Jered Weaver Wins Opener, Dan Haren Can Keep Halos Perfect. Halolinks.

Angels hang on to defeat Royals in opener - The Orange County Register ...It looks like the pattern from last season of wasting Weaver's starts almost continued into 2011. The biggest concern that I saw was the 4 walks in 2 2/3 innings from the bullpen, but as Scioscia said above, "they'll get better"...we hope. The one pattern that did continue is Scioscia's insistence on keeping pitchers within their "roles", which almost backfired after Walden was removed after facing just one batter (and throwing just 5 pitches). There are good and bad reasons for sticking to assigned pitching roles, but I was disappointed Walden didn't remain in the game and start the 8th inning. Anyway, it all worked out and that's 7 out of the last eight season openers the Angels have won (and three in-a-row).

Angels-Royals Preview - FOX Sports ...This is could be great, an entire season of Weaver-Haren back-to-back slap downs.

Here's some video highlights from yesterday's game:

Mathis goes yard to extend the lead - MLB.com
Jeff Mathis drills a solo home run to left-center in the top of the sixth, giving the Angels a two-run lead.

Hunter homers to put the Angels on the board - MLB.com
Torii Hunter takes Luke Hochevar deep to center with a solo shot, giving the Angels a 1-0 advantage in the fourth.
I think they mentioned during the broadcast that Hunter's homer went 463 feet. There was a comment on the OC Register that the longest Angels' home run last season was 450'. Don't know what that has to do with anything, but I thought it was interesting.

Hunter dives to reel in Aviles' fly ball - MLB.com
Torii Hunter takes a base hit away from Mike Aviles with an outstanding diving catch in right for the out in the sixth.
An example of how their outfield defense is going to be a big factor in the Angels' success this season.

Francoeur fires a strike home to nab Mathis - MLB.com
Jeff Francoeur makes a strong throw to the plate on Peter Bourjos' single to nail Jeff Mathis trying to score in the eighth. Nice, hardball play by both Mathis and Treanor.

Bourjos singles, advances to third on errors - MLB.com
Peter Bourjos drops down a bunt single in the sixth and advances all the way to third on two consecutive throwing errors. Did anyone else hear circus music during this play?

Angels rookies savor being part of opening day - The Orange County Register
Coach Rob Picciolo gave Conger the good news after the game Tuesday when the Angels set their season-opening roster.

Team Reports - CBSSports.com ...Well at least Morales is doing something.

Baseball Prospectus - Team Injury Projection: Los Angeles Angels ...Here's a good look at all of the Angel injuries over the last few seasons.

‘Very stupid’: Guillen gripes about opening in snowy Cleveland - Yahoo! Sports ...It's really surprising to me (actually it's not) that MLB can't get something so simple as opening the season in warm weather in place. How many times has the weather been a factor in delaying or postponing games when a simple solution would be to play the first couple series' in domed or warmer locations? It seems like Major League baseball is surviving and prospering not because of their leadership, but in spite of it.

How Do Good Starting Pitchers Differ From Other Pitchers? - Beyond the Box Score ...For you number guys, here's an article that's sure to give you a stat-boner. Lots of numbers and pretty charts!

2011 MLB Salaries by Team - USATODAY.com ...The big point people are making about this is Alex Rodriguez ($32M) is making almost as much as the entire Royals team ($38M).

Former assistant: I saw trainer inject Barry Bonds - USATODAY.com ...I've been avoiding this whole Bonds mess, but this is just too, I don't know...weird? Damning? Interesting? If this is true, Bonds is screwed. One of the perjury counts against him is based on his statement that no one ever injected him with anything. Oops.

B. Robinson staying in hospital to recover from infection - CBSSports.com ...All of our best wishes for a speedy recovery to the greatest third baseman in history.

Dodgers' opening-day victory: T.J. Simers column - latimes.com ...Love him or hate him, Simers can be pretty funny.

April 1 - BR Bullpen
Happy b-day:
1939 - Phil Niekro, pitcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer

162-0 here we come BOXSCORE after the Jump:

Los Angeles Angels Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Maicer Izturis, 3B 5 0 2 1 0 0 0 .400 Howard Kendrick, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .250 Bobby Abreu, DH 4 0 1 0 1 1 1 .250 Torii Hunter, RF 5 1 2 1 0 2 2 .400 Vernon Wells, LF 4 1 1 0 0 1 4 .250 Erick Aybar, SS 4 0 1 1 0 0 3 .250 Mark Trumbo, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .000 Jeff Mathis, C 4 1 2 1 0 1 1 .500 Peter Bourjos, CF 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 .500 Totals 38 4 12 4 1 9 Batting 2B - Howard Kendrick (1, Hochevar), Vernon Wells (1, Hochevar), Erick Aybar (1, Hochevar), Jeff Mathis (1, Adcock) HR - Torii Hunter (1, Hochevar), Jeff Mathis (1, Hochevar) SH - Howard Kendrick (1) RBI - Maicer Izturis (1), Torii Hunter (1), Erick Aybar (1), Jeff Mathis (1) 2-OUT RBI - Maicer Izturis (1), Jeff Mathis (1) SB - Maicer Izturis (1, 2nd base off Crow/Treanor) Team LOB - 10 Fielding PB - Jeff Mathis (1)

Kansas City Royals Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Mike Aviles, 3B-2B 5 1 1 1 0 1 1 .200 Melky Cabrera, CF-LF 4 0 3 0 1 0 0 .750 Alex Gordon, LF-1B 5 0 0 0 0 3 4 .000 Billy Butler, DH 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 .000 Mitch Maier, PR-DH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Kila Ka'aihue, 1B 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .000 Jarrod Dyson, PR-CF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Jeff Francoeur, RF 4 1 1 1 0 1 3 .250 Alcides Escobar, SS 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .250 Matt Treanor, C 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .333 Chris Getz, 2B 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .000 a- Wilson Betemit, PH-3B 2 0 0 0 0 2 3 .000 Totals 33 2 7 2 6 10 a-struck out for Getz in the 7th Batting HR - Mike Aviles (1, Jepsen), Jeff Francoeur (1, Takahashi) RBI - Mike Aviles (1), Jeff Francoeur (1) 2-OUT RBI - Jeff Francoeur (1) SB - Melky Cabrera (1, 2nd base off Jer. Weaver/Mathis) CS - Chris Getz (1, 2nd base by Jer. Weaver/Mathis) Team LOB - 10 Fielding Outfield Assists - Jeff Francoeur 1 E - Mike Aviles (1, Misplayed grounder), Chris Getz (1, Throwing), Luke Hochevar (1, Throwing)

Los Angeles Angels Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Jered Weaver (W,1-0) 6.1 2 0 0 2 6 0 0.00 Hisanori Takahashi 0.1 3 1 1 0 0 1 27.00 Jordan Walden (H,1) 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Kevin Jepsen (H,1) 0.1 1 1 1 2 0 1 27.00 Michael Kohn (H,1) 0.2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00 Fernando Rodney (S,1) 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 0.00 Pitches-Strikes - Jered Weaver 106-66, Hisanori Takahashi 14-8, Jordan Walden 5-3, Kevin Jepsen 18-7, Michael Kohn 15-8, Fernando Rodney 26-17 Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Jered Weaver 4-8, Hisanori Takahashi 1-0, Kevin Jepsen 1-0 Batters Faced - Jered Weaver 22, Hisanori Takahashi 4, Jordan Walden 1, Kevin Jepsen 4, Michael Kohn 3, Fernando Rodney 5

Kansas City Royals Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Luke Hochevar (L,0-1) 5.2 9 4 3 0 5 2 4.76 Aaron Crow 1.1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0.00 Nate Adcock 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Tim Collins 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0.00 HBP - V. Wells (by Luke Hochevar) Pitches-Strikes - Luke Hochevar 102-73, Aaron Crow 19-12, Nate Adcock 18-12, Tim Collins 19-10 Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Luke Hochevar 11-2, Nate Adcock 2-0, Tim Collins 1-1 Batters Faced - Luke Hochevar 28, Aaron Crow 4, Nate Adcock 4, Tim Collins 5