I love these "chain letters of the blogosphere." This one is from Baseball Crank, via a bunch of other people.


To be truthful the actual book that's closest to me at the moment is The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, but that was Crank's selection. So I'll reach across the desk to grab Joseph Heller's Picture This. The sentence:

The Nightwatch survives.

Well that's rather disappointing. In a book filled to the brim with run-on sentences (if you've read Heller you know what I'm talking about) the one I choose is a three-worder. What a gyp.

UPDATE: You may be asking yourself what significance do those three words hold. Well, I can't leave you hanging like that, so here is a portion of the surrounding text:

They had subscribed to an official group portrait of the kind most familiar throughout the city, on in which the figures are as formal as playing cards and the face of each sitter is large and bright and instantly noticed and recognized.

What they got was a picture of embarrassing theatricality in which they are costumed like actors and are a busy as workmen. Their faces are small, turned, obstructed, or in shadows. Even the two central officers in the foreground, Captain Frans Banning Cocq himself and his lieutenant, William van Ruytenburch, are subordinated too much to the wishes of the artist, according to one contemporary critic, who predicted, nevertheless, that the picture would survive its competitors.

The Nightwatch survives.

It is the work by which Rembrandt's genius as an artist is most generally verified an, even by baroque standards, is absolutely awful in almost every pertinent respect, including the conception of the artist in his dramatic break with tradition. The colors are garish, the poses operatic. The chiaroscuro is diffuse, the accents dissipated. Caravaggio would have turned in his grave had be been alive to see it.

The painting is the most popular single attraction in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

In 1915 a shoemaker, unable to find work, cut a square out of Lieutenant van Ruytenburch's right boot.

Experts repaired the canvas by repairing the boot. The offer by the repentant shoemaker to do the job for free was declined by authorities.

And in 1975, a former schoolteacher assaulted the lower section of the canvas with a serrated bread knife taken from the downtown Amsterdam restaurant in which he had just eaten lunch, making vertical cuts in the bodies of Captain Banning Cocq and Lieutenant van Ruytenburch. The painting was slashed in a dozen places. On the right leg of the captain, a strip of canvas twelve by two and a half inches was ripped away. The attacker told bystanders that he had been sent by the lord.

There you go! Ok, that may have been boring as Kenny G, but the majority of the book is much more then an art lesson. It's one of Heller's finest works. I suggest you pick it up.

Ramon Ortiz got another start in Minnesota today. He sucked.

Whoa dude! I just got, like, the craziest feeling of deja vu!

Instead of writing anything new on the subject, I will just link to my already well-stocked library of Ramon Ortiz criticisms:

• Starting Slow
• Scioscia sets rotation
• Surprise, surprise...
• Paid for by friends of Shields/Gregg '04
• I'm seeing it too...
• Prepare to have your mind blown...
• Why Mike?
• So simple, even Scioscia can understand it!
• Ramon Ortiz... again

Everyone is chiming in on this Buster Olney thing, so I'm not going to waste your time by repeating what much smarter bloggers have already said. I do have one comment however. He lists the Angels and the Marlins as the epitome of "small ball" teams. I'm not quite sure Olney should bring the Angels into his little club.

I'm not saying the Angels don't use the "productive outs" theory, because they do. I'm saying that the offence isn't necessarily built for, nor does it fit into, Olney's little theory.

I get on Mike Scioscia a lot about his love of the small ball style of play, but I must admit he uses it fairly effectively most of the time. I have no problem with Darin Erstad or David Eckstein moving runners along because, quite frankly, that's all they're good for.

I'm convinced that if Erstad isn't consciously trying to hit the ball to the right side with a runner on, he'd ground into a double play every time. He's that bad. "Productive Outs" are a good thing when your only other option is an out. Other then that, the Angels appear to have a good understanding of what makes an offence go.

Now if Scioscia had his way I'm pretty sure everyone in the lineup would be moving runners along the entire game. But luckily for us, the middle of the lineup is so good it seems to have convinced him to take a more hands-off approach.

All that matters is that what the Angels do is smart, whether they intend for it to be or not. We'll have a real problem when Vlad starts trying to hit behind the runners...

I've always thought A.J. Pierzynski was a loudmouth asshole, an opinion that is shared by many of his Giants teammates. (link via El Lefty Malo) If these reports are true, then the Giants are going to have to make a move- and quick. Anyone want a moderately productive catcher with some emotional baggage? He's cheap!

Pierzynski certainly plays the game with a fire. Whether that's a good thing or not is up for debate. He reminds me a lot of a young Troy Glaus in that respect- always throwing his helmet, arguing every call, and being an all-around brat. Though, unlike Glaus, he's never had the production to justify the attitude. Of course Glaus has matured quite nicely over the past couple of years, while Pierzynski seems to be taking a step back.

When reading the article you do get the impression that A.J. never wanted to leave the Twinks and this is his way of acting out. Maybe a change in scenery could do him some good. It would definitely do the Giants some good.

I would just like to point out that my political blog is still alive and kicking.

On a related note: I was surprised (yet strangely satisfied) to find that another blog had linked to this one with the label "RWN" (Right-Wing News) as though the very thought of seeing conservative opinion would be so repugnant to some it would require a warning. That was exactly the kind of thing I was attempting to avoid by splitting the two blogs.

Oh well, I shall wear it as a badge of honor. Thank you!

Sean at Purgatory Online has posted his first choice lineup for the Angels (during our little injury crisis), so I figured I should do the same:

1) SS, Chone Figgins It's obvious that he belongs at the top- he gets on base and he's quick as a cheetah. Decent defensively as well.
2) CF, Jeff DaVannon There- the two-hole problem is solved. For a couple of weeks at least.
3) RF, Vlad Guerrero
4) 3B, Troy Glaus
5) LF, Jose Guillen
6) DH, Tim Salmon
7) C, Bengie Molina
8) 2B, Adam Kennedy
9) 1B, Darin Erstad Where he truly belongs. Well, he truly belongs on the bench, but you know what I mean.

This raises a good question: If Vlad is hurting, and Salmon isn't producing, why isn't DaVannon getting more playing time? Just one of those enigmas that will never be answered as long as Scioscia is around.

Note: This post originally appeared on my political blog. I have archived it here for posterity's sake.

It was almost a month between posts here. I've considered changing the name of it to "Neo-Conservative Occasional"- it seems fitting. In that period my average visitors per day went from a high of about twenty (That's right- twenty a day! That's what I call reaching the masses!), down to about three. I know I claimed that this blog was the equivalent of me screaming at a brick wall, but still, that's emasculating. I have to get back on track, and that means writing everyday. That's going to mean shorter posts (like yesterday's little blurb about the UN), which will hopefully make this a more interesting blog for you to read, and for me to write. Anyway, on to today's post.

One thing I've noticed about political blogs is that for the most part the readership seems to be a fairly even slice of the public, representing all sides of the political spectrum, no matter the ideology of the blog. If you want proof just look at the comments left by readers on most blogs. Many of them start with phrases like "Are you kidding!?" or "What are you, an idiot?"

This reinforces my theory: Germans love David Hasseloff. Wait... that's Norm McDonald's theory. My theory is that people love to be pissed off. Sure, we all love to have our opinions re-affirmed (that's the beauty of FOX News), but we also love to get inside the head of the enemy, fly into a rage, and leave snippy comments.

It's what makes me read articles like this one. You know from the headline that it's going to piss you off, but you open it anyway. You get angrier and angrier paragraph-by-paragraph. You get red in the face and steam starts shooting from your ears. Then you make your hastily worded rebuttal, knowing that you're superior to the author in every conceivable way.

What else would make someone accuse someone else of being an anti-Semite because they happen to think Barbara Boxer is an idiot? You saw the title of the blog. Neo-Conservative Daily- it's right there in plain English! And yet you came, you saw, and you posted.

I certainly don't like being called an anti-Semite (and I'm pretty sure Barbara Boxer isn't even Jewish), but what the hell, I need the readers. Come back tomorrow and I'll have something that will really make your blood boil!

I didn't see much of the Angel game tonight, mostly because I have a natural aversion to watching my team play like shit, but also because there was a much more interesting game being played in Dallas. The US Men's National Soccer team was taking on a Mexico side hungry for revenge after being ingloriously dumped from the World Cup in 2002.

This was always a nasty rivalry (we're talking beer bottles full of urine nasty), but it's really taken that next step since Korea/Japan. The best part is that it is now a battle between two world-class teams. No more is this an automatic win for the Mexicans. In fact, the Americans have all but dominated the series in recent years.

As I said before, tonight's "friendly" took place in Dallas, Texas. Of course it looked as though it were Dallas, Mexico when you took a quick glance over the crowd. The Cotton Bowl was clearly unfriendly confines for the Americans. Still, a good number of Sam's Army showed up, and boy did they have something to be loud about.

The Americans took control right from the outset, as Landon Donovan, DeMarcus Beasly, and Bobby Convey ran circles around the Mexicans. Attack after attack went un-rewarded, however, as the match was tied 0-0 at the break. The half was dominated by the US, in what was possibly their best performance ever.

It was clear to all that the US was owed after their first-half performance, and they came out to collect in the second. Once again the Americans streaked by the Mexican defense. They forced save after save from the keeper, and hit the woodwork too many times to count. The second was just as dominating as the first, but the good guys still had nothing to show for it.

The clock was well past 90:00, and the game looked bound for a tie. The Americans continued to push, and finally, in the 93rd minute, they broke through. Landon Donovan was fouled about 20 yards from goal, and one final set piece was awarded. Convey struck a sublimely-weighted ball right to the spot, and substitute Tayler Twellman rose above the forest of green jerseys to put it on net. He was denied by the sprawling keeper, who just managed to get a foot on the ball. The ball sat there, just mere feet form the goal line, for anyone to have. It was Eddie Pope who stepped forward to claim it. He blasted it into the empty net, and the US had the goal it so richly deserved.

1-0 was how it ended. The third straight win for the Americans over their arch-rivals. Way to go guys!

Bartolo Colon is having one of the worst performances by a starting pitcher I've seen this season, rivaling those of teammate Ramon Ortiz. He's not fooling the Tigers batters for a second, and he doesn't seem to have the zip on his fastball to make up for it. Add on horrendous control, and you've got beat-down in the making. It's now 7-2 Tigers and Colon's line is as follows:

2.1 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 HBP, and 4 SO

And Aaron Sele is warming-up. Oh goodie.

UPDATE: Chronicles calls the preformance "unacceptable," and I would tend to agree. I mean, Colon is getting his ass handed to him by the Detroit fucking Tigers. I don't care how improved their offence is, it's not this good. And the Angels usually potent lineup is being shut down by Mike fucking Maroth. That is just shameful. It doesn't look like the Angels bothered to show up today.

Bad news: Garret Anderson was placed on the 15-day DL because of his sore back.

More bad news: Alfredo Amezaga was called-up to take his place on the roster.

Good news: David Eckstien's groin isn't as badly injured as originally thought, and it now looks as if a trip to the DL is unlikely. Hopefully he's back in the lineup before Amezaga gets any at-bats.

Due to this "increased chatter" I'm forced to increase the Injury Warning System to "Elevated." Stay vigilant people...

Rob has some worries about the Angels current hot streak. He claims, among other things, that the offence hasn't been hitting against top-quality opponents and that the bullpen is really missing Brendan Donnelly.

I agree that the A's were in a fair amount of upheaval during our recent three-game sweep, and I certainly agree that beating the Tigers (even the new-look Tigers) isn't much to hang your hat on, but I don't see how that could be used as a condemnation of the Angels. He asks; "Are the Angels' bats coming alive? Well, not against Mulder and Hudson they aren't, and not consistently against Zito, either." What's wrong with beating the crap out of lesser teams and lesser pitchers to get your offence back on track? There aren't a lot of Mulders and Hudsons out there, but there are quite a few Redmans and Cornejos. They're the ones you need to hit hard; or else you'll never have a chance against the Mulders and Hudsons of the world.

I can't bring myself to worry about the overall state of our offence. I know it's going to hit, and I know there will be slumps. I know there will be injuries, and I know there will be returns from injury. It's just not a big deal to me. The starting pitching is the question on this team.

As for the bullpen missing Donnelly: how so? The bullpen has been great over the past week and a half. Percival seems to be heating-up, K-Rod has been untouchable, and Shields has stepped into a middle-relief role nicely. Sure, it will be nice to have Donnelly back (if only to lessen the work load on Frankie), but even without him I think this is one of the top bullpens in the game.

It sounds a bit like Rob thinks Donnelly would have been the best option to replace Lackey last night (instead Shields gave up a grand-slam). But with a five-run lead that is Shield's territory. I would assume that when Donnelly returns he will reclaim his spot as a set-up man, and it's wasteful to use a set-up man in that situation.

John Lackey is having his best game of the season- hands down. 6-2/3 of shutout baseball. With the bases loaded, and Brandon Inge at the plate, Scioscia decides to lift Lackey in favor of Scot Shields.

Now, with two outs the end of the inning is imminent- just one pitch away. All Lackey needs is a fly ball to get out unscathed, and this is great park for fly balls. Hasn't he earned that chance? But no, let's bring in the ground-ball specialist.

Anyway Shields allows a grand slam to Brandon Inge of all people. Good call skip...

UPDATE: We have a Josh Paul sighting! He pinch-runs for Tim Salmon after a lead-off walk.

UPDATE: Erstad makes all this academic after he hits a bases-loaded double, scoring three.

UPDATE: Halos go on to add two more in the 8th, and Shields is solid after that. The Angels come out 10-4 victors, with Lackey getting his first win of the season and Shields getting the save.

The Angels blogosphere has been alive with conversations on a diverse range of topics this season. Every player on the roster has been dissected and discussed, except one. Jose Guillen has apparently had an uninspiring season in the view of Angels fans.

Want to talk about David Eckstien? How about his low OBP? Of course there's been endless talk about Vladimir Guererro. And Garret Anderson. We can't shut-up about Ramon Ortiz. Even Jeff DaVannon, Chone Figgins, and Josh Paul have had their time in the sun. But not a peep about Jose Guillen.

It's not that he's played bad. He hasn't played well by any means, but he has remained productive through injury. He's played just well enough to keep us vultures off his back, and just bad enough to keep us from kissing his ass. He's vanilla. He's boring. Well, I'm going to talk about him:

Hmm... I seem to be drawing a blank. How 'bout this weather!? Hot enough for you?

Hardball Times has started to keep some secondary statistics, such as RC/27, Gross Production Average (or GPA), and Line-Drive % (or LD%). Apparently the stats show that Erstad hits a line drive in 19.2% of his at-bats. That's a pretty high percentage for someone who hardly ever puts bat-to-ball. That's a higher percentage then any Angel regular, other then Garret Anderson (25.4%). That includes Troy Glaus (15.4%) and Vladimir Guererro (15.1%).

Very interesting. I always figured that was one of those claims made by less knowlegeable fans (right after he's a good clubhouse-guy) to make excuses for Erstad, and it would be disproven by the numbers. I guess not...

Aaron Gleeman points out what everyone in the AL West already knew: Francisco Rodriguez is one of the best relievers in baseball. (link via Purgatory Online)

I didn't think Frankie was "under-the-radar" until I saw this ESPN article about the top ten pitches in baseball. Frankie's power slider was not included, despite the fact that I have never seen anyone hit it on the screws. Never. Not once. However they did find a spot for Jim Mecir's screwball. Whatever.

I'm trying to limit my Ramon Ortiz posts to one every five days, but it's just not working. In the words of Pachino"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." This time it's Jeff over at League of Angels with this post about Ortiz possibly turning the corner in his win against Oakland on Sunday.

Now Jeff isn't exactly keen on Ortiz either, but he is of the opinion that it is too early to pass judgement on his performance and that he can become a quality starter once again, with time.

Believe it or not, I agree with half of what Jeff says. Ortiz could get better and become a decent starting pitcher again- it is not beyond the realm possibility. It's extremely unlikely, but stranger things have happened.

This is where opinions on Ortiz seem to differ. Some people (i.e. Jeff and Mike Scioscia) think the Angels owe it to Ramon to keep him in the rotation so he can work out his demons. Roll the dice on Ortiz, as it were. I, on the other hand, believe that a team with championship aspirations can't throw away one out of every five games on the off chance that a guy might get his shit together. Management owes it to the fans and the players (Kevin Gregg, specifically) to put the best possible team on the field, right now- the team most likely to be successful this year.

What are the chances Ortiz is going to return to his 2002 form? Not very good from what we've seen this season. I still haven't seen one positive sign from Ortiz that he is getting any better. His performance against Oakland was awful- just as much so as his three previous starts. He was still extremely wild, his slider was just as flat, his release point was just as inconsistent, and he got hit just as hard. The only thing he did better yesterday was he managed to keep his composure. (Yipee-frickin' doo! Give that man the Cy Young!) Other then that, he just got lucky.

Another way to look at it: what if Ortiz was a rookie? A mid-season call-up that was handed a rotation spot due to injury. How many lackluster starts do you give this rookie to adjust to the big-leagues before you decide it's not his time? When do you decide it's someone else's turn to prove themselves? It's the same situation we're in now. It's not Ortiz's time, and it's time for someone else.

As for it being too early to make judgments- these judgements haven't been formed over the past four starts. They were formed by a clearly defined downward trend for Ortiz, which started last year and continued on to spring training. I don't believe that Ortiz has suddenly forgotten how to pitch- I believe he's just lost it, like so many do (Kevin Appier being a great example). He claims to be 31, which is slightly past prime for most pitchers. Maybe Ortiz was just ahead of the curve.

And before anyone labels me as an "unabashed Ortiz hater," let me say this: I think Ramon is a great guy. All Angel fans owe his a debt of gratitude, because without him, there is no championship season. And I honestly hope he does come back into form, and that he does earn a spot in the rotation. I just want him to earn it in Salt Lake City while we win ballgames.

The Antonio Perez/Jason Romano deal didn't seem to make much sense to anyone, except the D-Rays. Now we know why. (link via Leone for Third)

What are they doing down in St. Pete? Is anyone home? Apparently the team's chief scout could have sworn he saw Romano playing middle infield in spring, and no one bothered to double-check. When the Rays management see Romano is just your run-of-the-mill fifth outfielder they put him on wavers. I could have told them that Romano wasn't a middle-infielder for Christ's sake- and I didn't see any of Dodger's spring training.

The front office in Tampa Bay has all the skill of the Cincinnati Bangles, without the family vibe.

Game 1 (4/23)-ANA 12, OAK 2

Game 2 (4/24)-ANA 6, OAK 3

Game 3 (4/25)-ANA 4, OAK 3

Series MVP-

Adam Kennedy- 6 for 12 (.500), 2 RBI, and to many webgems to count. Single-handedly kept the Angels in game 1, saving at least 4 runs playing behind Washburn.

Series Goat-

Garret Anderson- Didn't play in the series due to back pain caused by his new matress. No, seriously.

G-String Watch-

10 for 32 (.312), 9 RBI, 3 HR, 3 2B

As if we needed anymore evidence that SoCal is better then NoCal, we get the Halos three-game sweep of the A's in Oakland. This season the rivalry has been extremely one-sided, as the Angels/Dodgers/Padres have dominated the Giants/Athletics 14 games to 5. That should knock those patronizing, pretentious, high-and-mighty bastards down a peg.

As for the game today, what more could you want? No Vlad, no GA, Figgins batting in the three-spot (WTF?), Ortiz on the mound, and we still get the win. That's got to be disheartening for A's fans.

Ortiz was dreadful- as usual- but did end up with the win as he went five innings while allowing just two runs. I've got to hand it to Ramon- he did battle today. He didn't wither after allowing runs, and he knuckled-down in the pressure situations, getting several big double-plays.

It's not all good news though: Ramon Ortiz gets a win. That's good. The win inspires Scioscia to give Ortiz another start. That's bad.

Very nice! The last two starts from Kelvim have been very good- much better then his number would suggest. He has been downright unhittable at times this season (he didn't allow a hit past the second inning today), but he seems to have problems avoiding the big inning. That splitter has become a devastating out-pitch and he's been able to use it often by getting ahead of hitters early. Now lets just hope this little nail problem goes away in time for his next start.

What can you say about Troy Glaus? He is the very definition of "locked in" right now, hitting everything on the screws. When he gets on a tear like this he can carry a team offensively, but luckily we don't need him to carry us this year. Could Troy be blossoming into the MVP candidate we all thought he'd become?

Guererro seems to have a spring in his step he was missing to start the season, the Molina's are hitting well, and Kennedy seems to be coming out of his funk. Even Erstad is hitting well... er, I mean not terribly right now. And the bullpen... just wow.

I'm starting to feel really good about this club again.

I have been saying for quite awihle that I believe either Scot Shields or Kevin Gregg should have the 5th spot in the rotation. Well, anyone but Ramon Ortiz is what I've been saying.

From day one in spring training I liked Gregg a little more then Shields, but I've been a little hesitant to whole-heartedly support him, as he hadn't yet proven himself in the big leagues. Now I'm ready to say for certain that Kevin Gregg has earned that spot. Just look at these numbers:


It doesn't take a mathematician to interpret these numbers. First off, it's ridiculous that a reliever has thrown more innings then has a starter. Gregg has out preformed Ortiz in every single way. He's allowed 17 fewer hits in 4 more innings! He's striking batters out at a better rate. And he's not walking batters. This is so clear Ray Charles could see it. But apparently Mike needs a diagram, so here it is:


So simple, even Scioscia can understand it!

The Angels are absolutely shelling Barry Zito and the Oakland A's, to the tune of 9 runs in 4 innings. I guess the Halos woke up this morning, took one look at that nasty slump they've all been in, and decide to do something about it.

Jose Guillen finally hit a homer, a three-run jack in the 4th. Troy Glaus is all over the ball with a homer and a single, and Vlad is 3 for 3 with 2 doubles. All of this without Garret Anderson or Tim Salmon. Wash has looked pretty awful, but he's managed to battle out of a few jams. He better be buying AK a nice dinner tonight.

By the way, did anyone else hear Phys mention that GA's back problems could be due to a new mattress he recently purchased? WTF?

UPDATE: Angels win big, 12-2. Great pitching from Gregg for the save.

I just stumbled upon another Angels blog called Halodiary. Notice that I didn't say "new" Angels blog- this one has been active since March 2003 and is still alive and kicking. "Marty" (as the author is known as) must really love the Halos to toil away for a year in almost complete anonymity.

I'm not sure he wants to be part of the blogosphere (as he's not made any effort to publicize his site and leaves no e-mail address), but I'm going to link him up anyway. And Marty: if you read this, consider joining in our little community- the more the merrier!

Game 1 (4/13)- TEX 6, ANA 3

Ramon Ortiz started the game. 'Nuff said.

W- Rogers (3-0), L- Ortiz (0-2), S- Cordero (3)

Game 2 (4/14)- TEX 4, ANA 1

R.A. Dickey (yes, R.A. Dickey) dominated the Angel's lineup for the second time this season, allowing just 1 run in 7 innings while collecting 7 strikeouts. John Lackey had a decent game for the Angels, but the offence continued its nosedive as the Halos only had 6 hits. Questionable base running also cost the Angels several outs at key moments in the game.

W- Dickey (2-1), L- Lackey (0-3), S- Cordero (4)

Game 3 (4/15)- TEX 5, ANA 7

Bartolo Colon struggled through 5 innings, but managed to leave with the lead. Ben Webber, Francisco Rodriguez and Troy Percival combined to hold off the Ranger's potent attack in the late innings. Troy Glaus started off the scoring with a three-run blast in the first, and Chone Figgins was impressive, going 2-2 with 2 walks and 2 steals.

W- Colon (3-1), L- Park (1-3), S- Percival (3)

Series MVP-

The Molina Brothers- Hit a combined .400 (4 for 10) with a homerun. Kinda sad, but that's as good as it gets.

Series Goat-

Adam Kennedy/David Eckstein- Hit a combined .095 (2 for 21) with 5 SO and 14 LOB.

G-String Watch-

9 for 39 (.230), 5 BB, 1 HR, 2 2B, 5 RBI

The Angels #2 pitching prospect, Bobby Jenks, was diagnosed with a "stress reaction" in his right elbow. He suffered the same injury last season, causing him to sit out most of the year. GM Bill Stoneman says that the only treatment is to "...just cool it for a while." It appears likely that Jenks is done for the season.

This is truly unfortunate. With the scarcity of arms in the Angels system every set back is a major one, and already the Angels top pitching prospect, Ervin Santana, has been shut down for the foreseeable future with arm troubles.

It's hard to say you're "rooting" for someone like Jenks (what with all his personal problems) but he seems to have mellowed out somewhat, and could have made a real splash this season. Maybe next year...

Help Baseball Crank and others to spread good will around the Middle East by donating to "Spirit of America." I assure you it is for a very worthy cause- no matter what your political leanings.

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Do yourself a huge favor and checkout Sean's post about Ramon Ortiz over at Purgatory Online. It's the best piece about the Angels I've read all year- anywhere.

Great job Sean!

Three hit and run attempts.
Three double plays.
Three rallies killed.

I understand why Mike wants to stay aggressive on the base-paths, even with the big bats, but we don't need to try something every time there's a runner on first. This is the American League after all.

And what was up with pinch-running Jose Molina for Bengie Molina? Are we just never going to use Josh Paul? Explain to me why Rob Quinlan isn't on the 25-man roster again...

I'm not usually quick to jump on the manager, but Mike's performance so far this year has been downright terrible. I'm not calling for his head, but I would like for him to remove it from his ass.

I mentioned in my minor-league round up that Bobby Jenks was off to a slow start in AAA Salt Lake. Well, it appears we now know why. (Link via Chronicles) Apparently Jenks is having a bit of arm trouble, having lost 10 mph off his fastball. That's too bad, because with Ben Webber losing velocity (and facial hair) this could have been a good chance for Jenks to break in.

I'm starting to get angry. You won't like me when I'm angry, Mike.

It appears that Mike Scioscia isn't considering moving Ramon Ortiz out of the rotation. Ortiz is 0-2 with a 12.66 ERA in 3 starts, and he's been even worse then those numbers suggest. He's been consistently awful- this is the worst three game stretch I have ever seen. Meanwhile there are three good candidates who are ready and willing to replace him, as I've gone over a hundred times.

It is unacceptable for Ramon to still be in the rotation. A club with championship aspirations can't wait around while a knucklehead like Ortiz costs us games on the outside chance that he may suddenly remember how to pitch.

This is the kind of stuff that managers get fired for, Mike.

I have a secret to tell you. You may want to sit down for this... are you ready? This is probably the most shocking thing you're ever going to hear. Are you sure you're ready...

Ramon Ortiz is fucking useless!

If we're going to keep giving Ortiz starts we might as well be giving them to batting tees.We've seen three starts too many from Ramon and it's time for Sele to get a fair shot. Besides, how are you ever going to deal Sele if you don't put him out there for the world to see?

UPDATE: Ortiz was pulled after 2.1 innings, having allowed 4 runs. Good riddance…

UPDATE: It looks like Mike and Buddy have finally had enough of Ramon Ortiz (a month too late there, guys...), after yanking him in the third inning tonight. I pretty sure that was his last start (of course I have been wrong about this kind of thing before) and Sele should get a start or two before management comes to it's senses and starts Shields or Gregg.

Oh, by the way, Rob has joined me on the Kevin Gregg bandwagon. Welcome aboard buddy!

Salt Lake Stingers (AAA)

The Stingers are off to a blazing start, going 10-2 in the first weeks of the PCL season. Brian Specht has carried over his hot spring into the start of the season, hitting .359/.432/.651. Rob Quinlan has also started the season strong and leads the club in RBI (9) and total bases (25).

One of the most intriguing prospects at Salt Lake, hard-throwing right-hander Bobby Jenks, hasn't gotten off to quite as hot a start. In his 3 starts he's posted an 8.03 ERA and has allowed 19 hits in just 12 innings of work. There is a silver lining for Jenks, as he has strikeouts and just 6 walks so far. Matt Hensley has been dominate in a relief role thus far, posting a 0.82 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 11 innings.

Arkansas Travelers (AA)

The Travs have also started strong (8-4), thanks to several of the Angel's top prospects, including Casey Kotchman, Dallas McPherson, Jeff Mathis, and Ervin Santana. Mathis (.341/.400/.537) has powered the offense with 2 homeruns and 7 RBI. Kotchman hasn't been far behind, putting up .298/.389/.447 while showing extraordinary patience at the plate.

The starting pitching has been especially impressive for the Travs. Tim Bittner is 2-0 in two starts with a miniscule 0.77 ERA. Eric Cyr has been even better in his two starts, sporting a 0.71 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 12.2 innings. Jake Woods, Rich Fischer, and Mike Brunet have also been impressive in starting roles.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (High A)

The Quakes have started the California League season well, going 6-4. The offence has been led by 2B Erick Aybar who is hitting .436/.488/.718 in the first 10 games. C Michael Napoli leads the team with 3 homeruns and 10 RBI, and Adam Pavkovich is hitting .417. Joe Saunders has gotten off to a good start on the mound, going 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 11 K's in 11 innings.

Cedar Rapids Kernels (Low A)

The Kernels have jumped right to the top of the Mid West League, going 7-4 to start the season. The Angels first-round pick, SS Brandon Wood, has stumbled out of the gate in 2004. He is hitting only .216, but he is tied for the club lead in HR (2) and RBI (11). Michel Simard has been untouchable in his first two starts, throwing 10.2 innings while striking-out 16.

The Angels minor-league affiliates have started the season with a combined record of 31-14. That's pretty damn hot.

Tim Keown thinks so. He seems to be very angry over the lack of African-American starters in the Majors Leagues.

I must admit, I too was shocked by the fact that there are only four African-American starters in the Major Leagues (Dontrelle Willis, Jerome Williams, Darren Oliver and CC Sabathia), but I think Tim is looking for problems where they don't exist. In this day-and-age teams can't afford to ignore the best talent.

He calls claims that Basketball and Football tend to lure away young black athletes "laughable." I don't know why he thinks the suggestion is so funny- it seems plausible to me. Football and Basketball whizzed past Baseball in the inner cities a long time ago (Alan Shwartz has some idea how to rectify the situation). He points out that Baseball has the highest (and guaranteed) contracts in the sports world, so surely everyone would choose baseball over Basketball and Football, a claim that I believe to be baseless.

The real advantage Football and Basketball have is that they offer instant super-stardom. Let's walk down the street and ask the average person to name one collegiate football player. They'll probably be able to name several. Now ask that person to name one collegiate baseball player. Blank stares are all you're going to get. First pick in the last NBA draft? LaBron James, of course. First pick in the baseball draft? I didn't think so...

Baseball just can't compete with that level of, yes Tim, instant gratification.

Last night's game was pretty rough. I can't help but think that if we just got a little luck we would have pulled that one out.

On the bright side: Kelvim Escobar looked unhittable at times, and what the A's did hit off of him were mostly little dribblers that somehow found holes in the defense. He only made one mistake the whole game- granted it was a rather large one which Byrnes made him pay for.

On the not so bright side: Vladimir Guererro looked like crap. I understand that he swings at everything he thinks he can hit, but why does he think he can hit a pitch a foot inside? I've seen no evidence of that skill so far. Ben Webber is done. He has nothing left. Man, we need Brendan Donnelly bad.

"Colón is an overpaid number two."

That's a direct quote from Rob over at 6-4-2. The basis for his claim is the following:

1. Colon has an ERA over 3.00, and "number ones" don't have 3.00+ ERAs.
   
2. His DIPs ERA is nearly 4.00.
   
3. Colon's K/9 ratio "have taken a 3.00 hit in three years."

So is Colon a "number one" or not? Let's look and see. First I'll cover Rob's points:

Number one: High ERA

Here's Rob's quote: "how many number 1's have a 3.00+ ERA?" Well, considering that only 8 starters posted a sub-3.00 ERA last season, I'd say quite a few. Some of the guys who I have down as aces in my book and posted 3.00+ ERAs include; Cy Young-winner Roy Halladay, Barry Zito, Kerry Wood, Mike Mussina, Mark Mulder, and Javier Vazquez, to name a few.

I don't know what era Rob is living in, but these days sub-3.00 seasons are few and far between. Put a couple of them together and you have hall of fame credentials.

Bartolo Colon posted a 3.87 ERA with Chicago last season, which is slightly above his career average of 3.82. Ok, those aren't great numbers to anchor your staff around. But there are several pitchers who are thought of by many to be aces who have less-impressive numbers. Andy Pettitte's career ERA is 3.96. Hideo Nomo has a 3.88 mark. Of course Bartolo is only two seasons removed from a 2.93 ERA.

Number two: the falling K/9 ratios

It is true that Colon's K/9 has fallen over 3.00 points over the last three seasons, from 10.15 in 2000 to 6.43 in 2003. Here's a graph to illustrate the point:


Last year's 6.43 K/9 was the third lowest of his career, but still an improvement over the previous year. Its also just 0.81 points lower then his career ratio of 7.24. That may not be a great sign, but it's nothing to lose sleep over. Another problem I have with Rob's argument is the fact that Colon's 10.15 K/9 in 2000 is over 2.00 higher then his second best ratio. That looks like a fluke season to me.

Still, it is clear that his K/9 ratio is headed in the wrong direction, but why? Is it because he's lost some velocity? I think we all know that's not the case. Has he lost movement? Doesn't look like it by the naked eye. So why then? I have another explanation: a change in approach.

First let's look at his walks per 9 innings:


As you can see, his walks have fallen steadily over the last three seasons. My theory is that the cause of this drop is a shift in Colon's overall approach. He's throwing more pitches over the plate, looking for contact and quick outs. You can see this in shift in his groundball/flyball ratio, which has fallen rather drastically over the last three seasons. In 1999 he was an extreme groundball-pitcher, with a 1.52 G/F. By 2003 that had completely changed, as his G/F was 0.92. He has become a flyball pitcher.

Flyball pitchers tend to get fewer strikeouts, as they tend to live over the plate and not nibbling on the edges, thus the lower strikeout rates.

Number three: DIPS

As Rob points out, Colon's dERA has hovered around 4.00 for the last two seasons (3.91 and 4.01, respectively) and 4.00 is not a great dERA. I would remind Rob that DIPS does have its share of problems- namely that it doesn't account for G/F ratios, despite the fact that studies have shown G/F ratio has a direct correlation to XBH%. These would have an interesting effect on Colon's dERA (considering his shift from groundball to flyball pitcher) and I would be very interested in seeing his career dERAs to analyze this effect.

It's 12:30 and I'm running on fumes, so I'm going to wrap this up. I can barely think clearly and DIPS is a complicated formula in the first place, so maybe I'll be more coherent in the morning. Tomorrow I'll cover why I think Colon is a viable number one.

It's raining fairly hard here in South County, but I have no idea what it looks like up in Anaheim. Is it possible- could we have a rainout on our hands? I can't remember the last time a game in Southern California was rained out. Its been at least a couple of years.

UPDATE: Congratulations to the OC Register and there prognostication of a "slight chance of rain."

UPDATE: Also, the aforementioned "Live Doppler 7000" over at the local ABC station claims a 30% percent chance of rain. You'd think that a live weather system could tell you that it is currently raining outside, but maybe I'm asking too much of my live weather system.

Wow, Hudson was dealing. The Halo's never had a chance against that stuff, but Colon did do his best to keep them in the game (though I was troubled by the two homeruns he gave up to Byrnes and Melhuse, two nothing hitters.). The Angels had a chance there in the 8th- bases loaded, one out, Erstad at bat and the A's bring in the lefty Rincon. Erstad then proceeded to have one of the worst at-bats I have seen in my life:

Pitch 1: 90 mph fastball, belt-high and right over the heart of the plate. No swing. "Ok, I guess Ersty's trying to be patient. I'm ok with that... though it is true that the first pitch you see is often the best in these types of situations."

Pitch 2: Slider in the dirt. Swing and a miss. "Well I guess he got fooled on that one... though it did looked low right out of Rincon's hand. Still, I have the utmost confidence in Erstad's skill as a hitter."

Pitch 3: Slider low and away- way away. Swing and a miss. "Go sit the fuck down Darin."

Guerrero followed with another strikeout to end the inning and the Angels last threat. Oh well, so much for that.

I was pleased to see the "G-String" back intact with Glaus back in the lineup and Guerrero back in the field. Shields also looked pretty nasty in his inning of work, hopefully a sign that he's coming back into form. We'll get em' tomorrow with Washburn against Mulder.

ESPN's Jim Caple has some things to say about the Angels in his newest article. He suggests that not only are the Halo's the most-improved team in the league, they could be the best. I don't know about his logic, however, as he claims that "...they have a solid rotation...",. I'm not sure 2 1/2 starters can be called a solid rotation.

Anyway, most of what he says is old news- nothing the blogosphere hasn't been saying for months- but it is still a worthwhile read.

Game 1 (4/13)- SEA 5, ANA 7

Escobar struggled through 6 innings, but managed to keep the Halos within striking distance. M's starter Joel Pineiro also struggled and was pounded in the 5th and 6th innings. The Angels continued their offensive onslaught, scoring 3 more runs in the bottom of the 7th. Rodriguez and Percival locked it down late for the victory- the fourth straight over Seattle.

W- Shields (2-0), L- Soriano (0-2), S- Percival (2)

Game 2 (4/14)- SEA 5, ANA 6

Ramon Ortiz started strong, but the wheels came off in the 4th. Seattle scored 4 runs in the middle innings to make it 5-4 Angels lead. Percival was unable to hold the lead in the ninth when he allowed Bloomquist to score. He then worked out of a jam with no outs and runners on second and third, retiring Olerud, Martinez and Boone. He was credited with the win when pinch runner Chone Figgins scored on a DaVannon sac-fly in the bottom of the inning.

W- Percival (1-0), L- Hasegawa (0-2)

Game 3 (4/15)- SEA 6, ANA 2

Ryan Franklin and John Lackey had a good pitchers duel going until the sixth inning. The Angels had jumped out to an early two-run lead off of a Kennedy homerun, but in the 6th John Lackey fell apart. He allowed six runs in the inning, and that was all she wrote for the Halos. Franklin continued to dominate, going 8 innings while allowing just 4 hits.

W- Franklin (1-0), L- Lackey (0-2)

Series MVP-

Tim Salmon- Salmon showed signs that he's coming out of his early-season slump, going 4 for 11 (.364) with 1 HR, 2 2B, and 4 RBI. Not a whole lot of competition for MVP this series.

Series Goat-

Troy Glaus- Troy didn't play in any of the three games against Seattle because of a "tweeked" hamstring suffered in Texas. No one really had a bad series.

G-String Watch-

10 for 33 (.303), 1 HR, 3 2B, 4 RBI

...well, right now we're down one. And it was a big one.

Suzuki led off the 6th with a grounder to Figgins, who airmailed the throw to Erstad at first. Erstad made an incredible play by jumping at least four feet off the ground to catch the throw, then made an even more amazing play to get the tag on Suzuki. The call: safe. The M's go on to score 5 in the inning (with the help of a comedy of errors from the Halos) and chase John Lackey from the game.

This is my biggest beef with officials in every sport- calling plays based on what they assume must have happened. Just because a play looked impossible to make doesn't mean it didn't get made, and just because a shooter looks like he could have been fouled doesn't mean he was fouled. What ever happened to calling them as you see them?

Lackey had descent control tonight, but had a hell of a time putting hitters away. Zero strikeouts in 5 1/3 is just not going to cut it in the bigs (especially when you have so many hitters down 0-2). It was an encouraging performance as far as his mechanics are concerned, as he seemed to be in control of himself up until the 6th. Now if he could just find the stuff he had his rookie year we might have a pitcher on our hands.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who is troubled by Mike Scioscia's propensity for exaggeration. I understand not tipping your hand on injuries, but this early in the season if there is a problem we should know about it. Already we have seen several examples of players being "day-to-day" for seemingly endless periods of time:

Ervin Santana- The Angel's top pitching prospect was hurt early in the spring, and despite Mike's insistence to the contrary, did not pitch again.

Garret Anderson- GA's return from shoulder tendinitis was "imminent" for about three weeks during the spring, raising fears that he might not be ready for opening day.

Brendan Donnelley- Donnelly was also expected to make a rather quick recovery from his broken nose (at least that's what Scioscia thought), yet he's started the year on the DL and there is no timetable for his return. Ok, this one isn't really Mike's fault (who knew you could lose half of your blood through your nose?), but if you don't know anything about the condition of an injury, just say you don't know anything. We all know what happens when you assume...

Bengie Molina- How many times was Bengie's return "tomorrow?" Purgatory Online places most of the blame on the LA Times, but they were getting injury updates from someone...

Troy Glaus- Troy was removed from a game in Texas after "tweeking" his hamstring. Mike stressed that it was "just a precaution" because they didn't want his playing on a slick field. Hey Mike- I know Fritz sucks, but I'm pretty sure it hasn't rained in Anaheim for quite awhile.

Vladimir Guererro- Guererro's hurt- we can all see it. He's been held back the last couple of days and used exclusively as a DH, but if this is a serious injury he shouldn't be playing at all.

Because of Mike's inability to provide fans with real information on injuries, I have devised a public warning system, much like that of the Homeland Security Department. Simply follow these suggestions on how to best protect yourself at each level, and you too can avoid being burned:


Totally Fucked-

Alfredo Amezaga and Chone Figgins are playing everyday. Nuff' said. To protect yourself: Place your head between your legs, and kiss the playoffs goodbye.

High-

Players such as Troy Glaus, Vladimir Guererro, Garret Anderson, or Bartolo Colon are shut down for the season and the word "surgery" is a commonly heard around the stadium. Shane halter plays all nine positions, and it's not just a gimmick. To protect yourself: Hope Arte opens the checkbook for replacements at the deadline. Otherwise see above.

Elevated-

Multiple superstars have been placed on the DL, and the diagnosis is gloomy. You start seeing names like Riggs, Amezaga, and Bootcheck. To protect yourself: TLC, lots of TLC. Wait outside the player's parking lot and offer each passing player a deep-tissue massage ("happy ending" optional).

Guarded-

Stars are missing occasional games here-and-there due to chronic or nagging injuries, and are listed as day-to-day for the 10th straight game. Role players are falling like Star Trek extras. To protect yourself: Just wait it out. For positive reinforcement listen to Mike Scioscia's daily injury updates.

Low-

The lineup and rotation remains intact and the Angels win 20 straight. You haven't seen Jeff DaVannon in weeks, and you assume he must have been traded to Tampa Bay. Troy Glaus stubs his toe on the way to his championship ring fitting. To protect yourself: Join the party- we won the series!

What a win! Percy couldn't seal it, but the Angels rally in the bottom of the ninth to break the tie. Guerrero led the inning off with a walk, and was replaced by Chone Figgins. Figgins promptly swiped two bases, and a Jeff DaVannon sac fly brought the winning run home.

Just a thought on Percival: He hasn't been able to put anyone away this season (just 1 SO in 3 IP). I guess you chalk-up today's struggles to the fact that he threw 21 pitches the previous night, but still, it is troubling.

...now shut-up before you jinx it.

Ramon Ortiz has started strong with much better mechanics this time around. Rex says he worked with Buddy Black for 3 hours after his disastrous start in Texas and it looks to have done wonders.

UPDATE: Oh, nevermind. Ortiz fell apart after three, and his final line was 5 2/3 IP, 4 ER on 8 H, with 3 BB and 4 K's. I think that's just about the best we can expect from Ramon this year.

...ESPN.com has the Angels ranked number one in their latest "Power Rankings." Yip-eee.

Yesterday I took the trek up the 5 freeway (which was worse then usual, if you can imagine such a thing) to Anaheim for the Angels home opener against the Seattle Mariners. Opening day at Angels Stadium was exciting from many angles. First, I wanted to see the improvements to the stadium itself. Also there were a ton of pre-game events including the awarding of the "Gold Glove" to Bengie Molina and the "Silver Slugger" to Garret Anderson. And finally, the game itself was nothing to sneeze at.

Of all the great improvements Arte Moreno has made to this team, the new scoreboards may be my favorite (sorry Vladimir, it's true). Gone is the old "million points of light" board in right, replaced with what appears one huge Sony Trinitron. A second board has been placed in left field and another circles the stadium at the club level. These new boards are not only sharper and more colorful- they have at least doubled the amount of information that is displayed for each hitter. Now along with the old stand-bys, we get OBP and SLG- very nice!

The entire presentation of the game is now improved as well. Gone are the clip-art graphics that were once displayed on the boards to rile up fans. They have been replaced with professional graphics that- get this- actually has something to do with baseball and the Angels. That's right- no more old lady telling us to "get loud", and no more green monster ("Hey man, Fenway is about 3,000 miles that-a-way!") walking to first base. It may seem trivial, but it really helps the atmosphere of the park.

The pre-game festivities were so numerous I don't think I have time to go over them all. It started with a very well produced retrospective on the Angels, taking us from a news report on "the newly created Los Angeles Angels" up to the World Series title. That kind of stuff is my kryptonite, it always gets to me. It was followed by the distributing of a few awards won by the Angels the previous year, including Molina's "Gold Glove", Anderson's "Silver Slugger", Donnelly's MLB.com "Set-up Man of the Year" (oh, how prestigious), and Troy Percival's "Rolaids Relief Man Award." Pretty boring stuff, unless you get all hot and bothered when seeing corporate execs.

The introductions included about two minutes of applause for Scott Spiezio, which was far more then was called for in my opinion. I did hear a few boos when Ramon Ortiz was introduced, but other then that it was a fairly subdued introduction (probably due in part to the fact that this is actually the teams third opening day). Introductions were followed by the anthem as sung by Brian McKnight, accompanied by some guy on a sax-ma-phone, followed by a fly over by two F-18's. I'm just a sucker for that kind of stuff!

Finally the game started. There were a ton of story lines to follow in this one. I was most interested in seeing Escobar's second start of the season, but there was also Bengie Molina's return from injury and Vladimir Guererro and Troy Glaus' succumbing to injury. And who can forget Speizio's return to Anaheim? Tim Salmon got his first start in right, and Shane Halter got his second start at 3rd (where he struggled in Texas).

Escobar clearly didn't have his good stuff, but he battled like a pro, going six innings and keeping the Angels in the game. Pinero got the start for Seattle and was just awful, yet remained unscathed through much of the game. After four innings the Angels trailed 4-0.

This seems like as good a place as any to talk about the Speizio tribute. In the middle of the first the scoreboards showed Speizio's famous at bat against Felix Rodriguez in the 2002 World Series, which is widely recognized as "the greatest homerun in Angels history." After it was done playing (to huge applause) the screen flashed "Thank you Scott," and got a shot of him in the Seattle dugout. Scott was clearly uncomfortable with this, but was convinced by his new teammates to give a tip of the cap to the fans.

Let me make this clear: I don't dislike Scott Spiezio. I think he did fine work for the Angels in the absence of a real first baseman. But I also don't love Scott for hitting one homerun, or getting epicly hot in the 2002 playoffs. No matter what his playoff numbers were the fact remains- he's not an everyday player, and if you can replace him with a better player you do it. Scott's a good guy and a decent ballplayer, but he wasn't solely responsible for the championship like many fans give him credit for. That said, I still gave the guy his "props" with a standing-o.

Back to the game. Vlad started the Angel's comeback with a laser over the left-center wall in the 5th, scoring two. By this time it was clear to me that Pineiro was holding his game together with tape, and the next inning the Angels finished him off with another two-run shot, this one off the bat of Bengie Molina. The game was now tied after 6.

Scot Shields struggled in the 7th, but kept the M's off the board. Then, in the bottom of the inning, the rally we all knew was coming came. Erstad and Guererro both reached on Soriono, and Bob Melvin brought in the lefty Myers to pitch to Anderson. Anderson flew out, and yet another pitching change followed. Julio Mateo's first pitched was lined for a double off the bat of Jose Guillen, plating Erstad and Guererro. Guillen reached third on the throw to the plate, and later scored on a Salmon sac fly. 7-4 Angels.

That was all the bullpen would need. Rodriguez struggled somewhat in the 8th, as he allowed his first run of the season, but he got the lead to Percival. Percival then went 1-2-3 in the ninth for his second save of the season, and a big come-from-behind win for the Halos.

I'm off to the grand opening of Angel Field of Anaheim. I'm so excited I may just vomit...

I'll have a full report when I get home tonight.

It's like opining presents on Christmas morning. You go to ESPN.com to check up on the headlines, and there it is: Down on the Farm: Casey Kotchman. You wait, and you wait, and then John Sickles, or Peter Gammons, or Rob Neyer comes through with an article your favorite club. It's a great feeling...

Anyway, Sickles comes to the same conclusion as everyone else- Kotchman can flat out hit (though I don't necessarily agree with his assessment that Kotchman won't be a homerun threat), and the only concern is his health. While it is true that Casey has missed almost half of his pro career with various injuries, they have been freak injuries and not (in my opinion) reason to be too overly concerned.

This kid is a stud. I would fully expect Kotchman to be the starting first baseman by the middle of next season.

In a rather shocking move the Angels announced today that Garret Anderson has agreed to a four-year contract extension, with a club option for the 2009 season. The two sides had been miles apart on the terms of the deal just weeks ago, as it was widely reported that Anderson was looking for a deal in $16m range and the club was offering about $9m. I don't have any info on the money involved in the deal, but I'll post it when I do.

UPDATE: Purgatory Online estimates the deal is worth somewhere between $11-13m per. That is quite a bit below Anderson initial asking price, and a decent deal for all involved. Just a thought: how much would he have gotten from the Evil Empire as a free agent? $15 million+?

UPDATE: ESPN is reporting that the deal is $48 million over four years, with a $3 million buyout in 2009. $12 million a year sound just about right to me. Don't get me wrong- that’s a lot of money (and more then I would give him), but Garret would easily fetch that on the open market, so it is a good deal for the free-spending Halos.

Chronicles does some great work on the Angel's outfield defense. He finds that the Angels are dead last in converting flyballs to outs. Check it out.

In my opinion the Angel's are worse off this year at all three outfield positions (considering that Jeff DaVannon was in right, which he was most of last year) with the current alignment of Guillen/Anderson/Guerrerro. Now I knew that Guillen wasn't exactly gold-glove material, but his play in left has been atrocious. He has become a significant downgrade over Anderson, who in turn is a HUGE downgrade over Erstad in center. By my (very non scientific) count, at least 6 balls have dropped in front of Anderson and Guillen that certainly would have been caught in last year’s alignment. That doesn't bode well for Washburn's season.

Game 1 (4/9)- ANA 4, TEX 12

A blow-out from the word “go” as Angels pitching was blasted for 9 runs in the first three innings. Ortiz and Sele combined for 6 innings, giving up 12 runs on 17 hits. Meanwhile, the Angel’s potent attack was quieted by R.A. Dickey (of all people…) and was only able to touch him for three unearned runs (off a Kennedy homerun) over 7 innings. Troy Glaus later added a monster homerun off Almanzar.

W- Dickey (1-0), L- Ortiz (0-1)

Game 2 (4/10)- ANA 6, TEX 12

John Lackey picked-up right where Ortiz left off, getting crushed for 7 runs over 3 2/3 innings. The Angels did stay in the game however, as the offence put 6 runs on the board in the 4th, thanks in part to a base-clearing single off the bat of Jose Molina. Unfortunately the bullpen was unable to hold the Rangers at bay, and Texas cruised to a relatively easy win.

W- Rogers (1-0), L- Lackey (0-1)

Game 3 (4/11)- ANA 7, TEX 2

Bartolo Colon took game three by the reins and almost single-handily put the breaks on Angel’s skid. He was nothing short of dominant in 8 innings, allowing just 2 runs, only one of which was earned. The Angel’s attack also had its best game of the series. Vlad Guerrero led the way with his 2nd homer of the season, and Tim Salmon showed signs of life with a two-hit performance. Frankie Rodriguez continued his impressive start by shutting down the Rangers in the 9th.

W- Colon (2-0), L- Park (0-2)

Game 4 (4/12)- ANA 6, TEX 7

Jarrod Washburn got the ball to start game four, and though he struggled early, showed great toughness and kept the Halos in the game for five innings before things started to unravel. He left the game after 5 1/3 with the lead, but Ben Webber continued to struggle and was unable to hold it. Fulmer doubled in three runs to give Texas the lead, which they did not relinquish. Anaheim came on in the late innings to make it close, but Cordero was able to hang on for the save.

W- Almanzar (1-0), L- Washburn (1-1), S- Cordero (2)

Series MVP-

Bartolo Colon- Colon stepped up and put an end to the Halo’s two-game skid by going 8 strong innings in game 3, allowing just 1 earned run.

Series Goat-

Ramon Ortiz- Ramon showed that he doesn’t belong anywhere near a major-league pitching mound when he lasted only 2 2/3 innings in his first start of the season. He gave up 9 hits and 7 runs in the Angel’s loss.

G-String Watch-

17 for 56 (.303), 2 HR, 3 2B, 5 RBI

The Angels ended their little skid today against the Texas Rangers behind another great performance by Bartolo Colon. Colon has been damn near untouchable in his first two starts. I feel as if I have been renewed in my hope for the coming season, but that will all change when Ortiz steps back on the mound.

I watched the game at our thrice-annual family reunion (one at each of the holy-triumvirate of holidays; Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) while eating pork so salty I had to inspect it for gills. Rex Hudler didn't have any quotes that caused me to drop my fork, but the guys over at Beer and Whiskey still have some interesting criticism (of the non-constructive type) of his broadcasting style.

I would tend to agree that Rex is annoying- ok, shove a pencil in your ear-canals boring- but it got me thinking: Are there any color men who aren't annoying? I can't think of any. At least Rex isn't as bad as Stu Lantz (note: I attempted to find a page that listed reasons to hate Stu, but I couldn't find any. Is it possible I'm the only one who thinks this guy is the worst broadcaster in the world?).

Aaron Gleeman (now at the wonderful Hardball Times) wrote this wonderful article highlighting the need for a "blown holds" stat.

I've never understood why middle reilevers and set-up men are charged with blown saves when they never had a chance to get the save in the first place. Blown saves should only be charged to pitchers who give up leads past the 8th inning. Otherwise, a "blown hold" is a much more accurate representation of their preformance.

I almost threw the panic switch there, but I caught myself. We're just five games in, so nothing can be concluded yet, but this was pretty much my doomsday scenario. Washburn, Ortiz, and Lackey all struggled in their starts, the bullpen haven't been able to bail them out, and the outfield defense might as well be rooted to the ground.

Still, that offence is something else! Even with Salmon making his usual late arrival and Guererro still adjusting to AL pitching, we're scoring a boatload of runs. It's sort of cliché, but I never feel like we're out of a game.

....winning three out of every five is 97 wins! That should be good enough for the playoffs.

John Lackey is currently being bitch-slapped by the Rangers. As with Ramon Ortiz it appears as if his mechanics and control are terrible. Could part of the blame for this problem rest on the shoulders of Bud Black? When two pitchers look this unprepared it's go to make you think. I don't think that Lackey is nearly the lost cause that Ramon is, in fact I would expect him to have a decent season, but this is a frustrating start to the season.

Something needs to be done about the bottom of this rotation before the Angels can be considered a championship-caliber club.

Today's beatdown at the hands of the Rangers should confirm the Angels blogosphere's fears about Ramon Ortiz and Aaron Sele. I've already covered how bad Ortiz's start was, so we don't have to go over it again. Sele came in relief and didn't fare much better, going 3 1/3 innings while allowing 5 runs on 8 hits. So to recap, Sele/Ortiz's line went like this: 6 IP, 17 H, 12 R, 12 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 3 HR for a combined ERA of 18.00. I can't say I'm shocked.

Meanwhile, Kevin Gregg was strengthening his claim to not only stay in the big leagues, but to own one of the rotation spots. He went two near-perfect innings to end the game, allowing only 1 hit while striking out 3.

I don't see the Angels giving Ortiz another start anytime soon. Scioscia and Bud Black looked disgusted while watching Ortiz today, so I would expect Sele to start in his place next time 'round. And after Sele struggles in his couple of starts? Well, we can only hope that Scioscia does the right thing and give either Shields or Gregg a fair shot.

...Ramon Ortiz sucks. His start today against the Texas Rangers went just about as expected: 2 2/3 IP, 9 H, 7 ER.

In all honesty, I don't think I've ever seen a worse performance from a pitcher. Ortiz's mechanics were all wrong- he was releasing way too early, resulting in pitch-after-pitch sailing high in the zone. Clearly he didn't have his best stuff, and he showed no interest in battling through it. Perhaps worst of all, he let his emotions get the best of him (of course that has always been the knock on Ramon) and effect his pitching.

Even now you can see ability that earned him the name "Pocket Pedro". Ramon has major-league stuff- he just doesn't have the slightest clue how to pitch. Never has, never will.

DO NOT try to take an extra base on the Angels! You will end up on the wrong side of a Web Gem:

Game 1 (4/6)- ANA 10, SEA 5

The Angel's bats get off to a hot start, scoring 10 runs on 12 hits. Troy Glaus led the way with 2 homeruns (his first two at ever SAFECO Field), and Jose Molina added another. Bartolo Colon looked dominate in his Angels debut, going 6 innings allowing just 1 unearned run. The bullpen struggled and allowed Seattle to save some face late in the game, but really this one was never in doubt.

W- Colon (1-0), L- Moyer (0-1)

Game 2 (4/7)- ANA 10, SEA 7

The Angel attack was even better in game two, if possible. The 16-hit onslaught included two homeruns from Garret Anderson and one from Vlad Guererro, his first as an Angel. Vlad was 3-4 with 3 RBI in the game. The early lead seemed insurmountable, but Washburn fell apart in the 4th and allowed the Mariners to climb right back into the game. For the second straight game Francisco Rodriguez came to the rescue, extinguishing the flames in the 8th, and handing the ball to Percival.

W- Washburn (1-0), L- Pineiro (0-1), S- Percival (1)

Game 3 (4/8)- ANA 5, SEA 1

Freddy Garcia baffled the Angels lineup, going 7 shutout innings. He was nearly matched by Escobar, who went 6 innings, allowing just 1 run to keep the Halos in the game. An offensive explosion in the bottom of the ninth off former-Angel Shigetoshi Hasegawa lifted the Angels to a dramatic 5-1 win. Anderson, Glaus, and Guillen powered the Angels, collecting two hits each, and Adam Kennedy came through with the game-winning 2-RBI single.

W- Shields (1-0), L- Hasegawa (0-1)

Series MVP-

Troy Glaus- Glaus went 8 for 17 (.470) with 3 doubles, 2 homeruns, and 4 RBI. His 2-homer performance in game one really set the tempo for the Angel's offence.

Series Goat-

Tim Salmon- Salmon continues to add to his history of slow starts, going 1 for 16 (.077) in the series. He left 10 runners stranded all told.

G-String Watch-

26 for 69 (.377), 5 HR, 6 2B, 12 RBI

We got the win and that's what's important. I was watching the game with my brother John, and he pointed out that this looks like a year of big innings (on both sides of the ball) for the Angels. I think that's just about right.

These first two games have been very impressive save a few bad innings from pitching staff. The wheels really fell off for Washburn there in the 4th. He was consistently up in the zone, and he got pounded for it, but obviously one start is nothing to get too distressed over.

And I don't have to tell you how impressive the offense has been- it's plain to see. Vlad, G.A., and Glaus have all looked unstoppable in these first two game. 10 runs a game, and Guillen and Salmon haven't really shown up yet- this should be a fun year.

I have to keep telling myself it's just one game... it's just one game. But wow.

It took Colon a couple of innings to settle down, but once he did he was untouchable. Come to think of it I can't remember a single hard-hit ball off the M's bats. Angel fans couldn't have hoped for a better start from their new ace.

What can you say about the bats? Glaus looked amazing- he was locked in on every pitch. His two homeruns are the only two he has ever hit at Safeco. Guererro had great patience all day, which is a great sign. He missed a 3-run homerun by inches in the 8th. The bottom of the order also produced- Jose Molina had a homerun and a double and Kennedy pitched in a couple of knocks.

I guess the only negative I can take out of the game is that the outfield does not cover a lot of ground. I saw at least one ball that dropped in front of GA that would have been an easy catch for Erstad, but still, there were no major mistakes.

That, and the fact that the bullpen was being way to cute. With two outs Shields and Gregg both refused to challenge the hitters. Instead they nipped on the corners and low in the zone, resulting in walks and a four run bottom of the 8th. Buddy Black should get them straightened out.

All and all, it was a great start for the Angels.

I've updated the 25-man roster and depth-chart to reflect the addition of Josh Paul.

I just don't get why Paul, who will serve as a third catcher, was taken over Rob Quinlan, who can play in the outfield and at the corners. Besides being more utilitarian, Quinlan is also a better hitter then is Paul. How much work will Josh Paul even see as the "emergency" catcher? Scioscia has said he intends to keep him around so he can feel free to pinch run for the Molinas in late game situations. That's why we have two Molinas, Mike. And considering the fact that Shane Halter can play behind the plate if push comes to shove, this seems like a waste of a roster spot.

No offence to Josh Paul though...

God bless the programming directors over at ESPN. I've been watching baseball for eight hours now, starting with the Cubs and Cincy, then Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, on through San Francisco and Houston. Now comes the marquee match-up in my estimation, Oakland and Texas. This is almost too much baseball, if there is such a thing.

Of course the Angels opener is tomorrow in Seattle, which means there should soon be something worth writing about. I can't wait.

Some random thoughts from the first of three games against the Dodgers:

• Troy Glaus put a beautiful swing on a low fastball and sent it over the left-field wall. It was a work of art! That is the pitch he was swinging through last season.
  
  
• I guess ruining one Southern California team's season just isn't enough for Jeff Weaver. In the second inning he nailed Jose Guillen on the arm with pitch, forcing Guillen out of the game. God I hate Jeff Weaver!
  
  
• Why would you ever try a squeeze play with Tim Salmon on third? Jose Molina put a soft bunt on the ball, and Ross wasn't fooled for a second. Mike is out-thinking himself here.
  
  
• As his .400 batting average would suggest, David Eckstein has been hitting everything on the screws this spring. I think he could be set for a career year.
  
  
• It's nice to see that the Angels let Brian Specht stick around for this series as a reward for his awesome spring (.350 AVG). He's really put himself on the radar.
  
  
• In a shocking turn of events, Aaron Sele has struggled sence coming in for Washburn. Mabye he's just trying to prove that his point that he is uncomfortable coming out of the pen. The game is now tied 4-4.
  
  
• The Halos ended up winning the game on a bloop 2-RBI double from Berry Wesson in the 11th. Kevin Gregg got the win.
  
  
• Good news for Guillen: first signs are that he suffered (only) a "deep contusion" of the wrist. He's listed as day-to-day.

Chronicles of the Lads has a fairly exhaustive feature about the Angels pitching staff up, and he has some interesting theories. His projection method may not be the most scientific, but I put as much stock in it as I do Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA system.

As for Jarrod "Please Stop Calling Him Ace" Washburn, I think all statistical analysis of last season is pretty much pointless, as he was clearly hindered by the shoulder injury he suffered in the spring. (I know Lads eventually makes that point, but only after quite a bit of worthless statistical analysis.)

Overall, I think Lads is right in discarding BP's doom-and-gloom assumptions, and projecting a decent season for the staff as a whole. I still don't get why everyone is so down on Escobar, and I think Lackey learned a lot about what kind of pitcher he really is last season. As for Colon, even the doomsday projections still have him as a better then average pitcher, and that's more then we had last year.

I'm happy to report that Brendan Donnelly is out of the hospital after losing several pints of blood over the weekend. He rejoined the team in Arizona today. He was placed on the 15-day DL (retroactive to March 26) and is eligible to return on April 10, though it is speculated he could be out until early June. Kevin Gregg will take over Donnelly's roster spot.

Meanwhile, Yoshitaka Mizuo, the Japanese left hander who was signed on Tuesday, was assigned to minor-league camp. He will not accompany the team to Southern California for the upcoming "Freeway Series" and will start the year in AAA Salt Lake.

Note: This post originally appeared on my political blog. I have archived it here for posterity's sake.

Air America, the new radio network devoted to liberalism, went on the air today in four markets and on satellite radio. The network's founders promise to balance out the "media bias" that has been slanted toward the right over the years. Are you shitting me? Apparently these people have never heard of ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, CNN, The New York Times, Time, Rolling Stone, The Daily Show, or NPR. It seems to me that all conservatives have ever had in the way of slanted media is Fox News and radio talk shows.

The list of on-air personalities reads like a whose who of "who's that?" Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo (Remember when these two were funny? Me neither.) will both host daily programs. Chuck D has one too, for some reason. And Randi Rhodes will bring "her own brand of provocative and infectiously humorous talk" to the network, whoever she is.

Just the names of the programs show how out of touch these people are. Janeane Garofalo's daily show is called "The Majority Report", despite the fact that polls show that most Americans consider themselves conservatives. Franken's show is called the "O'Frankin Factor," a shot at conservative pundit Bill O'Rielly. Just the name "Air America" implies that they speak for a majority of Americans, which they certainly don't. Even most liberals can't stand these kind of bile-spewing ideologues.

The undisputed star of the network is Frankin. Has Al Franken ever talked about an actual issue in his entire life? I ask because all I've ever heard him spew is personal attacks against everyone who doesn't agree with him (usually calling them prejudice or closed-minded) on whatever liberal cause he thinks will sell the most books. I don't want to go on-and-on about Al Franken because, firstly, I could go on for days, and secondly, if you're reading this, chances are I'm preaching to the converted. It just amazes me how a person can be so hypocritical- really... it's mind boggling. He is the best example of a person who has spent too much time listening to his own rhetoric and surrounding himself with like-minded individuals, thus poisoning his own mind.

John Kerry and Micheal Moore are both likely to be guests on the network, which should go a long way in solving Kerry's problem about being branded as a liberal. I just hope they put the three of them in same room together- I bet Karl Rove is licking his chops!

Luckily I won't accidentally tune into any of this crap, as there is no carrier in staunchly conservative Orange County, and probably never will be.