If the Angels want to overtake the Rangers in the AL West, they are going to have to earn it.  Thanks to their poor fielding tonight, that is exactly what they are NOT doing.

Mariners 2, Angels 1

This goes without saying, but spotting a pitcher like Felix Hernandez two unearned runs on four errors just isn't going to work out well for any team, even if Felix is backed by one of the worst lineups in baseball.

I'm not going to say that this game is going to cost the Angels the division, although the did lose a game on Texas with the loss, since when I projected the rest of the season a few weeks ago that this would be a loss.  However, losing the game in this fashion is really going to hurt because it would have been winnable had they just executed properly on defense.  Giving away winnable games is what will really do them in as they head down the homestretch of the season.  3.5 games doesn't seem like a huge margin, but with so few games to close the gap in, they have to capitalize on every chance they get to win games that they probably shouldn't win.  They just can't count on Texas self-destructing.  If they want the division, the Angels are going to have to win it themselves.

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Seattle Mariners (58-82) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (77-64)

Pitching Probables: SEA – Felix Hernandez (13-11, 3.27 ERA)  LAA – Ervin Santana (11-9, 3.27 ERA)

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

Seeing King Felix as the opposing pitcher is never a fun feeling, even if the Mariners are a terrible team.  The Angels need all of the wins they can get, so it would have been nice if they could avoid one of the best pitchers in a league.  There is good news, when you look at the last two seasons of Felix Hernandez starting against the Halos, a pattern emerges that is strongly in the Angels' favor.  Check out the results in reverse chronological order:

At the risk of sounding cocky I'm just going to go ahead and say this, I knew the Angels had yesterday's game in the bag as soon as the pitching matchups were announced. Then again, most of you probably foresaw the same outcome that I did, another offensive outburst for the Angels. I wouldn't call this an "outburst" per se, as the Angels have been averaging 6 runs per game over the last couple months of the season as opposed to the 4 runs per game in the first half. As long as the offense can keep rolling the way it is this team will be in good shape to finish off the Rangers as the regular season comes to a close.

Angels 7 Mariners 3 

Welcome to the first weekly Angels Player Power Rankings!  This is a little experiment I have been wanting to try for awhile but never totally figured out how to do, so rather than continuing to stew on it, I'm just going to toss it out there and see if it works.

The idea is simple.  It is just like any basic power ranking only we rank the players instead of teams.  And, yes, I do mean we.  I will be asking your help with this after this week.  This week, I will rank the players all by myself (Look, ma! No hands!).  But what I need you all to do is submit your own rankings in the comment section.  I will then compile those rankings along with my own for next week and... BAM!  Power rankings!  Who doesn't love power rankings?

Without further adieu, here are the rankings for the week of 9/6/11.  As with every week, the players' overall performance and recent performance account for their rank:

The September 6th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including the September call-ups arrive, Hunter wants to retire as an Angel, Garrett Richards might be a solution in the bullpen and much more...

The Story: The Angels made a slew of transactions for September call-ups, starting with promoting Andrew Romine, Horacio Ramirez, Jeremy Moore and Efren Navarro.

The Monkey Says: As part of that move, they outrighted Freddy Sandoval to make room on the 40-man roster for Navarro.  They have also gone on to outright Matt Palmer, recall Tyler Chatwood, promote Trevor Bell and activate Garrett Richards from the DL.  It is unlikely any of these players will play a lot even though Scioscia claims he won't hesitate to use them.  A few more players like Michael Kohn, Alexi Amarista and Loek Van Mil all could be up in the next week once their respective minor league seasons end.

The Story: Could Garrett Richards fix the bullpen?

The Monkey Says: I like how Scioscia says, "We might not have that luxury."  Umm, luxury?  Nothing in the Angel bullpen is a luxury.  Try a dire need instead.  The Angels obviously don't want to mess with Richards' development, but seeing if he could be a weapon out of the pen is worth a shot since he has the natural talent to potentially be very successful in that role.

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Seattle Mariners (58-81) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim  (76-64)

Pitching Probables: SEA – Anthony Vazquez (1-1, 11.57 ERA)  LAA – Dan Haren (13-8, 3.16 ERA)

Game Info: 6:05 PM PT; TV - Fox Sports West; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

It's been a week since the fateful series in Texas, and the Angels stand exactly where they did then. The Angels struggled to pick up wins against weaker teams, though they barely skated through the Twins the Mariners were a completely different story. They threw away the first and third game of the series, while managing just two wins in that four game set. Now is the time to make up for those games, and with Texas on a roll the Angels are going to prove they can hit a win streak too. This series is where that win streak starts, with a sweep of the Seattle Mariners.

Everything went according to plan today for the Angels, probably even better since they got a strong performance out Joel Pineiro.  So why do I feel like the Halos are just running in place?

Angels 4, Twins 1

Entering this game, it felt like the Angels were set up to disappoint.  They were facing a lousy team and had their worst starting pitcher on the mound.  It was a brutal, soul-crushing loss waiting to happen.

Only it didn't.

Shockingly, Joel Pineiro not only failed to suck, but he actually kind of pitched his ass off.  Wonderful!  Better yet, Old Man Abreu found a way to sock his seventh homer of the season.  What a delightful surprise!  And despite it being a close and crucial game, the bullpen was nearly perfect.  Unbelievable!  This should be cause for celebration, but it just isn't.  Want to know why?

The damn Rangers keep winning.

This is supposed to be the stretch of the schedule where the Angels were going to make up ground on Texas.  Seven games into this favorable ten-game slate, the Angels have lost half a game in standings.  Man, this playoff chase thing is hard.