• Aaron Sele did it again. He got his fourth win of the year, giving up just four hits and one run in 6 1/3. And this time he even had his strikeout pitch working (6 Ks). I said yesterday that Escobar was the Angel's best starter- well Sele's giving him a run for his money.
  
  
• All Rob Quinlan did today was go 1-3 with a walk. I just can't wrap my head around why this guy isn't getting a real shot. He's proven that he can hit at every level of pro ball, and he can play at the corner outfield positions as well as first base. Why not put him in the field and give Vlad or Guillen the day off at DH?
  
  
• Scioscia brought in Frankie to pitch the ninth- even though the Angels had a four-run lead. I can't say I blame him- I don't think I could live through another Ben Webber meltdown either.
  
  
• Scot Shields threw a pitch to Timo Perez that broke at least five feet. I'm not exaggerating at all. This thing started well above the belt and inside, and ended up in the dirt and well off the outside corner. Just nasty.
  
  
• Casey Kotchman had an extra-base hit! I repeat, Casey Kotchman had an extra-base hit!
  
  
• Jeff DaVanon's OPS is creeping up toward the high .900's. Is anyone starting to come around on my "DaVanon could be a star" comment?

• The Angels are the only team without a homerun from a first baseman this season.
  
  
• The only teams that are getting worse production are Atlanta (.230/.280/.364 for a .644 OPS) and Montreal (.204/.297/.309 for a .606 OPS. Ouch.)
  
  
• Without Rob Quinlan the Angels line would be .256/.293/.315 for a .608 OPS. Tell me again why Rob Quinlan isn't playing?
  
  
• Of all first basemen with at least 50 PA, Kotchman ranks 40th out of 41in OPS, and Erstad is not far behind in 38th

• It looks like the Angels left Anaheim and forgot to bring the bullpen along. On the current road trip the pen is 0-3 with a 6.48 ERA and 3 blown saves.
  
  
• Let's do the math- rookie umpire behind the plate + Qestec stadium + head of umpires in the stands = a strike zone so small the Hubble couldn't find it. Of course Takatsu had no trouble finding it...
  
  
• I'm going to go out on a limb here and declare that Kelvim Escobar has been the Angels best starter this season. Sure, his numbers may not show it, but his stuff and control have both been great all year.
  
  
• Eckstein went 1 for 5 with a double, extending his hitting streak to 13.
  
  
• Scioscia brought Amezaga in as a defensive replacement at third in the 8th inning. It's about damn time.
  
  
• Small consolation- the three other AL West teams all lost tonight.

• He's another bat. That can only be a good thing.
  
• This gives the Angels the three best arms in baseball, all in the same outfield.
  
• Ummm... Raul makes a mean pound-cake?

• The Angels add a club-house cancer.
  
• The Angels seem to be admiting that either Anderson or Salmon will not be returning. You think Raul is an asshole now? Just wait 'till he's sitting on the bench.
  
• He's overpaid, no doubt.
  
• Major downgrade in center
  
• Likely ends the Angels search for a third-baseman

Heavy fog and thunderstorms late Sunday forced the Angels' charter to be diverted from Toronto to Detroit.

The Angels reached Detroit about 2 a.m. Monday and, because of landing restrictions in Toronto, sat on the tarmac for four hours. They finally flew to Toronto, arriving at 6:30 a.m. and reaching their hotel at 8 a.m.

Emerging as a hero in the Angels' travails was traveling secretary Tom Taylor, who made a middle-of-the-night food run to White Castle in Detroit and returned with 240 burgers and 25 bags of fries, a $325 order that caught employees of the burger joint off guard.

"I walked in, the person at the counter said, 'Good morning,' and I said, 'I need eight 30-packs of burgers and 25 fries,' " Taylor said. "The guy behind the counter said, 'Hold on a sec.' Then the manager came up and took the order, and they made them in about 35 minutes."

"I don't know how many times I've been hit and there's been no retaliation," Guillen said. "I'm giving everything I got every day, playing hurt, playing in pain, and trying to win some games, and we don't get no help from nobody."

"That's something between the hitters and the pitchers," Washburn said. "That's something we'll discuss."

After the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, an Act was passed by the Parliament of Canada establishing a legal holiday on May 24 in each year (or May 25 if May 24 fell on a Sunday) under the name Victoria Day...

...From 1953 to 1956, the Queen's birthday was celebrated in Canada on Victoria Day, by proclamation of the Governor General, with Her Majesty's approval. In 1957, Victoria Day was permanently appointed as the Queen's birthday in Canada. In the United Kingdom, the Queen's birthday is celebrated in June.

• Aaron Sele continues to put up unimpressive peripherals (19/14 K/BB, 1.36 WHIP), yet his ERA is still a very impressive 3.05 and, most importantly, he continues to win (3-0 in 5 starts). He's constantly worked himself into- and out of- jams. There's only one word you can use to describe all of Sele's starts this year: gutsy. This guy has got balls of steel.
  
  
• Vlad Guerrero = wow. That homerun was just... wow. He didn't even have his feet set! He followed through with just one hand! He was leaning backwards! That is not right. Wow.
  
  
• David Eckstein had been doing his best to make me look like a fool. I went out on a limb during spring training and prognosticated a comeback season for Eck. Unfortunately Eck stumbled out of the blocks (actually, it's more like he was shot with the starter's pistol), and after 34 games he was posting an anemic line of .220/.281/.246.
  
  Well, here it is, just nine days later, and Eck is riding a nine-game hitting streak (during which his average is a scorching .452) and his numbers have improved to .268/.333/.307. Those are still horrible, but you've got to be impressed with the turnaround. Welcome back to the land of the living, David!
  
  
• Can we please shut the hell up about Casey Kotchman's little strikeout-less streak!? It's not interesting in the least. In fact, it's just about the most inane record I've ever heard of. Besides, it's pretty hard to strikeout when you always hit the first pitch.
  
  
• Jeff Shaw thinks a Scott Speizio for Casey Kotchman deal sound interesting. Yeah, maybe too a Mariners fan it does...
  
  
• There's been a bit of a flap over the lack of racial diversity on FOX's "The OC." Apparently there are zero black characters of note on the teen-drama. I've only seen bits-and-pieces of the show, but it actually strikes me as a fairly accurate depiction of the area.
  
  This is a true story: I grew up in roughly the same area of Orange County in which the show takes place. My high school was a rather large one, with about 2,000 students, of which only 5 or 6 were African American. And this wasn't the 40's or 50's- this was just a couple of years ago. Parts of Orange County are that homogeneous.
  
  So maybe the answer is adding a bit of racial diversity to the county itself, not just shoehorning a few token black characters into the show.
  
  And yes, the girls really do look like that...

• The Angels are one of several teams pursuing clubhouse cancer Raul Mondesi, according to the OC Register.
  
  I like the sentiment, but I can't support this move. There's no doubt that the Angels could use his bat. My objection is to changes that would have to be made defensively. I would assume that he would play in left, which would move Guillen to center. Guillen in center would be the worst move the Angels could possibly make.
  
  I suppose he could play DH until Salmon and Anderson get back, but then it's back into the field. The only place the Angels can add offence without having an adverse effect on defense is at third. Unfortunately there aren't a lot of great options at third right now.
  
  
• To that point, we have this bit of information. The much-coveted Aaron Boone thinks he'll be ready for action in two months. He hasn't gotten any calls from the Angels, but it's hard to imagine that Bill Stoneman isn't interested. Two months is a bit longer then I'd prefer to wait, but Boone doesn't come with any of the baggage that Mondesi does.
  
  
• Finally, some good news from the injury front. The club finally got one of it's top pitching prospects back when Ervin Santana threw 71 pitches for AA Arkansas. He had been suffering from tendinitis in his pitching shoulder since spring training. Bobby Jenks, the Angels other top pitching prospect, still looks to be a long way off from returning to action.

• Losing two of three to the Yankees isn't unexpected. The way the Angel's lost those two was. I don't know about you, but it didn't seem as though the Halos put up much of a fight.
  
  
• It's now open season on Bartolo Colon. This was his fourth terrable start in his last five outings. His ERA is now 5.12. He has shown no control whatsoever. He doesn't even look like he gives a damn when he's on the mound. Ladies and gentlemen, hunting season has begun:
  
  Bartolo Colon is so fat every time he turns around it's his birthday.
  
  Bartolo Colon is so fat he took a correspondence course in aerobics.
  
  The guy carbo-loads for telethons.
  
  He has more pounds than the London Mint.
  
  He's been stuck to more chairs than used bubble gum.
  
  Ok, I'm done.
  
  
• Was that Ramon Ortiz? No, couldn't have been. Someone pitched four scoreless innings with six strikeouts, but I don't know who...
  
  
• Just our luck- David Eckstien finally starts hitting, and Figgins and Guerrero go ice-cold. This lineup is held together with Band-Aids and chewing gum, so we can't afford to have one guy not hitting.
  
  
• Someone asked me what I would do if I were in Bill Stoneman's shoes, and it really got me thinking. First off, I try to find a buyer for Erstad. Obviously I don't expect much of anything in return, but if we could just get $2-3 million of his contract back we could use it to sign Aaron Boone for the rest of the season. When Boone is healthy he goes to third. That moves Figgins to center, which moves Garret Anderson to first base. GA to first is a move that I felt was the best option over the off-season, and it makes more sense everyday.
  
  Maybe I even deal Sele as well, using that cash to get a center fielder. In that case Figgins would move to short and Kevin Gregg would move into the rotation.
  
  
• What was up with the all beach-balls in the ninth inning? Was that some kind of mass protest, Anaheim style?

• Boo to Alfredo Amezaga, who came into the game as a pinch runner and was promptly picked off. Though he did partially make up for his gaff with good defensive play and a sacrifice bunt later in the game.
  
  When he got picked off first I had a flash back to the days of Julio Ramirez. In one game I remember well (mostly because I was in attendance), Ramirez entered in the late innings to run for Tim Salmon. Like Amezaga, he was caught napping and was picked-off. The following inning saw him make both a fielding error on a routine fly ball and a throwing error (this from the guy who Mike Scioscia called the best defensive outfielder he's ever seen) which lead to several runs being scored. In the next inning he comes to the plate in an obvious bunt situation. What does he do? Pops it up, of course! Needless to say, that was one of his final games with the Angels. But I digress...
  
  
• Boo to Mike Scioscia for putting Amezaga in that situation in the first place. Why are you pinch-running for Jose Guillen? He's not the fleetest of foot, but he's not Bengie Molina by any means. And why run Amezaga? He's not all that good a base runner. Of course that's blatantly obvious to Mike now.
  
  
• Boo to Mike Scioscia, once again, for attempting two straight squeeze plays with Jose Molina on third. Thankfully Jose had the presence of mind not to go on contact on Eckstien's bunt. I'm sure Mike will set him straight tomorrow...
  
  
• Boo (reluctantly) to Chone Figgins, who looked completely lost at third. A collective gasp went over the crowd every time a ball was hit to third. I don't think he made a single throw that Kotchman didn't have to scoop, jump, or stretch for. I know he's got the arm, but I think he's over-thinking his throws a bit.
  
  
• Cheers to Casey Kotchman, who is looking slick with the glove. The scouting reports on this guy's defense were right. There's gold in his future.
  
  On an unrelated note, I think a bit too much Vlad Guerrero and not quite enough Troy Glaus is rubbing-off on Casey. He's swinging at everything! Where's this great eye I've been hearing about?
  
  
• Cheers to Adam Riggs, who came up with his first hit of the season (though not of his career, as the guy behind me was adamant) when it was needed most. No offence, but I hope we never have to see you again.
  
  
• Cheers to Aaron Sele, who put together yet another ballsy performance. 6 innings of shutout baseball against the Evil Empire is mighty impressive- even if it was done with smoke and mirrors.
  
  
• Cheers to Jeff DaVanon, who is stepping up, both offensivly and defensivly, when the team needs him. And boy, do we ever need him.
  
  
• And finally, cheers to Vlad Guerrero, who was, well... just Vlad. A couple of hits and a game-saving outfield assist is just another day at the office for this guy.

Shawn Green's career is [not] over. The article says that Green will have a recurring problem with his shoulder, a problem that is worth knowing about for people who have read that surgery was successful and are expecting Green to return to peak performance - 40-plus homers per year. The article does not say anywhere that Green will perform worse than he did in 2003 - in fact, with proper pain management, he could perform better.

"If you had to pick the AL Cy Young winner right now - the one pitcher you would want to start one game you had to win - would you pick Kevin Brown? Pedro Martinez? Curt Schilling? Who?"

To which John Kruk replied, "Jarrod Washburn".

Harold Reynolds agreed, saying "It's all about the wins. ERA can get distorted when pitchers have to pitch with a lead. They pitch to the score. Man, I can't believe I'm actually agreeing with Kruk."

• Garret Anderson (mysterious back pains): The Angels still don't have a clue what's causing the pain or how best to treat it. GA is eligible to return from the DL now, but seeing as he hasn't so much as touched a bat in four weeks, his return still looks to be a long way off.
  
  
• Brendan Donnelly (elbow tendinitis): Stoneman claims the elbow pains Donnelly felt during his rehab assignment nothing serious and the course of action appears to be several days of rest. The Angels hope he'll be back on his rehab any day- I'm not holding my breath.
  
  
• Darin Erstad (hammy): An MRI uncovered two "significant" strains in Erstad's right hamstring. He'll be out at least a month. Take your time Darin- no rush!
  
  
• Tim Salmon (knee): Finally, some good news! Salmon starts a three-day rehab assignment in Rancho Cucamonga today. Expect him back in the lineup for the Yankees series in Anaheim.
  
  
• Troy Glaus (shoulder, knee): Troy had a MRI on Thursday, which reveled a strained right shoulder and a medial collateral sprain of his right knee. The shoulder injury is being described as "similar" to the injury that ended his season last year. I fully expect to see Troy placed on the DL when Salmon is activated.

• All things considered, one out of three in New York is pretty damn good. No matter what the final scores looked like it was a very evenly matched series- and that bodes well for the Angels, who are sure to be healthy someday. Right?
  
  
• People have been piling on me for my "DaVannon can be a star" remark, so I feel I must clarify. First off, I was very apprehensive about using the word "star." I wanted to say that he could be a good everyday player, but that's already true. What's better then a good everyday player? A star, that's what.
  
  Also, I think I need to point out that the operative word was "could." Anything could happen. Monkeys could fly out of my butt. California could fall into the ocean. Ramon Ortiz could win the Cy Young. You get the picture?
  
  Finally I think some people don't realize just how good DaVannon is hitting this season. He's suddenly discovered how to draw walks and is getting on base at a Bonds-esque clip. DaVannon's OBP is a ridiculous .426! Sure the sample size isn't huge, but 27 games aren't anything to sweep under the rug. He's also slugging .523 and Hardball Times has him creating 8 runs/game. That ties him with Vlad for third best on the club.
  
  Yes, the sample size is small, but the fact remains that Jeff has drastically changed his approach at the plate. He's added a terrific eye to already decent power and speed. So now he has power, eye, speed, and a cannon for an arm. That's already four tools, so all he needs is to improve his instincts in the field and he'll be the definition of a five-tool player.
  
  
• This is off topic, but how bout' them Lakers!? I fancy myself more of a Clippers fan, but I was living and dying by those last couple of minutes. They tried their best to give the game to the Spurs, but still managed to come out on top. Can you imagine if this team would show up for the whole game? They'd be unstoppable.

"It was a simple double play. I thought he could've gone over the top and got it without going low," Torre said of Amezaga. "I'm not saying he wanted to hurt him, but I don't think it was necessary do that."

"I don't know why he had to get down that low," Quantrill said. "Jorge isn't a world-class sprinter. I'm all for playing some hardball, I've got no problem with that, but I do wonder why. It was an easy double play. I'd have to see the replay, but I didn't like it the way I saw it the first time."

"I told him if he wanted to join me on the mound and discuss it, he could. If he doesn't want to, he can shut the hell up."

• Casey Kotchman looks a bit rattled at the plate and in the field (of course who could blame him? Playing in Yankee Stadium at the tender age of 21 would freak out just about everyone.), yet he's managed to be fairly productive in his first three games. I'm not seeing any evidence of that great eye we've been hearing so much about, but he has shown a quick, smooth swing and a fair bit of pop. Hopefully he'll calm down once the team leaves New York so he can claim the first base job for good.
  
  
• Aaron Sele is quickly gaining my total confidence as fifth starter. He has a 2.65 ERA in his first three starts, and his performance tonight was as gutsy as it gets. I said previously that as long as he has that curveball he'd be fine. Well, he's got that curveball.
  
  
• Jose Guillen is on the hottest run I've ever seen. He was 2-4 tonight with a homerun and a walk. He missed his second homerun by about three inches in the ninth.
  
  
• Jeff DaVannon scares me in the field. I don't think I've ever seen him read a ball correctly off the bat and he always takes the scenic route. He also made a bonehead baserunning mistake in the first (which would cost the Angels a run on Guillen's homer). Jeff needs to play smarter baseball. With his obvious talents (and his new found plate-patience) he could be a star if he would just get his act together.
  
  
• Ramon Ortiz pitched a scoreless ninth in his first relief appearance since being dropped from the rotation. He still got hit hard, but he also looked relitivly comfortable on the mound for the first time this season. Could he find new life in the bullpen? No... but it's a happy thought.
  
  
• Shane Halter is completely worthless. Is it just me, or is glove getting worse with each passing day?
  
  
• That should learn Jorge Posada to get down next time he slides into second. If you have the right to maim a middle infielder it's only fair that they have the right to defend themselves.

• Someone finally scored on Frankie Rodriguez. In related news, hell has frozen over. That brings his ERA to a still filthy 0.50.
  
  
• The Yanks also scored on Kevin Gregg. Ok, screw hell freezing over- I think it just started snowing in Compton!
  
  
• Bengie Molina's homer off Rivera surprised everyone, most of all Rivera himself. It appered to be a lazy fly to right, but it kept going and going, over Sheffield's head and over the wall. KCAL got a great shot of Rivera, who had stepped off the mound as if he had just gotten an out, spinning around when he heard the crowd groan in agony. He very clearly mouthed the words "What the f**k?" Not out of frustration, but as if to say, "What happened? I wasn't paying attention."
  
  
• What was going through DaVannon's head when he jumped for Sheffield's liner in the bottom of the tenth? He had no chance of catching it, and if he had played it off the wall he would have easily held A-Rod at third. Instead the ball ricochets off the wall and by him, allowing the winning run to score. Good thinking there Jeff! Way to keep your head in the game!
  
  
• Casey Kotchman got his first big-league knock today. That means he's just 2,999 away from 3,000 hits.
  
  
• Percy looked a little too amped-up tonight. He was flying wide open and was missing everything up-and-away. I know Troy hates it, but tonight would have been a good time for a mound visit from Buddy Black.

.583 BA, .643 OBP, 1.125 SLG, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 27 TB, 1 sprained ankle and 1 sprained knee

I was at yesterday's Salt Lake Stingers/Tacoma Rainiers game in Tacoma, sitting right down the left-field line in the first row, in front of the Salt Lake bullpen. I was able to watch a number of guys throw, including Bootcheck, Turnbow, Mizuo, and Donnelly. During Donnelly's warm ups in the pen, he visited with a trainer, complaining about elbow pain. He eventually came into the game anyway, walked the first batter he faced, and threw 3 pitches to the next batter before departing due to elbow soreness. I couldn't get much more info than that, so it's hard to even speculate on his return.

"One view is that Bush went into Iraq for oil. About 60 percent of the French and Germans believe that, says Pew. Another view is that U.S. foreign policy has fallen hostage to Bush's religious fervor. Militarism becomes a heavenly mission."

"We've been much more used to a distinction between the state and God," says John Palmer of the European Policy Centre, a Brussels think tank. It's "deeply worrying ... for the major superpower to be deriving its strategy from fundamentalism."

1B, Casey Kotchman (1)
C, Jeff Mathis (6)
OF, Nick Gorneault (13)
3B, Mike Eylward (16)
3B, Dallas McPherson (19)
SS, Alberto Callaspo (20)
CF, Tommy Murphy (25)

Asked if he'd rather hit .220 with 100 RBIs or .320 with 50 RBIs, he didn't even need a moment to contemplate the answer.

"There's not even a question," said Erstad, who extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a fifth-inning single Thursday night. "Hitting .220 with 100 RBIs is productive. There are benchmarks, certain statistics you want to get to, but what it comes down to is RBIs and scoring runs."

"[Bengie Molina's] got a lot of grief from people blaming his hammies on his weight," backup catcher Josh Paul told the newspaper. "I think that's a specious argument at best. People have gone down before that are specimens."

1. Grab the nearest CD.
2. Put it in your CD-Player (or start your mp3-player, I-tunes, etc.).
3. Skip to Song 3 (or load the 3rd song in your 3rd playlist)
4. Post the first verse in your journal along with these instructions. Don’t name the band, nor the album-title.

Erstad on third, one out and Vlad at the plate. Sinkerballer (and former Halo) Al Levine is on the mound. Physioc: "Vladimir likes his pitches low." I was under the impression that Vladimir liked his pitches IN THE BALLPARK.

Congrats to John Lackey on a start that was an unequivocal success. I've been getting used to describing Lackey's starts as "good, but..." He has suffered through a troubling lack of strikeouts this year (he only had five in four starts), but he managed to fan five in his seven innings of work against the Twinks.

Also, congrats to Matt Hensley, who was called up when Tim Salmon was placed on the 15-day DL. It's Matt's first stint with the big club, and here's hoping he gets a bit of PT. He's just one of a number of middle-relief prospects in the Halo's system. Hensley was lights-out in Salt Lake, striking out 17 and walking just three in 15.1 innings. He also sported a miniscule 0.59 ERA.

Frankie Rodriguez made an appearance for the third straight day today. I understand the decision, but that is quite a bit of strain on a young set-up man. It reminds me of his 2002 playoff run when he appeared in just about every Angels victory. It had reporters such as Peter Gammons saying, "This kid is something special. So when's the surgery?"

Is it time for Scioscia to consider limiting Percival's back-to-backs? He had a very noticeable drop in velocity today after he earned his easiest save of the season on Saturday. It's the third time this season he's appeared in back-to-back games, and he's struggled mightily in two of those games. It's probably just a coincidence, but it's something to watch.

UPDATE: Michael H. points to this Los Angeles Times article, in which Percy claims his loading the bases was all an elaborate plan. Makes you wonder what Ramon Ortiz has up his sleeve...

It looks as though Japanese lefty Yoshitaka Mizuo is a step further from becoming the only southpaw in the Angel's pen. He was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Matt Hensley. He shouldn't have a problem clearing waivers and will stay in Salt Lake, where he as been unimpressive in three appearances.