SB Nation - Scot Shields

No "Manifest Destiny" In La-La Land: Yankees Eliminate Angels

Nico — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:15:03 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

Trainer Gene Mohahan tries to figure out exactly how it is that Derek Jeter can walk on water.

Final Score: Rich Team That Buys Victories 5, Angels 2.

There were times when it seemed nothing could slow down an Angels team brought together by the death of Nick Adenhart in a season that had already begun with John Lackey, Ervin Santana, and Kelvim Escobar on the DL. Joe Saunders would pitch through pain, Scot Shields would be lost for the season, and Vlad the Impaler would look more and more each day like Vlad the Former Impaler.

No matter. The Angels just kept winning. And winning. And winning. Then they got to the ALCS and forgot how to play baseball. Mike Scioscia, widely considered to be one of baseball's best managers, would make several puzzling moves, including today's choices of sticking with Joe Saunders through thin and thin -- Saunders wobbled through every inning and never came close to getting it together -- and trying Scott "Let me try 25 pitches this inning and see if a few of them are good" Kazmir in a 3-2 game, while Jered Weaver -- he of precisely the breaking stuff the Yankees couldn't handle all series -- sat, and sat, and sat.

Not how I would have played it, but then again I would have caught Matsui's pop up, I would have taken the out at first on Melky Cabrera's ground ball, I would have thrown a bunt nearer to a base than to the malt vendor.

BREAKING NEWS!!!! Derek Jeter has just sneezed. Fox will have the full story right after Tim McCarver says something inane. So that would be right now. Good effing grief, people.

Bye bye, Angels. Go Phillies!

Trevor Bell First Major League Victory is Angels 72nd

Rev Halofan — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:22:06 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

W O W B E L L

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Final Score in Cleveland: Angels 5, Indians 4

In the words of the bassist from the band Spinal Tap, HELLO CLEVELAND! Rookie Trevor Bell pitched into the 6th inning of his 2nd major league appearance and got his 1st Big League W.

The Angels had a sloppy game with the bats, some long innings on the mound but a sparkling bit of infield leather helped walk the AL West leaders to the finish line as the go-ahead run lined out in the bottom of the 9th to give Brian Fuentes his 35th Save of 2009.

Middle Reliever Kevin Jepsen came into the game with a man on and nobody out in the 7th inning and got out of it only surrendering one run and then had a 1-2-3 9th inning. The inning went by so quick that for a second or two there I could have sworn it was Scot Shields.

Bell's line on the night: 5.1 IP, 2 BB, 9 H, 3 ER, 2K. For a fifth starter in the American League, not bad. For a 22-year-old kid from Southern California... pretty great.

The Angels got a run in the 1st on a double play and a run in the 2nd on an error by the Cleveland 1Bman, but there were enough baserunners for the team to score a few of them with singles. Five runs scored but only three RBIs were credited in the game, one each to Erick Aybar, Bobby Abreu and Kendry Morales, Klutch Kings on the well-timed singles tonight to be sure!

At one point in the game, every Angel in the batting order was batting .300 or better for the season. At the end ofthe game, the benchmark had been held:

Figgins - .308
Abreu - .310
Rivera - .310
Guerrero - .313
Morales - .303
Hunter - .307
Izturis - .300
Napoli - .300
Aybar - .313

All of those players besides Vladimir Guerrero have over 300 Plate Appearances, meaning one thing: We Will Win With What We Got.

Poll

Panther of the Game

Bell

173 votes

Jepsen

101 votes

Fuentes

37 votes

311 votes | Poll has closed

Angels in Sole Possession of First Place!

Rev Halofan — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:51:12 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

"Who here doubted me?" asks the Soth...

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Final Score in Arlington: Padres 7, Rangers 3

The Angels at 40-32 are a half game ahead of the Texas for SOLE POSSESSION of first place in the American League West.

Alone in FIRST PLACE After these Tragic Twelve Facts:

Promising rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart dies in a tragic accident after 3rd game of season
Ervin Santana has a sprained TJ Ligament, misses two months, pitches in six games and is back on the DL
John Lackey misses two months with a forearm strain, and is barely getting into form at the mid-season mark
Kelvim Escobar makes it back into 1 game after shoulder surgery, goes back on the DL
Twelve pitchers have started for the Angels this season
DH Vladimir Guerrero misses over 30 games with a strained pectoral muscle, returns just in time to sit for NL parks
Howie Kendrick, the opening day 2Bman is sent down to the minors after batting almost 100 points lower than his career average in over 50 games.
Longtime reliable setup reliever Scot Shields is out for season with knee surgery
Fan Dies on opening night on stadium steps after altercation
Off-duty policeman shoots, wounds two in parking lot melee in late June
Of 22 Angels pitchers appearing in an Angels uniform this season, only 7 have ERAs under 4.00: Adenhart (RIP), Escobar (DL), Sean O'Sullivan, Darren Oliver, Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver started the day there and Brian Fuentes went below 4 in his one inning of work Saturday.
We started the season 6 - 11

Basically it has been Torii Hunter, Weaver, Chone Figgins, Saunders, Bobby Abreu, Mike Napoli and Brian Fuentes... but... can you BELIEVE it?

Poll

Can You Believe It?

Yes, I have faith

237 votes

No, I am shocked

36 votes

Kinda, I hoped this would happen but figured it would take longer

94 votes

367 votes | Poll has closed

The World Baseball Classic Weighs Heavily on Pitchers

Matt Buggenhagen — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:16:25 -0000

More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

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As we approach the mid-way point in the baseball season one thing seems very clear, the World Baseball Classic appears to be taking its toll on players, and more importantly teams.

When the WBC was created many people had fears about the effects it would have on its participants, most notably pitchers.

Recently, Scott Kendrick of About.com wrote a column where he outlines the potential ill effects of the WBC. Take a look at this list of players and see if you can find what they have in common.

Jose Arredondo, Angels: He looked like a closer in waiting in 2008, but the Angels are still waiting. He was sent to Triple-A this week.
Armando Gallaraga, Tigers: After winning 13 games as a rookie, he's 3-7 with a 5.62 ERA and hasn't won since April 26.
Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles: He's struggling with a 5-7 record and a 5.09 ERA, his worst in three seasons with Baltimore.
Matt Lindstrom, Marlins: The hard-throwing closer has a 6.52 ERA and a bad elbow. He went on the disabled list this week.
Damaso Marte, Yankees: He was ineffective in seven games, and has been on the DL since early May with shoulder tendinitis.
Daisuke Matsuzaka, Red Sox: He was pulled from the Boston rotation after a miserable first eight starts (1-5, 8.23 ERA) and is now on the disabled list indefinitely with a shoulder issue.
J.J. Putz, Mets: The expensive setup reliever underwent arthroscopic surgery on his elbow and is likely out until August.
Scot Shields, Angels: Solid setup guy wasn't solid (6.62 ERA), and now is out for the year after knee surgery.
Joakim Soria, Royals: The "Mexicutioner" has a solid 1.72 ERA and eight saves, but missed most of May with a sore shoulder.

If you guessed they were all part of WBC rosters, you're right.

All of these pitchers at one point were highly respected names, who carried high expectations coming into this season.

Now a combination of injuries, and continued struggles, leads many second guessers of the WBC to question its value.

While there is no actually way to quantify how much the WBC played in these players short comings, it certainly does open the forum for debate.

I personally am a fan of the WBC. However, I imagine if I was a team executive I might have a very different opinion. Maybe this is all a coincidence, maybe not, but there is no denying something has to give.

I understand Baseball (like every other major U.S. sport) is doing everything they can to market to an international audience, but at what point are we diminishing the value of our game at home.

I guess only time will tell.

Poll

Should MLB continue with the WBC

Yes

66 votes

No

123 votes

Don't Care Either Way

24 votes

213 votes | Poll has closed

TUESDAY ANGELS ROUNDUP:DL Gets Crowded, But Angels Still Winnin'

WiHaloFan — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:35:35 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

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Up next for Angels: Tuesday at San Francisco - Los Angeles Times
Making his major league debut, Sean O'Sullivan, started the season at double-A Arkansas, where he was 1-2 with a 5.30 earned-run average in three starts before moving to triple-A Salt Lake, where he was 5-2 with a 6.02 ERA in 10 starts.

Let's see...5.30 ERA in AA, 6.02 in AAA. There might be a pattern developing here, but not a good one.

Angels win again but may lose Torii Hunter - Los Angeles Times
"I'm fine, I'll be OK, but I'm really liking those meds right now," said Hunter, whose ribs were wrapped in a compression sleeve. "I think I'm kind of high."

Some Kelvim Escobar news...

Escobar placed on DL - Angels blog - OCRegister.com
Mike Scioscia said the team is confident Escobar will be able to come off the DL Monday. The move is retroactive to the last time Escobar pitched.

Angels blog - OCRegister.com
"We have a closer. I’m not going to be thinking anything like that, but maybe next year, who knows?" Escobar said. "I want to keep playing this game and I’m a free agent. I’ve been a closer before. I’ve shown I can close and I think I have the mentality and I have the stuff to do it."

Angels right-hander Escobar headed back to DL - MLB - CBSSports.com
Escobar is eligible to come off the DL next Monday and manager Mike Scioscia thinks he should be on schedule. Escobar likely will pitch the eighth inning but also could be an option to close out games.

And now some Ervin Santana news...

Ervin Santana scratched from Tuesday's game - Los Angeles Times
The Angels don't think Ervin Santana's latest elbow setback, which forced the right-hander to be scratched from tonight's start against the San Francisco Giants, is serious, but it is definitely cause for concern.

Ervin Santana to the DL - FanGraphs Baseball
Part of the reason for the increased contact rates is the velocity of Santana’s fastball. No longer is Santana flashing a fastball that sits in the mid-90s; instead, he’s barely touching that point

Team Reports - MLB at CBSSports.com
425 -- Innings pitched by RHP Scot Shields between 2004 and 2008, the most of any major league reliever.

Oh yeah, we shouldn't forget about Scot Shields.

AccuScore: Playoff shifts after week 10 - Yahoo! Sports
In the AL West, the Angels are making their move thanks to Jered Weaver’s hot start. They went 4-2, which helped them capitalize on Texas’ 2-4 week. The Angels plus-8.3 percent improvement accounts for most of the Rangers’ minus-11.8 percent.

Nolan Ryan challenges conventional thinking on pitch counts - Joe Posnanski - SI.com
Bill James: I think that what Ryan is doing CAN succeed, because he is doing battle with an empty suit. There's really no basis to the belief that a mature starting pitcher can't throw 150 or 160 pitches in a game -- when he's feeling good, when he's throwing freely and not fighting anything -- without negative consequences.

Demotions Should Only Be Beginning for Halos - Bleacher Report
The demotions of Jose Arredondo and Howie Kendrick sent a message to the team that they needed to right things in a hurry. However, those demotions should only be the beginning of the transformation of the offense.

What We Learned In Week Ten - FanGraphs Baseball
Kendrick was hitting just .231/.281/.355 when he was demoted, but had anything really changed? His walk rate, strikeout rate, and isolated power are all right in line with his career numbers.

Flawed and Feisty - CBSSports.com
The Halos are hanging around, but are they going anywhere?

Anyone know who wrote this?

Scioscia leaves power on bench - SweetSpot by Rob Neyer - ESPN
It's easy for us, standing well apart from the action, to recommend playing the kids who have hit in the minors instead of the veterans who just sort of hit in the majors. But Scioscia's been there for every single game of Wood's and Rodriguez's struggles with the big club, and we really can't ask him to forget what he's seen.

MONDAY ANGELS ROUNDUP: Shields Down, K-Rod Fed Up

WiHaloFan — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:09:37 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

6 months ago: Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver celebrates the last out in a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Sunday, June 14, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. The game marked Weaver's first career shutout. The Angels won 6-0. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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Up next: Monday at San Francisco - Los Angeles Times
John Lackey will try to end his slump against former Cy Young winner Barry Zito.

Angels' Scot Shields will miss rest of season - Los Angeles Times
With the pain in his troublesome left knee failing to subside in the nearly three weeks since he went on the disabled list, Angels reliever Scot Shields on Sunday said he has opted for season-ending surgery.

Ready photon torpedoes!

Izturis over Rodriguez: It's ping over power - Angels Unplugged - Los Angeles Times
You've heard of guys having a man crush? Well, Scioscia has a manager's crush when it comes to the little man he calls "Izzy." How else can you explain his insistence that Izturis, with no home runs on a team that ranks 13th in the 14-club American League in homers, will continue to play second base, despite the presence of just-called-up Sean Rodriguez, who was leading the Pacific Coast League with 21 home runs?

Steve Bischeff doesn't pull his punches.

K-Rod's feud with Bruney escalates - MLB.com: News
The players had to be separated after K-Rod confronted Bruney in left field, once the Mets had completed their stretching regimen. Bruney said that his intention was to approach Rodriguez to make peace, after he was quoted saying that Rodriguez has "a tired act" and called the closer's on-field actions "embarrassing."

There's video of K-Rod manning-up.

Everyday Life - Ashley Thompson's Blog
Our favorite player wife is looking to raise awareness for prostate cancer and raise funds for research. Please check it out.

THT Dartboard: Week Ten -- The Hardball Times
Weekly ranking of all teams. (Angels are #15)

Murray Chass On Baseball "
Andrew Friedman is angry with me. He is the general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, and he is angry that I wrote in a column that he did not return a call from me seeking comment about the Rays’ treatment of Evan Longoria and David Price. He didn't return your call?

See Murray, YOU ARE A BLOGGER! And speaking of bloggers...

Deadspin - The Unfortunate Ambushing Of Jerod Morris' Raul Ibanez Post - Raul Ibanez
Third: Ken Rosenthal doesn't have a fucking clue. Not in life, or in his baseball knowledge, but in the execution of his whole pointless attack, going borderline Albom-esque ("I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS!") on poor Jerod over a perfectly reasonable post that didn't deserve to get the national lambasting it did. Partially this is ESPN's fault for orchestrating this whole segment as some sort of poor man's "Costas Now," hoping they could re-open this tired debate again to confuse all the old, out of work people flipping through the channels yesterday afternoon. What is this scary thing you call "blog"?

Rev, you're next!

The glory days of card collecting -- The Hardball Times
Ever wonder what to do with your old baseball cards? Don't try this at home...well at least my home.

And now some Billy Joel-

Poll

Without regard to stats or numbers, who's your favorite Angels' pitcher?

Jered Weaver

87 votes

Joe Saunders

81 votes

John Lackey

70 votes

Ervin Santana

28 votes

Kelvim Escobar

37 votes

Matt Palmer

20 votes

Brian Fuentes

3 votes

Rich Thompson

8 votes

Other (add to comments)

5 votes

339 votes | Poll has closed

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:01:29 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

St. Louis Cardinals' Adam Wainwright (50) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a home run for the fourth consecutive season.

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Some things to read while I finish the last chapter of Help Wanted.

Actually, I probably won't have much time for video games today, as the first pitch for this afternoon's game is already about two hours away. Ryan Braun likely won't be in the starting lineup: X-rays came back negative on Braun's wrist last night (h/t FanShot), but it's still a quick turnaround from a night game to a day game, and resting him today would give him two full days off, with the off day tomorrow. Paul Noonan of Brewed Sports might not have to spend the rest of his life harassing Adam Wainwright after all.

J.J. Hardy, however, is expected to play. Today's game is listed in the top spot in Baseball Musings' Games of the Day.

Adam Wainwright shut the Brewers down last night, and has been lights-out lately. Fungoes credits a change in release point for his sudden dominance. Wainwright's home run last night also gives him one in each of the last four seasons.

Along with the good news, though, the Cardinals got some bad news yesterday: Troy Glaus is being given a 50-50 shot at returning to the lineup in 2009, and Kyle Lohse is expected to be scratched from Friday's start against the Giants.

This week's schedule has been pretty rough for the Brewers, with a road night game on Sunday followed by a day game at home Monday, then a night game last night and another day game today. One would think that would be enough, but Mat Gamel also found time to visit a grade school in Racine before yesterday's game.

Maybe he was campaigning for write-in votes. Ryan Braun and J.J. Hardy are the leading vote-getters at their respective positions in All-Star balloting. In fact, no Brewer position player is lower than second.

Looking back for a moment: The Brewers are 3-1 in 1-0 games this season, but Monday's was the only of the three games to go to extra innings. It was only the seventh 1-0, extra inning victory in franchise history, and just the second since 1989.

For the first time in several days, I don't have a note on Jake Peavy today. I do, however, have Two-Fisted Slopper's argument for Erik Bedard.

I have a handful of draft notes today:

FanGraphs reviews the Brewers' last three drafts and looks ahead to June. They list second base as an organizational need, despite the fact that Cutter Dykstra and Brett Lawrie have both been moved to the position in the last three months. (h/t FanShot)
Andy Seiler has the Brewers selecting Chad Jenkins, a RHP from Kennesaw State, in the first round along with Tommy Joseph, a HS catcher from Arizona, and Brody Colvin, a HS pitcher from Louisiana, in the supplemental round.
Jim Gantner will be the Brewer representative at the draft.

Somewhat related, here are today's minor league notes:

Wily Peralta has been named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week following a week that saw him go two starts without allowing a run with a 17:2 K:BB ratio.
Mike Jones, a former #1 pick who's become a bit of an afterthought, pitched six scoreless innings in his first start in Huntsville and hit 94 on the gun.
Chris Duffy accepted his assignment to Nashville and should join the team today.

Also, Adam McCalvy is looking for mailbag questions, if you have one in mind.

Around the league:

Angels: Placed Scot Shields on the DL with patella tendinitis.
Marlins: Signed Clay Hensley and Gary Glover to minor league deals.
Mets: Placed Jose Reyes (calf tendinitis) and Ryan Church (hamstring) on the DL.
Nationals: Designated Daniel Cabrera for assignment and must add Mike MacDougal to their roster today or lose him to free agency.
Orioles: Placed outfielder Lou Montanez on the DL with torn ligaments in his thumb.
Rays: Jason Bartlett has been placed on the DL with an ankle injury.

Jason Bartlett's DL trip in Tampa opened the door for former Brewer Joe Dillon, who has been called up by the Rays. On top of Dillon (and Gary Glover), here are some other former Brewers in transactions, courtesy of Baseball America:

Former Nashville Sound Abraham Nunez signed with the D-Backs.
The Reds acquired Justin Lehr from the Phillies for future considerations.
The Indians called up Greg Aquino.
The Twins brought Ben Hendrickson off the minor league DL. Hendrickson threw one inning in his 2009 debut, and has now pitched for four teams in the last six seasons in AAA, posting a 3.88 ERA in the process.

Also, Eric Gagne has signed with Quebec in the Can-Am League. Apparently he'll be a starter there, but if he's healthy he probably won't be there long.

Speaking of players who could be available: Ken Rosenthal says the Rockies could be looking to sell, but the Pirates are probably not.

Tomorrow will be a big day in Baltimore, as #1 prospect Matt Wieters is expected to make his major league debut. In a note that's probably not unrelated, the Orioles drew just 10,130 fans to Camden Yards last night, the smallest crowd in that ballpark's history.

The Nationals have the #1 pick in June's draft and have a wide variety of needs, but perhaps they should look for someone who can spell. Roosevelt has two o's and one s.

I'm not sure what's worse, a "Teddy Rossevelt" bobblehead or a Scratch and Sniff Cap.

Oh, and happy birthday to John Jaha, who turns 43 today.

Drink up.

Trio of Solo HR Lifts Angels, Joe Saunders over Mariners

Rev Halofan — Fri, 22 May 2009 04:57:14 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

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Final Score in Seattle: Angels 3, Mariners 0

In a postgame interview with Jose Mota on Fox West, Howie Kendrick confessed he was trying hardest to play outside of his head. The Seattle Mariners were more likely to be quoting Mick Jagger, asking Howie "Cuz you feel so good to you have to drive me out of my head?" Well, the Mariners got off of the Angels cloud as the Halos took 3 of 4 from their division rivals and after a sweep at the hands of the Ranger last weekend now have only lost a half game in the standings in the past week.

While the Rangers were in Detroit showing that a real baseball stadium could contain their Palmeiroesque offense, Joe Saunders was showing that he can handle a major league offense when he faces them in a park with major league dimensions.

The Seattle series saw the Angels bullpen return to its "Golden Era" stature as a shut-down mechanism of the patented Mike Scioscia Sothball machine. Scot Shields took over for Saunders in the 8th and pitched a 1-2-3 inning and Brian Fuentes came in for his 11th Save in the 9th inning. Fuentes is now leading the American League in Saves (tied with Boston's Jonathan Papelbon).

Thursday's game saw three Homeruns from unlikely sources: Juan Rivera, Gary Matthews Jr and Howie Kendrick. Bobby Abreu was out of the lineup with a sprained toe, meaning one of Rivera or Matthews would likely not have been in the game. That was the sum total of the Angels' offense, but with Saunders pitching in a major league park, it was all Hokie Joe needed, now that Kendrick and the gang are out of their heads and into the stands, echoing the Stones in their solo shots, "Don't hang around 'cuz two's a crowd on my cloud!"

Poll

Panther of the Game

Howie Kendrick

11 votes

Gary Matthews, Jr.

6 votes

Juan Rivera

10 votes

Joe Saunders

202 votes

229 votes | Poll has closed

Angels Aware: Seattle Series Preview

Rev Halofan — Mon, 18 May 2009 08:01:41 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

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WHAT: 4 Games

WHERE: Safeco Field, Seattle

WHEN: Tonight thru Thursday evening

WHO: Angels Versus Mariners

HOW: Well the way to beat the Mariners is to score more runs than they do. Their starting pitching is not the greatest and their bullpen is not the greatest either. The hacking singles attack of the Angels is not necessarily the best way to gain and maintain a lead on a team that likes its long bombs and disciplined baserunning as much as the next guy. The defense too is tough, especially if Yuniesky Betancourt has a cup of coffee before the game and plays awake.

GAME 1: John Lackey Versus Jarrod Washburn

Prediction: We will see more pitches out of Lackey and they will be good pitches. Washburn will melt down when our batters see him the 2nd time thru the order. The Mariners will stage a comeback against our bullpen but we will tack on an insurance run or two late and win it 6 - 4.

GAME 2: Matt Palmer Versus Felix Hernandez

Prediction: If we are going to see Shane Loux at any time during this series, it will be tonight, although Palmer's extra day of rest could pay dividends as the movement on his pitches as they near the plate will likely have a little extra zip. Ichiro goes 4-4 against the hanging Palmer curveballs and this one goes extra innings as we battle hard against a Felix who has something to prove. We win it in a funny manner (funny to us, not to Mariner fans) with a bloop squibber by someone under 6 foot tall in our lineup and Justin Speier or Scot Shields end up with the odd victory and Fuentesaurus with the Save, 4-3.

GAME 3: Ervin Santana Versus Jack Ubaskas

Prediction: You don't know Jack, but you don't have to with Ervin Santana dealing his black magic with an Abe Lincoln chinny chin chin and a rosary bead string bleeding out of that $30 million pitching arm. Chris J will stymie the Angels hitters, but Ervin will be embarrassing the Mariners as his slider improves in both dip and bite. Bite Fuentes getting his 2nd save of the series in this 2-1 Angels victory, Mariners!

GAME 4: Joe Saunders Versus Garrett Olson

Prediction: Saunders with an extra day of rest was supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread for the Angels against the Rangers, so let's withhold judgement until we see who is catching him - Mike Napoli judiciously calling for curveballs or Jeff Mathis yeehawing for the dead red high heat. I don't know anything about Garrett Olson and I do not want to waste five minutes of my time researching yet another hurler for the opposition - yawn, a pitcher whose parents thought "Garrett" was a good name for their kid back in 1983, oh wow let's be "new wave" and give the baby a name that rhymes with a vegetable... How about "Megblant?" no, that is not Duran Duran enough... Anyway, big wow, the Mariners have a pitcher and so do we and we leave Seattle late Thursday night with an easy 7-2 victory and it wasn't even that close, Megblant.

Road Warmongers: Angels Beat Orioles 7-5

Rev Halofan — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 02:04:46 -0000

Final Score in Baltimore: Los Angeles Angels 7, Baltimore Orioles 5

The Angels began an eight game road trip with timely hitting and serviceable pitching to hold off the Orioles at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The Orioles led 4-2 at one point, shaking up Angel starter Joe Saunders, an alum of nearby Virginia Tech and a native of Falls Church, Virginia. Well it wasn't the civil war, as confederate Maryland fell to Virginia's latest major son.

The turning point came with another pitcher, though, Scot Shields (whose leadoff walk in the bottom of the 8th seemed to be the beginning of a recent Angel trend of blowing games wide open with bullpen implosions) got a visit on the mound from manager Mike Scioscia. Catcher Mike Napoli was privy to an animated lecture by the dean of the American League's managers. The lecture held and Shields' ERA is back to single digits (9.39) after his scoreless inning. Brian Fuentes gave up a solo homer to Adam Jones in an otherwise uneventful 9th inning for his 4th save as an Angel.

The Angels offense scored 7 runs for the 5th time in 6 games, a feat unlike any recent Angel offense. With bullpen implosions in so many of those games though, they are 3-3 in that past half-dozen. Howie Kendrick had a two-run homer to tie the game in the 4th inning and Kendry Morales had a ringing double down the line to add some insurance in the 7th.

That 7th inning saw Angels baserunners TWICE break a cardinal baseball rule as the first AND last outs were made at third base, with Morales attempting to stretcha double into a trinple as well as draw the throw away from the plate to ensure the 7th run scoring. The inning had led off with Chone Figgins attemoting to stretch a leadoff double into a triple as well. But the baseball gods seemed in a forgiving mood and allowed the bullpen to help the Halos open the roadtrip with a victory, which coupled with Sunday's homestand finale over Seattle added up to the first two-game winning streak of 2009.

Poll

Panther of the Game

Fuentes

4 votes

Kendrick

117 votes

Morales

85 votes

Saunders

46 votes

252 votes | Poll has closed