Yahoo: Twins acquire reliever Fuentes from Angels

The first-place Minnesota Twins made their revamped bullpen more versatile for the pennant race by acquiring left-handed reliever and four-time All-Star Brian Fuentes from the Los Angeles Angels for a player to be named later.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said before Friday’s series opener at Seattle that he will use the now-former Angels closer as a set-up man for closer Matt Capps, and “probably as an occasional closer if I use the other guy too much.”

Capps entered Friday with six saves in eight chances since Minnesota acquired him a trade with Washington last month.

MLB.com: Twins acquire reliever Fuentes from Angels

Markazi: Torii Hunter doesn’t have the cure

Are the Halorrhini’s nearing extinction?

Angel Stadium was practically empty when the home team came up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday. The innovative “Rally Monkey” videos on the big screen, which used to serve as a rallying cry for optimistic fans, have long since turned into the butt of jokes with fans on their way to the parking lot.

The frustration of the fans, however, probably pales in comparison to that of Hunter, who feels as if he’s Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day,” losing the same way day after day and answering the same questions from the same reporters and offering up the same answers.

“I’ve been telling you all the same thing, it’s like we’re playing a re-run or something. Folks at home probably think I’m crazy or something,” Hunter said. “I’m tired of excuses. I’m out of excuses. I don’t have any more excuses. I’m out of them. If I had a cure we would have used it already. I don’t have a cure. We’re just stuck with this disease.”

N.Y. Times: Cheering on Your Favorite Team With Your Lawn

“Lawn Logo” is about to hit the market, and as the New Jersey-based company behind it touts, “suburbia may never look the same.”

Starting with 14 major league teams, do-it-yourself kits first will be sold for an unspecified introductory price on QVC on Aug. 31. They will be sold at select retailers, including True Value and Ace hardware stores, with a suggested retail price of $129.99.

The kits, officially licensed by Major League Baseball, include a 52-inch reusable stencil and enough spray paint, in the team’s official colors and designed for grass, for several applications. There is no guarantee, of course, that the kits will not be used to paint the sides of houses, abandoned buildings or subway cars.

According to the company’s website, the teams available first are: NYY, BOS, CWS, DET, MIN, LAA, TEX, ATL, NYM, PHI, CHC, CIN, STL, and LAD

Plunkett: Remember the .300? That Angels’ offense is history

As forgotten as Charlie Dees’ .307…

Mickey Hatcher can put away the camera.

A year ago Wednesday, the Angels made a bit of history. On August 18, 2009, they finished a 5-4 victory at Cleveland with an entire lineup of .300 hitters. All nine had at least 200 at-bats, the first time that had happened in a major-league game since the Tigers did it in September 1934.

Midway through the .300 game, the Angels’ hitting coach noticed the numbers and sent a clubhouse attendant scurrying to find a camera and take a picture of the Angels’ lineup (averages included) posted on the scoreboard at Progressive Field. Like a proud parent, Hatcher had copies of the picture made for each of his hitters, getting them to autograph one print as his own keepsake.

This year’s lineup is much less photogenic.

“This year, I’ve got an all-.250 lineup,” Hatcher joked. “Maybe I’ll get a picture of that, too. You know – ‘Before’ and ‘After.’”

Grant: Rangers getting a playoff primer in homestand vs. Beasts of the East

Vladislow and getting slower…

The club has embraced the aggressive style preached by manager Ron Washington, but it has sometimes appeared careless, even cavalier on the bases. On Friday, Josh Hamilton tied the score with a mad dash home from second on a two-out grounder turned infield hit to the right side. Twice, however, on Saturday the Rangers hindered potential rallies with baserunning blunders.

Andres Blanco left too early on a hit-and-run in the third, was picked off and caught in a run down. More significantly, after reaching on an infield single that required a head-first slide, Vladimir Guerrero was caught at second for the second out of the ninth inning. It happened with Mitch Moreland, representing the tying run, at the plate.

Guerrero has spent most of the last decade playing for a Los Angeles Angels team that treated the basepaths the way the Rangers do. They were wild during the regular season, racking up playoff berth after playoff berth, but the Guerrero-led Angels never reached the World Series. The team was successful on 69 percent of its 26 steal attempts in the playoffs. Those eight outs made all the difference in the world.

Trying to take advantage of the fact the Red Sox weren’t holding him closely, Guerrero broke for second and was caught for the second out of the ninth Saturday. It’s the fourth time in the last five attempts in that he’s been caught. He had three steals in the first two weeks of the season and has one since. He has not stolen a base since early May.

Pearlman: Edmonds deserves final moment of glory before riding into retirement

Holy craplacks! What giant irradiated bug is up Pearlman’s ass?

In a couple of months, he will almost certainly join them.

Them, Shawn Green and Reggie Sanders. Them, Steve Finley and Travis Fryman. Them, Mo Vaughn and Luis Gonzalez. Them, Bret Boone and Bernie Williams.

Them.

They are the great-but-not-legendary ballplayers of the late 1990s and early 2000s; a collection of athletically superior men whose achievements and statistics—while significantly above average—will serve to land them spring training instructor gigs, endless invitations to speak at Rotary breakfasts and a spot in the hometown newspaper’s semi-annual What Ever Happened To ... feature spread.

In other words: Yawn.

Such is life for the retired non-Hall of Famer.

Plunkett: Scioscia defends slumping Matsui – and benches him

Irony asides: As Raymond Burr said in Godzilla, King of the Monsters!...“The menace was gone… so was a great man. But the whole world can wake up and live again.”

With Matsui in the depths of yet another slump (1 for his past 14), Scioscia benched Matsui for the third time in the past seven games, the first time against a right-handed starter. But Scioscia continued to express confidence that Matsui’s next good streak is just around the corner.

“Right now, not a lot of hits are falling in for him. That’s obvious,” Scioscia said. “You also have to know there’s enough baseball left that this can turn around and he can be productive.

“There’s a definite chance for him to get his stroke and help us. He’s not that far off. But I think sometimes we’re projecting numbers and what a guy can do when the only way to find out is to get through it.”

...Scioscia insists he has seen no loss of bat speed with Matsui, a sure sign of aging in a hitter. While the legion of reporters who document Matsui’s every move – even on a day spent on the Angels’ bench – worry that the Angels might release him (signed to a one-year, $6 million contract), Scioscia assured them Sunday was not a signal that his confidence in Matsui had evaporated and the veteran’s playing time would disappear in the final third of the season.

“Yes, the bat speed is there,” Scioscia said. “There are some issues with getting comfortable in the batter’s box and his balance that every hitter goes through. But there’s no doubt the bat speed is still there.

Torii Hunter agrees to give up center field for Angels

Now…if only John Fogerty would give it up for all mankind.

Acknowledging that “we need to do something different,” the Angels’ Torii Hunter has agreed to let prospect Peter Bourjos take over in center field, with Hunter moving to right field for the opening game of a series against Baltimore.

It is the first time Hunter has played in the field and started at a position other than center field since 1999.

“All I want to do is win,” said Hunter, who stressed that the decision to cede the position at which he has won nine Gold Gloves was his. “If this makes the team better, I’m going to do it. ... Sometimes you have to slap pride in the face.”

Hunter admitted that the Angels’ outfield defense had been a “big problem,” but with Hunter in right, Bourjos in center and Bobby Abreu in left, the team’s coverage should be more than adequate.

“This guy can fly,” Hunter said of Bourjos, who was hitting .314 with 13 homers for triple-A Salt Lake before his promotion Tuesday. “We have to give the kid a chance.”

Power Player- Mo Vaughn, Real Estate Magnate

Mr. Vaughn, both teddy-bearish and intimidating, is the leader of an unlikely triumvirate. His Omni partners are a Russian expatriate named Eugene Schneur, 38, his lawyer and friend since baseball days, and Robert Bennett, 46, who has years of experience financing low-income housing. The firm began buying in 2004, focusing on so-called acquisition rehabs — older properties in various stages of decrepitude, often with absentee landlords and teetering finances.

Since then, it has bought and rehabilitated 23 sites in New York, Massachusetts and Wyoming for a total of $503 million. Other deals worth $205 million for 1,000 units, most in the Bronx, are scheduled to close in September.

“Is he a big deal in New York real estate? He’s becoming a big deal,” said Harold Shultz, a senior fellow with the Citizens Housing and Planning Council, a research group.

Cubs’ Derrek Lee rejected a trade to the Angels

According to a major league source, Lee vetoed the trade seven to 10 days ago. The Angels then turned their sights to Kansas City, acquiring Royals third baseman Alberto Callespo for two minor league pitchers on July 22.

Anything to keep Mike Napoli from playing every day.

Miller: Lackey: Scoreboard talks the loudest

Which is one of the reasons I go to so few games…

So, naturally, they booed him again Tuesday, Lackey making his first career road start against the Angels and doing so in a jersey that read “Boston” across the chest.

“Satan” would have been more warmly embraced.

And after beating the Angels, 4-2, Lackey booed right back. “The scoreboard talks the loudest,” he said.

Like that one, Angels fans? How about this one, when Lackey was asked if the amount of booing surprised him: “Yeah, a little bit. It won’t be forgotten.”

Meaning what, exactly? Next time he’ll whip the Angels, 40-2? Silly. Good stuff, sure. But silly.

Still the noise, while heartfelt, wasn’t exactly hearty, perhaps because so many people in the stands actually were rooting for the visiting Red Sox.

Haren hit by liner in Angels debut

As Thursby just said…“Dan Haren, meet Mo Vaughn.”

Dan Haren has left his first start for the Los Angeles Angels in the fifth inning after a line drive by Boston’s Kevin Youkilis apparently hit him in the right forearm.

The Angels acquired Haren in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.

The three-time all-star had eight strikeouts against the Red Sox before Youkilis hit a two-out drive back to the mound. Haren was hit in the arm while attempting to catch it.

Haren dropped to his knees in pain on the infield grass, and the Angels’ training staff quickly ushered him off the field. Fans near the Los Angeles dugout gave him a standing ovation, which he acknowledged with a tip of his cap.

Dipoto looks at Saunders W-L record, says Arizona got a ‘winner’

Just heard in the bar…“that Oooswalt guy is the worstest pitcher because he has like 15 loses already!” This trumps that.

In discussing the Dan Haren trade made with the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, Dipoto gave the impression Joe Saunders’ 54-32 career major league record is a strong indication of what the D-backs are getting.

Dipoto — whom you also might remember as a major league relief pitcher — is new to his job, having recently taken over for Josh Byrnes. But he’s often mentioned as a candidate for open or soon-to-be open jobs. The guy wasn’t born last night. But he might live in a cocoon.

Via the Arizona Republic:

  “We achieved by maintaining major league quality with a 2008 All-Star in Joe Saunders and a guy who quite frankly has been one of the winners in Major League Baseball,” Dipoto said. “I think he trails only Roy Halladay(notes) among major leaguers in total wins. He’s won 63 percent of his games since coming to the major leagues… “

...Anyway, Dipoto has been ripped from coast to coast for the Haren trade — with some notable exceptions — and it makes little sense to pile on just because of one deal.

But either he didn’t have enough nice things to say about Joe Saunders that are true or can be supported with facts, or he really thinks that pitchers can be defined by their own W-L records. It’s everything else that defines them.

Such postures don’t bode well for the future of the D-backs.

Angels acquire Dan Haren for Joe Saunders, 3 others

The first major pitching trade of deadline week came Sunday afternoon when the Los Angeles Angels acquired Dan Haren from the Arizona Diamondbacks for left-hander Joe Saunders and three other players.

Haren, 7-8 with a 4.60 ERA this year, was one of the major pitching targets among contenders before the July 31 deadline for non-waiver trades. He won at least 14 games in each of the previous five seasons with Oakland and Arizona, topping out at 16-8 with a 3.33 ERA in 2008. He is owed at least $29 million through 2012, including salaries of $12.5 million in 2011 and ‘12.

Also going to Arizona in the deal are left-handed pitcher Patrick Corbin, right-hander Rafael Rodriguez and a player to be named later.

Saunders, an All-Star in 2008, had had an up-and-down year in the Angels’ rotation, going 6-10 with a 4.62 ERA. He is 54-32 lifetime.

ESPN: Jered Weaver was clearly annoyed by defense in loss at Texas

Oh me! Oh my!
Oh me! Oh my!
What a lot of ####### balls go by!

Jered Weaver came charging off the mound after the sixth inning, his right fist flailing wildly in the air. He was mouthing something and it appeared to be loud and it didn’t appear to be a Dr. Seuss rhyme.

The temperature at the Ballpark in Arlington was 95 degrees when Thursday’s game started. The steam coming off Weaver after the sixth inning had to be about twice that.

Given some time to cool down in the air-conditioned clubhouse after the Los Angeles Angels lost the first game of a crucial four-game series to the Texas Rangers 3-2 Thursday, Weaver was fairly diplomatic and composed. But he also implied that some plays should have been made in the Angels’ outfield. He wasn’t alone in that opinion.

...The next batter, Josh Hamilton sliced a ball into left center. According to Weaver, he “popped a changeup up.” Juan Rivera lumbered—or was it jogged?—after it and Hunter couldn’t catch it after a lengthy sprint from right-center. It dropped into the gap for what proved to be the winning RBI.

“Some balls dropped that probably shouldn’t have dropped,” Hunter said.

Angels acquire 3B Alberto Callaspo from Royals

Will Smith?  AW HELL NO!

The Los Angeles Angels have acquired infielder Alberto Callaspo from the Kansas City Royals for pitchers Sean O’Sullivan and Will Smith…

Kansas City says it plans to make another roster move when O’Sullivan joins the Royals. Smith will report to Class-A Wilmington.

Food Safety News: Vermin Should be Gone for All Star Game

Yeah, but who’s going to take up those 8 Yankee roster spots? (ducks flying George Zeber plaque flungoed from Monument Park)

As Major League Baseball presents the 81st All Star Game tonight, Food Safety News continues its periodic look at food safety in major league ballparks.

Violations:  Angel Stadium came in for some bad publicity three years when it encountered a “vermin infestation.”  Therefore it is not surprising that Orange County’s food inspectors are on the lookout for vermin—and they found some just last Tuesday (June 29) in a couple of View Level (428 and 429V) concession areas.

But those critters were taken out, and the over all inspection record for the 45-year-old Angel Stadium is not really that bad.  It encompasses 70 food and beverage establishments, including such nationally known restaurants as California Pizza Kitchen, Hooter’s, Carl’s Jr. and Panda Express.

Since the beginning of the 2010 baseball season, which has seen the Angels playing second fiddle to the Texas Rangers in the AL West, Orange County’s food inspectors have gone to bat at the stadium on multiple inspection and re-inspection dates.  Under California’s inspection system, it had found many blue violations.  Many of those are fixed on the spot.

In reviewing this year’s inspections, Food Safety News found about a dozen red or critical violations.  Those included equipment failures (failure to keep hot food hot or cold food cold); Improper sanitization, cross-contamination, no hot water or no water, period, and adulterated food (including some that had to be destroyed.)

Michael Young becomes 83rd All-Star

Everybody is a star
One big circle going round and round

Adrian Beltre is unavailable for the All-Star game after injuring his hamstring yesterday and Michael Young has been selected to replace him, becoming the 83rd player who gets to say he was an All-Star in 2010…

we’re talking nearly three All-Stars per MLB team… Depending on how you choose to do the math, about 11 percent of players on 25-man rosters have been chosen as All-Stars.

Neyer’s Black Cloud:

However, as Rob Neyer pointed out even 83 picks is still a smaller portion of the total player pool than was selected as All-Stars in, say, the 1960s.

Plaschke: As a beautiful place for a ballgame, Angel Stadium has it all over Dodger Stadium

This week, the baseball world brings its marquee game to its Southern California shrine.

...

That this place is Angel Stadium is a triumph. That it is not Dodger Stadium is a shame.

Baseball has implied it, longtime baseball fans have felt it, I’m finally going to have to write it.

This week’s All-Star game was awarded to Angel Stadium because it is the best ballpark in Southern California by about a 450-foot homer. Angel Stadium is everywhere, Dodger Stadium is nowhere, and for every heart that leaps, there is one that breaks.

For every person who loves the vacation that is a trip to an Angels game, there is someone who mourns the chore that a visit to a Dodgers game has become. This is a great baseball town deserving of two great ballparks, and for all the joy that comes in baseball’s recognizing the flashy kid in Anaheim, there is sadness at the decline of the aging lady of Chavez Ravine.

...

As both bosses noted, these aren’t so much stadiums as homes. Our homes. And you know what they say about homes. Although Southern California baseball’s soul was born in Chavez Ravine, its heart is in Anaheim.

The Big A may not have an “all you can eat” section, but you won’t get stabbed in the bleachers or in the parking lot (where you’ll wait for two hours to get on your way) on the way out.

Fletcher: Second-Place Angels Not Pleased to See Cliff Lee in Texas

Cliff: Formed by movement of fault, or a landslide.

“I still think we have a chance, but the trade of Cliff Lee makes it that much harder,” Angels star Torii Hunter told FanHouse. “He’s a great pitcher. If I was the GM [of the Rangers] and I had a lead, I’d put the foot down and stamp that exclamation point right at the end, and that’s what they are trying to do.”

The Rangers entered action on Friday leading the Angels by 5 1/2 games. That equals the largest deficit the Angels have faced all season, and it’s now even bigger than the number.

“Obviously, it makes it a little harder for us,” Angels starter Jered Weaver said. “They’ve got a very talented group over there. Then adding Cliff Lee gives them more on the pitching side. It’s a good move on their part.”

...Angels manager Mike Scioscia said the organization hasn’t changed its stance on rental players.

“Our philosophy is not to bring someone here for two or three months and empty your cupboard in the minor leagues to do it,” said Scioscia, who has as strong a hand in front office decisions as any manager in baseball. “So the pool gets smaller and smaller as to the players you can acquire.”

“The second half, we know what the challenges are in front of us,” Scioscia said. “The team we are trying to catch just got better, but that does not change what our challenge is. There are a lot of things we know we can do on a more consistent basis, that we were doing eight or nine days ago. If we do those, we’re very confident we’re going to reach our goals.”

Torii Hunter thinks some Angels are coasting

They best coast? Why, why…this is real!

Talent is one thing. After Thursday’s lifeless 1-0 defeat, which prompted manager Mike Scioscia to call a brief team meeting, at least one player was wondering whether some of his teammates are coasting.

“We might have some guys looking at the standings and seeing the three games off for the All-Star break and kind of getting a little loose, relaxed, don’t really want to do much,” Torii Hunter said. “You can see it. Hopefully it’s not that. Every game, you’ve got to come out 100 percent ready and ready to play hard.

“That’s the only way I know how to do it and I’m pretty sure a lot of guys around here do that. We might have some that thinking about that All-Star break, but not many.”

Quote of the day

“We’ve been losing games and we look like we’re not even competitive. We’re just out there.”—Hunter.

MLB: Peavy injured while throwing pitch

Jake Peavy left Tuesday’s game against the Angels at U.S. Cellular Field in the second inning, after throwing a 2-2 pitch to Mike Napoli.

Replays showed Peavy wincing in pain on the mound after the delivery and favoring his right arm. Peavy was shaking his head that he couldn’t continue by the time White Sox athletic trainer Herm Schneider and manager Ozzie Guillen got to him near the third-base line.

Reliever Tony Pena replaced the right-hander.

Peavy had his start moved back during a road trip to Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., from June 15-20, when soreness in his right shoulder led to a MRI showing fluid in that area. Peavy threw a shutout after that extended week-long absence, beating the Nationals, 1-0, on June 19. Peavy also had complained of a dead-arm condition earlier this season.

Thanks to Dirk.

CBS: Weaver To Replace Sabathia For All-Star Game

ANAHEIM, Calif. (CBS) ― Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will replace CC Sabathia on the American League roster for the All-Star Game.
American league coach Joe Girardi already knew Sabathia would not be able to pitch, but he did wanted his ace pitcher to be recognized. 

Weaver has already struck out a league-leading 124 batters and with an ERA of 2.82.

Thank you, Joe Girardi. I have something to believe in again.

Fangraphs: Jered Weaver Revisited Yet Again

Over the last few years, Rich Lederer and I have exchanged our thoughts on the skills of Jered Weaver. Rich, an unabashed Weaver believer since his days at Long Beach State, saw Weaver as a legitimate frontline starter, while I saw more of a middle of the rotation guy who lived on keeping his fly balls in the park. Our disagreements mostly centered around whether to evaluate a pitcher on how many runs he prevents or his underlying components, as Weaver’s career ERA was nearly a run lower than his xFIP.

This year, Weaver has decided to make that argument obsolete, turning into a pitcher that both of us can agree on – a dominating, legitimate ace.

The last four years, Weaver had posted strikeout rates of 7.68, 6.43, 7.74, and 7.42, putting him just above average but certainly nothing special. This year, Weaver’s K/9 has jumped to 10.45, and he leads the majors in strikeouts by one, inching out strikeout machine (and National League pitcher) Tim Lincecum.

...

In addition to increasing his strikeouts by 40 percent, he’s also posting a career low 2.12 BB/9 and a career high 36.6 percent groundball rate. He’s simply pitching better than he ever has before, and by a huge margin.

Dave Cameron comes clean, somewhat, on a claim gone wrong. I credit Jered’s decision to finally cut his hair. Maybe Timmy should follow suit.

PE: Angels catch Dodgers napping on bases

WAKE UP!...It’s not like Dave Rozerema was on the mound or something!

This is how bad it’s going for the Dodgers: After a week of their pitching or hitting or both letting them down, Wednesday night their brains and their instincts failed them.

Specifically, two colossal baserunning gaffes cost them a chance to tie the Angels in the ninth inning. And the home team escaped with a 2-1 victory when Russell Martin was thrown out trying to scramble back to second base just before Reed Johnson could cross home plate with the tying run.

... But left fielder Juan Rivera saw Martin round second and reacted quickly. Howie Kendrick took Rivera’s throw and slapped the tag on Martin before Johnson crossed the plate. Umpire Mike Dimuro flashed the “wash-out"sign, nullifying the run and ending the game.

“Eighteen years in professional baseball, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a play like that,” Angels’ center fielder Torii Hunter said.

... And Manager Joe Torre quietly seethed about it. He didn’t raise his voice, but his displeasure was obvious.

“You need more than ability to play this game,” he said. “You need to be able to think. We didn’t think very well.

OC Register: Mickey Mouse in BoSox uniform vandalized

Ub Iwerks was an Angels fan? Who knew!

The statue of a 7½-feet-tall Mickey Mouse dressed in a Boston Red Sox uniform, in front of the Discovery Science Center, was vandalized and has been removed from the museum.

“Mickey was vandalized and has been removed by Major League Baseball for repairs,” Kelly George, spokeswoman for the center, said Tuesday.

Officials with the center noticed that Mickey had been vandalized Friday. The statue was removed Monday.

It appeared that someone had taken whacks with something at one of Mickey’s arms.

“There is a crack in one of the arms and some damage to the baseball Mickey is holding,” said Matt Bourne, a spokesman for Major League Baseball.

The Red Sox, of course, are rivals of the Angels.

Vin Scully: Dumping Mike Scioscia in Top Three Dodgers Mistakes Ever

An interview with Vin Scully by on the Angels pregame show

To feed an Angels fan hunger, Vin indulges us with his list of the three biggest mistakes in Dodgers history:

  1. Losing Roberto Clemente as a minor leaguer.
  2. Firing Mike Scioscia after a year of managing their AAA Team.
  3. Dropping the ball on signing Vladimir Guerrero in 2004 as the Dodger franchise transitioned to new ownership.

And Vin assures the Angels he cannot begrudge their continued reference to playing their 1962-65 home games in “Chavez Ravine”.

Scioscia’s in favor of scrapping baseball’s postgame scrum

Scrum Knowledge Assessment…first hand!

The season-ending injury via postgame party is threatening to become an epidemic in Southern California. First, the Los Angeles Angels lost star first baseman Kendry Morales(notes) for the season when he broke his leg celebrating his game-winning grand slam on May 29. Then, on Sunday, UCLA lost star second baseman Tyler Rahmatulla when he suffered a broken wrist in the pile you see above. The sophomore will miss the entire College World Series, which is what the Bruins were celebrating after beating Cal State Fullerton to earn a berth.

Given those needless subtractions, Angels manager Mike Scioscia says it might be time to mark victories with a few handshakes, fist pounds, Bash Bros forearm bashes or even Maradona-style kissing.

Anything, so long as it keeps players off the DL. From ESPN Los Angeles:

  “This game is played with a lot of emotion. There absolutely has to be a release, whether it’s a celebration in the clubhouse or on the field,” Scioscia said on Wednesday. “But maybe we need to leave the dogpiles for the seventh game of the World Series.”

Inforum: Erstad admits that he’s done

When did Inforum start reprinting articles from 2005?

Life after baseball is suiting Darin Erstad just fine.

Instead of chasing down fly balls, Erstad spends his days corralling his 4-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son, while helping feed the newest addition to the family – 3-month-old son Adam – a bottle.

“I couldn’t be much happier,” he said from his home in Lincoln, Neb. “I got to live a dream playing baseball for 14 years, now I’m getting to live the other side and it’s a blast.”

...“I’m done,” he said. “I had my time. I always said, ‘When I’m done, I’m done.’ ... I’m good.”

...“I don’t have any complaints. It was 14 very enjoyable years,” he said. “I gave my heart and soul to the game. I’m comfortable with my decision to move on.

“Do I miss it? Of course, I loved to play. But what I have at home is great, too.”

Fangraphs: The Angels Are Still Clutch

If it seems like we write about this every year, well, we do. I mentioned the Angels penchant for clutch hitting two years ago, showing that they were consistently among the league leaders in our metric that shows the gap in wins added that comes from hitting well in high leverage situations. Matt Klaassen wrote about it earlier this spring.

And here we are today, talking about it again, because once again the Angels are clutching their way to victories. They have +1.34 clutch wins from their hitting and +2.48 clutch wins from their pitchers, totaling just under four wins added by coming through when it counts. Not surprisingly, they lead the league in clutch wins added.

It isn’t surprising because they do this every single year. Last year, they added seven wins to their total through clutch performance. In 2008, they had fifteen clutch wins. As noted in the first linked post above, this is basically an annual trend. The Angels are consistently among the league leaders in clutch wins, and have been for the better part of the last decade.

Maybe Mike Scioscia really does just take it “one game clutch hit at a time”?