Vote For Vlad For Roberto Clemente Award

The Roberto Clemente Award, named for the former Pirate outfielder and famed humanitarian, recognizes the player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement, and the individual’s contribution to his team.  Visit the Angels’ official site to learn more about Big Daddy’s generous charity work in Orange County and his native Dominican Republic and to cast your vote.

Bullpen Undergoes Emergency Facelift

In my previous post I discussed how I was worried about Scot Shields and Frankie Rodriguez.  Guess what?  I’m still worried.  Shields gave up a game-losing grand slam to Hank Blalock on Sunday, prompting his demotion from setup man to "Get your sh*t together, man!"  Meanwhile, Frankie blew a save on Friday against Texas … though we came back to win that one… and almost blew a save on Tuesday against Oakland.  Assuming the Angels make the playoffs, the thought that we might get bounced because the back end of our bullpen implodes fills me with dread.  I can accept losing to a better team on a hot streak (e.g. 2004 and 2005), but self-inflicted wounds are awfully tough to swallow.

So, where does that leave the bullpen?  Justin Speier will take over Shields’ setup role, with a variety of arms combining to tackle middle relief chores.  According to the LA Daily News ("Halos give Shields some tough love," 9/3/07), Mike Scioscia is quoted as saying, "We have some nice power arms that can get to (the closer).  Lots of them are young, but I think the way (Chris Bootcheck) has come on and with Darren Oliver throwing the ball well, and you look at (Rich) Thompson and (Jason) Bulger, these are two power arms.  You put (Dustin) Moseley in the mix and I’m real confident in the job these guys can do to get us to Frankie (Rodriguez).  Hopefully, we can keep rolling."  Hopefully, indeed.

Looking Ahead

The Angels haven’t won anything yet, but with a 7 1/2 game lead in the AL West and only 22 games remaining, it’s not much of a stretch to say they’ve all but sewn up the division crown.  For the sake of argument, then, let’s take a look at playoff positioning.  The AL has home-field advantage in the World Series and no team is better at home than the Halos, so if they can capture the AL’s best record they’ll put themselves in the proverbial catbird seat.  Right now, the Red Sox have a 1 1/2 game lead over the Halos and a 2 1/2 game lead over the Tribe.  Needless to say, this weekend’s series against Cleveland looms large in that playoff picture.  If the Angels can go on a bit of a run … say, a 7-8 game winning streak, winning 11 of 13 at some point, etc. … and the Sox and Indians coast into the playoffs at about .500, it looks good for our boys.  The bottom line is this … given a choice, would you rather see the Halos play Game 7 in Boston, Cleveland, or Anaheim?  Yeah, me too.

It sure didn’t start out that way.  Figgins and Kotchman went down with injuries and the Angels promptly lost 3 of their first 4 games without either guy in the lineup.  In retrospect, their 2 wins against the Blue Jays should’ve been a clue as to what would follow.  In the 2nd game of the Toronto series, the inconsistent Jered Weaver matched up against the mighty Roy Halladay.  Needless to say, victory seemed unlikely.  But the Angels got to Halladay for 2 early runs, Weaver effectively shut down the Jays, and Speier, Shields, and Rodriguez held down the fort to deliver the 3-0 shutout victory.  Then, in the series finale, Kelvim Escobar established his Cy Young candidacy with a masterful 8-inning, 6-hit performance.  He had a little trouble in the 5th, allowing 1 run, but in the other 7 innings nary a Jay reached 3rd base.  As it’s always been with the Angels, when the pitching is on, the team has a shot.

Which brings us to Seattle.  Despite the 2-game lead over the scrappy M’s, the Halos were without Figgins and Kotchman, and news that John Lackey was fighting strep throat in Game 1 did not exactly fill Halo Nation with confidence.  So, what happened?  Lackey threw a complete game shutout, GA knocked in 3 runs, and the Angels won easily 6-0.  Welcome to baseball, where anything can, and will, happen.  In Game 2, the M’s scored 5 runs in the 1st inning against Ervin Santana, who was pulled with 1 out in favor of Dustin Moseley.  His job was merely to staunch the blood flow and hopefully the Angels could scrap their way back into the game.  Not only did they scrap, they bedeviled, bewitched, and befouled the Mariners to the tune of a 10-6 come-from-behind victory.  You could practically hear the hometown spirit leaving Safeco Field like a balloon with a slow leak.  The final game of the series turned into batting practice for the Angels, largely at the expense of young phenom, Felix Hernandez.  Whatever confidence may have remained in that dugout was surely extinguished by the time Big Daddy launched one of his patented rockets into the left-field bullpen.  With brilliant starting pitching from Lackey and Weaver, a season-defining appearance from Moseley, great defense, great baserunning, great execution of fundamentals, and inning-after-inning of high intensity Angel offense, this team is 5 games up in the AL West, probably won’t be seriously threatened from here on out … but you never know … and could be the best team in baseball.

So, after 133 games and about a month to go in the season, now seems like a good time to look at the Halos both at the plate and on the mound:

HITTING/BASERUNNING

Sweeping Seattle without Figgy … and with minimal contribution from Willits and Kotchman … reveals the offensive depth of the Angels.  Vlad and Cabrera have been solid all year, so I expect them to contribute more often than not.  Matthews, Anderson, Izturis, Willits, and Kotchman are all streaky hitters, but in any given game at least 1 or 2 of those guys are hitting, if not more.  Kendry Morales hasn’t been much of an option this year, but now even he’s hitting.  And Mathis may have officially turned the corner to become a legit contributor.  The Angels have 7 regulars … Figgins, Guerrero, Cabrera, Kendrick, Kotchman, Willits, and Anderson … who are all hitting .288 or better and those first 4 guys are all above .300.  The bottom line is that it’s hard to shut down the Angels for more than a game at a time because it’s a lineup full of tough outs. 

Combine this quality hitting with the best baserunning in baseball … Halos lead the AL in SBs and moving from 1st to 3rd … and there’s no question that Mike Scioscia is the best manager in baseball.  Instead of overreacting to a few slow starts, inconsistency, a lack of HRs, and numerous injuries, he has steadfastly developed his offense his way.  Conventional baseball wisdom bemoans Scioscia’s small ball as statistically illogical and inferior to the brand of baseball where everyone sits around waiting for a 3-run HR.  With 79 wins and the 2nd best record in baseball, and a disruptive offense that gives every team fits, I think Scioscia might know what he’s doing.  In other words, traditional baseball thinkers can stick their statsheets where the extra base don’t shine.  Incidentally, with regard to the Halos’ brilliant baserunning, I don’t think Third Base Coach, Dino Ebel, gets nearly enough love.  His ability to read defenses, read the ball off the bat, as well as knowing the ability of each of his baserunners has been a godsend.  The "Ebel Eye," if you will, is the primary reason the Angels are so dangerous on the basepaths and I wanted at least 1 person to acknowledge his HUGE contribution to the team’s offense.

Vlad is starting to impale.  And by "starting," I mean continuing to make life miserable for his opponents.  If I hadn’t learned years ago that the mainstream sports media chases its own tail like a bad habit, I’d be pissed that his name is curiously absent in MVP discussions.  Sure, A-Rod and Ordonez have had great seasons and deserve to be the leading candidates, but the Angels are better than the Yanks and Tigers and Vlad is the straw that stirs the Halo drink.  That has to matter, right?  Apparently not.  Nevertheless, if Big Daddy has a 10 HR-30 RBI September, those 2 guys cool off a bit, and the Yanks and/or Tigers miss the postseason, he could conceivably steal the MVP trophy.  The most important thing, of course, is his remaining healthy and the Halos continuing to win, but some MVP love never hurts.

Vlad and Figgy have been the cornerstones of the Angels offense this year, but the glue of this team … on offense, defense, and in the clubhouse … is Orlando Cabrera.  One of the smartest players in baseball, OC’s leadership is front-and-center, game in, game out.  At the plate he’s everything you want in a #2 hitter.  He can hit for average, he can hit for average to the opposite field, he makes contact (so he’s the perfect hit-and-run guy), he can bunt, and he has just enough power to keep defenses honest.  As a baserunner he’s brilliantly disruptive with good speed.  On defense, he’s one of the best SS in baseball and has anchored an infield that has struggled to stay healthy.  Think about it.  With the exception of Kotchman’s 108 games at 1B, no other infielder has been healthy enough to play over 100 games, and even Kotch has fought injury problems.  And lest we forget, Cabrera has no problem getting in another player’s grill … not to mention head … if that’s what the situation requires.  I cannot over-emphasize how huge his impact has been on the Angels this year.

PITCHING/DEFENSE

Without a doubt, the cornerstone of the Angels success is their strong pitching.  Lackey and Escobar are aces, Weaver has been slightly inconsistent, but a solid #3, Saunders has looked good as an emergency #4, and Moseley has ensured his place on the playoff roster with his brilliant outing on Tuesday.  Speier and Bootcheck have surprised me this year.  They got knocked around a bit by Boston and NY, and Bootcheck took awhile to find his happy place, but I think both guys are legit options.  Shields hasn’t been Shields this year and Rodriguez has been heartburn waiting to happen, but more often than not they get the job done.  Scot’s mechanics seem to be off and Frankie doesn’t seem to trust his fastball enough, but when both guys are on, they’re virtually unhittable.  Still, looking ahead to the playoffs, I can’t deny that I’m a little worried.  Relative to the pitching concerns of other teams, though, I think the Angels are sitting pretty.

As I did with Dino Ebel, I think it’s high time I also gave props to pitching coach, Mike Butcher.  It’s not his fault he had to take over from the very popular Bud Black, but Butcher has done a great job in a difficult situation.  Nurturing quality starts from young, potentially-fragile minds like Saunders and Moseley isn’t easy, let alone middle relievers like Bootcheck and Speier, and yet the results speak for themselves.

Speaking of deserved props, I think Jeff Mathis’ work behind the plate has been remarkable.  No one outside of Halo Nation may be noticing, but Mathis is calling great games, he’s getting in the dirt to block some tough pitches, and his snap-throws to 1st have been Jose Molina-esque.  Sure, I wish his CS % was higher, but you steal against the pitcher more than you do the catcher and the Angels have several pitchers with long windups.  Whatever the case, this kid has been nails in an EXTREMELY difficult position, his hitting, as I mentioned above, is finally starting to come around, and I’m probably more proud of him than any other Angel this year.

I probably don’t need to belabor the point regarding defense.  The Angels flash leather on a daily basis, they don’t really have any weak spots, and if there’s a complaint I have about the pitching staff, it’s that they sometimes seem to forget this.  It infuriates me when I see guys like Shields and Rodriguez nibbling around the strike zone.  Pitch to contact and let any of great fielders make the out for you.  There are situations where getting a strikeout is called for, sure, but how many times do we need to see Matthews, Kotchman, Cabrera, etc. make a play for the pitchers to realize that they don’t need to mess around and extend their pitch counts?

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Barring injury, the Angels have everything they need to win the World Series.  They can beat any team in the AL, which by definition means they can beat any team in the NL.  Their pitching staff is built for the playoffs and they have enough hitting to compete with even the Sox and Yankees.  Defense is a strength, they can put pressure on any team with their disruptive baserunning, and they have the best manager in baseball, so in-game and mid-series adjustments aren’t a concern.  Shields and Rodriguez are wild cards and, like any other team, the Angels can be shut down by great pitching, but in the big picture, what’s not to like?

Nevertheless, the Angels won the series and kept their lead in the AL West at 2 games.  Game 1 saw solid starting pitching from Dustin Moseley and effective relief in the 9th and 10th from Frankie Rodriguez and Darren Oliver, respectively.  But it was contributions from both catchers that probably made the difference between a W and an L.  Mathis’ bases-clearing 3-run double in the 2nd was huge, but merely a setup for Ryan Budde’s walk-off heroics in the 10th.  Game 2 was all about GA’s 10 RBIs, of course, but lost in the barrage of offense was Kelvim Escobar’s statistically misleading outing.  On paper, allowing 5 R, 5 H, & 3 BB in 6 innings doesn’t look like a quality start, but other than his 3rd inning meltdown, Escobar wasn’t really threatened.

So, as we prepare for the 4-game series against Toronto, let’s take a look at the State Of The Halos:

Think the Yankees are glad they don’t have to face Howie Kendrick anymore?  His line during the NY series … 12 AB, 7 R,  8 H, 2 2B, 1 RBI, and his average went from .297 to .319.  Remember that big bat we needed to acquire at the trading deadline?  You could make a strong argument that the big bat was already an Angel and he was recovering on the DL.

Is it time to start worrying about John Lackey?  How about Chris Bootcheck and Justin Speier?  Lackey’s our #1 for a reason, I’m sure he’ll be fine, but let’s hope there isn’t an undisclosed injury.  Assuming he’s going through what every pitcher goes through over the course of a long season, Big John’s earned the right to pitch himself back into form.  Bootcheck and Speier have been money over the last 4 weeks or so, but both pitchers, like Lackey, took their lumps against Boston and New York.  Now, do we overreact to these substandard performances or can we chalk it up to the quality of the opponent?  It’s probably some of both.  Boston and NY were created to make pitching staffs miserable, so in that sense, they did to the Angels what they do to everybody.  But the subtext hovering over these outings are the playoffs.  If Bootcheck and Speier can be hit by good teams now, they can surely get hit by good teams in October.  But, what’s Scioscia gonna do?  All he can do is give these guys innings and trust that they make their pitches.

Medical Update: Chone Figgins sprained his left wrist during Tuesday night’s game … on a check swing, no less … and is now considered day-to-day. I think it’s fair to say that Angel playoff hopes might also be day-to-day until he returns to relative health.  In addition to Figgy, Napoli’s right hammy isn’t getting much better, Aybar tweaked his left hammy against Boston on Sunday and went on the DL, and Casey Kotchman got hit on the hand last night by one of Rivera’s bat-breakers and his condition is up in the air.  Welcome to baseball.  After 120+ games, every team is dealing with injuries and few players are truly at 100%.  That being said, the Halos can’t afford to lose too many more players, especially bigtime contributors like Chone Figgins.  But, all you can do is battle and get after the next win.  Let’s see if Ervin Santana can make it back-to-back quality starts and give Halo Nation a real positive in light of a few nagging negatives.

Incidentally, I’m shocked that this was GA’s first curtain call in his
career.  One of the most consistent Angels of all-time, GA has spent his entire career being one
of the least appreciated players of his generation and he deserves better. On that note, I will have a full series report and some thoughts about stats vs. baseball coming soon, all in the name of the great GA.  Take a bow, Garret.  You’ve earned it.

Good News:

Bad News: The Angels should’ve won 3 of 4.  You cannot surrender a 5-0 lead to a very good, if not great, Boston team on their home field.  Unfortunately, the Angels know they can also lose to the Sox should they meet in the playoffs.

Good News: The Angels played the Red Sox for 34 innings, holding them to a total of 3 runs in 30 of those innings.

Bad News: In the other 4 innings, Boston scored 20 runs.  The Red Sox live off the big inning.  If you want to beat them you have to be prepared to attack them all game.  You can’t give them extra outs, you can’t let them string hits together, you can’t give them free passes (I’m looking at you, Scot Shields), and you can’t take at-bats off.

Good News: On July 31, the Angels held a slim 3 game lead over the Mariners in the AL West.  Over the next 17 games, Seattle went 11-6, a winning % that projected over an entire season would earn them 104 wins.  Nevertheless, on August 20, the Angels still held a 2 game lead.  In other words, an entire month of winning has netted Seattle a paltry 1 game advantage in the standings.

Bad News: The M’s are still only 2 games out.

The next week sees the Yankees in Anaheim for 3, followed by Toronto’s 4-game stand at the Big A.  After last week’s tough road trip, a little home cooking might be just what the doctor ordered … not that either series figures to be a cakewalk.  Meanwhile, Seattle travels to the H3 Metrodome for 3 games, followed by 4 games in hotter-than-**** Texas.  This is the precursor to a HUGE 3-game battle in Seattle beginning 1 week from today.  Here’s hoping the Halos can gain a little breathing room before the showdown at Safeco.

• How about that 13-pitch AB from Reggie Willits last night?!?!  That he ended up flying out is irrelevant and proof that stats can be hugely overrated.  A textbook hidden play that not only forced Gagne to show all of his pitches, the uber-AB obviously frustrated the one-time closer, such that the next 4 batters reached base, with 3 of them coming into score.  Speaking of which …
• If you haven’t figured it out by now, you simply cannot count out these Halos.  How many teams would have had the intestinal fortitude to claw their way back into a game they seemingly gave away the previous inning, on the road and against the best team in baseball?  Simply amazing.  For those of you keeping track of such things, that makes 29 come-from-behind wins this season.
• You know you have a strong rotation when John Lackey is your biggest question mark.  Not that I’m that worried about Big John, but he has had early-inning troubles of late and yesterday was an epic meltdown.  That being said, it’s nothing that a CG shutout won’t cure.  Meanwhile, Escobar has quietly turned into the staff ace, Weaver’s been solid, and we can’t really complain about Saunders and Moseley giving us 5-7 competitive innings.  However, Ervin Santana’s performance last night was a godsend.  He retired the first 13 batters he faced, took a perfect game into the
  5th, and didn’t allow a run until Justin Speier let an inherited runner
  score in the 7th.  If he can replicate that effort from here on out, the Halos could be **** near unbeatable heading into the final 40+ games.
• Speaking of hidden plays, as well as Escobar pitched on Thursday, his night could’ve ended before it even begun.  Reed Johnson led off with a bloop single and Lyle Overbay followed up with a line drive to left-center.  Johnson tried to take the extra base, but Gary Matthews, Jr. nailed him by a good 6 feet sliding into 3rd … thus committing the cardinal sin of making the first out of an inning at 3rd base.  Alex Rios and Vernon Wells followed up with drives to the left-field wall, but Reggie Willits snared both, ending the inning with 3 very loud and spectacular outs.  Escobar promptly settled down and was virtually unhittable for the rest of the game … save for a brief scare in the 6th.

So, Weaver faces off against Schilling tonight and tomorrow Saunders battles Julian Tavarez in the series finale, both winnable games for the Angels.  Not saying we will win both games, but given the tenacity of this Halo ballclub, I’m confident they can compete.  After the first 2 games against Toronto, who’d a thunk we could possibly be in a position to go 4-3 on this road trip?

• If you’re a Mariners fan, you’ve gotta be wondering what Seattle has to do to make some headway in the AL West.  On August 5th, the M’s trailed the Halos by 2 1/2 games and then promptly won 6 of their next 8.  Their reward for that hot streak?  They head into tonight’s game trailing in the West by 3 games.
• Saturday’s victory was the 28th come-from-behind victory for the Angels.  Clearly, this Halo squad refuses to die and opposing teams are well-advised to invest in silver bullets, wooden stakes, and sprigs of belladonna.  From the perspective of Halo Nation, however, it’s a beautiful sight to behold.  This is the kind of team no one wants to face in the playoffs.
• Remember that "big bat" the Angels needed to acquire at the trading deadline?  This might be a good time to mention that in the 12 games since the deadline passed, the Angels have hit 16 HRs, including 4 by Izturis, 1 of which was a grand slam.  Those of you clamoring for Bill Stoneman’s head on a stick can direct your apologies to the LAA front office at (714) 940-2000.  Thanks.  Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated.
• Speaking of Izzy’s grand slam, the beneficiary of that power stroke was Kelvim Escobar.  He actually received 10 runs of support, which is approximately 9 more runs than he typically gets.  God help the rest of the AL if Escobar actually starts receiving support on a regular basis, what with his 2.74 ERA.
• Defense matters: While Izzy garnered the headlines on Saturday with his 2-run HR, his contribution on defense may have actually been bigger.  Lackey, unlike his Twins counterpart, Carlos Silva, wasn’t bringing his A game, yet the Angels were able to stay in the game because they ended the Twins’ half of the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings with double plays.  Izturis was actually part of all 3, but the game-saving DP was no doubt in the 7th.  Lackey gave up 3 consecutive singles to start the inning and the Twins staked out a 2-0 lead.  It looked as though Scioscia might need to go to the pen, but Nick Punto bunted himself out and then Alexi Casilla grounded to Izturis, who tagged out Rondell White and then quickly threw to Kotch to end the inning.  A HUGE sequence for the Halos.
• Medical Update: Howie Kendrick, who went on the DL for a broken left index finger retroactive to July 8, started a minor-league rehab assignment on Sunday and Mike Napoli, who went on the DL for a strained right hamstring on July 28, should be activated in time for tonight’s game.  Meanwhile, Juan Rivera, who fractured his left tibia over the winter and had surgery to insert pins in the injured bone, was expected to start a rehab assignment yesterday, and is still in line to be a September call-up.  All in all, good news on the health front for Angel fans.

Well, that brings us up-to-date.  Tonight, the Halos are at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, as Diamond Joe Saunders faces off against Roy "Doc" Halladay.  A tall order to be sure, but this Angels team isn’t 22 games over .500 by accident.  That being said, with 7 games in 6 days and Seattle waiting for us to stumble, the next week figures to be a tremendous test of character.  Just the way I like it.  Let’s play ball!

You can only keep a great team down for so long.  The Sox and Angels played another outstanding game … 6 ties or lead changes … but Boston got a few more big hits, Californaheim made a few costly mistakes in the field, and by taking a lead into the 7th, Francona was finally able to shorten the game with Okajima, Gagne, and Papelbon.  Adding insult to injury was Seattle winning in Baltimore, shortening the Halos’ lead in the AL West to 3 games.  Nevertheless, the Angels showed why they’re one of the elite teams in the AL throughout this series, with excellent hitting and baserunning and mostly excellent pitching and glovework.  Anytime you can win 2 of 3 from a likely playoff team, you can’t complain.

Now if you’ll excuse me, these 4 hour and then some games have left me with precious little sleep.  Like the Halos, I’m gonna enjoy my day off.  See ya on Friday, when it’s Escobar vs. Scott Baker as the Twins visit the Big A.

Meanwhile, all Gary Matthews, Jr. does is steal runs and break hearts.  Do we really need any more proof that the signing of Matthews
was a smart decision?  He may be a streaky hitter, but there’s little
doubt that he has saved many more runs than last year’s lackluster CF-by-committee
and his presence in the outfield undoubtedly gives the pitching staff
utmost confidence.  What a weapon. (Watch "Matthews’ leaping catch").

Thoughts on Game 2 … Angels 10, Red Sox 4

• Though it turned into a rout by Big Rojo, the first half of this game was tremendous.  There were 4 lead changes through 5 innings, the mark of many great games.  The back-and-forth also highlighted one of the best features of this Angel team, which is that they rarely go down without a fight.  I believe last night was their 27th come-from-behind victory, but even recent losses to the A’s (8/3) and M’s (8/1) featured comebacks by the Angels that forced the opponent to respond.  Suffice to say, this is the kind of team NO ONE wants to face in the playoffs … assuming they get there, of course.
• I’m pretty sure the city of Boston hates Macier Izturis.  Call it a hunch.
• Diamond Joe Saunders was effectively wild at best, but you have to give
  him credit for pitching out of several jams and limiting the damage.
  He moved to 6-0 on the year, the Angels are 8-1 when he pitches, and
  they average almost 7 runs when he starts. Of course, on the other side of the dugout, Escobar’s gotta be wondering
  where that mojo goes when he pitches.  I think he might start borrowing Joe’s deodorant, just in case.
• Chris Bootcheck continues to amaze.  He pitched 2 2/3 innings of
  1-hit ball and hasn’t given up an ER in 2 weeks.  He and Speier have been nails.

Fundamentally Speaking …

• Fundamentals Matter 1A (Bottom of the 2nd) – Kotchman leads off with what should be a fly out to RF.  Wily Mo Pena,  apparently forgetting he’s in the game, allows the ball to go over his head and Kotch hustles into 2nd with a gift double.  Izturis follows with a single up the middle, scoring Kotch, and Coco Crisp, instead of hitting his cutoff man and keeping Izturis at 1st, air mails the ball somewhere near home plate and Macier hustles into 2nd.
• Fundamentals Matter 1B (Bottom of the 4th) – Izturis on 1st with a clutch, 2-out single.  Mathis lines one into the LF gap for what looks like a double, but knowing Manny Be Manny, 3B coach, Deno Ebel, alertly sends Izturis home for the go-ahead run.  A perfect encapsulation of Angels baseball.  Macier’s baserunning was flawless and Ebel’s recognition of Boston’s weak-throwing, lackadaisical LF was brilliant.
• Fundamentals Matter 1C (Bottom of the 5th) – A true cavalcade of whimsy.  With Cabrera on 2nd and Vlad on 1st, GA hits a routine DP grounder to Lugo, who fumbles the ball away.  So, instead of Matthews coming up with Cabrera on 3rd and 2 out, he comes up with the bases loaded and 0 out.  Matthews singles sharply to left, and it should only score Cabrera, but Manny’s 15-hopper from LF allows Vlad to score easily.  Later in the inning, GA scores from 3rd on a grounder to Pedroia by sliding through Mirabelli’s foot and sliding under the tag.  Textbook baserunning.  This is followed by Mathis’ brilliant squeeze play, which scores Matthews.  All in all, Halos score 5 when they should’ve only scored 2, and the Red Sox look like they’ve spent the last 2 hours watching Richard Simmons dancing in a bikini.  Watch this overview of the Angels’ 5-run 5th inning (See "Angels’ five-run fifth" in the More Coverage sidebar).
• Fundamentals Matter 1D (Top of the 6th) – Mike Lowell leads off with a single to left.  Crisp follows with a rocket into the LF gap and the ball rolls to the wall.  GA gets to the ball at the warning track, turns and fires into Cabrera in 1 fluid motion, and OC fires a laser beam to Mathis, who gets knocked over by Lowell, but holds on for the spectacular out.  Watch this textbook example of how to hit your cutoff man ("Cabrera throws out runner").

As we head into Wednesday’s matchup pitting Jon Lester against Dustin Moseley, the Angels play with the luxury of knowing that they’ve finally beaten the Red Sox in a series and are once again 20 games over .500.  Sure, a sweep would be nice, but I’m more hopeful that Moseley can give us 5-7 innings of decent pitching and the team continues to play fundamentally sound baseball.  The rest should take care of itself.

LIGHT UP THE HALO!