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Los Angeles Angels Anaheim (29-27) @ Kansas City Royals (23-30)

Pitching Probables: LAA – Joel Pineiro (2-1, 3.15 ERA)  KC – Jeff Francis (1-5, 4.52 ERA)

Game Info: 5:10 PM PT; TV - Fox Sports West; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

I didn't think yesterday's comeback victory could be more improbable than it already was, but the fallout from the Angels ninth-inning rally has managed to do just that.

As it turns out, the Angels not only got knocked out Joakim Soria in the ninth inning yesterday, they knocked him all the way out of the closer's role.  Soria has been embattled of late for sure, but we are talking about a guy who has probably been the best closer in baseball the previous three seasons.  What I want to know though is whether or not this demotion was merely the culmination of a bad two-week stretch or the sheer embarrassment of gagging away such a cushy lead to such an inept offense.

Relax, I'm kidding around.  But seriously, when is the last time the Halos hit four homers in a game?  A head has got to roll, right?

Who dares to doubt the great and mighty Trout?

In the early portion of this season, some Trout watchers were concerned that Mighty Mike hadn't exactly been burning up the basepaths as he stole a mere four bags in the month of April.  Could it really be that Trout's legendary speed was actually more of a myth?  My theory (OK, maybe I wasn't the only one to come up with it), was that the incessant rain that followed the Travs around in April made for poor running conditions, thus Trout's steal attempts were few and far between.

Survey says..... number one answer!!!!

I'll try not to break my arm patting myself on the back here, but the weather has finally dried up and Trout is taking full advantage to the tune of ten stolen bases in May, with four of those coming in the last week alone.  That four steals in a week thing is made all the more impressive when you consider that Mike only walked or got a base hit ten times last week, and obviously all ten of those on-base opportunities put him in a position where he could even attempt steal.  Plain and simple, Trout has his running shoes on now and he appears to have every intention of making up for all that lost base stealing time in April.

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.

Tony Reagins has and continues to take a lot of flack for the Angels' current shortcomings.  Much of that criticism is justified, but if we are going to slam Tony, it is only fair that we give him credit for the things he actually did right.  And yes, he did do some things right, specifically, his moves this winter did resolve one major problem: fielding.

Yes, fielding.  Whereas the 2010 Angels were an average fielding bunch, at best, the 2011 Angels having the distinction of being the best fielding team in the free world right now.  As of this morning, the Angels are the proud owners of the best UZR in Major League Baseball at 21.8, which is a far cry better than the 7.4 that they compiled in the entirety of 2010.

Bravo, Tony, bravo.

But wait, what exactly did Tony do to fix the fielding problem?

Daily Links for the LA Angels including Wells and Kendrick progressing with their injuries, the Halos try to find a silver lining with Kazmir, the Torii Hunter problem (or not) and much more...

The Story: Vernon Wells and Howie Kendrick seem to both be progressing well in the injury rehab.

The Monkey Says: Well, this is good news.  The Angel offense is starting to show some signs of life and getting their best hitter, Kendrick, back will really help.  Getting Wells back certainly won't hurt either so long as he is a little bit better than he was prior to the injury.

The Story: The Angel PR machine makes a laughable effort to put positive spin on Kazmir's last rehab disaster.

The Monkey Says: His changeup looked terrific?  Well, that's great that his third and least effective pitch looked good.  Now, if he could just throw his two good pitches without getting annihilated, then that would be real progress.

The Story: Are the Angels primed to be no-hit?

The Monkey Says: What kills me is that during the near no-no Swarzak had over the weekend, I thought that this Angel lineup getting no-hit was inevitable.  Now I hate myself for thinking that because it means I agree with Jeff Miller, and that is never a good thing.

Admit it, you thought it was game over after the 2nd inning. I didn't, mostly cause I didn't start watching the game until the 6th. It's great to see the offense come back from a huge deficit, especially the rookies Trumbo and Bourjos' back to back 8th inning jacks to keep the game close.

Angels 10 Royals 8 

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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim   (28-27) @ Kansas City Royals (23-29)

Pitching Probables: LAA – Ervin Santana (3-4, 3.95 ERA)  KC – Luke Hochevar (3-5, 4.81 ERA)

                                                                    Game Info: 1:10 PM PT; TV -Fox Sports West; Radio- KLAA 830

The Angels may not be looking for redemption for the opening series against KC at the beginning of the year, but I sure am. Back then nothing was working well for the Angels, except the starting pitching of course. The bullpen was off and the offense was struggling to fly out of the gate. Everything is looking much better now, and the Angels are taking some momentum from Minnesota to Kansas.

I may not be good for much, but I am a man of my word.  As such, here is this week's poll asking: who is your favorite Angel player?  I know that seems like a kind of lame question to ask, but thinking about it, it is rather interesting to ask in this very moment.

Vladimir Guerrero is long gone.  Nobody knows when (if?) we'll ever see Kendrys Morales again.  Torii Hunter's best days seem to be behind him.  There doesn't really seem to be anyone on the current roster that has the credentials to be the beloved face of the franchise, at least in my estimation.  Surely someone has to have captured the hearts of the fans though, right?  I just don't know who it, so hit the poll and hit it hard to let me know where your allegiance truly lies.

Time to vote!