Jason Vargas Named AL Pitcher of the Month

After Jered Weaver went down with a broken left elbow, all eyes turned to C.J. Wilson. Wilson was supposed to be the de-facto ace of the staff. He was decidedly, not. When Tommy Hanson was placed on the restricted list, this only increased the load that the remaining opening day starters would have to shoulder. Who stepped up the most? Jason Vargas.

Vargas scorched through the month of May with a 5-0 record and a 2.30 ERA. It was literally, “Win Day,” whenever the lefty from Apple Valley, CA stepped onto the mound as the Angels won all six of Vargas’ start during the month. Vargas was so good, that when Major League Baseball announced it’s Players of the Month earlier today, Jason Vargas was named the AL Pitcher of the Month. His NL counterpart, Patrick Corbin. Interesting side note; Jerry Dipoto traded for both of these guys.

Jason’s five wins during the month of May, aren’t the most for an Angels pitcher in a single month. That record belongs to Chuck Finley who won seven games in the month of July in 1997. But Vargas’ five wins did account for 31.3% of all Angels wins last month, and the six games he started that the Angels won account for 37.5% of all Angels wins, in May. Makes me feel a little better after I went all fan boy on him a couple of weeks ago here.

Congratulations on the hardware, Jason Vargas. Now, how about giving Joe Blanton a few tips on how to do what you did last month?