AngelsWin.com

Hector Santiago grew up about a 20-minute drive from Yankee Stadium, in Newark, N.J., and has an entire section of people in the Bronx this weekend. Santiago estimated that roughly 350 people bought tickets to Friday's series opener, a 13-1 rout by his Angels. And he expects about 200 to be in the house when he makes his fifth start of the season on Saturday afternoon, opposite left-hander Vidal Nuno. View the full article

Albert Pujols hits home run No. 501 while C.J. Wilson gives up four hits and one run in six innings. AT THE PLATE: Erick Aybar, who tweaked his stance last Monday so he is more upright in the box, had four hits and four runs. With 11 hits in 17 at-bats in four games, he has raised his average from .175 to .275. Howie Kendrick, who had three hits and scored three runs, is hitting .425 (17 for 40) in his last nine games. Since the start of 2006, Kendrick's .357 mark (74 for 207) against the Yankees is the best among players with at least 200 at-bats against them. Hank Conger had two run-scoring doubles and an RBI single. View the full article

Manager Mike Scioscia announces before the game in New York that setup man Joe Smith will replace struggling Ernesto Frieri as closer. The Angels hit four home runs. NEW YORK — The Angels did not require the services of a closer Friday night. View the full article

NEW YORK – Angels fans — and opponents — won’t have Ernesto Frieri to kick around.At least not in save situations.The embattled reliever has been demoted from the closer role after a rough start to his season, the lowlight of which was a... View the full article

NEW YORK – Nothing can ease the pain of a heartbreaking loss like an off day and a blowout victory.That’s just what the Angels did, with a 13-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday night, a laugher for a club that blew a ninth-inning,... View the full article

If Albert Pujols is not again the best, most feared offensive player in the game, he's certainly in the conversation. He's also one of the best things about this new baseball season. To see a guy who has worked so hard and who has struggled so much with injuries for two years, to see that guy rewarded is about as good as it gets. View the full article

Where: Yankee StadiumTV: Fox Sports 1, 10 a.m.Did you know: Albert Pujols, with eight homers, is one shy of tying Brian Downing’s club record for April. Downing hit nine in 1986.THE PITCHERS LHP HECTOR SANTIAGO (0-3, 3.68)Santiago has allowed... View the full article

Albert Pujols hit his 501st career homer, and it was one of eight runs and 11 hits the Angels accumulated in the first five innings, more than enough for C.J. Wilson in a 13-1 rout at Yankee Stadium on Friday night. View the full article

NEW YORK – On the heels of a blown three-run lead and a disappointing three weeks, Ernesto Frieri has been demoted from the Angels closer role.Joe Smith will now pitch in save situations, Manager Mike Scioscia said. Frieri will move down the... View the full article

There will be growing pains along the way, no doubt, but the Angels' perceived biggest concern heading into the season -- the success of the three young starters in their rotation -- has actually been a bright spot early on. View the full article

Major League Baseball's Playing Rules Committee provided a clearer interpretation of the transfer rule on Friday, saying that an out occurs whenever a player has complete control over the ball in his glove. "I feel like they got it right," said Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick, among a vast majority of players who rejoiced when the rule was essentially changed back to its state from before this season. View the full article

The All-Star Game ballots were unveiled on Friday, with fans given a chance to decide the starting position players in the American League and National League. Albert Pujols, of course, was listed as the first base representative for the Angels. And it served as a reminder of how much better the 34-year-old has looked at the start of the season. View the full article

NEW YORK – J.B. Shuck hasn’t been a pitcher since he was in college, but he still throws strikes.In Shuck’s season-plus with the Angels, he already has demonstrated the team’s most accurate outfield arm, responsible for a team-leading nine... View the full article

Where: Yankee StadiumTV: Fox Sports West, 4 p.m.Did you know: The Angels lead the American League with an adjusted OPS of 113, which modifies OPS to take ballpark and league averages into account.Yankees update: The Yankees’ offseason spending... View the full article

Frieri has struggled this season, with an 0-2 record, a 9.35 earned-run average and two blown saves in 10 appearances. A demotion last season helped him regain his form. NEW YORK — The alarming rate with which he was giving up home runs was not a huge concern for Angels closer Ernesto Frieri earlier this week. View the full article

By Adam Dodge, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer - After a disappointing conclusion to an otherwise great series in Washington, the Angels head to the Big Apple where they will play a weekend series against the 2003 American League All Star Team. New York's collection of old bastards is off to a 12-9 start - good enough for first place in the AL East, but don't be fooled, these guys are a bigger threat at the Bridge table than on the diamond. This is an old, station to station team with limited range on defense. Things have changed some in the Yankee dugout. The Gatorade has been replaced by a concoction of 3 parts Ensure/2 parts Metamucil. The sunflower seeds are sodium free and the steps have been replaced by an escalator. Derek Jeter will don the pinstripes and number 2 for a final season. Unfortunately, there are roughly six million hairy, fat guys and their obnoxious broads who will continue to pay homage to the greatest herpes spreader of all time well into baseball's next era. I'd be a little more excited about The Captain's swan song if Pauly & Polly would stop showing up to Angels Stadium with their glittery signs and massive jaws. CC Sabathia had gastric bypass surgery in the off-season. Twice. Freak. The Yanks can pitch a little bit, but the Angels have always performed well in New York under Mike Scioscia. Look for Albert Pujols to continue his power surge and for Mike Trout to catch fire once again. The biggest difference maker and the reason the Angels will sweep the Yankees on the road will be Raul Ibanez, who has a career .936 OPS at the New Yankees Stadium, and has historically heated up toward the end of April. Prediction: Halos sweep View the full article

Before the season begins, the Angels have a routine. They map out the entire community appearance schedule. Players are asked to check mark which appearances they can attend. Hector Santiago's response? "He check marked every one," said Eric Kay, the Angels' director of communications. View the full article

C.J. Wilson has won his past three starts against the Yankees, and in six of their seven most recent meetings he has held them to two or fewer earned runs. But going into his next start, in the series opener on Friday at Yankee Stadium, the Angels' left-hander has a new game plan. View the full article

By Chuck Richter, AngelsWin.com - I don't know about you, but last night's late inning meltdown by Ernesto Frieri against the Washington Nationals have left an excruciating sting inside. Typically I'd turn pages faster than Mike Scioscia and focus on silver linings, so naturally the next morning I was ready for the next contest, optimistic as ever. The way that the bullpen has performed so far have chipped away at my optimism and my overall excitement, despite a team that leads the majors in home runs and boasts a very good starting rotation for the first time in a couple years. It has been four years since we had a solid bullpen and its been even longer since we had BULLS in our pen. The days of Percival, K-Rod, Shields, Weber and Donnelly seem like ages ago. What's incredibly frustrating this particular season is the Angels could easily be tied for first place with the Texas Rangers or at worst just a 1/2 game out and tied with the Oakland A's in the AL West if it wasn't for the bullpen struggling thus far. Angels closer Ernesto Frieri is 0-2 with a 9.35 earned-run average and two blown saves in 10 games this season, and he's given up five home runs in 82/3 innings. It's well known that the Angels manager favors veteran and gives them a long rope when struggling, but Mike Scioscia needs to listen to his mind and not his heart and fix the mess that is the bullpen. After all this is a game in which wins dictate success, not clubhouse friendships. I mean, how many games do you have to lose in April before you make a change? The mind set from the front office down to the coaching staff was to get off to a better start in April so that the Angels are not chasing several games back from May through September. The Angels need to act fast and make changes yesterday. These games in April are very important, so the length of this proverbial veteran rope that is issued by Scioscia should be much shorter after four straight dismal campaigns. Without appearing to have all the answers and outsmarting Scioscia, to me it's a simple solution that will require just four in-house moves to reduce the amount of late inning debacles going forward. Step one: Promote Joe Smith to the new closer role. Outside of one bad appearance for the Angels, he's the one guy that can get outs late in the ball game. Smith has been solid over 10 innings. He's posted a 3.60 ERA, with 11 strikeouts and three walks. Step two: Release Kevin Jepsen. I get it, he throws 94-95 MPH and has a curve that breaks hard. But stuff shouldn't buy you time on a major league roster if results contrast your abilities. Jepsen is the proud owner of a career 1.45 WHIP and 4.39 ERA over seven seasons and 250 games. Guys, that's just not good, especially as a late inning guy trying to hold score and keep the opponents off the bases. Step three: Demote Frieri to take Jepsen's spot in the bullpen order until he figures shit out and gets his fastball command back. Clearly Frieri has no idea where his fastball is going. A quote from Frieri himself: "I'm missing with everything — my fastball, my changeup, my slider," Frieri said. "My arm feels good. My fastball is coming out good too. I'm just missing. … Even when I'm ahead in the count, man. I can't be leaving balls down the middle, because I'm going to get hurt." Do we really want a guy to close out a ball game that is "missing with everything"? The Angels starting pitchers have been fantastic and the Angels offense leads major league baseball in home runs and has put us in a position to win ball games despite the absence of Hamilton and Calhoun. It is a shame to have 8 innings of well pitched ball and runs put on the board, only to have it all erased by one player who cannot seem to locate his pitches. Step four: Promote one of Michael Morin, RJ Alvarez or Cam Bedrosian (more on them below) and have either one take the 7th inning spot in the bullpen. Michael Kohn who has been very effective can take the 8th inning while Joe Smith closes out ball games. After seeing 2-3 innings of fireballers, Joe Smith is even tougher to hit in the 9th. As I mentioned above, Ernesto Frieri has given up 5 long balls across 8 2/3 innings already this season, something not even Joe Blanton could match. But just to bring some clarity as to how bad that is my friends, Angels top relief prospect RJ Alvarez has allowed less dingers over his three year career in the minors with 4. Why are home runs allowed something we should look at? Well when you're calling upon your closer to enter the game with a one-run lead, all it takes is a solo blast to tie it up and a bloop and blast to blow the game. Let's take a closer look at the big three, equipped with some recent scouting reports I've captured this month. R.J. Alvarez has allowed just 4 home runs in 86 1/3 innings. He has also struck out 131 batters across 86 1/3 minor league innings, while only giving up 59 hits. Alvarez has yet to be scored upon this season and boasts a .103 BAA (batting average against) Scouting take: Alvarez has the best 1-2 combo of the three, with a fastball that reaches 97-99 MPH and a devastating slider that is a true major league out pitch. Alvarez has big league closer stuff. A slight change to his pitching mechanics have seen better results for Alvarez fastball command this season, resulting in just two free passes with the Travelers. Michael Morin has allowed just 7 home runs in 112 2/3 career minor league innings. Morin has struck out 116 across 112 2/3 innings. The former UNC closer recorded 22 saves in 2013 out of 23 opportunities. Scouting take: Morin has the most experience in pressure situations late in the game, going back to his college days. Morin's fastball reaches 95 MPH, but generally sits at 92-93 MPH that he locates well and keeps down in the zone. His changeup is one of the best in the minors and is on the same level as Jered Weaver's. Morin's curveball is nothing spectacular, but he can get it over for strike and give the hitter something to think about. Morin is even better after facing hitters after his first appearance against them, which is usually the opposite. Morin will probably get the first shot of the three when the Angels reach down to their farm system for talent this season. Cam Bedrosian has not allowed a home run since his promotion to High-A last summer where he worked exclusively out of the bullpen. Combining his 2013 IE 66er's numbers with his work this season, Bedrock has struck out 30 batters across 16 1/3 innings. He's also given up just 5 hits over those 16.1 innings of relief. Bedrosian has yet to be scored upon this season and boasts a .42 BAA. Scouting take: Eddie Bane drafted Cam because of his arm and bloodlines, son of former big league closer Steve Bedrosian. Bedrock like his dad has a filthy slider that generates ugly swings and misses and a hard fastball that's tough to center because of the movement on the pitch. Cam is consistently in the 95-96 MPH range with his fastball, but since moving to the bullpen it touches 97-98 MPH when he wants to reach back for something extra. Cam also has a curveball and changeup, both of which are improving, but nowhere rival his fastball/slider combo. Ladies and gents, these kids are good. Reminds me of the type of numbers we've seen in the minors from former Angel Francisco Rodriguez and current flamer thrower Michael Kohn who a year removed from Tommy John surgery had a decent return in 2013, only to return to his former self so far this season by sporting a 1.53 ERA, fanning 13 over 11 innings. Dipoto, you've built a solid team to compete and do some damage in the playoffs. Please do not waste the talent on this roster by letting gazelle's out of the bullpen, it's time to round up some bulls like the Angels once had to buck this trend of late inning losses.

By Glen McKee, AngelsWin.com Columnist & Satirist Good, good. It’s been a while since I’ve truly felt the Yankee hatred in me, and quite frankly I’ve missed it. I didn’t realize how just how much I missed it until I started to feel it again, a few days ago. There were several factors that led to my recent Yankee apathy. First and foremost was that the Angels have had a bad run over the last four seasons and most of my baseball ill-will has been aimed at the home team. It was difficult to generate hatred for another team (although I still maintained my hatred of the Red Sox – that well never dries) when my own team was woeful. I couldn’t spare any hatred for the Yankees when we had Mathis on our team, or Wells, or various other scapegoats. Second was that the Yankees missed the playoffs last year. Can I get an amen from the congregation! That almost helped me forget how bad the year was for the Angels. At the end of last season I also let myself believe, just for a little while, that the Yankees were serious about not going over the salary cap this year. Yeah, I know. Third was that they have Alex Rodriguez on their team (and still do) and the attendant circus that goes with it. Geddit? Circus, centaur…ah, never mind. I hoped that he would still be playing with them this year, and that the Yankees would be forced to pay his salary and stick him on the field. Wrong again. So, the Yankees had slipped off my hatred radar. And then, the offseason started. First, they got the blocker, Brian McCann. Yankees fans should love this bag of douche. He got his panties in a twist because another douchebag, Carlos Gomez, showed up his former team, and McCann decided to play bridge troll and not let him pass, even though McCann was completely in the wrong. A self-appointed enforcer of baseball’s unwritten rules will fit perfectly with their self-important fans. My hatred was getting rekindled. Good, good… Next, Derek Jeter announced his retirement and my hatred once again ebbed. Like most baseball fans, I like Jeter, even though he’s a Yankee (after this year, I’m glad to say, there is nobody on their roster I have to make excuses for liking – I can go back to 100% hatred). Jeter was a perfect ambassador for baseball and his conduct off the field will forever have my admiration – I’ll never look at gift baskets the same way. Fortunately, Jeter’s retirement didn’t extinguish the embers of my hatred, because… The Yankees outbid everybody else for Tanaka. Damn, I wanted him on the Angels. I figured he would be good and he’d at least be worth the chance if you could afford him, and I assume Arte Moreno can. But of course the Yankees wouldn’t be outbid and of course he’s in pinstripes and doing well (so far). I certainly don’t blame him for chasing the money; I would do the same if I was in his shoes. Seeing him pitch well is another log on the bonfire of my Yankee hatred. Also mixed in with the offseason was the Yankees signing Jacoby Ellsbury from the Red Sox. This move left me conflicted. Part of me liked it because it pissed off the Red Sox fans, and anything that pisses off the chowds is at least somewhat good. However, it also stoked the embers a bit because it showed the Yankees in panic mode, signing all the big free agents. What a bunch of a-holes, signing everybody willy-nilly. See, it’s different with the Angels and Pujols and Hamilton because, well…it just is. We’re not the Yankees, OK? And then the Yankees got off to a good start. The flames, like in the Johnny Cash song, went higher. And then I realized that in a few days the Angels are going to Yankee stadium, and the fire burned! God, it feels good to be thawed by that righteous heat. Coupled with the Angels typical slow start, the fire raged, and it’s about to see its culmination. Add to all of this that Michael Pineda got caught cheating for a second time. This time it was so obvious that MLB in general and the umpires and Red Sox in particular couldn’t ignore it or make excuses for it. I look forward to Joe Girardi explaining how he didn’t know what his pitcher was doing, both times he did it. Are you kidding me? I know that all baseball teams at least try to cheat, but most of them at least give fans the courtesy of hiding the evidence of said cheating. Pineda was so arrogant that even after he was caught doing it once he figured he was aces to do it again. The arrogance of those pinstripes, I tell ya. I want the Angels to go into Yankee Stadium (or whatever dumb name they have for their new place – Dingusville? AttentionWhore Stadium?) and to destroy them in three games with a cumulative score of 33-1. Give them a run in each game for some false hope; maybe even have Jeter hit a home run just so ESPN has something to put in the spank bank. I look at the schedule on mlb.com and for each game the Yankee pitcher is listed as TBA. I want them DOA. I want the Angels to face Sabbathia and beat him so bad that he starts binge-eating and ends up like White Goodman at the end of Dodgeball (I know, he pitches on Thursday so we won’t see him. Let me rant.) I want Brian McCann to illegally block the plate while Erick Aybar is trying to score, and Aybar to pile-drive him and send him to the 60-day DL with a fractured skull and displaced labia. Yes, I’m wishing injury on somebody, but he plays for the Yankees. Check the bible; it’s OK to wish harm on a sports figure as long as he plays for the Yankees or Red Sox. I don’t know enough about Ellsbury to wish any harm on him, other than the general malaise that I wish on all Yankees players (Except for Jeter, of course. Everybody loves Jeter.) – a pox of some sort would do just fine. OK, I hope he makes a crucial error that costs the Yankees a game and sends them into a downward spiral. Furthermore, I hope that those rich fans that half-fill the ultra-expensive seats behind home plate leave each game feeling like they wasted their money and contemplating the life choices that led to them supporting the Yankees and going to a game. I hope all the other Yankee fans get paper cuts from their tickets, and the ones that have paperless tickets get a benign tumor from their cellphones. I hope they all spill at least one expensive beer right after purchasing it. I want that stadium burned to the ground (figuratively, of course) after we pull chocks on Sunday. Is that too much to ask? Good, good. Let the hatred flow through you… View the full article

Closer Ernesto Frieri can't protect a three-run lead and the Angels suffer a walk-off loss. WASHINGTON — The Angels were three outs away from their first series sweep in the nation's capital since 1962, their first winning record in 386 days and a highly anticipated Amtrak train ride to New York City when closer Ernesto Frieri drove them off the rails Wednesday night. View the full article

WASHINGTON – Albert Pujols began the Quest for 600 on about three hours sleep.The combination of the adrenaline and dozens of text messages and phone calls from his friends around baseball left Pujols unable to get much quality sleep, he said,... View the full article

WASHINGTON – Ernesto Frieri stared into his locker at least 15 minutes after most of his teammates had already begun the process of putting the loss behind them with showers and food.By the time Frieri had collected himself enough to speak to... View the full article

Angels slugger's milestone shot Tuesday gets a low-key treatment primarily because the standard has been devalued by the steroid era. The number that matters most is not 500. View the full article

Angles 4 - Nationals 5 Angels starter Jered Weaver provided a quality start allowing one run on seven hits over six innings. The Halos were poised to sweep the Nationals with a 4-1 lead into the ninth, but closer Ernesto Frieri allowed four runs, including a home run and two-run double, leading to the game winning hit off Fernado Salas by Nats first baseman Adam LaRoche. Click here to download the scorecard. If your new to scoring baseball or just need help interpreting some of the markup, download the key here. View the full article