NEW YORK -- They could have tossed aside their mittens and shunned their wool coats, that's how blistering hot the cozy confines of the new Yankee Stadium felt now that CC Sabathia had everything under control. It's been quite awhile since this corner of the Bronx has rocked with so much confidence and rolled with such delightful expectations, but that's what happens when the ace doesn't sweat.
Up on their feet, banging whatever or whoever stood near, tens of thousands of Yankee fans rose as one and emptied their lungs in rapturous unison: CC! CC! CC! It wasn't just that Sabathia was blowing through Angel hitters with shocking ease; no, it was so much more. It was the eighth inning and he was still throwing ridiculous heat, his fastball kissing the inside corner of the plate, his slider hypnotizing the batters from Southern California until it looked as if they were swinging at the big lefty's stuff with greased-up surfboards.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Mike Napoli is one of the best power hitters you've never heard of. Napoli, the Angels catcher, blasted his 10th homer, a tie-breaking 428-foot shot in the ninth inning to lead the Angels to a 2-1 victory over the Diamondbacks. Later in the day, when the Rangers lost, the Angels moved alone into first for the first time all season.
The last time the Angels played in Arizona, in 2006, Napoli hit a 470-foot homer that is the third longest ever hit at Chase Field. Napoli has 56 homers in 890 big league at-bats. His ratio of one homer per 15.9 at-bats in the highest in big league history for any catcher with at least 50 homers, according to Stats LLC.
"He's got sick pop. He's got the most pop on this team by far," Angels starter John Lackey said. "I was actually in the clubhouse, telling the people about the one [in 2006]. People were up there eating [in the restaurant where Napoli's ball landed]."
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
I think we can all agree that it's far too early to start voting upon who the best 2009 players are when it's only the middle of May. That being said, there are certainly some shining stars at this point who deserve some props. Plus, Major League Baseball recently released their All-Star ballots for our voting pleasure -- we vote on who will start the All-Star Game. If that's not important, I don't know what is. Let's take a gander.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
When you drafted Ryan Theriot as your shortstop or middle infielder, you were doing so for average, runs and steals. You were planning on getting no power from him, and rightfully so. Entering 2009 he had only 7 career home runs in over 1,400 major league at-bats. He only hit 5 home runs in 2,048 career minor league at-bats. At 29 years old, why would he all of a sudden develop power?
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.
Meet the... Team about to win about 15 less games this season. Teams in their division have closed the gap on the Angels, who are aging in some spots and not yet developed at others. The biggest factor to consider in fantasy is how many less games their starting pitchers will likely win.
FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
When the Angels acquired Mark Teixeira last July, it was thought by many to be a bold move by a team not content to simply be 10,000 games ahead of the Rangers in the West and cruising toward the playoffs. Teixeira was supposed to be the player that was going to push them past the Red Sox and on to the World Series.
Every four years, Major League Baseball's postseason intersects with a presidential election. This is one of those years. In the spirit of the season, we here at MLB FanHouse have divided the playoff teams up for a series of debates. Here Andrew Johnson and Matt Watson discuss the ALDS between the Angels and Red Sox.
Andrew Johnson: Between the Brewers and Rays, the 2008 postseason has a pretty fresh feel. Not so much in this series. For the third time in five years the Angels will face the Red Sox in the first round. The last two meetings haven't gone well for Los Angeles -- both were sweeps in Boston's favor.
I don't anticipate a Red Sox sweep this time around, but it's hard for me to see the outcome being any different for the Halos. But why you ask? The Angels have 100 wins and the best record in baseball you say. They went 8-1 against Boston this season you add.
None of these facts faze me. Why? The Red Sox are simply a better baseball team. Their run differential of plus-151 is a staggering 83 runs better than the Angels. And it's all the more impressive considering Boston played 54 games -- roughly one-third of its schedule -- against the Blue Jays, Rays and Yankees. All three clubs won at least 86 games.
I like my friends. Seriously, they're all wonderful people and without them I couldn't handle the high stress world of watching and writing about sports. That said, I don't need to spend all my time with them. They start to get annoying, and I'm sure I start to annoy them. Next thing you know we're breaking chairs over each other's heads because one of us saw that girl first.
Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis - the complete Angels kiddie catching corps - not only share a job, they share a home state and a bachelor pad.
Call them Mike Mathis or Jeff Napoli. What's the difference?
The two share so much time together that Napoli recently estimated they are with each other 23 hours a day. So what about that other hour? The bathroom. Napoli thankfully confirmed that at least they don't go to the restroom together.
Okay, so they don't go to the bathroom at the same time, but nobody said anything about showering. So let's get that rumor started while we're at it.
The biggest kicker of all this? The man the two young catchers pay rent to is none other than their former teammate Adam Kennedy.
The Angels are just like family. One big, incestuous, shower sharing family.
Major League Mongering will look at players rumored to be on the move between now and the July 31st pseudo-trade-deadline.
If the Angels can't succeed in bringing Mark Teixeira to southern California, they have other options. There's a possibility they may still land Jermaine Dye, but with Juan Rivera set to return from the disabled list, it's a question whether they'd want another outfielder on the roster.
What the Angels really want is another bat in the lineup so they can all enjoy the benefit of the three-run homer from time to time. There's a pretty cheap low-risk/high reward guy within the same state, just a long drive up Interstate 5 to Oakland.
The Athletics are looking to move Mike Piazza, and the Angels should definetely be looking into getting him. He's not going to be as big a boost as a Mark Teixeira, but he will come cheap and could come up big once the postseason comes around. Not to mention that with the recent trade of Jose Molina, and injury to Mike Napoli, he'd give the Angels some insurance at the catcher position.
Piazza has missed a lot of time this season, but is still hitting .301 in 33 games. The Angels also won't have to give up any top prospects to get him.
Which means they could hold on to Joe Saunders and Dustin Moseley. Considering how horrible Ervin Santana has been this year, and the question mark that is Bartolo Colon, Saunders and Moseley are probably more important to the Angels right now than any bat they can bring in. To get rid of either one may solve the problem of not having enough power in the lineup, but it will just create a new hole in the starting rotation. Previously at FanHouse: Major League Mongering: Who's Going to Get Teixeira?
Another huge trade in baseball last night. Did I say huge? I'm sorry, I meant boring. Is it just me, or does every single trade being made this season involve a catcher? This isn't exactly the kind of late-July deals I'm looking for here.
The Yankees, however, were looking for a little backup for Jorge Posada. So they sent minor league reliever Jeff Kennard to the Angels for Jose Molina.
"He's a better hitter and he's a better defender, all due respect to Wil [Nieves]," New York general manager Brian Cashman said of Molina, "so I think he upgrades us on both ends."
Molina was completely caught off guard by the trade.
"Really it's still a shock," Molina said after going 0-for-2 in the Angels' 5-2 loss at Minnesota on Saturday night. "It's hard sometimes to take it because you have been here for so many years. But the way I have to see it is it's a new opportunity."
Molina will replace Wil Nieves who has been optioned back to Columbus. Nieves was hitting only .164 this season, with an OBP of .190. There are dead baseball players who could get on base more often than Nieves right now.
The Angels were able to part with Molina thanks to the return of Mike Napoli, and the emergence of 24-year old Jeff Mathis.
NEW YORK -- They could have tossed aside their mittens and shunned their wool coats, that's how blistering hot the cozy confines of the new Yankee Stadium felt now that CC Sabathia had everything under control. It's been quite awhile since this corner of the Bronx has rocked with so much confidence and rolled with such delightful expectations, but that's what happens when the ace doesn't sweat. 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through 
I like my friends. Seriously, they're all wonderful people and without them I couldn't handle the high stress world of watching and writing about sports. That said, I don't need to spend all my time with them. They start to get annoying, and I'm sure I start to annoy them. Next thing you know we're breaking chairs over each other's heads because one of us saw that girl first.
Another huge trade in baseball last night. Did I say huge? I'm sorry, I meant boring. Is it just me, or does every single trade being made this season involve a catcher? This isn't exactly the kind of late-July deals I'm looking for here.
