The Angels finished the weekend series strong with a 4-1 victory against Texas to bring them within 8 games of the Rangers. Had they lost on Sunday, they would have been 10 games and the season starts to look pretty grim. But now, there is a chance.

Like we discussed week, the upcoming schedule for the Angels is slightly easier than that of the Rangers, especially this week. While the Rangers will be busy with Seattle, Oakland, New York, and Boston, the Angels get Baltimore, Detroit, Kansas City, and Toronto. If the Angels can gain some ground this month, they still have 7 games left against the Rangers. The Angels also now have Major League’s two strikeout leaders (Weaver- 162; Haren- 155) and a much deeper infield.

Stranger things have happened (2007 Mets- 7 game lead blown in September). So for those of you naysayers, quiet down, there are still 55 GAMES LEFT! I don’t know if we will win the division, but it sure as hell ain’t over.

Other Notes: Vladdy was booed at the game on Sunday. Pathetic! Like it’s his fault he wasn’t resigned.

Clay Buchholz will miss the All-Star game with an injury. This means that a spot has been opened up for another pitcher on the All-Star roster. And the spot goes to…Andy Pettitte? Don’t get me wrong, Andy Pettitte has had an amazing start, but should he really have the edge.

Andy Pettitte: W(10), IP(105.1), K(78), BB(31), ERA(2.82), WHIP(1.15), K/9(6.66)
Jered Weaver: W(8), IP(108.2), K(124), BB(26), ERA(2.82), WHIP(1.06), K/9(10.27)

This is absolutely no contest and completely outrageous. Once again Major League baseball has continued its obsession with both wins, and the New York Yankees. Not only are Jered Weavers numbers better, but Anaheim is the host city and the Angels have only one All-Star.

If you would like to let Major League Baseball know that this is not ok, here is their email address. mlbexecutiverelations@website.mlb.com

1. The Oakland A’s will finish in second place: I understand their line-up will struggle to put up runs, but with a great defense anchored by Kurt Suzuki and Rajai Davis, and a starting rotation that runs 6 deep, the A’s will give the AL West all it can handle. For most, their rotation is marked by the addition of Ben Sheets and Justin Duchscherer. For me, the success of either of these guys is only a plus. The rest of their rotation consists of future ace Brett Anderson, anchor Dallas Braden, and some back-end potential in Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez.

2. Milton Bradley will NOT frustrate the Mariners locker room, but injuries to their pitching staff will: I think Milton Bradley will be happy in Seattle, but more than anything, I think Ken Griffey Jr. will keep him in check. However, if Cliff Lee and Erik Bedard cannot stay healthy, the Mariners will be leaning on the likes of Ryan Rowland-Smith and Ian Snell to carry the rest of their rotation. With a ragtag middle of the order, the Mariners will struggle to score runs at times and will need solid starting pitching other than King Felix. That being said, Cliff Lee will probably get healthy at some point, but will he be the same, or did the Phillies know something the Mariners did not?

3. The Rally Monkey will lay dormant until the second half of the season: As I said before, I like the Angels to win the division, but not right away. The Angels may be deep but there are a lot of new guys in new roles, and it may take them a while to build some chemistry. Scott Kazmir will start late, Brandon Wood will need some breaking in, and above all else, this is competitive division. So hold tight, Angel fans.

4. The Wild Card will come from the AL West: Here I go with the Oakland A’s again. I think they are going to surprise a lot of people this year. They were only 75 and 87 last year. This year they have added a few key pieces and will mature.

5. Scott Feldman will lead the division in wins: I have some issues with the rest of that rotation (including Rich Harden in the American League and in that ballpark). However, the addition of Vladdy, the coming of age of Chris Davis, and the rest of the power in that line-up should score them some runs. Scott Feldman may not be the most overpowering pitcher in this division, but he might be the most consistent. With that lineup he should be in line to win a lot of games.

6. Howie Kendrick will have over 400 AB’s: Since entering the Major Leagues, Howie has been plagued with injury. This should change, however, as he is now mimicking Torii Hunter’s training methods. With Howie, we keep waiting for the “if he can stay healthy” year. 2010 will be it.

7. Felix Hernandez will win the AL Cy Young Award: With all of the struggles I said the Seattle Mariners will have, they still have one of the best pitchers in baseball. With Roy Halladay out of the picture, I believe the award is his for the taking.

8. AL West Division Rankings: 1) Angels 2) A’s 3) Rangers 4) Mariners. As I’ve been saying all along, I really don’t think Seattle has enough depth to compete in a 162 game season. All that said, the difference between first and last place won’t be much.

9. Rajai Davis will steal 60 bases and score 100 runs: This one may not exactly be bold considering he finished the season last year with 41 SB’s and 65 runs in 390 AB’s. The Oakland A’s aren’t a patient, power hitting, moneyball team anymore. Moneyball is now speed and defense. Look for Rajai Davis to have the green light the season.

10. Joel Pineiro will lead the Angels in wins: Jered Weaver will still be the ace of the staff, but he struggles to put up the innings that Pineiro is capable of throwing. Pineiro’s pounding of the strike zone should make him the work horse of the staff. Even with the switch to the American League, most of the time he’ll be pitching in Anaheim, Seattle, and Oakland (All pitcher friendly).

Things to look for:

Brian Fuentes: Scioscia just had a closed door talk with Brian about his mechanics, so look for a short leash in save situations.

Kendry Morales/Juan Rivera: Both have been sluggish lately, so we’ll see if they get back to their hot hitting ways.

Monday: @New York
Jered Weaver v. Joba Chamberlain

Tuesday: @Boston
John Lackey v. Diasuke Matsuzaka

Wednesday: @Boston
Joe Saunders v. (TBA)

Thursday: @Boston
Ervin Santana v. Josh Beckett

As my MVP Rankings did, these will likely change rapidly, but we will give it a shot anyway. It looks like Zack Greinke has all but locked it up at the top, but there are many behind him who would like to have their say including our own Jered Weaver. (I wish I didn’t have to include Sabathia, Lester, and Beckett)

1. Zack Greinke(KC): Wins(13), K’s(210) ERA(2.22)

2. Felix Hernandez(SEA): Wins(14), K’s(188) ERA(2.61)

3. Justin Verlander(DET): Wins(16), K’s(230) ERA(3.24)

4. CC. Sabathia(NYY): Wins(16), K’s(177) ERA(3.40)

5. Jered Weaver(LAA): Wins(15), K’s(162) ERA(3.76)

6. Roy Halladay(TOR): Wins(14), K’s(183) ERA(3.03)

7. Scott Feldman(TEX): Wins(16), K’s(95) ERA(3.46)

8. John Lester(BOS): Wins(12), K’s(204) ERA(3.44)

9. Josh Beckett(BOS): Wins(14), K’s(176) ERA(3.87)

10. Edwin Jackson(DET): Wins(12), K’s(141) ERA(3.10)

September is here and in the next couple weeks, Mike Scioscia will look to adjust the rotation for the playoffs. This will obviously be done with caution as Texas is still breathing down our necks. So the question is: What will the Angels playoff rotation look like?

Typically in a five game series, a team will go with a three man rotation, but Mike Scioscia, because of our depth, will have the option of going with four. I understand that many of you believe that John Lackey has lost his playoff magic, but he will be our number one. There is still no one I would rather have in a big game than Big John. I understand his Josh Beckett match-ups have been ugly, but he will always keep you in the game.

The number two slot is where the question lies. Because of the year he is having Jered Weaver will be in the playoff rotation but I’m not sure if he will be in the two slot. Scioscia may want to mix it up with a lefty which leaves us two options, Joe Saunders and Scott Kazmir. I think it will come down to last minute decision. If the Angels lose game one, Scioscia may want to go with Weaver. Also, if the Angels play the Red Sox, game three will be at Fenway where Kazmir has had a lot of success.

So where does that leave Saunders and Ervin Santana? It looks like they will come out of the bullpen. The great thing about the Angels rotation though is that this could change. It’s a good problem to have.

Rotation Projections for the Division Series.

Angels vs. Red Sox

Game 1 @LA – John Lackey
Game 2 @LA – Jered Weaver
Game 3 @BOS – Scott Kazmir

Angels vs. Tigers

Game 1 @LA – John Lackey
Game 2 @LA – Scott Kazmir
Game 3 @DET – Jered Weaver

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.

John Lackey failed to get his 100th win again last night and the pitching problems for the Angels continue. Yahoo sports reported today that the Angels tried to get Billy Wagner but the Red Sox had the better waiver position. That would have been consider the Angels only have two relievers who have actually finished out a major league season. In addition to John Lackey’s woes Jered Weaver seems to have lost his early season magic. What will the Angels do?

Well, before we get two worried there is a positive outlook. For the Playoffs your only really need three starters due to the distance between games. Ervin Santana has learned great lately and Joe Saunders returns on Wednesday and say he feels better than he has all year. Our big four are Lackey, Weaver, Saunders, and Santana. We really only need three of them to get their act together, and the fourth we can send to the bullpen for the playoffs.

Also, September call-ups are just around the corner. This should allow our young arms to take some pressure off our pitchers for the final month of the season. So I know at this point, a matchup against Josh Beckett and the Red Sox is dreadful, but remember we only need three.

- Tony C