Remember all that talk a few weeks ago about how the Angels were actually in great shape in the AL West race because the schedule strongly favored them?  Yeah, those were good times.

The easy Angel schedule started up on August 19th when the Angels were six games back and on the verge of being out of contention.  The slate of cupcakes they have faced has allowed them to trim Texas' lead down to a much more manageable 2.5 games, where we stand right now.  Making up 3.5 games in just under three weeks is great, but I'm afraid that it may not be good enough.

As it turns out, the big schedule advantage the Angels had is now gone.  Darn.  I did so enjoy watching the Angels pound on the dregs of the American League.  Unfortunately, that is the Rangers' job now.  For those of you who are too lazy to look up the remaining Texas schedule yourself, here is there remaining opponents:

The September 8th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Mike Trout named Minor League Player of the Year, looking at Jered Weaver's slump, pining for the return of Eddie Bane and much more...

The Story: Mike Trout has been named Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year.

The Monkey Says: This was pretty much a no-brainer since Trout dominated the pitcher-friendly Texas League.  What I really like though is that Trout was humble about the award, showing once again how great a head he has on his shoulders.

The Story: Jered Weaver gets the Slumpbot .200 treatment.

The Monkey Says: I really don't think there is anything to worry about and I think the implication that his mini-slump has anything to do with the pressures of his new contract is rather baseless.  Fatigue might be the only real issue in play here, but unless he struggles again in his next start, I'm just going to assume his struggles are just a bit of an anomaly.

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Seattle Mariners      (59-82) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim  (77-65)

Pitching Probables: SEA – Charlie Furbush (2-4, 6.39 ERA)  LAA – Jerome Williams (2-0, 4.58 ERA)

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

Just like the series against the Mariners last week, the Angels have pathetically failed to pick up any ground on the Texas Rangers. Why so harsh? Last night's game should have been won had it not been for a series of defensive errors that cost this team a game in the standings. What makes it so pathetic is the fact that this is one of the better fielding ballclubs in the majors, ranking 4th in the AL with a collective fielding percentage of .985. A collective choke job by the defense cost Santana 2 runs, neither of which were earned on his part, 2 runs which would have won the Angels the game had they not been gift wrapped and handed to the Mariners. The Angels better hope the Rangers lose today, if they fail to pick up a single game in the span of a week the Angels season can pretty much be written off, especially with the Yankees rolling into town this weekend. If they can't win when it matters against the Mariners what makes you think they would win when it matters against the Yankees? If you think they can you must not remember the 2009 ALCS.

The September 7th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including two more prospects called up to Anaheim, a low-level Halo prospect gets suspended for PEDs, the Mike Trout effec and much more...

The Story: The Angels called up infielders Alexi Amarista and Gil Velazquez to the major league roster.

The Monkey Says: The Triple-A season is now over for the Bees, so Amarista and Velazquez are now freed up for big league duty.  They are also likely the last Bees to be promoted this year, which is interesting since Michael Kohn did not get called up even though he seemed like a likely candidate.  This gives the Halos 34 players on the active roster, which is more than they usually use in September, so they may not promote anyone else at all, though I still hold out hope that reliever Loek Van Mil will get the call when the Double-A season is over.

The Story: Angel minor leaguer Ercilio De La Cruz has been suspended for failing a PED-related drug test.

The Monkey Says: De La Cruz is an 18-year old in the Dominican Summer League and not a particularly good one, so this really isn't all that newsworthy.  Frankly, I think baseball makes sure each team gets at least one nothing prospect suspended every year or two just to make an example of them to the other kids in the organization.

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