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Archive for the 'Reggie Willits' Tag

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Angels’ young players heading to winter ball

October 21st, 2008, 8:21 am by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

A number of the Angels’ young players will be playing winter ball this season. The main place to keep your eye on will be the Estrellas team in the Dominican Republic, run by Angels coach Alfredo Griffin.

Planning to play for Griffin this winter are Angels outfielder Reggie Willits, infielder Brandon Wood, catcher Bobby Wilson and right-hander Shane Loux in addition to outfield prospect Brad Coon (team-high 17 steals at Triple-A Salt Lake last summer) and C Ben Johnson (a Double-A Texas League All-Star).

Willits will be trying to recoup the at-bats he lost by spending most of the summer buried on the Angels’ bench. He hit just .194 in 82 games (and 108 at-bats) this season — a big step back after hitting .293 in 136 games the year before. A good showing in winter ball will re-establish his credentials as an every-day option in the majors (if not for the Angels, then for some other team.)

But Wood will be the most important one to watch. Steady playing time in a highly-competitive winter league will be a good test of whether his second-half surge in Triple-A this summer really did signal his readiness for a major-league job.

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Posted in: Angels • • • • • • | 11 Comments »

Thinking outside the box — Angels lineup changes?

October 3rd, 2008, 9:23 am by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Angels manager Mike Scioscia would not divulge his Game 2 lineup during Thursday’s off-day workout. He said only that he was “considering a few things” but “the core of our lineup will remain the same.” Read the rest of this entry »

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

Willits for Vlad — to run or not to run

October 2nd, 2008, 3:28 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

With the Angels trailing by a run in Game 1, Vladimir Guerrero reached base with a one-out single in the eighth inning. But Angels manager Mike Scioscia opted not to pinch-run for Guerrero — even with him representing the tying run and running on knees so troublesome Scioscia has decided to limit him to DH in this series.

“Vlad is running well,” Scioscia said today when asked about sending Reggie Willits in as a pinch-runner. “The reason he’s not playing the outfield is to take a little pressure off what he’s doing out there. Once he gets going, he can move.

“There’s no problem at all with Vlad’s running.”

If that’s the case, then the issue was his judgment. Guerrero ran through a clear stop sign by third-base coach Dino Ebel on Torii Hunter’s bloop hit just beyond first base. Guerrero was thrown out by a wide margin trying to go to third base on the blooper.

“We talk about reads and getting good reads,” Scioscia said. “Sometimes you get tunnel vision (following the ball).”

Guerrero’s decision was “not a bad thing,” Scioscia said, even though the result was.

“They’re a byproduct of being aggressive that’s going to look ugly,” he said. “But I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve swung a game in our favor with aggressive baserunning.

“If you’re going station to station, you’re not going to beat these guys.”

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

Angels set playoff roster — Jepsen in, Speier out

September 28th, 2008, 6:08 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Angels manager Mike Scioscia confirmed the obvious after Sunday’s game – that John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders (in that order) will start in the first round against the Boston Red Sox.

He also revealed the Angels’ roster for the first-round series. They will go with a 10-man pitching staff including both displaced starters (Jon Garland and Jered Weaver) and rookie reliever Kevin Jepsen (who did not make his big-league debut until Sept. 8).

Left out is veteran reliever Justin Speier.

The 15 position players include both Reggie Willits and Gary Matthews Jr. as well as Kendry Morales and Brandon Wood but not Sean Rodriguez.

Here’s the list:

PITCHERS (10)

RHPs John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Jon Garland, Jered Weaver, Francisco Rodriguez, Scot Shields, Jose Arredondo and Kevin Jepsen

LHPs Joe Saunders and Darren Oliver

CATCHERS (2)

Jeff Mathis and Mike Napoli

INFIELDERS (7)

Mark Teixeira, Howie Kendrick, Chone Figgins, Erick Aybar, Brandon Wood, Kendry Morales and Robb Quinlan

OUTFIELDERS (6)

Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter, Gary Matthews Jr., Juan Rivera, Garret Anderson and Reggie Willits

Posted in: Angels • Francisco Rodriguez • Mike Scioscia • Vladimir Guerrero • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • | 3 Comments »

Maybe on Sunday….

September 27th, 2008, 7:58 pm by Al Balderas, staff writer

The Angels’ chances of notching their 100th victory of the season on Saturday night suddenly appear bleak.

The Texas Rangers scored four runs in the sixth inning and have built an 8-1 lead over the Angels.

Yes, it’s the same Angels’ squad that lost, 12-1, on Friday night. Yes, it’s the same Angels’ squad that managed just five hits in in that 11-run loss.

Garret Anderson hit a leadoff double in the sixth inning of tonight’s game for the Angels’ fifth hit. Pinch-runner Reggie Willits scored two groundouts later to make the score 8-2.

Posted in: Angels • • • | 1 Comment »

Rally Monday at Angel Stadium

September 25th, 2008, 5:51 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

The annual “Rally Monday” event will held Monday afternoon in all the playoff cities.

The festivities at Angel Stadium will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m. capped by a fireworks show.

Angels broadcasters Rex Hudler and Steve Physioc will host the event. Several Angels players are expected to attend including Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli, Howie Kendrick, Reggie Willits and Torii Hunter. Former Angels Tim Salmon and Bobby Grich are also scheduled to appear.

The 2008 A.L. West championship banner will be unveiled and there will be an appearance by the U.S. Navy Leapfrogs. The band SmashMouth is also scheduled to perform.

Parking and admission is free. The gates will open at 5 p.m.

Posted in: Angels • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

Kendrick back in the lineup — Angels vs. Mariners

September 22nd, 2008, 5:46 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

For the first time since August 27, the Angels will have their starting infield back together tonight — but only for a few innings.

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

Figgins back — Angels vs. Rangers Sunday

September 21st, 2008, 12:01 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Slowly, the Angels are starting to get are their parts back.

Saturday, Vladimir Guerrero returned to the lineup after a week off to rest his ailing right knee. (He’s at DH today).

Today, Chone Figgins is back at third base for the first time since Tuesday. Tomorrow — or Tuesday — Howie Kendrick could be back on the field to test his injured hamstring.

This could mean a lot of questions about the Angels’ playoff roster will be answered in the next few days.

“I think every day we keep getting good news from these guys there’s one less scenario you have to worry about — and that’s good,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “The guys we need to get healthy are getting back in there.”

Today’s lineups follow:

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Posted in: Angels • Mike Scioscia • Vladimir Guerrero • • • • • • • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

Hunter back in — Angels vs. A’s Thursday

September 18th, 2008, 11:45 am by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

His right cheek still makes it look like he’s smuggling nuts but Torii Hunter is back in the lineup for the Angels today. Garret Anderson gets the day off against another A’s left-hander.

ANGELS

LF Reggie Willits

RF Gary Matthews Jr.

DH Mark Teixeira

CF Torii Hunter

3B Robb Quinlan

1B Kendry Morales

C  Mike Napoli

SS Brandon Wood

2B Sean Rodriguez

LHP Joe Saunders

A’S

CF Rajai Davis

LF Aaron Cunningham

C  Kurt Suzuki

DH Emil Brown

RF Chris Denorfia

SS Bobby Crosby

2B Cliff Pennington

3B Jack Hannahan

1B Jeff Baisley

LHP Josh Outman

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A’s 3, Angels 2 (final)

September 17th, 2008, 9:41 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

A dull game came to life in the ninth inning at McAfee Coliseum.

Mark Teixeira had half of the Angels’ four hits through eight innings and was their only baserunner to get past first in that time.

The A’s sent closer Brad Ziegler out to protect a 1-0 lead in the ninth inning but Teixeira’s two-run home run gave the Angels a 2-1 lead.

The home run was the first Ziegler had allowed since he was pitching for Double-A Midland on August 17, 2005.

Teixeira also had two doubles off A’s starter Greg Smith. The Angels first baseman came into the game having gone 1 for 11 in his first four games back after missing two games with a staph infection.  He still has gone hitless in consecutive games only twice since joining the Angels on July 30.

But the Angels threw the game away in the bottom of the ninth.

Daric Barton led off with a soft single through the middle and went to second when center fielder Gary Matthews Jr.’s throw back to the infield got loose for an error. After Jack Hannahan walked, Cliff Pennington squared around to bunt. He pulled it back, took a full swing and bounced one high off home plate.

Rodriguez motioned for catcher Jeff Mathis to let him make the play but Rodriguez had to rush his throw and threw wildly to first base. The tying and winning runs scored while right fielder Reggie Willits struggled to retrieve the ball near the Angels’ bullpen in foul territory.

The loss and a win by the Tampa Bay Rays over the Boston Red Sox trimmed the Angels’ lead for the best record in the American League to 1 1/2 games.

Posted in: Angels • Francisco Rodriguez • • • • | 1 Comment »

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