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Cleveland Indians (21-10) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (19-14)

Pitching Probables: CLE -- Alex White (0-0, 3.00 ERA) LAA -- Jared Weaver (6-1, 1.69 ERA)

Game Info: 6:05PM PT; TV - Fox Sports West; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

The Angels are in first place!! I'm sorry but given the way the season has gone that is nothing short of a miracle. They can't hit, the bullpen has been a work in progress and their fifth starter is barely legal to drink, but they are still two games ahead of the A's and the Rangers. How have they done it? Because of the greatness of Jared Weaver. There was a time not long ago when people wondered what the Angels were going to do without a legitimate #1 starter to anchor the staff. Well those days are long gone my friends. Weaver has been one of the game's elite and is currently the Cy Young frontrunner. The only thing that has slowed him down this year was a case of the stomach flu that caused him to lose 8 pounds. Even then he battled the Red Sox in his last start. So all hail the Weave, may we sign him to a long term contract extension before Lucifer Boras talks to the Yankees.

I don't know why this team seems to feel the need to play more innings than they are required but at least this one they decided to end with a victory. What's even more shocking is that they are in first place! How did that happen? Nevermind, I don't care how they are doing it as long as they keep it up.  

Angels 2 Indians 1

With Kendrys return shooting farther and farther away as the days go by, one must wonder when we'll finally get our hero back in the field mashing homers. Many people speculate the grand return of Kendrys, and the over/under on how many balls he'll mash out of the park on the day of his return. If you are afraid of Kendrys coming back half of the player that he left, then you should close out this article now. This is the exploration of such an event, an adventure through multiple scenarios....a journey through the twisted mind of MWaH! I should warn you that this is not going to be a happy-cheery daisies and unicorns article, put your big boy pants on and grab a box of tissues because this is going to be depressing as hell.

Let us engage in a moment of silence for all those championships we'll miss without him.

As I am sure many of you know, the Lakers are down 0-2 in their playoff series.  Laker fans are obviously gravely concerned.  I, however, think it is freaking hilarious.

In my pre-Bloguin life, I was actually a Laker blogger, running LakersOfFire.com.  I like to consider this my "gay for pay" stage as I was not AT ALL a Lakers fan.  My true allegiance lies with the Golden State Warriors, my true feeling for the Lakers were a mix of contempt and, well, what's a nice way to say "deep-seeded, soul-wrenching hatred?"  Honestly, I hated the Lakers, but I really thought it would be an interesting writing challenge to blog full-time about a team that I wasn't a fan of.  Considering that I found so many Laker fans to be myopic homers, I thought I might be able to carve out a nice niche for myself, and I actually kind of did.

The only problem was that I think I might've damned my soul to eternal damnation in the process.  That's why I declined to keep my Lakers blog alive when Fanball went belly up and Bloguin swooped in to dig me out of the wreckage.

Now, to repent for my past sins, I have just one thing to say about the Lakers losing the first two games of their playoff series against the Mavericks despite being the prohibitive favorites to win it al', and that is "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Ah, I feel so much better now.  Now, I'll go finish my penance by saying twelve "Pau Gasol is playing like he has sand in his cervix"-es.

The failure is just so funny.

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Cleveland Indians (21-9) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (18-14)

Pitching Probables: CLE -- Justin Masterson (5-0, 2.25 ERA) LAA Tyler Chatwood (2-1, 4.94 ERA)

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

And so the Angels return home after what I guess could be called a successful road trip. Taking 2 out of 3 against the Rays and splitting with the Red Sox gives them a winning trip, which is usually what you aim for anytime you head out on the road. The question is what sort of emotional toll will the last couple of games take? I see it going one of two ways, either they use the marathon game and it's daytime companion as a springboard to a hot streak or it leads to a total collapse due to mental fatigue. I imagine the schedule makers thought they were doing the Halos a solid by giving them the Indians, but fate has a way of playing cruel games.

Daily Links for the LA Angels including the Angels could be suitors for Reyes and Wright, Wells starting to feel comfortable, a look at Haren's hot start and much more...

The Story: Jim Bowden considers the Angels amongst the potential suitors for Jose Reyes.

The Monkey Says: I agree that the Angels will at least consider going after Reyes, but I don't think they are serious players.  Reyes' career OBP is only .336, which doesn't make him the awesome leadoff option Bowden thinks he is.  Also, Reyes may not even be a better defender than Izturis or Aybar.  Still, he'd be a definite upgrade on offense, I just think that the Angels should be looking to fill other holes first before they worry about getting Reyes.

The Story: The Angels are also amongst potential teams David Wright could land with.

The Monkey Says: Great idea, glad I thought of it.  Wright would be a great fit for the Halos, but I worry that their farm system just won't match up.  I already wrote a lot about it yesterday, so I will just say that my concern is that the Mets will want more pitching than the Angels would be willing to give up since they traded so much pitching for Haren and Callaspo last year.

The Story: Vernon Wells believes he is starting to find a comfort zone.

The Monkey Says: Right, we've heard that one before.  Call me when his OPS gets over .650.

If this is the Angels way of apologizing to us Angel fan for letting the BoSox smack them around I whole-heartedly accept the apology.

Angels 11 Red Sox 0