Did you know the Angels have the 5th best bullpen ERA in the American League?

More than likely you just responded "no" and then took a beat and asked, "how the hell did that happen?"  Don't feel bad, I did the same thing when I saw that stat.  After thinking about it for a bit more though, the answer to that seemingly rhetorical question was clear, Scott Downs is how that happened.

Sure, Jordan Walden has emerged as a potentially elite closer this season, but the problem that has plagued the Halos practically since Opening Day is getting the ball to Walden.  We've dealth with the ineptitude of Fernando Rodney, the meltdown of Kevin Jepsen, the disappointment of Hisanori Takahashi and the inability of Rich Thompson to step his game up.

By all rights, the Angel middle relief should still be a flaming greasefire game after game, but it isn't, all because Scott Downs has emerged as an elite setup man and the steadying veteran presence the bullpen has been seeking for years.

Daily Links for the LA Angels including Kohn gets called back up, Scioscia believes the Angels are championship caliber team, Aybar idolizes Jose Reyes and much more...

The Story: Michael Kohn has been called up while Andrew Romine has been demoted to Triple-A.

The Monkey Says: Romine was no longer needed now that Alberto Callaspo is almost fully healthy.  Kohn has been killing it in Triple-A, so his recall is very much deserved and arguably overdue.  However, he'll have to show his command is improved if he hopes to actually stick in the majors this time.  If he does though, he could rocket up the bullpen depth chart given Rodney's injury and Thompson's ups and downs.

The Story: Mike Scioscia believes the Angels are a championship caliber club.

The Monkey Says: Of course he does.  What else is he supposed to say?  He also agrees that the team is in transition as well, so he obvioulsy is sending mixed signals.

The weaker the better as I like to say, and it doesn't get any better then the Florida Marlins. Weaver managed to wrestle away a W from a very talented Anibal Sanchez, pushing his win total to 9, all thanks to the very effective Izturis-Aybar combo. All in all, at least for this into, tonight was a very good step towards coming out of Florida with a 4 game winning streak.

 Angels 2 Marlins 1

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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (35-38) @ Florida Marlins (32-40)

Pitching Probables: LAA – Jered Weaver (8-4, 2.06 ERA)  FLA -- Anibal Sanchez (6-1, 3.02 ERA)

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

I don't know what get's me more excited about today's game, the fact that the Marlins are extremely vulnerable or that they're throwing up a quality pitcher on the mound. After a rather uninteresting series against the Mets we're finally in line for what should be at least a semi-exciting pitchers duel between two of the better pitchers in baseball as of late. As a matter of fact, Sanchez has not thrown a losing game since April 10th. Sounds like our team is in for a rough one tonight, huh?

They may be three games under .500, without Kendrys Morales all year long and hampered by a punchless lineup, but the Angels have the rest of the league right where they want them.  Where do they want them, exactly?  On the road, of course.

Perhaps I am just grasping at straws here, but sometimes you have to do that to keep hope alive in a season where not much has gone right for the Halos, but one aspect of this team has buoyed my spirits: they perform well on the road.  OK, maybe well is relative in this case, but at 20-18 away from Anaheim, the Angels are one of just nine teams with a road record over .500.  Historically speaking, that is good news for any team.  Let's take a little stroll through the past five seasons, shall we?

In 2010, nine teams in the league had a .500+ road record, six of those teams qualified for the playoffs.

In 2009, eight teams in the league had a .500+ road record, six of those teams qualified for the playoffs.

In 2008, eight teams in the league had a .500+ road record, six of those teams qualified for the playoffs.

In 2007, seven teams in the league had a .500+ road record, four of those teams qualified for the playoffs.

In 2006, ten teams in the league had a .500+ road record, six of those teams qualified for the playoffs.

In other words, if you have a winning record away from home, you stand a pretty good chance of playing in the post-season.  Like I said, good news, not great news.

With the way Vernon Wells has performed the last two weeks, one can't help but finally feel optimistic that the Angels' "big splash" winter acquisition might finally be on his way to earning at least some of his massive, massive contract.

But is that thought just the cognitive dissonance of fanbase desperate for Wells to live up to his reputation or is the mid-season resurgence of Vernon wells going to serve as the big bat addition that the lineup so desperately needs (especially now that they've closed the door on making any big trades)?

Time to vote!

Daily Links for the LA Angels including Callaspo to be ready for full action soon, anticipating when Trout will be promoted to Triple-A, Scioscia tries to explain Kazmir's decline and much more...

The Story: Alberto Callaspo should be ready for full action soon.

The Monkey Says: This is an old story as we saw Callaspo pinch-hit over the weekend, so we know that he is at least healthy enough for limited action and to not have to go to the disabled list.  The real question is when he will get a start again, especially since the Angels are on the road in an NL stadium, making it a little harder for the Halos to find room in the lineup for him, not to mention making it more important that they also have a decent bat off the bench to pinch-hit.

The Story: John Sickels wonders just how much longer the Angels will wait to move Mike Trout up to Triple-A.

The Monkey Says: A lot of folks are wondering how much longer they will wait, with the consensus being that he'll get the promotion at the end of the month when the minor league All-Star break happens.