Our long national nightmare finally appears to be coming to an end.  Mike Scioscia has at long last acknowledged the incontrovertible evidence that proves how terrible Jeff Mathis is and stripped him of his starting job, choosing instead to embrace sanity and logic by anointing Hank Conger the Angels' new primary backstop.  Only one real question remains to be answered now... how do we celebrate?

In all seriousness, this move, as unofficial as it still is, is somehow both overdue and a surprise.  Mathis has been the bane of Angel fans' existence for years now.  Almost no fan could put forth a rational explanation for why Mathis continued to get so much playing time when the Angels had Mike Napoli standing idly by.  But coming into this season, Napoli had been jettisoned and we all slowly began to make our peace, begrudgingly so, with the fact that we would probably be seeing even more Mathis, and his Mendozian bat, than ever.

For as much disdain as the fans harbored for the offensively-challenged catcher, Mike Scioscia seemed to carry just as much respect for Mathis' defensive prowess.  For that reason alone, Mathis has been able to carve out a role for himself despite all of his other failings and it seemed his defensive superiority was also going to prevent him from being replaced by top prospect Hank Conger, a player that was known to have real offensive skills but was supposed to be a work in progress behind the plate.  We didn't like the arrangement, but it seemed as inevitable as death and taxes.  Or at least that is what we all thought.

Defense.  Defense.  Defense.  Those have always been Mike Scioscia's top priorities when it comes to selecting his starting catcher.  Nothing will ever change his mind in that regard.  So how did Mathis, a man that Sosh has frequently lauded as one of the top backstops in the game, lose his grip on the starting gig almost overnight?

What series of events finally caused Scioscia to lose his man-crush on Mathis?

Scouts and prospect experts insist that Tyler Chatwood isn't ready for the big leagues, but his performance thus far had indicated otherwise.  What will become of the Angels' 21-year old wunderkind?  Is he doomed to be feasted upon by veteran MLB hitters or will he be the answer to the Angels' back-of-the-rotation problems?

Time to vote!

1. He'll be back in the minors in a matter of weeks.  Once the opposing batters get a real scouting report on him, they are going to eat him for dinner.
2. He'll hold his own but the Halos will still look to the trade market to upgrade over him once the playoff race really begins.
3. The kid isn't going to dominate, but he is ready enough to be a fifth starter.
4. Ready?  Yeah he's ready... to be Rookie of the Year!

To place your vote, simply find the Poll of the Week in the gray sidebar to the right.

Daily Links for the LA Angels including Conger appears to be atop the catcher depth chart, Kazmir flees to Houston to find answers, Morales takes a small step forward in his rehab and much more...

The Story: Hank Conger appears to be the Angels' top catcher after Scioscia met behind closed doors with all of his catchers.

The Monkey Says: Mathis was upset after the meeting, so draw whatever conclusion you want, but it still isn't 100% official that Conger is the new top dog behind the plate.  Why Mathis is so upset is beyond me though.  He has been one of the worst hitters in the majors for years and yet he still continued to get copious amounts of playing time.  He had to know he was living on borrowed time.  But let's not get bogged down by Mathis, the important thing to take away here is that Scioscia has finally seen the light and freed Hank Conger.

The Story: Scott Kazmir spent the weekend in Houston to work with some old coaches on figuring out his problems.

The Monkey Says: Desperation, table for one!  Kaz is rejoining the team today, so it clearly wasn't much of a counciling session, but at this point he has to try anything and everything since his career is pretty much on the line.  He should be heading out on rehab assignment in the next week or two, but don't expect any miracles.

The Story: Kendrys Morales is now running with turns in the next phase of his rehab.

The Monkey Says: Almost there.  He just needs to start running the bases next and then he shold be cleared to start a minor league rehab assignment.

The Story: Evaluating Jered Weaver's candidacy for a contract extension or trade.

The Monkey Says: This almost made me feel like Weaver actually could come to an extension agreement with the Angels... almost.

The Story: Fernando Rodney credits his improved play to working on his delivery with Mike Butcher.

The Monkey Says: Rodney's mechanics are so high maintenance that they should just hire him his own personal pitching coach at this point.

The Story: Jered Weaver is the first pitcher to win four games in his team's first thirteen contests since Roger Clemens in 1991.

The Monkey Says: Congrats, Jered.  Now please don't replicate Clemens and bolt the team that drafted you in favor of big bucks elsewhere.

The Story: The Halos and Horrors exhibit is now open in Pomona.

The Monkey Says: I get celebrating the whole history of the Angels by remembering some of the tragedies that have befallen the franchise, but making the "horrors" so prominent makes me think that this exhibit is kind of a bummer.

All good things must come to an end, and as such, we saw Dan Haren's scoreless inning streak snapped at 18 2/3 today via an RBI single by A.J. Pierzynski (who else would it be?).  But what didn't end was the Angels winning streak which now sits at five after the Halos compeleted a three-game road sweep of the ChiSox.

Angels 4, White Sox 2

What is there to say about Dan Haren that hasn't already been said?  He didn't quite cruise through this game like he did his last, but he once again proved his dominance by shutting down the White Sox for six innings before running out of gas in the seventh.  There just is no slowing down Haren.  He's dominated at home and now he dominating on the road and it doesn't seem to matter how potent the opposing lineup is.  And, yes I am going to rain on the parade, he continues to dominate and win games without much run support.

Beyond Haren though is that the Angels now have to be feeling awfully good about themselves right in time to head on down to Texas to face the Ranger, tied for first place in the AL West.  Sure, it is early in the season, but that's going to be a big series nonetheless.

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  Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim  (9-5) @ Chicago White Sox  (7-7)

Pitching Probables: LAA – Dan Haren (3-0, 0.73 ERA)  CWS – Mark Buehrle (1-0, 4.26 ERA)

Game Info: 11:10 AM PT; TV - Fox Sports West; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

Dan Haren enters this game with a 0.73 ERA and a 13 2/3 inning scoreless streak.  His hot run has to come to an end at some point, but will today be that day?

Nothing has been able to slow down Dan Haren so far.  Not poor run support.  Not having to pitch in relief in between starts.  Not a red-hot Cleveland offense.  Rain and freezing cold weather?  Perhaps.  Perhaps not.

What is truly great about Haren's big run is that, coupled Weaver's similarly stellar stretch, the Angel rotation is finally getting the national attention that it deserves.  Before the season, back when Pineiro was still healthy and we weren't 100% sure Kazmir was going to be a disaster, I was one of many Angel fans screaming from the rooftops that the Angels really did have one of the best, if not the best, rotation in baseball.  But those exclamations fell upon deaf ears... until now.

Strangely enough, while the back end of the Angel rotation has started to unravel, the sheer dominance of Haren and Weaver has thrust the starting pitchers into the spotlight where it figures to remain until one of the new dynamic duo finally takes a misstep.

I'm really starting to like the 2011 incarnation of the Los Angeles Angels. If you remember the 2002 Angels, most of that team was made up of home grown talent that made it's way through the farm system together. That team was built on solid starting pitching, good team speed and timely hitting. Now it's early to make such a lofty comparison, I know, but it is nice to see players that weren't overpaid for (although they still exist), who are hungry for playing time, and seem to be part of a geniunely cohesive team. Today's game fit that blueprint with Tyler Chatwood getting his first major league win, Hank Conger cementing himself as the #1 catcher, and the Angels continuing a four game win streak.

Angels 7 White Sox 2

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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (8-5) @ Chicago White Sox (7-6)

Pitching Probables:  LAA – Tyler Chatwood (0-1, 7.20 ERA)  CHI -- Gavin Floyd (1-0, 2.40 ERA)

Game Info: 1:10 PM PT; TV - Fox Channel 11; Radio - KLAA 830 AM


Chatwood gets a second chance to make a first impression and hopefully keep the Angels' win streak alive and well.