Hello all, I’m finally back!  Needed to take some time off and enjoy my summer for a bit.  Since I left you, the Angels have been playing absolutely terrific baseball.  They now boast a 58-39 record, and enjoy a three and a half game lead over the Texas Rangers.  The offense has been absolutely fabulous in the month of July, with the Angels owning a team batting average in the upper .280’s (which leads the league by a large amount).  This is being done with out the likes of their three best hitters (Vlad Guerrero, Torii Hunter, Juan Rivera) which makes it even that much more special.  The Cleveland Indians are facing off with the Halos for a three game bill beginning tonight, with right-hander Carl Pavano facing off with the struggling Joe Saunders.  Saunders has been horrific in his last couple starts, but can quickly turn the page at any time and throw a nice game.  See you guys soon!

The Angels lost yet another series, causing manager Mike Scioscia to hint at changes after the final game in which the Angels lost 11-1.  The bullpen held an early 4-3 lead in the first game, but the Angels played terrible baseball in the final two games to end up losing the series two games to one. 

More negative news came when it was announced that Escobar will be moved into the bullpen, as he is not in quite the shape that is needed from a starting pitcher.  Matt Palmer will be in the rotation for the remainder of the year, barring injury, and Escobar can hopefully aid in providing middle relief help and possibly setting up closer Brian Fuentes.

The Angels came out strong, with Ervin Santana pitching to within one out from a complete game and giving the Angels the first game of the set.  The next two would not be kind though, with Edwin Jackson throwing a complete game yesterday in a 2-1 victory and the bullpen blowing a late 5-4 lead in Sunday’s game.  Some highlights for the series include Chone Figgins’ first home-run of the year and Bobby Abreu’s 2000th career hit.  LAA is now one game over .500, and back to step one at four and a half games out of first place.

Monday will be a day off, and then the Tampa Bay Rays will be waiting for the Halos on Tuesday.  Jered Weaver will try to stop the two game skid against the very talented James Shields.

The bullpen failed again on Thursday, but the Angels were able to absorb its problems and still come out victorious.  John Lackey had a strong start for the Angels, going seven innings allowing two earned-runs and leaving with a 5-2 lead with six outs left to get.  Darren Oliver then entered the game and surrendered two singles and a walk.  Manager Mike Scioscia then brought in right-hander Justin Speier, who let all three inherited runners score and ended the eighth in a 5-5 tie. 

In the top of the 9th inning, second-baseman Howie Kendrick led the inning off with a single and advanced to third on Chone Figgins’ single.  Erick Aybar then grounded into a double play, in which Kendrick took off towards home and scored the winning run.  Closer Brian Fuentes made it interesting in the 9th, putting two on with only one out, yet closed it out for his fourteenth save of the year.  The Angels will now face off with the Detroit Tigers during the weekend, having to face the terrific Justin Verlander on Friday night.  Ervin Santana will make the start for LAA.

Angels starter Jered Weaver struck out a career high 10 batters tonight, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 8-1.  Chone Figgins lead the offense, going 3-5 with a pair of doubles and improving his average to a terrific .303.  Bobby Abreu connected with his second home-run of the year, belting a fastball from Casey Janssen in the first inning.

It was a quick and silent victory, as the Angels improved to 26-25 on the year (still 4.5 games behind the Texas Rangers).  John Lackey will take the mound for tomorrow night’s game, and will face Blue Jays lefty Brian Tallet. Anaheim needs to get on a roll quickly, as they can not continue to hover around .500 the entire year…..

The Toronto Blue Jays’ ace Roy Halladay made quick work of the Angels on Tuesday, pitching a complete game thriller allowing four earned-runs and striking out a whopping fourteen batters.  The Angels lost 6-4, with starter Joe Saunders not faring well against the quality bats Toronto possesses.  Joe only recorded five innings of work, allowing nine hits and six earned-runs.

If you’re looking for a few positives to take out of this game, Kendry Morales continued his terrific season going 2-4 with an RBI and relievers Rich Thompson and Jason Bulger compiled 2 2/3 scoreless frames.  Anaheim has been reportedly looking elsewhere for some relief help, but the bullpen is slowly but surely improving.  Jered Weaver will attempt to keep the Halos above .500 tomorrow, going against Blue Jays starter Casey Janssen.

Less than twenty-four hours after losing a game with one out left to get, the Angels gave the Seattle Mariners a taste of their own medicine by rallying back from a 6-0 defecit to walk-off in the ninth.  The excitement started with the Angels trailing by two in the ninth.  Maicer Izturis and Chone Figgins took walks, and Vladimir Guerrero connected with a two out double.  Mariners closer David Aardsma then intentionally walked Torii Hunter, Juan Rivera walked and Kendry Morales hit the RBI single.  The game pushes the Angels to 25-24 on the year, earning a game in the standings since Oakland defeated the Rangers today 5-4. Ervin Santana had another terrible outing today, going 5 1/3 innings allowing ten hits and eight earned-runs.  His first start back was decent, but his latest two have been absolutely awful.  The problem could very well be his velocity, which comfortably sits in the low 90’s instead of the mid 90’s he threw last year.

Well deserved day off tomorrow, then the Angels must face Blue Jays’ ace Roy Halladay on Tuesday.  If Joe Saunders can pitch as well as he has all year, we no doubt have a chance to win the ball game.

Another heart breaking loss for the Angels, who owned a 3-0 lead with two outs in the 9th before Seattle Mariners’ second-baseman Jose Lopez  blasted a three-run HR off closer Brian Fuentes to break the tie and reliever Jose Arredondo gave up the tie in the 10th.  Starter Matt Palmer was excellent in what will likely be his last start, thanks to Kelvim Escobar’s apparent return.  Palmer went seven innings allowing four hits and no runs while striking out five.  Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter had good games at the plate, combining to go 4-9 in the heart of the Angels’ lineup. 

It is probably the worst loss of this young season, as LAA now falls to 24-24 on the year and loses yet another game in the AL West race.  They now trail the Texas Rangers by a whopping five and a half games.  Let’s hope tomorrow brings happiness, as right-hander Ervin Santana will take the hill hoping to improve on his last outing which he gave up seven runs in one inning.  Garrett Olson will make the start for the Mariners.

The rookie Jason Vargas stifled the Angels lineup tonight, holding the first four in the lineup to a gaudy 0-14 while leading the Mariners over the Angels 5-2.  John Lackey started for the Angels, going seven and a third innings allowing ten hits and five earned-runs.  The one bright spot in the lineup was left-fielder Juan Rivera who went 3-4 at the plate with his fifth home-run on the year and a fabulous catch deep in left.  The Angels took a bigger hit in the standings with this loss, as the first place Texas Rangers won both games of a double header and pushed their lead to four-and-a-half games. 

Matt Palmer puts his flawless 5-0 record on the line tomorrow night against right-hander Felix Hernandez. Anaheim needs to go on a hot streak as soon as possible, or their defecit will grow larger with each passing day.

Sorry about the brief delay in posts, grew a bit tired.  The Angels had a tough series against the Chicago White Sox, winning one of the three games but keeping their three game deficit in tact.  In the first game of the series, Chicago tallied seventeen runs to blow out the memorial day crowd (which included myself).  In the second game Bartolo Colon stifled the bats and the Angels fell again, but Jered Weaver fought back and gave LAA the last game of the series.  Some bright spots in the series included Vladimir Guerrero’s return and Bobby Abreu’s first home-run of the year.  Anaheim has a day off today, and will battle the Seattle Mariners again this weekend.  John Lackey will pitch in the series opener tomorrow.  Go Angels!