Kuzul

 Ron Gardenhhire’s Minnesota Twins are well on their way to winning the AL Central.

This would be Gardenhire‘s sixth division title in nine years.

Another division title was within reach, if not for a 1-0 loss in game 163 against the Chicago White Sox in 2008.

Since he took over for Tom Kelly in 2002, Gardenhire‘s record is 792-644, a .551 winning percent.

He has guided the Twins to four ninety-win seasons, and his team is poised for its fifth this season. Compare that to only three for Kelly over 15 seasons. 

Only once have the Twins finished below .500 under Gardenhire‘s leadership.  

Incredibly over the same time span, every other AL Central division team has had their skipper named the AL Manager of the Year, while Gardenhire has finished second five times—twice to a division counterpart.

His .551 winning percentage is better than any of the last 10 AL managers to win the award.

Has his success been held against him?

Here are some interesting statistics for the AL Manager of the Year winner since 2000.

• 2009: Mike Scioscia’s Angels lost three more games than the previous season.
• The average turn around from the previous season is 23.3 more wins. Gardenhire‘s best turnaround has been only 13 wins.
• The average record for the winner was 97-65. Gardenhire‘s best season was 96-66 in 2006.
• 2003: Tony Pena’s Royals improved an incredible 34 games from 2002—and still finished third in the AL Central.
• Four of the 10 winners of the award did not win their division.

Is the fact that Gardenhire took over for a two-time World Series Champion manager being held against him? Kelly, even though he won to World Series Championships, never had to win a divisional round in the playoffs.

Until the team started to increase its payroll, he has managed one of the lowest payrolls every year.

Gardenhire has done more with less than every other manager, with perhaps the exception of Joe Maddon in Tampa Bay, who won the award in 2008. In his first season, while managing the lowest payroll in baseball, Gardenhire had to also deal with the foreboding talk of contraction of the team—a year in which the Twins won 94 games.

There’s talk that Texas Ranger’s manager, Ron Washington, is the leading candidate this season. The Rangers should win the AL West for the first time since 1999. But the division is weak, and the Rangers may not finish with a record any better than last season.

The problem is Gardenhire and the Twins have been a consistent, winning ball club.

The manager of the year is usually recognized for turning around a losing team, something Gardenhire has not had to do.

Perhaps for next year, the Twins should tank it, and strive to lose, so Gardenhire has a chance in 2012.

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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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The Baltimore Orioles don’t have much to play for during the remainder of the 2010 regular season, except for the role of spoiler. They may have just crushed the playoff dreams for the Los Angeles Angels.

Brad Bergesen threw eight stellar innings and Luke Scott provided the lead run with a run scoring single in the sixth, giving the Orioles their fourth straight win over the Angels, 3-1.

Bergesen got off to what looked like a rocky start in the first, allowing back-to-back singles to Howie Kendrick and Alberto Callaspo, putting men on first and third. Bergesen then committed a rare balk, allowing Kendrick to score. Seemingly unrattled, Bergesen promptly struck out Hideki Matsui to end the threat, and the Angels never got another real chance.

Bergesen (6-9) was spectacular, allowing just four hits and one run, striking out four and walking none in eight innings. He gave way to Koji Uehera, who picked up his third save in as many chances.

The Angels were swept by the O’s in early August at Camden Yards, and their dominance over the Angels continued in Anaheim.

Rookie right-hander Trevor Bell (1-4) pitched seven innings, his longest stint of the season, giving up two runs and six hits while striking out three. Bell, making just his ninth start of the season, certainly pitched well enough to win, but Bergesen was just a bit better on this night.

The Angels’ loss, combined with the Texas Rangers’ victory over the Oakland Athletics earlier tonight, puts them 10 1/2 games behind the Rangers in the American League West. With just 33 games left to the regular season, the Halos’ hopes of playoff glory are slimmer than Tiger Woods’ wallet after his divorce.

You can follow Doug on Twitter, @desertdesperado.

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Intense. Driven. Competitor. Tough. Gritty. Clutch. Leader. Intelligent. World Champion.

These are all words that immediately come to mind when Angels fans think of Darin Erstad, but seem far removed from the vocabulary one would use to describe the current Angels club.

This young Angels team seems long on talent and short on competitive will.

Are the 2010 Angels less talented than the 2002 roster that won it all, or did Erstad and company simply want it more?

Angels fans have been hearing about the “upside” of their young talent for years. As many of these prospects have now made it to the majors and are rapidly approaching the age of 28, many have stopped thinking about upside and are now simply asking the question, “What is up?”

When is Howie Kendrick, 27, going to turn from a very average second baseman into the batting champion he was touted as being?

Will Kevin Jepsen, 26, ever mature into a dominant reliever, or is he the West Coast washout equivalent of Joba Chamberlain?

When is Erick Aybar, 26, going to develop into the leadoff hitter that everyone thought he would be?

Will Jeff Mathis, 27, ever be able to play well for longer than two weeks at a time?

When will this team start doing the little things championship teams need to do to win?

I don’t think there is anyone in the Angels lineup this season that would allow themselves to be hit by pitches 27 times like the 5-foot, 7-inch David Eckstein did in 2002. In fact, their entire team has been hit a grand total of 35 times.

The 2010-version of the Halos clearly lack focus and the hunger to win. So why not bring back the most focused, competitive and intense Angel of all time to help motivate them?

Erstad brought the football mentality he acquired while playing as a kicker for the University of Nebraska to the diamond every day. Even when he wasn’t hitting well, his very presence was invaluable to the Angels.

Erstad wasn’t interested in chatting it up with his opponent when they were standing on first base. He was too busy thinking up ways to destroy them.

How many times do the current Angels coaches have to watch Bobby Abreu stand on second base giggling with the shortstop—only to get picked off?

There is a fine line between being loose and just not caring, and the Angels have crossed it. Their coaching staff should be calling them out on it—veterans or not.

Today, Erstad is filling in as an assistant baseball coach for his alma mater, but it’s hard to believe he would turn down a chance to return to the majors—especially with the team where he had his finest years.

Although he never officially retired as a player from baseball, Erstad decided this winter he would rather spend time with his family than be relegated to a bench player role in the National League. He told the Orange Country Register he would have a tough time justifying being away from his family for eight days in a row for the sake of three at-bats per week.

Angels fans would not expect any less of a statement from a man of Erstad’s character. However, a man as competitive as Erstad can only stay static for so long before he needs another competitive challenge.

Challenging would be a great word to describe the job Erstad would have in front of him if he were offered a chance to help his old team as a coach.

Tweakers who have blown up their apartments cooking meth under their sink think the Angels have bad chemistry.

The Angels can have all the closed-door meetings they want for the rest of the summer, but clearly whatever is being said is falling on deaf ears. Manager Mike Scioscia’s riff might be wearing thin and new motivational voices may need to be heard.

In particular, Erstad would be an excellent candidate to replace Dino Ebel as the third base coach. Maybe Erstad, a former Gold Glove first baseman and great base runner in his own right, might be able to clue the young guys in on why it’s not a good idea to try to steal third with two outs or bunt with two strikes—looking at you, Erick Aybar.

One thing is certain. Erstad would be welcomed home with open arms by appreciative fans who remember how he sacrificed his body diving for balls and legging out singles on seemingly every play.

That mentality is contagious, and hopefully these Angels can catch it before they are permanently immune.

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July is an early month to give up on a team like the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but Tuesday night’s lackluster performance may have been the final nail in this season’s coffin.

The Angels scored just two runs against John Lackey and the Boston Red Sox, the second consecutive game they failed to score less than three.

In fact, in July alone, the Angels have scored four runs or more only eight times in 23 contests, contributing to a miserable 8-15 record this month and an 8½ game deficit in the AL West.

Prior to that, the Angels had averaged close to six runs per game in the month of June and remained competitive after a slow start to the season. But after all the hard work it took to claw their way back to respectability, they now stand just one game over .500.

Now, every team goes through its peaks and valleys in a given season. It’s difficult for any player or squad to maintain a consistently high level of play over the course of 162 games.

But unfortunately, the Angels have timed their downfall rather poorly.

While they suffer in the midst of a prolonged slump made of spotty pitching, sluggish defense, and inconsistent offense, the division-leading Texas Rangers continue to surge forward, putting miles of ground between themselves and their divisional rivals.

What’s more, the inverse paths of these two teams have given the Angels a problem no outside force can solve.

Where once it looked like the addition of another heavy hitter in the lineup would make the Angels contenders again, it now looks like they are too far back for any bat acquired in a trade to make a significant impact.

This is because the problem is not the lack of one guy, but rather the missing production of several.

Despite Bobby Abreu’s two home runs against the Red Sox this week, he is still batting .210 in July and has only five RBI in his last 10 games.

Hideki Matsui’s magical playoff run for the New York Yankees last season that culminated in a World Series MVP may have been the last violent flicker of a candle that’s all but burned out. His .253 average is not what the Angels had in mind with they gave him a one-year deal this offseason.

Juan Rivera is starting to emerge from his season-long slump and heat up here in the second half, as is his MO. Still, he is far from the consistent power threat this team needs him to be.

In the infield, Alberto Callaspo has yet to adjust to his new old surroundings, while Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar are swinging well below their capabilities.

As a whole, the Angels struggle like mad to find hits with men in scoring position, produce extra-base hits, get runners in motion with stolen bases and hit-and-run plays, or show any confidence whatsoever at the plate when trailing late in games.

Only Torii Hunter continues to be a reliable source of offense, and even he is starting to show signs of frustration at the plate, arguing with umps as he watches called strike threes go by.

Surely, his knees are buckling under the full weight of the team he carries on his back.

Meanwhile, Manager Mike Scioscia stubbornly clings to the notion that the run-on-contact play—where the runner on third with less than two outs breaks for the plate when the batter makes contact with the ball—is still a good idea with the infield pulled in.

Ridiculous. Because if the ball gets through the defense for a base hit, the runner can practically walk home. But if the ball is hit at an infielder, the runner is a dead duck at the plate, just as Rivera was on Tuesday.

And now it seems the Angels’ disturbing lack of offense is finally starting to affect their defense. There is simply no other excuse for talented veterans and brilliant youngsters to play as poorly as this.

Abreu and Rivera, age aside, have no business stumbling around the outfield like rookies playing out of position. The infielders aren’t immune either, making spectacular grabs but still faltering where teamwork is involved.

Even Kendrick, who has improved his defense by leaps and bounds at second base, still manages to commit mental errors like the one on Tuesday, when he threw a ball to no one in particular and resulted in a run for Boston.

These kinds of weak errors, this frightened and anemic offense, not to mention the unaccountable bullpen—they aren’t just costing the Angels games, they’re costing the season.

And they’re not the kind of issues that a Ty Wigginton, a Jorge Cantu, or even an Adam Dunn can help this team address.

At this point, the Angels are a sinking ship and one more bucket, no matter the size, just isn’t going to do much to bail them out.

General Manager Tony Reagins has already pulled off his annual big-time trade and he may well have a few more calls to make before Saturday’s trade deadline.

But if he hopes to save his team from the nightmare of a lost season in July, the call must come from inside the house.

Scioscia lit a fire under his team last season when the Angels were scuffling at the .500 mark in mid-June, threatening to send each and every man down to the minors if something didn’t change.

The Angels finished the season with 97 wins and a franchise record for runs scored.

This year, the motivation might be too little too late, but it must come all the same.

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The New York Yankees were elated to get the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim out of the Bronx as fast as possible, after beating them 10-6 Wednesday afternoon.

The Angels got a taste of their own medicine after dominating the Yankees the night before.

On Tuesday night, a beaten-up Angels team came into the series as the underdogs. The Halos are without superstar first baseman Kendry Morales for the remainder of the season.

Still, even before Morales broke his leg in a walk-off celebration, the Angels had not been playing typical Angel-style baseball.

Manager Mike Scioscia’s motto is run, steal bases, sacrifice, and hit for contact no matter what the situation. Since Scioscia took over in 2000, this type of overly-aggressive play has defined the Angels.

For Yankee fans, playing the Angels has been very unnerving for that reason. Also, it hasn’t stopped working for the Angels as Yankee Universe witnessed once again on Tuesday night.

This is something Yankee fans have grown accustomed to when the Halos are in town, making the 10-6 loss nothing new. It actually was scarier to watch because the Angels had been in a supposedly long slump, if you count the team’s 2010 record (being sarcastic) and a future without October baseball.

These two teams have a torrid relationship, with the Angels clearly wearing the pants. Even when the Yankees have the best record in baseball, the Angels seem to give the Bombers a big reality check.

As painful as it is to play the Angels, it does keep the Yankees in check. It is how I would define “tough baseball” because it is purely based on power vs. power and the “I’m gonna get you” attitude.

It takes everything and anything out of each Yankee player to beat the Angels, always has, and it still does.

For now, the Yankees will take the win to spilt the series, as they happily wave so long the Angels, until next time.

READ MORE AT LADY LOVES PINSTRIPES …

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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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Who’s on first? Who cares?

The timeless Abbott and Costello comedy bit about baseball has become a real-life drama for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Since Kendry Morales’ break heard ’round the world on May 29, fans and baseball pundits alike have wondered aloud in a unified voice: Now what are they going to do?

But the answer may not come as quickly as some have anticipated. And it may not be the one most would like.

Morales, the Angels’ rising superstar first baseman, was leading his team in batting average, home runs, and RBI before he broke his left leg celebrating a walk-off grand slam against the Seattle Mariners. He underwent season-ending surgery on Thursday.

Without their biggest offensive threat, the Angels looked dead in the water, a pitiful end to a struggle-filled season.

Except that it wasn’t.

In the wake of that devastating injury, new players have done a miraculous job filling the void and, incredibly, the team is playing its best baseball of the season without its best player.

Without Morales, the Angels are 8-3 with 81 runs scored in that time. Names like Mike Napoli, Robb Quinlan, and Michael Ryan have become synonymous with clutch-hitting and timely quality at-bats.

And don’t look for that to change any time soon, especially with Jeff Mathis’ imminent return to the lineup in the next week or so.

When that happens, he will likely resume his starting catcher duties, leaving Napoli and his big bat to take over at first base, with Bobby Wilson backing up both men.

That may not be the most threatening lineup in the league but it will suffice for the time being, and that’s really all the Angels need.

The question for this team isn’t “who’s on first,” but rather “who’s going to help us the most?”

The next three to four months will be tough without a significant threat like Morales to anchor the offense. However, as manager Mike Scioscia pointed out to the press this week, this team is not interested in a short-term rent-a-player.

The Angels already suffered through one of those when they acquired Mark Teixeira at the trade deadline in 2008, and the breakup after was messier than either side had hoped.

This time around, they’ll be looking for a player that can help in the future, and that means potentially addressing the other huge hole in their infield: third base.

Morales’ injury was a disaster, but Brandon Wood has been a catastrophe.

His sub-.200 average, non-existent power, and astonishingly high strikeout rate forced the Angels to place him on the 15-day DL in hopes that he just needed a little time to get his head right.

So far, nothing has changed.

Wood’s rehab stint in Triple-A is going about as well as his major league tryout this season. He’s not hitting, he’s not walking, he’s not even making contact with the ball.

At this rate, by Spring Training he’ll be milling around local beer leagues.

In the meantime, the Angels are stuck using subs to fill in at the hot corner. Kevin Frandsen and Maicer Izturis have both done well so far, but neither appears to be the third baseman of the future. Or even for the rest of this season.

Frandsen’s defense leaves much to be desired and Izturis, while smooth as silk in the field and clutch at the plate, is far more valuable as an everyday utility player, bouncing from position to position as the team sees fit.

To fill their needs, the Angels may try to kill two birds with one trade.

Despite the dynamic offense that Paul Konerko or Lance Berkman could bring to a roster, they are fairly limited on defense, solidly anchored to first base. That might be okay this season, but remember, the Angels are looking to the future.

Morales’ defense has improved by leaps and bounds and, barring any contractual power plays from agent Scott Boras, he will remain the Angels’ starting first baseman. It is unlikely the team will look to acquire anyone for him to compete with.

A guy like Mike Lowell probably fits better with what the Angels are trying to do.

His numbers aren’t too spectacular this season, most due to his limited and inconsistent at-bats, but he is still a highly coveted threat in the middle of any lineup and his glove is stellar at both first and third.

Of course, the Angels are not going to want to give away too much talent to a team they regularly face in the playoffs, a point that will certainly affect any future trade talks.

Still, something has to be done. And with the July 31 trade deadline slowly approaching, GM Tony Reagins will have to make his move soon. 

The only question is which corner of the infield he’ll move toward.

The Angels have been able to beat up on the weaker sisters of the league (Royals, Mariners, A’s) without their brightest star, but a replacement will have to be found before tougher competition risks turning the lights out on this season.

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Losing Kendry Morales was just about the worst thing that could have happened to the lackluster Los Angels of Anaheim.

Or, at least, that’s the way it seemed.

However, since Morales broke his leg celebrating his walk-off grand slam at home on May 29, the Angels have gone 5-1 with 37 runs scored.

More importantly, though, is that they’ve been included in numerous trade rumors as they look to add more power to the lineup―something that desperately needed to be done prior to their big slugger going down.

At the time of his injury, Morales lead the team in batting average, home runs, and RBI.

Even with their first baseman in the middle of the order, the anemic Angels still ranked right around the middle of the American League in nearly every major offensive category.

Now without his primary source of power and production in the lineup for the foreseeable future, General Manager Tony Reagins is searching high and low for a suitable replacement, someone who can get the job done but won’t butcher the position on defense or stick around long enough to cause a logjam at first.

At least for now, there are no such options in-house. Robb Quinlan is a nice utility guy, but can’t match the production Morales provided. The same could be said for Kevin Frandsen and Michael Ryan.

Mike Napoli is the most logical choice at the moment. With his bat finally starting to heat up, it will be important to keep him in the lineup as often as possible.

But his defensive abilities behind the plate are questionable enough, to say nothing of his lack of experience in the infield.

And speaking of lacking experience, Angels first base prospect Mark Trumbo is hitting well in Triple-A but has yet to make his major league debut, so it is unlikely he will be called upon to shepherd the big club through its sudden power outage.

A trade, then, is the only reasonable option left.

Several names have already been tossed around by various sources and while some have already been refuted, others remain intriguing possibilities.

Here are the top five most likely options for a trade to fill the Angels’ gap at first this season.

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Admit it Angels fans. You’ve been spoiled.

Since Bryan Harvey took over the role in 1989, the Angels have been blessed with a shut-down closer every year until now.

Harvey, Troy Percival, Francisco Rodriguez and yes, Brian Fuentes, have provided an unbroken, 20-year chain of confidence for Halo managers to go to the pen in the ninth.

That amazing streak of good fortune seems likely to be ending this year.

In just 11 appearances this season, Fuentes has already allowed four homers, blown two saves, and lost a game.

With an ERA hovering near 6.00 and a WHIP of 1.31, Fuentes has been far from automatic and anything but intimidating for opposing batters.

Normally, a sampling of 11 games might not be all that much to be concerned about—especially for a guy that led the majors in saves last year with 48 and made the All-Star team.

Lost in those stats from 2009 are his seven blown saves, five losses, 1.40 WHIP and a blown save in the playoffs.

A trip to the DL earlier this year gave the newly acquired, former Detroit Tigers closer Fernando Rodney a shot at locking down wins. Rodney promptly went five-for-five in save opportunities and had fans advocating for manager Mike Scioscia to make the change permanent.

Rodney then promptly blew a save against St. Louis on Sunday, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of Angels fans everywhere.

With all the hand-wringing over the Angels’ offense and inconsistent starting pitching, the biggest letdown of all has been the bullpen. No longer can they count on the best set-up man in baseball to hand the game over to one of the best closers in baseball—a luxury Scot Shields and Brendan Donnelly provided for the past decade.

If the Angels could have simply held on to leads this year in the same way they have held on in the past, they still would be tied for first place despite all of their other woes.

Until the Halos solve their relief problems, the $30 million they are spending on their starting rotation will be utterly worthless, which begs the question: Was Francisco Rodriguez worth $12 million per year after all?

I was front and center on the “don’t re-sign K-Rod” bandwagon two years ago. After all, the Angels had rookie sensation Jose Arredondo, who looked like he was separated at birth from K-Rod with his 1.62 ERA.

Paying the league minimum to a guy that might end up being as good as Rodriguez seemed to make far more sense than paying $12 million for redundancy.

The Angels still obviously put a high priority on the closer slot, despite letting Franky walk. They spent $9 million to bring in Fuentes, 34, because of reservations management had about Arredondo’s readiness in making the jump to closer.

After Arredondo flamed out in his sophomore season, and ultimately ended up needing Tommy John surgery, the insurance move paid off for the Halos.

However, with Fuentes seeming to have lost a step just one year later, questions about the wisdom in letting Rodriguez walk in the first place deserve to be revisited.

Did the Angels actually save money with the move or did they waste $9 million by making Brian Fuentes their highest-paid pitcher?

For $3 million more, would they have been better served to keep the real deal in K-Rod?

$3 million more might start to look like a bargain when you consider K-Rod is only 28 and has already accomplished the following:

He’s a season away from already joining the 300-save club.

Crushed the all-time single-season save record with 62.

Has more saves than any other closer since 2005.

685 K’s in 542 innings pitched (they don’t call him K-Rod for nothing).

Batters are hitting .191 against him for his career (lower than Mariano Rivera).

He’s a World Champion.

Consistently one of the top three most intimidating closers in baseball.

Through 21 appearances this season, he has 25 K’s, with a  1.96 ERA.

Further consider that the Angels spent $5.75 million to sign Rodney as a backup plan to Fuentes this season. That means the Angels ended up spending more on two mediocre closers than they would have if they had just signed their elite closer in the first place. $2.75 million more, which ironically is almost the exact difference between the Fuentes and Rodriguez contracts.

Granted, hindsight is 20/20, but I promise I will never take pitching depth for granted again. It would be wise for General Manager Tony Reagins to take heed as well. It may have taken this year to remind the Angels and their fans what pitching is worth.

The Angels have gone from having the third best team ERA in baseball two years ago, to the second worst in the American League this season.

Now, the Angels are seeing the consequences.

Until the bullpen gets righted, a team that has been built on pitching a defense for the past decade with much success can no longer succeed.

Don’t look for the Angels to make any trades to remedy the problem. They are pretty much stuck with what they have for the season because of all the money they have already allocated to Rodney and Fuentes.

Unless several relievers step up from within the organization in the next month, the Angels will be in for a long, frustrating and forgettable summer.

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