Another four-hit night, and nobody puts the "t" in "team win" like Trouty. 

Angels 13, Orioles 1 

Before I fawn over the Angels offense this evening, let's acknowledge Jered Weaver's performance on the mound. Holding any team to one run is always a great feat for a pitcher, no matter the team. In his second appearance since coming off of the the disabled list, Weaver wasn't looking his strongest, but he got the job done. When Weaver isn't looking his strongest, that translates to: was throwing like your average pitcher. If it weren't for Weaver holding it down on the mound, this win wouldn't be the same. 

Tonight's win was a team win in every sense. The defense was present, as was the offense. Hitting is known to be contagious and everyone caught whatever sort of flu the Angels had tonight. The Angels have hit two season highs in the past two days, tonight's being a season high of 13 runs. If you take a look at the box score, everyone did something of significance. Even Bobby Wilson. These are the types of games that the Halos need to be playing. 13 runs may be a bit much to ask for every game, but I wouldn't mind six or more. 

I won't continue to state the obvious in that this was a team win, but I will get around to talking about a certain Mike Trout.

I don't believe that Trout is actually a human being. He is some sort of supernatural, superhuman, super...something. This kid is unreal. Our flying fish robs a home run, steals, and goes 4-6 with 1 RBI and a current batting average of .344. As a writer, it's hard to reach the point of being at a loss for words, but Trout has me absolutely speechless. It's a Trout thing. 

The Angels have now taken the lead in the AL Wild Card. Fans, revel. Revel in this small victory because we all know that in April, none of us knew where this season would take us. Being a couple of weeks away from the All Star Game, this is a good place to be. As the Angels head to Toronto, hopefully they recognize that the top is a great place to stay.

The view is much better from up here. 

A few weeks ago, I did this hard-hitting investigative report that proves Mike Trout is the last son of Krypton, Superman.  In case that didn't convince you, and how could it not, Trout provided us with even more evidence today with this jaw-dropping catch:

That's levitation, homes.  It might also be the best catch of the season and the best catch by an Angel outfielder since Jim Edmonds's heyday.

My favorite part though isn't the catch itself, it is how pumped Mike got after he made the grab, almost as if he couldn't believe he pulled it off himself.  That, of course, was likely just some brilliant acting on his part to maintain the facade that he is normal human being and not an alien who draws his powers from the rays of the Earth's yellow sun.

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Earlier this week, Fangraphs posted this article wondering why it is first basemen are paid so much more relative to WAR than other positions.  There's a lot of interesting discussion in the piece on the causality of all that, but what really got me thinking is the first table showing the millions of dollars per WAR by defensive position.  Specifically, it got me thinking about Mark Trumbo.

Mark Trumbo is nominally a first baseman, but that is a thing of the past thanks to Albert Pujols.  That's good news because according to that post, first basemen are very high-priced.  As it currently stands, Mark is now a left fielder, he's a work in progress there, but that is where he is going to play most of his games for the rest of this season.  That's not so good news because, as the chart shows, left fielders are also very expensive, in fact, more expensive per WAR than first basemen.

What we don't know is what the future holds for Trumbo's primary defensive designation.  Fortunately, the Angels have several years to figure that out before Trumbo hits the open market.  But it is a problem worth thinking about now because if he keeps hitting like he is this season, he is going to be in line for a massive payday.  But the exact size of that payday looks like it might be something the Angels can manipulate depending on what position on the field they lock him into.

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Los Angeles of Anaheim (41-33) @ Baltimore Orioles (41-32)

Pitching Probables: LAA  – Jered Weaver (7-1, 2.40 ERA) BAL – Jason Hammel (8-2, 2.61 ERA)

Game Info: 4:05 PM PT; TV - FSW ; Radio - KLAA 830

The Angels have seen their fair share of ups and downs this season, and although we can never be sure of which we’ll see game by game, the Halos have continued moving up in the Wild Card standings and keeping within striking distance of the Texas Rangers in the AL West.

Jered Weaver on the mound this evening gives every fan that necessary confidence that comes with watching the 2012 Angels take the field. In his second start after his back injury, Weaver is looking to continue his hot streak on the mound and take care of the Orioles offense.

The Angels put on an offensive display last night with four home runs (Mark Trumbo, Albert Pujols, Peter Bourjos, and John Hester) and seven runs total.

Having homered in the past two games, Bourjos continues to fight for that spot on the field and in the line up. A necessary component who will come around again with patience…and playing time. There’s proof in the Pujols.

Any series that gives the Angels the opportunity to gain games/a lead in the standings is an important one. That being said, every single game is important.

Including this one. Tonight. At 4:05 pm. Across the country. On Weaver Wednesday. Win.

The June 27th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including the Dodgers hired Mickey Hatcher for their front office, Williams throws a simulated game, Trumbo still hoping to make the Home Run Derby and much more...

The Story: The Dodgers hired former Angels hitting coach Mickey Hatcher as a special assistant to the general manager.

The Monkey Says: Make all the jokes you want, but Hatcher is a good baseball man and has some knowledge that he can share with the Dodger organization.  His role is one that front offices use as a sort of catch all for guys that they want in the organization as a scout and or coach.  Hopefully the Dodgers lean towards the scouting direction.  On second thought, screw the Dodgers, he should totally coach for them.

The Story: Jerome Williams threw a simulated game yesterday and could soon make a rehab start in lieu of coming off the disabled list.

The Monkey Says: That's great news.  Where he slots in once he returns remains to be seen though.  He would only be able to make one start before the All-Star break, so it wouldn't surprise me if the Halos go one turn with a six-man rotation so that they can delay making a decision on how to arrange the rotation until after the break.

Looks like "Mr. Overrated" C.J Wilson is making it his personal mission to decimate every single player who voted him as most overrated starting pitcher, and since we can't really know who voted for him since these things are "anonymous" he's just gone ahead and decided to slice through every player in the league. Blind fury is what C.J Wilson has been pushed to, and with another ballgame in which Wilson has gone 7 innings with only 1 run allowed it looks like Wilson's fury getting hotter than ever.

Think these guys are just about ready to take those votes back?

Angels 7 Orioles 3 

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Los Angeles of Anaheim (40-33) @ Baltimore Orioles (41-31)

Pitching Probables: LAA  –  C.J Wilson (8-2, 2.44 ERA)  BAL – Brian Matusz (5-8, 5.00 ERA)

Game Info: 4:05 PM PT; TV - FSW ; Radio - KLAA 830

The Angels are a perfectly manageable 4.5 games back in the division behind Texas, yet it seems as if everyone is completely fixated on the wild card standings. I'll have to let this one slide because the Rangers have been graced with a ridiculously easy schedule that's allowing them to beat up on weak teams that struggle to play .500 ball. The Angels aren't going to be gaining much ground on the Rangers within the next few weeks, as their schedule doesn't really get any tougher save for the current series against the Tigers and a few upcoming series against the White Sox and Angels. I guess since the Angels are actually going to be battling it out for the wild card against the current leader the Baltimore Orioles it's a little fair to become fixated on it.

But really guys, talking about the wildcard in June?

I guess that's what it comes to when you have to compete directly with the best team in baseball.