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Although we’re a little past the break now, due to some technical problems beyond my control, I still wanted to finish up our look at where the Angels stand in the three facets of the game – pitching, offense, and defense – at the All-Star Break. If you’re feeling down about our recent losses, despite the Haren acquisition, then I hope reading this won’t push you over the edge. Consider yourself warned, and I’ll see you after the jump.

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In a weird turn of events, what may be the worst Los Angeles Angels lineup in years that wasn’t due to resting players or already clinching a playoff spots seems to actually be producing. Tonight’s starting nine is laid out like this:
Howie Kendrick
Mike Napoli
Bobby Abreu
Torii Hunter
Hideki Matsui
Juan Rivera
Kevin Frandsen
Bobby Wilson
Brandon Wood
Hunter, Matsui, and Rivera are there in the middle, like they have been pretty much all season, but beyond that… yikes.

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Going into last night’s game, I was afraid the score would end up 8-0, and that the Angels record in the previous eight games would end up 0-8. A half inning after the start of the game, I began to wonder who kidnapped the Angels team we’ve been watching for the last week, and replaced them with a team that can hit.
In what seemed most likely to be the best pitcher’s duel of this series with Seattle, the Angels wasted no time in jumping out to a 4-run lead, and they never even hinted at giving it up [...]

Wednesday night’s pitching matchup at Fenway underscores the alternate (some might say “cheap”) route the Angels took during the off-season in putting the team together.  82 million dollar man and former Angel lead dog John Lackey will take the mound against Joel Piniero, who was on sale during the off-season.
Entering the 2010 season, it was not hard to see the value in getting  a guy like Piniero for less than one-fifth the total cost of Lackey, while also collecting two high draft picks because of his departure to Boston.
Joel Piniero (2009): 214 IP, 218 H, 105:27 K:BB, 3.49 ERA, 15-12 [...]

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After a 3-7 start to the season, who would’ve guessed the Angels would be heading back home after their first road trip riding a three-game winning streak, and sweeping their series with the Blue Jays? I know I didn’t. Weaver went into Toronto having won his first two starts of the season, and up until the April 14th game against the Yankees, he was the only Angels pitcher to take part in a winning effort. Apparently, a trip to the great white north was just what the team needed.
Weaver won again in the first game against the Jays, [...]

This is the time of year, when the Angels aren’t doing terribly well (or just terrible, which may be more accurate), that the fan and the saber-head inside me start to war a little bit. The fan inside me is shaking his head sadly, knowing this team is going down in flames and all we can do is watch while it happens. The saber-head inside me takes the time to calmly reassure fan-me that it’s only been five games, and literally anything can happen in a five game span. Just ask the 2006 Detroit Tigers.
The truth of the matter is [...]

Among the reasons given in defense of the front office over what many, including myself, have deemed a rather disappointing off-season is that the budget didn’t allow us to add a player like Matt Holliday lest we be unable to sign players like Howie Kendrick or Eric Aybar in the future. While I understand the reasoning behind this, I believe there is a part of the equation people are leaving out, on both sides: Spending the money WISELY.
The debacle that was our CF for years is the perfect example of how not spending money wisely can come back to bite [...]