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.

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

Howie Kendrick (.227, 4HR 20RBI) has been the gem of the Angels farm system for a number of years now.  However, previously he only struggled with his health, while consistently hitting over .300 when he was on the field.  This year, maybe due to too many Howard’s commercials, it’s a different story.  He is only hitting .227 with an on base percentage of .266.

There has been some talk of bringing up hot minor leaguer Sean Rodriguez (.279, 18HR, 55RBI) and either sending Howie to the minors to work things out, or send him to the DL to rest his hamstring.  However, we know Mike Scioscia’s history of sticking with his guys for as long as possible, and I believe this is the right move.

Kendrick has proven himself as a major leaguer already.  When he’s healthy, he’s as good as they come.  This current slump he is in is exactly that: a slump and nothing more.  Every major leaguer outside of Albert Pujols (.339, 16HR 45 RBI) and Chipper Jones (.319, 5HR 22 RBI) goes through it.  There is no reason to think that he will not bounce back.  He has a great inside out swing that is bound to connect with those pitches sooner or later.

By: Tony C