FanHouse Mickey Hatcher

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- A series full of drama and emotion got a little more entertaining today, when Josh Beckett whistled a ball past Bobby Abreu's head, inciting a bench-clearing incident that resulted in four Angels getting ejected.

Even after it was all over and the Angels had pulled out another dramatic 5-4 victory, taking two of three in the series, there were some unhappy folks in the winning clubhouse.

"That was as flagrant as anything I've seen in this game, and it's unfortunate," said manager Mike Scioscia, who had to watch the last eight innings of the game on television after he got the boot.

The Los Angeles Angels are in first place in the AL West, and are about to start a very important (okay, as important as a series can be halfway through the season) series with the Oakland Athletics in Anaheim tonight. They're only 4.5 games ahead of Oakland at the moment, and they're coming off a series against the Dodgers in which they lost two of three and couldn't hit their way out of a paper bag.

For goodness sake, Jered Weaver threw a damn no-hitter on Saturday and the Angels still lost. In the three games against the Dodgers, the Angels hit .161 and managed to score one run. That's why hitting coach Mickey Hatcher is going to be a little more assertive in today's hitters meeting.

"When we get home, we're going to have a meeting and figure out how many of these guys are trying to get me fired," Hatcher said.

"The last few days in that locker room, I don't know how to describe it, but it's not the same team. The energy level is real low. Sometimes that happens when you travel coast to coast. I don't know why."

Of course, I don't know that things will get much better against the Athletics this week. After all, the A's pitching staff does have the second-best ERA in baseball at 3.42 (just behind the White Sox who check in at 3.39), and they're not going to make it any easier on the Angels lineup.

General manager Tony Reagins came out last week and said he doesn't plan on making any changes come the trade deadline, but I have to wonder if he'll change his mind if his lineup keeps struggling to score runs. At some point the Angels will have to seriously consider sacrificing some of their pitching depth to add another bat to the lineup.

With as much time as major league ballplayers are away from their families, it takes a devoted wife and devoted children to spend their lives with a ballplayer. Does that devotion have a limit? Not for the family of Angels speedster Reggie Willits, who basically live in a batting cage. That's right, the Willits' decided to save money by, instead of finishing the building of their house (the batting cage was the first thing built), just moving everything into the cage including bed, living room, and dining area (kitchen and bathroom separate ... of course).

Baseball wives are an understanding breed. They endure 12-day trips and meals at midnight, and move their families from minor league towns like Yakima, Wash., to Pulaski, W.Va. But Amber Willits, the wife of Angels outfielder Reggie Willits, has taken hardball devotion to a new level. For the past three years, she has made a home, raised a son and helped develop a .300 hitter - all in an indoor batting cage.

"I could not have gotten here alone," Reggie said. "I have an extremely supportive wife."

How supportive? Find out after the jump: