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 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim  (51-44) @ Oakland Athletics (41-54)

Pitching Probables: LAA – Joel Pineiro (5-3, 3.90 ERA)  OAK – Gio Gonzalez (8-6, 2.47 ERA)

Game Info: 1:05 PM PT; TV - KCOP; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

I'm not saying that today is a must-win game for the Angels, but if they don't win, there is a pretty good chance that you're going to see a picture of all the momentum the Angels has before the All-Star break on the side of a milk carton (Which reminds me, when did they ever put pictures of lost kids on milk cartons?  I've never seen that ever.  Do they just not do it or do I drink milk that tacitly endorses kidnapping?).

As hot as the Angels had been, the Rangers have been ever hotter, winning ten in a row.  And the Angels know this, which is probably part of the reason they've come out flat so far in this series (the other reason is that this team really can't hit that much).  The A's are nothing to anybody right now other than the current doormat of the AL West, so the Angels, even with Scioscia's "one game at a time" mantra, can't help but look past them in preparation of trying to be the ones to not only stop the current Ranger juggernaut but also to try and leapfrog them in the division.  That is going to be no small feat and one that they are going to need to regain their momentum back in order to pull off.

But that is the weird catch-22 situation the Angels find themselves in.  They need to focus on getting some momentum going into the Texas series, but they also need to focus on beating the team in front of them, Oakland, in order to do that.  Good luck, fellas.

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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (50-43) @ Oakland A's (40-53) (Records approx. depending outcome of GAME 1)

Pitching Probables: LAA -- Ervin Santana (4-8, 3.89 ERA) OAK --Rich Harden (1-1, 5.73 ERA)

Game Info: 4:35 PM PT; TV - FS-West; Radio - KLAA 830 AM


Game two of the Doubleheader!! Sorry for the lack of a game 1 post but some scheduling difficulties required me leaving the ole' Casa earlier than expected this morning. Anyway, for Game Two we get a match-up of two pitchers who both seemed destined for greatness but have fallen on harder times. The upside of this pitcher's set up is that Ervin tends to do well against the A's while Harden has at times struggled with the Angels. So if things hold as they are with game one and do to form with this one, then it's a sweep of the two games and we are right back in the race.

The return to action for the Halos was met with a collective thud of wasted opportunities. Dan Haren proved to be mortal and the Angels couldn't cash in on many of the chances afforded them by the A's. As a result the second half of the season gets off on the wrong foot and tomorrow's double header looms even larger.

Angels 3 A's 5

If it wasn't for this cursed offense who knows how far up in the standings the Angels would be?! I've seen countless games this season that should have been won had it not been for this offense breaking down and playing rather pathetic baseball. But then again, if it wasn't our lack of reliable relievers who knows how many close games the Angels could have come out on top of. One too many games have been blown by Rodney and his lefty Asian counterpart Hisanori Takahashi. These are the two most pressing problems for the Angels going towards the trade deadline, but which one do the Angels need the most? A big bat or a bigger arm?

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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (50-42) @ Oakland A's (39-53)

Pitching Probables: LAA -- Dan Haren (10-5, 2.61 ERA) OAK -- Brandon McCarthy (1-5, 3.66)

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

The Angels open the official second half of the season in arguably the worst stadium in baseball chasing one of the hottest teams for supremacy in the AL West. The Texas Rangers are on one of those refuse to lose jags that make you sick to your stomach when it isn't your team. As hot as the Angels have been the past few weeks, they are in danger of losing ground if they don't come off the All Star Break and pick up right where they left off.

Time for Free For All Friday, a time to talk about all the Angels-related topics that slipped through the cracks this week, as well as any other totally unrelated topic you feel like bringing up.

Here are a few topics for you to discuss amongst yourselves:

• I fully planned this week to write some brilliant proposal for a perfect trade that the Angels could make to clear a starting spot for Mike Trout for the rest of the season.  But as hard as I thought about it, I just could not find a deal that the Halos could actually pull off and still come away just as good (or better) as they were before.  What bothers me about that is that the Angels will still have pretty much the same problem this off-season, though they should have more options then.  What doesn't bother me about that is that I don't think Trout is ready to be a regular in the bigs right now, so the logjam in front of him will force him back down to the minors for the rest of the season, where he belongs.
• Can someone explain to me how technology has become so advanced that I can pretty much launch satellites with my phone but vending machines still can't accept my dollar bill if it has the slightest crease in it?  Why do I feel like this is still going to be a problem long after we all travel around via jetpacks and flying cars?
• You know, I was on the fence about a potential deal for Aramis Ramirez, something people have suggested all season long.  But when the Mark Saxon impersonator pulled off the hoax saying the Angels had trade for Aramis, before we all go word that it was actually a hoax, my deep-down real world reaction ended up being   a positive one, so I guess my subconscious must've signed off on the deal somewhere along the way without telling me.  Too bad Ramirez is too expensive (this year and next, his 2012 option vests if he gets dealt) and unlikely to waive his no-trade clause.
• So, one weird observation I've had since moving to Seattle is that the company that makes all the port-a-potties is called Honey Bucket, so there are all these portable toilets that say Honey Bucket all over the place.  Whenever I see the "Honey Buckets" I always imagine that some bear is going to find its way into the city and see this giant thing that says "Honey Bucket" (because, in my imagination, bears are literate) and get all excited that he just found the mother lode of sweet, sweet honey only to discover how horribly misleading that sign was and immediately go on a rampage.  Hmmm, maybe I just shared too much?
• Mayber this makes me "not a true fan" but I really enjoy the All-Star break, especially this year.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE baseball, but even I need a break sometimes, especially since I started this blog and started working for Bloguin too.  It isn't just a break for the players, it is a break for hardcore fans like me.  A nice little three-day baseball detox every few months is exactly what I needed.

Or just feel free to bring up a topic of your own.  I don't really care (as long as you keep it clean) because it's Friday.

From the emergence of Jered Weaver as an elite starter to the wretched start of Vernon Wells and back to Howie Kendrick's breakout first half, the Angels first half of the season has seen a lot of ups and downs.  At the end of it all, they stand at 50-42 and poised for what could be an epic battle with the Rangers for the 2011 AL West division title.

If the Angels are going to emerge victorious come the end of the season, they are going to need to keep getting strong performances from the kids and the veterans alike, but what they need more than anything is Torii Hunter to step his game up and lead the team on the field as well as he leads them in the clubhouse.

The Angels first-half success was predicated on their outstanding pitching, something they can expect to sustain them in the second half.  Even with the continued dominance of Jered Weaver and Dan Haren, the Angels are far from a lock to regain their AL West crown, not with the offense always a looming threat to drag the team down.  But as we have seen the last few weeks, if the lineup can produce with some consistency, the Angels are very difficult to beat.  Figuring out how to keep that offensive momentum going should be the team's paramount concern the rest of the way.

Since addressing that issue via trade is looking less and less likely, the Angels will have to look within to keep their offensive fire lit.  They shouldn't have to look far though as one man has the ability to stoke those flames: Torii Hunter.