<$BlogRSDURL$>
Proceeds from the ads below will be donated to the Bob Wuesthoff scholarship fund.

Friday, June 06, 2008

Pickoff Moves

Clearing the decks of a few lingering items...

New KPCC Series On The Dodgers

Michael Roe of Pasadena City College's 89.3 KPCC forwarded this first part of a seven-part series on the Dodgers, this on their move west.

How Michael Anton Got His Game Back

Thanks to Maxwell in the comments for pointing out this Cedar Rapids Gazette story on Michael Anton, a crafty lefty currently mowing 'em down in the low minors for the Angels' Midwest League affiliate as a 23-year-old. Anton was in a terrible car crash that wrecked his pitching career at the Virginia Military Institute; a prematurely deploying airbag gave him a compound fracture of his pitching arm. He spent years recovering, and a chance encounter with Angels AAA starter Jesse Smith eventually got him a tryout:
"I looked around and saw a scout in the stands. He turned out to be from the Cincinnati Reds," said Smith, still in the Angels system but dealing with an arm injury. "I told him 'Hey, this guy's a scout. How about if I go talk to him?' I thought maybe being a player myself, it might help. I asked this scout how I could get my buddy here a tryout. That kind of opened the door."

The young man got his tryout, then another and another. The Angels were impressed enough by what they saw, that they drafted him in the 12th round last year and signed him.

He was drafted last year in the 12th round; after last night's game he has a 2.13 ERA and a 7-3 record.

Shawn Kemp?

I know the Register is outsourcing their Dodgers coverage to the Daily News, but really... Shawn Kemp? Copyediting, anyone?

The Angels' Designated Non-Hitter

Bill Plunkett takes on a sore spot that seems to have plagued the post-2002 Angels frequently, namely, their ineffective use of the designated hitter as a rotating rest stop for their aging outfielders. This should not be a surprise to anyone following the Angels; only once since 2002 (in 2006, when they were fifth) have the Angels been even in the top half of AL teams with DH production, as measured by OPS. And that one year they were effective, it was Tim Salmon in a surprisingly effective swan song.

Roster Notes

Labels:


Comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.



Newer›  ‹Older
This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?
Google

WWW 6-4-2