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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (17-22) @ San Diego Padres (14-25)

Pitching Probables: LAA -- Jered Weaver (5-1, 2.83 ERA) SD -- Jeff Suppan (2-1, 1.69 ERA)

Game Info: 7:05 PM PT; TV - Fox Sports West; Radio - KLAA 830  


So we return to interleague play, where awkward matchups are forced down our throat, thus causing us to follow teams we'd normally not gives two thoughts about. Actually, I've rather enjoyed interleague play for the simple reason that the Angels usually feast on the National League. The Padres are a woefully inept team that can't hit, field, or hold a lead (wait, that sounds creepily familiar. . .). I would hope the Halos use this as a sweep opportunity to get within a hair's breath of .500 for the first time in . . . well, forever.

I would expect Jered Weaver to be his usual dominant self tonight. Weaver is an extreme flyball pitcher in a ball park that makes the Grand Canyon seem cozy. Weaver can basically toss the ball at the plate and let his outfield do the rest. This should also be a series where we see a lot of Peter Bourjos. Bourjos is also an ideal fit for this park and, along with Trout and Wells, there should be a ton of fly balls tracked down for outs.

I sincerely hope that a return to a NL park that Albert Pujols has hit in pretty well over his career will continue to hasten the hitting Renaissance he's begun by hitting homers in two straight games. These signs of life are encouraging and I think all of us Angel fans want to see him succeed. A long bomb or two tonight would bring all those naysayers, myself included, back into the fold pretty quickly. But even Albert may not be immune to the deep fences of Petco Park. Though the park may be big, the chances of the Halos dumping this one seem very small.

I hope.

(Note: Due to my work as a High School Assistant Principal, I will not be able to recap the game until tommorrow.
Sorry all, have to chaperone the Prom. You know you're jealous.)  
 

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You may not have Vernon Wells to kick around anymore, Angels fans.

No, Vernon isn't on the verge of getting released as an early Christmas present to all the Halo faithful.  As strange as it may sound, Wells might be on the verge of losing his status as Public Enemy #1 thanks to the fact that he, wait for it... 

might be remembering how to hit!

Gasp!  Guffaw!  Other onomatopoeia!

I know, I was just as shocked to learn this as you are, but the numbers don't lie.

Here are Vernon's numbers from April 2012:

Ew, gross.  But you know this because you know how bad Wells was in 2011 and those April 2012 numbers are appreciably worse.  This caused many fans, myself included, to want to write Wells off as a lost cause.

But lo and behold, the calendar turned to May and now look at our boy:

By, jove!  Those are perfectly reasonable numbers.  More gasps!

The May 18th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Hunter will stay with his son indefinitely, Scioscia might be starting to feel the heat, Trout finally gives the Angels a real leadoff threat and much more...

The Story: Torii Hunter will remain with his son until the legal issues are resolved.  Also, an alleged victim has potentially recanted her story.

The Monkey Says: If the victim really did recant, and Hunter's lawyer claims he has two recordings of her recanting, then hopefully the charges will soon be dropped and Torii can return to the team, though one has to imagine that he'll need some time to get his head back in the game.  On the other hand, if the victim didn't really recant, then it could be weeks or even months before Hunter rejoins the team.

The Story: Mike Scioscia's seat might now be getting warm after Jerry Dipoto's recent power plays.

The Monkey Says: My gut still tells me that this is overblown.  Dipoto and Scioscia need to get on the same page, but I don't see any reason to think that they can't given Scioscia's balanced demeanor and Dipoto's reputation for being the most positive man alive.  Rather than assuming Scioscia will get fired, can we not assume maybe that Dipoto's presence will finally give Scioscia some constructive criticism that will force Scioscia to evolve and improve as a manager?

Today's Angels game taught us one thing and one thing only... the sun is a total jerk.

Don't believe me?  Just watch this video. (By the way, thanks for disabling video embedding MLBAM, you are also jerks, but we knew this already)

I mean, just ridiculous, especially since the Halos were the home team and should've been more accustomed to fielding flyballs in the midday California sun.  The jerky, jerky sun.

OK, maybe the Angels lineup reverting back into Hatcher-era productivity didn't help.  Nor did C.J. Wilson failing to follow his own Twitter hashtag of #throwstrikes.  But really, it was all the sun's fault because the stupid, dumb, stupid sun made the Angels drop so many easy outs.  Outs that they can't afford to give away.

BUt you know what?  Albert Pujols hit another home run, so this game was a wash.

White Sox 6, Angels 1

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Chicago White Sox (17-21) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (17-21)

Pitching Probables: CWS – Chris Sale (3-2, 3.08 ERA)  LAA – C.J. Wilson (4-3, 3.42 ERA)

Game Info: 12:35 PM PT; TV - Fox Sports West; Radio - KLAA 830

Yesterday, Mike Scioscia used the same exact lineup in consecutive games for the first time all season.  Even though it nearly knocked the Earth off its axis, it did produce one of the Halos' best offensive outputs of the season.

Does Scioscia dare to go back to the well for the third time?

Could he possibly be so bold?

Does he even realize that he used the same lineup twice in the first place?

I'm going to go with: No, no and yes.

Yeah, sorry folks, as much as I would like to see Scioscia maintain some continuity, it just isn't going to happen.  And, yes, I do realize that I just tacitly endorsed putting Vernon Wells in the lineup.  Actually, Wells will likely play today no matter what because a lefty is on the mound, whcih given Scioscia's tendencies this season means Kendrys Morales will almost certainly sit, probably in favor of Peter Bourjos, so it isn't all bad.

Plus, with it being a day game after a night game, Bobby Wilson will likely get the day off too.  Oh, well.  It was nice while it lasted.  Two gloooooooorious games.

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The May 17th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Dipoto and Scioscia talk about Hatcher's firing, details emerge on the arrest of Torii Hunter's son, sign a petition to stop the Angels from playing "Buttercup" and much more...

The Story: Jerry Dipoto hopes the firing of Mickey Hatcher can "spark" the Angel offense.

The Monkey Says: There is nothing that swapping out hitting coaches is going to do other than shake up clubhouse chemistry that is going to provide a "spark."  More than anything, letting Hatcher go shows fans that the team is trying to fix things and will no longer tolerate the questionable approaches Angel players have been taking to the plate and the poor results that have followed under the last few years of Hatcher's tenure.  Hatcher's replacement, Jim Eppard, isn't going to change any of that overnight, but he isn't going to make things worse either.

The Story: Mike Scioscia defended the job Mickey Hatcher did during his years as Angels hitting coach.

The Monkey Says: Well of course he did, he has been on his staff since he was hired, so Scioscia obviously thinks Mickey was doing something right.  One thing Scioscia made perfectly clear in his statements is that he was not the one who made this decision but that he was accepting of it, though not particularly happy about it.

The Halo's season has been smothered with issues from the bullpen to the line up to "Where are we supposed to put all of these outfielders...", and something clicked tonight. Whatever that something was, it led the Angels to a victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Angels 7, White Sox 2 

This win was the definition of a team win. The entirety of the line up made significant contributions to tonight's win.

Mike Trout continues to wow the crowd each time he steps on the field. As I have mentioned time and time again, this kid (I say that talking about someone my own age...) is Angels' baseball. He's quick, aggressive, and he hustles. He can play small ball and hit for power. Not once has he hesitated to stretch what appears to be a questionable double into two bases with time to spare. Trout might just be the Angels' newest "secret weapon". 

Alberto Callaspo has flown under the radar since the beginning of the season as one of the many third basemans that the Angels were trying out. His bat has come alive these past few games and continues to grab several extra base hits for the Halos. He is earning his place as the two spot in the Angels' line up.

ALBERT PUJOLS. HE DID IT. AGAIN. Now, the fact that he hit his second home run of the season the day after Mickey Hatcher was relieved from his duties as the Angels' hitting coach, is probably just as coincidental as his home run after his infamous day of rest. Either way, Pujols' is gaining confidence at the plate. I could do without the routine fly-out to right field every game, but I'm willing to continue the baby steps pace for one of the game's greatest hitters.

Kendrys Morales, Vernon Wells and Howie Kendrick have been piecing together RBIs and extra base hits in a timely manner. They've been a solid part of the Angels' recent successes on offense. Wells is fighting for his position. He's aware and is making it a point to let everyone else know that he doesn't want to go anywhere. With another home run tonight, Wells might be finding his stroke again and that's precisely what this team needs out of a veteran player.

Mark Trumbo continues to show off his power and timely hitting. His extra base hits have been nothing short of helpful for the Halos in their victories as of late. Although he has been moved around quite a bit on defense, Trumbo has found his comfortable spot in the line up and has made the most of it. With the way things have been going for him on offense, his momentum is a force to be reckoned with. 

A struggling Erik Aybar hit a double to get the Angels on the board this evening, and his double represented his first RBI in a couple of weeks. Aybar is a base runner and a small ball player that is necessary for the Angels' success. An occasional shot off the outfield wall isn't frowned upon either.

Jerome Williams threw with the best of 'em today. He pitched a solid eight innings before Jason Isringhausen took over in the ninth inning to close out the game. Williams is making a name for himself as a part of this Angels' rotation. The more solid starts we can accumulate, the less we have to go to the bullpen for that extra (nail-biting) help.

Whereas I still choose to maintain a realistic mentality about the Angels and this progress they are making, I won't let it take away from how exciting these wins have been. Seeing a glimpse of the team fans have known and loved is satisfying. For now, of course.

These next few games may be exactly what the Angels need to regain their confidence and do away with the pesky problems we've seen.

We're all aware that the Angels have approximately 99 problems (give or take a few), but tonight, a pitch ain't one.