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Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno could probably be accused of a lot of things, but one of them will never be loyalty to his fan base. In the seven plus years that Arte Moreno has owned the Angels, he has steadfastly committed himself that the baseball experience at Angels Stadium remains affordable for fans, and that, with the exception of the 5-year, $90 million contract given to center fielder Torii Hunter, the team remains committed to exercising fiduciary responsibility.

However, Angels fans have increasingly voiced their obvious frustration at the Los Angeles Angels lackluster performance at the free agency negotiating tables in recent years. Mark Teixeira, John Lackey, Chone Figgins, C.C. Sabathia, Carl Crawford. All have slipped through the Angels fingertips in the past three years. And Angels fans are not happy to say the least.

Yesterday, Dec. 17, the Angels made what was termed a “significant offer” to free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, who enjoyed an outstanding season with the Boston Red Sox last year, hitting .321 with 28 HR and 102 RBI, while continuing to play his usual stellar defense at the corner bag.

However, Arte Moreno told the LA Times that this offer was final and would not be increased. Take it or leave it.

Reports have come out that indicate Adrian Beltre is looking for a six year offer, somewhere in the neighborhood of $90 million. While Adrian Beltre would love to play closer to home, at this point in his career coming off an excellent season, it would be foolhardy to think he would take a hometown discount.

While it may be admirable that Halos owner Arte Moreno remains committed to financial responsibility in support of his team fan base, he also needs to understand and listen to his fans concerning the product on the field. Sure, signing Hisanori Takahashi and Scott Downs were nice moves to shore up a sagging bullpen, but now comes the time to address the power-lacking lineup, and signing Beltre would go a long way toward appeasing the disgruntled fan base and addressing power concerns.

I’m all for the stance that Arte Moreno appears to be taken. He told the LA Times that he’s not the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees.

However on the other, he is the steward of a team that has only missed the playoffs twice in the last seven seasons, and fans have come to expect excellence from their team on the field.

Moreno is going to have to pony up, whether he likes it or not.

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When the Los Angeles Angels decided to perform housecleaning within their scouting department, they fired one of the most respected members of the scouting fraternity in all of baseball. Today, that man has a new job.

Eddie Bane, who was dismissed by the Los Angeles Angels on Sept. 30, was hired today by the Detroit Tigers and will join their pro scouting department.

The housecleaning of the scouting department by the Los Angeles Angels not only included Bane, but three regional scouts as well.

Bane’s firing by the Angels was immediately called into question, with many media publications speculating whether or not there was a rift that developed between Bane and Angels GM Tony Reagins.

In Bane’s tenure as scouting director for the Los Angeles Angels, Jered Weaver, Nick Adenhart, Jordan Walden, Michael Kohn, Mark Trumbo and Hank Conger were all drafted as a result of Bane’s recommendations, and the signing of 1B Kendry Morales was his responsibility as well.

Bane’s overall philosophy with the Angels was to draft and sign the best players available, and no one can argue that he didn’t accomplish that.

At no time during Bane’s tenure with the Angels did he have a higher pick than No. 12 in the first round, and in three separate years, he had no first-round selection at all.

The Arizona Diamondbacks thought so highly of the Angels pitching prospects that they offered Dan Haren in exchange for those prospects, and the Kansas City Royals thought the same when they traded Alberto Callaspo to the Halos.

Doesn’t sound like a man who wasn’t drafting properly to me.

When interviewed by the Orange County Register back on Sept. 30 about Bane’s dismissal, Reagins said that philosophy had nothing to do with the dismissal and called it a business decision.

“There was definitely no personality conflict,” Reagins said. “I have great respect for Eddie and what he’s done in this organization. But you have to make difficult decisions in this business sometimes.”

Difficult decisions? Yes, but the decisions should also be smart ones. This one doesn’t qualify. And the Detroit Tigers will be big beneficiaries as a result.

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Once again, Los Angeles Angels‘ highly touted prospect Brandon Wood is proving he can master the art of hitting at the minor league level. Problem is, it doesn’t resonate at the major league level.

Wood, who struggled mightily with the Angels and lost his third-base job in July, was named player of the week by the Arizona Fall League by hitting .444 with a double and 8 RBI in his first week with the Mesa Solar Sox.

Wood, who was drafted by the Angels in the first round of 2003 amateur draft, was given the third base job this spring by Angels manager Mike Scioscia.

In his first three months of the season, Wood hit .169 with just 3 HR and 12 RBI before finally being benched by Scioscia in favor of 3B Alberto Callaspo, who was traded by the Kansas City Royals to the Angels in mid-July.

The Angels have given every indication that they’re not quite willing to give up on Wood just yet, given their request that Wood continue playing during the offseason.

However, patience will wear thin in the Angels front office quickly if Wood can’t figure out major league pitching this coming spring.

The Angels have already made it clear that they will be active in free agent acquisitions this offseason, and although they haven’t specifically said they are going after third basemen, they will jump if the opportunity presents itself.

While it’s great news that Wood is showing signs of life this fall, the Angels will be looking for signs of life come April.

For continuing updates on the Los Angeles Angels, follow Doug on Twitter, @Sports_A_Holic.

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There may be nothing in professional sports that quite measures up to starting the final game of a seven-game playoff series in Major League Baseball. It can either mean going home, moving on, or winning it all.

Before the advent of the expanded playoff system in 1969, only two teams were eligible in MLB, the pennant winners of the American and National Leagues. For 66 seasons this was the accepted format, and the Fall Classic brought us many great memories from that period of time.

When both leagues split into two divisions, the League Championship series was formed, and was a best-of-five format up until 1985, when it was increased to seven games to increase revenue and match the length of the World Series.

When the Division Series was introduced in 1995, five games were determined to be the length, and has remained so ever since. Even though we are looking at who we would consider to start a Game 7 of a series, we could certainly count Game 5 of division series as well, considering it’s a one-and-done proposition, and still determines whether a team marches onward or out.

So, the upcoming list is a ranking of the top 50 pitchers to start a Game 7, or deciding game of a playoff series.

The list does NOT reflect how a pitcher performed during the regular season, it only reflects their performance DURING the playoffs. Major difference here.

Performances in big games during the season might be important, but don’t reflect the type of pressure that pitchers are under when given the ball to get their team a championship.

And here we go…

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Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Roy Halladay completely dominated the Cincinnati Reds on his way to the second no-hitter ever thrown in postseason history, and one thought came to mind: He simply made it look easy.

The last 25 years of postseason baseball have brought many thrilling plays, and while many of them could be best-of-all-time contenders, none of them compares to the performance that Roy Halladay delivered today.

By its very definition, a postseason no-hitter ranks among the best events in overall baseball history itself, particularly when you consider that it had previously been achieved one time.

In October 1956, Don Larsen threw a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series, becoming the only pitcher to achieve the feat.

Fifty-four years have passed since that historic event, and dozens of no-hitters and even a few perfect games have been achieved since then. However, none of them were thrown in postseason play.

Halladay also becomes the first pitcher in 37 years to throw two no-hitters in the same season, matching the mark set by Hall-of-Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.

There is also the game itself, and his accomplishments during the game made it indeed special to watch.

Halladay threw 104 pitches, 79 for strikes, a whopping 76 percent strike to ball ratio. That in itself is masterful.

Halladay went 0-2 to 11 batters, literally freezing Reds hitters with an array of fastballs, sinkers, and devastating curveballs.

The most incredible statistic of the night was that he threw 23 of 27 first-pitch strikes. Not only was he showing that his command was on target, it also showed confidence in his defense behind him.

The only hard-struck ball hit off Halladay all game was in the third inning when Reds pitcher Travis Wood lined out to Jayson Werth in short right field.

This was a masterpiece of epic proportions. Halladay, who had won 169 career games before making his debut in the postseason, was almost stoic in his responses after the game.

“It’s surreal, it really is,” Halladay said. “I just wanted to pitch here, to pitch in the postseason. To go out and have a game like that, it’s a dream come true.”

And, in usual Halladay fashion, he preferred to give the credit to his catcher, Carlos Ruiz.

“I felt like we got in a groove early,” Halladay said. “Carlos has been great all year, he helps me get into a rhythm early, throwing strikes.”

Throw strikes he did, and we were witness to an event that has only happened twice in 107 years of postseason play. That in itself truly makes this the single greatest achievement in the last 25 years of postseason play.

Doug is a featured columnist for Examiner.com and Green Celebrity Network.

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The San Diego Padres were without question the surprise of Major League Baseball. Starting the season with the fourth lowest payroll in baseball, they led the National League West for a good portion of the 2010 season before fading in September. Today, their season was laid to rest.

The San Francisco Giants used six pitchers to combine on a four-hit shutout, sending the San Diego Padres home with a 3-0 loss, ending their magical season and knocking them out of the playoffs.

With the Atlanta Braves beating the Philadelphia Phillies earlier in the afternoon, 8-7, the Padres needed the victory to force a two-day playoff. With the win, they would have played the Giants at home to decide the NL West Division winner, and then the loser of that game would play Atlanta for the right to be the NL Wildcard team.

Padres starting pitcher Mat Latos got into trouble in the bottom of the third.With one out, Giants starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez tripled to right field. After striking out Andres Torres, Latos gave up a single to Freddie Sanchez, scoring J. Sanchez with the game’s first run. Aubrey Huff then doubled to deep center, scoring F. Sanchez to give the Giants a 2-0 lead.

With the way the Giants bullpen has pitched over the last two weeks, those two runs would prove to be more than enough.

The Padres put runners on first and second with no outs in the top of sixth, with an Adrian Gonzalez single and walk to Ryan Ludwick. That was it for Jonathan Sanchez, who surrendered to Santiago Casilla.

Casilla induced a 5-4 double play grounder to Yorbit Torrealba, then got Scott Hairston on a fielder’s choice, Torrealba being forced out at second to get out of the inning.

The Padres threatened again in the seventh, Denorfia singling to right, and David Eckstein reaching on Casilla’s error, putting runners at first and second once again. Giants reliever Ramon Ramirez shut the door this time, getting Miguel Tejada swinging at a nasty slider for the third strike, ending the threat.

Closer Brian Wilson came on to close it out in the ninth for the Giants, giving him his 48th save of the year, tying the Giants record for saves in a season, held by Rod Beck.

The Giants will now play host to the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, while the Philadelphia Phillies play host to the Cincinnati Reds in the other NLDS matchup.

The Padres gave a great effort this weekend, needing to win all three games of the series to force a playoff. Sunday’s effort wasn’t enough, and they’ll be watching from the sidelines, wondering to themselves what could have been.

For continuing baseball updates, you follow Doug on Twitter, @Sports_A_Holic.
Doug is featured writer for Examiner.com and Green Celebrity Network.

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They were called the Cinderella team of 2010: a collection of second-hand, ragtag players who stepped it up all season long and put together a season of shock and awe in San Diego.

Now, with just three games left in the regular season, all the magic potions in the universe may not be enough to help the San Diego Padres.

In the last of a four-game set with the Chicago Cubs, the Padres could only muster three hits in a crippling 1-0 loss, their second such defeat in the series.

San Diego scored a total of five runs in the four-game series and was held without a hit today from the third inning on.

That kind of offense won’t win a Triple-A division, let alone the National League West.

It’s been said that it’s not necessarily the best team that wins championships, but the hottest. The Padres certainly don’t qualify in that regard.

Since the last week of August, the Padres have averaged less than three runs scored per game. No matter how good the pitching staff, and the San Diego staff have certainly held their own, that type of production during the last month of the season in a heated pennant race doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

This weekend, the Padres travel to the Bay Area to take on the team hell-bent on sending them to the golf links next week: the San Francisco Giants.

The Giants will send Matt Cain, Barry Zito, and Jonathan Sanchez to the mound for the season-ending three-game set, hoping to close it out tomorrow night. The Giants’ magic number to clinch the NL West is one, and only one win is needed to snuff the hopes of the Padres.

The Atlanta Braves have a say in the matter as well, leading the wild-card race by two games. One Padres loss combined with a Braves win shuts the Padres out of the playoffs altogether.

The Padres can only blame one thing: themselves. In an interview with Associated Press writer Bernie Wilson, Padres outfielder Ryan Ludwick said, “I think it’s disappointing the fact we haven’t played our best baseball at times this month.”

“But everyone who goes out there is giving their best effort. It’s tough. We all take our job very seriously. We want to win. We want to perform. Unfortunately, as of late, it’s been kind of a rough go.”

Kind of a rough go? More like a nightmare. Mike and the Mechanics had it right—all the Padres need is a miracle.

Doug is a featured columnist for Examiner.com and Green Celebrity Network.

For continuing sports updates and coverage, you can follow Doug on Twitter @ Sports_A_Holic.

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A California jury returned a guilty verdict today on three counts of second-degree murder in the death of Los Angeles Angels rookie pitcher, Nick Adenhart and two others in April, 2009.

Gallo was charged and convicted of the more serious second-degree murder charges rather than manslaughter because he has a previous DUI conviction and was known to understand the specific dangers of drinking and driving from his own experience.

Prosecutor Susan Price noted to the jurors that Gallo had been repeatedly warned by family, friends and court officials about the dangers of drinking and driving. However, his continued need to party and arrogance apparently took precedence over those warnings.

Gallo was on probation at the time of the accident for drunken driving when he crashed his van into the car that carried Adenhart and his friends. Price also noted that Gallo had signed papers signifying that if he were to be arrested and charged with killing someone while drunk, that he would be charged with murder.

Adenhart, a promising young pitcher for the Angels, had just pitched six scoreless innings in his debut earlier that day, April 9th, 2009. Hours later, while driving in Fullterton, Adenhart and his friends were killed after Gallo had plowed through a red light and hit the car.

Courtney Stewart, 20, who was the driver of the car, and Henry Pearson, 25, were also killed in the crash. Another passenger, Jon Wilhite, was severely injured but survived.

Gallo could face more than 50 years in prison. His sentencing has been set for Dec. 10.

For continuing Angels updates, follow Doug on Twitter, @Sports_A_Holic.

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Sunday afternoon’s game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Chicago White Sox may have had no bearing on the playoffs, but it was certainly historic in nature.

In the first inning, right fielder Bobby Abreu stepped to the plate and hit his 40th double of the season, marking the fifth time in his career that he has surpassed 20 HR, 20 SB, and 40 doubles. No other player in Major League history has reached this trifecta more than three times.

It’s an extraordinary achievement for Abreu, who continues to provide speed, power, and timely hitting at the age of 36.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the Angels, who eventually lost 4-3 to complete the sweep of the weekend series by the White Sox.

Halos manager Mike Scioscia started four rookies in this game, who combined for five hits, four strikeouts, and two errors. Both errors were committed by rookie shortstop Andrew Romine, playing in just his second big league game.

One of his errors was a pop-up that he lost in the sun, leading to a costly unearned run that denied starter Jered Weaver a chance at his 14th victory of the season.

Rookie catcher Hank Conger collected two hits and an RBI and continues to look more comfortable behind the plate; as Scioscia ponders the future catching prospects, Conger is certainly not hurting his cause during his September evaluation.

Sunday was Family Day at Angels Stadium, and although the team lost, Weaver was impressed with what he saw.

“Things aren’t always going to go your way with things like that,” said Weaver. “But this time of the year, when the playoff chances are done, it’s fun to give those guys a chance. I was one of those young guys at one time, and I was just itching to get out there too.

“It’s fun to see those guys work. But you know they’ve got some pressure on them too.”

With the Angels out of playoff contention and playing out the string, the rookies should get more opportunities to show their worth over the last week of the season, and Scioscia will be watching.

“We had a lot of young guys on that field, and there’s going to be some growing pains. I think we saw them this afternoon,” Scioscia said. “[But] they need to get into a major league game. It’s important for their growth.

“All the stuff that separates the major leagues from triple A, those guys need to experience it. See how their talent plays and move forward.”

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The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have gone through a season in which could best be described as abysmal. Missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006, they will be embarking on a sport in October that has been unfamiliar to them: golf.

The Angels will be celebrating their 50th birthday next season, and owner Arte Moreno and general manager Tony Reagins will undoubtedly be looking to put together a team in 2011 that will showcase their year-long celebration.

The 2011 MLB free agent class is certainly an option in which Moreno and Reagins will explore and invest in. Although the class itself may not be one of the better free agent classes in recent history, there are names on that list that will generate much interest among many teams, including the Halos.

As mentioned in a previous article, the Angels will have money to spend in the upcoming offseason. Between trades and expiring contracts of players who most likely will not be returning, the Halos will have approximately $25.5 million with which to play with.

Two of the biggest names in free agency that will generate a great amount of interest are Texas Rangers starting pitcher Cliff Lee and Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Jayson Werth.

While both players clearly have their upsides and have contributed mightily to the success of their current teams, there are other options available in which Reagins and the Angels could, and should, explore.

Here are ten reasons why the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim should pass on the temptation of signing either Cliff Lee or Jayson Werth, and utilize the money for options that will best serve their needs in 2011.

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