Up next for Angels: Tuesday vs. Texas -- latimes.com
Scott Kazmir vs. Scott Feldman
AL West title is sweet, and bittersweet, for Angels -- latimes.com
They clinch fifth division championship in six years with 11-0 rout of Texas, then start the celebration -- but only after an emotional remembrance of the late Nick Adenhart.
Santana's seven-hit shutout gives Angels another AL West title - CBSSports.com
Ervin Santana pitched a seven-hitter for his fourth career shutout, while Maicer Izturis had three hits and two RBI to wrap up the Angels' fifth division crown in six years. Los Angeles (92-64) will open at home in the best-of-5 first round next week -- most likely against Boston, a familiar nemesis. The Red Sox need one victory or a Texas loss to earn the AL wild card. About 10 minutes into their clubhouse celebration, the players grabbed Adenhart's jersey and gave it a dousing. The Angels have taken Adenhart's jersey on every road trip and kept his locker intact in memory, and reliever Kevin Jepsen brought the shirt back to the clubhouse from the dugout for the celebration. "We remembered Nick before we started," manager Mike Scioscia said. "We've played the whole year with heavy hearts. But it was never about us, and it isn't about us. It's all about supporting Nick's family in any small way, and we're going to bring Nick's memory forward."
Game Wrapup - angelsbaseball.com
Behind an early offensive outburst that included a trio of three-run innings, the Angels sewed up their third straight AL West title. Ervin Santana went the distance and he got plenty of offensive help -- Kendry Morales homered and Bobby Abreu and Maicer Izturis each had three hits.
Rangers-Angels Preview - FOX Sports on MSN
The Angels are expected to counter with Scott Kazmir (9-9, 5.06), who helped Tampa Bay win the AL pennant last season. He's had mostly tough luck since being traded to Los Angeles on Aug. 28, going 1-2 with a 2.01 ERA in five starts. He suffered the loss in a 3-2 defeat Wednesday against visiting New York while receiving two runs for the fourth straight start from the majors' best-hitting team. Kazmir has a good chance at rebounding if the Angels can give him enough runs. He's 6-1 with a 2.05 ERA in 10 career starts against Texas - 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA in three this season.
Video highlight's from last night's game:
Angels clinch AL West crown with 11-0 win - MLB.com
Daily Recap: The Angels clinch the AL West crown with a 11-0 win over the Rangers
Figgins fields, seals the division - MLB.com
Chone Figgins fields the grounder to third and fires to first for the final out of the game, sealing the AL West for the Angels
How they got there: 2009 Angels - MLB.com
MLB.com takes an in-depth look at how the Angels made the 2009 postseason
Angel Highlight Videos - MLB.com
There were a bunch of videos at MLB.com, too many to list. Here's the link to the page that has them all.
Nick Adenhart was on everyone's mind...
Angels play for Nick Adenhart's memory -- latimes.com
The Angels clinched another American League West championship with an 11-0 victory over the Texas Rangers on Monday night, their fifth division title in six years, and the one player who wasn't there to live it, to feel it, was the one player who seemed to be everywhere in Angel Stadium."We took him onto the field, and not just on the center-field wall," Bulger said. "He's in our hearts right now. He's been a huge part of this season and will continue to be in the postseason."
Adenhart loss, leadership strength make season 'pretty special' - OCRegister.com
"You look back on that now and all that we went through as a team – it means a lot more," Mathis said. "We were in the same situation last year (winning the division). But the things that happened this year with Nick and everything, it feels like it’s pretty special."
Angels celebrate Adenhart after emotional clincher - Yahoo! Sports
With fewer wins and more scars than last season’s 100-victory club, the Angels are back in the playoffs for the sixth time in eight years. Outfielder Torii Hunter(notes) believes everything the Angels have endured in the past year, particularly pitcher Nick Adenhart’s(notes) tragic death, only made them stronger for this October. "We overcame a lot of obstacles, a lot more than anybody expected," Hunter said. "I definitely feel we haven’t played our best yet, and this year is different. But if you want to put your money on Boston, go ahead, do it. We believe in ourselves."
Title comes with heavy heart for Halos - angelsbaseball.com
So while the club will not soon forget both the memories of Adenhart and Gomez, Moreno said the next challenge will be to win the World Series in their honor this season. "Our goal is to a win a championship and we still haven't accomplished what we want to do," Moreno said. "We still have a lot of work to do."
Angels Win the West : baseballmusings.com
The Angels took no prisoners Monday night. They needed a win over Texas to clinch the AL West, and they dominated on both sides of the ball as they win the game and the division 11-0.
After up-and-down season, Angels face next hurdle -- beating Red Sox - CBSSports.com Baseball
"It's going to be a different scene now," Torii Hunter promised. "I have a lot of respect for Boston. But I think it's different. I think we're a different ballclub. We're playing to win. "We have a different energy. I wouldn't bank on the past."
Buster Olney blog -- Velocity and speed are distinct, and one series will prove it - ESPN
Some evaluators are intrigued by the matchup. "The Angels have to win the home games," said one evaluator, who has seen them play in the last week. If the Red Sox win one game out there to start the series, it's over -- and to be honest, I don't think the Angels will win a game. I'm really surprised, because when you look at the numbers, you'd think that the Angels have a good lineup, but they have a lot of guys who can be pitched to. They have a bunch of rug rats.
Olney's blog on ESPN is in the Insider section.
Postseason becoming habit for Halos - angelsbaseball.com
It's getting to be a habit. The Angels are returning to postseason play, having wrapped up their third consecutive American League West title by flattening their persistent pursuer, Texas, 11-0, on Monday night.
" Blog Archive " The War Between the Stats
The odd thing about this war, though, is that the general baseball public seems largely unaware of its existence. Most fans who attend, watch or listen to games are perfectly content with their knowledge of batting and earned run average, wins and losses and runs batted in. If they’ve even heard of VORP, most would try to catch one with a net. No, this war is being fought largely on the Internet, and has only recently begun to leak into broadcast booths. ESPN, despite its employment of a handful of unenlightened blabbermouths, feature OPS now as a part of their Sunday night telecasts.
September 29 - BR Bullpen
Events, births and deaths that occurred on September 29.