WEDNESDAY ANGELS ROUNDUP: Who Is This Santana? Who Was Teixeira?

Up next for Angels: Wednesday vs. Tampa Bay - Los Angeles Times
Trevor Bell vs. Jeff Niemann

Tampa Bay vs. LA Angels - August 12, 2009 - MLB.com: Gameday
MLB.com Gameday Preview: Tampa Bay vs. LA Angels - August 12, 2009

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim -  FOX Sports on MSN
If there's one pitcher the Los Angeles Angels would love to add to their rotation for the pennant race, it's last season's version of Ervin Santana.

NBC SPORTS & COVERS.COM: Matchups, Odds, and Injuries

Team Reports - CBSSports.com
INF Maicer Izturis was hit in the right elbow by a pitch from Rays LHP David Price and left the game after four innings. He went for precautionary X-rays, but the preliminary diagnosis was a bruised right elbow.

It's All-Opinions day - Angels Unplugged - Los Angeles Times
Who was that guy impersonating Ervin Santana on Tuesday night? That's what makes the 2008 All-Star so frustrating. The ability is there. But the question remains, can he pitch like that in consecutive starts?

Angels release Justin Speier - Los Angeles Times
"We felt it was appropriate, not only [for] the organization, but for the player, to make the move now as opposed to getting down the road in the season and making the move at some point later," General Manager Tony Reagins said.

Angels Look To Upgrade Pitching - FOX Sports on MSN
All the Angels need, general manager Tony Reagins was saying Tuesday afternoon, is for their starting pitchers to "pitch the way they're capable of. "Still, Reagins acknowledged that he was still looking for upgrades.

Morales making Halos forget Teixeira - angelsbaseball.com
The Yankees' Mark Teixeira might be the frontrunner in the American League's Most Valuable Player derby, but you won't hearing any weeping from his former fans in Southern California. They're doing just fine with Bobby Abreu, Juan Rivera and Brian Fuentes. To say nothing of Kendry Morales, Teixeira's heir at first base.

Red Sox top Tigers after early-game brawl - nbcsports.msnbc.com
Youkilis led off the second inning and was hit in the back with the first pitch. He dropped his bat and ran toward Porcello, throwing his batting helmet at the pitcher — and missing — before wrapping him up and bringing him to the ground.

This link is here because it has a cool photo of Youkilis on his back, plus I thought it was interesting how this article was written.  When I watched the video of the brawl, I thought Porcello threw Youk to the ground, not the other way around.  Plus, I thought both players acted like bitches; first when Youkilis threw his helmet and second when Porcello ran away.

The Long Hello: Some Notes on Luck - FanGraphs Baseball
Understanding the role or contribution of luck as distinct from true skill: this is more or less one of the current missions of sabermetrics. Stats like xFIP, tRA, PrOPS, third-order wins — their intent is to understand not necessarily what did happen but to understand what probably should have happened or what would usually happen and what is most likely to happen in the future.

August 12 - BR Bullpen
Events, births and deaths that occurred on August 12.
1974 - Nolan Ryan fans 19 batters in the California Angels 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. Ryan breaks the American League record of 18 by Bob Feller in 1938 and ties the ML record set by Steve Carlton in 1969 and Tom Seaver in 1970. He also ties the ML record with 32 Ks in his last two games.

I thought this was funny...