Halos think Trumbo can handle jump to No. 5 - angels.com
Trumbo, who entered Tuesday's series opener with a team-high 22 home runs and 63 RBIs, could become the first Angels rookie to lead the club in both categories. Still, Scioscia admitted he has wanted to avoid putting more pressure on the young first baseman. But the Angels skipper said the time has come to make an adjustment in the order. "I think the one thing we've been a little guarded about is not putting too much on Mark right now, being a young guy," Scioscia said. "But going into this last third of the season, if he can do more of what he's doing and connecting with guys on base, it might make us more productive."
This is one of those "well it's about time" moves. I had mentioned in this week's HaloTalk about researching an article I was going to write about the Angels batting order. One of the more interesting stats I found was the Angels lead the American league in RBI's from the 7th spot in the batting order. Kind of a weird stat, but still a telling one. If you believe, like some do, that clutch hitting is a skill or the ability to hit better with runners on base is more than just random luck, why have your best run producer so far down in the order? The answer (and one I agree with) is that Scioscia didn't want to put too much pressure on a first year player until he felt he was ready to handle it. It's about time.
MORE LINKS AFTER THE BREAK...
Punchless Angels remain dangerous in AL West - Yahoo! Sports
This, however, is what makes Mike Scioscia so good. The Angels are again greater than the sum of their misshapen, wild-swinging, reckless, aging and sometimes entirely overmatched parts. They’re a little like the San Francisco Giants in some regards, which illustrates the narrowness of the line the Angels walk, because they’ve got plenty of Seattle Mariners in them, too. Since July 1, only the Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies have won more often than the Angels, who’ve taken the fight to the Rangers by batting .222 since the All-Star break and passing entirely at the trading deadline.
There's still time to add that bat, but time isn't the problem. Where's the bat?
Angels manager Mike Scioscia ejected for arguing balls and strikes - angels.com
After expressing his disagreement with home-plate umpire Chris Guccione on a checked-swing called first strike to Angels catcher Jeff Mathis with two outs, Scioscia was promptly ejected.
You know what this reminds me of? The over-stressed father at his son's little league game. "What do ya mean that was a strike! If Jeffy doesn't swing, it ain't a strike!!"
Angels calling up prospect Garrett Richards to take over Joel Pineiro’s rotation spot - HardballTalk
Selected with the 42nd overall pick in the 2009 draft, Richards will be making the jump from Double-A, where the 23-year-old right-hander had a 3.06 ERA and 100/40 K/BB ratio in 141 innings. He projects as a future mid-rotation starter and has certainly impressed at Double-A, but his strikeout rate of 6.4 per nine innings showed less dominance than the shiny ERA and 12-2 record would suggest and his control has been merely decent.
I like this. Mainly because it leaves Takahashi in the bullpen where he's been doing well and possibly has more value than having him join the rotation. Plus, last season with the Mets, Takahashi had a 5.01 ERA in 12 starts, while posting a 2.04 ERA in 57 innings in relief.
From Little Rock to the Big Apple - The Orange County Register
On the bright side, he isn't the first Angels starter to throw the initial pitch of his career in the big, chilling, foreboding Bronx. Jason Dickson did the same thing in August of 1996. And Derek Jeter hit it for a home run. One pitch and an ERA of infinity, which is to say an ERA fit for an infirmary. One pitch and one smack with a rolled-up welcome mat across the cheek. Dickson eventually lasted 61/3 innings that afternoon and the Angels won, 7-1. Dickson also eventually became an All-Star.
I usually just pass over the articles post by the wrong Miller at the OC Register, but this one is a good example of bad snark. Miller makes it seem like getting your first start in New York is a daunting task, but barely points out that the Angels WON THE GAME. Oh, and Dickson eventually became an all-star. If Richards can duplicate Dickson's first start, the Angels and their fans will be very happy.
Is The Best 1-2-3 Halladay, Hamels and Lee? - Beyond the Box Score
And all of that kind of nudges toward my point. Barring some sort of serious injury to the likes of Halladay, Hamels or Lee, what possibly could've happened this season to convince the public that those three don't comprise the premier pitching trio in the game? I mean, the Angels are boasting three pitchers; one has a 1.78 ERA and 14 wins, one has a 2.81 ERA and the best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the AL, and one has a 3.21 ERA and recently threw a no-hitter. And yet, nobody is even wondering if this incredibly dominant trio is the most dominant trio in the game. I mean, they're just not Halladay-Hamels-Lee. Which brings us to the next question, "Can the Angels trio sustain this?"
That last question is the key to the Angels season; Can Weaver, Haren and especially Santana continue to pitch at their current levels? If they can (and do), then the season will possibly come down to the final 3-game series against Texas. If they can't, well...it was fun while it lasted.
With pair of aces, Halos staying in race - angels.com: News
And one more thing -- the Angels can pitch. They are an offensively challenged bunch, but come Halo or high water, they will have something to say about which AL teams will extend the seasons into October. And they will have that sway because of their rotation, which may now be the most reliable in the league. Whatever percentage of the game is determined by pitchers -- some say 85, some say more -- increases in the last month of the season, known as September to most and as Pantyhose Month -- as in No Nonsense -- by that old nasty Pirate Dave Parker.
Eddie Bane talks about his firing - Sam Miller - The Orange County Register
Someday — maybe soon, maybe not for a decade — Tony Reagins is going to be looking for a new job, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bane firing hangs over his head more than any player move he has made. More than Kazmir, more than Wells.
I'm not sure I agree with Sam on this one, but then, he has far greater insight than I do. From my perspective, Reagins' undid almost all of the good deals he pulled off when he traded for Wells and his contract. I emailed Sam to ask him if the Banes firing was a bigger deal within the baseball community than the Wells deal, and he replied "I haven't talked to any other front offices; I just know that Bane had a very strong reputation around baseball, and among prospect-hounds. That there's a general consensus that stretches from Whicker to Keith Law that it was a mystifying firing, especially on the heels of a very good 2009 draft. If it turned out there was a real reason for it, then it might have been justified, but since the narrative is developing that Tony Reagins simply couldn't play nice with him, I suspect it will raise questions about his management ability. "
Angels' Hunter makes friends in the Bronx - CBSSports.com
In the fourth inning of the Angles' 6-4 victory in New York, Hunter went back to the warning track at Yankee Stadium to catch a fly by Nick Swisher and record the second out of the game. He noticed a fan had lost his sunglasses and went back to the warning track to retrieve the fan's sunglasses. When Hunter reached up to hand him the sunglasses, the fan offered him a dollar, which Hunter refused."He dropped his glasses, they fell over and he wanted to give me a dollar," Hunter told MLB.com's Joey Nowak. "I said thanks, though. It was a nice gesture."
Video: Young fan catches foul ball, gives it away to older fan - Big League Stew - MLB Blog - Yahoo! Sports
What would move him to do such a thing? As the Giants broadcasters later revealed, the man in the red jacket had caught a ball earlier in the game and given it to the boy. With fate shining on the same block of seats twice in one game, the young fan thought it was only right to return the favor. Here's the video: Young fan makes a nice catch, nicer gesture - MLB.com
And then there's this...
It's a couple weeks old, but I missed it when it first happened. Does anyone else find it intriguing when women fight at ballgames?
A Season in a Game - baseballmusings.com
Mike Napoli continues to be one of the great pickups of the winter, going 2 for 3 with a walk to raise his slash line to .299/.398/.611. Napoli’s WAR stands at 3.4 wins, Vernon Wells at 0.2, so one could argue that this trade is the reason the Rangers lead the Angels by 1 1/2 games.
Sure, rub it in.
Uggla's streak hits 30 games - CBSSports.com
Dan Uggla extended his hitting streak to 30 games on Tuesday, tying the Dodgers' Andre Ethier for the season's longest.
Just in case you haven't been paying attention (like me).
2 suspects in Giants beating case due in court - FOX Sports on MSN
Twenty-nine-year-old Louie Sanchez and 30-year-old Marvin Norwood are scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday morning in a Los Angeles courtroom. A judge is also due to hear requests from their attorneys to reduce their $500,000 bail.Police have portrayed Sanchez as leading the assault on Stow, which came March 31 at the culmination of an alleged rampage through the stadium where Sanchez and Norwood are accused of lashing out randomly at rival Giants fans.
Two MLB.com writers robbed at gunpoint at Great American - HardballTalk
"I thought the guy was a fan as he approached, but he said, ‘We can do this the easy way or the hard way,’" said Bloom. "I started to walk away and he began yelling at me and pulled this big gun that looked like a Glock. He said, ‘Put your wallets on the ground.’ We did and he picked them up and ran off." Bloom said he lost about $500 in cash, while Harding was carrying $100. Their credit cards were also stolen.
I want a job with MLB.com. And not just because you get to go to games for free, but I can't remember ever walking around with $500 cash.
August 10 - BR Bullpen
Events, births and deaths that occurred on August 10.
1971 - Sixteen baseball researchers at Cooperstown form the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), with founder Robert Davids as president.
1974 - Jorge Lebron, the youngest professional player ever, makes his debut for the Phillies' farm club Auburn. The fourteen-year old shortstop plays three games before returning to Puerto Rico to finish junior high school.
1978 - A's 2B Mike Edwards ties the major-league record with two unassisted double plays during a 16 - 5 loss to the Angels. 1979 - Dan Ford hits for the cycle but his Angels lose, 8 - 6 to the Mariners.
1996 - The Royals roll to an 18 - 3 win over California as Johnny Damon hits a grand slam and drives in seven runs. Jim Abbott loses his 11th straight decision.
1997 - Angels' IF-OF Tony Phillips is arrested after allegedly buying a small quantity of freebase cocaine at a motel in Anaheim.
Happy b-day:
1911 - Taffy Wright, outfielder (d. 1981)