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In 1960, Gene Autry, already famous as a singing cowboy, decided to travel to the Major League Baseball expansion meetings to see if he could find a baseball team to broadcast on his radio station. He walked away with an actual team instead.

Fifty years later, that same team, the Los Angeles Angels, are planning a year-long bash to commemorate their 50th birthday.

The Angels will unveil their plans this Friday, and they are going all out. The year long celebration salutes loyal Halos fans and remembers former Angels players. During the season, 81 former Angels players will throw out the first pitch before each game, and Angels Stadium will feature retro nights and giveaways as well.

New uniforms will also be introduced. On the front of the club’s home, road and alternate red jerseys, a gold halo is featured on the “A” of the club lettering. The 50th anniversary patch will be featured on the right sleeve.while an “A” patch with gold halo will be featured on the left sleeve.

The caps will also be different. Hats will now feature a gold halo around the primary “A” logo as well as a 50th-anniversary patch affixed to the left side. And on the playing field, the 50th anniversary logo will be displayed in center field, replacing the 2010 All-Star game sign. The 50th anniversary logo will also be prominently featured throughout different areas of the ballpark, including on the windows above the home-plate gate.

Local radio station AM830 and Fox Sports West television will feature special 50th anniversary programming throughout the year, with retrospectives and a program chronicling the 2002 World Champion season.

From 5-7 p.m. PT on Friday, fans can join in on the festivities at the home-plate gate, where current and former Angels will be doing live interviews and prizes will be given away. The Angels will be playing host to the Chicago White Sox, with Joel Pineiro on the mound for his second start since returning from the disabled list with an oblique injury suffered two months ago.

The anniversary logo to be revealed has a gold halo, and the number 50 is featured prominently beneath it with a ribbon that signifies the prosperity of the last half-century.

While the 2010 season overall was a disappointment for the Los Angels Angels and their fans, it certainly won’t dampen the spirit of next season’s celebration. In fact, gold will rule the day, and the year.

For continuing Angels news updates, follow Doug on Twitter, at Sports_A_Holic.

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The 2010 season has been a roller-coaster ride for Los Angeles Angels shortstop Erick Aybar.

After starting slowly in the month of April (.253 AVG., 1 HR, 4 RBI), Aybar never fully hit his stride.

Suffering through another tough month in May, Aybar appeared to pick it up in June and July, raising his average to .278 and displaying more of the peskiness expected of him at the top of the lineup.

But the dog days of August hit, and Aybar once again plummeted. Since Aug. 1, Aybar has hit .187 with just five RBI and nine runs scored during that span.

On Sept. 15, Aybar aggravated a groin injury, apparently originally suffered two weeks earlier, diving for a ground ball in Cleveland. Aybar has not played since, and it was finally announced by the Angels that he will miss the rest of the season with an apparent sports hernia.

Aybar traveled to Texas yesterday to meet with Dr. John Preskitt, the same doctor who performed successful hernia surgery on Angels outfielder Torii Hunter last November. If surgery is recommended for Aybar, he will heal in plenty of time for spring training next season.

Aybar finished his disappointing season almost exactly where he finished the month, with a .254 average. Aybar had just five HR and 27 RBI, with 68 runs scored and 20 stolen bases.

One of the main reasons that Chone Figgins was allowed to walk as a free agent this past offseason was that the Angels were confident in Aybar’s ability to assume the leadoff position and provide a similar type of offense and set up the middle of the Angels’ order.

Aybar never seemed confident in the role and was actually demoted to the bottom part of the order in early August.

Assuming that Aybar returns to complete health by spring training, he will have a lot to prove to Angels’ management in terms of showing once again the gritty style of play that led them to assume he could handle the leadoff role.

For continuing Angels news updates, follow Doug on Twitter at Sports_A_Holic.

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When Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia talks, people tend to listen. A distinguished 35-year career in Major League Baseball as a player and manager has given him a sphere of influence, and he utilizes it when called upon.

This past weekend, Scioscia proposed cutting back the MLB regular season schedule to 158 games from the current 162-game format and increasing the divisional playoff series format from five to seven games.

Scioscia wants to make sure that the World Series ends in October, allowing for better weather in the Northeast and Midwest than there is in November, when the current postseason format ends.

In an interview with L.A. Times reporter Mike DiGiovanna, Scioscia said, “If you went to 154 games, you’d lose a lot of gate revenue.

“But if you blend it, where you cut down some games and some dates, you could minimize the [financial] impact, tighten the schedule by a week to 10 days to accommodate an expanded division series and get the World Series done in October.”

Scioscia is certainly passionate about this subject, given the fact that his Angels team was dramatically impacted by last year’s playoff format that had the Angels playing only nine games in 21 days in October.

In December of last year, following the conclusion of the playoffs, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig formed a 14-member special committee to review and revise on-field related issues, and eliminating off days from the playoff format this season was one of the new policies enacted.

Scioscia is a member of that committee, so his comments certainly carry added weight.

With the rapid expansion of Major League Baseball since the 1969 season, when both the American and National Leagues moved to divisional play, the playoff schedule extended the season well into October.

In 1993, baseball added another division to each league, the Central, to accommodate the introduction of expansion teams and realignment. In 1995, the Divisional Series premiered, adding another elimination round to the playoffs, at the same time introducing wild-card teams to the mix.

All of this, plus network television’s insistence to start the World Series on a Saturday night to achieve better ratings, has pushed the season well into November.

The above proposal certainly makes sense, given the fact that weather in November can have much more of an impact on a game’s outcome.

Television revenue and marketing has ruled the day in baseball for far too long. It’s time for MLB to step up and put together a schedule that is conducive to fair and equitable play for all.

You can follow Doug on Twitter @desertdesperado.

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Los Angeles Angels‘ starting pitcher Scott Kazmir has been a mystery wrapped in an enigma.

Purchased by the Halos last August for two minor-leaguers and a player to be named later, the Angels honestly thought they were receiving a player who, at 25, was looking ahead at several years of continued maturity and dominance.

The 2009 season for Kazmir had been a major disappointment with the Tampa Bay Rays. Off and on the disabled list and struggling with his fastball command, Kazmir strung together several quality starts in mid- to late-August. The Angels came calling, and the Rays couldn’t unload Kazmir fast enough.

Sure, Kazmir had a bloated contract (three years, $28.5 million); however, the Angels took the chance that he would be able to turn the corner, harness his control issues, and be the pitcher that looked dominant from 2006-08.

In six starts for the Angels to end the 2009 regular season, Kazmir was effective, with a 1.73 ERA, 26 strikeouts, and just 10 walks. His control issues came back to haunt him in the postseason however, when he gave up nine earned runs in 10.2 innings, walking eight in two starts.

The 2010 season has been a major disappointment for Kazmir. Now 8-13 with a 5.98 ERA, he continues to battle control issues, particularly with his fastball, and patience is growing thin in the Angels organization.

“The lion’s share of his issues have been command,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “His inability to get the fastball in good zones and bring his changeup into the game on more counts has really set him back. The slider inconsistency is not as big an issue as fastball command.

“We have confidence in Scott’s ability to get to a higher level, but certainly, if options come along that will make you better, you have to consider them.”

That does not exactly qualify as a ringing endorsement for the struggling left-hander.

Kazmir will likely have at least five more starts in the 2010 season. While he was effective in his last start on Wednesday (6 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 6 K), he will have to show the Angels that he is capable of showing consistent command of his fastball in the strike zone and that he can effectively call upon all of his pitches with confidence.

If Kazmir proves unable to turn the corner, the Angels will have a tough time dealing him this offseason because of his contract. He is due $12 million next season with a $13.5 million club option for 2012 that can be bought-out for $2.5 million. The Angels would likely have to pay a large chunk of that for any team to be interested in Kazmir’s services.

Kazmir will have just under four weeks to prove he belongs.

“The major leagues is always a proving ground, whether you’re Torii Hunter or Peter Bourjos, whether you’re Scott Kazmir or Ervin Santana,” Scioscia said. “It’s a proving ground every day, a challenge to show that position is yours, that you can help the team win.”

You can follow Doug Mead on Twitter, @desertdesperado.

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In many ways, watching yesterday’s game between the Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Indians was akin to watching paint dry.

Jeff Mathis hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Torii Hunter and giving the Angels a 4-3 win over the Indians in 16 innings, averting a sweep against one of the worst teams in the American League.

In a game that lasted 4 hours and 57 minutes, the Angels managed only six hits against eight Indians pitchers, while the Tribe stranded 16 total baserunners.

As much as manager Mike Scioscia enjoyed the win, he lamented the inability of his team to capitalize earlier in the contest. 

“On the offensive side, again, it was like root canal,” said Scioscia. “We were grinding it out, and some things were a little painful.

“We had a lot of opportunities, and we couldn’t execute some little things that would have made it easier to win the game earlier.”

Angels starter Scott Kazmir was actually effective in this one, going six innings and giving up just two hits and one run while striking out six.

Mike Napoli and Peter Bourjos connected for home runs in back-to-back innings off Indians starter Josh Tomlin, with Bourjos’ round-tripper giving the Angels a 3-1 lead after six.

The Angels bullpen was unable to hold on though, as the Indians clawed back with single runs in the seventh and ninth to send this game to extra innings. Andy Marte homered off Jordan Walden in the seventh, and closer Fernando Rodney allowed three singles in the ninth, the final one driving home the tying run.

The Angels had a golden opportunity to win it in the bottom of the ninth. Alberto Callaspo singled, and Mike Napoli followed with a walk, putting runners at first and second with one out.

After an Erick Aybar groundout moved the runners ahead, Indians reliever Joe Smith threw a pitch that got by catcher Lou Marson. Callaspo broke for home and appeared to have Marson’s toss to Smith at the plate beaten. However, Callaspo attempted a hook slide and completely missed home plate and was tagged out on the play.

Had Callaspo slid straight to the plate, he would have been safe, giving the Angels a regulation victory.

The Angels had chances in the 10th and 11th innings as well, with Indians center fielder Michael Brantley robbing Torii Hunter of a homer with a leaping grab at the fence in the 10th and catcher Jeff Mathis botching a suicide squeeze attempt by popping up in the 11th.

Mathis redeemed himself with his sacrifice in the 16th. “The pitch was down and away, but it’s a pitch I’ve gotten down before, and one I should have gotten down tonight,” Mathis said. “I’m glad I got a second chance, for sure.”

You can follow Doug Mead on Twitter @desertdesperado.

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The 2010 season for the Los Angeles Angels could best be described in five words: Nightmare on Gene Autry Way.

Coming out of the gates in April, the team stumbled to a 12-12 start. May greeted them with a rude awakening, a six-game losing streak.

Fighting to claw back to .500 and a semblance of respectability, the end of the month brought the Halos to their knees when they lost Kendry Morales to a season-ending broken leg, brought on by a victory celebration at home plate following a walk-off grand slam home run.

While the month of June brought smiles to Halos fans with an 18-9 record, another team to the Southeast was making noise as well. The Texas Rangers were not only playing well, they were also outplaying the Angels and leading the American League West.

July spelled out disaster for the Angels. With a 9-17 record for the month, they were facing an unfamiliar situation. Only two times since winning the World Series in 2002 have the Halos finished out of the playoffs, and the start of the new decade was not looking promising in that regard.

As the Angels played themselves out of contention in August and early September, one fact became increasingly evident: Starting pitching was NOT their problem. Aside from Scott Kazmir, who has been battling command issues most of the season, the starters collectively have received terrible run support since the All-Star break.

With the exception of Jered Weaver, who is arbitration eligible, all of the Angels’ starting pitchers are locked up by the Halos for next season. Judging by their performances thus far, they will be one of the strengths of the team for 2011.

In fact, their rotation could be one of the best in all of baseball.

Here is a detailed look at how they stack up in 2011.

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Following Monday night’s loss to the Cleveland Indians, the Los Angeles Angels announced that Triple-A players Mark Trumbo and Hank Conger have been called up to the big club. Both players will be available for action on Tuesday.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Conger, the Angels released reliever Brian Stokes. Stokes, who had been acquired last offseason in the trade with the New York Mets involving Gary Matthews Jr., had clearly struggled this season, posting an 8.10 ERA through 16 appearances.

Trumbo, the Angels’ 18th-round pick in the 2004 MLB Amateur Draft, was leading the minor leagues in home runs with 36. He has been on a tear since the All-Star break, hitting .352 with 16 HR and 52 RBI.

Conger, the Angels’ first-round pick in 2005, was hitting .300 with 11 HR and 49 RBI with Salt Lake. He was last seen at Angels Stadium during the All-Star break, when he powered the U.S. Team to a 9-1 victory over the World Team in the Futures All-Star game, collecting the MVP award with his three-run homer.

In other moves, the Angels recalled utility infielder Kevin Frandsen, pitcher Matt Palmer, and pitcher Bobby Cassevah. All three players have seen limited action with the big club this season.

Trumbo’s name had previously been mentioned as a possible replacement for Kendry Morales when he went down for the season with a broken leg suffered during a celebration of a walkoff grand slam home run in late May. But the opportunity for Trumbo never came to pass.

“He’s certainly one of the top power prospects in baseball. He opened up a lot of eyes with the year he had at Salt Lake,” Halos manager Mike Scioscia said. “Crossing over to the big leagues is obviously the next step. Sometimes for guys with bigger swings, it takes longer.”

“I think whatever opportunity Mark gets for us right now isn’t going to define him as a player. It’s not going to be a huge look. …You’re not going to make a determination in the amount of time he’ll get a chance to play up here, even if he played everyday.”

Given the disappointment that the 2010 season has delivered thus far, the opportunities for both Trumbo and Conger to impress management in the next few weeks will certainly go a long way toward their future involvement with the Angels in 2011 and beyond.

You can follow Doug on Twitter, @desertdesperado.

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Los Angeles Angels 3B Brandon Wood, who has been unable to show any consistency at the Major League level, will play for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League (AFL).

Along with Wood, five other Angels minor league prospects will be joining him at Mesa: pitchers Ryan Brasier, Robert Fish, Stephen Geltz and Eddie McKiernan and infielder Andrew Romine.

Wood, who was pegged as the Angels’ starting third baseman at the beginning of the season, largely failed to produce, prompting his demotion to Triple-A affiliate Salt Lake in late May.

In the 39 games played before his demotion, Wood hit a paltry .156, with 2 HR and 7 RBI. His overall lack of production prompted Angels’ GM Tony Reagins to acquire Alberto Callaspo from the Kansas City Royals on July 22.

At the time, Reagins insisted that the acquisition of Callaspo did not have a negative impact on Wood’s future with the Angels.

However, with a .165 batting average and just 3 HR and 12 RBI thus far on the season, it is clear that Angels’ management is growing impatient in terms of Wood’s development.

Wood was originally asked to play winter ball in Latin America in hopes of regaining his batting stroke and confidence. Wood instead opted for the AFL, which plays its games between Oct. 12 and Nov. 20. Wood is getting married in December, and chose to remain close to home.

You can follow Doug on Twitter, @desertdesperado.

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In a much publicized battle of the aces, Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Dan Haren matched Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez pitch for pitch. Neither backed down.

After the two aces hit the showers, Seattle capitalized, scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the Angels, 3-1.

For seven innings, Haren and Hernandez gave the crowd at Safeco Field an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel, tossing goose eggs until both tired after seven innings. Haren scattered seven hits and struck out eight, throwing 110 pitches, while Hernandez threw a gem of his own, giving up just three hits and striking out eight, throwing 103 pitches.

In the top of the eighth, the Angels scratched across a run. After Peter Bourjos struck out swinging, Alberto Callaspo doubled to left. Howie Kendrick then laced a double to left field, the ball bouncing into the stands for a ground-rule double, plating Callaspo with the game’s first run.

Bobby Abreu was then intentionally walked, putting runners on first and second. Torii Hunter ended the threat, grounding into a double play to end the inning.

Seattle answered in the bottom of the frame, and then some. Kevin Jepsen (2-4) replaced Haren on the mound. After Franklin Guitierrez struck out swinging, Russell Branyan walked. Matt Tuiasosopo pinch ran for Branyan, and was moved to third on a Jose Lopez single to center.

Casey Kotchman then walked, loading the bases for Michael Saunders. Saunders delivered with a single to center, scoring Tuiasosopo and evening the game at 1-1. Adam Moore followed with a broken bat single just over the reach of Howie Kendrick, scoring Lopez, and Josh Wilson followed suit, singling to center to score Kotchman.

Mariners closer David Aardsma came on to put down the Angels in the top of the ninth, earning his 26th save of the season.

Brandon League (9-6) got the win, despite giving up the first and only run to the Angels.

The Angels will look to take the rubber match of the three-game series on Wednesday night, sending Trevor Bell (1-4, 5.07 ERA) to the hill versus the Mariners’ Jason Vargas (9-7, 3.53 ERA).

You can contact Doug on Twitter, @desertdesperado.

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Now that the Los Angeles Angels have snapped a three-game losing streak at the hands of the Seattle Mariners last night, they’ll look to capture their first series win since mid-August tonight at Safeco Field.

Tonight’s pitching matchup: Angels, Dan Haren (2-4, 4.02 ERA) vs. Mariners Felix Hernandez (10-10, 2.47 ERA)

What to expect: Haren will be looking for his second straight victory as a member of the Angels. During last Wednesday’s victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, Haren gave up one run on three hits, striking out eight in six innings. This will be Haren’s first start against Seattle since 2007 while a member of the Oakland Athletics.

Hernandez, second in the American League with 192 strikeouts, has been a victim of poor run support throughout the season. King Felix has won three of his last four starts, but is 0-2 with 5.12 ERA in three starts vs. Los Angeles thus far this season.

Hitting matchups: Angels LF Bobby Abreu has had great success versus Hernandez in his career, hitting .367 with one homer. RF Torii Hunter has also had moderate success, hitting .314 off Hernandez in his career.

For the Mariners, very few hitters have seen much of Haren. RF Ichiro Suzuki is only hitting .268 versus Haren in his career, a full .063 below his career batting average. 2B/3B Chone Figgins has had little success against the Angels overall since leaving the team after eight seasons, hitting just .163 versus his former team.

Angels Notes: Angels’ catcher Mike Napoli was pulled back from waivers by the Angels yesterday afternoon. The Angels were unable to finalize a deal with the Boston Red Sox, who had claimed Napoli off the waiver wire, by the time Monday’s deadline for an agreement had passed. Napoli will now remain a Halo until the end of the season.

New Angels closer Fernando Rodney, elevated to the role after the trade of Brian Fuentes to the Minnesota Twins, picked up his first save since the promotion last night. It was far from a clean outing, as he walked the leadoff hitter, Casey Kotchman, and later allowed him to score on a wild pitch.

Angels DH/LF Hideki Matsui continued his torrid pace in the month of August, ripping a two-run homer off Mariners starter David Pauley in the sixth inning of last night’s victory. Matsui is now hitting .313 for the month of August, after a dismal July in which he hit just. .228.

Although minor league callups for September 1 have not been announced yet by the Angels, one would expect that Triple-A 1B Mark Trubmo would certainly get the call. The twenty-four year old Trumbo has been on a tear for the Salt Lake Bees since the All-Star break, hitting .362 with 13 HR’s and 43 RBI’s. Trumbo has shown much more plate discipline as well, with a respectable 27/45 walk-to-strikeout ratio, a dramatic improvement over his 28/73 pre All-Star numbers.

You can follow Doug on Twitter, @desertdesperado.

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