closers in baseball. Thanks to Brad Lidge starting the season on the disabled list, Madson was given the opportunity to audition for the closer role and ran away with it. He compiled 32 saves in 60.2 innings with a 2.37 ERA. In 2010 as a setup man, he had a 2.55 ERA and has been a solid bullpen arm since transitioning from a starter to the bullpen in 2007. Following Tommy John surgery, the Angels are taking a gamble that he will return to form, but it's not a high investment at a $3.25 million base salary. Madson will most likely serve as the Angels closer this year if he starts the season healthy, but we can't rule out a Jordan Walden-like collapse.

Sean Burnett

This was a guy I had not even heard about until the Angels signed him and am embarrassed to say so. The guy piled up a solid season last year, but was buried behind the flair of Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen. In 56 innings, he had a 2.38 ERA and a 9.1 K/9. Solid arm that will provide 7th and 8th inning depth.

Add these two guys to a bullpen that was carried by 3 solid arms last year (Kevin Jepsen, Scott Downs and Ernesto Frieri), the Angels shouldn't have any problem holding on to late leads.


THE ROTATION

What was supposed to be the most feared rotation in all of baseball last year was derailed by injuries and inconsistency. I think every pitcher, including Jered Weaver, got hurt or gave up a million home runs (we're looking at you Ervin...). Weaver missed a couple weeks early in the season, Dan Haren battled back problems all year, Jerome Williams mysteriously collapsed in the clubhouse and struggled with his command when returning, CJ Wilson played Jekyll and Hyde in the first and second halfs, and Santana couldn't keep the ball in the same area code.

The season ended with Angels letting Zack Greinke walk in free agency while trading Santana and getting nothing in a botched trade for Haren. The Angels have 3 holes to fill and here's what they did:

Joe Blanton

Oh my god, what were they thinking giving this guy $15 million over 2 years? I don't know why people are trying to talk themselves into thinking he was once a great pitcher. The dude had an ERA under 4.00 only TWICE in his MLB career (3.53 in 2005 and 3.95 in 2007). The rest of his career has been filled with home runs and nothing else. Blanton was second to Santana's home runs allowed last year and also gave up the 2nd-most earned runs as well. If the front office is hoping for a bounce back from a terrible pitcher, they should've stuck with Santana. That money would have been much better spent on Brandon McCarthy (2-years, $15.5 million with Arizona) if he was open to playing in Anaheim.

Tommy Hanson

Angels traded power-arm and former closer Jordan Walden to the Atlanta Braves for Hanson in what I think is a great move. Hanson is a young, solid 3-4 guy in the rotation with plenty of upside to his young career. Walden proved he couldn't handle the pressure of the full-time closer role and let his inexperience get to him. Walden tried to throw harder to get out of jams instead of pitch smarter. While Walden may turn out to be a great bullpen arm somewhere down the line, the Angels were definitely the big winners in this trade. In Hanson's 4 years in the majors, he is 45-32 with a 3.61 ERA. If the Angels can get 12 wins out of him, I think the trade will be more than worth it, but I also see Hanson as a 14-win guy. While 2012 was a down year filled with home runs and his whole career is trending downward...aw screw it! Please get 12 wins.

Starting pitching is going to be a struggle this year, especially if CJ Wilson doesn't step up. The offense and bullpen are what will have to carry this team. The Angels are really going to have to hope letting Torii walk was the right decision because they'll look pretty dumb if Peter Bourjos flops and Torii leads the Detroit Tigers to another World Series berth.

Angels Rout Rangers, Eat Tacos (72/81)

Angels came home last night for the start of their last home stand of the regular season, but hopefully not this year. The red hot Texas Rangers had come to town, but the Angels, determined to do everything humanly possible to make the post-season, routed the Rangers with a 11-3 victory, sending all fans in attendance home with Chronic Tacos.

Jered Weaver had a tough 3rd inning when he gave up home runs to Mike Napoli and Ian Kinsler, but the Angels came roaring back with an 8 run 4th inning in which every Angel scored except for Mark Trumbo.

The Angels finished the game 11-3 and the fans went home happy.

There were a couple of big stories that stemmed from last night though:

A. Josh Hamilton leaves the game due to sinus infection. After two at-bats, the AL home run leader went to the clubhouse and was not seen again. It was reported earlier today that he's not even at Angel Stadium tonight and has been experiencing blurred vision. I know the playoff race can be heated, but keep this guy in your thoughts.

B. Another guy to keep in your thoughts is Texas Rangers pitcher Tanner Scheppers. After hitting Erick Aybar (one of the hottest-hitting shortstops in baseball right now) with a pitch, he threw another wild pitch and had his legs swept out from him when covering the plate by Chris Iannetta. It looked ugly and Scheppers was down for a long time, but it gave the Angels the momentum they needed to keep racking up the score in the 4th inning and inch closer to a playoff spot. Can't blame the Angels for playing aggressive, but hopefully Scheppers injury is nothing more than a bruised knee.

C. Erick Aybar makes his way to my fantasy team. This isn't really a big story to anyone but me, but if you're an Angel and you make it on my playoff roster for the semifinals, I have a lot of faith in you. Not only is Aybar on a piping hot hitting streak, batting an insane .520 in the past 7 days, but he is flashing the glove effortlessly and made a huge throw on the run to get a tough out at first base last night.

D. Did I mention that everyone gets Chronic Tacos when the Angels score 10 or more runs? I think I did. Time to chow!

Weaver's Gem Too Little Too Late? (69, 70, 71/81)

Angels ace, Jered Weaver made his triumphant return with a gem against the Oakland A's on a warm afternoon at the Big A, but it might not have been enough. Weave was masterful tossing 7 shutout innings of 2-hit ball while racking up 9 strikeouts and walking only one in the 6-0 victory. Fortunately for Weaver, the Angels racked up all 6 of their runs in the 7th inning to give him his 17th win of the season, but we still can't forget about the first three games of the series.

The Angels offense struggled during this series, only managing 7 total runs in the first three losses versus the A's after averaging 5.5 runs per game during a previous 6-game winning streak. Had they not lit up in the 7th inning of yesterday's game, the Angels playoff hopes could seem even more slim.

I was listening to the radio yesterday when a fan said that the Angels are a very bad team and will be sitting on their couches come October, and I took offense. It was obvious that this "fan" has been frustrated with the Angels recent 3-game losing streak, but we can't forget that, before the A's came to town, the Angels had won 15 out of their last 18 games. That's beast and EXACTLY what the Angels needed down the stretch. To call them a "bad team" after that run just because they lost three games to a good Oakland pitching staff shows that this guy obviously doesn't pay close enough attention to the Angels in August/September and doesn't give Oakland enough credit for playing crazy good lately. Props to Rodger Lodge for putting the caller on blast and disagreeing with him.

The Angels offense has been missing the last 3 games, but their pitching has still been great. Losing three games is not enough to count the Angels out of October yet and nothing's changed. We knew all along that the Angels would have to play great to get there, just like any playoff team, and there's still some time to finish strong.

A's Snap Angels Winning Streak (68/81)

We all knew the Angels weren't going to go undefeated for the rest of the season, but for a few times over the past two weeks, it sure looked like it. Dan Haren threw a solid game, but the Angels lineup was cooled down by Oakland rookie, Jarrod Parker, while Haren took the 3-1 loss.

The Angels have been playing out of their minds recently, doing everything they can to make the playoffs. After last night's loss, they are still only 1.5 games out of the Wild Card in a race that might very well end with four teams tied for the Wild Card. MLB will have their hands full with 3 one-game playoffs if that happens, and it won't be pretty. At the very least, the end of this season is shaping up to be just as exciting as last.

Angels Brooms Getting Put to Work (66, 67/81)

Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Torii Hunter and the rest of the Angels lineup knew how important this series was. The Angels pitching staff, with Jered Weaver not pitching due to shoulder tendinitis, knew how important this series was. The Angels fans knew how important this series was, and everyone brought their to take down another contender in the AL Wild Card by sweeping the Detroit Tigers.

Good bye, Miguel Cabrera. You won't be missed in Anaheim this year. 

Not lost in the Angels late season surge has been 1B/OF/DH Mark Trumbo. Number 44 has disappeared lately, going 2-22 over the last few games that included a benching by manager Mike Scioscia to get his head on straight. Trumbo struck out swinging at a high pitch in Oakland last week and walked back to the dugout about ready to cry. He began mumbling to himself and shaking his head for the rest of the inning.

The difference between Trumbo before the All Star break and after is night and day. It also has everything or nothing to do with his Home Run Derby swing. After the break, Trumbo came out swinging, clobbering 6 home runs over the next two weeks. It seems lately that all he's trying to do is crush that ball over the fence when, at the beginning of the season, he was adjusting to pitches and hitting the ball to the opposite field. His recent downswing has him in a mental funk, and rather than make the adjustments and work on pitches he's missing, Trumbo just swings harder.

Lucky for Mark, the rest of the team has been playing fabulous, and he hasn't been asked to do too much. Mark my words though, the day will come when the Angels are struggling offensively again, and we'll all look to Trumbo to see what he can do.

Playoff Atmosphere at the Big A (65/81)

As slim as the Angels chances are of making the postseason thanks to Oakland, Baltimore, and Tampa Bay all playing out of their minds right now, the Angels increased their chances astronomically with a walk-off, two-out single by Alberto Callaspo to beat the Detroit Tigers in a game that might as well have been the one game Wild Card playoff.

The Detroit Tigers, with their nightmare-inducing lineup and their flame-throwing starting pitchers, are THE scariest matchup in baseball right now. You never know when their team will explode for 10 runs a game (one of the biggest reasons their still in the Wild Card race), and it takes some skilled pitching to navigate those treacherous waters. Then Ervin Santana gave up 2 home runs.

Santana, who gave up solo home runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings, had Angels fans throwing up expletives early as Santana had blown an early 2-run lead. After that second home run though, Santana became a different person.

Santana kept the ball low, zeroed in on batters, then proceeded to tame the Tigers by striking out 10 batters in 6 2/3 innings. Despite giving up 34 long balls in the season, Santana has been throwing terrific in the last 8 games as he tries to carry his Angels team to the playoffs and earn himself a new contract in the process. In the last 8 games, Santana is 7-1 and has given up no more than 5 hits a game. Yeah, the guy has still given up home runs (11), but he's lowered his ERA from an ugly 6.00 to a less ugly, but still ugly 5.20 in the process. It shows improvement and the Angels are going to need improvement from every one of their starting pitchers down the stretch, especially with Jered Weaver going down for an undisclosed amount of time with shoulder tendinitis.

Every game from here on out is going to have a playoff atmosphere around it. Scioscia showed it last night by using 4 pitchers in 4 batters to face the matchups despite having a tie game. Angels have to do everything they can to win, and over the past two weeks, they've sure been living up to that.

Boston Swept Out The Door (63, 64/81)

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. For years, the Boston Red Sox have been a perennial playoff contender and a pain in the Angels backside. After their late season collapse last year, followed by the removal of their long-time manager and excommunication of half their roster, the Red Sox are a shell of their former selves.

The latest addition to the Red Sox, soft-hitting first baseman, James Loney, above, stares longingly at a team going in the opposite direction. Just one week ago, he was part of another playoff contending Los Angeles team (Dodgers) and now resides near the cellar of the AL East.

Thanks to their last two sweeps against the Red Sox in less than 2 weeks, the Angels are making that desperate push to reach the final AL Wild Card spot. Unfortunately for them, as the Angels have won, so has every other team in contention.

In the last ten games, while the Angels have gone 7-3, the Oakland A's have gone 9-1, the Detroit Tigers 6-4, and the only team with a losing record that had the top WC spot locked in a few days ago is the Tampa Bay Rays with 4-6. It may be a game of inches, but the Angels are slowly starting to gain ground.

Angels Answer Adversity (62/81)

Down 5-4 in the bottom on the ninth, playoff hopes slowly slipping away, the Angels were down to their final two outs. As cliché as it sounds, the Angels were not going to go down without a fight.

With one out in the ninth, Erick Aybar was hit by a pitch then proceeded to steal second. Alberto Callaspo was up next and then walked to put the go-ahead run on first base.

21-year-old rookie phenom, Mike Trout, stepped up to the plate. With the pressure on, Trout quickly found his way into a 0-2 count. Not to be rattled, the undisputed Rookie of the Year showed composure extending far beyond his years and roped a broken bat single, that had more spin than a carnival ride, up the middle for an RBI base hit.

Thanks to Trout's clutch hit, the Angels were now tied at 5-a-piece with runners at the corners and only one out. Angel's veteran, Torii Hunter stepped up to the plate with the game on the line and hit a long fly ball that allowed Callaspo to score from third and the fireworks to explode. The Angels had beaten the Boston Red Sox for the fourth time in 7 days with a final score of 6-5.

The Angels had done it. They did not fold under the pressure of a ninth-inning deficit. With this kind of tenacity, clutch, and a little bit of luck, the Angels have a shot to erase their four and a half game deficit out of the Wild Card with 33 games left.

Angels sWEPT (59, 60, 61/81)

Like most Angels fans, I spent the whole weekend in denial and trying to figure out what is wrong with the Angels. How could a team with so much talent fall into such a deep spiral?

The Angels got swept in four games by the Tampa Bay Rays this past weekend, a team that the Angels are racing against for the second AL Wild Card spot. The thing that has been so frustrating about their 7-13 run through August is that there is no excuses. Angels no longer have anyone on the disabled list and no one on the team seems to be going under a prolonged slump, so what's wrong?

The Angels have averaged 5.25 runs a game for the month of August, but Angels pitchers have also given up 6.85 runs per game during that same period. August has easily been the Angel's worst month, but compared to May (their best month when they went 18-11) they only averaged 3.75 runs per game, but pitchers only gave up 3.34 runs per game. The pattern here seems to be that good early season pitching was able to carry a struggling offense, but a good offense at the end of the season has done nothing to make up for the pitcher's failures.

I think everyone is asking at this point, what is wrong with the pitchers? They're healthy, but lacking confidence. They're trying to do too much and over-thinking their pitches. The past month has resulted in too many walks and too many balls left over the plate that have turned into home runs. For crying out loud, the Angel's most consistent pitcher over the last few weeks has been none other than fat face, Ervin Santana, although he might have an explanation for that. What is different with the pitchers now that wasn't there back in May and June? I don't think anyone outside of the Angels clubhouse can answer that one, and I would bet money that they can't answer it either.

Maddon Has the Angels Number (58/81)

Say what you want about Mike Scioscia, but we all know the real brains behind his coaching staff circa 2002 was current Tampa Bay Rays coach Joe Maddon.

From left to right, Bobby Ramos, Mike Scioscia, Alfredo Griffin, Joe Maddon, Mickey Hatcher, Ron Roenicke and Bud Black.

The Angels continued the 10 year anniversary of their 2002 World Series Championship Thursday, by welcoming former bench coach, Maddon, home and getting shut out by the Rays 7-0.

Above we see the Angels coaching staff of 2002 celebrating their World Series win. Four of the men above, who were once the collective brain of the Angels, have gone on to have success in the majors as managers.

As we know, Scioscia still runs things in Anaheim. Maddon was the first to go and became the manager of the Rays in 2006. He subsequently turned that team around and has been contending for the playoffs every year since. In 2007, pitching coach, Black, left for the San Diego Padres and turned their pitching rotation to a legitimate playoff contender in 2010. Finally in 2011, Roenicke moved on to become the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers and took the team to a franchise record 96-66 in his first season.

Maddon has had the Angels number recently. The Angels have been shut out by Maddon's Rays in the past 3 games and have been shut out 4 times overall by the Rays. The Angels record this year versus the Rays is 1-6, and they've only been able to score 8 total runs against the Rays in 7 games. Whatever Maddon is doing with his computers and metrics, it's working because the Angels have not been able to adjust and figure it out.

What the Hell Happened to Ervin Santana's Face? (57/81)

Throughout his season long struggle, Ervin Santana has faced his share of problems. The dude went from being the number 2 starter on the team only 2 seasons ago to barely hanging onto his rotation spot by the fringe of his fingers. Something was brought to my attention last night that shattered my world forever. My pops asked me, "Is it me or does Santana's face look bigger than normal?"

I never really thought about it until my dad mentioned it, but oh my gawd! What the heck happened to Ervin? He really let himself go lately.

Santana looks like he got stung in the face with a buttload of bees. It's something I never noticed before, but I'll give a few theories on what I think happened to the Dominican right hander.

1. His recent struggles have put him on the breakup diet

Ladies, you know what the breakup diet is. When you get depressed that your man broke up with you, you get out that tub of ice cream and hold onto it with a vice grip tighter than the one you get during child birth. I've felt that grip; it's deadly. Men can also fall into the breakup diet when the reach a state of depression and start to not care about their appearance. Santana might've got so fed up with his struggles that he started to feed up his belly.

2. Maybe Dominicans gain weight easier than everyone else

When you look at guys like Bartolo Colon, David Ortiz and Juan Uribe, this idea doesn't seem so farfetched. Colon always had trouble keeping his weight down when he was with the Angels and Ortiz is just a big guy in general. Santana went from skinny jeans to puffy cheeks in a matter or weeks/months, but being Dominican won't explain that.

3. Maybe he had an allergic reaction

To bees or a certain medication that caused his face to swell up. This one seems most plausible because Santana doesn't look like he's rocking a big gut. His face just seems swollen and round.

4. Juicing?

With the way the league sets up their random drug tests and how damaging being caught can be to your career (right, Ryan Braun? Oh wait...) you'd have to be a fool to rock the steroids in this era. Well, we found our fool. Fellow Dominican Melky Cabrera was recently popped for having an illegal amount of testosterone in his system. The pressures of being a major league player and making millions of dollars can be too much for some people, and Santana could fall into that category.

Santana is in his contract year and Angels are unlikely to resign him after the inconsistency he's shown this season. Steroids are proven to cause your head to swell and your balls to shrink. I sure hope this isn't the case for Santana, but if he's got raisin testicles, he's gonna be out of a job for more than just the offseason. Let's just hope I'm wrong about all this stuff, and he just happened to get back in line one too many times at the seafood buffet.

Screw Tacos, Angels Want to Take Back The West (56/81)

The Angels came one run short of giving all fans in attendance a free taco from Chronic Tacos with their 9-6 win over the Cleveland Indians last night. When the Angels score 10 runs or more and win, all fans in attendance receive a free taco if they present their game ticket at Chronic Tacos within a week of the game. As much as I'm sure the Angels want to score 10 or more runs every game, I think they're just fine with knocking off a game from Texas and Oakland last night.

The Angels celebrated the 10th Anniversary of their World Series win in 2002 last night. All fans in attendance received a replica World Series ring figurine (above) and former closer, Troy Percival, threw out the first pitch. Percy looks to be pushing the waistband a little more than in his pitching days, but it was a great moment to be at the game last night to witness him back on the field. It feels like yesterday when the Angels beat the Giants in an electrifying 7-game series to win their first title.

Back to the game: The Angels jumped on Indian's starter Ubaldo Jimenez early and never looked back. After the first five batters the Angels sent to the plate, they were up 3-0 with no outs. By the time the first inning ended, the Angels were up 4-0 and had batted around the order.

Good thing those bats didn't cool off though because despite home runs from Albert Pujols and the hot-hitting Erick Aybar, the Angels bullpen started feeling shaky again. Once Indians, and former Angels, first baseman Casey Kotchman hit a 2-run bomb to right field off of LaTroy Hawkins, Mike Scioscia didn't mess around and went immediately to Kevin Jepsen despite there already being two outs.

Ernesto Frieri was able to close the door on this one to earn his 14th save of the season and give Zack Greinke his first win as an Angel. With as shaky as the bullpen has been this month, I can't wait until Scott Downs and Jordan Walden show up, and it better be soon.

Bullpen Sucks and Blows Another One (55/81)

Remember in the middle of the season when the Angels bullpen inexplicably turned their season around and began pitching lights out? With the acquisition of Ernesto Frieri and an innovative closer system implemented by Mike Scioscia, the Angels bullpen began holding leads for the first time in two years. All of that has gone away and the Angels bullpen is once again back to meeting expectations.

Angels were struggling to get back into the game, down 3-0 in the 8th inning when Albert Pujols came through with a clutch 2-run home run. With the score 3-2 going into the 9th, the Angels handed the ball over to relief pitcher Hisanori Takahashi. Takahashi then proceeded to give up 3 hits to 3 batters before being relieved by Jason Isringhausen. Not even the veteran Isringhausen could close the door on that mess as the inning ended with the Cleveland Indians up 6-2.

What happened? Recently asked about the team's struggles, Torii Hunter responded, "I can't talk about that," Hunter said. "I will never talk about my pitchers."

With a staff ERA of 6.67 in August, the worst in all of baseball, Angels have watched their name tumble down the standing further behind Texas and now fifth in the Wild Card standings.

Angels pitching coach, Mike Butcher, was thrown out of the game the other night for getting in the face of an umpire when he took issue over the umpire's strike zone against Jered Weaver. As a result, Butcher has been suspended one game by the league. It will be interesting to see if the Angels shutout the Indians tonight, and everyone makes a big stink about Butcher being the problem.

I'll stand by what I've been saying all year, the Angels need a breath of fresh air in their pitching approach. Despite their unquestionable talent, the pitching has struggled and someone needs to man up and accept the blame or turn things around.

Angels Series Versus Mariners: In Dire Need of Heat (52, 53, 54/81)

It's funny that during the hottest weekend of the year in Anaheim, the Angels couldn't find a way to turn up the heat. I'm going to be honest, I was on vacation at the river this weekend and wasn't able to catch any of the games, but on paper, it doesn't look pretty. I decided to bunch up the weekend series because: 1. It's easier for me this way, and 2. Because the farther Angels fall out of playoff contention, the less ink they deserve.

The key phrase here is "on paper." On paper, the Angels have one of the best, if not the best, teams in all of baseball. The Angels have 4 starters that could be aces on many of the league's pitching staffs. They have a Hall of Fame-level first baseman who could be spoken in the same breath as some of the best baseball players of all time. They have a versatile Rookie of the Year runner up who is exceeding even the highest of expectations in his power-hitting, sophomore tour. They have a deeper outfield than the Pacific Ocean, with Peter Bourjos and Vernon Wells coming off the bench. Their full-time DH is a switching hitting, ball crushing Cuban Missile and have one of the best defensive, double-play combos in baseball up the middle, and yet the Angels are 8 GAMES OUT OF FIRST PLACE! I still haven't even mentioned their historic 2012 Rookie of the Year, potential AL MVP, Mike Trout, yet.

The reality of the situation is that for all of the Angels talent, they have produced in the clutch. Their situational hitting has been atrocious all year. Their bullpen has been an up and down roller coaster of inconsistency, and, with the exception of Jered Weaver, the Angels starting pitchers have underperformed throughout large stretches the entire season.

The pitching situation is a mess, and Mike Butcher is starting to feel the heat. The Angels pitching coach got thrown out of the game last night for getting in the face of umpire Mike Estabrook for his strike zone on Weaver.

For those of you that don't play MLB 12: The Show, I'll confirm your suspicions. The Angels main three coaches (Mike Scioscia, Mickey Hatcher, and Butcher) have negative stat-modifier in every category that affects your team. The Angels have already done the right thing by axing Hatcher, which ended up coinciding with an immediate offensive spark plug with the call-up of Trout and the promotion of hitting coach Jim Eppard.

The Angels need another spark to light up the tail end of this season, and while getting rid of Butcher's negative statistics won't have any effect this late in the season, the Angels should really bring a fresh face and some clean air into the clubhouse. I hear Troy Percival will be throwing out the first pitch at the Angels game versus the Indian today. Maybe he can stop by and squint the Angels bullpen into shaping up.

I honestly don't know if the Angels will make the playoffs at their current pace, but they are by no means out of it yet. The teams that win the World Series aren't always the teams with the best record; they're the teams who get hot at the end of the season and ride it all the way through October. Angels just need to get hot in this final month and a half, but with the Angels lack of consistency, finding enough kerosene to keep it going might be tough.

Angels Rotation Gets Upgrade (51/81)

Zack Greinke made his first start in Angels red on a warm Sunday afternoon, and pitched brilliantly. Unfortunately, he received zero run support, but he showed why the Angels gave up 3 of their top prospects in order to land the "rental" player.

In 2009, Greinke won the Cy Young award with the Kansas City, so he's no stranger to the American League, but whenever a pitcher is traded to a new team, there's this apprehension with fans wondering how it's going to work out. On Sunday, Greinke eased our worries by throwing 7 innings giving up 2 runs on 7 hits while striking out 8. The two runs he gave up were, in my opinion easily avoidable. One runner reached base when Mark Trumbo lost a ball in the sun, and another when Maicer Izturis wasn't able to reach a ball Erick Aybar would have had an easy time with.

The Angels rotation now includes four former aces, and every pitcher is 31 or younger and in their prime. Ervin Santana, the one anomaly with his inconsistency, has the potential to turn things around a fill out a rotation of 1-2 pitchers who can work deep into games and rack up strikeouts.

Let me humor you and pretend Santana turns things around. The career stats of these 5 men at so young is impressive:

Jered Weaver: 2011 Cy Young runner-up, 3.21 career ERA, 1066 strikeouts, and a 95-48 record racked up in 1247.1 innings.

C.J. Wilson: 2011 Rangers pitcher of the year, 3.48 career ERA, 752 strikeouts, and a 52-42 record racked up in 845.2 innings pitched. Keep in mind Wilson served as a relief pitcher for much of his career before being introduced to the Rangers rotation over a year ago.

Dan Haren: 3-time All Star and former Arizona Diamondback's ace, 3.65 career ERA, 1538 strikeouts, and a 115-92 record racked up in 1815.2 innings.

Zack Greinke: 2009 Cy Young winner, 3.78 career ERA, 1262 strikeouts, and a 85-77 record in 1409.2 innings pitched.

Ervin Santana: threw a no-hitter in 2011, 4.36 career ERA, 1109 strikeouts, and a 91-77 record in 1408.2 innings pitched.

As you can see, the Angels rotation is made up of guys who have shown that they can miss bats in their careers. Certain numbers average out during down stretches because very few pitchers are ALWAYS on throughout their careers, but the current Angels staff has shown consistency throughout their careers to give the Angels a very deep playoff run. The addition of Greinke also gives the Angels another option other than Weaver to start if they end up in a one-game playoff for the final Wild Card spot. No team is going to walk into Angel Stadium predicting a cake walk, even against Santana, and that's a good thing to have in a drawn out playoff series.

Vernon Returns, Angels Get Shutout All Weekend (50/81)

Before I continue with this post, I want to make it perfectly clear that the Angels futile offense this weekend was not a result of Vernon Wells being reinserted back into the lineup. To the people who believe that the Angels can blame all of their problems on the underachieving veteran need to take off their blinders and look at the Angels offense as a whole: everyone couldn't hit the ball this weekend.

Angels were shutout 3-0 and 2-0 in games on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, versus the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. The entire offense only managed 9 hits in the two games and combined for 19 strikeouts. To put a long story short, the Angels just couldn't put the bat on the ball.

The two less ballyhooed members of the Ray's pitching staff, rookie, Matt Moore and reigning Rookie of the Year, Jeremy Hellickson, pitched brilliantly and might as well have been pitching with a crystal ball because they knew exactly what to do to cool down the Angel's recently hot bats.

Where does Vernon Wells fall in all of this?

Angels fans have been dreading the day that Wells comes off the DL because it means one more hungry mouth to feed at a dinner table filled with healthy, exciting players. Wells came off the DL on Friday and started Saturday and Sunday's games. The result: 0-4 with a strikeout and 0-3 with a strikeout. Obviously, it can't be expected for a player to come off the disabled list and immediately start producing. Players need to be patient and get their timing back, but Wells is on a short leash with Angels fans.

I was at the game Sunday for Greinke's first start, and there was this fan above me and a few rows back that was heckling Wells mercilessly the whole game. It made you feel bad for Wells, who has been very positive during this DL stint and has supported his team and gives back to the fans. It's unfortunate that fans seem to find a way to hate the guy for something that is out of his control: his contract. If Wells was making anything less than $10 million, I don't think Angels fans would care as much, but because he's making $21 million a year for the next 2 years, fans expect him to produce $21 million worth of production.

Unfortunately, as players get older, their production declines. Also unfortunately, or maybe because of some foolish GMs, many players contracts are backloaded late in their contract and, it's rare when the money reflects the player's production. Vernon Wells is going to get his money, but if he doesn't want to be picked apart by Angels fans for the rest of his time in Anaheim, he needs to produce at a level that people can start defending his contract because, right now, no one can defend the guy no matter how nice he is.

Do Angels Have the Best Rotation in Baseball? (49/81)

On Friday, July 28, 2012, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim made a move that shocked baseball and grabbed headlines when they acquired starting pitcher, Zack Greinke, from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for shortstop Jean Segura, and Double-A pitchers Ariel Pena and Johnny Hellweg. Armed with arguably the best rotation in all of baseball in the last 10 years, the Angels are mustering all they can to win their second World Series ring 10 years after winning their first one in 2002.

After bouncing back from his firs DL stint in his career due to a bad back, Dan Haren showed, once again, why the Angels have one of the best rotations in baseball. He stifled the visiting Tampa Bay Rays by throwing 6 innings on 5 hits, 1 run and 6 strikeouts on the Angel's way to a 3-1 win.

With the acquisition of Greinke, the Angels rotation looks like this: Jered Weaver, CJ Wislon, Greinke, Haren, and Garrett Richards/Jerome Williams/Ervin Santana. Even if not one person in that final group of 3 shows some consistency to work as a fifth starter, that's still a scary rotation, and rivaled only by one rotation (on paper) in all of baseball and that's the last place Philadelphia Phillies.

When the Phillies acquired Cliff Lee via free agency, the rest of baseball didn't know what to do. How was it possible for three aces on any other staff on baseball to be on the same team. The 2011 Phillies were anchored by Lee, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt, one of the best combinations of any pitching staff I have ever seen until the Angels current rotation. Obviously the Phillies current rotation has not won them any World Series rings and, due to injuries and bad luck, they are currently the worst team in the NL East.

We'll have to wait until Sunday's game versus the Rays when Greinke makes his first start wearing Angels red to argue if the Angels have the best rotation, but my gut tells me they do. Expect to see an in depth look at pitching stats versus other major league teams following Sundays game right here at the Hometown Halo.

Leave a comment below telling me which team you think has the best rotation in baseball, or the best rotation EVER, or follow me on Twitter @SteveonSports to tell me what you think.

Angels Score 10 Runs, Tacos for Everybody! (48/81)

Over the years, the Angels have had many different sponsors for when they score 10+ runs in a game and win. In the past they've had Hooters provide 10 free wings if the Angels score 10 runs, Claim Jumper was in it in the past, and now Chronic Taco gives fans who show their ticket within 7 days after the game a free taco. It may not seem like much, but Chronic Taco makes some delicious tacos, and they'll put anything you want on it. My recommendation: go baja-style fish tacos. Click here to find a location near you.

Anyway, back to the game: Angels pounded on the Kansas City Royals 11-6 on a warm Wednesday afternoon at the Big A.

Third base coach, Dino Ebel (above) might need to get a padded glove for his hand soon with all those Angels players giving him hard high fives as they round third base after their home runs.

The Angels are 7th in the majors with 115 home runs this season, a big step up from last year when they finished 14th and in 2010 when they finished 13th. The Angels have always had decent power, but you never thought of them that way.

The Angels have historically been a small ball-hitting team, but with the emergence of Mark Trumbo's explosive bat, Mike Trout's insane mix of speed and power, and the addition of Albert Pujols, they're starting to get noticed around the league for their power.

After 99 games this season, the Angels are 3rd in batting average (behind Texas and St. Louis), 9th in RBIs, 5th in hits, 7th in doubles, and are in the top half of major league baseball in every offensive category. Gone are the days when Angels struggle to score 3 runs. With the offense clicking like this, the Angels can actually stay in shoot-outs with teams like the Yankees and Rangers, a good advantage to have when moving to the post-season.

Will Smith Gets Jiggy With the Halos (47/81)

Sorry for the late post. I missed the game the other night as it was date night, and things have been really hectic on the job front right now. I'll usually try to get the posts out the day of or the day after at the latest, but you know how it is. Without further ado, let's get jiggy with it.

Kansas City Royals rookie and former Angels farmhand, Will Smith, faced former teammate Garret Richards and shut down the Angels with two-hit ball over 7 innings, the longest start of his career, to beat the Angels 4-1.

Smith, drafted in 2007 by the Angels, was sent over to Kansas City along with pitcher Sean O'Sullivan in a trade that brought over third baseman Alberto Callaspo in 2010. Smith only has 5 major league starts and is sporting a 2-3 win/loss record, a 6.26 ERA and 18 strikeouts after Tuesday's game. His start versus the Angels was easily the best major league start of his short career so far.

It's too early to say who this trade will benefit more in the long run, but Callaspo has really been turning his season around recently and has been productive in the month of July with 17 hits, 2 home runs and a .329 OBP.

Kendrys Morales to the Rescue! (46/81)

With 2 outs, the bases loaded, and the score tied at 3-a-piece, Kendrys Morales stepped up to the plate, pinch-hitting for catcher Bobby Wilson. The once powerful first baseman/designated hitter had been struggling and been the subject of many trade rumors recently, hit a line drive over right fielder Jeff Francoeur and drove in 3 runs, including the speedy Peter Bourjos from first base. The clutch hit ended up being the factor as the Angels beat the Kansas City Royals 6-3.

Before the season started, the Angels weren't sure Morales ankle was going to be fully healed to start the season on the roster. As he progressed according to schedule, the Angels kept playing him more and more in Spring Training as the Cuban defector continued to rack up hits. When the season finally started, Morales was in the starting lineup, completing his comeback from a horrific freak ankle injury that cost him a season and a half away from the game.

Leading up to this point, Angels fans held a fear in the back of their head, something that they didn't want to believe but knew it was entirely possible: after missing so much time away from the game, would Morales be able to pick up where he left off, or would he be a shell of his former self? As the season has progressed, we've noticed a lack of power and production in our cleanup hitter. These warning signs have been partially hidden by the emergence of Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo as much as they were forgotten about with Albert Pujols early season struggles.

Jerry Dipoto has not forgotten. As the trade deadline nears, he has made Morales expendable, a key part of any trade that would bring a quality starting pitcher to the Angels rotation. Will the Angels end up moving Morales? Maybe, but we as fans need to be prepared for that and not hold this sentimental value of a guy who has been a decent player, but hasn't shown the explosive offense he was capable of in 2009.

The Angels have never been a team to dwell on past successes especially if they notice a decline. Look at guys like Chone Figgins, John Lackey, and Francisco Rodriguez. They were stars with the Angels and fan favorites, but the Angels had to go against the wishes of their fan base in order to improve their team because they knew these guys were not the answers. I know its hard to trust the front office after deals like Vernon Wells, Gary Matthews Jr., and Scott Kazmir, but we've got to know that these guys know what they're doing.

Haren Returns, Angels Grab 2 of 3 From Texas (45/81)

The Angels entered this season with what was, on paper, one of the best, if not the best, rotation in baseball. Unfortunately, season-long struggles by Ervin Santana and a back injury to one of the most durable starters in baseball, Dan Haren, derailed the whole process. Sunday night on ESPN, Haren made his return, with a chip on his shoulder, and gave the Halos 6 strong innings on the way to a 7-4 win against the rival Texas Rangers.

While he didn't have his best stuff, and his command was a little off, Haren pitched solid, only allowing 2 runs in 6 innings on 95 pitches. The guy said earlier in the week that he was mad people were already writing him off before he even had a chance to bounce back from his injury.

A motivated Haren is a dangerous one, and I look forward to catching the rest of his starts down the stretch this year.

On another note, the hottest team in baseball has now evened it up with the Angels for the AL Wild Card lead. A team nobody saw coming, and I team I believe will cool off soon, the Oakland A's have won 12 of their last 14 and just finished a sweep of the New York Yankees. I honestly don't think that Oakland has the depth and talent to continue this push for another 2 months, but they've definitely done enough in July to be taken seriously for the remainder of the season.

Santana Can't Figure It Out (44/81)

Was yesterday's 9-2 loss versus the first place Texas Rangers the last straw for Ervin Santana? If you took to Twitter yesterday through Santana's 1 2/3 innings pitched, you'd certainly think so.

"When did Santana get on the #Rangers payroll? Talk about serving it up on a tee. He needs to go. He stinks. #Angels" -@snelz04

"Call up Mills and send Santana packing!" -@Halomich2

"I'm sure he's a swell guy but it's time to take Ervin Santana to the glue factory." -@MnkysThrwngDrts

Those Tweets were a couple of the nicer ones. Angels fans are upset with Santana. In a season filled with high expectations, Santana has been consistently inconsistent, and it's frustrating. When asked about what has been his problem, Santana turned to the reporter and said, "If you told me, I'd probably make the adjustment."

I wrote in an earlier blogs about things Santana should do to get back into his groove and how Joe Saunder's pep talk sparked Santana. What's most likely to happen now is that Santana will move to the bullpen to provide pitching depth the Angels need there while GM Jerry Dipoto scours the trade market for an arm that can help the Angel's postseason push.

However, manager Mike Scioscia is not ready to move Santana to the pen just yet. He told reporters today that Santana will be put on a 15 out limit to get him aggressive. Silly Scioscia sited former pitchers like Aaron Sele and Scott Kazmir as previous pitchers who the Angels have tried this approach with.

The problem is that 15 outs is more of a goal than a limit. Santana couldn't even manage to get 6 outs before being yanked yesterday, and siting too of the most failed arms in the Angels rotation not named Kelvim Escobar is not the best way to gain fan confidence in this new approach. Be prepared Angels fans, the future looks uncertain.

What do you think the Angels should do with Santana? Leave a comment below.

Breaking Down the Home Run Derby Myth (43/81)

Mark Trumbo's swing is more than just a thing of beauty, it's a weapon of mass destruction. Many of us had this underlying fear that participating in the Home Run Derby would affect Trumbo's swing. Those fears have been quickly put to rest thanks to a hot second half start for the bomber, including a screaming Trumbomb-on-a-rope over the left-center field wall as the Angels beat the rival Texas Rangers in a 6-1 contest Friday night.

There is a myth in baseball that says that players are reluctant to participate in the Home Run Derby because of the fear that it will mess up their swing. This myth has apparently no effect on Trumbo. With his latest dinger, Trumbo now has 5 home runs in 31 at-bats since the Home Run Derby. Not only has Trumbo come charging out the gates after the All Star Break, but he seems to be hitting home runs with more frequency and authority. Based upon Trumbo's immediate success after the break, I thought it would be appropriate to break down the home run rates of the past five Derby winners before and after their participation in the slug-fest.


2007 Winner Vladimir Guerrero

Before the All Star break, 2007 Vladimir Guerrero was crushing opposing pitchers. In 85 games, he had already amassed 101 hits, 14 home runs and 75 RBIs with a .325 batting average. He was invited to the Home Run Derby at AT&T Park in San Francisco and then proceeded to become the second Angel to ever win the Derby by smashing 17 total home runs. Following the Derby, his numbers were nearly identical when factoring less games played. In 65 second half games, Guerrero had 85 hits, 13 home runs, and 50 RBIs with a .323 batting average on his way to winning 3rd in AL MVP voting. First place was Alex Rodriguez who, that year, smashed 54 home runs and 156 RBIs.


2008 Winner Justin Morneau

Before the 2008 season, Minnesota Twins first baseman, Justin Morneau had been on a tear. In 2006, Morneau smashed 34 home runs and 130 RBIs and followed that up in 2007 with 31 home runs and 111 RBIs. In 2008, Morneau had 118 hits, 14 home runs and 68 RBIs with a .323 batting average in 95 games before the Home Run Derby. He was hitting the ball great, but entered the Derby as the contestant with the lowest home run total at the break, so it was not surprising that his bat regressed in the second half to more career averages, but his power stayed the same. In 68 second half games, Morneau had 69 hits, 9 home runs, 61 RBIs and a .267 batting average that fell in line with his previous career numbers. 14 home runs in 95 games versus 9 home runs in 68 games isn't enough of a drop off to defend the urban legend.


2009 Winner Prince Fielder

Coming into the break, Milwaukee Brewer's rotund slugger, Prince Fielder had smashed 22 home runs and 78 RBIs with a .315 batting average in 88 first half games. After smashing 22 home runs to win the Derby at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Fielder went on to improve his power with 24 home runs and 63 RBIs in 74 second half games while finishing 4th in NL MVP voting.

2010 Winner David Ortiz

When Anaheim, California was finally able to host its first Home Run Derby in 2010, the Angels didn't have any of their own players in it (Vernon Wells was still playing for the Blue Jays at the time). David Ortiz entered the break batting .263 with 18 home runs and hit a colossal 32 home runs to win the Derby. Following the Midsummer Classic, Ortiz continued his pace while hitting another 14 home runs and raising his average to .270. No evidence of drop-off in production here.

Side note: I was working for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Garden Grove at this time and we had a few kids that were able to sit on the field during the Home Run Derby. Vernon Wells was representing our program, and disappointingly only managed to hit two home runs during the Derby. The little girl we sent to the field had a great time, so it didn't really matter, but in retrospect, Well didn't hit well inside Angel Stadium and it would've been nice to know his career numbers while visiting Anaheim before the Angels signed him.

2011 Winner Robinson Cano

I'm sure everyone is familiar with Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano being booed at Kauffman Stadium a few weeks ago for not including Royal's slugger, Billy Butler in the Home Run Derby, and even more so for not hitting any home runs. However, in 2011 he was on top of his game and smashed 32 home runs in the Derby at Chase Field in Arizona. His numbers in 87 games before the break: 100 hits, 15 home runs and a .296 batting average. After the break: 72 games, 88 hits, 13 home runs and a .309 batting average. Nearly identical numbers.

It's too early to determine what effect, if any, this year's Home Run Derby will have on its champion, but so far it looks like the competition has done nothing but improve Trumbo's swing. He's on pace to hit 47 home runs, a franchise record held by Troy Glaus, and he's shown no signs of slowing down. I would not be the least surprised if he breaks 50 home runs and finishes the season as the home run leader. The guy never stops improving.

(I know Mark Trumbo did not win the Home Run Derby, and maybe I am unfairly comparing him to past winners, but historically speaking, the Derby has not had an adverse effect on batter's swings. Some players have a hot first half and then regress in the second half to fit their career averages. We see this all the time. It's the ones who don't regress, and actually get better in the second half, guys like Jose Bautista, Alex Rodriguez, and maybe Trumbo, who end up being the players we talk about for years to come. If you would like to read more about the urban legend, here's ESPN's blog from a few years ago breaking down ARod's numbers before and after competing in the Derby: http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3483235)

13 First Half Shutouts (42/81)

Yesterday, I wrote about the Angels first half success in the starting pitching department, racking up 12 shutouts in the first half of the season. Apparently Angels spot starter, Brad Mills, took offense to my premature article.

The Angels blanked the Baltimore Orioles for the second straight day with a score of 6-0 to add to their league leading 13 shutouts of opposing teams this season.

Mills got the spot start for an injured Dan Haren, who went on the DL earlier this week for the first time in his career, and lasted 5 innings while only giving up 3 hits and striking out 6. Mills was pulled from a start in Triple-A Salt Lake earlier this week in order to start for the Angels, explaining the short outing on short rest.

What's interesting of note is that has 3-3 record with a 7.38 ERA in 10 big league starts over a four-year span, but 3-0 with a 1.56 ERA in three starts against the Orioles. The Angels definitely knew his success versus the Orioles when they called him up, and it paid off in a big way Sunday.

Hopefully Mills can add some pitching depth to a suddenly struggling rotation until Jerome Williams can get back after the All Star break and Haren heals up. Until then, the Angels are hoping their starters can keep putting up blanks. Have a great All Star break everyone!

Angels 1st Half Shutouts (41/81)

Remember earlier this season when the Angels were leading the league in shutouts? I'm talking about the futility of an offense rather than the dominance of a pitching staff. Two and a half months later, my how the tables have turned. How many shutouts do the Angels have this season?

The offense turned around, and Angels pitchers had a stretch of some kind of amazing as they racked up wins and blanked opponents and now lead the league with 12 shutouts of opposing teams after Jered Weaver's 3-0 win against the Baltimore Orioles Saturday night.

Here, I'll break down the Angels 12 shutouts, a team record before the All Star break.

*Update: Angels spot starter, Brad Mills combined with LaTroy Hawkins, Kevin Jepsen, Jordan Walden, and Ernesto Frieri to toss the Angels 13th shutout against the Orioles on Sunday.


April 6, Opening Day vs. Kansas City Royals

Angels got off to a great start to the season by shutting out the Royals 5-0 at home for Albert Pujols debut as an Angels. The highly paid slugger didn't get a hit, but Weaver managed to go 8 innings, racking up 10 strikeouts and Scott Downs came in to close the door. Sound familiar?

April 16, Oakland As, Weaver's 1,000th Strikeout

Weaver was on the mound for this one. He didn't go the distance, pitching 6 and 2/3 innings, but struck out 6 batters, one of which served as his 1,000th career strikeout, as the Angels beat the As 6-0 at home.


May 1, Minnesota Twins, Jerome Williams 3-hitter

Nothing more than a journeyman the past couple of years before finding success in the back end of the Angels pitching rotation last year, Williams has really felt a comfort level in Anaheim that he has experienced in few other places. He showed his confidence by dominating a weak Twins lineup 4-0 with a complete game, 3-hit shutout, his first complete game since June 27, 2003 (his only other shut out).

May 2, Minnesota Twins, Weaver's No-Hitter

The very next night after Williams 3-hitter, Weaver mastered the Twins 9-0 by throwing the 10th no-hitter in franchise history. It was only the second no-hitter since 1990 (Ervin Santana had thrown his no-no the year before), and was only one walk and a strikeout/passed ball away from a perfect game. Weaver struck out 9 and continued to show his dominance as one of the elite pitchers in baseball.


May 15, Oakland As, Santana Finally Gets Run Support

After leading the league in lack of run support, the Angels had been shut out in 5 straight of Santana's starts earlier in the season, Santana discovered the best way to make up for lack of run support: shut out the other team. Santana combined with Downs and Ernesto Frieri to drop the As, 4-0 at home.


May 22, at Oakland As, CJ Throws 1-Hitter

Up until this point, all of the Angels previous shutouts had come at home. CJ Wilson decided to take the show on the road,  combining with Frieri to one-hit the As for the third shutout over the team this season. Wilson went 8 innings and racked up 7 strikeouts allowing only 1 hit and 2 walks en route to a 5-0 win. He would have been allowed to finish the game had he not had a pitch count over 125.

May 24, at Seattle Mariners, Dan Haren Strikes Out Almost EVERYBODY

Haren tore apart a Mariners lineup, racking up 14 strikeouts in a complete game, 4-hit shutout. The Angels won 3-0, and Haren struck out every member of the Mariner's lineup except for lead off second baseman, Dustin Ackley.

June 16, Arizona Diamondbacks, Santana Gets Advice from Joe Saunders

Santana had been struggling mightily this season. With the call up of Garrett Richards, and the imminent return of Weaver, there had been talks that Santana might get sent down to Triple A to work on his command. The day before the game, ex-teammate and Arizona pitcher, Saunders, met up with Santana to give him a little pep talk. Whatever Saunders said ended up working perfectly as Santana took a perfect game into the 7th inning and ended up tossing a one-hit shutout as the Angels won 2-0 at home. I don't think Saunders wanted Santana to use his advice until after his team had left town.

June 17, Arizona Diamondbacks, Richards Joins the Shutout Party

Angels shutouts this season seem to come in pairs. A day after Santana 1-hit the Diamondbacks, Richards combined with Frieri to throw a 4-hit shut out to beat the D-Backs 2-0 again. With the shutout, Richards became the sixth Angel starter to toss a complete game or combined shutout this season. How many rotations in baseball can claim to have six shutout-quality pitchers?

June 20, San Francisco Giants, Weaver Returns

Despite being on a VERY limited pitch count once returning from the disabled list due to a back injury, Weaver sailed through 6 innings and 78 pitches by giving up only 2 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 3 to combine with Jason Isringhausen, Downs and Jordan Walden to shut out the Giants 6-0. With the win, Weaver proved that, despite missing time on the DL, he is still in contention for his first Cy Young award.

July 2, at Cleveland Indians, Weaver Again

Who's the best pitcher in the American League right now? Without a doubt it's Jered Weaver. The guy combined with Downs for his 5th shutout of the season as the Angels beat the Indians 3-0 away. Of the Angels 12 first half shutouts, only 3 of them have come away.

July 7, Baltimore Orioles, You Guessed It, Weaver Weaver Weaver

Big bad Weaver once again combined with Downs to 3-hit the Orioles to pick up his 6th shutout of the season.

The Angels have 13 shutouts this season, 3 higher than the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants. Will Jered Weaver get the start for the American League in the All Star game? If allowed, he would probably shut out the best in the NL as well. Despite their recent struggles, the Angels have continuously demonstrated that they have the best rotation in baseball.

Which team's pitching rotation do you think rivals the Angels this season? Leave a comment in the comment section below.

TNT Connect, But Angels Fall Short (40/81)

Angels All Stars Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout (TNT) each blasted solo home runs, but it wasn't enough to overcome one mistake pitch by starter CJ Wilson as the Angels fell 3-2 against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Angels struggled to find their offense last night, but managed to do everything else right. Wilson threw only one mistake pitch to Oriole's first baseman, Steve Pearce, who turned it into a 3-run home run, but in a game where your offense isn't getting a lot of hits, one mistake can be costly.

You may or may not disagree with me, but for the Angels, their biggest problem right now is without a doubt situational hitting, more specifically hitting with runners in scoring position.

Over the past 8 games, the Angels are 13 for 69 (.188 average) with runners in scoring position. You stretch that out a few more games into June and that number only gets worse. The Angels aren't having trouble hitting home runs (even Peter Bourjos has a couple); they're having trouble hitting the ball when runners are on base. Granted, the numbers above don't take into account the Angel's trademarked small-ball like sacrifice flies, sacrifice bunts, and Trout scoring from first base, but the numbers are alarming.

If the Angels don't start hitting the ball in key situations, their luck is going to run out, their home runs are going to start decreasing, and they will start piling up loses because no team can sustain the Angels current winning percentage without being able to hit the ball in the clutch. We haven't heard from the guy in awhile because the offense had been so good for most of May and June, but its time to see what batting coach, Jim Eppard can do to turn this pattern around.

Angels Steal One in Their Return Home (39/81)

In what could end up being the AL Wild Card playoff matchup in October, the Angels erased a 4-run deficit to beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-7 in their return home to the Big A.

The Angels showed their resiliency last night after coming home from a roller coaster road trip, and the offense and bullpen refused to let poor starting pitching be the factor in this one.

There's a lot going on with the Angels right now, so I'll try to catch you up on the Hometown front:

Banged-Up Starters:

When the Angel's offense was struggling mightily in April and May, the starting rotation picked the team up with their powerful throwing arms and carried them until All Star outfielder, Mike Trout showed up to give the offense a swift kick in the rear.

Now that the Angels have found their bats, it puts less pressure on the starters to throw perfect games every time, but the end of the June and beginning of July have not been so kind to the rotation.

Dan Haren is on the DL with a sore back for the first time in his career. Jerome Williams is struggling in his rehab assignment and won't be back until after the All Star break. Ervin Santana is regressing after what looked like bounce-back starts, including a 1-hitter. And finally, despite the Angels bailing him out, Garrett Richards was optioned back to Triple A this morning after two terrible outings in a row.

Remember when Angels had 6 elite-level starters a little over two weeks ago? Yeah, me neither.

Brilliant Bullpen:

If you asked me before the season started if I would have ever written this headline about the Angels bullpen, I would have given you a resounding "NO!" Not only would I have been wrong, but lately the Angels bullpen has proved that they're just as good as any in the majors. For 5 innings they shut down the Orioles lineup that managed to smash 7 runs off Richards in the first 4 innings.

Mike Trout, The Modern Era Rickey Henderson:

All I need to do is show you ESPN's graphic comparing Mike Trout vs Rickey Henderson as the only two players to hit at least .343, slug .551, with 10 home runs and 23 stolen bases in their first 60 games before the All Star break. Reminds you of how good The Man of Steal was and how good Trout is going to be.

All Star Trumbo:

In case you didn't already know, Angel's All Star LF/RF/1B/3B/DH Mark Trumbo will be participating in the home run derby and he's not worried about his swing. The young slugger spoke with Garrett Anderson, who won the derby in 2007 as well as the All Star Game MVP, and was reaffirmed that he needs to approach the contest just like batting practice and not try to pull the ball too much. While he has a good a shot as any to win, I doubt Trumbo takes home the crown. I do, however, think he'll hit the farthest ball in the park (and probably outside the park too).

Angels Conquer the NL, Ready For Next Challenge (38/81)

Over the past 5 seasons the Angels have the best record in major league baseball in interleague play and put their stamp on their National League dominance with a 5-3 win over the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday afternoon.

Peter Bourjos hit his second home run of the year after a blown foul ball call by the first base umpire, Albert Pujols knocked in Mike Trout from second base, and Howie Kendrick and Mark Trumbo each broke 0-3 games with RBI singles in the 7th inning that gave the Angels the win. Garrett Richards tossed his worst game of the season and still picked up a quality start.

The Angels are having a blast right now, and why shouldn't they? With a 14-7 record in June and a 34-19 record since April 28 (rookie Mike Trout's 2012 season debut), the Angels have the best record in baseball in that time behind only one team: the Yankees (let's not forget the Angels won their last series versus the Yankees as well). Nobody can knock the Angels anymore because of their terrible start. As a matter of fact, if the season started on April 28, the Angels would be first place in the AL West, 4 games over the Texas Rangers (30-23 during the same period).

I will forever be confused and amazed with Mike Scioscia's coaching decisions. At the beginning of the season, I would yell at the TV or, while attending games, yell at the dugout for Scioscia's questionable decisions. I'm not sure if it was something Angel's GM Jerry Dipoto said, or the fact that Scioscia now has a lot more weapons at his disposal since the arrivals of Trout and reliever, Ernesto Frieri, but the Angels rotund skipper seems to make one right move after another.

Scioscia's bullpen-by-committee has been surprisingly successful and has turned around what was once the mockery of the American League to solid group of dependable relievers. Now knowing they're his team's biggest strength, Scioscia lets pitchers go the distance more often rather than pulling them early. He has gone back to what works with the Angel's small ball approach from guys like Erick Aybar, Maicer Izturis and Peter Bourjos, while at the same time allowing his power hitters like Pujols and Trumbo swing for the fences, and it works magically with Trout being able to do it all.

As we approach the middle of the year, we start to thing that this may very well be the Angels season to pull it off, or they may fizzle into oblivion in the second half. Only time will tell. However, no one can argue that this season has not been exciting.

Santana Throws Gem, Angels Stop and Stare (37/81)

Angels starter, Ervin Santana, struck out 10 and walked none but managed to take the loss thanks to some mental errors by the guys behind him and a lack of offensive production as the Angels lost to the Dodgers 3-1 on Saturday night.

Santana is in the process of turning his season around, throwing great in back-to-back games. The Angels just couldn't find ways to score yesterday, going 1-10 with runners in scoring position. The Angels also seemed to be making bad decisions and mental errors out on the field. It was a poor followup to the 8-5 win from the previous day.

If Santana keeps this up, he may very well solidify his spot back in the rotation before Jerome Williams, who's on the mend, comes back. Garrett Richards, who's pitching today for the Angels, is also fighting for a spot in the rotation and is throwing very well.

Freeway Series Comes to Anaheim (36/81)

The Los Angeles Dodgers made the trip down the I-5 to Anaheim last night and came in guns blazing, but couldn't hold the 5-0 lead after 2 innings to a 8-5 loss in a perfect example how these two teams seasons are going.

The Dodgers opened the season as the hottest team in baseball with the hottest hitter in Matt Kemp. After narrowly missing the NL MVP award last season, Kemp entered the season with 50-50 aspirations (50 home runs and 50 stolen bases), and after his hot start, it looked like he might actually make it. Unfortunately, due to a pulled hamstring those aspirations have faded away along with the Dodgers World Series hype.

In the past two months, the Angels have the best record in baseball and the Dodgers lead in the NL West is slipping. Luckily for the Dodgers, they got off to a hot start and have plenty of time to stop this skid before it becomes really alarming, but it goes to show how hard it is to maintain success over a 162 game season. Like my dad always says, the hottest teams in the beginning aren't usually the hottest teams in the end. If you get on a roll towards the end of the season and make the playoffs, you have a better chance to win the World Series than if you win 40 games in a row in April-June.

The Angels got off to one of their worst starts ever at the beginning of the season, but are doing great now. The key for the rest of the season will be to maintain that pace while not worrying about catching the red hot Texas Rangers. The problem with trying to catch the Rangers is that it becomes discouraging because of how good they are. The Angels have the best record in baseball since May 8, but are still 5-6 games out of first in the AL West. You can't explain that.

Rather than try to catch the Rangers, you're looking to make it to one of those 2 while card spots and win the 1-game playoff. The next round actually favors wild card winners most because, under the new wild card format, the first 2 playoff games of the best of 5 series are played at the wild card winner's field.

If the Angels catch the Rangers this season, I'll be surprised. I sure hope it happens, but I think its more realistic to aim for the Wild Card at this point.