Angels Drop Game, Selig Drops Ball. Halolinks.

Los Angeles Angels vs. Oakland Athletics - June 8, 2010 - SI.com
There have been plenty of nights this season when the Oakland Athletics struggled to score runs. That's what made the team-wide outburst against Jered Weaver and the Los Angeles Angels so rewarding. Kurt Suzuki went 4 for 5 with a homer and four RBIs, and Jack Cust homered and drove in three runs to help the A's snap the Angels' six-game winning streak with a 10-1 victory Tuesday night. "Up and down the lineup everybody was putting some good swings on,'' Suzuki said. "We were getting some balls to fall. That's the game. Sometimes you hit line drives and they get caught, sometimes you place them in the right spot. It was nice. Everybody was looking good tonight." "I felt like I made some good pitches and they were able to put swings on them and they happened to get hits,'' Weaver said. "The ball had eyes it seemed like a few times. I made one bad pitch and it happened to be a three-run home run. Mike (Napoli) called for a slider and I shook him off and threw a two-seam fastball that came back over the plate. It just wasn't a smart pitch."

Sometimes games like this happen. Oakland's not that good and the Angels aren't that bad, it was just one of those nights. Interesting quote about pitch selection.

MORE LINKS AFTER THE BREAK...

Angels-Athletics Preview - 6/9/10 - FOX Sports on MSN

Braden (4-5, 3.77 ERA) makes this start a month to the day he pitched the first perfect game of the season in a 4-0 Mother's Day win over Tampa Bay on May 9. Since then, Braden is 0-3 with a 4.45 ERA. However, he's received one run of support or less in three of those outings. In his last, Braden allowed four runs in 6 1-3 innings of a 5-4, 11-inning loss to Minnesota on Friday. Braden is 2-4 with a 4.61 ERA in seven starts against the Angels, including 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA this year. In his first start after the perfect game May 14, Braden allowed four runs in eight innings of a 4-0 loss at Los Angeles to become the first pitcher to follow a perfect game with a complete game since Cleveland's Len Barker in 1981. Angels' scheduled starter Joe Saunders (4-6, 4.78) also threw a complete game in that contest, giving up four hits to improve to 10-4 with a 3.73 ERA in 16 starts against the A's. The left-hander, 3-1 with a 3.24 ERA in his last five starts, allowed a run in six innings of a 7-1 win at Seattle on Friday.

Frandsen is a good fit for Angels - The Orange County Register
The Angels claimed Frandsen off of waivers from Boston on April 29, and he was up playing with the Angels nine days later. "He fit right in. He came right in and he's not quiet. He introduced himself," Torii Hunter said. "Right away, he fit in. Guys like him. He's got a big personality. He's out going. He's not nervous. He's not scared. He wants to be in the lineup. It doesn't matter; he'll talk to anybody." For Mike Scioscia, it's easy to see why Frandsen's looked so comfortable with the Angels off the field. "He's goofy," he said, "so he fits right in with those guys."

Angels' Morales set for surgery on Thursday - angelsbaseball.com
Kendry Morales' surgery to repair a fracture in his lower left leg will take place on Thursday, Angels manager Mike Scioscia indicated before Tuesday night's game against the A's. "I think he's scheduled for surgery Thursday," Scioscia said. "I think he's over the shock of it. I think he's disappointed but has come to grips with understanding the process, the surgery.

Pros’ reactions to Angels’ draft - The Orange County Register
Some of the reactions to the Angels’ first five picks in the 2010 draft:
• Keith Law, who rates’ the Angels’ draft one of "the best": "The Los Angeles Angels had a slew of picks, and they stuck to their philosophy with high-ceiling prep players, landing a power-hitting third baseman in Kaleb Cowart; a right-hander with a chance for two plus pitches in the near future in Cam Bedrosian; and one of my favorite swings in the draft in Taylor Lindsey. Chevez Clarke strikes me as the high school analogue to Brentz, a player who was seen as a first-rounder last summer who slipped due to an off spring. The only pick here I didn’t love was Ryan Bolden, an incredibly toolsy outfielder from Mississippi with a 30 present hit tool."

Strasburg strikes out 14 in debut - FOX Sports on MSN
Over-hyped? Are you kidding? Stephen Strasburg went beyond the hype — and anyone's reasonable expectations — by striking out 14 batters in his electric major league debut. With a standing-room-only crowd cheering at every chance, the Washington Nationals phenom put on a dazzling display of power pitching Tuesday night in a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. His fastballs reached 100 mph, and batters found his nasty curves nearly impossible to hit. "I just wanted to go out and soak up everything. It only happens once and I've been waiting for this my whole life,'' Strasburg said.

Stephen Strasburg's debut draws a crowd in Angels' clubhouse - latimes.com
Most major league games on the clubhouse television serve as background noise, with players taking a peek at the action every now and then as they go about their pregame preparations. Not Tuesday afternoon. At least a dozen Angels were glued to the TV in their Oakland Coliseum clubhouse watching the highly anticipated big league debut of Washington Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg.

Selig doesn't see support for instant replay, remains reluctant to set precedent - USATODAY.com
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig apparently is not hearing what America is saying. Speaking at the MLB draft on Monday, Selig said that he's not seeing a groundswell of support within the game for expanded use of instant replay He told ESPN: "It is interesting. Most baseball people are really against instant replay. There's no question about that." "In the end," Selig said, "good or bad, I will do what I think is right. I'm going to take the responsibility for it. I've been at this the last 45 years of my life, the last 18 (as commissioner), so I'll trust my own judgment."

I curious as to which "baseball people" he thinks are against the use of instant replay. The above article references a USA Today poll that has 78% of the respondents saying instant replay should be expanded.

Girl hit in head by line drive at Dodger Stadium has surgery - CBSSports.com Baseball
A 3-year-old girl whose skull was fractured by a line drive during batting practice at Dodger Stadium underwent surgery Tuesday. In a statement, officials from Childrens Hospital Los Angeles said they expect Janelle Briseno will be well enough for release by the end of the week. "The surgery went well and we anticipate a full recovery," said Dr. J. Gordon McComb, the hospital's head of neurosurgery. The accident occurred Monday when Dodgers catcher Russell Martin hit a line drive in the stands near third base, hitting Janelle and knocking her unconscious, said Dodgers spokesman Joe Jareck. Jareck said batting practice continued, but Martin was upset by the incident and has offered to pay for her medical expenses. Martin said he spoke with the Janelle's father on Tuesday. "I'm just glad to hear that she had surgery earlier today and she's doing better, and long-term she's going to be OK," he said before the game against St. Louis. "I'm sure she's still a little bit shaken up. It's definitely tough for the whole family, but at least the good news is that she's going to be OK."

CIN@WSH: Batista is rejected after hitting Phillips - Video MLB.com
Nationals reliever Miguel Batista is ejected after hitting Brandon Phillips, who was involved in an earlier play at the plate

This happened a few days ago, but it kind of got lost in all of yesterday's links. I wanted to comment on this video because a few interesting things happen and my feeling for Phillips go back-and-forth a few times. I've always liked Phillips, as I've had him on a few of my fantasy teams and any time I've seen Reds games, he seems like a good all-around player. Anyway, if you watch the video you'll see Brandon Phillips take out Washington's catcher Wil Nieves at the plate. It's a great play by Phillips, and there's nothing wrong with the hit on the Nat's catcher, but what he does after that is pretty douchy. Phillips gets up, stomps on the plate and gives himself a chest-thump. This causes Phillips to fall off of my favorite player list. But then, during the first pitch of his next at-bat, Phillips is plunked by the Nationals Miguel Batista in obvious retaliation for his douchiness earlier in the game. In my opinion, another great play. And this got me thinking; when was the last time an Angel pitcher hit a batter in retaliation? I couldn't think of any. Not even when Mark Teixeira ran over Angels catcher Bobby Wilson. Why don't the Angels play this type of traditional, hard-nosed baseball? Is it because they've recently not had an occasion that required payback? Or is this the Angel management style? (if anyone can remember an obvious retaliatory plunking, please post it in the comment section below). So anyway, back to Brandon Phillips. What does Phillips do after getting intentionally dotted? A lot of players would have rushed the mound after intentionally getting thrown at, but Phillips casually drops his bat and trots down to first. A professional reaction by a professional player. He just went back onto my favorite player list.

June 9 - BR Bullpen
1961 - Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ryne Duren sets an American League record with seven straight strikeouts against the Boston Red Sox.

Sh*t happens: