Posted 11:34 AM by Sean
Steve Bisheff, a columnist at the Orange County Register, has a book out that supposedly chronicles the Angels' 2002 season. It's called Tales From the Angels Dugout, and it's available for sixteen bucks. So far, the only review I've found is here.

Posted 9:36 AM by Sean
The Angels failed to take advantage of their situation in more ways than one last night. While Seattle, Oakland, and Boston - the teams they need to catch if they're going to make the playoffs - all lost last night, the Angels dropped something of a nail-biter to Baltimore, 2-1. Although Rodrigo Lopez pitched seven strong innings, with good movement and location, the Angels definitely had their chances, putting men on base in four of those innings as well as the ninth.

While some reports of the game focus on base-running mistakes as the reason for last night's loss, the silent partner in that crime was the Angels' lack of clutch hitting. Sure, Tim Salmon didn't advance to second on a throw to the plate after a sacrifice fly in the fourth - but that's not exactly a routine play, and in fact Jeff DaVanon was almost - should have been, if the play had been made, properly - out later in the game trying the same thing. But Troy Glaus didn't exactly come through with Salmon on first, grounding into a routine double play to end the inning.

In the sixth, the most controversial call of the game came when Darin Erstad was picked off first on a 3-1 count with one out and Scott Spiezio at the plate. I say "controversial" because it stirred up some pretty intense argument from Erstad and Mike Scioscia, who claimed that Lopez balked on the play, but it sure looked like a solid pickoff play to me. Spiezio subsequently walked, but Tim Salmon struck out to end the inning.

The Angels then had runners on the corners with one out in the seventh, but Garret Anderson failed to score on a fly ball to medium center. In hindsight, of course he should have tried to score - it would have been very close, and he might well have been out, but they needed to take the chance. But let's not forget that neither Bengie Molina, who hit that fly ball, nor David Eckstein, who grounded out to end the inning, was able to deliver a hit in that situation.

Finally, Troy Glaus was doubled off first to end the game when he ran on a pitch that DaVanon subsequently flied to left. Glaus may have been deked on the play by the defense, but he was also running with his head down until he was nearly to second, and didn't even look to see where the ball was until it was too late.

All in all, a fairly frustrating performance - especially given that, at any time, a single home run would have tied the game. This isn't a team that's built around the long ball, of course, but when every at-bat is an opportunity to tie or take the lead, and you miss them all...well, let's just put that in the past, okay?

The flip side of all of this, naturally, is that the Angels didn't lose any ground on Boston, Oakland, or Seattle (though Toronto did pull to within a half-game of Anaheim). But just treading water is obviously not going to cut it. Like the man said, we've got a long way to go and a short time to get there.

One other bit of cheerful news: Ramon Ortiz continued the starting rotation's recent string of good outings. Although he seemed wild at times, and lost a lot of balls low and/or away, on the two occasions he found himself in trouble he extricated himself fairly quickly. If, in fact, the starting pitching has righted itself permanently, that's a lot more important than one night of dopy base-running and missed RBI chances.

Posted 9:59 AM by Sean
The Angels took home the ESPY for "Best Team" last night. Okay, they didn't take it home, exactly, because they're in Baltimore, but you know what I mean.

Meanwhile, Rex Hudler has an interesting take on what Fullmer's injury does to the Angels, strategically:

"I feel for Brad," Hudler said. "He worked hard, took a pay cut and was really gearing up for a good year. But I don't think it hurts the team as much as people thought it would. With Fullmer — and this is nothing against Brad — Mike's hands were tied. I think this is good for the team. It frees up Mike to use those other guys."

Maybe that's a little bit of looking for the silver lining. I don't know. But it does seem that, as long as everyone else is healthy, the Angels have plenty of OF/1B/DH types to stick in the lineup. The general mutterings about the Angels' possible moves as the trade deadline nears have focused on picking up another bat, but I'd be a lot happier if they found a middle infielder they could rent until next year. With David Eckstein contributing precious little in the way of offense, and Kennedy having a decent but unspectacular year, I'm beginning to cast covetous glances at the Expos' All-Star second baseman Jose Vidro. I mean, yeah, he makes 5.5 million a year, but the guy's middle name is literally "Angel," for God's sake.

Posted 9:43 AM by Sean
I'm generally - and it hurts me to say this - in agreement with Joe Morgan's assessment of the All-Star Game, except for this dumbfounding statement:

One pitch especially left me wondering: I'm not sure why Gagne threw a 3-1 fastball to Blalock, a left-handed fastball hitter, in a one-run game with first base open in the eighth. Right-hander Brett Boone was on deck, and Gagne struck him out easily -- after Blalock left the park. Gagne also gave up a home run in last year's All-Star Game.

Dude...Blalock was the go-ahead run. And you just flat don't put the go-ahead run on base in the eighth inning if you can help it, unless the guy batting behind him is either (a) the pitcher, or (b) nicknamed "Stumpy." I think this is Morgan displaying his uncanny knack for predicting the past.

Posted 9:34 AM by Sean
What an unbelievable few days for Garret Anderson. His team gets rolling, he's named American League Player of the Week, he wins the Home Run Derby, and then he goes 3 for 4 with a home run and a double and is named MVP of the All-Star Game following the American League's come from behind victory. I think we can safely say that he's managed to wedge himself into even the casual fan's consciousness at this point.

In fact, between Anderson's monster performance, Brendan Donnelly's perfect eighth and winning pitcher status, and the World Series victory last year, the Angels have gone from being a league afterthought to one of the preeminent teams in baseball. That won't last forever, of course - these things never do - but it's pretty amazing to realize that you're living through what's indisputibly the best era in your team's history. It's a feeling a lot of fans will never know. Yankee fans, for example, may be able to point to the 1998 team, but can they really say that those guys were better than the '27, '32, or '39 editions? How many could compare the two from first-hand experience?

I was also gratified to see Hank Blalock homer to win the game off of Eric Gagne, who's had unbelievably nasty stuff this year. Blalock is one of the Rangers' brightest hopes for the future, and I strongly suspect that if Texas ever puts together even a halfway-decent pitching staff they're going to be a pretty good team. Blalock himself deserved to play in this game, and maybe even start.

Awright, enough basking. I'm already jonesing for tomorrow night's game against the Orioles, and I hope the Angels are too.

Posted 10:54 AM by Sean
As long as we're talking about pointless diversions, the Angels are nominated for three ESPY Awards, which will be handed out on ESPN tomorrow night starting at 9:00 Eastern. The 2002 team is nominated in the "Best Team" category, Scioscia is nominated for "Best Coach," and Game 6 of the World Series is nominated for "Best Game."

Posted 9:28 AM by Sean
Aw, it was an empty threat. You knew it, I knew it, and the American people knew it. Read? Read a book?? Read a book with words?!?

And, of course, I'm glad I did tune in (at 8:00 Eastern, 7:00 Central), because Garret Anderson won the Home Run Derby last night, beating Albert Pujols in an exciting final round. Anderson is the first Angel to ever win the Derby; to call this an upset is something of an exercise in rhetorical restraint. It's becoming fashionable to refer to GA as one of the most underrated players in baseball - which is true - but it's not like he hits monster shots that people ignore. Anderson himself puts it best: "I don't look at myself as a home run hitter but I know I'm capable of hitting the ball out of the park. . .That swing that I was using tonight is not a swing that I try to use during the season. It was strictly for trying to hit balls over the fence. During the season, mentally and physically I don't do that. I look for mistakes and try to hit them hard."

Exactly. Which is why he's second in the league in slugging, despite having "only" 22 home runs so far. He led the majors in doubles last year (56), and is just two off the lead this year (30). This is a guy that was dogged early in his career for being somewhat lackadaisical, and was even benched in the middle of the game once by then-manager Terry Collins for failing to run out a grounder. I don't think anyone says that about him anymore, and I suspect Collins deserves a fair bit of credit for waking him up to the fact that, in this league, talent is never enough. Anderson has developed into a player that fans can not only admire for his performance, but also respect for his attitude (and his refreshing lack of showboating), and I, for one, am glad he's an Angel for both of those reasons.

As an aside, Jim Caple at ESPN has a pretty entertaining article arguing in favor of using aluminum bats during the Home Run Derby. I think he's about 50% serious. I'm in favor of using aluminum bats too, I'm just in favor of using them to beat that jackass Chris Berman with. Is there any more annoying guy in the history of broadcast sports? He makes Bill Walton look like Ernie Harwell.

Ah, well. It should be fun to see how Mike Scioscia manages tonight. Both he and Dusty Baker seem fairly laid back about the game, and why not? It's not like there'll be a lot of tough decisions involved, from a managerial standpoint. They're all pretty good players, you know.

Posted 12:07 PM by Sean
ESPN still says the Home Run Derby is at 8:00 Eastern. Look, if you want to watch it, my advice is to turn on your TV right now, and watch until it starts. Because apparently no one quite knows when that's going to be.

Garret Anderson or no Garret Anderson, at this point maybe I'll just read a damn book.

Posted 12:01 PM by Sean
Sorry folks - I was wrong about the start time for the home run derby. MLB says it starts at 6:00 Eastern, which of course is 5:00 Central and 3:00 Pacific. Then again, it also says that's when coverage starts, and God only knows what kind of absurd wankfest we'll be treated to before they actually start.

Incidentally, the Futures Game was held yesterday, the U.S. team managing to beat the World team 3-2. Everything that needs to be said about MLB's shameful lack of promotion for this game can be found at Aaron's Baseball Blog today. Of the Angels prospects who made the game, catcher Jeff Mathis was a late-inning substitute and went 0-1 at the plate, while pitcher Ervin Santana did not play.

Posted 9:46 AM by Sean
The Angels won their fifth straight yesterday afternoon with a mixture of bein' good and bein' lucky. The good involved a solid start from John Lackey (3 ER, 6 IP, 5 K, 2 BB, 94 TP) and an opportunistic offense that seemed straight out of 2002. The lucky - well, let's call it a mixture of good and lucky - involved some terrific defensive plays to catch the Twins on the basepaths, including a seventh inning that saw Angels pitchers give up a walk and three base hits but no runs (preserving a 4-3 lead), thanks to a double play and a terrific throw from Jeff DaVanon to nip Luis Rivas at the plate as he tried to score from second on a Denny Hocking single. Lucky? Sure. It's not often you put that many guys on base and get out of the inning unscathed. But also good. DaVanon seems to have locked in with this team, and is easily as much a part of it as Orlando Palmeiro was last year.

So now, just as the Angels are rolling for the first time all season, we have the full. Stop. That is. The All-Star. Break. According to conventional wisdom, this is supposed to mess up momentum, but I have some pretty serious doubts about that. Last year at this time, the Angels had also gone on the upswing right before the break, and started off the second half of the season just as hot. The fact is that they just finished winning twelve of their last sixteen against some decent teams (Dodgers, Rangers, A's, Royals, Twins - not great, but not pushovers), and contemplating that fact can only help their confidence. Plus, their first eight games after the break are at Baltimore, Tampa Bay, and Texas, which will hopefully be a momentum-booster before heading into a vicious portion of the schedule (Oakland, New York, Toronto, Boston).

So I intend to enjoy the All-Star Break, because I'm pretty sure there will be some tense moments afterwards as the Angels continue to claw towards October.

Posted 9:14 AM by Sean
Manny Ramirez won't play in the All-Star game due to a hamstring injury, meaning that Garret Anderson will get the start in his place. Two Angels in the starting lineup? Holy crow...

Anderson will also participate in the Home Run Derby portion of the All-Star festivities, to be broadcast on ESPN tonight at 7:00 Central Time (5:00 Pacific).

Anyway, I'll say this about the All-Star Game: I know a lot of people who are skeptical about the whole winner-gets-home-field-for-the-Series concept, arguing that such a thing shouldn't hang on the outcome of an exhibition, or that the All-Star Game should be just one of many factors determining home field. But the closer we get to the playoffs, the more I like the idea. Despite the inane "This Time It Counts!" and "The Excitement is Back!" and "Oh My God, I'm Dancing Back And Forth From One Leg To The Other In An Effort Not To Wet Myself, I'm So Excited By This!" commercials, the fact is that, for the first time, there really is something tangible riding on this All-Star Game. It's not just a chance for the game's best players to injure themselves with half the season to go, and maybe I'll actually be able to watch the whole thing without falling asleep this year. I think that the folks who argue that we should also consider interleague play and various other factors have a point, but let's not complain because we're only taking one step in the right direction at once.

Posted 11:34 AM by Sean
On the heels of Bill Stoneman's contract extension, Mike Scioscia gets one, too, this one through 2007, with a club option for 2008. Amazingly, Scioscia - who is in his fourth season as manager - is already the second-longest tenured Angels manager of all time, behind Bill Rigney (who was at the helm for the first eight seasons, and part of the ninth). Gene Mauch actually managed for a total of four seasons and change, but they were non-consecutive - he's the Grover Cleveland of Angels managers.

Another item of interest in the same article: Scioscia is lifting the five-inning restriction he'd placed on Aaron Sele. The restriction had been in effect for Sele's last three starts, during which he'd gone 3-0 with a 0.60 ERA.

Let the second-guessing begin: why, oh why would you mess with something that's working? But if there's one thing I've learned over the last couple of years, it's that, when it comes to managing this baseball team, Mike Scioscia is smarter than just about everyone else.

One of the hallmarks of this team has been its flexibility - guys can play two or three different positions, move from the rotation to the bullpen and back, etc. Keeping Sele tethered to his five-and-fly status does no favors to either the team or Sele himself. Even given that the rotation has pitched much more effectively in the last couple of weeks, there's simply no way to justify penciling them in for four innings every five days and restricting your options on the days before and after that game. This is particularly true when you consider that their most viable long-inning option, Scott Schoeneweis, is the only lefty in the bullpen.

Ultimately, Sele will have to stand or fall on his merits as a fully-contributing member of the rotation. As Scioscia said, it's time to take the water wings off and send him towards the deep end of the pool. His next scheduled start will be June 21, at Tampa Bay, which will be followed - if the schedule holds - by home starts against Oakland on the 26th and the Yankees on the 31st. If Sele is ineffective in those first two starts, look for the rumor mill to heat up fast regarding a trade.