Halos Heaven

Pineiro neutralizes potent Yankees - angelsbaseball.com
Claiming his first win for the Angels, Pineiro subdued the Yankees with sinking fastballs, sliders and changeups across seven innings, as his own offense came alive and his defense excelled in a 5-3 decision. "I definitely had good movement, keeping it down in the zone. [Catcher Jeff] Mathis called a great game, and we made some good plays in the field. You're constantly thinking any of those guys -- one through nine -- can hurt you. Throw the sinker and trust your stuff."

Pineiro recorded 21 outs, 18 were either by strike out (7) or groundball (11).  Pineiro's ERA stands at 2.77 after two starts.

Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees - April 15, 2010 - MLB.com Preview
In the finale of a three-game series between the Angels and Yankees on Thursday -- Jackie Robinson Day -- two pitchers will appear for the first time this season. Angels left-hander Scott Kazmir and Yankees righty Phil Hughes will both see their first action of 2010 in the rubber match at Yankee Stadium. Kazmir, who started the season on the 15-day disabled list with left shoulder stiffness, will be activated before the game, taking the spot of fill-in Matt Palmer.

Scott "I'm not John Lackey" Kazmir makes his first start of the 2010 season today.

Angels victims of Yankee Stadium strike zone? - The Orange County Register
Alex Rodriguez was the tying run when he faced Kevin Jepsen in the eighth inning Wednesday. With the count full, Jepsen appeared to hit the outside corner at the knees with a 97-mph fastball. Replays (including an overhead view) seemed to support a strike call. But home-plate umpire Dan Bellino called it a ball, sending Rodriguez to first and bringing Robinson Cano to the plate as the go-ahead run. "Let’s put it this way — it was right where I wanted to throw it," Jepsen said. "I felt like it was a good pitch."  (Scioscia gave the ump one of these looks)

and....

Santana upset by umpire - Angels blog : The Orange County Register
"Sometimes, when [Andy] Pettitte was pitching, he’d throw a fastball a little up and he’d call it. He’d throw it a little down and he’d still call it," Santana said. "When I do the same thing, he didn’t give me the call. That’s because it’s the Yankees. That happens every time we play the Yankees or Boston." Do you agree? Here are all the pitches that Wendelstedt called for Santana yesterday, and below that are all the pitches he called for Andy Pettitte:

OC Register's Bill Plunkett and Sam Miller look at the strike zone at Yankee stadium.  The second link has a couple Pitch FX charts that do show a slight difference between Pettitte's strike zone and Santana's.  Maybe this is one of the reasons games seem to last longer in New York.

MORE LINKS AFTER THE BREAK...

Angels closer Brian Fuentes on DL -  FOX Sports on MSN
Los Angeles Angels closer Brian Fuentes was placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a strained back, the latest hiccup in the team's slow start. The move was made retroactive to April 6. Fuentes, a four-time All-Star who hasn't pitched since opening day, said he tweaked his back while lifting weights last week. The stiffness left him unable to throw until he played catch Tuesday and Wednesday.

This came out of nowhere.  Probably because the Angels haven't had a lead to protect in the last few days.

Evans takes demotion in stride - angelsbaseball.com: News
Angels outfielder Terry Evans learned after Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Yankees that he was heading back to Triple-A Salt Lake, having been designated for assignment to make room on the 25-man roster for the return of Scott Kazmir to the starting rotation on Thursday night in the Bronx. "I found out I cleared waivers Monday, and the first time, you have to take the assignment when you're designated," Evans said. "I'm learning some new things about the process. "I'll go to Salt Lake and play. I'm familiar with the Pacific Coast League. It's disappointing, but it's part of the game."

Evans clearing waivers could mean either one of two things; 1)  We fans over-value Angel players to the extent that we feel there'd be no way any would clear waivers as Evans just did, or; 2)  Every other team is already set and had no room for a player such as Evans on their major league roster.  I hypothesized about this a couple weeks ago that the reason Willits went on the DL was so Evans could start the season in Anaheim and other teams would be less likely to claim him once he was exposed via waivers.

Mike Scioscia voices displeasure over Angels' disappointing start - Jon Heyman - SI.com
"Some things have happened this week that have been uncharacteristic, and some things have snowballed.'' That was never more obvious than in the fourth inning, when Kendry Morales, forgot how many outs there were and nearly got doubled off second base on a routine fly ball to right field by Jeff Mathis. Morales was almost to third base before frantically running back toward second. Morales would have been out if New York's Nick Swisher had made a decent throw to shortstop Derek Jeter, who was awaiting what seemed to be a sure double play at second base.

Power or Patience: Abreu’s Three-Year Trend - FanGraphs Baseball
I doubt we’ll see either increase over the past few seasons, but a player like Abreu might be able to draw walks in 14.1 percent of his plate appearances while slugging somewhere around .450. That, I think, would make the Angels feel good about handing him that new contract in November.

Someone mark the calendar, a positive sabermetric analysis about the Angels!

Angels' faith in Scot Shields misplaced - HardballTalk - NBC Sports
It's Shields who looks like the biggest problem in the Angels pen right now. It's not that he's necessarily worse than Francisco Rodriguez or Brian Stokes. But the problem is that Mike Scioscia is treating him as a valuable setup man when he barely rates as a fringe middle reliever.  The fact is that Angels GM Tony Reagins blew it over the winter. It's typical that the Halos have avoided minor league free agents, particularly on the pitching side of the equation, as they usually prefer their internal replacements. But it was obvious that the team was terribly lacking in the depth department going into the spring. The Angels should have been all over guys like Kiko Calero, Joaquin Benoit, Joe Nelson, Ron Mahay and others who slipped through the cracks over the winter, but they didn't have a single veteran non-roster pitcher compete for a bullpen job this spring.

Interesting tid-bit about no vets at spring training, but if a non-roster invitee had made the team, who would he have replaced?  The first player to come to mind is Stokes, but he is out of options.  Shields has at least earned a chance to start the season in the majors.

BLS poll: Do you approve of Pierzynski acting his way onto first? - Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports
With no outs in the top of the eighth inning, Romero threw a ball in the dirt near the feet of the White Sox catcher. Replays showed the ball bouncing off the ground, but Pierzynski immediately responded by putting on an hyped-up hobbling act as if he had been hit. You can watch the play here to judge for yourself and if you don't think the above image is conclusive — it was the best frame I could screen cap — make sure to note that even White Sox homer Hawk Harrelson admits that the ball never hits Pierzynski.

Once a douchebag, always a douchebag?

www.ThanksMarvin.com · Thanks Marvin Miller
This web site was spawned by a few older major leaguers who understand what Marvin Miller has meant to all former and current Major League baseball players. We are not techies, so please excuse the fact that the site is a work in progress. As the director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (from 1966 to 1983), Marvin lead us from a history of no rights to parity with the owners. Most of us were very respectful of our opportunity to play a sport for a living, and certainly didn’t want to offend our employers. But Marvin pointed out how grossly unjust the situation was. With grace and dignity, he slowly but surely led us into a position of equality.

A website created by a few retired players to show appreciation to Marvin Miller for all he's done for their bank accounts.

Iraq vet John Stone heroically saves prominent Bronx rabbi's wife from choking at Yankee Stadium - NY Daily News
He's a true angel out of left field. An Army medic who served in Iraq became a hero in the stands at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday when he saved a prominent Bronx rabbi's wife choking on a piece of kosher London broil. John Stone, 38, of Montville, Conn., sprang into action when he spotted Toby Weiss gagging about 15 rows in front of him in the section behind home plate.

Great story, but I have one question...Where the hell did she get London Broil at a baseball game? 

High school baseball game ends 45-0 - FOX Sports on MSN
Ben Wales had a game he won't soon forget. The same goes for Phelps High School in northeast Wisconsin. Wales went 6-for-6 while hitting for the cycle, drove in 12 runs and had a no-hitter going as Three Lakes defeated Phelps 45-0 on Tuesday in a game called after three innings. Three Lakes coach Jeff Liebscher told the Rhinelander Daily News he felt bad for Phelps after 22 runs, 23 hits, 21 walks and 11 steals in the first inning alone. Fortunately for Phelps, none of it will count. Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association spokesman Todd Clark told The Associated Press that, according to national rules, the game will be ruled a forfeit because it failed to reach the required number of innings.

How shitty must it have been for the players on the losing team?  Someone needs to tell the team's coach that it's a bush league move to steal with such a huge lead (11 steals!).  I realize it was a high school game, but someone needed a pitch to the ribs.

April 15 - BR Bullpen
1947 - 28-year-old Jackie Robinson makes a historic debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African-American to play major league baseball in the 20th century. Robinson goes 0-for-3 in his debut, but scores the deciding run in a 5 - 3 victory over the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field.
1958 - Major league baseball comes to California as the transplanted Giants and Dodgers play the first game on the Pacific Coast. The Californian contest at San Francisco's Seals Stadium sees Ruben Gómez blanking Los Angeles and Don Drysdale. Daryl Spencer hits the first home run and Orlando Cepeda also homers in the Giants' 8 - 0 victory in front of 23,448 fans.
Uh, happy birthday?
1978 - Milton Bradley, outfielder; All-Star
Halos Heaven members ReggieBullits and Fred Fredrix get to share their birthday with Mr. Happy!

First game of the year no Angel pitcher gave up a home run: