Overcoming adversity

For the Angels, the beginning of the season was a roller coaster to say the least. It began with a plague of injuries to some of our key stars, especially, the pitching staff. This included John Lackey, Ervin Santana, and Kelvim Escobar (who is still out). The problem, however, was alleviated due to the depth of the Angels pitching. This was topped by outstanding performances from Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders, and completed by a solid back end lead by top prospect Nick Adenhart.

Our heart was then broken by the passing of this outstanding young pitching prospect. The death of Nick Adenhart is something the team, and Angels fans will always remember. Most of us didn’t even know who he was, but it didn’t matter because he was one of our Angels. The young men that all of us at this end of the 5 freeway cheer for year after year. But, as many tragedies do, it made this team stronger both on and off the field. Lead by Torii Hunter, the Angels became a new team. One to be reckoned with.

Highlights

With all of the issues the Angels have had, some leaders have emerged. This begins with our Gold Glove and All-Star center fielder Torii Hunter. Most of us were pretty upset with the problems that arose with Gary Matthews Jr., but Torii has made us forget. His 17 home runs, 65 RBI’s, and amazing defensive play have been the Angels rock during the first half of the season.

Also, both Juan Rivera (.312 avg., 14HR, 50RBI) and Kendry Morales (.285avg., 14HR, 45RBI) have emerged as elite players in this league. With Mark Teixeira turning his back on us, most of us thought we would have a huge hole offensively. This has proven not to be the case, especially with the addition of Bobby Abreu.

With all the injuries to our rotation who can forget the 30-year-old rookie. With a 7-0 start, Matt Palmer locked down a much needed rotation spot and gave consistent starts when we needed them the most.

Finally, Chone Figgins has been has returned to the Figgins we all know and love, and plants a solid bat at the beginning of the lineup.

Outlook

With everything the Angels have gone through, and with the exception of Kelvim Escobar and Scott Shields, our team is healthy and performing. Mike Scioscia should win coach of the year and the Angels should win the division. Hopefully, the adversity the Angels have overcome has given them a toughness they have lacked in the past. And maybe, just maybe, they can take down the Red Sox this year.

-Tony C

Many critics have been saying pessimistically that the Angels (35-29) have only been scoring runs because they have been facing the terrible pitchers in the National League West. It is true the Angels have not face the best the San Diego Padres (28-35) and San Francisco Giants (34-31) have to offer, but I still thought it was something to be excited about because they were averaging 9 runs a game during a 5 game winning streak. We haven’t seen this kind of production at all in past years.

Today, the Angels offense proved its critics wrong by scoring 4 runs against the reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum (8in, 3ER 9K). This is not the 9 runs they were averaging, but it was a solid number against arguably the best pitcher in baseball.  Not to mention this was without Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu in the starting line-up.

This offense is for real and is ready to take down the best the National League has to offer, our cross town rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers (43-22).

Notes:

Brian Fuentes (4.43ERA, 24K) nailed down his 18th save of the season as is starting to lock down the back of the rotation for the Angels.  However, I still think I would be more comfortable with Kelvim Escobar (0-1, 3.60ERA) there.

-Tony C

Sean O’Sullivan made a start tonight out of necessity for Mike Scioscia and the Angels.  At triple A Salt Lake City this year, O’Sullivan had a 6.02 era in 49 innings pitched.  The talent is there, but there was no doubt that he needs some more time in the minors.  The injuries to Ervin Santana (strained elbow muscle) and Kelvim Escobar (right shoulder tendinitis) forced the team to the minor leagues where O’Sullivan was the best choice.

O’Sullivan wins the fifth straight game for the Angels, pitching 7 innings, and allowing one run with five strikeouts.  Yes, it was against the San Francisco Giants (34-30) who don’t score a lot of runs, but they have been hot of late, winning 9 of their last 13 games.  Regardless, it was truly an incredible outing for this young pitcher.

O’Sullivan will likely not be around for the entire season, but he was exactly what the Angels needed right now.  The depth of the Angels farm system proves itself once again.

By:

Tony C

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

After going 2-5 on a difficult homestand, most of us did not know what to expect on a road trip where we would have to face 3 of the best teams in the American League.  The Angels then went on to take down the surprising Toronto Blue Jays (32-27) due to some great pitching by John Lackey (7in, 2ER 6K) and Jered Weaver (7in 1ER 10K).  However, most of us were still uncomfortable because the Angels now had to take on the first place Detroit Tigers (30-25) with talk of Ervin Santana’s (1-2, 6.75ERA) rotation spot in jeopardy, and Kelvim Escobar (5in, 7.50ERA) having a questionable minor league rehab start.

Now, our boys are back!  Ervin Santana (8.2in, 1ER 7K) out-duelled Justin Verlander (8in, 4H 7K) with a victory last night, and today, although the Angels lost, Escobar pitched a very strong 5 innings.  This is a great sign for the summer.  With a rotation that consists of John Lackey, Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders (6-4, 3.94ERA), Ervin Santana, and Kelvim Escobar there is no ceiling for the Angels.  Angels fans have a lot to look forward to for the rest of the season.

By: Tony C

Image By: SD Dirk

As we all know, the Angels have had an incredible stream of bad luck to start the 2009 season.  This includes the tragic death of Nick Adenhardt, and the injuries of John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Vladimir Guerrero, Kelvim Escobar, and Dustin Moseley.  However, due to their incredible resilience, the coaching of Mike Scioscia, and a week division; the Angels have been able to remain above .500 and within a few games of the first place Texas Rangers.

Although it is amazing what the injury depleted Angels have been able to do, during the course of a long season, they will need some help.  The good news is the help is here.  Lackey and Santana are back in the rotation, Vlad is due back by the weekend after being sidelined for six weeks with a torn pectoral muscle, and Escobar is set to make a minor league rehab start at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga tonight against the Lake Elsinore Storm.  If all goes well, he will take Matt Palmer’s spot in the rotation.  However, if Palmer keeps pitching like he’s been (5-0 in 5 starts), Escobar will likely be used out of the bullpen when he returns.

With these welcomed returns and a starting rotation that consists of Lackey, Santana, Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, and either Palmer or Escobar; there is no reason to think that the Angels won’t coast right into the playoffs.

By: Tony C