Up next for Angels: Friday at Oakland -- latimes.com
Jered Weaver vs. Gio Gonzalez.
Millwood, Rangers wallop Angels - FOX Sports on MSN
"I didn't want to come out. This was the last chance I got to play for a long time, so I wanted to stay out there as long as I could," Millwood said. "We get paid to win ballgames, and that's the way we've got to approach it. This place has been pretty miserable the last three days, so getting a win today was pretty important for us."
Angels' Ervin Santana will start the playoffs in the bullpen -- latimes.com
Scioscia juggled his pitching staff to have John Lackey, Jered Weaver, Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders start the final four regular-season games in that order, and that's likely to be the way they will pitch against Boston.
Angels-Athletics Preview - FOX Sports on MSN
The Athletics finished in a tie for the majors' fifth-best record in September at 17-10, winning two of three last weekend in Anaheim. Oakland, though, has dropped four straight after a 4-2 loss in Seattle on Thursday and has clinched its first last-place finish since 1998.
Team Reports - CBSSports.com
--The Angels are only the second team since the 1930 Cardinals to have 10 players drive in 50 or more runs. The 2007 Tigers also had 10 players with 50 or more RBIs (including OF Craig Monroe, who drove in 55 before being traded).
--Angels starting pitchers led the majors with a 2.96 ERA in September. They lowered their season ERA from 5.00 to 4.48 over a 33-game stretch, moving from 12th among American League starting staffs to fifth.
Angels set franchise record for runs scored - angelsbaseball.com
The Angels set a franchise record for runs scored in a season when Terry Evans scores on Kevin Millwood's wild pitch
Video highlights from yesterday's game:
Davis homers; exchanges words with Lackey - MLB.com
Chris Davis and John Lackey exchange words Davis rounds the bases after homering in the top of the second inning
Ted Williams' frozen head for batting practice at cryogenics lab: book
Williams' severed head was then frozen, and even used for batting practice by a technician trying to dislodge it from a tuna fish can.
Fans gear up for ALDS after home finale | angelsbaseball.com: News
"It's like basketball. You guys are like the sixth man," said Figgins. "We couldn't do it without you." Hunter elicited the loudest cheers when he announced that the Angels are "the team to beat" and that the team is going to the playoffs "in Nick Adenhart's honor."
Cardinals, Red Sox, Yankees have postseason pitching edge - Tim Marchman - SI.com
I've ranked the eight playoff staffs here by how well their best pitchers have done against strong offenses down the stretch. Specifically, I looked at how each team's top three starters and top two relievers have pitched since Aug. 16 against offenses that rank in the top five in their league in runs per game. These criteria are debatable to be sure, but they at least shed some light on how the pitchers who will actually be throwing important innings have performed lately against playoff-caliber offenses.
Angels set franchise runs record - angelsbaseball.com: News
A day after Evans drove home the Angels' 866th run on Wednesday to tie the franchise record for runs in a season, Evans scored the record-breaking run in the third inning of Thursday's 11-3 loss to the Rangers on a wild pitch by Kevin Millwood.
Angels Plans On Turning Tragedy Into Glorious Times - Bleacher Report
In front of a loud crowd wearing seas of red, the Angels were angling to sustain another division title, emotionally reflecting back on a shocking tragedy that left teammates numb, stunned and speechless.
October 2 - BR Bullpen
Events, births and deaths that occurred on October 2.
1966 - Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers wins his 27th game of the season and the final game of his career. Koufax's 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies clinches the National League pennant for the Dodgers.
0 recs | 39 comments
If I hear one more thing about Boston's dominate starting pitching...
I’m becoming a Pirates fan
RexTookMyStash - October 2, 2009
That's pretty much the same
As threatening to jump off a building. Don’t do it, man!!!
Gorbachav5 - October 2, 2009
I have always thought that if I could have owned the Pirates, I could have saved America.
Stirrups - October 2, 2009
hah :)
SenorChuckles - October 2, 2009
Boston’s starting pitching is no better than ours. There I said it.
firebird81 - October 2, 2009
Our starters have had superior FIP since Kazmir joined the team...
Nashdiesel - October 2, 2009
Angels World View
At one point in Thursdays game the Angels lineup had players representing six different countries in the lineup.
USA – Mathis, Wood, Willits and Evans
Australia – Thompson
Cuba – Morales
Mexico – Sandoval
Venezuela – Izzy and Rivera
Dominican Republic – Guerrero
Anybody know the MLB record for this?
Angelwisdom - October 2, 2009
wait
we had 10 guys in the lineup? that’s gotta be some kinda record too?
I gotta check the box score to grasp that one… I’m sure it’s one of those baseball anomalies I just don’t realize without thinking in depth about it. was there a PR? but still.
Brian S (brianguy) - October 2, 2009
Thompson is a pitcher
halofan4life - October 2, 2009
Math
Nine on the field and a DH = 10.
Angelwisdom - October 2, 2009
duh
I knew I was being idiotic
Brian S (brianguy) - October 2, 2009
I think it's a mistake
of waiting until game 3 to use Kazmir.
I’m not a fan of the 3-5 being hunter vlad and rivera.
I’m not a fan of Mathis starting or using Willits as a defensive replaement.
No team is perfect, but it sure seems like Scioscia will sacrifice some performance for loyalty, and gift wrapping it with the mythical “continuity” he preaches to hide his fatal flaw.
I do think Lester is the best pitcher in the series, followed closely by Kazmir and Lackey. Out of the 4 starters going for the Angels, I’d say Weaver is the one I expect to do the worst, based solely on his inconsistency second half and the poor bb to k numbers in his last few starts.
Red Sox do hit the Angels projected starters a lot better than the Angels hit the Sox’ projected starters, nothing is a given in the playoffs, but this season has played out like a tear jerking movie, the ending has to go their way doesn’t it?
Angels in 4!
Quinlan's Goofy Swing - October 2, 2009
I’d rather have Kazmir pitching at Fenway than either Lackey or Weaver. The possibility of throwing Kaz a second time in a game 5 is not worth blowing games in Boston, where none of the Angles starters (outside Saunders and Kazmir) has any kind of positive track record. Also, don’t forget that Kaz’s run support with us has been terrible since he’s been here, for whatever reason, but here’s to hoping that doesn’t carry over to the postseason.
Carl G - October 2, 2009
Disagree
on waiting to use Kazmir. Lackey is the Angels’ best pitcher. All the evidence available suggests that to be true, unless you over-weight the 5 starts Kazmir has made, two of which were against a terrible Mariners lineup and one against a pretty bad White Sox lineup. And since Lackey is the Angels’ best pitcher, he needs to be the one to pitch twice in the series, if necessary.
You could argue that Kazmir would be better starting in Angel Stadium, since lefties generally struggle a bit more in Fenway, but that’s mitigated by how absolutely awful Weaver his been in Fenway, historically, versus how good Kazmir has been there. I think it’s a tossup, so I’ll defer to Scioscia.
As for the lineup, I think we’ll see Hunter, Guerrero, Morales, Rivera. And that makes sense since that’s basically the order of OBP’s for those guys. I suppose it would be a tad better to switch Morales and Guerrero, but Scioscia hasn’t done that all year, and the extra pressure on Morales may do more harm. Of course this will be second-guessed as soon as Guerrero grounds into a DP, but the difference is negligible.
Re: Mathis vs. Napoli. If Napoli was on a tear like he was last year, this would definitely be a tough call. But given that Napoli is in a horrendous slump (he may be tired from having caught more this year than any other previous year), I can’t fault Scioscia for wanting the better defense back there. And that makes Napoli available as a pinch hitter later in the game.
Subbing Willits in for defense makes sense in Anaheim, where his increased range over Rivera or Abreu would be valuable. But in Boston, as we saw last year, there’s not as much ground to cover in the corner outfield spots, so having a guy with a strong arm is more advantageous.
I’ll agree with you about Angels in 4!
Gorbachav5 - October 2, 2009
Since August - 2 months worth of starts
Kazmir: 3.52 era, 1.18 whip, 9/10 qs, baa .246 for aug, .216 sept
Lackey: 3.62 era, 1.28 whip, 7/11 qs (not counting the 2 inning start yesterday), baa .261 aug, .263 sept, .400 oct
Weaver: 4.11 era, 1.34 whip, 8/11 qs, baa .253 aug, .282 sept
Quinlan's Goofy Swing - October 2, 2009
2 months worth of starts
is a pretty darn small sample size. John’s been better the rest of the season and it’s not like Kazmir’s all that much better in your sample anyway.
Also, normally I wouldn’t attribute much to this, but Lackey very obviously considers himself an ace – “the ace” of the Angels. Unless Lackey had completely tanked the last month, giving Scioscia a reasonable excuse to start somebody else, I think Big John would be incredibly insulted not to get the ball for game 1. A lot of guys wouldn’t care. Lackey, on the other hand, lets his emotions go wild and I think it would affect his pitching, at least a little bit.
Lackey needs to know that he’s the man. Kazmir, not as much. And given Lackey’s superior season, I’m happy he’s starting game 1.
Gorbachav5 - October 2, 2009
let him start
just have Ervin ready to go just in case
Brian S (brianguy) - October 2, 2009
by the way...
Chone Figgins will be interviewed on the Jim Rome show today sometime between 11am – noon.
Brian S (brianguy) - October 2, 2009
570am
Brian S (brianguy) - October 2, 2009
Somebody still pays Jim Rome to be on the air?
Stirrups - October 2, 2009
Hey I like jim rome
RexTookMyStash - October 2, 2009
I like Jim Rome
in the same way I enjoy having red hot needles poked into my eyeballs.
Gorbachav5 - October 2, 2009
it beat whatever was on AM 830
while at work from 9-12. Arte really needs to fix this.
Brian S (brianguy) - October 2, 2009
AM 830 could have been trying to recreate Backstreet Boys songs using howling dogs and it would have been better than Rome.
Just my opinion, but it’s a very strong one. I can’t stand that a-hole blowhard.
Gorbachav5 - October 2, 2009
UH OH...
Jim Rome throwdown! Let’s get it on!
Higz - October 2, 2009
@ Stirrups/RexTookMyStash
Higz - October 2, 2009
I'm almost sorry I mentioned it
at this point…..!
nothing groundbreaking we didn’t already know, but it was good to hear what Chone had to say on a nationally syndicated platform.
Brian S (brianguy) - October 2, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s8BZjcP3qU
RexTookMyStash - October 2, 2009
you fail ;-)
http://www.halosheaven.com/2009/10/2/1066210/angels-set-runs-record-friday#
opiejeanne - October 2, 2009
Ok, now I failed.
Try it again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s8BZjcP3qU
opiejeanne - October 2, 2009
That's hard to listen to for more than 20 seconds.
opiejeanne - October 2, 2009
You failed more so
RexTookMyStash - October 2, 2009
In what way? My link works.
opiejeanne - October 2, 2009
Most Impressive thing
The biggest surprise, haven’t heard a word about this through the “MAJOR” media outlets
Seik1177 - October 2, 2009
probably won't.
maybe during the ALDS, they might mention it once during game 1, in passing in the middle of the 5th inning. that’s how they are.
Brian S (brianguy) - October 2, 2009
boston's starters have had a good month too
at least the ones the angels will be facing
lester, beckett, dice-k, & bucholz
3.07, 3.66, 1.96, 2.87
Shaping up to be a very even pitching matchup series, unless wakefield or byrd make a start :)
Quinlan's Goofy Swing - October 2, 2009
OT
Hey Rev… what happened the to “AngelsWin got Punk’d” fanshot? too much controversy?
howiestheman - October 2, 2009
It got recommended, yo
Higz - October 2, 2009
ha!
never mind then… nothing to see here. move along. :P
howiestheman - October 2, 2009
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