Halos Heaven

Boston Red Sox beat Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim -  FOX Sports on MSN
The Boston Red Sox made a small attitude adjustment and put up big numbers. Dustin Pedroia's three-run homer capped Boston's seven-run sixth inning and sparked the Red Sox to a 17-8 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.  The Angels have lost four straight for the second time this season. ``This wasn't pretty tonight,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ``Some of the guys on our team are going to have to get into the game and make some adjustments.''

It appears that the word for today is "adjustment".  As in the Red Sox made some, the Angels need to. The Angels have a -37 run differential which ranks them 26th in the majors.  So yeah, something needs to be adjusted.

Here are a couple highlights from last night's game.  Both feature Maicer Izturis, probaby because he was able to adjust from his spot on the bench to Wood's spot at third... Izturis plates a pair of runs in the fourth - Maicer Izturis hits a double to center to plate Kendry Morales and Hideki Matsui in the fourth.  The description for this clip states it's Aybar with the diving stop, but it's Izzy... Aybar makes a nice diving stop - Erick Aybar robs Darnell McDonald of a base hit with a great diving stop.  Adjustments anyone?

Angels-Red Sox Preview  - FOX Sports on MSN
Lester went 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA in his first three starts this April - all Boston losses - but has not allowed a run in two outings since while striking out 18. The left-hander recorded 11 strikeouts and his first win last Wednesday, giving up one hit in seven innings of a 2-0 victory at Toronto.  Lester who hasn't faced the Angels (12-15) in the regular season since April 23, 2008, is 1-1 with a 7.78 ERA in four outings against them. He's faced them three times in the playoffs since then with better results, going 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA.  Los Angeles starter Ervin Santana (1-2, 4.59) has similarly settled down to pitch effectively after some early struggles. He posted a 6.94 ERA while losing his first two outings, but has a 3.32 ERA in his last three starts - each of which has lasted at least six innings.  The right-hander yielded three runs over 6 2-3 innings Wednesday but did not get credit for the Angels' 4-3 win over Cleveland.  Santana is 0-2 with a 6.33 ERA in four regular-season starts at Fenway.

Are the Angels not as good as they thought they were? -  ESPN Los Angeles
BULLPEN - Here's where things start to go seriously askew. Scioscia might have been banking a bit too heavily on the productive return of Scot Shields, because the bullpen has shaped up exactly the opposite of how Scioscia thought it would.
STARTERS - So, how has that five-headed monster fared so far? Not well. Angels starters have a 4.88 ERA, good for 10th in the AL. Opposing batters are hitting a healthy .276 against them. Slow starts from Joe Saunders and Scott Kazmir -- at least, they hope they're just slow starts -- and a so-so month from Ervin Santana and Joel Pineiro mean the Angels can only feel truly confident about their chances when Jered Weaver is on the mound.

There's more to the article about the Angels relievers.  Basically, with the exception of Rodney and Jepsen, they suck because they give up so many base on balls.  The starting pitcher poor performance surprises me.  I truly thought the starters would be the Angels biggest strength this season.  Obviously it's not too late to turn things around, much as the bullpen did last year after starting the season as one of the worst in baseball, but unless this group can make the necessary adjustments (see what I did there?), there doesn't seem to be much within the organization to offer help.

MORE LINKS AFTER THE BREAK...

Hideki Matsui and Kendry Morales switch places in Angels' batting order - latimes.com
Manager Mike Scioscia, looking to shake up the offense after the Angels were swept in a three-game series in Detroit, flip-flopped Hideki Matsui and Kendry Morales in the fourth and fifth spots Monday night.  "We're just looking to take some pressure off Hideki," Scioscia said. "We moved Kendry up, and we'll look at some options as we move forward. It's not necessarily a promotion or a demotion. We're just trying to find some groupings that will work."

Adjustments!  (alright, I'll stop)  As Rev suggested in this post, how about moving Abreu up too?

Phillies fan tasered after running onto field - MLB News - FOX Sports on MSN
A police officer used a Taser gun to apprehend a 17-year-old fan who ran onto the field during a Phillies game Monday night, and the team and the police are investigating whether it was an appropriate use of force. A law enforcement officer and stadium personnel check on a fan who was chased down and Tasered after running onto the field in Philadelphia during the Phillies' 6-3 loss to the Cardinals. The fan, wearing a baseball cap, red T-shirt and khaki shorts, hopped a fence and scurried around the outfield, eluding two security officers in the bottom of the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals. One officer used a Taser and the fan went down in a heap. Several Phillies placed gloves over their faces and appeared to be stifling laughter at the wild scene.

You're going to see this all over the internet today, may as well see it here too.  (And of course, there's a YouTube video: YouTube - Game disruption).  The kid hit the ground faster than a purple prom dress.

Mariners GM Zduriencik looking to improve anemic offense - CBSSports.com Baseball
Zduriencik became an instant Seattle hero for bold moves such as last winter's big trade to acquire 2008 Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee from Philadelphia. He said during a meeting of the Associated Press Sports Editors of the Northwest that he's been on the phone a lot lately with fellow GMs. The calls have been in hopes of acquiring an additional bat for his 11-14 team that entered the season with expectations of its first postseason since 2001 -- but entered Monday next-to-last in the American League with 86 runs scored and last in the AL with just nine home runs. The last homer came more than a week ago.

Let's see you work your magic now Mr. Z.  Pretty easy to swing deals when it's the other team making the call offering you their ace pitcher for some prospects.  So unless you can work the phones for a hitter, you're going to be working the phones to unload that ace...

Could Cliff Lee be deadline bait for the second straight year? -  Yahoo! Sports
Could Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik figure out a way to pony up for Lee after this season? Never say never, but he christened Felix Hernandez as his big-dollar ace this past offseason and spending close to $20 million per season on another pitcher doesn't seem to fit his style. Throw in the fact that the Mariners' lineup doesn't seem up to the challenge of helping the pitching staff keep pace with the AL West over the whole season and I think we're looking at a situation where Zduriencik will feel the need to recoup some of the talent his farm system lost by giving up a prospect package that included Phillipe Aumont and Tyson Gillies.

Wasn't this the team that quite a few "experts" were predicting to win the A.L. west?  It'd be one thing if the Mariners were experiencing injuries to their line-up, but this is the team they were counting on to compete.

Kelvim Escobar's Season Is Over -- MLB FanHouse
The Mets announced on Monday that Escobar will undergo surgery to repair a torn capsule in his throwing shoulder, which will end his season. It's the same shoulder that Escobar needed surgery on following the 2007 season and cost him the last two years. Given Escobar's history, and the fact he's 34 years old, it's questionable whether he'll ever appear in a Major League game again.

The surgery will cost him TWO YEARS?  This is the same injury he had like what, two years ago?  Maybe he should have thought about undergoing the knife back then.  Oh well, Escobar finished his Angels career with a 43-36 record and a 3.60 ERA.

Bowa rips Dodgers' demeanor, Furcal to go on DL - Daily Pitch - USATODAY.com
The Dodgers, tied for last place in the NL West with an 11-14 record, must quickly turn around their fate before they fall into a hole they can't escape. Their starting pitching, which now features two rookies, has been a disaster, yielding a 4.57 ERA. And the bullpen is even worse, yielding a 4.68 ERA, ranking 11th in the league.

Aside from the having two rookies in their rotation, the above clip sounds a lot like the Halos.

May 4 - BR Bullpen
1976 - The Illinois Legislature declares today as Rick Monday Day because of his patriotic gesture on April 25 of saving the American flag from being burned by two spectators at Dodger Stadium.  Bicentennial madness!
1981 - New York Yankees relief pitcher Ron Davis strikes out eight consecutive batters in the 4 - 2 victory over the California Angels at Anaheim Stadium, tying an American League record set by Nolan Ryan.
1989 - Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Junior Felix becomes the 53rd player in major league history to hit a home run in his first at-bat with a third-inning drive off Kirk McCaskill as Toronto loses 3 - 2 to the California Angels in 10 innings.
Happy b-day:
1892 - Ted Turner, manager (d. 1958)  No, not that Ted Turner...although they probably look a lot like each other right about now.
R.I.P.
1991 - Bill MacDonald, pitcher (b. 1929)  No, not that Bill McDonald, although they probably look a lot like...ah, nevermind.

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