The Angels talked a big game this off-season about shaking up their offensive attack to rely more on aggressiveness and situational hitting, just like in the Scioscia glory days.  That seemed like a smart idea after their commitment to "batter's box" offense failed so miserably in 2010.  The funny thing about ideas though is that they are only as good as their actual execution and thus far the Halos aren't executing the plan that Scioscia drew up... at all.

Consider these stats for the 2010 Angels:

Now take a look at how the 2011 Angels have performed offensively through 15 games:

Are you seeing what I'm seeing?

Daily Links for the LA Angels including Haren named co-Player of the Week, Aybar begins a short rehab stint, Kazmir begins his comeback effort and much more...

The Story: Dan Haren was named co-Player of the Week for the American League.

The Monkey Says: What?  He had to share it?  I declare shenanigans.

The Story: Erick Aybar began what should be a brief rehab stint in Salt Lake last night.

The Monkey Says: Aybar was supposed to be activated on Monday, but apparently the team wanted him to shake off some rust first.

The Story: Scott Kazmir is headed to extended spring training to begin his rehab/comeback attempt.

The Monkey Says: At this rate, Kazmir probably won't even get a chance to rejoin the Angels before May, if ever.

The Story: Scott Downs has been sidelined by a virus.

The Monkey Says: This certainly explains why he hasn't made any appearances lately.  Hopefully he'll be able to pitch before this important Texas series is over.

The Story: Vernon Wells is showing some positive attitude via Twitter in the wake of his early season struggles.

The Monkey Says: He's been playing better of late, so whatever he is doing seems to be paying off.

The Story: Is Tyler Chatwood good, lucky or both?

The Monkey Says: A lot of people doubt his ability to pitch at such a high level so soon, but I am going to continue believing in him until he proves otherwise on the field.  Hopefully that won't ever come to pass, but I do worry that the hitters are going to start feasting on his fastball once they learn to lay off his devastating curveball.

The Story: Torii Hunter will be speaking at a charity event next Tuesday.

The Monkey Says: Get your tickets now and help out some at-risk youths.

The Story: Excellent command and heavy use of two different fastballs have been the key to Dan Haren's strong start.

The Monkey Says: What did we ever do without pitch f/x?

The Story: What should the Angels do with Erick Aybar?

The Monkey Says: This is way too premature.  Aybar will surely get his starting job back, but he'll still sit on occasion until Alberto Callaspo or Maicer Izturis cool down.  Now, after a few weeks, if Aybar isn't playing well, we can discuss taking some sort of action with him.  A trade seems pretty unlikely though as his value is deflated right now, plus the Halos shouldn't risk their infield depth given Maicer Izturis' injury history.

I knew there was going to be a slugfest today, but for some reason the Angels didn't show up. Santana's stuff definitely didn't make an appearance at the party, neither was lady situational hitting. I blame this on Mathis.

Angels 1, Rangers 7 

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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim  (10-5) @ Texas Rangers (10-5)

Pitching Probables: LAA – Ervin Santana (0-1, 3.74 ERA)  TEX – C.J Wilson (1-0, 3.72 ERA)

Game Info: 5:05 PM PT; TV - Fox Sports West; Radio - KLAA 830 AM

The Angels are coming in hot off a sweep of Chicago this weekend, hitting a tasty 5 game winning streak. What makes this series even sweeter is the fact that both teams are tied for first, so you know one team is going to come out on top. It looks like we're gonna have ourselves a nice little no holds barred brawl. Not to skip the fact that this is the best start in Angels franchise history, curious that it would come on the 50th year anniversary. There may be a magical season in store for us.

Our long national nightmare finally appears to be coming to an end.  Mike Scioscia has at long last acknowledged the incontrovertible evidence that proves how terrible Jeff Mathis is and stripped him of his starting job, choosing instead to embrace sanity and logic by anointing Hank Conger the Angels' new primary backstop.  Only one real question remains to be answered now... how do we celebrate?

In all seriousness, this move, as unofficial as it still is, is somehow both overdue and a surprise.  Mathis has been the bane of Angel fans' existence for years now.  Almost no fan could put forth a rational explanation for why Mathis continued to get so much playing time when the Angels had Mike Napoli standing idly by.  But coming into this season, Napoli had been jettisoned and we all slowly began to make our peace, begrudgingly so, with the fact that we would probably be seeing even more Mathis, and his Mendozian bat, than ever.

For as much disdain as the fans harbored for the offensively-challenged catcher, Mike Scioscia seemed to carry just as much respect for Mathis' defensive prowess.  For that reason alone, Mathis has been able to carve out a role for himself despite all of his other failings and it seemed his defensive superiority was also going to prevent him from being replaced by top prospect Hank Conger, a player that was known to have real offensive skills but was supposed to be a work in progress behind the plate.  We didn't like the arrangement, but it seemed as inevitable as death and taxes.  Or at least that is what we all thought.

Defense.  Defense.  Defense.  Those have always been Mike Scioscia's top priorities when it comes to selecting his starting catcher.  Nothing will ever change his mind in that regard.  So how did Mathis, a man that Sosh has frequently lauded as one of the top backstops in the game, lose his grip on the starting gig almost overnight?

What series of events finally caused Scioscia to lose his man-crush on Mathis?

Scouts and prospect experts insist that Tyler Chatwood isn't ready for the big leagues, but his performance thus far had indicated otherwise.  What will become of the Angels' 21-year old wunderkind?  Is he doomed to be feasted upon by veteran MLB hitters or will he be the answer to the Angels' back-of-the-rotation problems?

Time to vote!

1. He'll be back in the minors in a matter of weeks.  Once the opposing batters get a real scouting report on him, they are going to eat him for dinner.
2. He'll hold his own but the Halos will still look to the trade market to upgrade over him once the playoff race really begins.
3. The kid isn't going to dominate, but he is ready enough to be a fifth starter.
4. Ready?  Yeah he's ready... to be Rookie of the Year!

To place your vote, simply find the Poll of the Week in the gray sidebar to the right.

Daily Links for the LA Angels including Conger appears to be atop the catcher depth chart, Kazmir flees to Houston to find answers, Morales takes a small step forward in his rehab and much more...

The Story: Hank Conger appears to be the Angels' top catcher after Scioscia met behind closed doors with all of his catchers.

The Monkey Says: Mathis was upset after the meeting, so draw whatever conclusion you want, but it still isn't 100% official that Conger is the new top dog behind the plate.  Why Mathis is so upset is beyond me though.  He has been one of the worst hitters in the majors for years and yet he still continued to get copious amounts of playing time.  He had to know he was living on borrowed time.  But let's not get bogged down by Mathis, the important thing to take away here is that Scioscia has finally seen the light and freed Hank Conger.

The Story: Scott Kazmir spent the weekend in Houston to work with some old coaches on figuring out his problems.

The Monkey Says: Desperation, table for one!  Kaz is rejoining the team today, so it clearly wasn't much of a counciling session, but at this point he has to try anything and everything since his career is pretty much on the line.  He should be heading out on rehab assignment in the next week or two, but don't expect any miracles.

The Story: Kendrys Morales is now running with turns in the next phase of his rehab.

The Monkey Says: Almost there.  He just needs to start running the bases next and then he shold be cleared to start a minor league rehab assignment.

The Story: Evaluating Jered Weaver's candidacy for a contract extension or trade.

The Monkey Says: This almost made me feel like Weaver actually could come to an extension agreement with the Angels... almost.

The Story: Fernando Rodney credits his improved play to working on his delivery with Mike Butcher.

The Monkey Says: Rodney's mechanics are so high maintenance that they should just hire him his own personal pitching coach at this point.

The Story: Jered Weaver is the first pitcher to win four games in his team's first thirteen contests since Roger Clemens in 1991.

The Monkey Says: Congrats, Jered.  Now please don't replicate Clemens and bolt the team that drafted you in favor of big bucks elsewhere.

The Story: The Halos and Horrors exhibit is now open in Pomona.

The Monkey Says: I get celebrating the whole history of the Angels by remembering some of the tragedies that have befallen the franchise, but making the "horrors" so prominent makes me think that this exhibit is kind of a bummer.