The Texas Rangers pulled off one of the biggest surprises of the 2011 offseason when they acquired Mike Napoli(notes) from the Toronto Blue Jays. Napoli had only been with the Jays for a few days, as he had just arrived in the Vernon Wells(notes) trade from the Los Angeles Angels. There was much discussion during the 2011 season as to why the Angels would trade a player like Napoli, especially knowing that the Jays were likely to flip him off to the Rangers. The truth is that the Angels had no clue that Napoli would have the season he had in 2011, but they also look like they might be interested in turning the tables on the Rangers this time around.

The first move the Angels made was by pulling Scott Servais away from the Rangers to become the assistant general manager to newly hired general manager Jerry Dipoto. Servais had served as the Rangers’ senior director of player development since 2005 and essentially was responsible for the development of players throughout the Rangers’ system. He was involved with scouting at times and generally at the international level, however ultimately he was responsible for player development once they were in his hands.

During Servais time with the Rangers he was significantly responsible for the development of players such as Nelson Cruz(notes), Elvis Andrus(notes), Neftali Feliz(notes) and Derek Holland(notes). Servais was a former big league catcher and was also responsible for the catchers within the Rangers’ system. Servais also worked with Napoli on a regular basis in spring training and early on in the 2011 season. It seems that most things Servais touched while with the Rangers turned out wonderful. Now, he will be doing the same type of work with the Angels, just now with the title of assistant general manager and with the Rangers current rival in the American League West.

The second move from the Angels and Dipoto came just recently when they reached out to C.J. Wilson(notes). That is no surprise as free agents are contacted by many teams this time of year and there had already been speculation that the Angels would be contacting Wilson who grew up in California and not too far from Anaheim in Fountain Valley. If Wilson were to join the Angels, he would be joining a rotation full of solid right-handers Jered Weaver(notes), Dan Haren(notes) and Ervin Santana(notes). Weaver, Haren and Santana are all pitchers who could be the ace on many staffs in the big leagues and Wilson was the Rangers’ ace in 2011.

It would be very interesting for Rangers’ fans to see Wilson facing off against the team he has went to the World Series with over the past two years, but he does not have the potential to effect the Angels’ organization to the degree that Servais can. Wilson most likely would not be a table turner like Napoli was in 2011, but over the next few years Servais will start having his hand in the development of the players in the Angels’ organization and that could impact things for years to come.

John Bowman is a lifelong baseball and Texas Rangers fan that loves to ponder the deeper aspects of the game. Some of his first baseball memories involve Arlington Stadium nachos, Charlie Hough’s knuckeball, dirt on Pete Incaviglia’s uniform and the voices of Mark Holtz and Eric Nadel as he fell asleep. Follow him on Twitter @TexasWinColumn.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

ARLINGTON, Texas – A year ago, Mike Napoli was a slugger without
a position for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

On Monday, after snapping an eighth-inning tie with a two-run
double, the Texas catcher was perhaps the biggest sports hero in a
state that has a lot of them.

Napoli’s one-out, bases-loaded drive to the base of the wall in
right-center field gave the Rangers a 4-2 win over the St. Louis
Cardinals in Game 5 of the World Series, sending the Rangers to St.
Louis for Game 6 on Wednesday needing just one victory to give
Texas its first World Series title.

It’s been quite a series for Napoli, who is hitting .308 with a
team-leading three homers and nine runs batted in.

His two-run homer in Game 1 accounted for the Rangers’ only
runs, and his three-run homer in Game 4 turned a 1-0 nail-biter
into a comfortable 4-0 win.

He also threw out two baserunners Monday.

But he saved his biggest moment for the eighth inning Monday,
after the Rangers had fought their way back from a 2-0 deficit on
solo homers by Mitch Moreland and Adrian Beltre.

After a Michael Young double and an intentional walk to Nelson
Cruz put two runners on, St. Louis Manager Tony La Russa brought in
left-hander Marc Rzep-czynski to face the left-hand-hitting
Moreland.

But Moreland grounded the ball sharply back to mound, where it
bounced off the pitcher’s glove to load the bases.

With nowhere to put Napoli, Rzepczynski threw a fastball on the
outer half of the plate and Napoli went with it, lining to the
deepest part of the ballpark.

Given the way the game started, it looked like it would be a
long night for Texas. C.J. Wilson, who has lost his last five
postseason decisions, struggled with his command, issuing two walks
around a wild pitch to start what would turn out to be a 30-pitch
second inning.

After an out, Yadier Molina’s two-strike single to left drove in
the game’s first run. But Wilson’s control wasn’t the only thing
that abandoned him in the inning.

His defense also disappeared momentarily with outfielder David
Murphy fumbling Molina’s single, allowing Lance Berkman to take
third.

And a batter later, first baseman Moreland bobbled Skip
Schumaker’s grounder to first, allowing Berkman to score.

Murphy redeemed himself with a magnificent sliding catch on Nick
Punto’s blooper to left-center to end the inning, saving a run. And
in the bottom of the third, Moreland got his run back with a
one-out solo homer into the second deck in right field.

Right-hander Chris Carpenter looked more methodical than sharp
in the early going for St. Louis, setting down seven of the first
eight Rangers in order before Moreland homered.

The right-hander gave up two more hits in the inning, then set
down nine of the next 10 Rangers before another solo home run -
this one by Adrian Beltre with two outs in the sixth – tied the
score.

The Cardinals had a chance to go back in front in the seventh
when reliever Alexi Ogando walked three – two intentionally – and
gave up a single.

But Allen Craig was thrown out on a busted hit and run and then,
with the bases loaded following intentional walks to Albert Pujols
and Berkman sandwiched around a single by Matt Holliday, Freese
flied out to center.

It was the second time in three innings that the Cardinals
loaded the bases but failed to score.

And when St. Louis got Molina to second with one out in the
eighth but left him there, it brought to 11 the number of runners
the Cardinals had stranded to that point.

World Series

(All games on Channel 11)

• Game 1: St. Louis 3, Texas 2

• Game 2: Texas 2, St. Louis 1,

• Game 3: St. Louis 16, Texas 7.

• Game 4: Texas 4, St. Louis 0.

• Game 5: Texas 4, St. Louis 2. Texas leads 3-2.

• Game 6, Wednesday: Texas (Lewis 14-10) at St. Louis (Garcia
13-7), 5:05 p.m.

• x-Game 7, Thursday: Texas at St. Louis, 5:05 p.m.

x-if necessary

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – The final day of the Los Angeles Angels’ disappointing season already was a bitter experience. Mike Napoli’s two trots around the bases of his former home field just made it slightly more acidic.

And the Angels will have to wait six months to get this taste out of their mouths.

Napoli broke a tie in the ninth inning with his fourth homer in two games, and the Texas Rangers finally clinched home-field advantage in the AL division series with a 3-1 victory over the Angels on Wednesday night.

Gil Velasquez drove in the only run for the Angels, who have missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in a decade. Los Angeles (86-76) was in playoff contention until Monday, but lost six of its last seven and nine of its last 13 to finish September at .500 (13-13).

“This was a roller-coaster year for us,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “I mean, it really tore us inside and out, and it teased us. We thought we had a chance to get there, but we just didn’t play at a high enough level towards the end of the season. But we’re going to turn the page on it, and it’s going to start tomorrow.”

Napoli, the longtime Angels catcher, also homered in the second inning for the Rangers, who swept the Angels to set a club record with their 96th victory – including six straight heading into the postseason.

The Angels wrapped up their 50th anniversary season by missing the playoffs, yet manager Mike Scioscia hopes fans won’t forget what they’ve built. Los Angeles still had the AL’s sixth-best record, winning at least 80 games for the eighth straight season – easily the best stretch in franchise history.

Texas left-hander Matt Harrison yielded five hits and a run in six innings during a strong tuneup for the postseason, while Garrett Richards pitched five innings of two-hit ball in his third career start for the Angels.

Napoli’s departure turned out to be a harbinger of everything that went wrong for the Angels this season.

Napoli hit six homers this season at Angel Stadium – three more than Bobby Abreu, who struck out to end the season for Los Angeles. Napoli even hit four homers in the final innings against the Angels, who traded him in a package for Vernon Wells last winter.

Napoli finished with career-highs of 30 homers and 75 RBIs in Texas, while Wells went 1 for 4 to end his dismal season at .218 with 25 homers – and the three catchers who replaced Napoli have all been offensive disasters.

“When he plays us, it’s like he’s definitely trying to put an exclamation point on something,” Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said. “He’s swinging the bat well. We all knew he could hit home runs and that he had the potential … but the average (.320), that’s what’s pretty impressive. He’s grown into one of the elite hitters in the game.”

With 14 wins in their final 16 games, the Rangers (96-66) held off Detroit (95-67) for the right to host Tampa Bay at Rangers Ballpark on Friday. Although Texas ascribes little significance to the win beyond travel convenience, Napoli is grateful he’s not headed to Yankee Stadium on Thursday.

“I looked (at the scoreboard) every inning, I’m not going to lie,” Napoli said. “But we went out and controlled what we could control.”

Seven innings after Napoli homered over the ficus trees in deepest center field, he connected in the ninth off Angels rookie closer Jordan Walden (5-5), capping his career year with another huge game at the park he once called home.

Walden made the AL All-Star team and earned 32 saves, but also blew 10 chances.

“Overall, I’d say I had a decent season,” Walden said. “I mean, towards the end right here, I kind of fell apart, but there were good times in the season and a lot of bad. So it was a good learning process for me, and I’m ready for next spring.”

Mike Adams (2-3) pitched the eighth, and Neftali Feliz picked up his 32nd save.

Before the game, Scioscia bristled at the suggestion Los Angeles wasn’t going all-out to beat the Rangers – to the detriment of the Tigers. Angels starters Hunter, Howie Kendrick, Maicer Izturis and Abreu all were out of the lineup Wednesday night, while 18-game winner Jered Weaver and Ervin Santana were scratched from their final starts.

Scioscia insisted every missing regular had a legitimate injury, while Weaver was “at heightened risk” after pitching hard down the stretch.

“We absolutely understand the integrity of the game and how important it is,” Scioscia said in a rare burst of passion from the Angels’ cool bench boss. “We’re putting out the talent that we can to try to win ballgames. There’s no doubt that the integrity of the game is something we take very seriously. We went as hard as we could, as long as we could.”

Richards, a first-round draft pick in 2009, made the best appearance of his short major-league career in his first start since Aug. 15. He issued three walks, but paid for only one bad pitch when Napoli homered in the second.

NOTES: Angels 1B Efren Navarro’s third-inning single was his first major league hit. Navarro, a native of nearby Lynwood with 15 family members in attendance, played the final two games at first base with rookie slugger Mark Trumbo shut down for the season with a broken foot. … The Angels drew more than 3 million fans for the ninth straight season, finishing with 3,166,321. They even outdrew the crosstown Dodgers, who didn’t crack 3 million.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Mark Trumbo already hits the ball harder and louder than any of his fellow Los Angeles Angels, according to the slugging rookie’s teammates.

With just one inning left to avoid an embarrassing four-game sweep by the Texas Rangers, the Angels had never been happier to hear that already-familiar crack of Trumbo’s big bat.

Trumbo hit a game-ending two-run homer down the left-field line, and the Angels beat the Rangers 2-1 on Thursday night, dramatically preventing Texas from seizing an eight-game lead in the AL West standings.

After three straight losses in the series and five straight overall, the Angels were just three outs away from a discouraging deficit in the playoff race behind the Rangers, who had won the first six games of their road trip.

But Los Angeles didn’t even make another out against new Texas reliever Mike Adams (1-2). After Torii Hunter led off the ninth with a single, Trumbo cracked his 23rd homer of the season, comfortably putting it around the foul pole.

“Hopefully this is going to propel a nice little run for us,” said Trumbo, who’s on track to become the first rookie to lead Los Angeles in homers and RBIs. “We’ve been scuffling and a lot of people are frustrated, myself included. That road trip wasn’t very good, and it didn’t help our momentum going into this crucial series. But we’ll take what we can get.”

Trumbo had two hits and further cemented his status as the Angels’ most compelling hitter in a lackluster offensive season. He leads all major-league rookies with 68 RBIs after driving in 24 runs in his last 25 games — and he’s the first Angels rookie ever to hit two game-ending homers.

“When he makes contact and gets one over the fence, it’s usually not a fence-scraper,” said Angels ace Jered Weaver, who left trailing 1-0 despite pitching seven innings of six-hit ball. “It was sure nice, obviously a big hit in a big situation. It’s six (games back) now instead of eight, so that definitely helps out.”

Trumbo’s shot abruptly ended four days of offensive frustration and set off an unlikely celebration on the field for the Angels, who trailed the Rangers by just 1 1/2 games early last week before losing seven of their previous eight. Horacio Ramirez (1-0) got one out in the ninth for Los Angeles, earning his first win in the majors since 2008.

Adams wasted seven scoreless innings by Colby Lewis, who yielded four hits and struck out seven while outpitching Weaver. Texas fell one inning short of the first four-game sweep at Angel Stadium in the rivalry’s long history, but still left Anaheim with a healthy six-game lead in the AL West.

“You can get a lift from a walk-off like that,” Texas slugger Josh Hamilton said. “Depends on how you come back the next day. We definitely got a lift from coming in and playing as well as we did, winning three of the four and putting ourselves in position to win another one.”

Texas won the first three games of this key four-game series in increasingly discouraging fashion for the Angels, blowing out Los Angeles in the first two before rallying late against Ervin Santana on Wednesday night for a 4-3 victory.

Weaver was mostly sharp in his second start back from a six-game suspension, but appeared headed for a hard-luck loss when Mike Napoli hit a seventh-inning homer for Texas.

Weaver gave up three homers and a season-high eight runs to Toronto last week in a rocky return from the ban for throwing a pitch at the head of Detroit’s Alex Avila. Weaver was angry about Carlos Guillen’s showboating stroll around the bases after a homer moments earlier — and the AL’s All-Star game starter also showed his suspension didn’t totally cure his temper.

Weaver reacted angrily to a couple of early balls-and-strikes calls, and he later gestured in frustration at the Los Angeles dugout when shortstop Erick Aybar couldn’t track down a popup into the outfield.

Weaver allowed just one runner to reach third base before Napoli homered off the fake rock pile in left-center leading off the seventh. Although Napoli didn’t noticeably showboat, Weaver stared down Napoli all the way around the bases, and he shot another look — and a few words — at the Texas dugout after the inning ended.

“I guess when he was walking off the mound, I don’t know, it looked like he might have been saying something,” Napoli said of his longtime teammate. “What, you can’t hit homers off him now?”

Weaver declined comment.

The Rangers scratched Mitch Moreland shortly before the game with tightness in his hamstring. The first baseman went 7 for 12 in the first three games of the series.

NOTES: Hunter extended his hitting streak to 16 games with his late single. … Vernon Wells was booed when he struck out as a late-inning substitute. The slugger’s average has dipped near .200, and Angels manager Mike Scioscia held him out of the starting lineup to rest. … The Rangers open a weekend series in Chicago on Friday night with Matt Harrison facing the White Sox’s Jake Peavy. Los Angeles welcomes

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—Mark Trumbo(notes) already hits the ball harder and louder
than any of his fellow Los Angeles Angels, according to the slugging rookie’s
teammates.

With just one inning left to avoid an embarrassing four-game sweep by the
Texas Rangers, the Angels had never been happier to hear that already-familiar
crack of Trumbo’s big bat.

Trumbo hit a game-ending two-run homer down the left-field line, and the
Angels beat the Rangers 2-1 on Thursday night, dramatically preventing Texas
from seizing an eight-game lead in the AL West standings.

After three straight losses in the series and five straight overall, the
Angels were just three outs away from a discouraging deficit in the playoff race
behind the Rangers, who had won the first six games of their road trip.

But Los Angeles didn’t even make another out against new Texas reliever Mike
Adams(notes) (1-2). After Torii Hunter(notes) led off the ninth with a single, Trumbo cracked
his 23rd homer of the season, comfortably putting it around the foul pole.

“Hopefully this is going to propel a nice little run for us,” said Trumbo,
who’s on track to become the first rookie to lead Los Angeles in homers and
RBIs. “We’ve been scuffling and a lot of people are frustrated, myself
included. That road trip wasn’t very good, and it didn’t help our momentum going
into this crucial series. But we’ll take what we can get.”

Trumbo had two hits and further cemented his status as the Angels’ most
compelling hitter in a lackluster offensive season. He leads all major-league
rookies with 68 RBIs after driving in 24 runs in his last 25 games—and he’s
the first Angels rookie ever to hit two game-ending homers.

“When he makes contact and gets one over the fence, it’s usually not a
fence-scraper,” said Angels ace Jered Weaver(notes), who left trailing 1-0 despite
pitching seven innings of six-hit ball. “It was sure nice, obviously a big hit
in a big situation. It’s six (games back) now instead of eight, so that
definitely helps out.”

Trumbo’s shot abruptly ended four days of offensive frustration and set off
an unlikely celebration on the field for the Angels, who trailed the Rangers by
just 1 1/2 games early last week before losing seven of their previous eight.
Horacio Ramirez(notes) (1-0) got one out in the ninth for Los Angeles, earning his
first win in the majors since 2008.

Adams wasted seven scoreless innings by Colby Lewis(notes), who yielded four hits
and struck out seven while outpitching Weaver. Texas fell one inning short of
the first four-game sweep at Angel Stadium in the rivalry’s long history, but
still left Anaheim with a healthy six-game lead in the AL West.

“You can get a lift from a walk-off like that,” Texas slugger Josh
Hamilton(notes) said. “Depends on how you come back the next day. We definitely got a
lift from coming in and playing as well as we did, winning three of the four and
putting ourselves in position to win another one.”

Texas won the first three games of this key four-game series in increasingly
discouraging fashion for the Angels, blowing out Los Angeles in the first two
before rallying late against Ervin Santana(notes) on Wednesday night for a 4-3 victory.

Weaver was mostly sharp in his second start back from a six-game suspension,
but appeared headed for a hard-luck loss when Mike Napoli(notes) hit a seventh-inning
homer for Texas.

Weaver gave up three homers and a season-high eight runs to Toronto last
week in a rocky return from the ban for throwing a pitch at the head of
Detroit’s Alex Avila(notes). Weaver was angry about Carlos Guillen’s(notes) showboating stroll
around the bases after a homer moments earlier—and the AL’s All-Star game
starter also showed his suspension didn’t totally cure his temper.

Weaver reacted angrily to a couple of early balls-and-strikes calls, and he
later gestured in frustration at the Los Angeles dugout when shortstop Erick
Aybar(notes) couldn’t track down a popup into the outfield.

Weaver allowed just one runner to reach third base before Napoli homered off
the fake rock pile in left-center leading off the seventh. Although Napoli
didn’t noticeably showboat, Weaver stared down Napoli all the way around the
bases, and he shot another look—and a few words—at the Texas dugout after
the inning ended.

“I guess when he was walking off the mound, I don’t know, it looked like he
might have been saying something,” Napoli said of his longtime teammate.
“What, you can’t hit homers off him now?”

Weaver declined comment.

The Rangers scratched Mitch Moreland(notes) shortly before the game with tightness
in his hamstring. The first baseman went 7 for 12 in the first three games of
the series.

NOTES: Hunter extended his hitting streak to 16 games with his late single.
… Vernon Wells(notes) was booed when he struck out as a late-inning substitute. The
slugger’s average has dipped near .200, and Angels manager Mike Scioscia held
him out of the starting lineup to rest. … The Rangers open a weekend series in
Chicago on Friday night with Matt Harrison(notes) facing the White Sox’s Jake Peavy(notes).
Los Angeles welcomes Baltimore on Friday, with Dan Haren(notes) pitching for the
Angels.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mark Trumbo already hits the ball harder and louder than any of his fellow Los Angeles Angels, according to the slugging rookie’s teammates.

With just one inning left to avoid an embarrassing four-game sweep by the Texas Rangers, the Angels had never been happier to hear that already-familiar crack of Trumbo’s big bat.

Trumbo hit a game-ending two-run homer down the left-field line, and the Angels beat the Rangers 2-1 on Thursday night, dramatically preventing Texas from seizing an eight-game lead in the AL West standings.

After three straight losses in the series and five straight overall, the Angels were just three outs away from a discouraging deficit in the playoff race behind the Rangers, who had won the first six games of their road trip.

But Los Angeles didn’t even make another out against new Texas reliever Mike Adams (1-2). After Torii Hunter led off the ninth with a single, Trumbo cracked his 23rd homer of the season, comfortably putting it around the foul pole.

“Hopefully this is going to propel a nice little run for us,” said Trumbo, who’s on track to become the first rookie to lead Los Angeles in homers and RBIs. “We’ve been scuffling and a lot of people are frustrated, myself included. That road trip wasn’t very good, and it didn’t help our momentum going into this crucial series. But we’ll take what we can get.”

Trumbo had two hits and further cemented his status as the Angels’ most compelling hitter in a lackluster offensive season. He leads all major-league rookies with 68 RBIs after driving in 24 runs in his last 25 games — and he’s the first Angels rookie ever to hit two game-ending homers.

“When he makes contact and gets one over the fence, it’s usually not a fence-scraper,” said Angels ace Jered Weaver, who left trailing 1-0 despite pitching seven innings of six-hit ball. “It was sure nice, obviously a big hit in a big situation. It’s six (games back) now instead of eight, so that definitely helps out.”

Trumbo’s shot abruptly ended four days of offensive frustration and set off an unlikely celebration on the field for the Angels, who trailed the Rangers by just 1½ games early last week before losing seven of their previous eight. Horacio Ramirez (1-0) got one out in the ninth for Los Angeles, earning his first win in the majors since 2008.

Adams wasted seven scoreless innings by Colby Lewis, who yielded four hits and struck out seven while outpitching Weaver. Texas fell one inning short of the first four-game sweep at Angel Stadium in the rivalry’s long history, but still left Anaheim with a healthy six-game lead in the AL West.

“You can get a lift from a walk-off like that,” Texas slugger Josh Hamilton said. “Depends on how you come back the next day. We definitely got a lift from coming in and playing as well as we did, winning three of the four and putting ourselves in position to win another one.”

Texas won the first three games of this key four-game series in increasingly discouraging fashion for the Angels, blowing out Los Angeles in the first two before rallying late against Ervin Santana on Wednesday night for a 4-3 victory.

Weaver was mostly sharp in his second start back from a six-game suspension, but appeared headed for a hard-luck loss when Mike Napoli hit a seventh-inning homer for Texas.

Weaver gave up three homers and a season-high eight runs to Toronto last week in a rocky return from the ban for throwing a pitch at the head of Detroit’s Alex Avila. Weaver was angry about Carlos Guillen’s showboating stroll around the bases after a homer moments earlier — and the AL’s All-Star game starter also showed his suspension didn’t totally cure his temper.

Weaver reacted angrily to a couple of early balls-and-strikes calls, and he later gestured in frustration at the Los Angeles dugout when shortstop Erick Aybar couldn’t track down a popup into the outfield.

Weaver allowed just one runner to reach third base before Napoli homered off the fake rock pile in left-center leading off the seventh. Although Napoli didn’t noticeably showboat, Weaver stared down Napoli all the way around the bases, and he shot another look — and a few words — at the Texas dugout after the inning ended.

“I guess when he was walking off the mound, I don’t know, it looked like he might have been saying something,” Napoli said of his longtime teammate. “What, you can’t hit homers off him now?”

Weaver declined comment.

The Rangers scratched Mitch Moreland shortly before the game with tightness in his hamstring. The first baseman went 7 for 12 in the first three games of the series.

NOTES: Hunter extended his hitting streak to 16 games with his late single. … Vernon Wells was booed when he struck out as a late-inning substitute. The slugger’s average has dipped near .200, and Angels manager Mike Scioscia held him out of the starting lineup to rest. … The Rangers open a weekend series in Chicago on Friday night with Matt Harrison facing the White Sox’s Jake Peavy. Los Angeles welcomes Baltimore on Friday, with Dan Haren pitching for the Angels.

(This version CORRECTS Angels 2, Rangers 1. Corrects statistic in 7th paragraph to first Angels rookie with two game-ending homers. With AP Photos.)