Apparently the commissioners office said there is no conclusive evidence that Mariano Rivera cheated. Um, is he watching the same video I am. Why would he first look up (possibly to see if anyone is looking), and then spit right toward the ball. If he wasn’t cheating he is an idiot.

It has been said that a spitball doesn’t perform like Rivera’s cutter, and it performs more like a knuckleball. This just isn’t true. It only ads extra movement. It is impossible to say how it will move because it depends on how much spit is on the ball and where it is on the ball.

The bigger question is why is this getting such little coverage. ESPN talked about it a little, but I have only seen it otherwise on a few blogs and on Facebook. When Brendan Donnelly was suspected of using pine tar we didn’t here the end of it. It’s time to return the favor.

- Tony C

The history had been all too recent to be able to purge it from memory. Too painful to analyze or relive. Angel-crushing shots sailing over that putrid green fence. Countless swings coming up empty with runners on base poised to score and end the misery. Leads blown and comebacks never fully realized. No mas.

The Angels replaced those hideous memories and agonizing images from their – and their fans’- heads with fresh ones. Images of stout pitching, clutch two-out hits, and a team that believes greatly in itself now at the forefront of recent memory for the Angel faithful. 2009 will now stand as the year of the successful exorcism. The October where all Fenway-related demons were repelled and cast back to the dark holes from which they came. A giant weight lifted off of the entire organization’s shoulders, allowing the Angels to reclaim their wings and return to their rightful perch in the sky.

It all went down so fittingly, a complete 180 from all their recent woes and shortcomings. As 2008 ended with Erick Aybar’s failed attempt at a potential game-winning squeeze bunt, 2009’s magic began with Aybar’s two-out, 0-2 single up the middle to get it started. Chone Figgins, who had yet to reach base in the series, picked the ideal spot to break the funk, drawing a full count walk. The clutch bat Angel fans have been looking and clamoring for in recent years arrived in the left-handed batter’s box in the form of first-year Angel Bobby Abreu. He didn’t disappoint, delivering yet another outstanding at-bat and lining a two-strike, 95-mph fastball from Jonathan Papelbon off that haunting 37-foot green wall that has never been kind to the Halos. Game 1 hero Torii Hunter was given the intentional walk to both load the bases and set the stage.

It had been the least productive season of Vladimir Guerrero’s career (his first full season in which he failed to hit .300). Guerrero’s post-season woes had hardly gone unnoticed, with countless articles in the local papers pointing out his October failures, and in-game announcers never missing an opportunity to point out his struggles when he came to the plate in a big spot. One RBI in 19-plus post-season games tells most of the story. One fastball from Papelbon and Vlad doubled that output, lining a two-run single to center field and giving the Angels their first lead of the game with two outs in the ninth. Of all the RBI’s Guerrero had accumulated over his probable Hall of Fame career, there was no doubt that the pair of runs he drove in on Sunday loomed largest. Vladdy had finally answered the bell – in perhaps his last season as an Angel – and replaced memories of failure with one violent swing of success.

Closer Brian Fuentes, new to the Angels post-season storybook, had struggled at times through the second half, had the weight of the baseball world on his shoulders as he took the Fenway mound in the Red Sox half of the ninth. One, two, three. The most pressure-packed half inning of Fuentes’ career went as smoothly as a freshly sanded piece of wood, no Boston magic to be heard from in a park where it seemed Houdini permanently lived in October. Game over, series over, agony over.

Post-season failures turned into Fall success. The same plot in the same book, but with a fresh, new conclusion. A major enemy defeated at last, with another familiar foe lying in wait in their history-riddled pinstripes. There is still a ways to go before reaching the summit. A baseball season is a war of attrition. In World War II, we had to take down a mighty Germany, then onto a ferocious Japan, but in the end, both were defeated by our will. The Angels will seems to be alive and well, stronger, it seems, than in recent years, and a little Southern California October magic appearing to be along for the ride – courtesy of Nick Adenhart.

But for now, the Angels have escaped from their October captors, erasing the sting of recent heartbreak and surging onward and upward. For these Angels, both individually and collectively, after Sunday they are singing their own Redemption Song, a song of freedom. And hope springs eternal in the Fall once again.

- Blake Warren

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!

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.

It’s been a rough end of the month for the Angels. Halo fans witnessed a rarity in 2009: 3 consecutive losses. It’s only happened 3 other times this year. Los Angeles Dodgers/Colorado Rockies in June, Texas Rangers in May, and Minnesota Twins in April. The Angels have only been swept in 2 series, and have never lost more than 3 in a row. Some might be concerned about the recent increase in the loss column after LAA dropped 5 of its last 7 games. It’s easy to get swept up in the recent downturn, but GoHalos is here to right the ship of despair.

Yes, this has been a rough couple of series, but up until this past week of games, the Angels were 12-5 in August, averaging just over 6 runs a game. Despite our struggles, we had created so much space between us and the Texas Rangers that we still have a 5 game cushion and are tied for the second most wins in baseball. Don’t forget, Torii Hunter is back and starting to look like his old self, recording a hit in every game he’s played in since his return on August 16. His current hit streak is punctuated by 3 consecutive multi-hit games, improving his batting average to a team-high .318. Chone Figgins seems to be taking after Hunter, also having 3 consecutive multi-hit games which included 2 steals to bring his 2009 total to 39. Juan Rivera has quietly tallied 72 RBIs and hit 20 homeruns, only trailing possibly AL MVP candidate Kendry Morales in that category (27). And then there’s Howie Kendrick. Angel fans not only had to suffer through Howard’s commercials, but also had to endure his poor performance on the field. Since getting the call up on July 4th, he’s totalled 8 doubles, 4 homeruns and 26RBIs, raising his batting average nearly 40 points. Manager Mike Scioscia has seemed to figure out how to rotate the three-headed monster that consists of Kendrick, Maicer Izturis, and Erick Aybar.

Pitching woes? We’ve had to deal with that all year. But don’t be too concerned. Despite Ervin Santana having an enormous 6.13 ERA, he has won 4 straight games. Worried about John Lackey and his 11 innings, 11 earned runs in his 2 past starts? Don’t be. Before those recent outings, he had only allowed 11 runs in 52.1 innings with a 5-1 record in 7 starts. To top it off, Lackey, Santana and Jered Weaver have all pitched complete game shutouts in a little over a month. How many teams can send out a core of pitchers that can do that? Plus, Joe Saunders returns off the DL yesterday to pitch his best quality start since June 24, surrendering 2 earned runs in 5 innings while striking out 6. Welcome back, Joe.

The Angels will begin a 4-games series against the Oakland Athletics, who are 4th in the AL West with a 55-71 record. They are 6-3 against the A’s this year, and will face 3 rookies and a 36-year-old journeyman whose combine records totals 20-32 with a 4.55 ERA.

There’s really no reason to worry. The Angels have put themselves in a great position on top of the AL West, and will look to close out the season with their sights set on another Championship.

-Kevin H.

It was a rough weekend if you were a rookie starting pitcher for the Angels. Sean O’Sullivan’s Friday night start ended in a close 4-5 loss thanks to a 3-run shot from Mike Napoli in the top of the 9th. However, after his 1-inning 4-run performance, the Angels decided to send him back down to the minors to work out some kinks. This was his fourth consecutive outing allowing at least 4 runs in no more than 5 innings. The Halos called on Southern California local Trevor Bell to pitch today, but he also struggled, giving up 6 earned runs in just 1.2 innings of work.

The blame can’t totally be put on the pitching staff. The Angels have been scoring in droves, averaging a little over 6 runs a game in August. However they only broke 6 once this weekend in the 7-3 win on Saturday (which was also Ervin Santana’s 4th win in a row; hopefully the beginning of a great trend). Chone Figgins, Bobby Abreu, Torii Hunter, and Kendry Morales collectively batted 9-for-43 with 3 runs, 2 RBIs, and 11 strikeouts.

However, there were some highlights. Napoli has proven again that he can come up big with runners in scoring position. Vladimir Guerrero had a great weekend, batting 6-for-14 with 4 runs, a homerun and a RBI. Juan Rivera also continued his stellar 2009 season, batting 5-for-13 with a couple RBIs and knocking out his 20th homerun. Angels relief pitchers also had a successful weekend, as 7 relievers pitched 16.2 innings, only allowing 3 runs. Control was an issue though, allowing 16 hits and walking 7.

Jose Arredondo looked back to his dominant 2008 form, striking out 5 in 3 innings while only giving up 1 hit. Darren Oliver and Kevin Jepsen also pitched scoreless innings, striking out 3 in the process. Shane Loux finally bounced back after three poor outings, throwing 2 shut out innings.

The Angels head back to Anaheim to take on the Detroit Tigers, who are first in the AL Central. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games, and are currently 3-3 with the Halos after the first two series. The Tigers will send out their ace Justin Verlander, who was out-dueled by Santana despite an 8-inning, 7K shut out performance. The Angels will send Jered Weaver out on the mound Monday night, who will make his first appearance after a complete game shut out last Wednesday. Get excited to watch a great game at 7:05pm on Fox Sports West. Go Halos!

-Kevin H.

The time for the Angels to extend their lead to an unreachable one is now. The Angels begin there road trip tonight against the Baltimore Orioles and continue next week with the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays. All below .500 teams. The Texas Rangers on the other hand, over the next two weeks will face the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Ray, and New York Yankees.

If the Angels can extend their division lead it will give Mike Scioscia a chance to set the playoff rotation and get the team healthy. Many of you may be concerned that like last year this will cause the Angels to lose their fire and hurt our playoff chances. I don’t believe this is a legitimate concern. After all the Angels have been through, and the way this team is built I don’t think we have anything to worry about. Everyone in the Angels lineup can hit. This is not something we have seen since 2002.

- Tony C

It’s waiver time and the Chicago White Sox have already made their move by picking up Alex Rios.  The Angels need to make a serious look at who is available out there to fill some holes in their starting rotation.

Joe Saunders finally went on the DL after 8 consecutive starts of giving up 4 or more runs in less than 6 innings.  Ervin Santana has done the same in his last 4 starts (and as I write this, he just finished throwing a complete game, 3 hit 6 strikeout shut out.  Thanks for making my point a little weaker Ervin…).  Jered Weaver is getting great run support and striking out opponents in handfulls, but he has 4 no-decisions in his last 8 starts, giving up more than 4 earned runs in each of those games.  John Lackey has been the only solid pitcher in entire rotation.

Now is the time for the Angels to do some shopping, and two players that just went on the market are two Cincinnati Reds: Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang.  According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, both players have cleared waivers and it could mean they could be pitching for another team soon.

Arroyo has a record of 10-11 this season with a 5.04 ERA.  Although he has 2 losses in his last 3 games, he’s been cursed with low run support (something the Angels can easily fix) and looks like he is starting to shape up.  His ERA is the highest it’s been since he came into the league in 2000.  Everything is up (ER, HR, BB) except for strikeouts.  However, he does have 3.61 career ERA in September, and could be a useful plug-in towards the end of the season.

Harang was a stud in the mid 2000s, winning 16 games in 2006 and 2007 with a high ERA of 3.83 and an average or 217 strikeouts.  But 2 years later, he has a record of 6-13, matching his win total last year with a 4.43 ERA.  He’s giving up a ton of runs and almost a home run per game, but he has less than 40 walks in 148 innings.  He almost has as many strikeouts as Angel leader Jered Weaver, only trailing him by 5 strikeouts with 132.  His last two starts in August have been impressive, only giving up 6 earned runs and striking out 14 in 14.1 innings.  He’s still got the heat, but gives up a ton of runs.

So who is the better fit for the Angels?  Gohalos.com wants you to tell us who you think might be a better fit in LA as a 5th starter or back up in the closing months of the season.  Visit our comments section and voice your opinion.