Updated strength of schedule numbers 

Posted 5:16 PM by Sean
After last night's win over the Red Sox, the Angels now have nineteen "unique" games left - games against teams that Oakland doesn't play, or doesn't play as often. Oakland has twenty such games left. The remaining unique games for each:

LAA - BOS (2), TAM (6), OAK (7), CWS (3), DET (1)
OAK - BAL (1), KCR (3), LAA (7), NYY (3), CLE (3), MIN (3)

Opponent winning percentage for each:

LAA - .5162
OAK - .5173

Owies 

Posted 1:16 PM by Sean
Most of the rest of the Halosphere has already made mention of this, but here's how the Angels' hurt squad seems to be shaping up:

Dallas McPherson - probably out for the season (bone spur, hip). That's bad, but, to be honest, it's almost a relief. McPherson had shown signs of why he was considered a can't-miss prospect, but even can't-miss prospects need an adjustment period, and it's not clear that McPherson was past his. With Izturis and Figgins playing more than competently at third, and Casey Kotchman getting his legs under him offensively, losing McPherson is a bummer, but probably not crippling.

Garret Anderson - the official statements on Anderson are as bad as the bad old days when the Kremlin used to report on the health status of Soviet premiers. As far as I can tell, the line on Anderson is that there's no set date for him to return, but what's bothering him - patellar tendinitis and lower back strain - won't keep him out for long. Scioscia plans to have him back at DH "in a reasonable amount of time," and expects him to eventually return to the outfield. Given the Angels' depth, it's far more important to have Anderson's bat in the lineup than to put him in left; hopefully we'll see him in the next few games.

Kelvim Escobar - Escobar is scheduled to throw a simulated game today, then begin a rehab assignment next week, which would put him on pace to rejoin the club somewhere around Labor Day. Assuming nothing has been decided about whether he'll return to the rotation or finish the year in the bullpen, Santana should have three more starts to sway the decision one way or the other.

Before I forget (again) 

Posted 11:06 AM by Sean
Check out the Lyman Bostock Tribute Page, a fine rememberance of an Angel taken before his time.

Rear-view mirror 

Posted 10:55 AM by Sean
At this point, I'm thinking the Angels would gnaw their own legs off to be rid of the trap that is the Toronto Blue Jays. Fortunately, they are done with those hockey-loving sons of bitches until next year, unless they happen to make it into the playoffs. Which, given the fact that they play the Angels like they're easily the best team in the majors, is not out of the question. It speaks volumes that I'm actually relieved to see the Red Sox coming up.

It is now, beyond question, time for Finley to go. The Angels' patience with their free-agent signings has been pretty remarkable - not that they had much choice, given the investment - but whereas Orlando Cabrera has very slowly begun to make himself an asset, Steve Finley is simply a disaster at the plate. He's currently 6 for 44 in August (.136), hasn't had a multi-hit game since July 26, is mediocre in center, and has more or less obtained the status of automatic out. With rosters expanding in a couple of weeks, there's probably no need to release him outright, but there's simply no way left to justify his appearing in anything other than "stupid situations" - up by ten, down by twelve, pinch-runner in the fourteenth inning, etc.

Looks familiar 

Posted 4:38 PM by Sean
Eric DuBose, making an emergency start for Baltimore this afternoon, shut out the A's through six innings, giving up just two hits. And then, with a 5-0 lead, the Orioles brought in Jason Grimsley, who gave up a double, a homer, a bunt single, and a walk before being lifted for Steve Klein. You know, it's bad enough that I have to worry about the Angels' bullpen...

Update: Klein stops the bleeding, more or less, recording three straight outs on balls that don't leave the infield. One inherited runner scores on a groundout; Baltimore leads 5-3 in the 8th.

Update 2: Klein works a scoreless eighth and Todd Williams sets 'em down 1-2-3 in the ninth. Take notes, Halo relievers.

Pissed it away 

Posted 1:24 PM by Sean
I didn't see last night's game - it wasn't on Extra Innings - and that's probably a good thing, the price of aneurysms being what it is. Frankie's inexplicable (*coughwinterball*) recent loss of velocity and command have become something of a trend; even during Monday's win he seemed more lucky than good. Although at first I thought that Ervin Santana had little chance of retaining his rotation slot when Escobar is ready to come back, it seems the Esky-to-the-bullpen momentum is growing stronger with every free pass Rodriguez issues.

For comparison's sake:

Percival, 2002 - 56.1 IP, 25 BB, 68 K, 40 SV, 4 BS, OAVG .188
Rodriguez, 2005 - 46.1 IP, 24 BB, 64 K, 27 SV, 5 BS, OVG .170

Just to torment Rob 

Posted 5:08 PM by Sean
InDemand has started broadcasting select games in high definition - a little less than one per day. The complete schedule can be found here. Angels games on the docket include September 7 at Boston and September 28 at Oakland. Meanwhile, INHD will be showing the August 23 game at Baltimore, and possibly others.

Who knew? 

Posted 12:17 PM by Sean
The Dallas Morning News looks back on the wreck that the Rangers' season has become, and pinpoints the moment it all started to go wrong: the DFA'ing of Ryan Drese.

With showdowns in the AL West looming, management convened to discuss
Drese's downward turn. Despite protests from pitching coach Orel Hershiser, the
meeting ended with Drese designated for assignment. If he made it through
waivers, the Rangers would send him to the minors for a refresher course.

If he didn't, well, he'd be somebody else's problem. And the Rangers
would have another $1.8 million – Drese's 2006 salary – to apply to a mid-season
pitching acquisition.

Three months later and this much is obvious: Drese was the glue
that held this team together.

OK, maybe not the glue. But he was some kind of adhesive.

(What does that last line mean, anyway?)

Strength of schedule 

Posted 11:20 AM by Sean
At the moment, the Angels are in one of the tougher stretches they have left, having won the first game of a seven-game homestand versus the Blue Jays and Red Sox. Meanwhile, the A's have it comparatively easy, hosting Baltimore and Kansas City. That makes last night's win even nicer, as the Angels put down an over-.500 opponent while the A's lose to one under the break-even mark.

From here on in, the Angels and A's schedules are very similar in terms of opponent strength. After cancelling out the mutual opponents, we're looking at the following:

Angels - TOR (2), BOS (3), TAM (6), OAK (7), CWS (3), DET (1)
A's - BAL (3), KC (3), LAA (7), NYY (3), CLE (3), MIN (3)

Adjusted for the number of times uniquely played, the Angels' opponents down the stretch have a .521954 winning percentage; the A's opponents have a .516681 winning percentage. If the Angels were to lose their two-game lead over the next two days, the two clubs would be even in the standings, with the remaining opponent winning percentage being .52245 for the Angels and .51915 for the A's. That's pretty damn close.

Oopsie-daisy 

Posted 8:36 AM by Sean
So I was channel-surfing last night, looking for an old episode of Sisters, or maybe dwarf porn, when I stumbled upon a game between the Angels and Blue Jays. I bemusedly paused to see when the game had been played - perhaps it was from the sacred season of 2002 - but quickly saw that the Jays were wearing their new uniforms, the ones that look like they were designed by Pablo Picasso, John James Audubon, and a 24-year-old graphic designer after a bottle of absinthe apiece.

As I listened to Hudler and Physioc drone on, it slowly dawned on me that this was, in fact, no archived game being rebroadcast on ESPN Classic; it was, in fact, being played that very night! Stunned, I rushed to my computer and consulted the Internet, only to discover that, through some scheduling quirk, some technical loophole in the MLB rules, the Angels' season did not end when Frankie Rodriguez failed to catch Jose Molina's return throw on August 11! In fact, I learned, the Angels were actually being allowed to play games that counted in the standings, and had not been eliminated from contention!

Well. I was floored, let me just tell you. And to put the cherry on the ice cream sundae, it turns out the Angels have actually been so ungallant as to win their last four games, which must put a distinctly uncomfortable cramp in the style of anyone who may have declared it time to throw in the towel, strike the tent, fold up the camp chairs, hit the bricks, and/or start paying attention to football. I just hope that, wherever such folks may be, they can bring themselves to believe the incredible fact that the Angels made up a one-game deficit with 50 to play. Maybe they left themseleves a loophole.

In any event, the Angels won a very big game last night, finally taking a close one from the Blue Jays. It's an old baseball cliche that some teams just have your number, and the Angels needed this one to get past that mental block. With four games against the very tough Red Sox coming up, they just cannot afford to be stymied by a lesser team. The fact that Darin Erstad, poster boy for the Angels' brand of aggressive baseball, has now come through in the clutch on consecutive nights makes it all the sweeter.

Oh, and the A's blew a 2-0 lead in a comical seventh inning and lost to the Orioles, too.

Interesting bits from the papers this morning:

The L.A. Times sez that Erstad moving back to center is a possibility:

Said Manager Mike Scioscia: "To move Erstad, it would have to make the
whole lineup better. It would be a significant move. You would expect
significant results."A lot of it hinges on how Garret is. If Garret can play the
outfield, we can still get Kotchman's bat in the lineup" at designated
hitter.

To quote Keanu: whoa. Scioscia has been adamant about keeping Erstad at first, but the situation they find themselves in - Anderson injured, Finley ineffective, Kotchman showing signs of life - makes the idea seem awfully attractive. Throw in the fact that Guerrero is being intentionally walked like he was Barry Bonds or something now that Anderson is out of the lineup, and one can't help but have visions of Ersty flying around out there again. Is it possible to win Gold Gloves in two positions in the same season?

(Eating crow department - looks like all that agitating I did to see Anderson hit in front of Guerrero in the lineup was, uh, in error.

That despite the fact Seattle manager Mike Hargrove pretty much laid out the
plan after Friday night's game, when Guerrero had hit 864 feet worth of home
runs. Hargrove said he would pitch around the 2004 AL MVP without Anderson
there.
"If Anderson's not hitting behind him, sure," Hargrove said. "But
Anderson's too good a hitter to put men on in front of him."

Though I still think Molina would come through most of the time, he sure hasn't so far.)

Meanwhile, Paul Byrd becomes the latest Angels starter with injury problems, though apparently not serious ones. Byrd has been scratched from tonight's start with "back spasms," which may or may not have cleared up already. Joe Saunders has been promoted from Salt Lake to make tonight's start - which, of course, isn't on Extra Innings. Jeff Mathis has been sent back down to make room on the roster.

Stars in my eyes 

Posted 5:07 PM by Sean
Thanks to all of my fellow Halosphere members for linking to and talking up the bit of trifle I posted earlier today (yeah, I know it's marked Saturday - trust me). Between them and a mention at Baseball Think Factory, I've gotten about three times my normal traffic. If you're new to the site, welcome.