ANGELS NOTEBOOK: RESURGENT A'S READY FOR ANAHEIM SHOWDOWN.Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer MINNEAPOLIS - The Oakland A's come to town tonight for a three-game series against the Angels, but they are anything but the team the Angels last saw in April. The A's struggled early, with injuries and a young pitching staff contributing to a 17-32 record and 12 1/2-game deficit to the Angels in the American League West The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division currently has four teams, but it has had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. . Since then, the A's have the best record in baseball, going 30-12 and now trail the Angels by 7 1/2 games. ``Their whole team is a lot different now than earlier in the year,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia --A matter of opinion: Scioscia downplayed the differences over pitch selection between starting pitcher Noun 1. starting pitcher - (baseball) a pitcher who starts in a baseball game baseball, baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; Bartolo Colon and catcher Bengie Molina Benjamin José ("Bengie" or "Ben") Molina (born July 20 1974 in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico) is the starting catcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. After being initially regarded as a "good glove, no hit" catcher, Molina has developed into one of the better during Saturday's game at Minnesota. Afterward, Colon blamed himself for the loss by not following Molina's request to throw more off-speed pitches, instead deciding to stick with his fastball. ``On any one count there are any number of options a pitcher is going to have,'' Scioscia said. ``There's one thing you shouldn't do, and two or three things you can do. Bart felt very strong, he felt good with his fastball. He didn't pitch with his other pitches like he has before. Bengie thought he should've mixed them up a little more. I don't think it's a huge issue. This experience will make things go a lot smoother in the future.'' --Vlad stops slide: Vladimir Guerrero Vladimir Alvino Guerrero (born February 9, 1976 in Don Gregorio, Nizao, Dominican Republic), and known in his native Dominican Republic as Miquéas (Spanish for Micah), is a Major League Baseball right fielder who plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. grounded a single to right field to lead off the ninth inning Sunday, ending an 0-for- 15 slump. As a joke, some teammates asked for the baseball, and Twins pitcher Jesse Crain Jesse Crain (born Jesse Alan Crain July 5, 1981 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. He currently plays for the Minnesota Twins. threw it into the Angels dugout. ``I told him we didn't want to wait until we played Texas again for him to get another hit,'' shortstop Orlando Cabrera Orlando Luis Cabrera (born November 2, 1974 in Cartagena, Colombia) is a Major League Baseball shortstop who plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He bats and throws right-handed. said. When asked if he kept the baseball, Guerrero laughed and said, ``No, no, it was a joke.'' Guerrero's longest career hitless streak is 18 at-bats, coming in 1999 with the Expos. Joe Haakenson, (626) 962-8811 joe.haakenson(at)sgvn.com |
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