ANGELS NOTEBOOK: ROTATION WON'T BE JUGGLED.Byline: BEN VILLA Staff Writer Last September, when the Angels were in a pennant Pennant A continuation pattern in technical analysis formed when there is a large movement in a stock, the flagpole, followed by a consolidation period with converging trendlines, the pennant, followed by a breakout movement in the same direction as the initial large movement, the race, it wasn't unusual to see starting pitchers 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"; on the staff lose their turn in the rotation to Bartolo Colon. This season, however, that won't be the case. The Angels have three days off scheduled for the rest of this month, giving Angels manager Mike Scioscia Jered attended college at Long Beach State University where he was the 2004 College Baseball's Golden Spikes Award winner. or Joe Saunders Joseph Francis "Joe" Saunders (born June 16, 1981 in Falls Church, Virginia) is a Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Saunders played college baseball at Virginia Tech, where he compiled a 27-7 career record. , the day off in favor of a more experienced player like 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. . But before Monday's game with the Orioles, Scioscia said that unless one of his five starting pitchers gets hurt or completely collapses, they would each take their turn on the mound as scheduled. ``Last year, we tried to line up Bartolo against teams to give us a favorable matchup, but this season we need all five of our guys to throw and to throw well,'' Scioscia said. ``We're not going to junk the whole rotation and this year skipping a guy wouldn't really give us that big of an advantage.'' Both Saunders and Weaver have thrown more innings this season than they had in the past, and the thought process was that both might be wearing down as the pennant race heats up. But Saunders threw great on Saturday at Detroit, and Scioscia also said Weaver's stuff looks fine. The Angels need all of their starting five to be on top of their game. The Angels trail the A's by 6 1/2 games with 24 left to play. Knowing his role: When Darin Erstad Darin Charles Erstad (born June 4, 1974 in Jamestown, North Dakota) is a first baseman/center fielder in Major League Baseball currently with the Chicago White Sox. Prior to 2007, he had played his entire career with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise (1996-2006). was activated from the disabled list, it was to play defense. During the last road trip, Erstad was a late inning replacement at first base, and he said he's fine with being used that way the rest of the season. ``I only have 91 at-bats this season and I'm nowhere near where I should be at the plate,'' Erstad said. ``I don't think I'll get many at-bats the rest of the season and I didn't come back to help out offensively. I'm here to help out the team defensively.'' No word: Brendan Donnelly Brendan Kevin Donnelly (b. July 4, 1971 in Washington, D.C.) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher with the Boston Red Sox. Donnelly had bounced around the minor leagues for 10 seasons after he was drafted in 1992 by the Chicago White Sox before he finally made his still hasn't heard anything about his suspension resulting from the brawl in Texas on Aug. 16 possibly being reduced. But Donnelly, who was suspended four games for intentionally throwing at a batter, did say that he heard that there are now two possible dates when his case might be heard -- Sept. 15 when the Angels are in Texas, or Sept. 25 when the Rangers visit Anaheim. ``We didn't get in from Detroit until 3 a.m. last night,'' Donnelly said. ``It's still too early in the day to talk about suspensions and stuff like that.'' |
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