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Archive for the 'Maicer Izturis' Tag

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Tuesday’s lineups — Angels at Detroit

September 2nd, 2008, 2:44 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

The “grouping” of Chone Figgins and Garret Anderson is back in the top two spots of the lineup.

But the pairing you might want to keep a closer eye on is at the bottom of the lineup — Brandon Wood and Sean Rodriguez.

With injuries to Maicer Izturis, Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar, one of those two rookies will be making the post-season roster. If Kendrick and/or Aybar is not healthy in time for the post-season, one or both could be starting when the Angels begin their playoff run.

ANGELS

3B Chone Figgins

DH Garret Anderson

1B Mark Teixeira

RF Vladimir Guerrero

CF Torii Hunter

LF Juan Rivera

C   Mike Napoli

SS Brandon Wood

2B Sean Rodriguez

LHP Joe Saunders

TIGERS

CF Curtis Granderson

2B Placido Polanco

RF Magglio Ordonez

1B Miguel Cabrera

DH Gary Sheffield

LF Marcus Thames

SS Edgar Renteria

C   Brandon Inge

3B Ryan Raburn

RHP Chris Lambert

Posted in: Angels • Vladimir Guerrero • • • • • • • • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Figgins back in lineup Thursday

August 28th, 2008, 8:07 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Angels third baseman Chone Figgins said the toe problem that sidelined him for Wednesday’s game is a recurring thing that seems to crop up every year, usually after a day game when the dirt at Angel Stadium hardens in the sun.

“It feels like a cramp in there,” he said, indicating the base of the big toe (this time on his left foot). “Me, I’m a person who’s always on his toes – playing the infield, running the bases – so it’s just a yearly thing.”

He said it usually clears up quickly enough and he was back in the lineup Thursday – his aim even if the Angels had a full complement of healthy infielders.

“It feels good and if it feels good, it’s hard for me to sit,” Figgins said.

With Maicer Izturis, Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar all injured, Figgins becomes an option at the middle infield spots. But that is not an avenue Angels manager Mike Scioscia wants to go down.

“If we have to tap into Figgy’s versatility, we will,” Scioscia said. “But right now, he’s our starting third baseman.”

Posted in: Angels • Mike Scioscia • • • • | Post a Comment »

No Mandatory English in baseball clubhouses

August 26th, 2008, 1:52 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Ten days ago, Angels  shortstop Erick Aybar made a spectacular catch at Progressive Field in Cleveland, robbing Ryan Garko of a game-changing bloop hit with the bases loaded.

When reporters asked to talk with Aybar about the play after the game, he turned to teammate and fellow Dominican Ervin Santana to act as translator.

Like most of the Spanish-speaking players on the Angels — Aybar, Vladimir Guerrero, Juan Rivera, Maicer Izturis — Aybar speaks and understands some English. But he doesn’t feel comfortable enough in his second language to conduct an interview. Santana, Francisco Rodriguez, Jose Arredondo and Kelvim Escobar do.

None of us are really sure what language Justin Speier speaks so an interpreter hasn’t been found.

This report indicates the LPGA is planning to suspend players who cannot pass an English skills evaluation test.

The LPGA’s issue seems to center on the growing number of Asian golfers.

Baseball is guilty of a double standard in this regard. Nearly all of the Japanese players that have broken into the big leagues in recent seasons have had a translator provided for them who travels with the team — even after that player has picked up our language.

I remember many times while covering the Dodgers when Hideo Nomo or Kaz Ishii would begin to answer the question even before the interpreter had translated it into Japanese.

The translator relationship (Japanese or Spanish) is often used by players to keep the media at arm’s length.

The Angels do not provide a translator for their Spanish-speaking players who instead turn to broadcaster Jose Mota, coach Alfredo Griffin or video coordinator Diego Lopez to translate in interview situations. Many teams provide English lessons for minor-league players from Latin America though most learn what English they know either from teammates or by watching TV.

Posted in: Angels • Francisco Rodriguez • Vladimir Guerrero • • • • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Season-ending surgery for Izturis

August 15th, 2008, 3:06 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

The examination of Maicer Izturis’ injured left thumb Thursday revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament. Izturis will have season-ending surgery on Tuesday.

“That’s a tough loss,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “We feel terrible for Izzy because we know how much a part of our club he was. It’s obviously going to put some more weight on other players to carry the load.

“We have to move on but he was a big part of what we’ve done.”

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Izturis to DL, Morales up

August 15th, 2008, 1:19 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

As expected, the Angels have placed Maicer Izturis on the 15-day disabled list with his left thumb injury and called up Kendry Morales from Triple-A.

Izturis originally sprained his thumb on a diving play at Yankee Stadium on August 1. He sat out six games then returned to play twice on the homestand. But he re-injured the thumb when he dove for a ball in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s loss to the Mariners.

Izturis did not make the trip to Cleveland with the team and was scheduled to be examined by hand and wrist specialist Dr. Steven Shin on Friday.

Morales was batting .338 with 15 home runs and 68 RBIs in 75 games for Triple-A Salt Lake this season. He went 0 for 1 in one appearance during a brief callup by the Angels earlier this season.

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Outside the boxscore - Numbers game

August 14th, 2008, 10:30 am by Ellen Bell, Afternoon Angel

  JUSTIN SPEIER HAD a mini-run of three consecutive scoreless outings - no, it’s not much though still pretty big for the struggling right-hander. But after giving up a three-run home run to Wladimir Balentien and absorbing a loss on Wednesday against the Mariners he has given up at least one run in three of his past four outings and it remains next to impossible to put him into a game situation.

  He was out there against the Mariners in the 12th inning only because Jose Arredondo, Scot Shields, Francisco Rodriguez and Darren Oliver had already been used.

  But, say this … when Speier loses, it gets ugly. He is now 1-5 and in those five losses he has worked a total of four innings, giving up nine hits including five home runs and 11 earned runs. His ERA in those games is a whopper - 24.75. …

  BALENTIEN, the guy who hit the game-winning home run off of Speier, had struck out four times in five trips to the plate when he stepped to the plate in the 12th inning.

  Worse, this season he has now struck out 51 times in 146 at-bats and has only 31 hits. His batting average is .212 and his strikeout average is .349. …

  VLADIMIR GUERRERO was intentionally walked by the Mariners in the seventh inning, with two outs and a runner at third. It was the first for the Angels’ right fielder since July 12.

  The Angels had five intentional walks since the pass on Guerrero a little more than a month ago - three to Howie Kendrick and one to Garret Anderson and Mark Teixeira. …

  ANDERSON EXTENDED a hitting streak to 18 games with a single in the third. With Ichiro Suzuki going hitless in six trips to the plate on Wednesday, Anderson has the longest active streak in the major leagues and the longest this season by an Angel.

  Ichiro had an 18-game hitting streak working, but failed to come close to a hit. The 0 for 6 was the seventh of his major league career. …

  IT LOOKS AS IF MAICER IZTURIS could miss some time again after reinjuring the left thumb that he sprained on Aug. 1 in a 1-0 victory over the Yankees in New York.

  Erick Aybar has started when Izturis has been sidelined. This month, he is batting .300 (9 for 30) with a double and four RBI. …

Posted in: Angels • Vladimir Guerrero • • • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

Izturis update

August 14th, 2008, 7:00 am by Ellen Bell, Afternoon Angel

  Maicer Izturis left the Angels’ clubhouse Wednesday night with his left thumb and wrist in a splint and will be examined by team medical personnel on Thursday after the shortstop was reinjured trying to make a diving play on a ground ball single.

  Izturis sprained his left thumb on Aug. 1 in New York and did not start in the next six games. He made one start, then sat out on Sunday against the Yankees and Tuesday against Seattle because the Angels were facing left-handed pitchers in Andy Pettitte and Jarrod Washburn and he still was having some discomfort when batting right-handed.

  He was 3 for 5 with two doubles, two runs scored and a RBI before he reinjured the thumb trying to make a play on a base hit to left by Yuniesky Betancourt in the ninth inning.

  ”His thumb is pretty sore right now so we’re concerned, but we’ll wait until Dr. (Lewis) Yocum checks him out and gives us a little direction as to what’s happening,” Manager Mike Scioscia said after the game.

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Outside the boxscore

August 9th, 2008, 7:00 pm by Ellen Bell, Afternoon Angel

  SAY THIS FOR VLADIMIR GUERRERO … The guy does not like to be embarrassed.

  The Angels’ right fielder has not struck out four times in a game since Aug. 17, 1999, in an extra-inning game against San Francisco. Then with the Montreal Expos, Guerrero whiffed twice against left-hander Shawn Estes and twice against reliever John Johnstone.

vlod.jpg

  Since then, Guerrero has become pretty nasty when at the plate with a chance to strikeout for a fourth time - which the Yankees found out on Saturday in the Angels 11-4 victory, their 11th win in the past 15 games against New York at Angel Stadium.

  After striking out in the second, fourth and sixth innings against Yankees’ starter Dan Giese, Guerrero came up to lead off the eighth inning, the score quite suddenly tied at 3. He crushed the first pitch that he saw from Edwar Ramirez over the wall in right center to give the Angels a lead that would grow considerably and later added a RBI single.

  Guerrero also struck out in his first three plate appearances in an April 11 game at Seattle, a whiff and a whiff and a whiff against Felix Hernandez.

  But in his next at-bat, Guerrero singled in a run and in his final at-bat doubled.

  Before that, he had not struck out three times to start a game since May 10, 2003 against the Dodgers. He then was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in a run.

  Since that four strikeout game against the Giants, Guerrero is 4 for 7 (.571) with four RBI after striking out in his first three plate apperances in a game and 5 for 9 (.556) with two home runs and seven RBI after a third strikeout at any point in a game. …

  WHAT TOOK SO LONG to get into the Yankees’ bullpen?

  It was Giese, really.

  The Yankees’ right-hander has spent most of the year in the bullpen and was only going to be allowed to throw 80 to 85 pitches on Saturday, but the Angels just could not run deep counts against him. This is not a team that is known for working counts - or even thinking about working counts. But it actually looked like they trying to make the Yankees’ starter work a little - Giese was just pounding the strike zone.

izzi.jpg

  The Angels’ first seven batters all took a called strike one. And in the first five innings they took as many called strikes as Giese threw balls - 19. …

  SO, HOW ABOUT MAICER IZTURIS? The hardest Giese worked in any one plate appearance was in the sixth, against the Angels’ shortstop.

  Izturis worked an eight-pitch at-bat, after starting down in the count 1-2. He ended up lofting a fly ball to right, but whether not it cost Giese a little oomph on his next pitch, the Angels finally had some results.

  Mark Teixeira came up and hit it out to right center for the Angels’ first run. …

  THE ANGELS HIT three home runs against the Yankees’ bullpen - Garret Anderson and Mike Napoli hit homers against Jose Veras and Guerrero hit his against Ramirez. There may be some quality arms down there in that New York bullpen, but that group has now allowed 46 home runs and 168 earned runs, the third highest totals in the American League. … Think the Yankees make it into the post-season? If they do, it won’t come easily. Of their remaining 45 games, 26 will be played on the road and 32 will come against teams that are playing at .500 or better. Oh, and counting Giese, who was born in Anaheim, the Yankees have five rookies on their pitching staff right now. … The home run by Alex Rodriguez in the sixth inning was his 26th this season and 61st in his career against the Angels. He has more home runs against the Angels than any other team. …

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Napoli activated, Izturis ready to play

August 8th, 2008, 4:56 pm by Ellen Bell, Afternoon Angel

  The Angels activated catcher Mike Napoli on Friday, prior to the start of a three-game series against the New York Yankees and Manager Mike Scioscia said that he would be in the starting lineup on Saturday.

  Napoli has been sidelined since July 7 with inflammation in his right shoulder.

  Scioscia also said that infielder Maicer Izturis, who has been out with a sprained thumb, is available to play and also would be in the starting lineup for the second game of this series.

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Play ball — Angels vs. Yankees

August 2nd, 2008, 12:13 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

The weather has cleared up and the Old-Timers’ Day game has begun — after a pronouncement during the introdcutions that “The sun always shines on the Yankees’ empire.”

Ugh.

Angels shortstop Maicer Izturis jammed the thumb on his glove hand while making that ‘web gem’ play last night. He is day to day.

Today’s lineups follow:

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