Ladies and gentlemen, this is a momentous occasion... Vernon Wells might be good again.  Or maybe he just likes facing the Mets.

Angels 7, Mets 3

Almost a week removed from his two-homer day against the Mariners, Vernon Wells was back at it again with his third homer and third multi-hit game since he returned to action back on June 7th.  More importantly, his batting average is over .200 for the first time since the first game of the season.  I'll give you a minute to let that soak in.

...

...

All done?  Yes, breaching the Mathis Mendoza Line seems like pretty ignominious accomplishment, but for Vernon, it is his first milestone on the way back to being an All-Star caliber player, or at least something better than the giant lump of donkey dung that he has been most of the season.  His big day today should only serve to fuel his burgeoning confidence and maybe, just maybe, Tony Reagins won't look like a total asshat for trading for him by the time the season is over.

That being said, let's not go getting too excited just.  Vernon's "resurgence" has still left him with just a .268/.302/.488 slash line in June.  His ISO over .220 is very nice, but he still needs to work on the average and getting on base more.

But, hey, who thought that we would ever reach a point in this year where our biggest complaint about Wells was that he wasn't getting on base enough.  Progress, people, progress.

I hate that my predictions never seem to come true. Now don't get me wrong, I don't put a heck of a lot of thought into these things, but one right occasionally would be nice. I guess if I really wanted to be Nostradamus I would have predicted that Mike Pelfrey would look like Cy Young against the Angel hitters. But you could pretty much say that about any pitcher toeing the slab against the Halos these days...

Angels 1 Mets 6 

                                                                        @

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (34-37) @ New York Mets (34-36)

Pitching Probables: LAA – Dan Haren (6-4, 2.54 ERA)  NYM -- Mike Pelfrey (3-5, 5.11 ERA)

                                                                     Game Info: 4:10 PM PT; TV - Fox Sports West; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

  After last night's nailbiter thanks to a shaky but ultimately effective bullpen, The Angels look to settle things down by throwing Co-Ace Dan Haren at the Mets. I have to admit that this series is a primary argument against interleague play. Here are two below .500 teams in the middle of their divisions which leads to something of a boring series to write about and watch. But with re-alignment on the horizon in some form, I guess we all should get used to these sorts of non-descript matchups more often.

I would imagine right about now Joel Pineiro is finally breathing again after the tense ending to his 100th career victory. Thanks to some timely hitting and the rollercoaster ride that was the bullpen, Pineiro becomes the fourth Puerto Rican born player to win 100 games in the majors. More importantly, the Angels inched a little closer to the .500 mark and hopefully are starting to play with more confidence as the road trip from hell continues.

Angels 4 Mets 3 
no comments

Poor Tony Reagins, all he does is try his best to create a team of winners yet he falls flat on his face time and time again. He's had some huge busts, there is no denying that, but he has also had his fair share of glorious victories. The oh so common saying "the best move is the move never made" is as true as it is old, but how does it apply to Tony Reagins? 


Did you know his middle name is Dolt? It's almost as if his parents knew.

                       @

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (33-37) @ New York Mets (34-35)

Pitching Probables: LAA – Joel Piniero (2-3 4.03 ERA)  SEA – Chris Capuano (5-6, 4.40 ERA)

Game Info: 4:10 PM PT; TV - Fox Sports West; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

The Angels head to the big apple to take on the red headed stepchild of NY Sports, the lovable Mets. In some ways these two teams are alike. Both live in the shadow of a more famous older brother. Both were born at roughly the same time. And both fan bases always seem surprised when their team plays well.
no comments

Yesterday, it was reported that Angels owner Arte Moreno has told GM Tony Reagins that he is not permitted to add anymore payroll this season.

Apparently this is supposed to be some kind of earth-shaking revelation.  Why?  I have no idea.  Just because Arte allegedly handed down the ultimatum recently doesn't mean that this isn't something that has been common knowledge for quite some time.

All it takes is a little brain power and a little bit of memory jogging to see how this decision has been in the cards since this last off-season.