The August 17th, 2011 edition of daily news for the LA Angels including Garrett Richards placed on the disabled list, Pineiro moves back into the rotation, revisiting the Napoli trade and much more...

The Story: Garrett Richards has been placed on the disabled list with an abductor strain and Trevor Bell and Horacio Ramirez have been called up to help out the bullpen.

The Monkey Says: Bell and Ramirez were badly needed after the bullpen got taxed on Monday, but they aren't sure to stick around very long (in fact, Bell has already been sent back down, no replacement has been announced yet).  Andrew Romine was also demoted to make room for both relievers.

The Story: Joel Pineiro will return to the rotation to replace Garrett Richards.

The Monkey Says: One good relief appearance hardly convinces me that he is fixed, but I'm not sure the Angels really had much better options.  If this doesn't work out though, I suspect the Halos will finally give either Trevor Bell or Jerome Williams a shot, especially since it will probably be during a time when the Angels aren't playing for much anymore.

I'm not saying that the Angels' season is over, but the fat lady definitely seems to be warming up her vocal cords backstage.

Rangers 7, Angels 3

The Angels needed to come out strong tonight to respond to last night's tough loss, if only to show the Rangers that they weren't dead yet.  Instead, they acted like an obedient dog and rolled right over almost from the first pitch.

Sure enough, Chatwood gagged up two runs to start the game.  Exactly what the scuffling Angel lineup didn't need, an early deficit to try and overcome, nor did the beleaguered bullpen need Chatwood expending a bunch of pitches so early in the game.  Even had Tyler been able to right the ship after that, he was obviously headed for an early exit.

The worst though was the way the offense went out of its way to prove just how totally inept it really is.  In very un-Angel like fashion, they got the leadoff man in each of the first three innings.  Unfortunately, they "took advantage" of those baserunners in a their usual tragic way.  That leadoff man was erased without ever becoming a threat in the first and second inning by way of inning-ending doubleplays.  Then in the third, the Halos finally broke through to plate a run with one out, starting what might have been a comeback rally to get back in the game.  Or at least they would have had they not run themselves right out of that inning.  Aybar made an out on the very play the run scored on by stupidly trying to take an extra base, which was quickly followed by Peter Bourjos getting picked off at first base without Holland ever actually making another pitch after the run scored.  Any life the Angels had in them died when Bourjos got picked off as they managed just two more baserunners before sparking a meaningless rally in the ninth inning.

I am contractually obligated at this point to point out that the Angels could still win the next two games and claw their way back to four games back, which would keep them alive in the AL West, barely.  But after another pitiful effort, I really have very little hope of that happening.

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.