Posted 10:14 AM by Sean
The Angels have split a pair with the Phillies over the past couple of days, dropping Monday night's contest 3-0 before winning a 2-1 nailbiter last night. Both games featured excellent starting pitching, with Washburn throwing effectively into the eighth and Lackey keeping the Phils' bats quiet into the seventh. Erstad's returned, but has yet to get a hit in the eight at-bats he's had since coming off the DL. Percival, meanwhile, claims that the shorter leg kick he's using to reduce the strain on his hip has given him more control, without diminishing velocity. Admittedly, he's only pitched three innings since his return, but he's given up no hits and just one walk in those three innings, in fewer pitches (18, 18, and 15) than his season average of 19.4.

Eckstein is believed to be ready to return to the lineup tonight, which means we should finally see Benji Gil sent back to the bench. Gil has appeared in every game since May 29, and in that stretch he's 3 for 22, with an abysmal .364 OPS for 2003. Meanwhile, the Angels have two talented middle infielders treading water in Salt Lake: second baseman Chone Figgins is batting .323, with an on-base percentage of .399 and a slugging percentage of .535, has speed, and switch hits; shortstop Alfredo Almezaga is hitting .345, is on base at a .397 clip, and is slugging .467. I know I've mentioned the possibility before, but I think I'm officially at the point where I believe that the Benji Gil era in Anaheim needs to come to a close. That's not to say that Gil won't rebound and put up decent numbers eventually - he's had a couple of fine major league seasons in a platoon role, and had an outstanding run in the playoffs last year - but with Kennedy putting up solid if unspectacular numbers and a pair of 25-year-old prospects in Salt Lake, the 30-year-old Gil is superfluous.