Kuzul

Los Angeles Angels rookie catcher Hank Conger has been given the opportunity to start over half the games thus far by Halos’ manager Mike Scioscia. Conger has responded, hitting .273 with three home runs through the first 45 games of the season.

Conger was called up last season when the roster was expanded to 40 players on Sept. 1, and with the Angels out of contention in the American League West, Conger saw action in 13 games, giving the youngster a brief glimpse of life in the majors.

Heading into spring training this season, with the departure of Mike Napoli, Scioscia declared an open audition for the starting catcher’s position.

While Jeff Mathis hit .391 and Bobby Wilson hit .304, Conger hit just .231, but Scioscia saw enough that he wanted Conger with the big club on Opening Day, electing to carry three catchers on the 25-man roster.

When Conger got his chance to start, he not only impressed at the plate, but defensively as well.

During Scioscia’s 11-plus year tenure with the Angels, he has regarded defensive abilities to be paramount among his catchers. Conger has shown an ability to not only handle the pitching staff well, but has added offense at the bottom of the order.

With Mathis hitting just .193 and Wilson essentially relegated to spot duty as the third option behind the plate, Conger is seeing more opportunities.

In an exclusive interview, Bleacher Report talked with Conger about his development in the majors, his maturation process, and his relationship with his fellow catchers.

Doug Mead is a featured columnist with Bleacher Report. His work has been featured on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle. Follow Doug on Twitter, @Sports_A_Holic.

Begin Slideshow

Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Robinoson Can and Alex Rodriguez could some day be able to say they played on an all Hall of Fame infield.

They’ve all won Gold Gloves and have been known to play pretty good defense as a team over the years.  Committing a bunch of errors, they’ve recently been janky—unstrustworthy. 

But where do the Jankees—I mean Yankees—rank on my list?  Inquiring minds want to start the show.  Let’s go…roll graphics…

Begin Slideshow

Jered Weaver‘s Final Line: 9 IP 7 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 10 K 1 GB/FB Ratio

Jered Weaver continued his dominant 2011 campaign with his second consecutive complete game and his first shutout of the season against the struggling Oakland A’s lineup. Weaver lowered his ERA to 0.99, and he has struck out 49 batters in 45.2 innings this season.

Weaver had excellent command last night, throwing 78 strikes out of 114 pitches (a 68 percent strike rate). Most importantly, he threw 75 percent of his offspeed pitches for a strike, including all 20 changeups for a strike and eight out of 10 curveballs for a strike. He also established a first-pitch strike to 65 percent of the hitters faced.

Weaver continued to show a slight increase in velocity. He was averaging 90.2 mph on his fastball coming into the start against the A’s compared to his average of 89.9 mph last season. Last night he averaged 90.8 mph on his fastball while maxing out at 93.7 mph a few times early in the start. He recorded four swinging strikes out of 61 fastballs, and he recorded six of his strikeouts with the pitch.

Weaver recorded a swinging strike percentage of 10 percent overall, and his slider induced five swings and misses with three strikeouts. His changeup induced three swings and misses with one strikeout.

Weaver worked into and out of trouble in the later innings, but his ability to consistently throw strikes and allow only one extra-base hit kept the A’s off the scoreboard. His early-season success has not come from any change in approach. The batted ball numbers are not drastically different from last season, but his strand rate currently sits at 90 percent, and he has benefited from a low .220 BABIP. Even with those numbers, his xFIP sits at 2.97.

The rest of the American League should be wary of the combination of Weaver and Dan Haren, but I still don’t think the Angels have enough in the bullpen and on offense to win this division. However, they will be in contention if both of their front-line starters keep pitching at this level, and Weaver is the early front-runner to be the AL Cy Young winner in 2011.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Recently, the Dodgers announced they would wear their Brooklyn Dodger throwback uniforms for a few home games this season. 

Other teams like the Braves, Reds and various others said they would follow suit and wear their own throwbacks during games this year too.

Some teams have great throwback uniforms, and others are terrible looking. 

Either way, they all stand out in a good or bad way from the other uniforms today.

Here is a list of the top 20 throwback jerseys in MLB history.

Begin Slideshow

One of the biggest question marks in the Atlanta Braves lineup before the 2011 season involved who would fill the revolving door position at first base. It was quickly decided that rookie Freddie Freeman would take over at first, but many Braves fans were unsure how the highly touted prospect would fair through an entire season. After a slow start to the season, the rookie was one of several targets of criticism in the cold Atlanta offense.

For Freeman, a trip back to his native California was the perfect remedy for his early season woes. After batting around the .225 mark for the first 15 games of the season, Freeman has seen a surge at the plate batting .375 over the last week and homering in two of his last five outings. The rookie is also showing off his excellent defensive skills at first base. Almost every game has seen at least one impressive in-the-dirt snag by the agile rookie. 

Freeman’s recent success comes at a much needed time for the Braves, who have struggled in almost every offensive category. Run scoring and on-base percentage have been dreadfully low compared to last seasons team. Atlanta can only hope that veterans Dan Uggla and Nate McClouth can also break out of their own cold starts. If Atlanta can maintain their impressive pitching and get the expected production from the cold spots in the order, they are poised for a much more successful month of May.

For in game-updates and breaking MLB news follow me on twitter @MLBeatWriter     

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

When San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow was slammed to the ground and kicked repeatedly in the head in the parking lot at Dodgers Stadium during Opening Day last week, the news garnered national attention.

Today, the Dodgers have taken steps to address their overall stadium security.

In a statement released by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bill Bratton, former Los Angeles Police Chief and Chairman of Altegrity Risk International, has been hired by the Dodgers to evaluate and assess overall security at Dodger Stadium and its parking lots.

Here is the press release in its entirety:

LOS ANGELES – Earlier today, the Los Angeles Dodgers hired Kroll Chairman and former Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton to assess policies and procedures related to security and fan services at Dodger Stadium, and to work with the Dodger organization to develop a best practices security blueprint that extends to both the stadium and the parking lots. 

“Bill Bratton is widely credited with spearheading modern community policing in America,” said Los Angeles Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt.  “There is no one better to lead a top-to-bottom review of our current practices and make recommendations to be implemented now and into the future.”

Bratton and his team at Kroll will begin consulting immediately. 

“I am pleased to have the opportunity to return to Los Angeles to consult with the Dodger organization on the security posture at Dodger Stadium,” said Bratton. “We will take a full and comprehensive look at security procedures and processes, and make recommendations based on our findings.”

Mr. Bratton possesses extensive expertise in U.S. law enforcement that includes achieving major reductions in violent crimes when he led the New York City Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department.

The Dodgers enjoy a longtime working partnership with the LAPD, and see Bratton and Kroll’s role helping with internal procedures at the Dodgers. 

“We are committed to ensuring that Dodger Stadium remains a family-friendly environment for all baseball fans,” said McCourt. 

Stow remains in an induced coma at a Los Angeles area hospital, and part of his skull has been removed to alleviate swelling on the brain.

“Bryan is hanging in there. He is doing the best that he can. They are doing everything they can to stabilize him,” John Stow, 39, told AOL News.

“We talk to him about the old times, the good times we had together, and share stories with music and interact with him as if he were awake. We want to tap into any part of his brain that can hear us and try and keep him holding on.”

A reward of $100,000 has been raised and is being offered for anyone who has information that will lead to the capture and arrest of the two suspects involved in the horrific beating.

For continuing coverage of Major League Baseball, follow Doug on Twitter:

@Sports_A_Holic.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

This hurts.

Born and raised in Madison, WI, I’ve been a Milwaukee Brewers fan my entire life. I remember my dad taking me to games at old County Stadium to see Robin Yount and Paul Molitor play, and it was so easy and “available” to stand outside after the game to fetch autographs from your favorite players or even to just see the team.

This was long before $100 million contracts. At the time, it didn’t matter whether you played in a small-market, blue-collar town like Milwaukee or a large metro area like New York City, where today players have added incentive to play with millions more available in endorsement deals.  

It was about making a living by doing something you enjoy, but more importantly, it was about playing baseball.

I’m not saying it isn’t about baseball for players these days, I’m just coming to terms with the fact that capitalism reached America’s Pastime over the last 20 years.

Today, being a fan of a team in a small-market means you need to realize that most players will come and go. It doesn’t mean the team can’t win, it just means the GM needs to be really good at making draft picks and, more importantly, good at making trades.

I give credit to Brewers owner Mark Attanasio for everything he has done to improve the franchise, bringing competitive baseball back to Milwaukee. The smallest market in the league has a payroll that will exceed $90 million in 2011, which is 17th most in all of baseball. Attanasio wants to win just as much as the fans, if not more.

That is why the best move for the future of Milwaukee baseball is to trade beloved first baseman Prince Fielder.

Everyone north of the equator knows he won’t be donning a Brewers uniform in 2012, so why not trade him now?

Regardless of their 0-4 start, the Brewers are a good team. They stand to win plenty of games, with or without Prince. They’ve been hit by the injury bug early and often to begin the season, and their start reflects that.

Prized acquisition Zack Greinke will return in a few weeks, which will give them a deep rotation that should keep them in most ballgames.

If the San Francisco Giants proved anything by winning the World Series last season, it’s that it takes pitching to win, not hitting.

If the Brewers keep Prince through this season, they would get high draft pick compensation when he signs elsewhere as a Type-A free agent. But very few draft picks, if any, can step in right away and do what the Brewers will need them to do.

Why not trade him away now, with the possibility of getting enough in return to be able to contend not only this year, but in the years to come? Not only that, but if he isn’t traded, there is a very good chance he heads down Interstate 94 and signs with the rival Chicago Cubs in the offseason. That alone is reason enough to send him packing to the team of their choosing.

Which team is that? The Los Angeles Angels.

Angels owner Arte Moreno struck out this offseason in his attempts to bring in the big bat he desires. Eventually, in a move that will be questioned for years, the Angels were able to acquire Vernon Wells from the Blue Jays.

The addition of Prince would give the Angels the “Face of the Franchise” Moreno so desperately desires long into the future, as well as making them instant contenders.

Not only are the Angels the lone American League team that can afford Fielder’s new contract who actually needs a 1B/DH type, they just happen to have the right pieces to make this trade work.

The Angels have a big power bat waiting for a chance to man first base in Mark Trumbo, the organizations fourth ranked prospect who led the minor leagues with 36 home runs last season.

They also have a crop of pitching prospects, led by right-hander Taylor Chatwood. Chatwood, the Angels reigning Minor League Pitcher of the Year, is known for his fantastic fastball-slider combination and should be ready for the majors by 2012, if not before.  

The sooner the Brewers are willing to make the move, the more talent they will get in return. Dealing him to a team that has a good chance at re-signing him will only increase that potential.

I’m all for a team “going all in” as the Brewers have this season, but there is a lot more to their team than Prince Fielder. If you can trade him now, get Major League ready talent in return, and improve your chances of winning now and in the future, then I’d say it’s about time to pull the trigger.  

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Giants did not expect to start their trek to a repeat title like this.

The Giants hit a road block on Thursday’s opening day at Dodger Stadium, kicking the ball around in the sixth inning.

Miguel Tejada botched a throw to second with a runner at first with one out, followed by a rare Posey throwing error with the bases loaded. Just nanoseconds before, Posey made a great save on a pitch by Lincecum in the dirt.

The Dodgers drew first blood in the game on the error.

As Posey threw the ball, the runner at third, Matt Kemp, appeared to already be back on the base.

“I thought he was off the base,” Posey said after the game. “I would not have thrown it if I thought he wasn’t.”

To complicate matters further for the Giants, Clayton Kershaw was dominant for the Dodgers. In seven shutout innings of work, Kershaw held the Giants to four hits and one walk, including nine strikeouts.

Cleanup hitter Buster Posey was one of the few to get something going against Kershaw, finishing the night one for four, but with two strikeouts.

“He did a good job of moving the ball around and mixing up some off-speed pitches,” Posey said of Kershaw.

The Giants seemed to struggle in all facets of the game in their three-error debacle—except for pitching. Tim Lincecum was nearly as fantastic as Kershaw, but earned a tough loss, pitching seven strong innings of unearned one-run ball.

The Dodgers tacked on another run in the eighth inning on a James Loney RBI double.

The Giants avoided embarrassment by scoring in the ninth off Jonathan Broxton. Burrell lined a screamer over the left field wall, reminiscent to his game-winning home run off Jonathan Broxton last July.

Brandon Belt had a game to remember. In his first at bat, he accomplished an important milestone—his first major league hit, an infield single.

Belt had impressive at-bats throughout his 1-for-3 night, including a walk off Clayton Kershaw.

Although he made the last out of the game on a soft line drive to Uribe, Belt battled Broxton till the end.

Starter Tim Lincecum shrugged the loss off as best he could.

“Games like this are going to happen,” Lincecum said. “Hopefully, we’ll get them tomorrow.”

One noticeable improvement was the defensive play of Pablo Sandoval. During the sloppy sixth inning, Sandoval shined, as he saved two runs with a diving play on a line drive to his left. Runners were on second and third at the time.

The good news for the Giants? Tomorrow is a new month.

WP: Clayton Kershaw (1-0), LP: Tim Lincecum (0-1), Broxton (S, 1)

HR: Pat Burrell (1, 9th inning off Broxton)

My Thoughts

Aside from the errors in the sixth inning, the Giants cannot expect to win many games by scoring two runs. Clayton Kershaw is a great pitcher, but some questionable at-bats hindered their chance at mounting a rally.

An at-bat of note was Andres Torres’ eighth inning plate appearance. Hong-Chih Kuo threw six straight balls to start the eighth inning, but Torres swung at what appeared to be ball three.

Torres would go on to have a good, long at-bat and line out to Andre Ethier in right field, but Torres probably should have taken a strike there with Kuo struggling with his control. If he takes the 2-0 pitch, the count might be 3-0 (the pitch was borderline) and who knows what happens?

Although Belt did not get the ball out of the infield, his approach was good. In the fifth inning, Belt somehow laid off Kershaw’s two-strike off-speed pitches and worked out a walk. Even his last at-bat off Broxton was a two-strike battle, although it was a line drive out to third base.

A questionable defensive miscue came from Buster Posey in the defensive nightmare sixth inning.

After Posey made an amazing block to keep the runner at third, there was no reason to throw the ball. The runner at third, Kemp, was standing on the base as Posey fired an errant throw to third.

The bottom line is the Giants did not get it done offensively or defensively. Scoring one run will not win many ball games.

Regardless of the errors, the Giants gave up few enough runs to win. Every team makes mistakes, but the good teams make up for those errors and pick up their teammates who caused the blunders.

The Giants have to do what they did last year to win. That is to catch the balls they could get to, get timely hits, and have fun.

The Giants will try to rebound tomorrow against the Dodgers at 7:10 p.m. from Dodger Stadium. Jonathan Sanchez will make his 2011 debut against Chad Billingsley.

Follow me on twitter @vintalkingiants

This article was featured on the blog Talking Giants Baseball

Questions or comments? E-mail my blog mailbag at vc4re@yahoo.com. Your questions may be answered on my blog.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

When many teams around MLB contact the Los Angeles Dodgers front office about the possibility of a prospective trade, the first player usually brought up in any conversation is outfielder Matt Kemp.

In the weeks prior to the trade deadline last season, Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti was adamant that Kemp wasn’t available for trade, but that didn’t stop other teams from inquiring. It could be a different story this year. Kemp’s current contract expires at the end of this season, and owner Frank McCourt may very well base the decision to retain Kemp on his production during the first half of the 2011 campaign.

If Kemp isn’t extended for more than two years, he will become a free agent for the first time after the 2013 season. Considering he will earn $6.95 million this year, his salary demands could easily reach eight figures as he enters his final year of pre-arbitration.

Like many of his teammates, Kemp’s 2010 statistics saw a significant decline from his Silver Slugger and Gold Glove year in 2009. Despite the fall in production, we already examined why many expect Kemp to significantly improve in 2011 here.

The following slides show seven teams that may pursue Matt Kemp in the months leading to the 2011 trade deadline, and even if the Dodgers decide that Kemp’s best future is in Los Angeles, Colletti will once again find himself in a position of entertaining dozens of phone calls before July 31.     

Begin Slideshow

When Los Angeles Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia announced last Thursday that starting pitcher Scott Kazmir would open the season as a member of the starting rotation, he was asked by reporters whether or not Kazmir had earned the spot.

“Earned?” Scioscia said. “Define ‘earned.’”

Not exactly a stirring vote of confidence.

However, Kazmir, who struggled last season with a 9-15 record and a 5.94 ERA, is owed $14.5 million this season.

Considering what the Angels gave up in return for him, they are not quite ready to give up on the enigmatic southpaw right away.

However, the wait won’t be long.

The Angels have one of the better starting rotations in the American League with their top four pitchers (Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana, Joel Pineiro).

But the last thing the Angels can afford is to wonder whether or not they’ll have struggles every fifth day with Kazmir on the mound.

“He’s tried a lot of things, but there hasn’t been one simple adjustment he’s been able to make that has brought consistency,” Scioscia told the Los Angeles Times. “We need it. He needs it. We’re past the point of development. We need him to pitch the way he’s capable of pitching.”

If Kazmir is unable to right the ship and return to his form from 2006 to 2008, when he was one of the more dominant left-handed pitchers in baseball, the Angels will need to look for a dependable arm to replace him in the rotation.

Here are five options.

For continuing coverage of the Los Angeles Angels, follow Doug on Twitter @HalosHub.

Don’t forget to bookmark Halos Hub for all of your Angels news!

You can also find me on Facebook at Halos Hub!

Begin Slideshow