Many of you are aware of the recent article by Buster Olney of ESPN. To start, my article is not a knock on ESPN or its writers. ESPN and its writer do a wonderful job of presenting us with all of the sports information we could ever need; however, the lack of objectivity in this column was pretty upsetting.

The article quoted an unnamed scout which is the first problem. Why should we care what one unnamed scout thinks about the Angels? That’s like finding one employee of a company who is upset with the company’s product and taking it as truth.

The article also stated that the entire Angels lineup consists of bad fastball hitters, and that the Red Sox wealth of fastball pitchers will make them look silly. I would like to ask this scout how an entire lineup of bad fastball hitters manages to hit nearly .300 for the season and .296 with runners in scoring position.

This scout’s conclusion was that the Angels don’t stand a chance.

Typically, opinion like this does not bother me. It’s the trend of bad information regarding every West Coast team, other than the Dodgers, among the top baseball commentators of not just ESPN, but every national sports news network.

I heard Steve Phillips say there is no doubt the Angels will start Scott Kazmir in game one of the playoffs. Keith Law said Ervin Santana would likely not make the playoff roster. Have they ever even watched an Angel game? I know its on late on the East Coast, but come on, do some research.

Again, ESPN is a great network, but there needs to be some accountability for their writers, and I don’t think the network will create that kind of accountability. It’s up to us to email, comment, and call in to these networks, and let them know how we feel.

In the end the Angels will have their chance to prove them wrong, and I think they will. But to set the record straight, the Angels can hit fastballs, and Josh Beckett allows nearly 4 runs per outing to the Angels. Go Halos!

Fastball Pitchers ERA vs. Angels

Josh Beckett - 4.50

Matt Garza - 10.80

-Tony C

So now that the hangover is over, it’s time to focus. So how do we beat those damn Red Sox? Here are the GoHalos.com top ten on how to beat the Red Sox.  Not that the Angels don’t already know these things, but it will be interesting to look for.

10.  Most obvious - win a game at home.

9.  For the fans - don’t sell your tickets to Red Sox fans.

8.  Start Kazmir in Fenway.  He is a proven winner there.

7. Score runs early. I know the Angels set a club record for comebacks, but the Red Sox are lights out after the sixth inning.

6.  Avoid our bullpen by throwing our starters late in the game.  Although with Santana out of the bullpen this may not be as necessary.

5. Steal relentlessly. Jason Varitek doesn’t have the arm he used to, and should allow us to take bags at will.

4. Out-pitch John Lester. Even with the injury, he is going to pitch well in the playoffs so we are just going to have to take a one to two run lead into the bullpen.

3.  Save the rally monkey!  The rally monkey rules have been relaxed lately.  Let’s save him for when it matters most.

2. Utilize the green monster. The Angels are stock full of doubles hitters, so they don’t even have to change their approach.

1. RELAX!  Nerves create mistakes.

-Tony C

THE AL WEST IS OUR’S AGAIN! The Angels have sealed another division crown by defeating the Rangers in an obvious statement game. The Rangers put up a good fight, but it’s time to get to business.

Last year many criticized the Angels for what the NFL would call “excessive celebration” after the division clincher. The Angels of course went on to lose to the Red Sox in the playoffs again. However, I really doubt the Angels loss to the Red Sox had anything to do with celebrating too hard for one night of a 162 game season.

The AL West is the smallest division in baseball with only four teams, but it also very well may be the best. The Rangers competed right to end with the Angels and the Red Sox, and the Mariners may finish with a better record than the Tampa Bay Rays. Not to mention the fact that the A’s are the by far best worst team in baseball.

But even aside from this, a division crown means something. The Atlanta Braves record of 14 straight division titles is probably something that will never be broken. A 162 game season is long for any team, and considering what the Angels have gone through this year it means that much more.

In closing yes, it is time to focus on the Red Sox as i said yesterday, but let’s enjoy this division title. As Jeff Biggs always says, these are the glory years for the Angels. I hope it lasts forever, but it will probably not. So congratulations and Go Halos!

Rangers(85-70) v. Angels(91-64) @LA 7:05pm TV:FS-West

Tommy Hunter(9-4 3.67 era) v. Ervin Santana(7-8 5.46 era)

It’s simple, the Angels win and they win the division. Ervin Santana will not likely be in the playoff rotation, but will likely be used out of the bullpen. Really, tonight he just needs to not get knocked around, and work on location. The Rangers will probably play their hearts out to hold onto a last chance, so the Angels will have to be careful.

Team Matchup:

So we are all pretty confident that the Angels are going to clinch the division during this series against the Rangers. Last year the team clinched the division with three weeks left in the season and the team became complacent. They lost there fire and weren’t ready for the, again, Red Sox.

This year winning the division would come with less than a week left in the season, and given what the Angels have gone through this year I doubt the leaders of this team will let them lose their fire. But this still leaves us with a final weekend series in a crowd-less Oakland Coliseum. So how should the Angels treat this final weekend?

Part of the success of the Red Sox has come with their “I’m not worried about it” mentality, but the Angels just aren’t this way. Many have called for the Angels adoption of this New England style, but that’s not are game.

In Rocky IV, because it’s always relevant, Rocky isolated himself with one thing on his mind, Drago! Vladdy should have a picture of Josh Beckett on his mirror, and Torii Hunter should be listening to “Hearts on Fire” on loop. Oakland will be the perfect place for the Angels to get their heads straight. In baseball, there is no better isolation than Oakland.

Focus, and keep your eye on the prize.

- Tony C

For now, Mike Scioscia has decided to use both Brian Fuentes and Kevin Jepsen in save situations. This is an unusual situation for the Angels. In the past we have always had a natural progression. In 2002 we had Troy Percival, who made you nervous at times, but always got the job down. Waiting in the wings was Franky. When Franky took over we had Scott Shields who could have easily done the job. And last year it looked like Jose Arredondo was runner-up. Angels fans are used to a near guaranteed victory after the sixth inning. Now we have a situation with a very shaky closer who does have over 40 saves, and a guy in Kevin Jepsen who is clearly ready to get in the mix.

Many believe Scioscia is simply hiding Jepsen and going to release him into the closer role when it matters, October. Others think Scioscia always sticks with his veterans, for better or for worse, and this situation will be no different. I have always believed that baseball is stuck with this closer position. Closers are usually, with one or two exceptions, over paid and overrated. The ideal way to bring your reliever in is when you can him the best match-ups. Why should the closer role be any different. Major League Baseball is becoming too caught up with star power and it’s just unnecessary.

I don’t believe the closer situation will change at all from the way it is now. If the Red Sox have the top of their lineup coming up in the ninth, that will likely consist of Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz, two lefties. Perfect situation for Brian Fuentes. So we end up with closer by committee, which what most teams should have anyway.

With Kendry Morales hitting again, Vlad hitting but struggling with runners in scoring position, and a Maicer Izturis wildcard, what will Scioscia do with the Angels lineup for the playoffs? Here is my choice and I think the most obvious.

3B - Chone Figgins
RF - Bobby Abreu
CF - Torii Hunter
DH - Vladimir Guerrero
1B - Kendry Morales
LF - Juan Rivera
C - Mike Napoli/SS - Eric Aybar
2B - Maicer Izturis/Howie Kendrick
C- Jeff Mathis/SS - Eric Aybar

You can see even with my “obvious lineup” there are still so many questions. Not to mention when to play Gary Matthews Jr., and Whether to DH Mike Napoli when Jeff Mathis is playing. As usual, for Scioscia it will be based on match-ups. Against left handed pitching, especially John Lester, Scioscia will likely load the lineup up with right handed hitters. Typically when this is done, Rob Quinlan makes an appearance in the lineup. Also, if the Angels go games one and two without significant run production you will likely see Izturis in the two or even three spot. I’m not crazy about this, but he does hit well with runners in scoring position. Scioscia also likes to play the hot hand, which creates a position battle at second base between Izturis and Kendrick, although you typically see Kendrick against good fastball pitchers like Josh Beckett.

You can see the difficult task Scioscia will have in putting together the Angels playoff lineup. The truth is, however, every other manager in baseball would love to have this problem. The Angels incredible offensive depth should make them injury proof.

Here are some other possible playoff lineups.

3B - Chone Figgins
RF - Bobby Abreu
2B - Maicer Izturis
DH - Vladimir Guerrero
CF - Torii Hunter
1B - Kendry Morales
LF - Juan Rivera
C - Mike Napoli
SS- Eric Aybar

3B - Chone Figgins
SS - Eric Aybar
RF - Bobby Abreu
DH - Vladimir Guerrero
CF - Torii Hunter
1B - Kendry Morales
LF - Juan Rivera
2B - Howie Kendrick
C - Jeff Mathis

Comment and suggest your ideal playoff lineup.

Welcome back, Kendry Morales. Just when Gohalos calls you out for your poor performance the past week, you come back and immediately make your presence felt against the Yankees. Another great decision by manager Mike Scioscia to sit Kendry at the start of the game, and bring him in as a pinch hitter. It shows that Scioscia still trusts Morales enough to send him in when the Angels really need a hit.

But this article won’t touch too much on the Yankees series, but the following series. I’m talking about finally three series of the year. The Angels will get the Athletics and Rangers at home before traveling out to Oakland to take on the A’s for a final 3 game series.

The Angels are 8-5 against Athletics this year, with a 3-4 record at home and a 5-1 record away.

It looks like the Angels have the division wrapped up. As long as they win three of the next four series, they’ll come out on top. The only team the Angels are worried about are the Rangers, who they have had trouble with all year. This year, the Angels are 5-10 against the Rangers, earning 2 of those wins in the previous 3 game series. When the Halos are hosting Texas, they are 2-5. The have a 7.5 game lead over the Rangers, and will make a four-game homestand within the next couple weeks. The outcome of that series may have a big effect on the AL West standings.

The Rangers don’t exactly have a cake walk. They’ll take on the Rays at home with and have a 4-2 record against Tampa Bay this season. They are 3-0 and have outscored the Rays 20-7 while in Texas. They are currently playing the A’s, but have a surprisingly weak 6-8 record against Oakland.

Texas will also take on the Mariners, and have a 10-6 overall, 3-3 away record.

The Angels have 12 games left, and if the these stats are any indicator of what is to come, the Angels should have the division locked up by the 25th

While starting pitching was hard to come by at the beginning of the season, the tables have turned. In September, the Angels have only allowed more than 4 runs in 5 out of 20 games and have one of the best ERAs in the American League this month.

Gohalos wants you to make a bold prediction in our comments section of when the Angels will have the division wrapped up. You can bet that we will have an article announcing when the Halos have locked up first place, so check back and see how close you were.

The Halos are close to winning the division, and just need to hold it together for a few more weeks. Then we can focus on the playoffs and winning another championship.

-Kevin H.

Joe Saunders takes the mound tonight for what could be a possible postseason preview between the Angels and Yankees. The Angels have not had much trouble with the Yankees in the past, but this is a new Yankee team with a different manager. This team is more aggressive, and as Torii Hunter says, “they have a fire in them that I didn’t see last year.” It will be important for the Angels to keep the Yankees from building to much confidence against them for the playoffs.

The Yankees are definitely out to prove something this year, but so are the Angels. In fact, maybe more so. The Angels are currently fourth on ESPN’s power rankings, but have been higher than that for most of the second half of the season. An yet the story of the year seems to be the Yankees, Dodgers, and Cardinals. Yahoo Sports is really the only site that has given the Angels there fair share. Even so, I think Mike Scioscia and Angels prefer it that way. Without the spotlight the team can focus on the prize: another World Series.

Things to look for:

Kendry Morales has been in a major September slump, and in the last week he is hitting .138 with 12 stikeouts. He may have ruined his MVP chances, but look for him to try and gain some momentum for the playoffs.

Right now Scott Kazmir has the lead on a three way playoff rotation spot. Saunders had a rough last outing, so look for him to rebound tonight. There is still a chance Scioscia goes four deep, but it’s unlikely.

Pitching Match-ups:

Game 1: Saunders (13-7, 4.75 era) v. Pettitte (13-6, 4.14 era)

Game 2: Santana (7-8, 5.43 era) v. Gaudin (5-10, 4.81 era)

Game 3: Kazmir (9-8, 5.08 era) v. Burnett (11-9, 4.22 era)

Closer by committee seems to be Mike Scioscia’s temporary solution the end of game blunders that previously affected the Angels. Last night Scioscia brought in Kevin Jepsen to face the right hander, Jason Bay, and he struck him out. He then brought in Brian Fuentes to finish out the game. In addition Scioscia brought in Reggie Willits at the end of the game and kept him at left for Juan Rivera. Maybe a message?

The reason I say temporary solution is because Kevin Jepsen, or Jose Arredondo if he get out of this mental funk, will be the closer of the future. As we saw last night Jepsen came in and struck out probably the Red Sox best hitter with some nasty pitches, including a 98 mph fastball. Brian Fuentes just seems like a very good set-up guy. Not necessarily a closer.

In the end the Angels won. They defended, they pitched, and most of all they played aggressive. This could have something to do with Torii Hunter’s Comment that the teamed choked and they were playing nervous. He sure is a great addition to this team, isn’t he?

Angels(86-59) v. Red Sox(86-58) @BOS 4:10pm TV:FS-West

Ervin Santana(7-8 5.52 era) v. Josh Beckett(15-6 3.82 era)

Hopefully all of you have mostly recovered from last night. Remember, it wasn’t a playoff game. Ervin Santana has been the Santana of old this past couple of months so we’ll see if he can put up a fight against the former Cy Young award winner, Josh Beckett. Let’s hope for the best.

Team Matchup:

I know all you Angels fans are hurting this morning, so let’s talk about it. The Angels blew another game to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. I’m not sure if there is something in the air there, but this was disappointing to say the least. It’s not as if we are losing every game there, because last year we had a very good record at Fenway, but when it comes to the close games we can’t seem to finish. So what happened?

Blown Calls

Brian Fuentes loaded the bases in the ninth inning and the umpires blew it. The first call was the should have been check swing, and the second and most important was the ball called that was right down the heart of the plate. Whether it was low or not the batter should have been called out for not swinging at that pitch. There is no doubt about it, the umpires choked. So it was the umpires who lost the game right?

Closer Controversy

You can’t escape the fact that Brian Fuentes came in and loaded the bases. Now I don’t know about you, but when a save opportunity comes around I don’t really feel comfortable with Fuentes coming into the game. I like Fuentes and want him to succeed, but Kevin Jepsen will be the closer eventually. Maybe we should think about sooner rather than later. So Brian Fuentes lost the game right?

Lazy Rivera

The blooper hit into left field to end the game should have been caught. It was two feet away from him. DIVE! I hope we are not getting a glimpse of the new Garret Anderson in left field. Juan Rivera has been great offensively this year, but he can be lazy out there. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen him not turn his body to run back on a ball and try and catch it over his head. They call what he did Big League’n it. So it was Rivera who lost the game right?

Bottom Line

I’m not sure there is one specific person to blame for this loss. The fact is they shouldn’t have been in the situation we were in in the first place. The Angels had multiple chances to keep leads and take bigger leagues. This was a team effort and they better figure this Fenway curse out before October.