July 3rd, 2009, 7:02 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM
ANAHEIM
With an off day next Thursday, the Angels won’t need a fifth starter again until after the All-Star break and Angels manager Mike Scioscia admitted Friday that they are “probably not” going to use one.
 Sean O'Sullivan That would seem to make Saturday’s start the last with the Angels for O’Sullivan — for now.
The Angels will likely want him to continue starting on a regular basis with Triple-A Salt Lake. Matt Palmer, on the other hand, moves into the bullpen where Scioscia said he could fill “a variety of roles” and not simply be a long man turned to only when things go haywire with the starting pitcher.
“He’s one of the few guys down there who can give us 60 pitches if we need it so that would be the primary thing. But we don’t see Matt as strictly a ’staff-saver,’” Scioscia said.
Posted in: Angels • Mike Scioscia • Sean O'Sullivan | Post a Comment »
July 3rd, 2009, 5:40 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM
ANAHEIM
Angels right-hander Ervin Santana returns from the DL — again — tonight to make his first start since June 11.
But he has yet to demonstrate he has recovered all of his velocity or movement since sitting out the first six weeks of the season with an elbow injury. The Angels now seem resigned to asking Santana to figure out how to pitch with his lesser stuff and not expect him to be the dynamic pitcher of 2008.
“The first thing is how his mechanics are which will bring him to the velocity and command he needs,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of what he will be looking for tonight.
“If he’s in his mechanics a couple things will happen. He’ll be pitch efficient and that will allow him to get a point in the game. … If he has that good hip turn generating velocity without throwing just with his arm — if he does that, I’ll think you’ll see the kind of (stat) line from him we need.”
Tonight’s lineups:
ANGELS
3B Chone Figgins (5 for 8 in past two games after 1-for-21 slump)
RF Bobby Abreu (31 RBI in past 30 games)
CF Torii Hunter (hits in 20 of past 22 games)
DH Vladimir Guerrero (only 10 of 44 hits have been extra bases)
LF Juan Rivera (Happy 31st Birthday)
1B Kendry Morales (extra-base hit in 11 of past 16 starts)
2B Maicer Izturis (17 runs, 14 RBI in past 15 games started)
C Jeff Mathis (hitting .293 at home, .107 on road — largest differential among major-leaguers with minimum of 40 at-bats this season)
SS Erick Aybar
RHP Ervin Santana
ORIOLES
2B Brian Roberts
CF Adam Jones
RF Nick Markakis
1B Aubrey Huff
LF Nolan Reimold
DH Luke Scott
3B Melvin Mora
C Matt Wieters
SS Robert Andino
RHP David Hernandez
Posted in: Angels • Bobby Abreu • Chone Figgins • Erick Aybar • Ervin Santana • Jeff Mathis • Juan Rivera • Kendry Morales • Maicer Izturis • Mike Scioscia • Torii Hunter • Vladimir Guerrero | Post a Comment »
July 3rd, 2009, 3:43 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM
The Nick Adenhart Memorial Fund set up in the wake of the Angels pitcher’s tragic death made its first donation this week — a $5,000 check delivered to the Little League where Adenhart played as a kid.
Nick’s father, Jim, presented the check to the Halfway Little League in Maryland during a ceremony before the start of the district tournament for nine- and 10-year-old All-Stars. Nick’s grandparents were also on hand.
“This is where it all started,” Jim Adenhart said.
A similar presentation is scheduled for this week at the Hagerstown (Md.) Pony League.
Posted in: Angels • Nick Adenhart | 3 Comments »
July 3rd, 2009, 6:35 am by Earl Bloom, staff writer
 As promised Thursday, here are some thoughts on how the Angels can get better this season, and beyond. They are out there, but all mine, so don’t blame anyone else …
1. Get some more relief pitchers who can get major-league hitters out on a reasonable basis — If you are going to carry eight pitchers in your bullpen, it should be mandatory that at least five of them fit that description.
Let’s review: Brian Fuentes? Check. Darren Oliver? Check. Jason Bulger? Lately, most of the time. Matt Palmer gets a pass because he hasn’t been in the pen that long.
The other four? It might be the first-time in major-league history a contending team has carried FOUR mopup men. While that might be harsh, it’s what I see. And that’s 16 percent of a roster.
I look at the Dodgers’ retooled bullpen and, before you get to Jonathan Broxton, you see Ramon Trancoso, Ronald Belisario, Guillermo Moto and Brent Leach. Mota has been around a long time, and still has a great arm. But who ever heard of the other three before this season? Someone over there is doing a great job identifying pitchers who can execute pitches.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Angels • Brandon Wood • Brian Fuentes • Chone Figgins • Darren Oliver • Dodgers • Gary Matthews • John Lackey • Kendry Morales • Mickey Hatcher • Mike Scioscia • Philadelphia Phillies • Reggie Willits • Robb Quinlan • Sean Rodriguez • Seattle Mariners • Vladimir Guerrero • Adrian Beltre • Brent Leach • Guillermo Mota • Jason Bulger • Jonathan Broxton • Matt Palmer • Ramon Trancoso • Rodrigo Lopez • Ronald Belisario • Terry Evans | 31 Comments »
July 3rd, 2009, 6:00 am by MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COM
The Angels are sending a huge contingent to the All-Star game in St. Louis later this month, but most of the traveling party won’t ever step on the field at Busch Stadium.
A dozen or so employees of the front office are going to get a firsthand look at the preparations involved in hosting the three-day event.
After a 21-year hiatus, the All-Star game returns to Angel Stadium in July of 2010.
Among those traveling for the event _ in addition to the players _ are team president Dennis Kuhl, senior vice president John Carpino, vice president for communications Tim Mead and director of communications Nancy Mazmanian.
A couple of weeks after the game, representatives of Major League Baseball are scheduled to travel to Anaheim for further meetings on the event, Mead said.
All the Angels’ efforts could benefit the franchise’s exposure, but it won’t necessarily benefit the team financially. All All-Star revenues go to MLB, some of which are distributed back to the 30 teams.
The Angels have already begun the preparations.
“It’s a much bigger deal than it was in 1989 and it was a big deal then,” Mead said. “We’re excited for the community. It’s a tremendous amount of work for our organization, but you have a great sense of pride when it’s all said and done.”
Posted in: All-Star Game • Angels | Post a Comment »
July 2nd, 2009, 9:26 pm by MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COM
Veterans Bobby Abreu and John Lackey helped the Angels turn the page on an ugly loss.
Abreu pounded two home runs and drove in four of the Angels’ five runs and Lackey motored through eight efficient innings to give the Angels a one-game lead over the Texas Rangers, who stunned them with a 9-7 victory on Hank Blalock’s home run the night before.
It wasn’t as if Abreu had been cold entering the game. His 23 June RBIs were the most in the month by any AL player other than teammate Juan Rivera.
Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie tried to sneak a fastball in on Abreu’s hands in the fifth inning and Abreu pulled it into the right-center field stands for a three-run shot. His fourth-inning blast landed a few seats over.
Another veteran who seems to have his feet under him is Lackey, who allowed just four hits in eight innings. Lackey has struck out 31 batters in his past 30 innings.
His strong, 114-pitch outing made the bullpen largely irrelevant. Closer Brian Fuentes was the only other pitcher and he worked efficiently to pick up his league-leading 22nd save.
Posted in: Angels • Bobby Abreu • John Lackey | Post a Comment »
July 2nd, 2009, 5:40 pm by MARK SAXON, OCREGISTER.COM
* Manager Mike Scioscia said he couldn’t sleep Wednesday night as he relived all the Angels’ blunders in a 9-7 loss to the Texas Rangers.
* First-round pick Mike Trout took batting practice on the field before the game. Afterward, he spoke with the media and said he hopes to be here for good in 2-3 years. That may be a tad ambitious, since he was in high school a month ago.
ORIOLES
Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Nolan Reimold LF
Luke Scott DH
Ty Wigginton 3B
Matt Wieters C
Robert Andino SS
ANGELS
Chone Figgins 3B
Bobby Abreu RF
Torii Hunter CF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Juan Rivera LF
Kendry Morales 1B
Maicer Izturis 2B
Mike Napoli C
Erick Aybar SS
Posted in: Angels • Baltimore Orioles • Mike Scioscia | 1 Comment »
July 2nd, 2009, 2:04 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM
Double-A first baseman Mark Trumbo edged Chris Carter, 11-10, to win the Home Run Derby contest before Wednesday’s Texas League All-Star Game.
Trumbo (who was also selected to the North Division roster for the game) trailed Carter 10-7 going into the final round but added four in the final go-round while Carter ran dry.
Here’s what Trumbo had to say to MiLB.com:
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Angels • Mark Trumbo • Minor leaguers | 4 Comments »
July 2nd, 2009, 1:57 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM
 The Rangers celebrate Hank Blalock's walkoff HR Wednesday ARLINGTON, Tex.
Hank Blalock’s walkoff home run overshadowed what was the theme of the night to that point — how dumb could the Angels be on the bases?
“We shot ourselves in the foot too many times,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “That was not the best of baserunning tonight and we paid the price for it.”
Let’s relive the magic:
Second inning — After leading off with a double, Vladimir Guerrero was trapped off second base when Juan Rivera bounced a ground ball back to the pitcher. Guerrero stayed in a rundown long enough for Rivera to round first and commit to going to second — but not long enough for him to get there safely. Guerrero was tagged out and Rivera was thrown out easily at second for a double play.
Sixth inning — With one out, Guerrero at third and Rivera at first, Maicer Izturis hit a pop up to shallow center field. Marlon Byrd raced in and made a nice sliding catch. Guerrero tagged up at third and headed home — but Rivera had already rounded second and was easily doubled off first. Guerrero barely beat the play home so that his run was recorded. The score was 2-1 Texas at that point.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Angels • Chone Figgins • Juan Rivera • Maicer Izturis • Mike Scioscia • Torii Hunter • Vladimir Guerrero | 1 Comment »
July 2nd, 2009, 1:48 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM
Native Texan John Lackey said yesterday that the fact he grew up 150 miles west of Dallas rooting for the Rangers and idolizing Nolan Ryan doesn’t give the Rangers any special advantage when he hits the free-agent market next season.
Here’s a more tangible reason the Rangers don’t look to be big players for Lackey (who is more concerned with a different location — the high-rent neighborhood of CC Sabathia’s salary) — the deepening financial problems of Rangers owner Tom Hicks.
Posted in: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
July 2nd, 2009, 11:10 am by Al Balderas, staff writer
The Angels might have ended June and started July with some rough patches but there is a bright side to the way things went for them the last few weeks.
Even with the Joe Saunders shellacking on June 30, the Angels went 17-9 in June. When the month started, they were 4 1/2 games behind the Texas Rangers. When June turned to July, the were 1 1/2 games ahead of those same Rangers.
Not only was this the third consecutive season that the Angels began July in sole possession of first place but their six-game climb and subsequent move into first place was their largest such turnaround for one month since June, 1988. That was the year the Angels started June trailing the Rangers by 5 1/2 games and ended it with a 3 1/2-game lead.
You want more? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Angels | 1 Comment »
July 2nd, 2009, 10:56 am by Ellen Bell, Afternoon Angel
The best part about writing this blog is meeting so many Angels fans. The diversity of the fan base constantly surprises me.
A few weeks agao, I watched the Angel game with Sally Finnen of Irvine. She and her husband Bill took time out on their 53rd anniversary to meet me at The Claim Jumper and take in a few innings of Halo Baseball.
Sally is a die hard fan who has followed the team faithfully ever since they came to Anaheim. I met her at the Lake View Senior Center, where I volunteer and she takes aerobics classes. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Afternoon Angel | Post a Comment »
July 2nd, 2009, 10:44 am by Earl Bloom, staff writer
Attorney-bashing is almost an American birthright, but this is taking it too far.
Police said uber-agent Scott Boras’ Land Rover received $2,000 in damage when it was vandalized outside the Bandera Restaurant in Corona del Mar on Monday evening.
According to the coronadelmartoday.com report, it seems Boras was inside the restaurant at the time — which makes this attack cowardly, as well as senseless. I am just glad it was only his windows that were damaged.
All kinds of flip lines occur to me — where was Arte Moreno between 9:15-10:10 p.m., for example — but really, vandalism isn’t funny (not that I have ever had a car anyone would give a second look to, let alone strike with a baseball bat).
Fans being fans, I understand why they dislike Boras so much. He does his job too well, and either takes players away from the fans’ teams, and/or gets them what is regarded as too much money. Believe me, Mark Teixeira doesn’t think Boras is bad for the game.
If you don’t like what Teixeira is paid, blame the folks paying him before you blame the facilitator. And certainly, don’t dent his ride.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Alex Rodriguez • Angels • Arte Moreno • Dodgers • Former Angels • Jered Weaver • Manny Ramirez • Mark Teixeira • New York Yankees • Scott Boras • Albert Pujols • Magglio Ordonez | 18 Comments »
|
|
