Halo Hotline

Bad News for the Angels

Vlad is out with a torn pectoral 15d-DL, but out for at least a month before even being re-evaluated.
The bullpen can't pitch...but hopefully call-up from AAA, Rich Thompson will help that.
I hate the World Baseball Classic, it destroys pitchers.  We'll see if anyone has the time to go through all of the stats of guys that threw and see how poorly they do this time around.

Game 4 of 162

Hopefully the game tonight will help everyone start to work through the tragedy of this week.
Tonight sees the Halos welcome their arch-rivals (and traditional bane), the Red Stockings to Anaheim for a three game series.  We're sending Jered "Bob-and-"Weaver (0-0, 0.00) to the hill and they're throwing their stud, Tim Wakefield(0-0, 0.00).

The Angels will be playing tonight with only 24 men on their roster, in memory of Nick Adenhart.  In addition, they'll be wearing the patch, below, over their hearts on their home and away jerseys the remainder of the season.

Nick Adenhart - 1986-2009

It is a day of tremendous sadness for everyone in the Angels family, and in MLB.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Nick's family, the Angels family, and the families of all of those touched by the tragic accident this morning.

Angels information
OC Register story

Angels Drop Game 2

:  4R, 8H, 0E
:  6R, 16H, 1E

Well the Halos didn't waste any time in loosing a game this season, dropping the 2^nd one out of the gate.  Kevin Jepsen (L, 0-1, 1IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 18.00ERA) gets the blame and the loss in this game.  Facing only seven hitters, in the 7^th inning, he got shelled.  Darren Oliver (0.2IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 13.50ERA) didn't do too much better, in his brief appearance, facing only 5 hitters.  Jason Bulger (1.1IP, 1H, 1BB, 1K, 0.00ERA) tossed the last out in the 8^th and the 9^th to mop up.  Dustin Moseley (6.0IP, 9H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 4K, 4.50ERA) didn't look too bad in his outing, he looked like a #4/5 starter, pitching to contact - as evident by the number of hits by the A's.  No one looked outstanding offensively, with the exception of Kendry Morales (2-3, 1RBI, 1IBB, 3TB, 0LOB, .286) who looked like a demon at the plate, and Chone Figgins, who had his 1^st SB of the season, and Jeff Mathis, who scored from 3^rd on a WP by Trevor Cahill, on the basepaths.
Tonight, however, is another night, and will see Nick Adenhart (0-0, 0.00) facing Dana Eveland (0-0, 0.00) at 7:05PM.  We'll be talking about that game later today.

Game 2 of 162 - A's @ Angels

Well, here we go again, tonight is a 7:05 start time.  After last night's outing, tonight we see an interesting a not-so-interesting line-up for our Halos.
On the hill for the Halos is RHP Dustin Moseley (0-0, 0.00) and for the A's, making his MLB debut, is RHP Trevor Cahill (0-0, 0.00).
And the line-up:
Figgins - 3B
Kendrick - 2B
Abreu - RF
Guerrero - DH
Hunter - CF
Morales - 1B
Rivera - LF
Mathis - C
Aybar, E - SS

Halos Top A's

Final score
: 3R, 9H, 1E
:  0R, 3H, 0E

The Halos are 1-0 with their victory over the Oakland A's last night.  High points of the game were Howie Kendrick's (2-4, 1R, 2RBI, 1K) solo shot off of Braden (L, 0-1, 6IP, 9H, 3R, 3ER, 1BB, 3K, 1HR, 4.50ERA) in the 5th inning and 13 pitch 1-2-3 9th inning tossed by Fuentes (S, 1, 1IP, 0H, 0BB, 0K, 0.00ERA).  Joe Saunders (W, 1-0, 6.2IP, 3H, 2BB, 2K, 0.00ERA), who got the win, also looked sharp in his opening day outing.

Opening Day - LA Angels Host Oakland A's

Well, here we go, it's opening day...

0-0 vs. 0-0

Tonight's game, a 6:05 PM affair, features some interesting starters.  For the Halos, it is the projected #3 starter, Joe Saunders (0-0, 0.00) will be taking the mound.    Joe was 5-0 in 6 starts in '08 with a 3.18 ERA.  For the A's, it'll be Dallas Braden (0-0, 0.00).  Dallas was the projected #4 in the A's rotation coming into spring.  He was out of commission after September of '08 and was up and down to AAA before that.

UPDATE - Lineups:

Halos
Figgins, 3B
Kendrick, 2B
Abreu, RF
Guerrero, DH
Hunter, CF
Morales, 1B
Rivera, LF
Mathis, C
Aybar, E, SS

A's
Sweeney, R, CF
Cabrera, SS
Giambi, DH
Holliday, LF
Garciaparra, 1B
Chavez, 3B
Suzuki, C
Cust, RF
Ellis, 2B

Interesting that Mathis and not Nipples (Napoli) is behind the plate.  Also, interesting that Valdy is DH-ing with Rivera in LF and Abreu in RF... Wonder what Mike is thinking?

Halo Hotline Picks & Predictions for 2009

Okay, so, here it goes, the prognostication is going to happen:

1. Kendry Morales will rake all season, Casey Kotchman and Mark Teixeira will be forgotten, and he will be in the running for AL MVP.
2. Howie Kendrick will tear it up for about 25-30 games and then get hurt and go on the DL until after the All Star break.
3. HK's injury will open the door for Brandon Wood to come up and get some playing time in a platoon rotation with Aybar and Izturis at 2B/SS.
4. The Halos rotation stabilizes quicker than anyone imagines and they win 99 games, again just missing the 100 game mark.

Well that's it on the guessing game from the Halo Hotline.

UPDATE:  For more prognostication, see Halo's Heaven.

Halos v Padres - Episode II

After yesterday's squeezed out victory of 6-5 over the Padres, the Halos are hosting the boys from down South.
     Angels:  6R, 8H, 3E
     Padres:  5R, 6H, 1E
Today's game is a 6:05 PM start, here in Anaheim, and features Sean O'Sullivan (1-1, 12.86ERA) tossing the pearl for the Halos and Kevin Correia (0-3. 7.08ERA) taking the hill for the Padres.  Tonight's contest is the last spring game for both clubs as the Angels prepare to host the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.

Halos v. Padres

After an atypical game against the Dodgers last night that saw the Halos lose 2-6 with the line being:
    Angels:   2R, 8H, 0E
    Dodgers:  6R, 10H, 0E
The Halos are taking on the Padres tonight at PETCO park in San Diego.  Taking the mound for the Angels will be RHP Kelvim Escobar (0-0, 0.00), who's making his first start of Spring.  The Padres are sending rookie RHP Walter Silva (0-0, 1.50) to the mound.  Some key notes from the Angels press notes:
     The Halos have scored 113 runs on 154 hits in their last 11 games (27 HR).
     The Angles are batting .320 in spring to lead the majors; they're also slugging .532 to lead MLB.

Good luck Halos.