Random Angels Thoughts and Rumblings

[DravenX]

News from the 15th of August.

Orlando Cabrera stole three bases and scored the Angels' only run of the night on Wednesday.
He was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout and his big night on the basepaths takes him up to 15 steals in 114 games. It's been a disappointing season for owners who had expected Cabrera to again top 25 steals this year, but tonight he threw them a large bone.

[DravenX]

News from the 16th of August.

RHP Matt Harvey rejected the Angels' offer of $1 million and will attend the University of North Carolina.
The 118th overall pick in June's draft, Harvey was thought to be a first-round talent who fell because he was asking for around $2.5 million to sign.

Bartolo Colon (elbow) threw a 46-pitch bullpen session Wednesday.
Colon is on the verge of beginning what figures to be a three-start minor league rehab assignment and could rejoin the Angels' rotation in early September.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Angels are expected to recall Ervin Santana from Triple-A in preparation for a start in Friday's doubleheader.
Demoted to Triple-A in mid-July, Santana has gone 2-1 with a 5.01 ERA in five starts at Salt Lake, so his problems are far from behind him. A Friday matchup with the Red Sox could be ugly.

Garret Anderson is hitting .143 with one RBI over his last nine games after going hitless Thursday.
Anderson raised his OPS 60 points to 770 in the first 3 1/2 weeks back from the break, but he's back looking nothing like a cleanup hitter now. Manager Mike Scioscia should drop him in the order again and leave him there this time.

Kelvim Escobar held the Jays to one run over seven innings and struck out nine to win Wednesday.
Francisco Rodriguez nearly blew a three-run lead in the ninth, but he was able to get Matt Stairs to fly out to end it at 4-3. Escobar didn't issue a single free pass tonight after walking 12 over his previous two starts. We thought the poor command might be a sign his arm was bothering him, but he dismissed those concerns with this one.

The Angels will call up Ervin Santana to start the second game of Friday's doubleheader against the Red Sox.
The Angels could send Matt Brown down to make room for Santana and then demote Santana and activate Howie Kendrick prior to Saturday's game.

[DravenX]

News from the 17th of August.

Mike Napoli (hamstring) has not been able to run at full speed and likely won't come off the disabled list for at least one more week.
Napoli has had a minor setback in his recovery, which was initially scheduled to be completed by now.

Bartolo Colon (elbow) is scheduled to pitch a simulated game Saturday.
If things go well, Colon will then be ready to begin a minor league rehab assignment that's expected to last at least three starts.

Casey Kotchman, who went 0-for-11 in the series against the Jays that concluded Thursday, had his first career four-hit game in the matinee of Friday's doubleheader.
Two of the hits were doubles off Clay Buchholz. Despite his struggles this week, Kotchman is batting .340 since the All-Star break. Unfortunately, he's still without a homer since July 1.

John Lackey was roughed up by the Red Sox on Friday, allowing seven runs -- six earned -- in four innings.
The bright spot for the Angels was that Chris Bootcheck was able to go three innings and save the rest of the bullpen. Lackey gave up six runs in the first and then one more in the second. He's now 1-6 with a 6.27 ERA in 11 career starts against the Red Sox. He's 74-50 with a 3.77 ERA versus everyone else.

Angels optioned infielder Matt Brown to Triple-A Salt Lake.
Brown was 0-for-4 in 18 days with the Angels.

Angels recalled RHP Ervin Santana from Triple-A Salt Lake.
Santana will face Boston tonight and then likely return to Triple-A Saturday to open up a spot for Howie Kendrick.

Ervin Santana, making his first start since being recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake, held the Red Sox to one run in 6 1/3 innings of work at Fenway Park on Friday.
Impressive. Santana's road struggles are well documented and he didn't look particularly strong while back in the minors, so today's excellent outing comes as a big surprise. That he struck out five and didn't walk a batter against the formidable Red Sox offense makes it even more impressive. It's possible the Angels will remove Dustin Moseley from the rotation to make room for Santana, but a trip back to the minors still seems more likely.

Vladimir Guerrero hit a go-ahead two-run double in the top of the ninth inning against the Red Sox on Friday.
The Angles botched a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth and entered the ninth down a run. However, the club had to feel confident when it saw the struggling Eric Gagne trot out for the final inning. Indeed, the Angels scored one run on a walk and two singles, setting the stage for Guerrero's two-run double to center to give the club a 7-5 lead. Even though he blew the save in the eighth, Francisco Rodriguez came back out for the ninth and picked up his fifth win of the season in relief.

[DravenX]

News from the 18th of August.

Jered Weaver remained winless in four career starts against the Red Sox after giving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings on Saturday.
Weaver had a 5-0 lead after four, but a disastrous fifth followed. The inning started with what looked to be a harmless broken-bat grounder to first. However, the barrel of the bat caused Weaver to halt as it was flying past him, and Casey Kotchman had no one to relay to at the bag, giving Eric Hinske an infield single. The Red Sox ended up scoring six times before Weaver even recorded an out and handing Weaver the loss. He's now 8-6 with a 4.16 ERA.

[BuckFoston]

Get ready to lose two games LAA! The Yankees are coming to town so you might wanna put on your game faces.

[DravenX]

The Angels have already won Game 1, so the Yankees better be ready.

[DravenX]

News from the 19th of August.

Bartolo Colon (elbow) completed a bullpen session Saturday and was scheduled to pitch a simulated game Tuesday in Anaheim.
If all goes well, he could start a minor league rehabilitation assignment thereafter and rejoin the starting rotation in the second week of September. After winning the Cy Young in 2005, Colon has been limited to just seven wins the past two seasons.

Angels optioned RHP Greg Jones to Triple-A Salt Lake.
Jones had allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings since being called up on July 24, but the Angels wanted a fresh arm after using him the last two days.

Angels recalled RHP Marcus Gwyn from Triple-A Salt Lake.
Gwyn, who made his major league debut last month, will pitch in middle relief.

Erick Aybar left today's game against the Red Sox in the sixth inning with a strained left hamstring.
Aybar went hitless in two at-bats before departing.

Joe Saunders took a shutout into the eighth inning and ended up yielding just one run in a victory over the Red Sox on Sunday.
Saunders struck out seven and walked two while yielding six hits. He departed with a runner on first and two outs in the eighth, but reliever Scot Shields allowed the inherited runner to score. The win was the seventh in 10 starts for Saunders, who now has a 3.25 ERA. He'll have another tough matchup against the right-handed heavy Blue Jays next time out.

[DravenX]

News from the 20th of August.

Howie Kendrick (finger) is expected to come off the disabled list Monday.
With Erick Aybar (hamstring) hurting, the Angels may move him to the DL to make room on the roster for Kendrick. He figures to resume starting every day at second base.

Angels placed infielder Erick Aybar on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring.
Aybar has avoided ever being sent down to Triple-A because of his own injuries and others suffered by Angels infielders. He's hit just .239/.286/.278 in 176 at-bats, so one has to wonder if he would have been better off spending the entire season at Salt Lake.

Angels activated infielder Howie Kendrick from the 15-day disabled list.
Kendrick returns as the Angels' regular second baseman, leaving fewer at-bats available for Maicer Izturis. The Angels could keep working Izturis in as an occasional DH and by using Kendrick at first base against some lefties.

[DravenX]

News from the 21st of August.

Howie Kendrick scored three runs, including the game-winner, as the Angels defeated the Yankees 7-6 in 10 innings on Monday night.
Kendrick went 2-for-3 with a walk. The second hit was a ground-rule double off Sean Henn with one out in the 10th, and he scored when Ryan Budde followed it with a second straight two-bagger. With the victory, the Angels remained two games up on the Mariners in the AL West. The Yankees fell five back of the Red Sox in the East.