Posted 2:58 PM by Sean
The strongman pauses, then returns the valise to the space beneath his bed, his leopard-print unitards still hanging neatly in his closet. The elephant trainer goes to town to buy more peanuts, while the tightrope walkers double-check the knots on the safety net; looks like they'll be leaving it in place for a while yet.

Because the time has not yet come, you see, to fold up the tents and leave town.

After two straight shutouts of the mighty Texas offense, the Angels are three games out of first entering a four-game series against Seattle, a team that's posted a gruesome 13-35 record on the road. Meanwhile, the Rangers and A's will slap-fight down in Arlington. Things could get mighty interesting over the weekend. A few random thoughts:

- Does Scioscia come out to argue something every single game, or just the ones I watch?

- The speculation the other day was that the Yankees might be willing to take on Matt Mantei and Roberto Alomar's contracts from the Diamondbacks to get Randy Johnson; New York would then just release the two, eating the loss. Earlier, there was word the Yankees had tried to get the Angels to deal them Ramon Ortiz, so they could turn around and send him to Arizona. How about a deal whereby we send Ortiz directly to the Snakes, and New York pays Tim Salmon's $9.75 million salary next year?

- In 2005, the Angels will no longer have Aaron Sele or Kevin Appier to pay, and probably won't be paying Troy Percival, either. That's somewhere in the range of $28 million worth of payroll. I wonder how many years Pedro Martinez is going to want. I wonder if Carlos Beltran likes Disneyland.

Thready but there 

Posted 3:20 PM by Sean
The Angels' pulse, that is. Tonight's a big game; the difference between being five out and being three out is pretty significant at this point. But Colon's excellent performance last night shored up the theory that he's finally coming around, to the point that I'm actually looking forward to his next start.

Unfortunately, the bats again looked pretty dead last night. Guerrero did in fact return to the lineup, and played impressively; if Anderson can do the same starting tonight, the Angels should be in decent shape to hit some of the slacker teams in the League beginning on Thursday.

Word is that Randy Johnson has requested that if the Diamondbacks are going to deal him, the deal get done today so he can prepare for his Friday start. I'd put the odds at about 70-30 he'll stay in Arizona. Although Jarrod Washburn has been placed on the DL, I'm not terribly worried; he'll miss one start, and Ortiz has been pitching well enough as a spot starter. Over the long haul, Johnson would be nice...but not as nice as having four great prospects develop into solid major league players.

Bleah. Sometime I'll have to go back and look at blog entries following West Coast games. I'm pretty sure they reflect the lack of sleep.

And now, a tasteful moment of silence 

Posted 3:35 PM by Sean
Rob think's it's over, that last night's 6-1 drubbing at the hands of the Rangers is the end point of the Angels' hopes this year. I'm about 24 hours behind him; going in to this series I figured we needed at least two of three. Tonight's game is actually the one the Angels are best poised to win; probationary staff ace Bartolo Colon versus first-time starter / red meat Nick Regilio. Guerrero should be back from his hand injury tonight, and we may see Garret Anderson start as well. At five games back, and with plenty of competition for the wild card, it's time to do or die.

Also, I now know what "nonplussed" feels like 

Posted 5:20 PM by Sean
Via Pearly Gates, I come across a blog entirely devoted to Jeff DaVanon. You, uh, go, girl.

Don't blink or you'll miss it 

Posted 1:53 PM by Sean
From today's game preview on the Angels' official site:

Players to watch
Garret Anderson has, by far, the best numbers against Moyer of any active Angel, with a .370 (27-for-73) lifetime batting average against the left-hander, five home runs and 15 RBIs.

Uh, guys...?

Update: still no word, as far as I can see, on a callup to play third base tonight. Maybe they're sticking with Quinlan at third, using Hensley to ensure the relievers get a breather tonight before returning him to Salt Lake?

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me 4,395 times, shame on me... 

Posted 9:17 AM by Sean
I couldn't make this up if I tried:

On Wednesday, Guillen told three reporters — in three interviews — that he did not attend that day's players-only meeting.

"It doesn't matter to me," Guillen told The Times. "I'm just trying to do my job. The meeting isn't going to mean anything."

After Angel management canvassed some players Thursday, Scioscia told reporters that Guillen did attend the meeting.

Guillen refused to confirm that, and said, "Who cares?" He also told reporters, "I'm not talking to you guys the rest of the season."

It's like the old Tonight Show, when Johnny Carson would ask whether Doc Severinsen was there, over and over. "Jose is here? Jose is not here. Oh, Jose IS here?"

Meanwhile, the same story puts Anderson as day-to-day, but unlikely to play against Seattle. The Angels will likely call up an infielder from the minors and move Figgins to center field for a few games, presumably at the expense of Matt Hensley, who was called up a few days ago to give the bullpen an extra arm. That's assuming, of course, that Josh Paul retains the eerie power to cloud men's minds [alternate theory for Douglas Adams geeks only: he's got a Somebody Else's Problem field generator!] There's no word yet on the official site, but the Times speculates that Dallas McPherson, despite (a) being a third baseman and (b) slugging the crap out of the ball in Triple-A (10 HR in 82 AB!) will remain in Salt Lake. The Angels may be gunshy after seeing Kotchman "underperform" in his debut in the bigs, and are expected to draft one of the usual suspects - Amezaga or Riggs - or possibly Alex Pelaez. Pelaez would be an interesting choice; he's never been more than a second- or third-tier prospect, and seemed destined to fizzle out before smelling the bigs. He's spent significant time in the PCL in three different seasons before this one, with no power to speak of and an average that ranged from .250 to .309 (which, in the PCL, isn't all that hot; .250 is positively Mendozan). This year, however, he's hitting .343, with 25 strikeouts in 239 at-bats. He's also 28 years old, so the clock is ticking on what has to be the most evil-looking man in the Angels' organization.

Personally, I think the idea of getting McPherson up for a few games is pretty appealing - but so was promoting Kotchman. Given that this is likely to be just a three- or four-game stint, no matter how well he hits, I suspect the Times is correct, and we'll see one of the other three. My hunch is that Scioscia may be sick of Amezaga and Riggs at this point, and they'll give Pelaez his first chance to make a case for staying with the organization in 2005.

Oh, and You Have a Nice Day Now, Hear? 

Posted 3:43 PM by Sean
The Angels are destroying Texas 10-1 in the 9th, a much-needed laugher. Colon's line: 7.0 IP, 106 pitches, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 0 HR.

The real Angels fans know what's coming next...

...That's right. Garret Anderson has left the game with an "injured leg." Given the events of the last few days, I feel confident in saying that Jose Guillen bit him.

Update:  This thread says Anderson had either tightness in the back of his leg or in his groin, and will hopefully be day-to-day.

Boom, Boom! Ain't it Great to be Cray-zeee... 

Posted 11:54 AM by Sean
I imagine there may be a few people laughing up their sleeves in Cincinnati and Oakland this morning; apparently the Jose Guillen complain train has pulled into Anaheim station. The Register advises that not only were we misled on Sunday, when Guillen was said to have been a late scratch so he could have a day off, we were subsequently sold a different bill of goods when the culprit was described as a stiff lower back. No, apparently Guillen was scratched on Sunday as punishment for missing a team photo opportunity, because, in his words, he "just didn't feel like coming outside."

That's today's story, anyway. What's the next incarnation of this farce? Did Guillen shoot Scioscia's dog and moon a busload of nuns?

In any event, Guillen looks to be in deep doo-doo in the clubhouse. You'll recall that he was Mr. Instigator a couple of months ago, complaining that he was always getting hit by pitches because the Angels pitchers were too chickenshit to retaliate, prompting Jarrod Washburn to sit him down for a little come-to-Jesus meeting. Now, on the heels of his little bench-riding comes word that Guillen was the only Angel to skip a players-only meeting before yesterday's game. The Register says that Guillen claimed to be "unaware the meeting had been called," while the Times quotes Mr. Pouty thus: "It doesn't matter to me," he said. "I'm just trying to do my job. The meeting isn't going to mean anything. I'm just here to win."

Said meeting was called by Darin Erstad. And who's got Ersty's back with the press? Aw, you know who:

"I think it was time for something to be said," Jarrod Washburn said. "It was good timing on his part."

Oh, boy. I bet this is a team that's really looking forward to playing the next two and a half months.

"Discomfort?" 

Posted 11:33 AM by Sean
Today in the Times, we learn:

"Batting instructor Mickey Hatcher skipped the trip to Texas, reporting lingering discomfort after being struck in the groin by a line drive during batting practice Monday. He hopes to rejoin the team Friday in Seattle."

...or the soprano section of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... 

Posted 2:08 PM by Sean
...by which I mean the Angels may want to look into just skipping the rest of the season and going directly to the winter meetings.

The Halos got their clocks cleaned so thoroughly yesterday that they're still humming the Winchester chimes, by a club that just shouldn't do that kind of thing to championship-caliber squads. I didn't see the game, thank Christ.

Tonight, the Angels stumble into Arlington for a pair with the Rangers. I'll be at tonight's game. Lucky me.

Elsewhere in the Angelsphere, a couple of my fellow bloggers are engaged in a little competitive urination over the usefulness of Jeff DaVanon. Tee hee hee, fellas. DaVanon is a competent fourth outfielder, probably a little bit better than Orlando Palmeiro in 2002, but not much. The problem is that he's in the lineup more often than he should be because of Troy Glaus's injury, and he's being more prominently placed in said lineup than he should be because of the astoundingly bad season Tim Salmon is having. Don't blame DaVanon, whose doing about as well as could be expected given his role on the team; blame Salmon for not being the everyday force he's supposed to be.

Incidentally, Troy Glaus - despite having played in 29 of the team's 93 games thus far, is still third on the team in home runs, with 11. And #4 ain't close - GA has 7. The Angels are 11th in the league and 23rd in the majors in home runs these days.

Remind me again why I stay up for this? 

Posted 12:53 PM by Sean
Last night's game ended at 12:34 a.m. Central Daylight Time. I'm always happy when I stay up that late for a loss; particularly when the Angels made a stellar comeback just as I was nodding off, only to throw it away in the 10th.

Rob is right to lay the proximate cause of this one on Percival's doorstep; sure, Eckstein made the error that opened the door, but with two outs and a man on first, your closer's gotta be able to get guys out. That's what closers do, you dig?

One other item of note: Jose Guillen sat out his second consecutive game, and the Angels are now indicating that he's facing season-ending surgery.

Ha! Ha! Not really. Maybe. Actually, they're saying that he has a stiff back, as opposed to the "it's just a day off" line they fed us Sunday. Post-it to Angels' management: players generally don't get scratched from the lineup right before game time unless there's a specific reason. If you don't want to say he's got an owie, try telling us the cat ate his batting gloves. It's less insulting to the intelligence.

Today, the Angels will try to improve their very poor record (it's something like 1-572, but I'm too lazy to look it up right now) against the Indians to one that's only moderately sucky. The Indians have Jake Westbrook going this afternoon, though, so the bats are going to need a bit o' sharpening.

Taking stock 

Posted 3:55 PM by Sean
Pointless controversy aside (yes, Schilling was throwing at Molina; yes, he should have been ejected; so?), the Angels had themselves a pretty interesting game yesterday. Lackey is beginning to look like he's coming into his own, and, up until melting down in Appieresque fashion in the sixth, looked like he would have his fourth straight quality start. Heck, even after giving up three runs in the sixth he technically had a quality start, but Scioscia's rather odd decision to keep him in to start the seventh sealed his (and the Angels') fate. Sometimes pitchers lose and regain control of a game, but rarely that late into it.

Lackey's improvement seems to be mirroring that of Jarrod Washburn, whose last two starts have been (1) seven innings of three-hit, no earned run ball against the Red Sox, and (2) a four-hit shutout of the White Sox. Prior to that, of course, he had a monumentally crappy start against Oakland, but before that, he had given up one earned run in fifteen innings of work. Even including that Oakland game, Washburn's ERA has plunged from 5.63 to 4.32 since June 15.

All of which leads me to conclude that the Angels will want to tread carefully when it comes to pursuing Randy Johnson. I think that it's unambiguously true that Johnson would help them down the stretch; he may very well be the difference between making the playoffs and staying home. But adding Johnson also means the Angels will have no less than seven starters; even if Ramon Ortiz is sent to Arizona as part of the deal, someone would still have to be sent to the pen. And that would be...Sele, I suppose, whose wonderful May is now a distant memory.

More to the point is the question of whether Johnson should be pursued at the expense of losing one or more of the system's prized prospects. Dallas McPherson, Casey Kotchman, Ervin Santana, and Jeff Mathis have all been mentioned as potential trade-bait for Johnson, whose contract runs through next year. How much do the Angels part with for Johnson's services for the next one and a half seasons?

Having given it a bit of thought, I'd offer this advice to Messrs. Stoneman and Moreno: you get damn few opportunities to get into the playoffs. If you can get a guy like Randy Johnson for a reasonable price, you do it. In this case, "reasonable" means they get Ortiz plus either Kotchman or McPherson or Santana. There's just no way you give up Mathis, who's considered the best catching prospect in baseball, especially now that Bengie Molina is starting to show signs of wear and tear. Losing any of the other three would hurt, but Kotchman and McPherson are replaceable, and Santana is still, despite his promise, a Double-A pitcher - nothing's guaranteed for him.

It's a tough call. But then, it's a tough world. Let's roll the dice.

Naw, we didn't really do that, did we? 

Posted 3:13 PM by Sean
I was pretty sure, what with all the traveling and life-changing events I've been up to in the last few weeks, that I hallucinated the whole "Angels sign Raul Mondesi" thing. But no, apparently not; apparently he's started a rehab assignment at Salt Lake, and apparently he's done re-injured himself.

Mondesi is the Angels' version of the hunchbacked girl you take home at last call, after twelve beers and three shots of tequila, and spend the rest of your life trying to forget. Memo to Dr. Yocum: didja ever see that episode of M*A*S*H where they had to decide whether to perform an unnecessary appendectomy on a notoriously incompetent combat officer to keep him from returning to the front? Good episode, doc. I'm just sayin', is all.

Or, to put it another way... 

Posted 12:35 PM by Sean
The Angels weren't exactly subtle last night, whacking the White Sox for twelve runs while Jarrod Washburn put up his first career shutout. I didn't get a chance to see the game, but you've gotta feel good about a contest dominated at both ends like that. After several weeks of covering themselves with muck, the Angels are poised to go into the All-Star break on a high if they can win a couple more and end their current road trip 4-2 or better.

On the down side, is anyone else finding Bengie Molina's speed to be more and more of an embarrassment this year? Last night, he hit into a triple play - and was still out by "four or five steps." I'm getting tired of seeing infielders recover from errors and throw him out by plenty. Yeah, I know - he can hit the ball some. But his weight isn't just keeping him from beating out balls in the infield, or taking extra bases - it also seems to be having an effect on his defense. The accuracy of past years is in short supply on the throw down to second. So far, in 360 innings, 32 stolen base attempts have been made with Bengie behind the plate - and 25 have succeeded, for a pretty wretched 21.9% rate of attempts caught. Compared to his previous, gold-glove-caliber performaces of 44.4% and 44.9% in the past two years, this is particularly worrisome.

I suppose one could argue that, because of his success behind the plate in the past, runners have become more selective, and now attempt steals only in extremely favorable conditions. Well, maybe. But when Jose Molina's behind the plate, the attempts have come at a nearly identical rate - 29 in 326 innings. And Jose's nabbed 15 of them, a 51.7% showing. Huh.

All right, all the doomed people take two steps forward... 

Posted 2:39 PM by Sean
July 31, 1997.

Who can tell me the significance of this date in baseball history? Anyone? Anyone besides Martin?

On July 31, 1997, the Chicago White Sox consummated what has forever after been called the "white flag trade," essentially surrendering their hopes of winning their division by shipping Danny Darwin, Wilson Alvarez, and Roberto Hernandez to San Francisco in exchange for a mess of minor-league talent. Knuckling under to the Indians, Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf proclaimed that "Anyone who thinks we can catch Cleveland is crazy."

At the time, the White Sox were three and a half games behind the Indians.

I was living in Chicago on July 31, 1997, and won't soon forget the incredulous resignation this announcement provoked among White Sox fans. It was, in its way, as cartoonish as Lucy pulling the football away at the last second, while Charlie Brown yelled "AAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGHHH." And, while the long-term effect of that trade was arguably positive for the Sox, the gut-shot morale of the team ("I didn't know the season ended on August 1," said Robin Ventura) and its fans was painful enough to cause embarrassment to this very day: mention "white flag trade" to a South Sider and you'll likely get a response that contains a phrase that rhymes with "Trucking Harry Minesdorf."

Let's face it, you don't get a whole lot of shots at a World Series. Even if the Yankees didn't hog a quarter of all the championships, making the playoffs is a lightning-in-a-bottle kind of experience. Once you're there, there's still just an average 12.5% chance of winning it all - but there's a chance (offer void in Oakland). So when there's two months left to play, and just three and a half games to make up...well, one can excuse Sox fans for speculating as to the size of Mr. Reinsdorf's testicles, or the connectedness of his head to his fundament.

Now then. I've been away from the blog for awhile (and will be again next week, unfortunately - conference in Boston). What've I missed?