After Slow Start, Angels Get Back On Track
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have been one of the most consistent franchises in all of baseball over the past decade. After undergoing a bit of a roster overhaul this winter, many counted Mike Scioscia’s out of the AL West race. Two weeks into the season, the doubters looked smart, as the Angels struggled mightily out of the gate. Since then, the Angels have gotten back on track as they have climbed above .500 after 15 games. While the club did lose franchise icon Vladimir Guerrero, the parting seems like a good decision for both parties. Guerrero is a shell of his former self as he now hits for limited power and his unable to play in the field due to a bad knee. The Angels replaced Guerrero with reigning World Series MVP, Hideki Matsui, who has been a good fit into the Angels lineup. Matsui is a good, professional hitter who excels at working the count and feasting on pitchers mistakes. While Matsui has been good, the Angels have to be worried about former top prospect Brandon Wood, who has yet to figure out how to hit big league pitching. Wood was once thought to be a perennial contender for the batting title, but has struggled to hit in several stints at the major league level.
by Josh Weiner at the Sports Fan Blog Network
Mentor’s effect is still felt
Ervin Santana will start the Angels’ third game of the season tonight against Minnesota, following Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders.
It’s a fitting trio of pitchers to open the season — all of them having been mentored in a way by departed ace John Lackey.
“It’s totally different (than a few years ago) when John had to lead three young guys,” said Weaver. “For me, Saunders and Santana, he set a tone. Now we all know what it’s like. We all know what a playoff atmosphere is like. There’s nobody holding anybody’s hands anymore.”
The Angels stuck with their first night batting order.
Jeff Mathis was behind the plate again, having earned the lead spot at catcher over slugger Mike Napoli with his defensive skills. It didn’t hurt that his first at-bat of the season was a home run Monday. He hit safely again Tuesday.
Click here to read the full article – By GREGG PATTON of The Press-Enterprise
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Angels are stuck with Matthews
It is the one deal the Angels simply can’t avoid this offseason, the one acquisition that never has been more obvious than it is today.
We’re talking, of course, about the signing of Gary Matthews Jr.
No, not again, but the first time, which, much like the undying TV career of Tim McCarver, has turned out to be more than enough for everyone.
Painfully more.
No matter what the Angels do or don’t do during the next two months, Matthews and the $23 million they still owe him will keep getting in the way. With each passing day, his signing becomes more and more a case of subtraction through addition.
By winning the 2002 World Series, former General Manager Bill Stoneman left a legacy with the Angels. By acquiring Matthews, he left an odor.
Click here to read the full article – By JEFF MILLER of THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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Troubling 3-year trend for Angels
The Angels are struggling to hit with runners in scoring position, .211 in five playoff games, just like 2007 and ‘08.
Lost amidst a three-game sweep of the Red Sox and five relatively effective performances from the starting pitchers is a most unwelcome playoff trend for the Angels.
The Angels are again having difficulty hitting with runners in scoring position, going 4 for 18 in the first two games of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees. They were 3 for 15 in Saturday’s 4-3 13-inning loss in Game 2.
If the Angels are to salvage the ALCS, they’re going to need to start hitting in the clutch, beginning with Game 3 today at Angel Stadium.
Click here to read the full article – By MICHAEL BECKER of PE.com
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Sox left dead Red
Torii Hunter emerged from the visitors’ clubhouse at Fenway Park to spray champagne over the fans and family gathered there. Erick Aybar did him one better, handing over bottles of bubbly to those who came from California to see the Los Angeles Angels go for the sweep.
History gave no reason to hope for such a celebration.
The Angels and Vladimir Guerrero shrugged off their postseason failures and swept away the Red Sox on Sunday, scoring three runs off Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning to beat Boston 7-6 and advance to the AL championship series.
It was the first postseason sweep in Angels franchise history. And they did it against the team that has knocked them out of the playoffs the previous four times they met.
“I told you guys earlier: It’s going to be a different scene,” Hunter said in the clubhouse afterward. “Vladdy came through. That’s probably one of the biggest hits of his career. They’ve been waiting for him to do it, and he did it.”
Papelbon was one strike away from extending the series with three different batters, but Aybar singled on a two-strike pitch, Chone Figgins walked after fouling off a full-count offering and Bobby Abreu fouled off three straight pitches before doubling in one run.
Hunter was walked intentionally before Guerrero singled the first pitch to center and Figgins and Abreu raced home to give Los Angeles a 7-6 lead. Major league saves leader Brian Fuentes pitched the ninth, and when Aybar caught Dustin Pedroia’s popup to end the game, pumping his right arm even as he tracked the ball with his left, the Angels advanced.
“It’s nice to be going home and playing again, instead of going home and it’s over,” said pitcher John Lackey, who was part of the Angels teams that were eliminated by Boston in three times in the previous five years. “This is the most fun for me, and I’ve got a ring. That says a lot.”
Click here to read the full article – By JIMMY GOLEN of DailyDemocrat.com
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Angels have edge in speed
One matchup the Angels intend to exploit against the Red Sox is on the basepaths, where the Angels have stolen 148 bases and the Red Sox have thrown out just 13 percent of all base stealers, just half of the league average.
The Angels believe they can run on Boston catchers Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek if given the opportunity. It’s those opportunities that have been hard to come by. The Angels had an on-base percentage of just .339 in last year’s American League Division Series against Boston and a .250 mark in 2007.
If the Angels are more successful this year in getting their speedsters on base, the Red Sox know they might be defenseless against the likes of Chone Figgins (42 stolen bases), Bobby Abreu (30), Torii Hunter (18), Erick Aybar (14) and Maicer Izturis (13).
Click here to read the full article – By MICHAEL BECKER of PE.com
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Angels’ Mike Scioscia going ‘right’ off bat against Boston
Angels manager will start right-handers John Lackey and Jered Weaver in first two games of division series, with lefties Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders slated for Games 3 and 4 in Fenway.
Reporting from Oakland – There were no surprises Sunday when Manager Mike Scioscia announced his playoff rotation and roster. John Lackey, as expected, will start Game 1 of the division series against the Boston Red Sox in Angel Stadium and will be followed by Jered Weaver in Game 2.
Left-handers Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders are scheduled to pitch Games 3 and 4, respectively, in Fenway Park, with right-hander Ervin Santana going to the bullpen for the first round.
The Angels will go with a 10-man pitching staff, with Brian Fuentes, Kevin Jepsen, Darren Oliver, Matt Palmer and, assuming he recovers from shoulder tightness that knocked him out of Saturday’s game, Jason Bulger joining Santana in the bullpen.
The bench will feature a third catcher — Bobby Wilson — outfielders Reggie Willits and Gary Matthews Jr., and corner infielder/outfielder Robb Quinlan, who edged out Brandon Wood for the final roster spot.
Willits, Scioscia said, “gives us versatility in that we can plug him into situations late, whether it’s to pinch-run, get a bunt down or play defense. He brings a lot there.”
Click here to read the full article – By Mike DiGiovanna of LAtimes.com
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Morales proving value day after day
After winning the American League Player of the Month honors after setting the Angels’ club record with 33 RBIs in August, first baseman Kendry Morales suddenly fell into a rut in early September.
The switch-hitter went into a 3-for-28 skid and all of the talk about being a legitimate American League Most Valuable Player candidate began to lose a bit of its steam.
Morales was even held out of the Angels’ starting lineup on Monday to get a day of rest and to clear his head of his recent slump.
But Morales was still called on to pinch-hit in the seventh inning against the Yankees and he delivered a towering home run to right field off reliever Brian Bruney in the Angels’ 5-2 win.
And then he followed that up with a 4-for-4 performance with a walk the next day, and he was swinging the bat like he did just a few weeks earlier. Morales even singled in his first at-bat on Wednesday to reach base safely in seven straight plate appearances over three days.
Click here to read the full article – By Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com
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Santana’s progress key to Angels
Even though his club’s magic number to clinch the American League West is just six with nearly two weeks left in the regular season, Angels manager Mike Scioscia still isn’t quite ready to talk about the postseason.
Scioscia simply won’t talk about potential postseason matchups or his possible postseason rotation until the day his team officially clinches a division title for the fifth time in six years.
“We’re not popping the champagne yet,” Scioscia said. “We’ve got to get there, and we’ve got our work cut out for us to reach our first goal. Right now, we have tough games all the way through, so we have to keep focused on where we’re going.”
Click here to read the full article – By Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com
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Angels gear up for showdown in Arlington
When it comes to defense, Torii Hunter speaks with a certain authority. Eight consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Awards provide that, as does an errorless streak spanning 264 regular-season games, dating back to Aug. 31, 2007.
When Hunter — the club’s unofficial captain — exhorts his Angels teammates to tighten the screws, straighten up and fly right, you assume they’ll respond.
“As a team, us, we need to play a lot better,” Hunter said as the Angels were preparing for a three-game American League West showdown against Texas at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. “We need to play the game we know how to play.
“Don’t try to do too much. Don’t get caught up in the hype. Just play the game. We’ve been making mistakes that aren’t like us. We’ll clean it up. We’re going to be better.”
Click here to read the full article – By Lyle Spencer of MLB.com
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