Could we please not do that again? 

Posted 10:14 PM by Sean
Well, that was interesting.

Normally, when you score nine unanswered runs in the first two innings, and you've got your top-of-the-rotation guy pitching, and you've got the best bullpen in the league, you've pretty much wrapped it up. Stick a fork in it, call it a ballgame, turn out the lights 'cause the party's over, and send it out to be framed.

Apparently not.

That's two straight saves Percival's blown, and Frankie Rodriguez is starting to make him look really bad. I know that a lot of people - including me - thought that there was hope the Angels could squeeze one more year out of Percy, and two games ain't the end of the world, but at this point he's going to be under the microscope in a way he never has been before. I'm not going to make any radical suggestions about Percival based on a couple of outings, but I hope and pray that, if the time ever comes, he'll do what's right for the team.

In the meantime, he owes Chone Figgins a steak. He can get in line behind everybody else. When Eckstein lead off with a triple, I wondered if he was taking some satisfaction from the fact that discussions of his tenuous status as the lead-off hitter have made the Times two days in a row now. If so, it must have been short-lived; Figgins's triple, grand slam, and three singles made up an "anything you can do, I can do better" moment for the ages. Not that Figgins himself would see it that way, of course, but it sure was convenient to have as a point of comparison.

In any event, Texas was smacked around by the Tigers tonight, so the Angels' lead is back up to 2 1/2 games. For all the drama and black omens, tonight did the club some good, and maybe taught them that even nine-run leads need to be protected. Considering what happened the last time the Angels went to Baltimore, I'll take it.

Top of the World, Ma! 

Posted 11:12 AM by Sean
The Angels top ESPN's Power 10 this week, even though it was compiled before last night's win. Nice to see.

Iron Joe and the Bleeders 

Posted 10:03 AM by Sean
The lede in this here story in the Times is incorrect:

An Angel team already decimated by injuries added another key member to the triage unit Wednesday when Troy Glaus was scratched from the starting lineup because of a sprained right knee.

You see, "decimated" means that one out of every ten has gone down, not one out of every five.

Given that the Angels lineup is depopulating at roughly the same rate as a bag of marshmallow peeps in Mo Vaughn's locker, Jose Guillen's return to the lineup was especially noteworthy. You'll recall that Guillen, the American League player of the week last week, had to be hauled off the field in a cart after injuring his leg sliding into second on Sunday against Tampa Bay. The leg was immobilized with an air cast, and even after we learned that he hadn't broken anything, expectations were that he'd be out for at least ten days to two weeks. But no: Guillen, who played through a broken bone in his hand much of last year, sat out exactly one game (and actually made an appearance in the on-deck circle as a potential pinch-hitter), then picked up exactly where he left off. Against Javier Vaszquez, no less. Guillen was 2 for 4 with a double, a home run, and three runs scored, and he's starting to look like a phenomenal off-season pickup for Bill Stoneman. As long as he's matured to the point where he can ride out the occasional slump without self-destructing emotionally, he may be turning into the kind of player the Angels will want to think about keeping on even after his contract expires next year.

I was frankly astonished to see Anaheim/B whip New York last night. And what astonished me most was the pitching of Aaron Sele, who held the Yankees to two runs on six hits in six innings. His curveball was terrific at times, and, most importantly, he pitched through trouble. The third inning in particular had potential for severe damage by the Yankees; they had runners on second and third with one out and the heart of the linup due to bat. But Sele got Alex Rodriguez to fly out to left (scoring a run on the sacrifice), and struck out Jason Giambi. You hate to make comparisons, but the Ramon Ortiz I've seen recently couldn't have done that. In contrast, it was also gratifying to see the Yankees fall apart mentally a little bit as the game got away from them, Giambi in particular failing to come home with the ball after making an error at first base, allowing Guillen to score from second on a little squibber in front of the plate.

A couple of additional notes:

(1) Chone Figgins lead off last night, while Eckstein rode the pine and Amezaga played short. Scoscia is quoted in the Orange County Register as saying that this is a "mental break" for Eckstein, and that Eck will return to the leadoff spot. I've no doubt that's true, but I'm encouraged to hear that the possibility of installing Figgins at the top of the order is at least on his mind. By way of illustration, I've just computed Figgins's and Eckstein's effectiveness using the formula (TB + BB + SB) / (AB + BB), which should give us a rough estimate of how effectively they obtain bases (I'd guess there's a more sophisticated version of this equation out there somewhere, but this should do as a rough estimate). Figgins scores 58/89, or .652 bases obtained via hit, walk, or steal per plate appearance in which he has an at-bat or a walk. Eckstein is 40/121, or .331. Since neither of them has any real home run power, this would seem to be an apples-to-apples comparison of leadoff types, and there's really no question which would be better to have in front of the guys who are apt to drive in runs.

(2) Casey Kotchman put a great swing on a pitch in the eighth inning, driving a ball into the opposite gap for a bases-clearing double. Kotch is clearly still learning the ropes a little bit, but his mistakes on the bases have been the kind that experience will cure. Chone Figgins used to do the same kinds of thing (like slowing down rounding first, then trying for second anyway), but almost never does any more. If the Angels can actually get some of their walking wounded healthy again, I suspect that we'll be talking a lot more about potential deadline deals that would keep Figgins and Kotchman up. At the very least, Josh Paul's status as a third catcher has to be pretty tenuous.

Hint, Hint 

Posted 9:42 AM by Sean
Here's an article on the Angels' site comparing Chone Figgins to his friend, Marlins CF Juan Pierre. They are similar...except the Marlins have figured out where to put Pierre in the batting order...

Speaking of Figgins, anyone care to wager whether he'll end up with the league lead in triples this year? He's got five in 71 at-bats so far, and, if he stays in the lineup, could easily be the first guy in sixty years to hit more than 21 in a season (Lance Johnson hit 21 in 1996 and Willie Wilson hit 21 in 1985). And no one's hit more than 23 in eighty years, nor more than 26 in ninety-two years. The single-season leader in triples, Chief Wilson, had a mind-boggling 36 in 1912 (I know, ballparks were bigger, people hit fewer home runs). Aside from Wilson, no one hit more than 26 in the entire 20th century. Figgins doesn't play in the best triples park around - I'd guess that would be Detroit - but he surely does like to round second without slowing down.

Owie Update! 

Posted 9:06 AM by Sean
Heading into a road series with New York, here's the lowdown on the Angels' injury situation:

Darin Erstad - On the disabled list, awaiting results of an MRI. Will not play this series, roadtrip, or month.

Garret Anderson - Continues to suffer from mystery ailment causing pain in his upper back. Eligible to come off the DL, but won't anytime in the next few days. Realistic return date - impossible to tell; expect better data within the next few days.

Tim Salmon - Beginning rehab process for right knee. Expected back in about a week; will not play at New York or Baltimore.

Brendan Donnelly - Removed himself from a Triple-A rehab start two nights ago complaining of pain in the same elbow on which he had surgery in the fall. Scioscia reports that it was just "stiffness," but Donnelly will miss his scheduled rehab appearance today. Donnelly was expected to rejoin the team in a couple of days; this pushes that back to at least a week from today and possibly longer.

Troy Glaus - Should return to third-base duties during this roadtrip, "but not tonight." Will continue to DH until then.

Jose Guillen - Made the trip to New York with the team; is day-to-day and has not been diagnosed with any serious injury beyond knee and ankle sprains. Realistically will probably not start tonight, but I suspect he'll DH for most of the road trip, then return to left once Salmon rejoins the team.

A few more victories and we're totally screwed 

Posted 1:48 PM by Sean
I don't think there's an Angels fan on the planet who knows quite what to think right now. I sure don't.

Jose Guillen became the latest Angel to fall in battle yesterday, spraining his knee and ankle while sliding into second base. Meanwhile, Brendan Donnelly pulled himself out of a rehab appearance after experiencing elbow pain. These injuries, of course, come the day after Darin Erstad wrecked his hamstring - again - which has put him on the DL with an expected return date of "later rather than sooner." And Garret Anderson remains sidelined with some kind of mystery ailment to his back, while Tim Salmon, also on the DL, is working his way towards returning to the lineup sometime after the team returns from their impending New York - Baltimore swing. In the history of this snakebit franchise, 2004 is shaping up as one of the most star-crossed, in terms of injuries; already nearly every starter has been on the DL, limited to part-time status, or otherwise significantly whopped with the injury stick.

All of which, of course, Angels fans are used to. But the weird thing is that they keep on winning. The Angels finished their first 7-0 homestand ever yesterday, which, coming on the heels of a 7-2 road trip, makes them 14 for their last 16 and still proud owners of the best record in baseball.

The Angels called up their best prospect, Casey Kotchman, to replace Erstad yesterday, and he looked relatively good at the plate. No hits, but a sacrifice fly and some hard-hit balls; I was frankly somewhat surprised that he was called up, but now that he's with the big club he should get a chance to play nearly every day. It will, of course, present an interesting dilemma for the Angels if Erstad nears readiness in a couple of months only to find Kotchman putting up better numbers than Erstad has.

In fact, up until Jose Guillen went down, it seemed as if the Angels were adding by subtraction to some extent. Salmon's absence spares the team from his usual early-season funk, and Erstad, so long as he's not going to play center, is fairly easily replacable in the lineup. Garret Anderson is missed, surely, but considering the number of great hitters in the lineup, doing without GA has been more of an inconvenience than a crippling blow.

Take Guillen out of the mix, however, and things start to get a bit wobbly. Guillen had been otherworldly at the plate over the last couple of weeks, hitting six home runs since April 23 and hitting .484/.556/.903 in May. The word is that Guillen was limping but upbeat as he left the clubhouse, and thought he might not even miss a game, since today is an off day. That seems unlikely, but at this point even keeping him off the DL at all would be a victory.

Ultimately, I think the Angels actually have a chance to emerge from this a stronger team. Just as Eckstein's injury opened the way for Chone Figgins to become a productive member of the lineup, even after Eckstein's return (and who knew that Figgins was a terrific defensive third baseman? Anyone?), Erstad and Guillen's injuries should allow Scioscia to evaluate Kotchman and Quinlan.

On a related note, I'm beginning to worry a bit about Troy Glaus; his DH role seems to be taking on something of a permanent cast to it, or at least a "until Tim Salmon returns" cast. I guess I can understand that, but I also think it would be interesting to put Glaus back at third, move Figgins to center, and let Jose Molina take the DH spot for a few games. Hopefully Glaus's continued DH'ing is more from an overabundance of caution than anything else, but with this team...