Hello old friend

Today reminded me of an old Eric Clapton song… “Hello old friend, it’s really good to see you once again.”

That “old friend” is spring training and Cheryl and I made our way to Tempe, Arizona today to see the Angels take on the Padres and some other “old friends” in former Angels’ pitching coach and now Padre Manager - Bud Black, ex-Angels - Dustin Moseley (who started the game) and Kevin Frandsen (who managed to homer today).



Prior to the game, it was nice to have a chance to welcome back old friend Chris Pettit who is finally healthy. It was actually just great to see all the familiar faces before the game.

During the game, there were a lot of familiar things that we saw and I’m not just talking about the guys now wearing Padre uniforms who once wore red.

There were some all-too-familiar mental mistakes as Bobby Abreu and Jeff Mathis each managed to get picked off first base. Stuff like this makes me crazy – even if it is only spring training. Speaking of which, I noticed Erick Aybar has one stolen base in three tries. Oh boy… that’s an all-too-familiar stat for sure.

On the bright side – Peter Bourjos showed off his speed with his fourth stolen base of the spring and Maicer Izturis also swiped a bag today (his second of the spring).

Brandon Wood said hello to his homerun swing, blasting his third of the pre-season and Bobby Abreu hit a pair of dingers (his first two of the year). The Angels came away with a 7-6 victory, reminding us all of the best old friend of all… winning.

It was especially nice to see Wood having a good day (he also doubled) and made some solid defensive plays. It’s clear there are fans out there who are really tired of seeing him, but a fair number of us also still support him as much as we can. I just can’t help but wonder if he’ll still be an Angel come opening day.

Last, but certainly not least – we also got to see our old friend “Joe” who works at the stadium. Turns out Joe got a little promotion and now works down on the field during games (as opposed to out in the outfield grass). Joe even took one for the team recently; he took a batted ball hit off his back side from none other than Adam Dunn. Ouch. Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt and he told Cheryl and me he was disappointed it didn’t even bruise him; otherwise, he might have asked Dunn to autograph his… well, you know.


Today we also had to bid an offical farewell to an old friend in Scot Shields, who announced his retirement today. I'm going to miss Scot, as yet another link to 2002 hangs up his cleats.

And on that note, we’ll call it a day; after all, it’s been a long one that started with us leaving home around 5:00 a.m. I’m tired, but as is always the case with spring training; it’s a good-kind-of tired. More to come…

Good Wood hunting

Mention the name Brandon Wood to an Angels fan and you’re likely to hear a moan, a scream or a sigh. To say he’s been a disappointment and hasn’t come to close to living up to expectations would be an understatement. He’s been that bad. Most fans can’t understand why he’s still on the roster.

Well, I’m here to tell you why.

I believe that third base is one of the hardest positions to fill in all of baseball. That’s right, really good third basemen are few and far between.

Let’s take a look at some of the players currently covering the hot corner around the league.

There are basically four (possibly five) elite third basemen in all of baseball. They are Evan Longoria (Rays), David Wright (Mets), Ryan Zimmerman (Nationals), Alex Rodriguez (Yankees) and to a slightly lesser degree Michael Young (Rangers). I say slightly lesser because Young’s power numbers are inflated by the ball park that he calls home (16 of his 19 homeruns have come in Arlington).

Wright is signed through 2011 with a club option for 2012; Zimmerman is signed through 2013; Young; and Longoria are signed through 2013 with the Rays holding club options that go through 2016 for the former Dirt Bag.

There are two individuals who have had one or two good years; however, they’re wildly inconsistent from year to year. They are Mark Reynolds (Diamondbacks), currently hitting .214, and Adrian Beltre (Red Sox). More on Beltre in a bit.

Several individuals who are in the twilight of their careers include Scott Rolen (Reds), Chipper Jones (Braves), Aramis Ramirez (Cubs), Mike Lowell (Red Sox), Miguel Tejada, and Pedro Feliz (Astros). Lowell and Tejada (both 37 years old) will be free agents this off season. Ramirez has a $14.6 million player option that he’ll surely exercise.

Some not so impressive names include: Kevin Kouzmanoff (A’s), Edwin Encarnacion (Blue Jays), David Freese/Felipe Lopez (Cardinals), Casey Blake (Dodgers), Jayson Nix (Indians), Chone Figgins (Mariners), Wes Helms (Marlins), Ian Stewart (Rockies), Wilson Betimet (Royals), Brandon Inge (Tigers), Omar Vizquel/Mark Teahan (White Sox), Casey McGehee (Brewers), Chase Headley (Padres), Jorge Cantu (Rangers), Ty Wiggington (Orioles), and Placido Polanco (Phillies).

I think we can agree that none of these names I just mentioned are the kind of corner infielders other teams are clamoring for. We can add the Angels’ Alberto Callaspo to this mix as well and since he’s basically in the same category as those I just mentioned – it would be pointless to acquire any of them.

Young guns trying to make an impact include: Josh Bell (Orioles), Chris Johnson (Astros), Pedro Alvarez (Pirates), Brooks Conrad (Braves) and Danny Valencia (Twins). None of which have set the world on fire as of yet.

Throw in guys like Joe Crede, Josh Fields, Eric Chavez, and Garret Atkins who are either injury prone or have declining skills and you will see that the landscape for a highly productive third basemen isn’t pretty.

So I ask; if not Brandon Wood, who from the list above can the Angels have a reasonable expectancy of acquiring?

Of all the names listed above the only semi-appealing name that will be a free agent in 2011 is Beltre. Now, knowing what we know about Beltre – is anyone willing to give the 32 year old a long term contract? I’d say that’s a risky proposition.

Want to go younger? There are two 29 year old soon-to-be free agents in Wilson Betimet and Jorge Cantu. Pardon me while I yawn. These two look like stop gap answers at best.

So I'll ask again; who can the Angels acquire to play third base? Right now, the current options are either Alberto Callaspo or Kevin Frandsen (if you’re not considering Wood). Neither of whom offer the kind of offensive production the Angels need.

This is why the Angels aren’t giving up on Brandon Wood, nor should they. The Angels have invested a great deal of time in Brandon Wood and there’s an old saying in baseball that no one knows their players better than the team who currently employs them.

Face it; the Angels have never been shy about letting players walk when the time was right (remember the nightmare that was Shea Hillenbrand?). If Brandon Wood doesn’t make it here, I’m willing to venture a guess that he won’t make it any where.

There’s a reason Brandon Wood is still on this roster. He just might be the best option; no matter how much of a long shot some Angel fans think he might be. The key is whether or not the Angels can unlock the potential that he represents. I know, call me Captain Obvious.

Word is that he’ll be playing Winter Ball some place and then come back next year for another go. Now, Wood has not taken well to winter ball in the past, but here’s hoping this year will be different.

All I’m saying is Brandon Wood has to succeed. He has to be the long-term solution at third base. Callaspo is not the answer. At best, he’s a low end insurance policy. Kevin Frandsen? Please, don’t even go there.

I know that Brandon Wood hasn’t given fans much of reason to believe he’s capable of getting the job done. I understand the frustration with him. Never-the-less, I am pulling for the guy. He’s just the kind of guy I can get behind because I like the way he goes about his business. He doesn’t sulk or make excuses. He’s always been nice at spring training and I just like the guy and so does my wife Cheryl.

The way I see it, the Angels must see something there. Mike Scioscia sees something there and for better or worse I’m holding on to that.

Is it Friday yet?

When the news first came out that Jered Weaver wasn’t selected for the All-Star game I was pretty annoyed. I usually don’t get too worked up over the selections because I've come to accept that the way players are picked is flawed in many ways.

That doesn’t mean I want to change anything, mind you; I just recognize the All-Star voting for what it is; an imperfect process.

The way I see it – no matter whose doing the voting, good players are going to be left off the team. Some say we should leave it to the managers – but then you have morons like Joe Girardi picking his own players. How about the writers you say? Well, they can’t even get the Hall of Fame voting right as far as I’m concerned. Everybody has a bias or an agenda of some sort – so I just accept the All-Star game as it is. If the fans mess it up, so be it.

That being said, it doesn’t stop me from being somewhat upset when someone like Weaver is snubbed. Now, I wasn’t annoyed to the point of losing any sleep over Weaver’s slight and although I thought about blogging about it, I didn’t. As things turned out, my procrastination paid off because the great writer - Joe Posnanski summed things up perfectly in his own blog. Trying to top what he had to say would be pointless.

Posnanski wrote this about Weaver, “I just don’t get why people don’t know more about him and appreciate his talents. A good argument could be made that Jered Weaver should be STARTING this All-Star Game in front of the home fans. Instead he’s not even on the team at the moment. That’s just lunacy.”

Now, I’ve been saying for quite some time that I could see Weaver starting the mid-summer classic so I really enjoyed Posnanski’s piece. I invite you to read his whole piece about Weaver because he really sums things up pretty well. I probably would have done a lot more ranting. And he's right - more people should know about Jered. They can start by reading this blog more often. Just saying...

Basically, Posnanski freed me up from having to rant yet again. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy ranting as much as the next guy, but this time my work was done for me. Thanks Joe!

One last thing about the All-Star voting. I can't believe a franchise that draws more than 3 million fans each year can't mobilize themselves some how to vote more Angels into the game. I just don't get it.

Which brings me to an issue that's even bigger than Weaver’s snub and that's the Angels lack of offense and generally horrible play (Besides word is Weaver might still be added to the team).

The Angels have now lost four of their last five games. That’s just not getting it done. They’re limping towards the All-Star break and trail the Texas Rangers by 4.5 games as of this morning (and trail by six games in the loss column which is not good).

I mean look at the 25 man roster and you’ll see names like Paul McAnulty, Cory Aldridge and the like. Now, I happen to appreciate a guy like McAnulty because he’s a Dirtbag; but a roster that boasts power bats like Reggie Willits, Kevin Frandsen and others is not going to generate enough offense to over take Texas.

Add in a bullpen that’s capable of blowing up on any given night and you have a recipe for disaster. I hope Tony Reagins has something up his sleeve. Even though Mike Scioscia is a miracle worker, he needs some help moving forward.

And what’s with Scott Kazmir? My wife Cheryl is not a fan. She regrets the fact that she actually owns a Kazmir T-shirt and any time she hears his name she has a few choice words to say about him (nothing profane mind you). Now, I know a player is pretty awful when it comes to that. Cheryl would never actually boo Kazmir, but she’s not going to be baking him any cookies in the near future either.

I really bought into the whole off season training thing that was reported about in the spring and believed he would get his “swagger back.” Boy was I wrong (not the first time).

I am beginning to think about two words for Kazmir and those words are “head case.” I don’t understand how a guy who’s been in the majors as long as he has, thinks he can get by on two pitches? As Scioscia said in a July 1 piece in the LA Times, “Some of the issues that have plagued Scott," Scioscia said, "have been a little redundant."

Ya think?

While I’m rambling on here – did anyone notice that Rich Thompson got called up? Anyone notice that this happened shortly after I blogged about the need to add him to the 25 man roster? Probably not…

Of course, I probably shouldn’t even mention it myself since his one outing so far wasn’t the best. Oh well… It was basically in mop duty. Who wants to pitch in those situations?

Two more games in Chicago and then on to the hated A’s. Meanwhile the Rangers face off against the two worst teams in the AL – Cleveland and Baltimore. Oh joy…

Speaking of joy – the All-Star weekend is upon us! Finally! Cheryl and I will be up to our eye balls in all things All-Star related. And yes, I’ll be blogging about the whole experience. It all starts Friday with FanFest.

We had an amazing time in 2008 when the All-Star game was at old Yankee Stadium and I’m kind of thinking this can’t possibly live up to that event. Never-the-less, it’s duty that we welcome with open arms and it should be great fun.

Man, I love baseball.

Light it up

Last night Cheryl and I made our way back to Angels Stadium for the first game of the three game Freeway Series against the Dodgers.

It was nice to be back, but where were all the 514 Fanatics? Only a handful of the faithful were on hand and our section was over run with Dodger fans. Not the ideal way to return to the stadium, if you ask me.

In any case – when the Dodgers went up 3-0 early I overheard a Dodger fan telling his wife/girlfriend that “it’s over.” I had to chuckle; although the way Clayton Kershaw was pitching at the time, the same thought might have entered my mind for just a split second only to be followed up with the thought of him eating his words later on.

In the sixth inning, things got interesting. Brandon Wood walked. Howie Kendrick singled and Wood moved to second base. Up came Kevin Frandsen who hit a fly ball to the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp in center field. As the play unfolded, I expected Wood to tag up and move to third, but he never went. The throw to third was off line and Wood would have easily made it which prompted me to wonder what’s going on? This wasn’t Angels baseball. Where’s the aggressive base running? What happened to putting pressure on the defense?

Well as I was questioning the base running of Wood and the Angels, Bobby Abreu stepped up and delivered a three run homerun – making the previous play moot. I have to tell you, I like three run homeruns. Sure beats the heck out of scratching out runs one hit at a time.

In the 7th inning Juan Rivera led off with a double and moved to third on a balk by Kershaw only to get picked off by Russell Martin. Needless to say I wasn’t too happy and thought there went the Angels chance to go ahead. The angst was compounded when Mike Napoli struck out.

Then it happened. Good old fashioned Angels baseball happened. Jeff Mathis and Brandon Wood had back to back singles. That’s right – Brandon Wood! Mathis went first to third on Wood’s single. Now we’re talking.

The Dodgers changed pitchers and Howie Kendrick greeted Ronald Belisario with a run scoring single that also advanced Wood to third base. The Angels were cooking.

Up steps Frandsen. Now, I have to tell you – even though Frandsen has been hitting pretty well since being called up, I have yet to embrace him because his fielding is so horrible (he made his 4th error last night). In any case – Frandsen doubles on a line drive to left field where none other than our old friend Garret Anderson was playing.

Funny thing about Anderson – during the radio broadcast Jose Mota made a comment about how no one has played left field better than GA in all the years he’s been watching the Angels play ball. Well, Mota must have jinxed GA because Frandsen’s double escaped GA for an error and Frandsen ended up on third base. Two runs scored and the Angels were up 6-3.

Now it was time for me to crow a bit and as we were high fiving with Angel fans in our section, I yelled out, “It’s over!” I love it when things work that way.

It wasn’t long after that inning that the Dodger fans behind us left the stadium. True Blue indeed. I’m just saying.

I was wearing my “Light it up” Angels shirt last night and it proved to be an appropriate choice. Can’t wait for more action this evening.

A gift for Charles

Jered Weaver and the Angels don’t know this, but they gave Charles a great farewell gift on Saturday. While Weaver and the Angels were busy shutting out the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field (12-0), Cheryl and I along with family and friends were laying Cheryl’s dad (Charles) to rest.

You see Charles didn’t really like close ball games; he’d prefer to see his Angels win going away. The 12-0 win was absolutely perfect and the kind of game he'd appreciate.

I have this vision of Charles relaxing while watching the game, knowing the Angels bull pen couldn’t even blow this one. It was the most fitting send off the Angels could have given Charles. It makes me smile when I think about it.

And so it begins.

It’s time to get back into the routine of writing for this blog. Charles would appreciate that because he himself was a man of routine. Routine and regimen was a huge part of his life and defined him in many ways. Oh the stories I could tell…

Now, I’ll never live up to Charles’ standard for such things, but I hope to continue contributing to this blog on a more regular basis going forward. It’s been an incredibly tough and emotional few weeks and it will be nice to try and get back to watching Angels baseball and writing once again.

I wonder if I’ll recognize the team? I mean a lineup with Brandon Wood at shortstop, Kevin Frandsen at third base and Mike Napoli at first base is kind of strange. What’s even stranger is that this group has been winning without Erick Aybar, Maicer Izturis and Kendry Morales.

Go figure... Go Halos!

So, we get the Dodgers and Rockies this week and the Rangers and Royals next. It seems like forever since Cheryl and I have been to a ball game and I imagine it will be a little strange when we finally get back to the ball park. I hope the rest of the season proves to be memorable and one we will wish we could have shared with our dads. Then again, in some way we will be sharing it with them – even though they’re not here.

Let’s get after it. There’s a lot of baseball still to be played (90 games for the Angels) and I’m sure I’ll have plenty to say about it all as the season continues to unfold. As always thank you for reading and while I’m at it – thank you for the countless well wishes and prayers over the past few weeks and beyond. I can’t tell you enough how much it was all so appreciated.

In closing, I leave you with this song... it's a personal favorite of Cheryl's and one that will always make her think of her dad.




Go Angels!

Two steps forward, one step back (or is it the other way around?)

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again; 2002 really changed everything. By winning a World Series, the Angels effectively raised the level of my expectations forever. Barring a change in ownership and/or the manager - my expectation (at the minimum) is for a Western Division title every year. In my mind, losing is no longer acceptable and certainly not expected.

In the years following 2002 (other than the hangover year of 2003) the Angels did things that grew my optimism to the point of supreme confidence. Five division championships in six years will do that. You could say that I have been drinking the Angels kool-aid for quite a while now and I know my bias is severe. In fact, I don’t even bother trying to hide it. Even in 2006 (when the Angels failed to make the play-offs) I believed with all my heart that the Angels would find a way to win the west. That’s simply my expectation every year now.

So, where am I going with all of this?

This season has been hard to watch. My confidence is fading and my optimism is being tested. I tried to dismiss the early season struggles and kept repeating the “it’s early” mantra over and over again. I saw a glimmer of hope when the Angels swept the hated A’s this past weekend.

I began to believe the Angels had turned the corner and I could get back to enjoying the winning ways of Angels baseball. Then the Texas Rangers happened and it hit me… I’m no longer confident when I watch this team. Instead, I’m just anxious.

I’m anxious when I watch Brandon Wood come to bat. I get an uneasy feeling in my stomach when balls are hit to the corner outfield positions. I find myself wanting to close my eyes quite a bit. When they get down early, I feel pessimistic and become frustrated in the thought that it’s going to be another long game.

I’m not used to this and it’s just not fun.

Let’s face it; this team is not playing “Angels baseball.” They’re not nearly as aggressive on the bases as we’re accustomed to seeing them be. They’re not stealing bases and they’re not doing the things that put pressure on defenses. To compound matters their defense has been suspect (24th in the major leagues with a .981 fielding percentage) and their pitching has been inconsistent (25th in the major leagues with a 4.72 ERA). They’re not manufacturing runs and seem to make mental errors on a regular basis.

I keep expecting things to change, but every time they take one step forward, they follow up by taking two steps back. I don’t know what it will take to turn things around. Is it a change in mindset or personnel? All know is this team has flaws and those imperfections are being exposed on a regular basis.

The corner outfield positions are slow and un-athletic. In fact the overall team speed is lacking. Kendry Morales, Hideki Matsui, Juan Rivera, Mike Napoli and even Bobby Abreu are slow and none of them are very athletic. Even though Erick Aybar is fast, he’s not getting on base enough and even when he does; he’s not being the catalyst the team needs at the top of their lineup. He’s only stolen five bases in nine attempts. This is what I expected.

Prior to the season and throughout the off season, I raised some concerns about Aybar’s base running and the signing of Hideki Matsui. I proclaimed early on that the team had gotten older and slower and had lost their ace (John Lackey). Despite all of that, I tried to remain hopeful and even projected that an ace would emerge in either Jered Weaver or Scott Kazmir. Weaver (while not perfect) has stepped up to fill that role in my opinion thus far and despite yesterday’s set back is as good as there is in the AL.

The bench is weak and made even weaker by Maicer Izturis’ stint on the DL. And what is it about Izturis that makes him find his way to the DL regularly? This team lacks depth. I mean, when you have to go to career minor leaguers like Michael Ryan and Kevin Frandsen, you know you’re in trouble.

Freddy Sandoval once appeared to be the heir apparent to Robb Quinlan, but he’s only hitting .210 in Salt Lake. Peter Bourjos could certainly do a better job defensively than either of our corner outfielders; however, his offense is not ready for prime time. He has .315 OBP and that simply isn’t good enough.

Why Terry Evans isn’t on the major league roster over Reggie Willits is beyond me; not that he could help this team right now any way.

And then there’s Brandon Wood. Needless to say, the fans are growing impatient with this experiment. One Angel blog – Monkey with a Halo is already calling for the Brandon Wood era to be over. And as much as I’d like to disagree with that sentiment, I can’t blame anyone for being done with Wood.

So what do we do? Can this team still win the west? Can it go beyond that?

For the most part, I believe the personnel are there. Granted the team has holes, but it also has the pieces that can make a real run at a fourth consecutive division title; however, how we get the Angels “into their game” as Mike Scioscia likes to put it is beyond me.

And it’s not like the Angels have the prospects to go out and make a deal either. Granted there are some guys at the lower levels like Mike Trout, but I don’t think the Angels can afford to trade their youth. Now I know as soon as I write that, there will be some faction of the fan base who will disagree. Let me just say that any good organization builds a core from within and trading away those kinds of pieces ultimately results in failure.

The Angels' success – and yes, they’ve been highly successful since 2002 is based on the principle that you build from within first. That not even remotely debatable in my mind.

This roster isn't likely to change much this year. Next year’s another story, but this one has to get it done with the players they have.

I know that games against Texas in May aren’t necessarily important games, but I need to see some signs of life or else I may just lose my mind. It’s not even just the back to back losses in Arlington either; it’s the manner in which this team has gone about their business all year long. It’s been ugly, frustrating to watch and painful to endure.

Catching flack is not as fun as catching a baseball

One has to wonder if Ryan Budde likes living on the edge. I mean, there is no quicker route to Mike Scioscia’s dog house than via the passed ball. Yesterday, Budde let two balls get past him and the mental lapses/failures in execution were part of the reason the Angels lost.

Budde also had a very embarrassing moment when he nearly walked off the field after the second out, thinking the inning was over with a runner on third at the time... That could have really set off Scioscia. Yikes.

When Angel catchers don’t do their jobs on the defensive side it reflects poorly on Scioscia (a former major league catcher himself). I would even venture to guess that he might even take this kind of stuff personally. Much is made about what it means to be a catcher in the Angels' organization and it should. These guys get put through the paces in the spring and the expectation is for them to be solid, fundamental players on the field.

Losing a game because of three unearned runs is the kind of stuff that turns hair grey. If this keeps up, the next thing you know - grown men and women will be pulling those grey hairs out of their heads.

Speaking of miscues, Kevin Frandsen isn’t winning over any fans. Okay, so he has a couple of base hits. Big deal. He’s also got two errors in two games. Now I know that third base isn’t his natural position, but he’s on pace to set some sort of record and we’re not talking about the kind you celebrate either. I'm beginning to see why he never stuck with the Giants and why he might have been released by the Red Sox before being claimed by the Angels. Just play Brandon Wood, please.

The way I see it, the Angels have had very few bright spots outside of Jered Weaver and Kendry Morales. Joel Pineiro has also had his moments; and a few others have been "okay," but the vast majority get a huge FAIL.

How bad is it? Mark Whicker of the O.C. Register points out that this year’s start is the Angels worst in 20 years.

Gulp.

All of this adds to the frustration and the level of angst is getting quite high. Quite frankly, I’d rather not be ranting on this blog every dang day. There isn't much joy in it.

So let’s have some fun….

Did you hear about how upset Bengie Molina is with ESPN? Apparently, ESPN showed a clip of Molina getting thrown out at the plate. That in and of itself, isn’t all that bad, but they decided to add some sound effects… like the music from the movie “Chariots of Fire”

Molina was so upset, he even blogged about it.

Shame on ESPN for trying to humiliate a major league baseball player! That’s what bloggers are for! I’m wondering if ESPN or Bengie read my post from a couple days ago titled There’s Slow and then there’s “Bengie Molina slow.” Just saying.

By the way, even though I do make fun of Bengie's lack of speed - you should know he's my all-time favorite catcher.

Meanwhile, over on the Baseball Think Factory site, some sabermetric types were going at each other pretty good over the new debate about whose better – Jered Weaver or Felix Hernandez?

A like a closer look at the statistics between the two shows us they’re not all that different. The article begs the question as to whether or not Jered Weaver is an ace or if Felix Hernandez is just an innings eater (as Weaver has been described from time to time). The point of the piece is to challenge the perception of two pitchers as they previously existed. It's an interesting discussion and kind of humorous as well.

What’s really funny are the shots some of sabermetic types take at one another in the comments section of the article. This is kind of a common practice among this group in my opinion. Then again, I like taking a shot or two now and then too. Difference is I really don't take myself nearly as seriously as some of them appear to.

In any case, I could have saved them all a bunch of time on this. I don’t need any statistical analysis to tell me that Jered Weaver is an ace. He does all the things that aces do. He stops losing streaks. He pitches well in big games. He has “top of the rotation” stuff and is a leader in the club house. He hasn't always been an ace, but he most certainly is one now.

Weaver has always been hyped, but never embraced. Even after coming out of Long Beach State; where he had an amazing career, some “experts” labeled him as “over-rated” and even projected him to be nothing more than a #3 starter at best.

Weaver has never really been considered a power pitcher. He’s basically been a fly-ball pitcher for most of his major league career. If you’re not a power pitcher, you’re usually not considered a top of the rotation guy.

Well, Weaver is changing the labels that were previously attached to him. Now, he also has some statistics to back up the idea that he is indeed an ace. Last year he reached a career high in strike outs with 174 which placed him among the top 24 in all of baseball and 10th in the AL. He also currently leads the AL with 59 K’s. His ERA is 2.47 and batters are only hitting .219 against him.

Now, some sabermetric types will dig deeper to demonstrate their belief that he’s still not an elite pitcher, but what’s the point? He’s clearly the Angels’ ace and has a shot to be the starter for this year’s All-Star game in Anaheim (I'll be hyping this idea a lot so get used to it).

As for the comparisons to Felix Hernandez... I could care less. All I know is that the two have gone head to head seven times and the Angels have won five of those contests. Now, I know enough to say that using wins as any kind of criteria to determine whose better is enough to send the sabermetric types into a hissy fit, but I like mentioning it anyway. And if you noticed, I didn’t say Weaver was better (although I might secretly believe that).

Let’s just say that when the two square off, I like the Angels' chances.

Side note: I feel much better now that I've posted something that wasn't necessarily a "rant" about the Angels' play of late. Whew!

Oh and to those of you who stumbled on this site today when googling Bengie Molina and the word "slow" - I'm glad you found this blog; even if it wasn't intentional. :-)