It's that time of week again. The blog everyone looks most forward to! (I don't know if that's true, but it's always fun to do the weekly mailbag blogs).

As always, you can send me an e-mail at mhurst@pe.com if you would like your Angels questions - or any others - answered.

On to the mailbag.

First question comes from Bill Chandos, who asks:

Any news on Dallas McPherson? I know he's fallen out of favor with the Angels and they put Brandon Wood in line in front of him. But D-Mac has a sweet swing, and he hit with some authority. As I'm sure you remember, he put the ball on the green backdrop several times. Any chance they could find another position for him, or will he just be rehabbed and traded for another bullpen pitcher that they'll have to designate him for assignment?

The latest news on McPherson is that he's begun throwing and has started running under his own weight after having lower back surgery to remove a herniated disk in January. He is nearing the six-month stage of his recovery and hopes to be on a field at the end of August. He wants to play winter ball and should be fully recovered by spring training.

I don't think that McPherson has necessarily fallen out of favor with the Angels so much that his body has not allowed him to be the player they envisioned when they allowed Troy Glaus to leave as a free agent. McPherson hit a combined 43 home runs in 2004 but then back, groin and hip injuries limited him to 101 games in two years.

Wood may be ahead of McPherson on the organization's depth chart, but only because he's been healthy and tearing up the minor leagues for the past three seasons. Look for McPherson to be in spring training next season battling for a spot on the team's roster. If he proves he's healthy and there is no room for him, he could prove a somewhat decent trading chip.

Next question comes from loyal reader and e-mailer Susan Piper

How about a piece about how reporters travel, when they are following a team. Do they fly with the team or do you fly separately? Do you get together with players outside of game time? etc... OK, hope you had a good flight to Tampa Bay.

One of the first questions I am always asked when I meet people and tell them what I do for a living is if I travel with the team. The answer is no, all reporters fly commercial and oftentimes stay at different hotels than the ones the teams do. Sometimes in certain cities, if you get a good deal, reporters will stay at the team hotel, but a lot of times the team hotel is a pretty expensive and swanky joint.

Reporters stopped traveling with the teams they covered in the 1950s or 1960s. A lot of it had to do with bringing unbiased reporting to the newspapers and as journalism changed, the scrutiny became more intense and baseball owners quit paying for the reporters to travel with the teams.

The next one, more of an outlet for frustration, comes from Riverside's Jose Padilla:

Doesn't it look to you that Mr. Moreno & Mr. Stoneman have a very profitable business going on with the AAA LA Angels of Anaheim? I mean, why change? Take notes, please.

Prediction: DEBACLE in the second half, if they do not bring two better starters and two better RBI producers. PERIOD.

I guess I will answer these in order.

1. They should charge MLB prices. If they didn't they would lose money hand over fist. The payroll is $109 million, one of the priciest in baseball. Plus, the team has won more games in the past three seasons than they have at any other three-season span in their history.

2. The team has 17 of their 25 players from their own minor league system (and this doesn't include those on the DL). That is terrific work by their farm system and their organization to have that many players come from the minors (admittedly, I counted Chone Figgins, Dustin Moseley and Nathan Haynes since each spent some time in the Angels' farm system although they weren't drafted by the Angels). For a team to be this successful (one of the top winning teams in baseball) with that many players coming from the farm system, well, every team would love to be that stable from top to bottom.

3. The Angels have tried numerous times to add that power bat. They finished as the runner-up in trying to sign Paul Konerko and Alfonso Soriano the past two winters, they had a deal done for Miguel Tejada last year but Baltimore pulled the plug on it. They explored trading for Todd Helton and Adam LaRoche this past winter and have kicked the tires on Garrett Atkins and Adam Dunn. So, to say they aren't trying is a mistake.

4. Santana has made three Class AAA starts. He went 1-0 with a 4.19 ERA. Let's give him a chance and see if he can straighten things out.

5. Scioscia remains loyal to the guys who have won for him in the past. The two guys you listed, while they may be past their primes, are still capable players. Colon will never win a Cy Young again and Anderson won't hit 30 homers again, but both fit into the Angels' team and would fit into any other team very nicely.

6. Butcher has been involved in the Angels' system for several years and got his feet wet last year as the Devil Rays' pitching coach. Sure, Black was great, but he was so good he got a managerial job. That happens. Teams want the best staff possible and Black was a good candidate. Look at the job he's done in San Diego. But, to put Butcher down like that is foolish because he knows his stuff and the pitchers have nothing but praise for him.

And, finally, Brian Carter gets the last word about a topic that has often bothered Angels' fans.

I guess Bill Stoneman better trade for a big bat. It looks like the Angel bats are on strike. Even Vlad is terrible now. They must be sending Stoneman a message. Either that or maybe they just (stink). I'm really tired of this lousy offense. It doesn't matter how bad the pitching is if your big bat is Jose Molina. What a shameful start to the second half. Luckily these games are on early. I don't have to waste my time watching them.

Well, every team will go through ups and downs. You can't expect a pop-gun offense like the Angels' to actually average 6 runs a game like they did in June. It just won't hold up for an entire season.

As far as Jose Molina being a big bat? Well, he had a few hard-hit balls the other night, but I wouldn't classify him as such. Yes, it's a concern that they haven't homered in 12 games, but this team wasn't built to hit home runs. I doubt they'll do what they did in June again this season, but it won't continue to be this bad for that long.