Halo Hotline

Bootcheck Recalled From AAA

Sporting News is reporting that Bootcheck is being called up from AAA Salt Lake.  More info when I have it.

UPDATE:  The Rev, over at Halos Heaven, has the scoop on this, Willits down, Boots up, no Weav Jr., he's not on the 40-man roster.

Soxs Sweep Angels 6-5

Mathis MUST go.  I don't care where, but the bad juju is rubbing off.  Anybody seen the stat breakdown for ERAs when Mathis is catching v. when Molina is catching (8 of our 13 losses, 5.35ERA v. 8 10 of our 12 wins, 3.05ERA click the "more" link for game by game breakdowns) and, he's hitting .108!  His inability to block a ball in the 9th, or throw out a runner, cost us today's game.  I know, the scorekeeper ruled it a WP, but, you have to believe that the Angels wouldn't've been in that situation with Molina behind the dish.  At least Kotchman is improving, slowly, but he's getting better, his hands are coming through the zone a little quicker, and he looks more relaxed, that helps.

Today's game wasn't one of our best outings, team hitting was an anemic .167, 2BB, 4K.  The team is beginning to "grip."  Defensively, we looked pretty good, with more great plays in the field, GA was hustling, no errors, etc.

Tomorrow's game, a 7:05 affair against the Oakland A's.  The A's are sending veteran ace Barry Zito(1-2, 5.93 ERA) to face spot starter Hector Carrasco(0-1, 5.71ERA), however, there were rumors of moves happening with call-ups/send-downs to AAA during the broadcast so we'll see who's on the hill tomorrow for the Angels.

Sunday Afternoon Line-Ups

Here are the line-ups for this afternoon:

Sox:
Posednik - LF
Cintron - 2B
Thome -DH
Konerko - 1B
Dye - RF
Crede - 3B
Mackowiak - CF
Uribe -SS
Widger - C

Halos:
Figgins - 3B
Cabrera - SS
Guerrero - RF
Anderson - LF
Salmon - DH
Erstad - CF
Kotchman - 1B
Mathis - C
Kennedy - 2B

Lovely, another day with multiple sub-.200BA players in the line-up.  Come on Mathis and Kotchman, you need to get it done, and soon.

Angels Send Ervin To Bump

The Angels are sending Ervin(2-0, 2.96ERA) to the mound today in an effort to staunch the bleeding.  On the heels of a horrible outing by Weaver and a good effort by Escobar, et. al., which had no offensive support, Santana is going to try to put together a good start.  We'll see if he can stop the "mood swings" that are his typical starts.  His last start was excellent, going six and picking up 10K along with the W against Detroit.

The White Sox are sending Jon Garland(2-1, 7.30ERA) to the hill.  Garland, a SoCal local, who went to JFK HS in Granada Hills (as did GA), got roughed up pretty badly in his first two starts (v DET 12.60ERA, v KC 15.19ERA), he, however, blames that on a "dead arm" period.

It looks as if Escobar's plunking (which appeared to be VERY unintentional) of Pierzynski has increased the tension between these two squads.  The Los Angeles Times is reporting, today, that the umpiring crew claimed that "bad blood" between the teams is "well documented."  This can only get worse.  They umpires (or more likely MLB) are trying to create a "stir" that will drive viewership and attendance.  Today's outing should prove interesting.

Angels Lose, Break Streak

Not only did the White Sox beat the Angels tonight 2-1, they ended an eight-series home win streak (i.e., they've won the last 8-series we've played at home).  While I understand what Mike was trying to do, resting Salmon, I wouldn't say that Fonzie is a DH quality player, and, he showed that tonight.  Now, in addition to Bart being on the DL, there is a chance that Escobar will go as well, he left the game after 5IP with a blood blister on his pitching hand.

The Halo hitters looked uncomfortable all night at the plate.  When they did get hits they looked surprised, a great example of that was Vlady's flailing single in the 9th.  At least Figgy and Vlady had some swiped bags tonight to pad some stats for the team.  But then there was The Kotch, 1-3, 1K, 1CS.  Come on, man, and you had such a promising night last night, but tonight...nothing, that single should've been an E.  To make matters even worse, GA went 0-fur too.  Not the type of performance you want from your clean-up hitter.  The Halos had their 6-8 hitters in the line-up tonight hitting below the Mendoza line, that just isn't acceptable in the Bigs.

Defensively there were many highlights, Ersty, Figgy, OC, all had great defensive plays in the game, should've made ESPN's Sportscenter.

Tomorrow's game is an early one, starting at 12:35 PT.  The Halos send Ervin Santana(2-0, 2.96ERA) to the hill to face John Garland(2-1, 7.30ERA) in an attempt to prevent the Sox from sweeping the Halos away.  The game will be broadcast on FSN and KSPN radio.

Angels(12-11) Look to Even Score Against Sox(15-7)

Tonight sees the Angles confronting the ChiSox again.  Hopefully tonight's pitcher, Escobar, will fare better than The Weave against the powerful Sox line-up.  Speaking of line-ups, here they are for tonight:

Chicago White Sox:
Podsednik - LF
Iguchi - 2B
Thome - DH
Konerko - 1B
Dye - RF
Pierzynski - C
Crede - 3B
Uribe - SS
Anderson - CF

Los Angeles Angels:
Figgins - 3B - "Figgy"
Cabrera - SS - "OC"
Guerrero - RF - "Vlady"
Anderson - LF - "GA"
Erstad - CF -"Ersty"
Alfonzo - DH - "Fonzie"
Kotchman - 1B - "The Kotch"
Molina - C - "JMol"
Kennedy - 2B - "AK"

I won't pain everyone by linking to every player sheet, in the line-ups, however, I will continue to do so on the post-game and pre-game analysis posts.

Angels Fall to ChiSox 8-5

Well, thanks Jeff, for another exceptional outing.  What are you thinking going only 2.1IP, 8H, 8R, 8ER, 2BB, 4K, 1HR, 1HBP (for a game total 34.29ERA and 8.952WHIP), and GA, can you show a little hustle, buddy?  We're not expecting much, you've always loafed around, but, come on, you HAD to have that fly ball up against the wall and you flat missed it, no excuse, in the replay you were there, had room, and just put your glove in the wrong place.  This is your home stadium, man, make the catch, but, at least you went 2-3 with 1BB, 1K, 1RBI.

Kotch went 0-2 again, but had a potential 3R shot over the low wall in RF robbed by Jermaine Dye and hit the ball hard in his other AB too; if he can keep getting his hands through the zone quickly like that he'll get his average above the Mendoza line yet.  Molina is getting back in the grove, going 1-4 and getting a pickoff of Podsednik at 1st and a CS of Uribe at 2nd.  Vlady accounted for 4 of our 5 RBI, going 2-4 with a 2R HR in the 1st, and, as mentioned earlier, GA got the 5th RBI.  Figgy had an interesting night at the plate, probably remembering his 0-fur stint in the ALDS, he was VERY patient at the plate going 0-2, 3BB, 3R, 1K, 1SB; if he can sit on pitches like that it'll continue to drive that OBP up where it needs to be for a lead off guy.

Kevin Gregg came in to attempt to pick up the pieces that Weaver left scattered about Angel Stadium in the 3rd, and, he looked sharp again, going 3.2IP, giving up only 4H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB and getting 5K.  That's the kind of bullpen stuff we're used to in Anaheim.  J.C. and Yan followed hold the White Sox to zeros on the H, and R category for the last 3IP.

Tomorrow's game is another evening affair, with a 7:05 PT start.  The White Sox send Jose Contreras(3-0, 1.55ERA) to the mound to face the Angels' Kelvim Escobar(3-1, 3.75ERA).  Both these guys are coming off of fairly good starts, come back tomorrow for the pre-game analysis, pre-game line-ups, and post game wrap.

Angels v Cheaters White Sox Line-Ups

Here's tonight's line-ups, sorry this is late, I was at an ultrasound appointment with the wifey, it's another boy :-D:

Cheaters White Sox:
Podsednik - LF
Iguchi - 2B
Thome - DH
Konerko - 1B
Dye - RF
Pierzynski - C
Crede - 3B
Uribe - SS
Anderson - CF

Angels:
Figgins - 3B
Cabrera - SS
Guerrero - RF
Anderson - LF
Salmon - DH
Erstad - CF
Kotchman (ARRRGH!) - 1B
Molina - C
Kennedy - 2B

Come on, if The Kotch can't get it done we need to lose him, at least Molina keeps the pitchers in the games, even if he is only hitting .186.

Angels Start Series Against Cheaters White Sox

Tonight's 7:05PT game marks the first time the Angels have seen the White Sox since their cheating victory over the Halos in last year's ALDS.  The Sox are 14-6 this year and looking sharp, they send righty Freddy Garcia(3-1, 6.23ERA) to the mound to face righty Jeff Weaver(1-2, 5.33ERA).  The Weave's last start looked sharp and he's shaping up into the form for which he was aquired.  Line-up updates later in the day, also, the game tonight is on FSN.

Halos Win Series With 4-0 Shut-out of Tigers

Sorry for posting this late, but, today is a travel day and I had computer issues at home and just got the new one set-up this morning; anyway, on with the show...

Lackey pitched another absolute gem to get his third big W of the season.  Here are the stats, and tell me this isn't a GREAT outing, 8IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 5BB, 8K, the only hit coming in the 5th inning by Ordonez.  We needed Big John to step up with Bart on the DL and he did so, with authority, lowering his ERA to a team best (for starters) 3.09.  Shields pitched the 9th, but, did so without any drama to hold the shut-out together for John.

The hitters, too, looked good against what had seemed to be a hot pitcher.  Maroth only lasted 6IP, though, giving up all 4R (4ER) and getting only 2K, his ERA now a whopping 1.85.  Vlady got another HR, his 5th of the season, GA looked solid going 2-3 (.325AVG),  for that matter, the first five hitters in the line-up looked good, going a combined 8-17 (.471), 3BB, 1K.  Quinny got another hit keeping his average around .350 (when is Kotch leaving the team Mike?).

And WOW fielding, Vlad's cannon still is very effective, throwing behind Ordonez at first and another error free game.  It's amazing how the Halos win when they don't make errors.

The Angels have today off, tomorrow sees them start a 3-game series with the "Cheating World Champion" White Sox.  Freddy Garcia(3-1, 6.23ERA) is on the hill for the Sox, Jeff Weaver(1-2, 5.33ERA) toes the rubber for the Halos.