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.

The August 15th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Jeff Mathis is day-to-day with a bruised hand, Torii won't recruit free agents this off-season, Scioscia needs to give up on Rodney and much more...

The Story: Jeff Mathis is day-to-day with a bruised hand after being hit by a pitch over the weekend.

The Monkey Says: While the injury, unfortunately, isn't serious, this would still be a perfect opportunity for the Angels to call up Hank Conger and getting him some playing time.  Alas, that would make too much sense, so Scioscia will never let it happen.

The Story: Torii Hunter will not proactively help recruit free agents this off-season.

The Monkey Says: Interesting timing for this statement to be made, but I'm going to try not to read too much into it.  Hunter wore himself out pitching the Angels to potential big free agents last year, and nothing even came of it, so this seems pretty sensible.  It also wouldn't surprise me if Hunter is doing this because he knows that next season is probably his last as an Angel... unless they trade him this winter.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I am pretty sure that I have been saying since mid-June that the Angel bullpen is a disaster waiting to happen.  Or did I start saying that in May?  I can't remember.  Either way, I'm right and the Angels were wrong for not fixing it when they had the chance.

Blue Jays 5, Angels 4

The Angels could have gone a lot of ways at the deadline, getting a bona fide stud close like Heath Bell, an elite setup man like Mike Adams or just a solid but unspectacular arm like Rafael Betancourt.  Any of these players would have come in handy tonight.  Having Heath Bell at closer could have prevented the Jays from tagging the good, but often streaky, Jordan Walden for the game tying run.  Having Mike Adams would have allowed Scott Downs to be available in extra innings rather than choke-artist extraordinaire Hisanori Takahashi.  Having Rafael Betancourt would have at least spared us from seeing Fernando Rodney pitch in a tied game.  

Alas, Tony Reagins was either incapable or unwilling to acquire any of those guys or anyone similar, thus the Angels are stuck with the Bullpen of Woe.  A bullpen that has little to no chance of improving from within and will surely cost the Angels a few more games down the stretch, not exactly an ideal situation for a team that now finds itself on the cusp of falling out of their divisional race.

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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (65-55) @ Toronto Blue Jays (60-59)

Pitching Probables: LAA – Dan Haren (12-6, 2.91 ERA)  TOR – Brett Cecil (4-5, 4.31 ERA)

Game Info: 10:07 AM PT; TV - KCOP; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

Let's fact it, we all just want to get this game and series over with as soon as possible.  I know that it is considered a cardinal sin in sports to look past your current opponent because you have a big showdown looming with a rival coming up next, but, you know what?  I don't care.  No matter what happens today, it is really the next four games against Texas that is going to determine whether or not the Angels have much to play for the rest of the season.  Sure, the Angels should try their very best to win today, but win or lose, it isn't going to change the importance of the next series.

If the Angels win and Texas loses today, the Halos then would be two games back and in position to either sweep the Rangers and move into first by two games or get swept and fall six back.

Conversely, if the Angels lose and Texas wins, then Angels can range from tying the Rangers to falling eight back.  Either way, the Angels will be deciding in the next series, not today, whether or not they stay in contention or fall straight out of it.  All this series finale in Toronto will do is gently nudge them in one of those directions a bit more.

If you are wondering why it has taken me all day to sit down to write this recap, it's because I'm still in a bit of a state of shock. Whoever that was on the mound for the Angels sure looked like Jered Weaver, but his performance was certainly not what we have all come to expect. It was as if his both Jeff took over his body and wanted to relive the glory days of watching homers fly over his head. Couple that with a punchless offense and you can see why I wasn't real pumped to recap this fiasco.

Angels 2 Blue Jays 11