And yet another year in which the Angels run away with the division without much competition.  The team with the location crisis has been atop the AL West since the start of the season and hasn’t looked back.  The offense has been replenished with offseason signing Torii Hunter and deadline acquisition Mark Teixiera.  Oh, and that Vlad guy has been pretty good too.  Even without John Lackey for most of the year, the rotation has been very good, especially Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana.  To think that the Angels were ready to give up on Santana this time last year.

While the division title is great, I think the Angels need to make another deep run and make it out of the ALDS…since their World Series title in 2002, they’ve only done that (IIRC) one time.  They certainly have the weapons and arms necessary to do so, but time will tell I guess.

The Orange County Register recently started running interviews with various Angel players. These aren’t your typical interviews, but rather ask some off the wall questions. If you ever wondered what the first big thing Jered Weaver bought when he got his big contract or what a road city must have for Figgins to enjoy traveling to it, these Q&A’s have the answers.

 http://www.ocregister.com/sports/jered-weaver-loves-2076296-new-york

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/day-figgins-lot-2074640-really-good

How about the Salt Lake Bees?  The Angels’ minor league depth is showing, as this team has went on an absolute tear to start the season.  The AAA affiliate started out the season with an amazing 21-1 record, and now sits at 25-5.  I don’t care if that’s in rookie ball, it’s pretty damn good.  The amount of young talent the Halos have has been known for some time, but has now gotten much more recognition than ever before.  They have been getting outstanding offensive production from guys like Reggie Willits (recently promoted to LA), Brandon Wood (also promoted), Matt Brown, and Freddy Sandoval, with Brown currently hitting over .400 with 7 home runs.

Their pitching has been dominant also, and was led by Nick Adenhart (4-0, 0.87 ERA) before he was promoted to the Angels last week.  They have two other starters with ERA’s under 3 (Nick Green, Giancarlo Alvarado), and another with an ERA under 4 (Shane Loux).  Their bullpen has been shaky in some areas, but closer Jose Arrendondo (1.38 ERA, 8 saves), has been spectacular.  It wouldn’t surprise me to see him in an Angels uniform before the All Star Break.

Because of the expected promotion of Adenhart, Wood, and Willits, the team will (and has) slow down a little bit, and the 1-4 record in their last 5 games shows that, but the team deserves mad props for what they have accomplished.  Anything less than a Pacific Coast League championship is now officially a huge disappointment, but I think it’d take an absolute disaster or cleaning of house for that to happen, because a lot of talented players still remain.

Looking at 25-5, then looking at the Norfolk Tides’ (Baltimore Orioles AAA) 12-17 record makes me pretty jealous.  Want to switch?

I guess it could be worse…I could be a Lehigh Valley IronPigs (5-27) fan.

Several other teams also are interested in Rolen, including the Los Angeles Angels. Source: FOXSports.com

Should the Angels pursue Rolen or no?  I think the guy hit .28 last year and missed considerable time, so I would avoid this if possible.  He may get back on the right track, but even then he’s been overrated the last 3-4 seasons.  He’s still got 33 million left on his deal, and unless the Cards are willing to pay a substancial amount of that, it just doesn’t seem like a good investment.  Any thoughts?