Mike Trout must be getting bored with the minors because I think he is now trying to do his best Dan Uggla impression.  By that I mean that Trout has decided to go streaking!

OK, so Trouty isn't anywhere near a 33-game hitting streak like Uggla's, but he is off to a pretty good start.  With his two hits last night, Trout is now the proud owner of a nine-game hitting streak.  But as we all know, Trout is a multi-tool player, so it should come as no surprise that he is not satiated with just one streak.  It turns out that Mighty Mike is also riding a streak of six consecutive games with a RBI.  He had also scored a run in four straight games before failing to cross the plate in yesterday's contest.

Does any of this have any real impact on Trout's future?  Probably not, but it sure is interesting and a good example of just how much he is owning the Texas League right now, which we already knew.  I guess this is just my way of saying that I am running out of new ways to say that Mike Trout is awesome.

That's it for this week, check back in next week to see what happens to our future hero.  Same Trout Time.  Same Trout Channel... err, blog.

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Texas Rangers (70-52) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (65-57)

Pitching Probables: TEX – Derek Holland (10-4, 4.30 ERA)  LAA – Tyler Chatwood (6-8, 4.07 ERA)

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

Last night's series opener against Texas didn't exactly go according to plan, but, contrary to popular belief, the sky is not falling on the Angels' season.  Here are a few things to remember before you declare the season over:

• If the Angels win the remaining three games of the series, then they would end this two games back of Texas, which is a perfectly manageable deficit.
• Twice already this season the Rangers have opened their series against the Halos by winning the first game in big, depressing fashion only to see the Angels rally back to win the rest of the games in those series.  There is no reason it can't happen a third time.
• Derek Holland is pitching tonight and he has been a bit of a mess lately, so the Angel bats might be able to take advantage of him while he is down.
• The Angels are on fire at home, winning 17 of their last 23 games and winning their previous eight home series.

OK, so it isn't a mountain of evidence that the Angels are destined to bounce back and conquer the Rangers, but it is at least enough to create some reasonable doubt, no?  All I ask is that for one more game (heck, maybe even two or three more), we all keep our heads on straight and consider the very real possibility that the Angels still have plenty left to play for.

This game was over before the 3rd out of the game was recorded. Sending Richards out to face the Rangers put the Angels in a tight spot, having him exit due to inury pretty much flushed the whole game down the toliet. A bullpen game it was, at least for the Angels, and this offense cannot back up a bullpen, which they eagerly proved last night. Takahashi killed this team once he opened the floodgates to a 6 run fifth while Branyan proved that his "production" is still meaningless. Luckly for the Angels they still have 3 more games to play in the set, giving them more then a good chance to quickly close the gap in the AL West by this weekend. But there is still the even better chance that the Angels playoff push will be dead by Friday morning.

Rangers 8 Angels 4 

Everyone wanted Tony Reagins to make a trade at the deadline a few weeks ago, only to have Reagins do what he does best- disappoint.  Now that the Angels are on the verge of falling out of the AL West race, Tony has one last chance to make a "better late than never" move to try and bolster a Halo roster that has shown some real flaws in the last two weeks.  Of course, making a move in August isn't easy and is seldom ever for an impact player, so Reagins will have to bust his ass to find a worthwhile move, but there are a few players out there that the Angels could bring in to help pull them back from the brink.

Better make a deal now, Tony, you might not get another chance.

The August 16th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Angels unable to sign three draft picks, Richards injures his groin, diagramming Peter Bourjos' range in the outfield and much more...

The Story: The Angels signed fourth-round pick Michael Clevinger and sixth-round pick Austin Wood, but failed to sign their 14th, 15th and 17th round picks.

The Monkey Says: The two guys they signed were pitchers and the three they didn't sign were all position players.  Not signing mid-round picks happens all the time in the draft, but I think the Angels had to have been hoping to do better on that front, especially since this is their first post-Eddie Bane draft.  At least the Halos weren't gunshy about drafting another guy named Wood.

The Story: Garrett Richards left last night's game in the first inning with a groin injury.

The Monkey Says: Just brutal.  Richards might not have been any good, but losing him to injury really puts the Angels in a bind.  Joel Pineiro is still a mess and has no business returning to the rotation, and the bullpen can't really afford to lose Takahashi to the rotation.  That leaves them having to choose from either Trevor Bell (who is not pitching well in Triple-A) or Jerome Williams (who is pitching very well in Triple-A, but is a journeyman) to fill the hole in the rotation.  It is also possible that the Angels will urgently seek a trade before the weekend, but that is going to be complicated.

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Texas Rangers (69-52) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (65-56)

Pitching Probables: TEX -- Alexi Ogando (11-5, 3.22 ERA) LAA – Garrett Richards (0-1, 10.80 ERA)

Game Info: 7:05 PM PT; TV - KCOP; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

After a rather ugly road trip in which the Angels fell back to 4 games behind the Rangers, the Angels are looking for way out of this pickle they've gotten themselves into. Thankfully, for once, the Angels won't have to rely on the Rangers to lose to some weak team like the Mariners or the Orioles to get a game or two up on them.  Today the Angels only have to rely on themselves. Now that I think about it, they might actually be a bad team, seeing as how "well" this team did on this road trip when heavy pressure was set down on them. Now the pressure is at maximum capacity with Texas coming into town this late into the season with a 4 game lead on the Angels. The only thing this team has been doing exceptionally well so far is winning series; let's hope that one piece of magic stays alive against Texas these next four days.

So it begins.  What exactly "it" is remains to be seen.

The Rangers are in town to kick-off an immensely important four-game set with the Angels and seeing how the Halos not so proudly boast a sputtering offense, a crumbling bullpen and an overmatched rookie kicking off the series, "it" could be the beginning of the end of the Angels' post-season dream or "it" could be the first step in an epic run to the AL West crown as the Angels buck conventional wisdom by establishing their dominance over the more talented Rangers.

What will happen?  Will we still care about Angels baseball by this time next week?  Or will we be settling back to relax and watch what is sure to be a playoff push to remember?

Time to vote!

Can the Angels beat the Rangers and make it a race in the AL West?

1. No, it is amazing this deeply flawed team stayed in the race as long as they did
2. Maybe, Texas is overrated, so the Halos will be able to at least make it a race, but probably lack the horses to overtake
3. Yes, the Angels will win the AL West by taking care of business one-on-one against the Rangers
4. I hope they lose and lose badly so that Moreno wises up and fires Reagins

To place your vote, simply find the Poll of the Week in the gray sidebar to the right.