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July 2008
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June 2008 ArchivesThe weekend Dodger series was an aberration, the Angels could only hope. But maybe not, as the Angels managed just four hits, and a single run, in falling 6-1 Monday to the second-place AL West Oakland A's, now just 3.5 games behind them. Jon Garland (7-5), the Angels starter and loser, who should have escaped with giving up just two runs in seven innings except for a dreadful Juan Rivera two-base error on a dropped fly ball in left, said it wasn't so much the who or what of this series that mattered, or even one game. "With five games left (with Oakland) before the (All-Star) break, we have a chance to bury them,'' Garland said. But not the way the popup-hitting Angels (they had 16) swung the bas Monday. The A's had nearly that many base hits (13), while all the Angels could show for a shuffled lineup was a Mike Napoli home run, his 12th, for their only score. The beat goes on, if you count Angels batters beating their bats into the ground after hitting another popup here against the A's. The count is up to 13 now for lazy, easily-caught pop flies through seven innings in a 4-1 game dominated by the second-place AL West A's. The thing that happened last weekend in Dodger Stadium is happening here. Wild swings, Bad pitches. Poor decisions. Taking strikes. Swinging at balls. Not even making the A's make plays. They could have won this one without wearing gloves. But had left-fielder Jaun Rivera known how to use his, aqt least this one would have been just 2-1 instead of what seems to be an unreachable three-run deficit for the home team. Two shots are all the Angels have and with just three hits thus far, two might not be nearly enough. Furcal, SS It's not the same old, same old. 1) Chone Figgins, 3B (.294); 2) Erick Aybar, SS (.275); 3) Vlad Guerrero, DH (.287); 4) Torii Hunter, CF (.276); 5) Howie Kendrick, 2B (.314); 6) Gary Matthews Jr., RF (.241); 7) Juan Rivera, LF (.186); 8) Casey Kotchman, 1B (.292); 9) Mike Napoli, C (.209). Notes: No Garret Anderson for a second straight day and Casey Kotchman drops to eighth. On paper, Monday's matchup may look like the start of a three-game series battle for an advantage at the top of the AL West, with the Angels (49-33) holding on to a 4.5-game lead over the second-place A's (44-37). But not really. Forget the A's, no offense intended, say the Angels right now after scoring one run in three games at Dodger Stadium and getting shut out twice while going on a scoreless 20-inning streak. It's about the Angels right now, say Manager Mike Scioscia and batting coach Mickey Hatcher. It's about what they do, how they bounce back and approach each at-bat and improve their ability to get on base and play their game. It all starts at 7:05 (FSNW-HD) with Angels righty Jon Garland (7-4, 4.05 ERA) going against A's lefty Greg Smith *4-6, 3.69). Chin-lung Hu is scheduled to undergo a series of tests on his right eye this week. Matt Kemp was out of the lineup because he woke up with irritation in his right eye and was unable to immediately put a contact lens in it. Due to the irritation, he's likely unavailable tonight. Also, Juan Pierre is out four to six weeks. Repko, CF Juan Pierre has been placed on the disabled list after an MRI exam revealed a sprained MCL in his left knee. Jason Repko has been recalled for today's game. The team begins a five-game homestand today. The series is a matchup of the AL West's top two teams. The Dodgers open a four-game set in Houston today when Eric Stults takes the mound for the Dodgers. Stults is 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA and is coming off a four-hit shutout of the White Sox. The Dodgers will be without Juan PIerre, who will have an MRI today after injuring his left knee Sunday. The Kings announced Sunday night that they have traded All-Star defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky to the Edmonton Oilers for forward Jarret Stoll and defenseman Matt Greene. Visnovsky, 31, has led Kings defenseman in scoring for the past three seasons. He led the entire Kings team in scoring during the 2005-06 season with 67 points (17 goals, 50 assists) .The smooth-skating Slovakian was a 2007 NHL All-Star. Stoll had a career-high 68 points during his rookie season in 2005-06. He had 14 goals and 22 assists for the Oilers last year. Greene will also be entering his third NHL season. He had just a single assist in 46 games for Edmonton last season. --Graig Woodburn After scoring just one run in the series at Dodger Stadium, manager Mike Scioscia was ready to head home with Sunday's 1-0 victory. "We're not looking back," Scioscia said. "It's a win today." Juan Pierre will not travel with the team to Houston tonight and will undergo an MRI on his left knee on Monday to determine the severity of the injury that he sustained in the sixth inning today. Pierre has never been on the DL in his career and is one of those players who is never in the training room, preferring to play through his bumps and bruises instead of getting treatment. "For him to come out of the ball game, it's more than just a bruise, you would think," Manager Joe Torre said. "I have no information other than that. Knowing Juan Pierre, he wants nothing to do with trainers. Not that he doesn't like them personally, but this was something very tough for him to give into." Pierre was unavailable for comment following the game but Manager Joe Torre said if Pierre is to miss more than one game, the club would have to make a roster move. The team has just three outfielders and the likely candidate would be to call up Jason Repko. Infielder Luis Maza is the emergency outfielder. Dodgers LF Juan Pierre, who has been invaluable to the team this season, injured his left knee while sliding into second base on a steal in the sixth inning. Pierre was safe but Angels' shortstop Erick Aybar fell on top of him near the end of the slide and Pierre's left knee twisted akwardly. After several minutes of being down on the field, Pierre was helped up by the training staff and tried to test the leg but was then lifted for a pinch-runner. Jeff Pentland, who was a hitting instructor in the Seattle Mariner organization, was hired as a hitting coach for the Dodgers' Class AAA team in Las Vegas. Pentland is a former coach at UC Riverside. Manager Joe Torre said that when Andruw Jones returns from the DL in July that Juan Pierre would remain the full-time left fielder. That means Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp will platoon in right field with Delwyn Young having to play the role of little-used fifth outfielder and pinch-hitter. Matt Kemp has hit in the No. 2 spot in the lineup 17 times this season, a situation that Joe Torre admits is not always the most ideal. Kemp has been too aggressive and doesn't work the count enough from that spot and isn't the type of hitter who can always move a runner over. On Friday, with Juan Pierre on first and no outs, he flied out on the first pitch of an at-bat, never giving Pierre a chance to steal second. The Dodgers are 5-12 with Kemp in the No. 2 hole. "You put him up there because of his speed factor," Torre said. "He's not as selective as he is going to be, and not taking advantage of the fact they have to throw him strikes. It's still something he's going to have to feel one of these days. "It will get better. It may be one of those light switches going off all of the sudden." *Hiroki Kuroda came out of his simulated game with no setbacks and will start Wednesday in Houston. *Brad Penny will throw a simulated game this week and could come off the DL to start on Saturday in San Francisco. *Chan Ho Park was told by Manager Joe Torre on Sunday that he will not get another start in the rotation because of the wealth of starters. Said Torre: "He just kind of stared at me." Figgins 3B It's the Angels John Lackey (5-1, 1.65) vs. the Dodgers Derek Lowe (5-7, 4.05). The Dodgers look for the sweep after earning shutouts the first two games, despite not getting a hit on Saturday. The Angels have not scored a run in 19 innings. For just the fifth time in baseball history a team won a game without getting a hit. Unfortunatley for the Angels,the two fifth-inning errors led to a 1-0 loss to the Dodgers. Jered Weaver (6 innings) and Jose Arredondo (2 innings) were near perfect, but the Dodgers' Chad Billingsley was equally tough. The Angels left nine on base and were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. Dodgers win, marking the fifth time since 1900 that a major league team has won without the benefit of a hit. It's the first time any team has done so since 1992. I'll let the Dodgers say wow for me. "It just comes down to winning," Russell Martin said. "It doesn't matter how you win. It's amazing what happens when you do little things right." "I wanted to go out there with extra hype because this was a special game without a no-hitter on our side," Takashi Saito said through an interpreter. "One pitch could have decided it." "I've witnessed some other stuff, but this is pretty bizarre," Joe Torre said. "No hits," said Matt Kemp, breathing a sigh of relief. "As long as we score more runs than the other team. "I'm pretty excited. It's like we're going to the playoffs or something." The Angels Jered Weaver has not allowed a hit through six innings. He's also losing 1-0 to the Dodgers on an unearned run. Stay tuned With Dodgers manager Joe Torre's daily meeting with the media once again turning to the topic of Torre not having the easiest time getting through to the team's young players, Angels broadcaster Rex Hudler, who played for Torre with the Cardinals, could no longer contain himself and interrupted. "It's hard for me to understand how you can't impact them the first day you step in the clubhouse," Hudler said. "All you had to do was take off your glasses and stare, and it made a difference." Third baseman Chone Figgins did not start Saturday's game due to the infection on his left knee. Figgins was scratched from the lineup Friday and is still undergoing antibiotic treatment for the wound, which he got two weeks ago while sliding into a base. He was available to pinch hit, but it's unclear when he'll return the starting lineup. "Pretty much everybody that knew me that watched the game called to ask what kind of drugs I was on," Andy LaRoche said of a bunt last night that came with two out and the bases loaded. LaRoche, who got a talking-to from Manager Joe Torre, said he couldn't remember bunting for a base hit in his entire life. "Why not do it with two out in a one-run game against our cross-town rivals," LaRoche mused. "It didn't work out and made me look like an idiot." Izturis 3B Pierre, LF It was an interesting sight in the Angel clubhouse before Friday night's game at Dodger Stadium: Angels general manager Tony Reagins spending his time circulating among the players, engaging in one-on-one conversations, in addition to conferring with Mike Scioscia and his coaches. Not many general managers do that to such a degree. But it's an effective way to gauge the pulse of a clubhouse, and it also gives the first-year GM some credibility with the players and staff that he oversees. "I think it's important to get a feel for what's going on in the clubhouse," said Reagins, 40, an Indio native. "Obviously I'm not with them every day, but for the most part I'm with them. They understand that I'm approachable, and they can bounce things off me and it won't fall on a deaf ear." It helps that a number of him already know him, and vice versa. He's been in the organization 17 years and was the team's Director of Player Development the last six. "I've been with most of these guys for most of their professional careers, so there's a comfort level both ways, he said." As the former player development guy, he's probably as qualified as anybody to discuss Brandon Wood, long considered the organization's top hitting prospect, who was up with the Angels during their injury siege and hit .125 in 29 games. At Salt Lake, Wood is hitting .272 with 12 homers and 34 RBI in 43 games and an OPS of .860, compared to .352 in the majors. "I think he got here and got a taste, to really see what it takes to play at this level and play at this level consistently for a long time," Reagins said. "I think that's going to benefit him long-term, and hopefully he's in a position to help us down the road, but this last experience was a good one. "Having not had success in the major leagues and going down to the minor leagues and doing consistently well, the last 50 games he saw up here really gives him an idea that, 'Hey, this is what I need to do to get better, and this is what I need to do to help this club.' I just left him in Salt Lake and I saw a lot of adjustments in his swing that really impressed me, and I said, 'Hey, this guy might be figuring it out.' So I'm encouraged, definitely." The Saturday Freeway Series game will be Angels RHP Jered Weaver (7-7, 4.56) vs. Dodgers RHP Chad Billingsley (6-7, 3.64). Game time will be at 7:10 and will be on KCAL. The Dodgers won, 6-0, in the opener on Friday. With the bases loaded and two out in the third inning, rookie Andy LaRoche gott himself out on a batter's interference. LaRoche bunted the ball for whatever reason and then ran into the bunt. According to Manager Joe Torre, LaRoche did it on his own accord. "It's a (heck) of a time to pull it out of your bag," Torre said. Torre spent pre-game going over one play the previous day when James Loney made a diving stop at first base to record an out, but didn't need to do so since a shift was on and three infielders were overloaded on the right side of the infield. "It's James," Torre sighed. Russell Martin hit a solo homer and Andre Ethier hit a three-run shot to help the Dodgers post a 6-0 victory over the Angels in the first of the Freeway Series games at Chavez Ravine on Friday. Chan Ho Park scattered four hits over six shutout innings and the bullpen did not allow a basrerunner while striking out seven to close things out. The Angels struck out 14 times, including the final six batters. Jeff Kent had a sac fly and James Loney singled in a run for the Dodgers. More on this in the Saturday paper, but Angels P Kelvim Escobar will begin a rehab assignment on Monday with Class A Rancho Cucamonga. Escobar has been out all season with a torn labrum and threw a 45-pitch session in Tempe this week. He will throw 45 pitches on Monday and could return around the All-Star Break, though it could be as a reliever. "Now I just have to get to the point where I can throw 90 pitches," Escobar said. "If everything goes well, I can be back after the All-Star Break, easily. Right now, I could pitch as a reliever if they needed to." Juan Rivera was still in Miami dealing with some complications after his wife gave birth to their child but is expected to be back by Saturday's game. Mom and child are ok and the complications are not considered serious. Angels 3B Chone Figgins was scratched from the lineup because of an infection in his knee. He sustained a cut while sliding earlier this week and it became an issue on Wednesday. "When he came in today, it looked hot and angry so they want to give it a chance to settle down," Manager Mike Scioscia said. Rafael Furcal, Andruw Jones and possibly Nomar Garciaparra are scheduled to begin rehabilitation assignments for Class AAA Las Vegas on Monday. Furcal and Garciaparra could return before the All-Star break, and Jones could soon follow after the break. Hiroki Kuroda and Brad Penny had their scheduled simulations games Saturday scrapped. Both will instead throw bullpen sessions because Penny is still feeling something in his shoulder and Kruoda's neck is still bothering him. Scott Proctor will be shut down from throwing for 10 days, but the MRI exam he underwent revealed no structural damage in his shoulder.
"Todd Bertuzzi is a quality person who we believe can still play at the NHL level," said Ducks GM Brian Burke. "Unfortunately, we are handcuffed by our salary cap situation. We thank him for his efforts last year and wish him the best of luck in the future." Bertuzzi was signed to a two-year contract last season that will pay him $4 million this year. If he not claimed on waivers and the Ducks buyout his contract, he will recieve 2/3 of the contract amount and the team will have a $2 million charge to the salary cap. The veteran power forward had 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists) in 68 games last season. ---Graig Woodburn James McDonald takes a spill at a kids camp (he's OK) Andruw Jones has a fan, and he has talent And finally... The Clips' second-round selection of DeAndre Jordan, the 7-foot center from Texas A&M, could be considered a steal, a project, or a risk. Or all three. Jordan started 21 of his 35 games with the Aggies last season, averaging 20.1 minutes, 7.9 points and 6.0 rebounds a game. He's got physical gifts, including a long wingspan, athleticism, great hands, and an ability to finish, but he's real raw, not fundamentally sound and needs to get stronger. And there were questions as a collegian about his maturity level. He turns 20 on July 21, but at this point is being compared to a young Andrew Bynum--and that's the best case scenario. The Clippers shouldn't and probably won't expect him to contribute much right away, but if they handle him properly they could, indeed, have a steal. The Clippers acquired point guard Mike Taylor, the 55th player selected by Portland, in a trade for their second round pick in 2009, according to reports (the trade can't be announced until the league gives the go-ahead. Taylor is an interesting story. He's the first player to be selected in the NBA draft out of the D-League; he'd played for the Idaho Stampede, averaging 14.5 points and 4.3 assists, scoring 20 or more points on 11 occasions and hitting four three-pointers in a three-minute span in Idaho's league championship clinching victory in Game 3 of the league finals against Austin. He'd previously played at Iowa State, where he scored 16.0 points and logged 4.5 assists in his junior season before being asked to leave for academic reasons. According to the DraftExpress web site, he's "always looking to push the ball," and was "the quickest player up and down the floor" all week during the pre-draft camp in Orlando. The scouting report on him is that he's undersized for a shooting guard but "lacks the true point guard skills to handle the 'one' full time," according to the web site. Since the Clippers are woefully undermanned at the point, he'll get a good, long look. Comments from Clippers first round draft choice Eric Gordon: Some highlights from the post-draft interview session with Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy (comments from Eric Gordon to come): The Lakers waited almost 4 1/2 hours before they got to draft, but they finally got their man. They selected Joe Crawford out of Kentucky with their second-round pick, the 58th selection. Crawford is a 6-4 shooting guard. He averaged 17.9 points during his senior year at Kentucky. -- Broderick Turner Four hours and 20 minutes into this NBA draft selection process and your Los Angeles Lakers have finally made a selection. With the 58th pick, the Western Conference champs selected shooting guard Joe Crawford from Kentucky. Crawford is listed at 6-foot-4, 213 pounds. They Lakers traded away their first-round pick in the midseason deal to acquire Pau Gasol. 13 -- Teenagers selected in the first 25 picks. The Clippers took a guard and a center in Thursday's NBA Draft. With the No. 7 overall pick, the Clippers selected Eric Gordon, a 6-foot-3 point guard from Indiana University. Gordon led the Big Ten in scoring at 20.9 points per game in his only collegiate season, including 10 games with 25 points or more. With their selection in the second round, the Clippers took DeAndre Jordan, a 6-11 center from Texas A&M. Jordan, who also left school after his freshman season, averaged 7.9 points, 6.0 rebounds in 20.1 minutes over 35 games. He had only two double-doubles, including a season-best game with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks in just 20 minutes against Rice. Rafael Furcal is psyched, as he is on track to begin a rehabilitation assignment next week. "Right now, I'm happy," he said. "I don't feel anything. I feel so good." Hiroki Kuroda had his scheduled simulated game pushed back a day to Saturday after waking up with a stiff neck. - Jerome Williams has signed and been activated at Class A Inland Empire. - Ramon Martinez has concluded a rehabilitation assignment at the Gulf Coast League and is back playing for Class AAA Las Vegas. - Mitch Jones has re-signed and is playing for Class AAA Las Vegas again after a 19-home run campaign last season got him sold to Japan. - Ivan DeJesus will play in the Futures Game in New York during the All-Star break.
With the first round of the U.S. Women's Open halfway through, Temecula's Sydnee Michaels and Beaumont's Yani Tseng find themselves near the top of the leaderboard after shooting matching 2-under-par 71 at the testy Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn. Ji Young Oh shot a 67 and is leading. Tseng, who became the second-youngest player to win a major title when she claimed the LPGA Championship earlier this month, carded four birdies and one double-bogey on the 316-yard par-4 seventh hole. Michaels, a junior-to-be at UCLA, got it going with a tap-in birdie on the par-5 18th (her ninth hole.) The 20-year-old notched birdies on three of her next five holes, before finishing her round with her fifth birdie on No. 9. "I kind've was trying to do something swing, and I didn't get it down until my back nine," Michaels said by phone. "Then once I got it down, I really attacked the pins." Neither player has made the cut at an Open in two appearances apiece. "Have I broken through? I guess so," Michaels said after her best Open round. "It just shows that hard work pays off, and my game is really improved a lot over the past couple years." The Ducks will announce later today that star defenseman Scott Niedermayer will remain with the team next season. Niedermayer missed the first two months of the season last year while contemplating retirement and was unsure of his future playing status as the Ducks completed their season with an opening-round playoff loss to the Dallas Stars in April. --Graig Woodburn
Today's game vs. White Sox Pierre, LF First a day off Thursday, and then the best of both worlds for the Angels. They won't have to travel but they can count the three-game Dodgers series as a road trip and since they have baseball's best road record, that may work out well. Manager Mike Scioscia, for example, has a shorter communte from his Westlake Village home. And with a day off, the Angels should be ready to go with Joe Saunders, MLB's winningest pitcher, on the hill for this one. The day off works well in another way. It lets the Angels forget the one that got away from them in a Washington walkoff win Wednesday. It had to happen and it did, with the Nationals refusing to give up and getting a walkoff base hiit from Jesus Flores in the ninth, after he'd struck out three times, to edge the Angels 5-4. Scot Shields (3-2) was the loser and just wasn't as sharp as he has been. Neither was starter Ervin Santana, who gave up four runs, and four walks, on a night when he was plagued by crack on the tip of the middle finger on his pitching hand, and bled throughout the game. He gave up a two-run home run to Hastings Milledge in the first inning and the Angels had to scratch back from there. One noteworthy moment for the Angels was Garret Anderson scoring a franchise career-record 987th run, in two tries on fly balls to the outfield. He'd been tied with Tim Salmon at 986. Sounding more like he was trying to be a soldier than a baseball player, Scott Proctor talked about going on the DL for the first time in his career, saying he felt like he let his teammates down and hoped they would still respect him through all of this. "There is still no excuse, I don't care how bad you're hurting, you still have to go out and pitch," Proctor said. "I don't like the way this thing looks right now. Right now all I care about is the respect of my teammates and coaches. "I would have rather gone down and kept this quiet. I don't like the way this looks. I don't like excuses. Bottom line is I have to take care of my family and get healthy." Proctor has been hiding the injury for well over a month and said that he was hoping to make it through his entire career without going on the DL. It was a nice mentality to have, but at some point, he was doing more harm than good and -- and this is just my personal opinion -- you would have to think his teammates would prefer him to miss two weeks than to keep hurting the club by pitching poorly while hiding an injury. "The way I'm pitching right now, it's embarrassing," Proctor said. "The velocity has been good but the command was (awful) at best. "I hope I haven't lost any respect from my teammates. It's hard feeling like I let everyone down." With his base hit in the bottom of the eighth, Aaron Boone becomes the 1,171st major league player to record 1,000 base hits but more importantly, the fourth member of his family to do so. The Villa Park HS and USC player was preceded by brother Brett, father and ex-Angel Bob, now assistant GM for the Nationals and grandfather Ray. After being told he was going to be optioned, Dodgers reliever Scott Proctor revealed his elbow had been bothering him for "close to a month," according to Manager Joe Torre. Proctor, who after his last outing vehemently denied being hurt, will undergo a test probably tomorrow. "It happened in New York," Torre said. "'I'm alright, I'm alright.' You love him for his heart...Scotty's that guy who figures in spite of it he can go and get guys out. Has has at times...I don't agree with the thinking (of not reporting injuries). I don't condone that thinking." Meanwhile, updates on those who make up a disabled list now worth about $74 million... - Jason Schmidt (shoulder) will resume his rehabilitation assignment with Class AAA Las Vegas on Saturday. - Hiroki Kuroda (shoulder) will pitch in a simulated game Friday and not make his Saturday start, with Chan Ho Park going instead. - Brad Penny (shoulder) will possibly need a rehabilitation assignment before returning, and his simulated game is slated for Saturday. The Dodgers have optioned reliever Scott Proctor to Class AAA Las Vegas after the Joe Torre workhorse has struggled to a 6.82 ERA in 33 games, expressing a good amount of frustration after his last outing. Right-hander Brian Falkenborg had his contract purchased from Las Vegas, where he was 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA after getting a shot during the spring as a non-roster in |