Advance Scout: Angels, July 9-11

Friday, July 09 2004 @ 05:08 AM EDT

Contributed by: Mike D

Fresh off the exciting sweep of Seattle, the Jays next welcome another struggling AL West club. Anaheim enters today's play firmly in playoff contention, if not exactly knocking on the door of playoff position. Although Mike Scioscia has bemoaned the club's lack of timely hitting, the truth is that disappointing starting pitching has unquestionably been at the root of the Angels' recent mediocrity.

This week, three anticipated pitching matchups add colour to what should be an exciting three-game set. Of particular interest to Bauxites will be a certain Mr. Escobar, who makes his return to the familiar SkyDome mound on Batter's Box Book Day this Saturday. If Jays pitchers can throw strikes and hold runners close, there's a good deal of hope from the home side, even allowing for some inevitable production by the Halos' fine heart of the order.

This edition of the Scout is one of the most information-packed yet. Check out the tales of some A-list sluggers, a super sub made good, the pounding of a would-be ace and a name-change controversy that is brewing very seriously -- and we're not talking about a new corporate sponsor for Angels Stadium.

On to the Advance Scout!

* Like the Mariners that came, and stumbled, before them, the Angels enter in a bit of a funk ... They're just 3-7 over their last ten, having squandered a golden opportunity to make up ground on the Rangers and A's ... They had won their first two of their three-game set with the White Sox, but All-Star Francisco Rodriguez blew a three-run lead last night in the eighth. The Angels eventually fell, 9-8, in the bottom of the ninth ... They're 2 1/2 games behind the tied Red Sox and Athletics in the wild card race ...

* Despite the staff-wide epidemic of shaky pitching, Mike Scioscia blamed his offence after Sunday's loss: "We're not scoreboard-watching...If we continue to struggle offensively, the standings are going to become more and more irrelevant" ... Scioscia thinks that the club should aim to play its aggressive, 2002-style brand of baseball: "When these guys get in their style of ball, we know we can get going" ... Pitching coach Bud Black has (properly, in my opinion), shouldered the blame for the club's malaise. He called a meeting before Tuesday's win for the club's five starting pitchers ...

* This year's Angels have speed to burn, leading the majors in stolen bases (77), while being third in the AL in triples (22) ... Their stealing has usually been handled intelligently, as they've only been caught 26 times ... The 575 strikeouts from their pitching staff leads the AL ...

* Tonight's starter, Bartolo Colon, has had terrible control within the strike zone ... His combined line from his last two starts: 7 2/3 IP, 16 H, 15 R, 5 HR (!), 5 BB, 3 K ... The pricey free agent has yielded six or more runs in four of his last six starts, and four or more runs in 10 of his last 13 outings ... The longball has been his undoing, as he's given up a whopping 26 taters this season, which is barely halfway through ... To put it in perspective, his 30 home runs allowed last season -- a significant number -- was his career high ... The correlation is easy to see. In April, his ERA was 4.06 (5 HR), in May he put up a 6.37 ERA (8 HR), and in June he was tagged for a 7.99 ERA (10 HR) ... On four occasions, he's been taken deep three times ... Mike Scioscia is showing patience with the $51 million man: "Bart's going to get the opportunity to pitch through this" ... Scioscia called an emergency meeting with pitching coach Bud Black, Colon and the Molinas after Colon got rocked for eight runs in 3 2/3 innings on Saturday by the Dodgers. Colon readily agreed to meet ... Black had been concerned that Colon was shortening his stride too much, to compensate for a sore ankle. Colon, however, insists that he's healthy ...

* The awesome Vladimir Guerrero has been the model of consistency ... His worst full month this season was April, when he hit a mere .326/.374/.598 ... He hammers righties, but destroys lefthanded pitching at a .368/.429/.701 rate ... No matter how you spin his numbers, he's an extremely dangerous hitter -- and just for fun, he's 7-for-7 on the basepaths ... The gifted Guerrero remains prone to the occasional lapse in concentration. He committed a costly error in the eighth inning of last night's collapse ... Vladdy said that he has not been asked to participate in the Home Run Derby. Angels teammate Garret Anderson won the event last year ...

* Even considering his shocking collapse last night, K-Rod had been absolutely lights-out in the Angels 'pen ... He's fanned a ridiculous 69 batters in 45 IP ... He has, however, lost five leads this season ... The Venezuelan was delighted and honoured to be named to the AL All-Star squad, as a players-and-coaches selection ... The good news about last night's defeat? K-Rod escaped with his health. On Tuesday, Rodriguez took a decidedly dark look at what might have happened if a Carlos Lee drive hadn't been erased by Garret Anderson's fine running catch: "I blow the save, I blow Lackey's win, we have a big fight in the dugout, we both go to jail" ...

* Scrappy David Eckstein has been half-decent, at best, for a leadoff hitter ... He did put up a good month in June, going .344/.375/.443 ... Strangely, he struggles mightily away from spacious Angels Stadium. He's only hitting .257/.303/.294 on the road ...

* Is Darin Erstad at long last getting healthy, or is he just swinging a hot bat? ... He's not putting much up by way of power, but his .321/.368/.453 June was more than respectable, and his .381/.480/.571 July has been downright torrid so far ... He's slugging a paltry .338 against lefties ... Erstad was delighted to face Scott Schoeneweis and not strike out on Tuesday. Erstad earned the only golden sombrero of his career against Schoeneweis in the 1994 Cape Cod League, and it provoked Erstad to furiously throw his batting gloves and shoes in the trash ...

* Steady Garret Anderson has been predictably productive since his return from injury ... He's driven in 12 runs in his last 11 games ... The notoriously impatient outfielder has, however, not walked since June 22 ... Anderson launched his 200th career home run on Wednesday, but in typically stoic fashion, downplayed its significance: "I'll throw it in the garage with all the rest of them" ... Scioscia has said he'll stick with GA in the 3-hole, hitting Guerrero fourth. The thinking here is that Eckstein and Chone Figgins have not been able to run effectively with Guerrero batting third -- both because he has a permanent green light, and because the Angels didn't want to offer the opportunity to pitch around Vladdy after a successful steal ...

* As anticipated, old friend Kelvim Escobar will get the start tomorrow on Batter's Box Book Signing Day ... Here at Da Box, much bandwidth was used discussing Good Kelvim and Evil Kelvim: his pattern as a Blue Jay seemed to be a random mix of brilliant starts and complete mound meltdowns ... As an Angel, however, he's been Pretty Solid Kelvim most nights. In June, opponents hit just .240 with one home run off him, as he posted a 2.88 ERA despite his hard-luck 1-2 record on the month ... In fact, he's frankly been Bad Luck Kelvim. At around three runs a game in support, his run support is fourth-lowest in the AL for starters with at least 10 starts. With the kind of hitting the Angels are capable of, that's unlucky ... Adam Kennedy: "You feel terrible for Kelvim because it seems that every time he goes out there, he's throwing good games and not getting much support" ... His last start, however, was his worst of the season. The Dodgers pummeled him for six runs en route to a 6-2 victory ... He remains unable to control the running game. The Dodgers manufactured two runs after stolen bases on Sunday ... Escobar has had plenty to say about pitching in Toronto recently -- and it hasn't been favourable ...

* Few would have predicted it, but Chone Figgins has been an extremely valuable player this season ... In addition to having the ability to play anywhere in the infield or outfield, the 5'8", 160-lb speedster has tallied eleven doubles and twelve triples, which leads the majors ... His .338/.421/.477 line since June 1 is downright excellent for a player with Figgins' versatility ... 22 of his 25 extra-base hits have come from the switch-hitter's left side ... Very handy in small-ball situations, Figgins executed a perfect squeeze bunt on Tuesday night ...

* The Angels have finally found a role for Ramon Ortiz, and it is long relief ... After getting bombed as a starter (9.28 ERA), he's registered a sparkling 1.38 ERA out of the bullpen since his demotion in early May ... He was particularly outstanding in June, when he put up a 1.16 ERA with a tremendous 5/23 BB/K ratio ...

* Bengie Molina has hit in five of his last six games (.333) ... The pop that makes him a useful player, especially for a catcher, has abandoned him of late. He hasn't homered in his last 31 games ... He's only drawn 7 walks, but that's not inordinately low for the hack-happy Bengie. His career best is 23 walks, set in 2000 -- and he's unlikely to beat it this year ... His defensive reputation remains stellar, despite his memorable concentration lapse that enabled Chris Gomez's Mad Dash to win the game for the Jays back in May ... The slow-footed backstop earned the infamy of grounding into a triple play on Wednesday night ...

* After a lukewarm June, Jose Guillen has picked it up again in July (.308/.379/.577) ... His RISP numbers remain outstanding at .378/.457/.683 ... Memo to base coaches: Please don't test the arm of the Halos' corner outfielders! Guillen nailed Paul Konerko at the plate on Tuesday night for his seventh outfield assist. Vladdy has already thrown out eight runners ... On Wednesday, Guillen homered twice and drove in five as part of the Angels' 12-0 win. It was his first multi-homer game since turning the trick against the Jays last August, as an Athletic ... Guillen's off to the Dominican Republic for the All-Star Break, and will therefore turn down any last-minute injury-based invitation to Houston. Guillen: "Maybe next year I'll put up the numbers and people will realize I belong there" ...

* Brendan Donnelly is still rounding into form after coming off the DL ... Although lefties are buzzed by the hard-throwing righty (.105), righthanded hitters are .364 off him ... Donnelly admitted that the bullpen has failed its Angel teammates "too often" this season ...

* 2002 ALCS hero Kennedy is slugging just .365 this season ... Although he plays every day, his performance against lefties has not been satisfactory at .222/.291/.333 ... He's been dismal at home, but has surprisingly notched .317/.381/.490 numbers on the road ... Kennedy had a brilliant at-bat on Tuesday night, fouling off six two-strike pitches before getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded ...

* The Angels had hoped for some power from part-timer Robb Quinlan, but he's offered none; he's still waiting to hit his first big-league homer ... Righties give Quinlan fits, to the tune of .220/.289/.293 ...

* Sunday's starter, John Lackey, has won three of his last four decisions ... Over his last four appearances (three starts and a spot relief outing), Lackey's put up the following line: 22 IP, 19 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 12 K ... He's only walked six batters over his last 43 IP ...

* Jeff DaVanon enters play tonight having gone just 2 for his last 15 (.133) ... Although he's nominally a switch-hitter, he seldom plays against lefties -- and with good reason: He's only 2 for 14 (.143), both singles, against southpaws ... He's been successful in his last ten steal attempts ... His dusty high-socks approach came in handy last night, as he jarred the ball free from catcher Jamie Burke in a home plate collision ...

* Is this the end of the line for lifelong Angel Tim Salmon? ... "Fish" is only 35, but his body must feel older after battling through various and sundry ailments in his career ... Despite his hitting from the right side, he's always hit righthanded pitching better than lefties. But this year's split is ridiculous ... He's taking it to righties at a .347/.415/.486 clip, but is putting up .000/.047/.000 numbers against lefties ... That's not a misprint. He's 0-for-39 against southpaws this season ... Have you ever seen an 854-point difference in a player's OPS splits? ...

* Even with the admirable efforts of Figgins in an emergency third base role, Anaheim has been a poor 20-28 since losing Troy Glaus to injury ... Touted prospect Dallas McPherson went deep in five of his first ten games in AAA Salt Lake, but many in the Angels player development staff feel that his glove is nowhere near ready for prime time ...

* Here's an interesting rumour: If Randy Johnson waives his no-trade clause, the Angels will be serious players in his sweepstakes ... It's believed that tentative talks -- which, again, are moot if Unit wants to stay in Phoenix -- produced an initial demand from the D-Backs for Scot Shields, Jeff Mathis and one of McPherson and Casey Kotchman ... A further wrinkle: Arte Moreno and Jerry Colangelo have a particularly frosty relationship, after Moreno attempted a hostile buyout of the D-backs in 2001 ...

* Might the Angels franchise be coming full circle? ... As soon as Anaheim Stadium was built in the late 1960s, the Los Angeles Angels moved out to Orange County, to be renamed the California Angels. Then, the Disney crew renamed the squad Anaheim to harmonize the club's marketing with Disneyland and the Mighty Ducks. Now, Arte Moreno has entered into serious discussions to rename the squad, once again, the Los Angeles Angels ... Local fans have circulated a petition to keep the Anaheim name, arguing that Orange County gets some desired national recognition through identification with the club ... But many marketing experts feel that the L.A. Angels would indeed attract a greater fan base in Southern California ... Moreno has vowed to keep the team in Anaheim, regardless of the resolution here ... The Anaheim City Council has argued that the Anaheim name is a material part of the club's Angels Stadium lease, which runs through 2029 with a one-time escape clause in 2016 ... Steve Harvey of the Los Angeles Times had an interesting observation: "I always loved the concept of a team called the Los Angeles Angels because it translated as 'The Angels Angels.'" Harvey also noted that another L.A.-area attraction, The La Brea Tar Pits, translated to The The Tar Tar Pits ...


Probable Batting Orders

vs. LH

6 Eckstein
5 Figgins
8 Anderson
9 Guerrero
7 Guillen
3 Erstad
DH Salmon
2 B Molina
4 Kennedy

vs. RH

6 Eckstein
5 Figgins/Quinlan
8/DH Anderson
9 Guerrero
7 Guillen
3 Erstad
DH/8 DaVanon/DH Salmon
2 B Molina
4 Kennedy

Pitching Probables

Friday: RH Colon vs. Halladay
Saturday: RH Escobar vs. Lilly
Sunday: RH Lackey vs. Batista

Bullpen Usage

Long: Ortiz R, Gregg R
Short: Shields R, Donnelly R
Setup: Rodriguez R
Closer: Percival R

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