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New York Yankees (87-55) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim  (78-65)

Pitching Probables: NYY Bartolo Colon (8-9, 3.72 ERA)  LAA – Jered Weaver (16-7, 2.49 ERA)

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

And here come the Damn Yankees. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the fray after a day off, the best team in the AL shows up to rain on our happy little AL West parade. To add to the fun, Gargantua himself, Bartolo Colon, heads to the mound to try to throw his weight around against the Halos. Colon has been struggling a bit, but then again so has Jered Weaver. This isn't time for a tired arm Jered, the playoffs are at stake!!

The September 9th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including looking at the AL West tiebreaker scenarios, details of the Angels' 9/11 tribute, Weaver to be inducted into the Long Beach State athletics Hall of Fame and much more...

The Story: A look at the potential scenarios for a one-game playoff should the Angels and Rangers end the season in a tie atop the AL West.

The Monkey Says: Part of me hopes there is a playoff just because it would be so exciting, but I also don't know if I could handle a potentially decisive end of season series getting extended one more game.

The Story: Details for the Angels' 9/11 tribute this weekend.

The Monkey Says: That's a lot of first pitches being thrown out, but with the Yankees as the opposing team, I think the Angels probably felt a little extra pressure to do something of substance for the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

In a game that was much closer than it should have been, the Angels just barely pulled away with a win thanks to the bat of Mighty Maicer and the arm of Jerome Williams. Williams, a man who hadn't won a game in the Majors since 2005, is now 3-0 in his last three starts. That isn't the best part however; out of those three starts two of them have brought the Angels 1 game closer to the Texas Rangers. Jerome Williams came out of nowhere to plug the 5th spot in the rotation, he had been pitching in the CPBL (Chinese Professional Baseball League) before the Angels picked him up, and now he's pushing them forward in the pennant race. It's not every day you pick a diamond out of the rough; let's just hope he gets to show off his newfound talent in the postseason.

Angels 3 Mariners 1 

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.