Something for you all to get your peepers on this morning from USA today.  A nice piece on Mr Scoscia, how he came to become an Angel and what he's done since then.  Not much new news but a welcome in-depth piece on the anchor for our ballclub.

75 words, mmmm... gonna take a while to get there today.  Apparently I'm still 14 words short, which is irritating. Five more words should suffice...

So, I'm not feeling a lot of love for our tallest Angel currently.  He of the 10.13 ERA - yes, him.  It's not that I don't like him, I'm sure he's a very nice bloke, I just don't want him anywhere near a mound whilst wearing a red uniform.

So, assuming Bootcheck gets his just desserts sooner rather than later, how would you change things?

O'Day ?

Moseley ?

Bulger ?

Crocodile Dundee ?

Or are we holding on for the return of Myspace in a bull pen capacity?

Discuss...

Nice article about early impressions on the '08 season.

I particularly like number 3 on 'things that are real' - Casey Kotchman.

Number 2 isn't too shabby either

And since this has to be 75 words long I'll just witter for a bit about how much I'm looking forward to the rest of the season - my hopes for the Angels continue to rise ever skywards with every passing victory.  Apparently that was only 71...

So far this year in 24 1/3 innings of work over 4 starts, Jon Garland has managed to strike out 3 batters.  Yes, 3.  I'm not an expert on matters statistical or historical, but I would hazard a guess that that's on the low side of what you might expect from a starting pitcher. 

If he pitches 200 innings this year, he's on target for 25 Ks (if you round him up), which I suspect might be an all-time low (does anyone know how to check this?).

So my question is simple:

1.  How many strikeouts will Garland deliver in 2008?

So 15 games under the belt.  Not a huge sample, but a nice snapshot of where the team is and is heading in 2008:

1. The infield - Isn't this what we've been waiting for? A+

1B - Kotchman: .352, 1.027 OPS, 4 HR 

2B - Kendrick: .500, 1.220 OPS, 5 doubles

SS - Aybar: .324, 3 sb, some (mostly) slick glovework

3B - Figgins: .393, .507 OBP, 7 sb

2. The outfield - B

To expectation: a combination of strength with some signs of ageing

Vlad impales, daily; GMJ is, to be fair, what we expect him to be (for better or worse, for now, like a spouse you've realised you want to divorce); Torii has started reasonably well (better with the bat than the glove, methinks, unexpectedly); GA is showing signs of wear and tear: he sort of reminds me of my grandfather - he needed a little warming up in the morning (early season) before he could give of his best.  Not ideal, but he was my gradfather so I could forgive him that

3. The rotation - B

Good performance so far from the guys that HAD to pick it up (Santana, Weaver, Saunders), Moseley needs to be back in the pen, for Garland the jury's out so far.  With Big John returning and Adenhart looking sweet at AAA, we should be fine (injury notwithstanding, touch wood and sacrifice something large at the altar of  chance)

4. The pen - D

Christ on a bike - showing signs of life now, but I thought we were going to have to get out the paddles for an impromptu resuscitation.  Needs health and a more even share of the workload.  May well need propping up between now and the end of the season.

All in all, I think this team is looking like it could/should do well.

As hoped for, offensively the Angels appear much stronger than last year, with a few of the younger guys growing into the role.  The pitching has been reflective of  the injuries that the team has had to carry, while again being supported by 3 younger guys fgrowing into the role.  I feel pretty confident.  I think even with the injuries, we're going to take some beating.

By way of full disclosure of competing interests, I have an admission - the Angels are not the only team in red to whom I have a lasting bond.  I also love another.

Ordinarily, this would not be a problem - different teams, different sports, different continents - I have enough love to share.

Until this happened.  And then this.  And most recently this.

It's enough that I have to be aware of  this tit as an owner to a competing baseball team, without having him drop his proverbial trousers daily to the press to befoul my beloved football team too.

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Nice piece in SI by Heyman on Hunter.  Mostly old news, but I don't want you to feel your missing out.

More interesting is the nugget on page 3 where he updates us on the thinking behind the rotation solution.

Enjoy.

Back in Blighty, on the currently much wetter side of the pond, we place great value in a pint of beer and in particular who you might share a pint with (that doesn't mean you actually `share' the beer, that would be ridiculous - half-pints are for ladies, tourists and the French - you share the time it takes to drink the pint and, often as not, several of it's friends) and we spend more time in the pub than would probably be considered healthy in Southern California - blame it on the rain.  With that in mind I've been pondering who in the world of baseball it would be interesting to spend an afternoon with down the boozer, and equally importantly, who you couldn't abide having to spend the afternoon with.  We do this from time to time with footballers and other sportsmen/women back here (though in the case of footballers it's a short discussion since most of them don't have the skills with which to wipe their own bum without careful supervision, let alone drink and talk sensibly for an hour) - I'm sure you do something very similar in the US.  For example, I'd pay good money to spend an afternoon at the pub with Martin Johnson (World cup winning England Rugby Captain, for the uninitiated among you) and I'd pay vast sums not to have to spend any time with David Beckham (unless I had a garrote and had a universal get-out-of-jail-free card) or Tiger Woods.

So my question is this:

Who in baseball would you like to share a pint with and why?  Angels or another team, playing staff, coach or executive...

I'll kick you off with a handful:

Scot Shields - relievers need a different mind-set than other players (I think).  They usually come in when things have either gone south, or are threatening to, they could be called on at any time, and there is an expectation that they will fail occasionally when it matters most that they don't.  It's not just about having an elastic arm, it requires an elastic mind-set.  I think that's worth chatting about over a pint, and he seems like a cheery, phlegmatic sort.

Mickey Hatcher - been around the block a few times, must have some tall tales.  I'd also like to understand his approach as a hitting coach better because he cops a lot of flak here and I'd like to see if it's fair.

Arte Moreno - the guy loves the team and wants to win, and clearly has an abiding respect for the importance of beer.  

Tom Hicks - nothing to do with baseball though, total self-interest.  I'd be pitching for him to sell the Rangers so he can invest his money more profitably elsewhere.  Preferably in the North-West of England.

And one to avoid:

Gary Sheffield - a fine player but a complete fool on multiple levels.  (N.b. it should be Barry Bonds here but he's a marginal 2nd because I'm bored to tears of the whole Bonds thing - it's repetitive, it's rubbish, and the sooner he's forced to retire the better.  Billy Beane in 3rd - `Moneyball'? `Moneybollocks', more like)

A few thoughts on last night's game (and the East coast in general):

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