LA Angels Weekly Report, July 5-11: Bats Come Alive While Arms Go Dead

The final week before the All-Star Break has been a bit of a mixed bag for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

After going 4-2 at home during the seven-day stretch, the team finds itself in first place in the AL West, half a game ahead of the upstart Texas Rangers.

All four wins were of the come-from-behind variety, giving the Halos 26 total this season–good for first in the American League ahead of the New York Yankees.

Of course, their only two losses this week were to those slugging Rangers, a team the Angels simply cannot figure out in 2009. They are a troubling 2-7 against Texas this season, and will have to improve on that record if they hope to see the light of October baseball.

Elsewhere, the injury bug reared its loathsome little head once again.

On Friday, the Angels were forced to place their biggest offensive threats in Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero on the 15-day Disabled List.

Later that night, they watched Juan Rivera, a key bat in the middle of the lineup, collapse in a heap with a strained muscle when he tried to leg out an infield hit.

Rivera’s injury appears to be mild at this point, but his day-to-day status is magnified by the absences of Hunter and Guerrero.

Overall though, the Angels have to be pleased with themselves offensively.

The bats continue to support a sub-par bullpen, despite losing their No. 3, 4, and 5 hitters to injuries.

With lineups featuring names like Quinlan, Wood, Willits, and Matthews, the Angels managed to put up a whopping 24 runs over the last two games against the Yankees, who came into Anaheim riding an eight-game road winning streak.

Although the bullpen did its best to blow a 9-4 over New York on Saturday, just as it did on May 1—another game in which Jered Weaver opposed Andy Pettitte–the bats came alive to provide insurance late in the game before Matt Palmer closed things out in the ninth.

However, this week’s troubling pitching has not come from the bullpen but rather the starting rotation.

In six games, only Weaver managed to give up fewer than five earned runs while going at least six innings in each of his two starts.

Former All-Star Joe Saunders surrendered 10 runs this week, including three big flies, in 10 1/3 innings pitched across two starts.

John Lackey and Ervin Santana hardly fared any better. The two were responsible for both losses to the Rangers.

It has been surprisingly pleasant to see the Angels come alive at the plate, especially without the presence of Hunter and Guerrero in the mix. But let’s not kid ourselves.

This week has been an offensive anomaly, with the Halos piling on 48 runs in just six games. Given the state of the rotation, they couldn’t have picked a better time to break out the heavy lumber.

Bullpen woes have been an unfortunate constant this season, but the strength of the starting pitching has always made up for any late-inning indiscretions–until now.

The Angels are a team that relies on pitching and defense to win ball games, and if they want to have any hope of competing for this division, their starters must establish some consistency.

Guys like Lackey, Santana, and Saunders cannot afford to have many more outings like they did this week. If they do, expect trade rumors to swirl and names like Dan Haren and Roy Halladay to pop up during every broadcast.

Success in baseball, both during the regular season and in the playoffs, begins with reliable starting pitching.

This week, the Angels were able to get around that obstacle with relentless offense. But they will not always be so lucky.

With the team battling to stay atop the division and the July 31 trade deadline looming, look for change to come to the starting rotation, one way or another other.