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.