Last week, Mike Scioscia threatened a shake up if the team didn’t turn things around, and that shakeup happened over the weekend. Howie Kendrick (.231, 4HR 22RBI) has been officially optioned to triple A and Sean Rodriguez (‘09 stats – 205AB, .273, 21HR 60RBI 6SB) has been brought to the majors. Also, Scott Shields (6.62ERA, 15BB 12K) is to have season ending surgery on his right knee after a brief stint on the DL with patellar tendinitis in his left knee, and Kelvim Escobar (0-1, 3.60ERA) is taking his spot in the bullpen. This is all in addition to last week’s demotion of Jose Arredondo (5.55ERA, 12BB 27K) and promotion of Kevin Jepsen (‘09 stats – 18in, 9.00ERA, 16BB 20K). The Angels have a bit of a new look.

These were all surprises, but the biggest shocker to me was that Rodriguez was called up rather than Brandon Wood (‘09 stats – 175AB, .297, 14HR 36RBI). Yes, Sean Rodriguez has been hot of late and he plays second base, but Brandon Wood is the guy. I’m guessing this was because Scioscia didn’t want Howie and Sean splitting time in triple A, but it still would have been nice to see Figgins slide over to second base with Brandon Wood at third. We’ll see how it works out. Scioscia is usually right.

It is sad to see Scott Shields gone, but Escobar and Jepsen should help stabilize our bullpen. This weekend of moves resulted in a sweep of the San Diego Padres (28-34). Hopefully it will continue.

By: Tony C