It would almost be worth living in an even larger cauldron of seething humanity 

Posted 11:30 PM by Sean
I love living in the early 21st century; as I've mentioned several times, I subscribe to the "Extra Innings" package on digital cable so I can follow the Angels despite living in Dallas (or a suburb thereof). Very occasionally, however, I wish the broadcast didn't have to end with the final out of the game, and I could tune into the Southern California Sports Report, or the SoCal Sportz Nutz, or whatever the hell Orange Countians get to see after the last out is made.

Tonight, of course, is such a night. Ye Gods and li'l fishies, what a game John Lackey pitched tonight. Sure, okay, against the Devil Rays, but still - a three-hit shutout, for a guy who's in the process of rehabilitating his reputation as a starter - this will be one he remembers for the rest of his life. I'd dearly love to see the locker-room interviews with him, but, even more so, the interviews with Jose Molina, who looked very much like a catcher coming into his own. Molina called a terrific game, and seemed to really get Lackey on the right track whenever he had to visit the mound. If Jose isn't somebody's starting catcher by next year, I'll be very, very surprised.

I Believe Eck's Time Ain't Long 

Posted 3:05 PM by Sean
The Press-Enterprise has a profile of Erick Aybar today. Aybar, along with Alberto Callaspo and Brandon Wood, is one of three promising shortstops percolating through the Angels' system.

Keeping it in perspective 

Posted 12:22 PM by Sean
On the heels of Aaron Sele replacing Ramon Ortiz in the lineup comes another intriguing roster move. Robb Quinlan has returned to Anaheim, replacing Matt Hensley. That's first baseman Robb Quinlan.

Now, it's obvious that the Angels weren't going to carry fourteen pitchers for very long, and Quinlan does fill a hole on the bench now that Chone Figgins and Shane Halter are starting regularly. But it's an especially noteworthy move combined with (1) the fact that Garret Anderson's back travails appear to be of the "indefinite duration" variety, and (2) Chone Figgins is getting some playing time at third base, and (3) Troy Glaus's move to DH seems to have slowed him down offensively not at all. Given that Figgins is looking like a guy who could really help the lineup, especially if he's returned to his natural spot at the top of the order, I wonder if Scioscia may be on the verge of moving Darin Erstad back to center, playing Quinlan at first, and using Glaus and Figgins to share third and DH? On one hand, it's crazy talk, because I think Scioscia will be very resistant to the notion of putting Erstad back in center. On the other, however...it makes some sense, and if Scioscia can pull the plug on Ortiz, he can do this, too.

Not that this has looked like a team that requires much adjusting recently. The Angels finished their sweep of the Tigers last night to remain in a first-place tie with Texas. On top of their 7-2 road trip, that makes the Angels 11 for their last 13. Sure, Detroit ain't New York. But so what? Beating up on the weak teams and contending with the strong ones is how championships get won, and the fact is that taking two out of three at Minnesota - on the basis of pitching, no less - is pretty impressive, too. The New Yorks and Bostons of the league will keep until later in the month; right now, the Angels are doing what they need to do, and deserve a lot of credit for it. The team currently has the best record in the majors, and leads the AL in runs scored. Washburn leads the league in wins; Glaus leads the majors in home runs and the American League in RBI, and trails only Jorge Posada in the AL in OPS. Jose Guillen, until recently the lineup's red-headed stepchild, has started cranking out hits. Kelvim Escobar has quietly become a dependable starter, and John Lackey is well down the path to doing the same. Frankie Rodriguez has yet to give up an earned run. Troy Percival has nine saves and an ERA of 1.69. Brendan Donnelly is likely to return next week, and eventually the club will add Garret Anderson, one of the best players in the league, back into the lineup.

Winning streaks are fragile things, and the baseball gods are capricious, but let's not forget that it's good to stop and smell the W's.

Roster Moves 

Posted 11:02 AM by Sean
Mike Scioscia appears to have finally given up on Ramon Ortiz, demoting him to the bullpen and putting Aaron Sele into the starting rotation. Thanks be to Jebus. Sele will start on Thursday against Tampa, and Ortiz will theoretically be coming out of the pen in long relief. I suppose anything's possible, but since Ortiz's real problem has always been mental, I can't imagine that he'll actually improve when he enters a game with runners on base.

Meanwhile, the Angels are estimating that Brendan Donnelly could return as soon as next week, welcome news for anyone who watched Scot Shields "protect" a five-run lead last night. Don't get me wrong - Shields is a good reliever, but when he doesn't have command of his fastball the Angels need to be able to turn to someone else. I have to admit that I'm a bit mystified by the talk of Donnelly's impending return displacing Ben Weber or (please, God) Ortiz, since the team brought Matt Hensley up from Triple-A when Salmon went on the DL, and could easily send him back down again once Donnelly's back. The real crisis wouldn't come until Salmon and Anderson return, at which point they're unlikely to continue carrying fourteen pitchers.

Of course, it's probably unwise to carry fourteen pitchers now. I had a nice little reminder of how closely I've been following this team this morning: driving to work, I hit a patch of construction on the highway in which the speed limit changed; passing the signs that said "55," all I could think was frickin' Jeff DaVanon...we need better pinch hitters.