Daily Update - 06/02/09

Baseball Video Highlights & Clips
05.31.09: Morales caps miracle win for Angels - Video | angelsbaseball.com
Daily Recap: Kendry Morales capped the Angels' seven-run comeback with a walk-off RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning

Up next for Angels: at Toronto - Los Angeles Times
Angels travel to Canada to take on the Blue Jays featuring staff aces Joe Saunders and Roy Halladay.

Kelvim Escobar is shaky in rehab start - Los Angeles Times
Kelvim Escobar , in what is expected to be his final minor league rehabilitation start before rejoining the Angels, gave up five runs -- four earned -- and eight hits in five innings for triple-A Salt Lake against Reno on Monday night.

Buster Olney Blog - ESPN
Buster Olney runs down some upcoming free agents including Chone Figgins and John Lackey:

Chone Figgins: On the plus side, he's a guy who knows how to win, knows how to play multiple positions, knows how to run the bases, and he has a .373 on-base percentage; he's the type of player who might be a coveted luxury for a team like the Yankees, Mets or Red Sox because of his versatility. On the other hand, he's going to be 32 in January, and he'll probably do well to get a three-year deal.

John Lackey: He is likely going to get the biggest deal of any free agent this winter; he might be the only free agent who gets more than $50 million. He is 30 years old and he is renowned as a bulldog, having had four consecutive seasons with ERAs under four runs per game.

Meeting called to help the bullpen - Los Angeles Times
Within this article, there's speculation the Angels may be looking to deal for bullpen help "The Angels are also believed to be exploring outside options. Among the relievers who could be available in trades: Colorado's Huston Street, Arizona's Tony Pena and Chad Qualls, Houston's LaTroy Hawkins and Tim Byrdak, and Cleveland's Matt Herges and Rafael Betancourt."

The Kendrick Conundrum - Angels blog - OCRegister.com
The Angels soon might have a difficult decision about what to do with second baseman Howie Kendrick.

Los Angeles Sean Rodriguez Ready For the Call - Bleacher Report
Salt Lake City second basemen Sean Rodriguez leads the Triple-A PCL with 17 home runs (tied with recent Cub call up Jake Fox) and is patiently awaiting a recall to the Los Angeles Angels. There is a small obstacle: Angels manager Mike Scioscia...

Why Long Beach Isn't Detroit: How Southern California survived the collapse of aircraft manufacturing without a bailout - Reason Magazine
Interesting non-baseball article by Matt Welch:

"I grew up less than one mile from what was once the biggest aircraft manufacturer in the United States: McDonnell Douglas, in Long Beach, California. At its height during World War II, Douglas was cranking out one airplane in those huge hangars down the street every two hours, using a work force that peaked at more than 150,000. As recently as the late 1980s, employment was in the 80,000s, allowing many a high school grad to earn an upper-middle-class wage with generous benefits for twisting lug nuts on an assembly line. It was a dream set-up, and like most dreams it came to an abrupt end."