SATURDAY ANGELS ROUNDUP: Joe Saunders Makes Progress, Sean O'Sullivan Doesn't

Up next for the Angels: Saturday at Toronto -- latimes.com
Ervin Santana vs. Scott Richmond

It's another rough outing for Angels' Sean O'Sullivan -- latimes.com
Rookie left-hander Marc Rzepczynski, a former Anaheim Servite High and UC Riverside standout who was a fifth-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2007, limited the Angels to one run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking one for the win.

LA Angels vs. Toronto - August 22, 2009 - MLB.com
MLB.com Gameday Preview: LA Angels vs. Toronto - August 22, 2009

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

Team Reports - CBSSports.com
RHP Jose Arredondo threw three innings of shutout relief in Friday's loss, the longest appearance of his major-league career. Arredondo allowed just one hit, walked two and struck out five in the three innings.

Team Reports II - CBSSports.com
In his first five starts for the Angels this season, the 21-year-old O'Sullivan was 3-0 with a 3.72 ERA. But in four starts this since being recalled from Class AAA Salt Lake in early August, O'Sullivan is 0-2 with a 12.27 ERA (20 runs in 14 2/3 innings). It is not likely that O'Sullivan will start the next time his spot in the rotation comes around (Thursday), particularly since Saunders threw a bullpen session before Friday's game in Toronto, testing the sore shoulder that landed him on the DL two weeks ago.

Joe Saunders on road to recovery - Angels Unplugged - Los Angeles Times
"This is the best I've felt since last year," Saunders said. "The arm is good. I long-tossed farther than I ever have for four out of five days, and my arm has responded great. There's no tightness, no soreness, knock on wood. I'm ready to get back out there."

Does Jeff Mathis have a purpose in life? - The Halo Is Lit
But instead of ERA, I'd like to talk about base runners. How good (or bad, as the case may be) are these two at preventing runners from advancing? Is Mathis so much better than Napoli that he deserves his reputation as a defensive catcher?

Mathis has Santana in a good groove - angelsbaseball.com
With Jeff Mathis calling the pitches and keeping a nice flow going, Ervin Santana has been back on the beam over his past two starts in the wake of a rocky, injury-burdened 2009 season.

Are First Round Draft Picks Overpaid? - FanGraphs Baseball
We’ll say a win on the free agent market is worth today’s rate, $4.4 million. I know we’re looking at six years, so just forget inflation for a moment. The picks were worth -

Red Sox claim Billy Wagner off waivers - MLB Daily Dish
The Red Sox put in a claim for Mets reliever Billy Wagner, giving the two sides till Tuesday to work out a trade.

August 22 - BR Bullpen
Events, births and deaths that occurred on August 22.
1965 - Juan Marichal thinks Johnny Roseboro throws too close to his head returning the ball to Sandy Koufax and attacks the Dodger catcher with his bat. The Los Angeles backstop suffers cuts on the head during the 14-minute brawl.
1989 - On a 96 mph fastball, A's Rickey Henderson swing and misses to become Nolan Ryan's career 5000th strikeout. The 'Ryan Express' strikes out 13 and gives up only five hits, but loses the game to Oakland, 2-0.
2003 - For the fourth consecutive season, Garret Anderson reaches 100 RBIs mark to become the first player in team history to do so. The Angels' outfielder was also the first to have three straight 100-RBI seasons.