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It’s starting to become a distinct possibility that by the time the July 31st MLB trade deadline rolls around, the Angels will be in the seller, and not buyer, position. And to be completely honest, it might be in the franchise’s best interests to be sellers.

With five games remaining before the All Star break, the Halos will play one more in Chicago and then fly into Oakland to face the always tough Athletics. Texas, on the other hand, will play today in Cleveland and then finish up against the Baltimore Orioles.

After the season resumes, it will be make or break time. The Angels will get the Mariners and Texas will face the Red Sox. Normally you’d think this favors the Angels, but with almost the entire Boston roster on the disabled list, Texas could take the series. Los Angeles then gets the New York Yankees, Texas, the Detroit Tigers—then what could end up being the wild west showdown that determines the season for the Halos.

On the horizon for the Angels are four games versus Texas, three against Boston, and then two more against Texas to end the moth, bringing the team to deadline day.

As of today, the club is 4.5 games behind with six in the loss column. While certainly not impossible to make up for past Angel teams, it might be too much for this group.

Click here to continue this article at LA Angels Insider.com

Eric Denton is the head writer for LA Angels Insider.com

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Major League Baseball will be celebrating its 81st annual All-Star Game on July 13th in Angel Stadium of Anaheim between players of the American League and the National League.

Since 1935 the “Midsummer Classic” marks the symbolic halfway point of the season and is probably one of the most anticipated all-star games by any followers of the world of sports.

In 2001, at a Major League Baseball journalist’s forum during the All-Star Game in Seattle, it was proposed changing the format of the All-Star Game to a game similar to the current All-Star Futures Game. 

A game between the United States’ top players and the best of the world.

There’s no doubt baseball is still the American pastime, but it has become one full of international flavor.

Today, Latinos make up more than 25 percent of Major League players. Also, more Japanese players are part of Major League rosters every year.

It is really great that baseball fans can enjoy the World Baseball Classic every four years, but why not change it in some sort of way to once a year?

Major League Baseball is always looking for change and this will be a great moment as the National Hockey League (NHL) did it for a while. 

From 1998 to 2003, the NHL changed the format to one with a team of North American All-Stars taking on a team of players who were not from North America, known as the World All-Stars.

It is true that the NHL reverted back to its classic East vs. West format. In baseball, if it does not work, it can go back to its traditional American League vs. National League All-Stars.

As fantasy games are so popular now, I made a roster with the best 34 players as in the traditional All-Star Game.

I took into account the best current players of Latin America, Canada, and Japan.

Why not dream a little. Maybe someday Bud Selig and Major League Baseball will consider this idea.

My 2010 “World Team” roster:
Manager: Ozzie Guillen (Chicago White Sox)
Coaches: Manny Acta (Cleveland Indians), Edwin Rodriguez (Florida Marlins), Juan Samuel (Baltimore Orioles)

Pitchers
Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies
Fausto Carmona, Cleveland Indians
Yovani Gallardo, Milwaukee Brewers
Carlos Silva, Chicago Cubs
Jaime Garcia, St. Louis Cardinals
Livan Hernandez, Washington Nationals
Carlos Marmol.  Chicago Cubs
Francisco Cordero, Cincinnati Reds
Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers
Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals
Rafael Soriano, Tampa Bay Rays
Jose Valverde, Detroit Tigers 

Catchers
Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
Victor Martinez, Boston Red Sox
Miguel Olivo, Colorado Rockies 

Infielders
1B Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
1B Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
1B Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres
1B David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
2B Robinson Cano, New York Yankees
2B Martin Prado, Atlanta Braves
SS Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
SS Jose Reyes, New York Mets
SS Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers
3B Adrian Beltre, Boston Red Sox
3B Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays 

Outfield
Jason Bay, New York Mets
Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners
Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies
Vladimir Guerrero, Texas Rangers
Magglio Ordonez, Detroit Tigers
Alexis Rios, Chicago White Sox
David de Jesus, Kansas City Royals 

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L.A. Angels ace Jered Weaver was officially named to the American League All-Star team this afternoon, according to MLB.com and confirmed by the Angels.

Weaver will be replacing New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia, who manager Joe Girardi says will not be able to pitch due to the way their rotation schedule is playing out.

Weaver will probably not be able to pitch for the same reason, unless tonight’s game against the Chicago White Sox is postponed. The game is currently in a 45-minute rain delay.

Weaver (8-3, 2.82 ERA, 1.06 WHIP), was a controversial exclusion from the squad. He currently leads both leagues in strikeouts and quality starts.

Although it doesn’t look like he is going to get to play, the move would at least allow Weaver to be acknowledged in front of his hometown fans as an All-Star. The Midsummer Classic will be played in Anaheim.

This will be the 27-year-old righthander’s first All-Star appearance.

Weaver has the best winning percentage of any pitcher in baseball over the past five seasons at .663.

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Fun fact: Who has the best winning percentage of any pitcher in baseball over the past five seasons?

Here’s a hint. It’s not C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Johan Santana, Josh Beckett or any of the other pitchers the East Coast writing establishment loves to go on endlessly about.

It’s Jered Weaver at .663.

Weaver has clearly taken his game to another level in the absence of former Angels ace John Lackey, and has managed to single-handedly carry his team through a horrific stretch in the process.

The one constant for the Angels in 2010 has been quality starts by Weaver—a stat that he leads all of MLB in with 14, along with fellow West Coast All-Star snub Felix Hernandez.

At a time when the rest of the Angels rotation and bullpen were ranked at the bottom of the league in every category, Weaver kept them afloat.

At a time when his team had the worst batting average in baseball and gave him one of the lowest run support totals in the league, Weaver managed to keep his team in games and win most of them.

Weaver should not only be in the conversation for the Cy Young, but the MVP as well.

Weaver also:

• Leads both leagues in strikeouts with 124.
• Leads all starters in K’s per nine innings with 10.27.
• Is second to only Cliff Lee in walk to strikeout ratio at 4.77.
• Has the third best WHIP in the league at 1.06.
• Has the sixth best ERA in the league at 2.82.

The opposition is hitting .217 against him. Only Jon Lester and Colby Lewis (yet another snubbed West Coast pitcher) were better.

It is hard to be any more consistent than giving up two or less runs in 12 of your 17 starts, as the 27-year-old has done this season.

If it weren’t for Weaver, the Angels might very well be in the Seattle Mariners’ shoes right now—sellers at the trade deadline, instead of just 3.5 games out of the AL West.

Weaver doesn’t have a 100-mph, blow-you-away fastball. In fact, at times it is hard to see how he gets anyone out with a fastball that barely hits 90 mph.

The Simi Valley High School product simply knows how to pitch.

The game hasn’t seen a pitcher this crafty since Greg Maddux. Weaver is living proof that changing speeds and having control in the zone are just as important as having good “stuff.”

His ability to ring up batters through deception probably doesn’t get him noticed as much as hurlers with electric pitches like Sabathia. However, it’s his results that are electric and undeniable to anyone with an ounce of objectivity.

While most East Coast fans and writers are nestled in their beds or writing on deadline, Weaver will continue to take to the mound for his 10:05 EST starts and do his thing.

Hopefully, the outrage over Weaver’s failure to make the All-Star squad will help these misguided souls to discover this new invention called TiVo.

A whole world of baseball exists on the West Coast of your continent, East Coast homers. A world that extends beyond the former Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants.

If the East Coast writers manage to discover this world in time, and Weaver continues to demonstrate the consistency he has shown throughout his entire career—maybe, just maybe—Weaver can have his vindication at the end of the year in the form of a Cy Young Award.

Until then, the Angels, the team that had 100 wins last season.

The team that is the current three-time defending champions of the West.

The team that is hosting the Midsummer Classic, will have to settle for its hometown fans cheering for one player (Torii Hunter), as he takes to the field All-Star Weekend.

Enjoy your game, East Coast.

The West Coast fans are glad we could provide you with a neutral site on which to play it.

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Will they ever get it right?

Since the All-Star game counts for home-field advantage of the World Series they should try to get it right.

Let’s take a trip around the All-Star horn shall we.

Right off the bat, why is there need for a replacement DH? So we have to find the second-best DH instead of making that spot for someone more deserving?

Cue David Ortiz:

.259 BA, .364 OBP, 17 HR, 54 RBI, 43 R

Snub Paul Konerko and Kevin Youkilis:

Konerko – .296 BA, .384 OBP, 20 HR, 57 RBI, 46 R

Youkilis – .299 BA, .416 OBP, 17 HR, 54 RBI, 65 R, 2 SB

I’m pretty sure both players can handle the hardships of the DH position, though they normally play the field. 

Okay, let’s continue around the field for the American League.

Second base looks good, shortstop looks good, third base looks…Alex Rodriguez?

.276 BA, .349 OBP 12 HR, 62 RBI, 43 R, 2 SB

Once again, Konerko and Youkilis have better numbers, yet the AL has three guys at third base and just two at first. You can even argue the fact Youkilis can play third base.

Snubbery.

We go to the outfield. Josh Hamilton, Carl Crawford, Vernon Wells, Torii Hunter all look good. Wait… tell me they didn’t put Jose Bautista and his .236 batting average along with Ichiro and his .328 batting average?

Of course they did.

Bautista – .236 BA, .360 OBP, 21 HR, 52 RBI, 50 R, 3 SB

Ichiro – .328 BA, .383 OBP, 3 HR, 24 RBI, 33, 22 SB

Snubbery.

Alex Rios – .303 BA, .358 OBP, 13 HR, 45 RBI, 49 R, 22 SB

Okay, I suppose I can let Bautista go based on the fact his OBP would suggest he isn’t a Carlos Pena who just swings ridiculously hard, but Ichiro?

Rios matches Ichiro in his go-to stats of stolen bases and runs, while having an extremely respectable batting average and on-base percentage, along with far more power than Ichiro.

Let’s take a look at the pitching.

Okay, I’m seeing no Jered Weaver or Felix Hernandez for some reason, but that’s because the pitching is deep and Fausto Carmona repping the Indians because Shin-Soo Choo is DLed. Trevor Cahill got in to rep the Oakland A’s.

Phil Hughes…really?

Hughes – 10-2, 3.83 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 86 K, 94 IP

Hernandez – 6-5, 3.03 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 116 K, 121.2 IP

Weaver – 8-3, 2.82 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 124 K, 108.2 IP

Snubbery.

For the love of god, people, wins and losses are not the be-all and end-all in judging a pitcher’s worth.

I don’t even need to add any input. Just look at the numbers and remember the fact the game is in Anaheim where Weaver pitches.

When looking at the relievers for the American League the only case of snubbery would probably revolve around Matt Thornton. He was selected because the White Sox needed a representative. Had Konerko or Rios been in as they should have, you wouldn’t have needed this.

Neftali Felix – 22 saves (tied for lead in the AL), 3.00 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 40 K (most among closers), 36 IP

Rafael Soriano – 21 saves, 1.47 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 28 K, 30.2 IP

Onto the National League we go…Yadier Molina? What?

.229 BA, .309 OBP, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 16 R, 6 SB

Please, Cardinal fans, stop voting. Every year we go through this.

Miguel Olivo – .307 BA, .363 OBP, 11 HR, 39 RBI, 37 R, 4 SB

Snubbery.

Another tough first base position with Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard and Adrian Gonzalez all deserving. Joey Votto should clearly be there as well, having better numbers than Howard and Gonzalez, but it’s a very deep position, so there was no winning in this.

Howard – .293 BA, .349 OBP, 15 HR, 59 RBI, 52 R

Gonzalez – .291 BA, .386 OBP, 16 HR, 51 RBI, 43 R

Votto – .312 BA, .412 OBP, 19 HR, 57 RBI, 53 R

That’s a tough call. Gonzalez was the lone Padre and Howard basically won on his name rather than numbers.

At second base, Dan Uggla or Rickie Weeks should have made it, but Martin Prado and Brandon Phillips are good picks.

I think the coaching staff spelled someone’s name wrong. Omar Infante? That isn’t how you spell Joey Votto, Dan Uggla and/or Rickie Weeks.

Infante – .309 BA, .341 OBP, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 23 R, 3 SB

Uggla – .271 BA, .358 OBP, 16 HR, 49 RBI, 53 R, 2 SB

Weeks – .271 BA, .370 OBP, 14 HR, 49 RBI, 53 R, 5 SB

Snubbery.

Ryan Zimmerman (.286 BA, .376 OBP, 14 HR, 44 RBI, 49 R, 1 SB) is another person better than Infante who didn’t make it. Troy Glaus (.260 BA, .364 OBP, 14 HR, 56 RBI, 41 R) is another player better than Infante.

The list goes on and on. 

Outside of Hanley Ramirez, the shortstop position is weak in the National League. Mark Reynolds and his .221 BA and 112 Ks didn’t make it at third, so that’s good. Baby steps toward getting this correct. 

Ah, the outfield… where we stick undeserving players from bad teams. Marlon Byrd and Chris Young are having pretty good years and deserve to be the Cub and Diamondback representatives. Michael Bourn, however, should not be the Astros representative and Matt Holliday just shouldn’t be there. 

Bourn – .260 BA, .336 OBP, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 48 R, 25 SB

Holliday – .298 BA, .374 OBP, 11 HR, 39 RBI, 45 R, 6 SB

Adam Dunn – .275 BA, .361 OBP, 17 HR, 49 RBI, 44 R

Colby Rasmus – .278 BA, .369 OBP, 16 HR, 40 RBI, 48 R, 9 SB

Josh Willingham – .281 BA, .413 OBP, 15 HR, 46 RBI, 43 R, 7 SB

Carlos Gonzalez – .295 BA, .329 OBP, 14 HR, 52 RBI, 49 R, 12 SB

Andre Ethier – .320 BA, .375 OBP, 13 HR, 49 RBI, 39 R, 1 SB

Ryan Braun – .295 BA, .351 OBP, 11 HR, 51 RBI, 50 R, 11 SB

Andrew McCutchen – .295 BA, .374 OBP, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 50 R, 20 SB

Once again, the list goes on and on for players better than Bourn or Holliday in the outfield. Snubbery.

Pitching in the National League is deep, so someone like Clayton Kershaw, Matt Latos, or Roy Oswalt were going to get left out simply because there was not enough room.

What is confusing is why pitchers like Evan Meek and Arthur Rhodes made it over any of the above starters or some closers. Apparently the new thing is to elect setup men, which is fine if their numbers are insanely good.

Rhodes apparently is the Tim Wakefield of this year’s All-Star game. Old is the new good.

Rhodes – 3-2, 1.09 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 32 K, 33 IP

Meek – 4-2, 0.96 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 42 K, 44 IP

Solid numbers, but a setup man should at least have more Ks than innings pitched to make the All-Star team over closers like:

Heath Bell – 23 saves (leads NL), 1.72 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 49 K, 36.2 IP

Francisco Rodriguez – 20 saves, 2.57 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 52 K, 42 IP

Billy Wagner – 17 saves, 1.35 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 52 K, 33.1 IP

Oswalt should have been your Astros representative over Rhodes, Meek or Capps, which would mean Willingham/Dunn would sub in for Bourn and McCutchen would sub in for Holliday. All teams would still have a representative and you’d have two pitching positions open for Bell, Wagner, Rodriguez or the starters mentioned above.

It’s so simple, yet, we must make it so difficult.

Maybe next year…nah, probably not.

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After three innings of starting pitching giving up little excitement besides a Brandon Wood vault to catch a line drive at third base, it was evident that fans at the Big A were in for another duel of starting pitchers on Saturday night.  Starters Ervin Santana and Bruce Chen brought their stuff to shine as bright as the Fourth of July white on each team’s caps for the holiday weekend.

The first three innings of the game passed in less than 50 minutes as batters were retired almost in order.  The only hit to that point was the leadoff for Kansas City.  Santana walked one in the top of the fourth before re-asserting his control over the game by sitting down Wilson Betemit on strikes, putting down 10 of the previous 11 batters.

Bruce Chen had also sat down the first nine of 10 Angel batters when he entered the bottom the fourth inning.  Groundouts from Erick Aybar and Howie Kendrick, brought up Bobby Abreu, who flew out to David DeJesus. DeJesus robbed Abreu by diving on the warning track to grab the flyout, his second diving catch of the game at center field.

Second baseman Howie Kendrick made two consecutive catches for outs in the top of the fifth inning.  Yuniesky Betancourt grounded out to Brandon Wood to end the top of the fifth inning less than an hour after first pitch.

Even a 1-4-3 groundout off the pitcher Chen’s foot bounced into favor of the starter as the Royals defense stood toe to toe with their counterparts.  Napoli and Matsui were easy outs to follow as Chen put the first 15 Angels down in order in the bottom of the fifth.

A Jason Kendall sacrifice bunt moved Podsednik to second base in the top of the sixth inning.  DeJesus lined out to center for the second out, bringing up Butler, who stood in for 10 pitches before taking a walk for the second time.  Guillen stepped in with two runners on and it was Reggie Willits taking his turn at a diving catch to end the inning.

Chen’s first strikeout sat down leadoff man Jeff Mathis in the bottom of the sixth. Chen then  popped out Brandon Wood and grounded out Willits to continue his perfection through 18 at bats without breaking 90 miles per hour. 

Scott Podsednik failed to get his third hit in the top of the seventh as the Royals sat down in order, continuing seven shutout innings for Ervin Santana.

In the bottom of the seventh, Aybar drilled the first Angel hit for a single between second and third. Howie Kendrick dropped a sacrifice bunt, bringing up Bobby Abreu, who struck out on an 85 mph fastball with Aybar on second.  With two outs, Torii Hunter was intentionally walked, and Mike Napoli popped out to end the first threat to Chen’s shutout.

Kendall’s two-out hit in the top of the eighth was followed by a DeJesus single and hit batter Butler for the Royals to load the bases for the hitless Jose Guillen, who drove in two runners.

The shutout for Chen was ended by Jeff Mathis’s second home run of the season, making it 2-1 Kansas City. The Royals brought in reliever Kyle Farnsworth, who struck out Brandon Wood. Reggie Willits then grounded out for the second time.

Heading into the ninth with the score from the previous game, 2-1 in favor of Kansas City, the Royals looked to add insurance runs. A bunt followed by a bloop hit for Betancourt put two runners with one out on before Santana was lifted for Francisco Rodriguez, who walked the bases loaded.  A force out at second brought in a third run for Kansas City.  Betancourt then scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-1 Royals before the end of the inning.

The Angels took the bat down three runs with three outs remaining to keep pace with their rivals in Texas, who had beaten the White Sox.  Joakim Soria had converted his previous 12 save opportunities with an overall 2.35 ERA. 

Aybar led off with an infield hit, his second of the game.  A botched bunt by Kendrick made the first out as Abreu stepped in with a base hit, making Torii Hunter the tying run at the plate.  Hunter walked to load the bases with one out.  Napoli popped a sacrifice fly ball to foul territory making it a 4-2 Royals lead.  Matsui followed with runners on second and third with two outs but he struck out to end the game.

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While lefty starter Joe Saunders came out strong through eight innings on Friday night at Angel Stadium, Brian Fuentes was not able to slam the door on a 1-0 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. 

Kansas City’s Mike Aviles was able to break through the shutout attempt with an RBI hit, his second hit of the ballgame, forcing the Angels to extend into extra innings where the Halos would fall short 2-1 to the Royals in Game 1 of a holiday weekend in Southern California.

A tide-turning attempt to steal home by Torii Hunter in the bottom of the 8th affected the outcome of the ballgame.  Hunter scored the only run for the Angels in the bottom of the fourth driven in by a Mike Napoli drive.  Each team had nine hits in the game but struggled to advance runners from scoring position.

A pitcher’s duel turned to a seven-inning gridlock between Davies and Saunders which was disrupted in extra innings by a Bloomquist RBI which brought in Betancourt for the game-taking lead which the Angels could not respond to in the bottom of the tenth inning.

The Angels hope to tie up the holiday series on Saturday night when they send Ervin Santana to the mound, seeking his ninth victory on the season as he faces off with Bruce Chen of the Royals. 

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Angel fans have been spoiled. From 1996 to 2008 it was just about automatic, the game was over in the 9th inning. Between Troy Percival and Francisco Rodriguez , Angel fans saw the two relievers combine for an amazing 524 saves. Rodriguez lead the league in saves three times including a Major league record 62 in his final season with the club in 2008.

It wasn’t just the closers who got the job done. Brendan Donnelly was an All Star as a set up man in 2003. Scot Shields was one of the most reliable middle relievers in the game up for the majority of his career. Darren Oliver joined the pen and had three big seasons for the club. From 2000-2009 the Angels bullpen lead the American League in ERA (3.71) and was second in the Majors.

However, that is all ancient history as the 2010 Angels bullpen ranks last in ERA in the American League. According to Baseball-Reference , the Angels have no relievers with a WHIP under 1.20 (min 20 games) on their roster. The Angels bullpen lost another one last night wasting a gem from Joe Saunders when the Angels offense was not at its best. Jered Weaver should have at least 11 wins this season, but the pen has blow three of his wins.

“We didn’t lose this game because of anything that happened on the mound .” Scioscia said in his July 2nd post game comments.

I have to respectfully disagree with the skipper on this one. It doesn’t matter if the score is 1-0 or 10-9. Winning teams protect 1 run leads.

Article continues at LA Angels Insider.com

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While rumors swirl about Adam Dunn or Adam LaRoche coming to the Halos in a trade, is first base the real trouble spot for the Angels?

As LA Angels Insider Ryan VanderYacht pointed out in this column about the prospect of a Mike Napoli for Dunn trade not making all that much sense for the Angels, it would still appear the club doesn’t necessarily need to upgrade at first.

If general manager Tony Reagins is looking to acquire Dunn to upgrade the team in left field, where Juan Rivera has been mired in a season-long slump, then it’s definitely worth taking a look at. However, moving Napoli in the deal still doesn’t make sense.

What does make sense is the Angels making a simpler move: signing Hank Blalock.

Click here to continue reading LA Angels Insider Rumor Roundup.

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California’s upcoming gubernatorial election is about as bleak as the state’s financial funk. It’s time we made a change.

This state deserves a governor we can believe in, someone who knows how to convince the public of even the most obvious lies and keep a straight face while delivering them.

Someone like Mike Scioscia.

The manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is the perfect candidate to be California’s next governor. In the first place, it’s not as if he’s got any real competition from the rest of the so-called political candidates out there.

On the right, two miserable shills are locked in a heated battle to convince voters that each is slightly less liberal than the other. One Republican candidate, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, claims she wants to simultaneously cut spending and fix the education system.

Because those ideas aren’t mutually exclusive or anything.

On the left, lone Democratic candidate Jerry Brown has been so invisible in the campaign that the only time his name is mentioned is in Republican attack ads. Pathetic.

Scioscia, on the other hand, has all the earmarks of a successful politician. He is a highly recognizable figure, a man who is in the public eye on a nightly basis and can handle the press with effortless style.

Not to mention, he has the uncanny ability to don a warm smile and deliver a blatant fabrication. Perhaps his greatest political asset.

Take this week, for instance. On Tuesday, Scioscia’s Angels sat a precarious 4 ½ games back of the division-leading Texas Rangers, who just happened to stop by for a highly anticipated three-game series.

To everyone else, both on and off the field, this series looked like kind of a big deal. But not Sosh.

“This season, this division, isn’t won or lost right now,” he said, without so much as a hint of sarcasm. “You have to keep hopefully playing good baseball and moving forward. We know [the Rangers] are a good team, we know what our capabilities are.”

Brilliant. In one swift turn of phrase, Scioscia managed to take a completely irrelevant fact—that the season does not hinge on one series played in June—and make it the centerpiece of his answer.

Of course this series won’t ultimately decide the future of the Angels’ season, or the Rangers’ for that matter. But it could very well be the turning point in the season for these two teams.

The Angels were swept in a brief two-game set in Texas back in May and have taken a few steps backward in the division with the Rangers’ recent surge, despite L.A.’s improved performance. Although that’s not the term Scioscia would use.

“I don’t know, improved seems to me there’s a lot of changes,” Scioscia said. “There haven’t been a lot of changes other than obviously Kendry’s not going to be able to play.

“I think from top to bottom, we are playing at a higher level, and I think that’s more indicative of what we feel the talent-level is on our team than I think when we saw these guys last month.”

It’s true, guys like Kevin Frandsen and Howie Kendrick did a lot to carry the Angels to an 18-9 record in the month of June, with series victories over teams like Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles, and Colorado.

The key now will be to carry over that success into a tough July schedule that includes New York, Boston, and yes, Texas.

If they want to have any confidence whatsoever going forward this month and this season, the Angels need a series victory here at home against their division-leading Rangers.

The series is not going to make or break the year, but it will set the tone for future encounters between the two teams.

Unless you talk to Scioscia, who will tell you this is “no bigger than any other game or series you’re going to have during the season.”

Right. And the plan to fix the education system in California will in no way be hindered by proposed massive spending cuts.

Meg Whitman, you don’t stand a chance.

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