After getting shutout for the eighth time last night, the Angels responded the only way they knew how, pitching a shutout of their own.  That would be the fifth time that they have been on the good end of a shutout, meaning in 13 of their 34 games this season, one team has not scored.  Feel the excitement!

But seriously, this was actually a very encouraging effort from the Angels in that they didn't simply rollover after getting blanked by the A's on Monday.  Granted, it wasn't like they lit the world on fire, but a win is a win and this squad at least showed they still have some life in them.  Now they just need a spark to really get them going.  Maybe the post-game firing of Mickey Hatcher will do just that.

Angels 4, Athletics 0

After years of calling for his head, Angels fans finally get their wish as the team has announced that embattled hitting coach Mickey Hatcher has been relieved of his duties.

For some, this is cause for celebration, but not for me, though I do think it was time for him to go.  This team's offense has gotten too bad and too many batters are struggling for any hitting coach of any repute to keep his job, even if his duties don't have much to do with said struggles.  This move is all about someone having to pay for the Angels' painfully slow start.

What it most definitely isn't is some sort of power play by Albert Pujols as certain national reporters are speculating (hint, the writer's name rhymes with Shmon Shmeyman).

Yes, Albert and Mickey had a little bit of a run-in over Hatcher being a bit too candid with the media.  That incident was just frustration boiling over and I suspect that is what this firing is about as well, only this time the frustration comes from the top.  By that, I mean Jerry Dipoto and probably Arte Moreno too.  We are almost a quarter of the way into the season and the inept hitting has shown no signs of turning around, so one cannot blame management for wanting to shake things up.

Hatcher was just the easiest target.  In his 13 years in the position, fans have probably been demanding his firing for roughly 11 of those years.  If this firing does anything, it should appease the angry mob for a short time.  What it won't do is instantly turn around the team's offensive fortunes.

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Oakland Athletics (19-17) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (15-21)

Pitching Probables: OAK – Bartolo Colon (3-3, 3.96 ERA)  LAA – Ervin Santana (1-6, 5.09 ERA)

Game Info: 4:05 PM PT; TV - Fox Sports West; Radio - KLAA 830

Before yesterday's game I wrote that the Halos are facing nothing but cupcake opponents for the next two weeks.

After yesterday's game I came to the realization that there is a very good chance that the Angels are the cupcakes.  This whole season has been bitterly depressing, but I've still done my darndest to maintain the mantra of "they'll be fine, this team has too much talent to be this bad."  And I still stick with that, the Angels aren't this bad, but they aren't much better than this either.

So, enough of the charade.  This Angel team isn't going to just up and start steamrolling mediocre teams.  At best they will scrap hard against them and maybe come out of this stretch a game or two closer to .500.  That big run where they win 12 of 15 games or something like that, it just isn't in them.

Enjoy the game!  Or don't.  You probably won't because a Bartolo Colon gem is beyond inevitable.

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They said he couldn't be any worse than he was in 2011.  They were wrong.  This summer, the LA Angels and Mike Scioscia disdainfully present "Vernon Wells: Suck Harder!"

Yes, it is true.  No, that fake movie teaser isn't real, but the part about Vernon Wells actually finding a way to be even worse than he was in his disastrous 2011 campaign is.  Yes, his batting average is higher this season, but most everything else about his offensive production has gotten worse.

• His already pitiful walk rate of 3.8% in 2011 is down to 3.2% this season.
• His power has tailed off, as shown by his ISO dropping from .194 to .175.
• He has already grounded into five double plays after rolling into eight all of last year.
• This is where it gets real bad, he is swinging at career-high percentage of pitches out of the strike zone at 36.8%.
• Even worse, he is making contact with 79.0% of those out-of-zone pitches, which blows is blows his former career-best out of the water and is generally just an absurdly high percentage. That isn't a good thing.

The only things he has going for him is a higher average, better BABIP and an improved line drive rate, which surely all go hand-in-hand.  I suppose that is reason for hope, but only if you are desperately seeking out such reasons, which I don't think anybody is.  The reality is that while his batting average is up, his already miserable plate discipline has eroded further.

To me though, the most telling stat for Wells this season is his fWAR of -0.1.  That's not a typo, he has a negative fWAR.  He is worse than a replacement-level player, which means the Halos would be better off with a generic AAA scrub in Vernon's place.

The May 15th, 2012 edition of daily news for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim including Torii Hunter has left the team following his son being arrested for sexual assault, the Halos still have plenty of time to rally, looking for potential flaws in Albert Pujols' swing and much more...

The Story: Torii Hunter has left the team and been placed on the restricted list following his son's arrest due to his involvement in an alleged sexual assualt last month.

The Monkey Says: This is just the worst.  Hunter has always prided himself as a family man after growing up with an absentee father, so this has to hit him hard.  There is no telling when he will return as these appear to be very serious allegations.  Ryan Langerhans has been called up to take Hunter's place on the active roster.

The Story: The Angels still have plenty of time to rally.

The Monkey Says: That is completely true, with two wild card spots available, they have more than enough time to get back into playoff contention.  The problem is that there is a pretty good chance that this team just stinks, and all the time in the world isn't going to cure that.

I've never fully gotten into the Fire Mickey Hatcher movement, but after this game, I would like to volunteer myself to become President of the Fire Hatcher Committee.

Normally, I would say that while Mickey doesn't appear to be a great coach, the Angels' problems at the plate extend far beyond what any hitting coach is responsibe for.  Tonight though, COMPLETELY on him.

The Angels faced Tyson Ross a few weeks ago and he carved them up by pounding the strike zone and getting the Angels to swing at a pitcher's pitch early in the count.  In that game, Ross cruised through six innings on 91 pitches, 61 of which were strikes.  The Halos made him look like an ace.  Since then, Ross has been getting pounded by every team he has faced.

But guess what happened tonight?  Ross got to face the Angels again and, just like last time, they swung at his pitch early in the count and made him look like an ace.  If the Halos had a hitting coach that wasn't totally incompetent, they would have come into this game having made adjustments to their plan of attack against Ross that failed to miserably the last time.  Nope, they have Hatcher and his sole plan of attack for any pitcher which is "if it is possibly in the strike zone, swing away."  Another fine Hatcher hatcher job.

Oh, I guess we should give Mickey some credit, the Angels did manage to work one walk against Ross this time and made him use 94 pitches, 60 for strikes, to get through six innings.  Baby steps, right?

Ugh, we are never going to be rid of Hatcher, are we.

Athletics 5, Angels 0

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Oakland Athletics (18-17) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (15-20)

Pitching Probables: OAK – Tyson Ross (1-3, 7.71 ERA)  LAA – Dan Haren (1-3, 4.19 ERA)

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

Time for the Angels to get on a move.  Still mired in last place in the AL West, the Angels begin a two-week run in which they face nothing but weak opponents.  Of course, the Angels actually have a worse record than almost all of them (hooray for the Padres!), so calling them soft is a bit like a pot calling the kettle black.

But that is how the Angels have to look at this 14-game stretch, as their chance to get their season back on track.  That means putting all the BS behind them.

Dan Haren suffering from back spasms?  Not anymore he isn't.  Sack up and pitch the Angels to a win tonight, Danny Boy.

Getting dominated by a scrub pitcher like Tyson Ross, who bested them a few weeks ago?  Get over it.  Time to play big boy baseball and knock him around like every other team in the league has been doing.

Continuing the "Albert Pujols is playing miserably" watch going?  It has to end.  Let's be honest, the Angels have several problems, but none looms larger than the black hole in the middle of the lineup that is Albert Pujols.  He HAS to start hitting if this team is ever going to start firing on all cylinders and put together the kind of winning streak they need to inject themselves back into contender status.  Sure, pressure is the last thing he seems to need, but we all know it is the truth.  The Angels go as Pujols goes.  So it is high time he get going.

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