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.