ANGELS NOTEBOOK: ROTATION ALIGNS FOR BIG SERIES.Byline: BEN VILLA Staff Writer If Angels manager Mike Scioscia Before Sunday night's 13-4 rout of the Tigers, Scioscia was asked repeatedly if he juggled his starting rotation to get his three best pitchers to face the Mariners as the Angels begin a seven-game road trip tonight in Seattle. The Angels are four games ahead of the Mariners 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. , and they will start Kelvim Escobar Kelvim Jose Escobar Bolivar [ess-coe-BAR] (born April 11, 1976 in La Guaira, Venezuela) is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004-present). He bats and throws right handed. (11-4, 2.91ERA) tonight, John Lackey John Derran Lackey (born October 23, 1978, in Abilene, Texas) is a major league baseball starting pitcher from Abilene, Texas. He has played for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim his entire career. (12-6, 3.27) Tuesday and Jered Weaver Jered David Weaver (born October 4, 1982 in Northridge, California), is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Jered attended college at Long Beach State University where he was the 2004 College Baseball's Golden Spikes Award winner. (7-5, 3.68) Wednesday, but Scioscia said it's merely a coincidence. "We're not looking at matchups, our health is more important," Scioscia said. "We had a day off last week and we could have started Kelvim on Sunday on regular rest, but we thought it was better to give him and John an extra day off. We're going to have a tough game every night so we can't focus on one team right now. "Maybe in September you start to look at matching up guys against certain teams, but not right now. It just worked out that Kelvim was pushed back and he's starting against the Mariners." This is an especially big road trip for the Angels, who will also play a four-game series in Oakland. If the Angels lose a couple of games, the Mariners will be breathing down their necks with the toughest part of the Angels' schedule coming up. When the Angels return home Aug. 6, they begin a stretch where they play Boston and Toronto twice, and Minnesota and the N.Y. Yankees before taking on the Mariners again. They would like to start it without having to worry about the standings. "This is a huge series for us," Weaver said. "We had about an eight- game lead on the Mariners earlier in the season but we allowed them to come back. Hopefully, we can build off the momentum we have after beating the Tigers three straight. I think taking two out of three games would be ideal." The streak lives: Vladimir Guerrero's homer-less streak reached 27 games Sunday night Sunday Night, later named Michelob Presents Night Music, was an NBC late-night television show which aired for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 as a showcase for jazz and eclectic musical artists. , but he came close to ending it in the first inning. Guerrero nearly hit his 15th home run of the season and first since June 23rd when he doubled off Jeremy Bonderman Jeremy Allen Bonderman (born October 28, 1982, in Kennewick, Washington) is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. Bonderman is six feet and two inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. He bats and throws right-handed. , hitting the top of the short left-field fence near the foul pole. And while the streak has suddenly taken on a life of its own Memory Burn A Life Of Its Own was released by Noise Kontrol in 2002. Memory Burn is made up of several high profile musicians who came together to create this special work. , Scioscia isn't the least bit worried about it. "During this stretch, he's just missed six or seven balls," Scioscia said. "But it's not like his bat speed has changed. You're not always going to square balls up and he's not forcing anything. "He's still productive. I thought he hit 600 home runs in the home run hitting contest. Don't those count?" Stepping up: When Mike Napoli Michael Anthony "Mike" Napoli (b. October 31, 1981 in Hollywood, Florida) is a Major League Baseball catcher with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Napoli attended Charles Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida. was put on the 15-day disabled list July 28 with a strained right hamstring, many thought the Angels would be in trouble at catcher. Apparently, they were wrong. Since becoming the Angels starting catcher in Napoli's absence, Jeff Mathis Jeffrey Stephen "Jeff" Mathis (born March 31, 1983 in Marianna, Florida, USA) is a major league baseball catcher playing with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and made his Major League debut on August 12, 2005 with them. He bats and throws right handed. has been on a tear. He had three hits Saturday, and on Sunday he reached base safely with a walk and two singles. He's batting .250, which is a far cry from the .095 average he had after Friday's game. "When guys go down, you hope that the people that take over for them play at a high level and Jeff certainly has," Scioscia said. "You can see he's comfortable not only at the plate, but behind it as well. We're not going to reach our goals if our catchers aren't playing well." |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion