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.

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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., Sept. 4 (UPI) — Joel Pineiro held Minnesota to one run over seven innings Sunday, staking the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-1 decision over the Twins.

Pineiro (6-6) logged his first victory since July 9, a span of nine starts, delivering a crucial win for the Angels as they chase first-place Texas in the American League West.

The right-hander yielded five hits, walked only one and struck out one as Los Angeles held steady 3 1/2 games behind the Rangers, who won in Boston Sunday.

Scott Downs tossed a scoreless eighth and Jordan Walden picked up his 28th save for Los Angeles.

Bobby Abreu clubbed a first-inning solo homer and Torii Hunter had two hits, including an RBI single.

Minnesota’s Kevin Slowey (0-4) pitched well but absorbed the loss, yielding two runs on seven hits over seven innings, walking none and striking out four.

Joe Mauer hit his second homer of year — a solo shot in the fourth — for Minnesota.

By Brian Floyd

– Editor, SBNation.com

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Aug 28, 2011 – The Los Angeles Angels took the second game of a pivotal three-game series with the Texas Rangers on Saturday night with an 8-4 win. The win sets up a Sunday night rubber match, with the Angels looking to gain ground in the standings and the Rangers trying to hold-off their hard-charging division rival.

The Angels got on the board in the second when Vernon Wells took Texas starter C.J. Wilson deep for a solo home run to give his team a 1-0 lead. Wells was 2-4 with two RBIs on the night, adding a triple in the seventh that scored Torii Hunter.

Peter Bourjos, Mike Trout, Howie Kendrick and Bobby Wilson each added solo home runs as the Angels used the long ball to cut even the series with the Rangers. Erick Aybar also drove two runs with a fifth-inning single that scored Kendrick and Wells.

Michael Young and Mike Napoli each had an RBI for the Rangers in the loss. David Murphy added a two-run home run in the fifth to cut the Angels lead to two, 6-4, but it was as close as the Rangers would get.

Ervin Santana earned the win after pitching seven innings while allowing four runs and four hits for the Angels. Scott Downs and Jordan Walden pitching 1-1/3 scoreless innings before Hisanori Takahashi came in to slam the door, earning the save by recording the final two outs of the game. C.J. Wilson gave up six runs on 10 hits over five innings in the loss.

With the win, the Angels improved to 72-60 on the season. The Rangers fell to 75-59 with the loss, but remain on top of the AL West by two games. Sunday’s rubber match is set for 8 p.m. EDT at Rangers Ballpark.

For more on this game, visit Halos Heaven and SB Nation Los Angeles, for Angels analysis, or Lonestar Ball and SB Nation Dallas, for Rangers analysis.

Read More: Vernon Wells (LF – ANA), Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels

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ARLINGTON, Texas, Aug. 28 (UPI) — Vernon Wells socked the first of five solo homers for Los Angeles Saturday and Angels rode the long balls to an 8-4 victory over Texas.

Mike Trout, Bobby Wilson, Peter Bourjos and Howie Kendrick also went deep for the Angels, who closed to within two games of the American League West-leading Rangers.

Wells also delivered an RBI triple, while Torii Hunter and Erick Aybar each added RBI singles for the Angels.

Ervin Santana (10-9) was only pitching on three days rest but performed well enough, holding the Rangers to four runs on four hits over seven innings as Los Angeles bounced back from an 11-7 setback in the first game of the key series.

Texas starter C.J. Wilson (13-6) was roughed up for six runs on 10 hits over five frames.

David Murphy clubbed a two-run homer for the Rangers.