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Michael Hllywa — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:29:39 +0000

Jered Weaver is set for his first rehab appearance, Dane De la Rosa is making the most of his time in the bigs and, is Albert Pujols becoming irrelevant? My apologies for not having this up yesterday. But, when you get off of work at 2:30 am, you are forced with a choice between blogging…and bed. Obviously, I chose sleep.

Apr 7, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver (36) looks for a sign in the first inning of the game against the Texas Rangers at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Jered Weaver Set For Rehab Game, June Return Likely

Hurry up Weave, Joe Blanton needs to be pushed out to sea, and we can’t do that until you come back.

De La Rose is Finally Awarded For His Perseverance

And he’s been good, for the most part. He’s also shown quite a few times why he toiled away in, mostly, independent leagues for 10 years.

Money Quote:

He was 23. He sat out the season, worked in real estate and decided he would rather try baseball again.

Man, that sounds like the life.

The Jeff Mathis Experience

Jeff Mathiss has a new team. And even they can’t figure out ow he still has a job in Major League Baseball

Money Quote:

Mathis will take on the role of backup and veteran mentor for Rob Brantly, who is already struggling to hit in his second season in the majors (.240/.312/.313, .281 wOBA).

It looks like Jeff’s work, is already done.

Overthinking It: This Week in Catcher Framing

I see ya Hank, I see ya.

Coello Using Forkball to Make Strong Impression

Calling the impression Robert Coello is making right now with the Angels “strong,” may just be the biggest understatement of, like, ever.

Money Quote:

“I couldn’t throw a knuckleball, so that’s the only way I could get back at the guy playing catch with me. I just figured it out, played with it and when they converted me, I kept it.”

And we, the fans, are the benefactors of that.

After Years as the Best, Pujols Irrelevant

I can’t help bu believe that Pujols is going to break out of this slump that he is mired in. You don’t become the “”best hitter of your generation” by being mediocre, ever. He turned it around last year. There’s no reason to suspect that this is going to last all season. If it does, expect the “boo birds” to follow him around this year.

Money Quote:

It was a never-ending cycle for him. They said he was slow – he stole 16 bases the next year.

Albert, you’re slow. And don’t you dare try to pull this off.

Chris Iannetta: Walking to Production

Michael Hllywa — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:17:37 +0000

When the Angels originally traded Tyler Chatwood to the Rockies for Chris Iannetta, my only real reaction was; “At least he’s not Jeff Mathis.”

May 19, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels catcher Chris Iannetta (17) runs in a score hit by Los Angeles Angels short stop Erick Aybar (not pictured) against the Chicago White Sox during the third inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

He also wasn’t Bobby Wilson, or Ryan Budde. He also wasn’t Hank Conger, which didn’t sit well with me personally, but sometimes, collateral damage can’t be avoided. At least, for Conger’s sake, C.J. Wilson needed a personal caddy/Twitter pal/dragon-tail expert, leading to Hank getting into a game on a once-a-week basis at least.

But this isn’t about Hank’s “flare for fashion.” It isn’t about catching either (mostly because, Iannetta hasn’t been all that stellar behind the plate). This is about the crazy thing that Chris is doing when he is standing at the plate with a bat in his hands. Don’t believe me? Well, check this out.

Year	Tm	H	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
2013	LAA	21	27	.204	.361	.330	.691	97

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/20/2013.

27 walks, 21 hits. That's just crazy. And over the last two weeks, his OBP is sitting at a cool .500. Joey Votto started of the season on a similar run. In fact, for a short while, he had more walks than the entire Chicago White Sox team. But Votto has always been a much better hitter than Iannetta (DUH!). Chris has always had exceptional plate discipline, stemming back to his time in Colorado. His power has dropped off considerably since leaving the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field, but any players power number's are going to dip when they come to Anaheim (see Pujols, Albert). Even with the dip in power, his .691 OPS is still right around league average for a catcher, and I will gladly take his .360 OBP (as would Josh Hamilton, I'm sure).


The Angels have a long proud history of offensive futility coming from players who make a living wearing the "tools of ignorance." As do most teams. But, aside from Mike  Napoli, catcher's who look lost with a bat in their hands has been a lightning rod for criticism during Mike  Scioscia's tenure as manager. Chris  Iannetta isn't expected to be the offensive savior of this team, but he is doing his part by not being an automatic out at the bottom of the lineup. And after seeing players like Jorge  Fabregas, over the last two decades, don an Angels jersey, that is good enough for me. Now, about this whole "not being able to throw out would be base-stealers thing....."



Halo Highlights: Vargas Stellar, Offense Patient. Angels Win, 6-2
Michael Hllywa — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:27:36 +0000
At least the Angels have one lefty who can get the job done on a semi-consistent basis. Jason  Vargas may not be the flashiest pitcher on the team. But he has been getting the job done as this marks fourth Angels win in his last five starts. But just as impressive as Vargas was today, the Angels patience at the plate was just as uplifting. 
May 19, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ernesto  Frieri (49) celebrates with catcher Chris  Iannetta (17) after the game against the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The Los Angeles Angels defeated the Chicago White Sox 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago White Sox sent Jake  Peavy to the mound on Sunday, and it seems that Chris  Iannetta‘s patient approach is rubbing off on the rest of the team. As a whole, the offense worked six walk in yesterday’s game, two of which came with the bases loaded, and one of those was to Erick  Aybar on a 3-2 count with two outs. Yes sir, Erick  Aybar drew a bases loaded walk on a full count with two outs. Even Josh  Hamilton drew a walk today. Alright, now this is just getting weird.
The Angels got the scoring started in the third inning when Erick  Aybar doubled home Iannetta and J.B.  Shuck. The following inning, Peavy gave up one hit, but walked four batters (including the two previously mentioned with the bases loaded). Even Joe  Blanton hasn’t been that erratic……..OK, that’s not fair to Peavy. But this was the kind of inning that we have been seeing play out against the Angels all season long, it was nice to see the offense force the pitcher to come to them yesterday afternoon. 
The Pale Hose wouldn’t be kept off of the scoreboard forever, though. After hurling seven scoreless innings and striking out seven hitters, Vargas was pulled for Dane  De  La  Rosa, who decided that shutouts are just too mainstream. A one-out Alex  Rios double got the Sox on the board, and the goose egg off of the jumbotron. De La Rosa was then pulled in favor of Scott  Downs who struck out Adam  Dunn. He was then pulled, and Ernesto  Frieri was brought in to finish off the inning. Howie  Kendrick got that run back plus one when he doubled home Mark  Trumbo and Josh  Hamilton in the bottom of the eighth. 
Of course, this game couldn’t be completely stress free, could it? Frieri, of course, came back out for the ninth, and forgot where the strike zone was. A 25-pitch ninth that included three walks (Including the second walk of the season to Jeff  Keppinger) and one sacrifice fly. There stand a good chance that Frieri is already getting tired from the workload that he has been carrying over the last few weeks, but he is going to have to bear down and deal with it, at least for another week or so. The bottom line is, however, that Frieri did get the job done and he recorded his ninth save of the season in the process. 
That makes two wins in a row, leaving the Angels one win away from being on another “winning streak.” They’ll look to keep their good fortunes rolling on Tuesday after Monday’s off-day when they send Jerome  Williams to the mound to battle Aaron Harrang and the Seattle Mariners.