NL Central Preview

Next on the list of divisional preseason previews, we have the National League Central. This division used to be highlighted by the biggest disparity in baseball. On one end of the spectrum, you had the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds. On the other end, you had the 3 worst teams in baseball: the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. Any wonder where the top 3 got all their wins from?

Well apparently baseball got tired of the disparity (and lack of divisional symmetry) and forced allowed the Astros to move to the AL West where they could help the Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers win a few more games, but that's not what we're here to discuss.

We are going to discuss the three biggest questions in the NL Central:

• How far will Ryan Braun take the Brewers?
• Are the Cincinnati Reds in the upper-echelon of teams in baseball?
• Are the Cubs ready to make a run at their first World Series since 1908?

First the previews:

The Pittsburgh Pirates shocked everyone by getting off to an amazing start spearheaded by Andrew McCutchen (my NL MVP) and A.J. Burnett. Two-thirds of the way through the season they were sitting a comfortable 16 games over .500 (62-46) and making a run at not only their first winning season in 20 years, but a run at the playoffs themselves. That's when everything fell apart. The Pirates went on to finish the season 17-37 in what was the worst collapse in Major League Baseball (statistically speaking, but I think the 2011 Red Sox could argue that one).

Will the Pirates be able to build on last season's early success and avoid another historic meltdown? Maybe. The Pirates have no chance to make the playoffs, not in this division, but I do believe they will break their record streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons by winning 81 games this year.

How far will Ryan Braun take the Milwaukee Brewers? That question depends on how well MLB's investigation into the Biogenesis Report. Do I believe Ryan Braun took steroids? Yes, absolutely. Is that going to stop him from being one of the top 3 players in the game? No at all. If this team can overcome its pitching woes, stay healthy and get another bat at the trade deadline besides Aramis Ramirez, the Brewers could make a run at the playoffs. However, that's expecting a lot of things to go right with a team that has one ace pitcher and some other guys.

Are the Cincinnati Reds one of the best teams in baseball? They sure look like it. With an amazing rotation that include Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto and Matt Latos with an emerging Aroldis Chapman, you won't find better rotation in the NL Central. They also have a healthy MVP-caliber Joey Votto, dependable Brandon Philips and Jay Bruce and young guys throughout the diamond who are ready to produce. Not to mention they upgraded their outfield with Shin-Soo Choo, and the Reds are ready to build on last year's 97-win season (and huge post-season meltdown to the Giants) and make another run at the World Series. They're the team to beat in this division.

Let's not forget about the 2011 World Series-winning St. Louis Cardinals. This team has a formidable lineup mix of young and dying stars. They picked up the revitalized Carlos Beltran at the trade deadline last year, and while he's still producing, this will probably be his last year with the team. David Freese, the 2011 World Series MVP will be back to man third base, and first baseman Allen Craig had the most underrated season of the year. His season was so underrated that you probably think that last sentence was a typo. To put it in perspective, the Cardinals did not resign Albert Pujols who ended up hitting .285 with 30 home runs and 105 RBIs. Craig who filled in for Pujols hit .307 with 22 home runs and 92 RBIs while costing a BAZILLION DOLLARS cheaper. Nice job, Cardinals management. With a solid rotation that includes Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, and Jake Westbrook the Cardinals have the best chance to top/keep up with the Reds this year.

Finally, the question you have all been waiting for. Are the Chicago Cubs finally ready to make a run at their first World Series since 1908?

Hell no.

MY NL CENTRAL PREDICTIONS: The Reds will finish in first place with 95 wins. The Pirates will surprise a lot of people by having their first winning season in 20 years. Braun and the Brewers will struggle to stay in ball games with lack of an experienced starting rotation. The Cardinal's entire season will once again come down to the last 2-3 games as they fight for the second Wild Card playoff spot.

NL West 2013 Preview

Why did I choose to preview the NL West before any of the other division: The Dodgers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the most talked about team in baseball since making their blockbuster for Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto last August. Since then, with the high-profile signings of free agent pitchers Zack Greinke and Ryu Hyun-jin, and a new ownership that's willing to spend whatever it takes, the Dodgers have been featured in more front stories than the World Series champion and division-rivals, the San Francisco Giants.

The San Francisco Giants have spent the offseason trying to keep their current World Series winning formula intact by resigning Angel Pagan, Marco Scutaro, Jeremy Affeldt, and confidently making Sergio Romo their closer and not resigning injured Brian Wilson. The Giants are probably the only team to have won 2 of the last 3 World Series and not be the favorites to win their division as reigning champions.

The Giants get absolutely no respect despite having one of the best pitching staffs in baseball and the reigning NL MVP, Buster Posey.

Speaking of teams that get no respect, the San Diego Padres will once again finish at or near the bottom of the division by making little-to-no effort to upgrade their team to win this year. Carried by exemplary pitching in 2010, the Padres negated their biggest home-field advantage by bringing the walls in closer this year. Do not mistake this as a dig at the Padres as they are a young team with a long-term plan, but they will not be getting out of the NL West basement for the next 2-3 years as long as they stay away from repeated PED offenses.

Fun stat: the Padres only have 9 players on their current 40-man roster in their 30s.

Also in the NL West, we have the Colorado Rockies. The 2012 Rockies had the worst record in their 20-year history, finishing 64-98 while battling injuries, atrocious pitching and a terrible home record. To put things in perspective, Rockies' starting pitchers had a combined 6.70 home ERA, by far the worst in the majors. This year, the Rockies will attempt to right the ship with their explosive young talent in All-Stars Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, veteran wine-connoisseur Todd Helton, and a new high school manager in Walt White Weiss. Do I think they'll contend this year? Absolutely not. Will they improve on last year's historically bad season? They couldn't do any worse.

Finally, our last NL West team is the underrated Arizona Diamondbacks. The desert snakes slightly improved their starting pitching and bullpen with the acquisitions of Heath Bell, Matt Reynolds and Brandon McCarthy, but absolutely destroyed their star power by trading away All-Stars Chris Young and Justin Upton, and top-prospect pitching prospect Trevor Bauer. Granted, these moves could be blessings in disguise as both outfielders were under-performing in Arizona and Bauer drove his catcher crazy. The D-backs have a solid team with Martin Prado (acquired from the Braves), Miguel Montero, Aaron Hill, Paul Goldschmidt, and pitchers Ian Kennedy (La Quinta High), JJ Putz and Trevor Cahill who all seem to over-perform despite their perceived lack of talent.

Each division has its own story and the story of the NL West is that it will be a two-team race between the Dodgers and Giants. The Rockies could surprise some teams with their power, but will struggle in pitching, and the Diamondbacks always find a way to hang around, but neither team can match the offense and pitching of the Dodgers and Giants.

MY 2013 NL WEST PREDICTION: Dodgers 1st place finish with 89 wins, Giants get second Wild Card sport with 88 wins.

These two teams will be trading wins and losses all season and will face tough competition from the Diamondbacks and Rockies, thus limiting their total wins. I'm sure two teams from the NL East will finish with more wins than the Dodgers and Giants, but both will find a way to make it to the post season.

Disclaimer: Be careful on the Dodgers though. This prediction is based on everything going right for the "super team." I'm still not convinced this is a super team despite everyone jumping on the bandwagon. I'll cover this in a future article, but Dodgers have a lot more problems than people think, which is the main reason I can't see them winning over 90 games despite having Greinke and Clayton Kershaw the whole season.

2013 MLB Season Is Almost Here

The 2013 MLB season is almost upon us, and I couldn't be more excited. With 6 weeks remaining until the regular season, and 6 divisions in baseball, I thought now would be the perfect time to get back into the swing of writing and preview each of the divisions (one per week).

I'm going to start in the National League West, work my way east, switch over to the American League, and finish in the Angel's division, the revamped A.L. West.

Throughout Spring Training, I will also be giving my thoughts on player development, how I see the rotation and lineup shaking out, and maybe a few updates on the World Baseball Classic (if any of the Americans decide to play). Once the regular season starts, I will once again be covering all of the Angels 81 home games, and will be there live for a lot of them.

I know that I may not be the best Angels writer out there, but I promise a higher quality of work from last year, and I thank you for sticking with me and the Hometown Halo.

With that being said, here is a picture of a 30-pound heavier Mike Trout. Enjoy.

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.