Read More: Eric Gagne (P – LOS), Joe Beimel (P – PIT), San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Angels plan to interview Kim Ng for their vacant general manager position, putting them in position to make history as the first major league team to have a female general manager. No timetable has been given for the interview, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.

Gender aside, Ng is one of the most qualified and well connected general manager candidates in all of baseball.

Ng this season has served as a senior vice president of baseball operations for Major League Baseball after 13 seasons as an assistant general manager with both the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. When Ng was hired by the Yankees at age 29 in 1998, she was the youngest assistant GM in baseball.

After four seasons with the Yankees, Ng was hired by the Dodgers in 2002. Among her many duties with the Dodgers were to coordinate all player transactions, oversee the arbitration process, and to manage the day-to-day operations of the entire baseball department. In 2004, Ng expanded her duties for a brief period, serving as interim Director of Player Development, overseeing all aspects of the Dodgers minor league system. She was also integral in making trades, signing free agents, and negotiating player contracts.

Ng was in charge of the Dodgers arbitration case in 2004 when the club famously defeated closer Eric Gagne after his National League Cy Young-winning season. Gagne submitted a salary figure of $8 million after posting a 1.20 ERA in 2003 with 55 saves in 55 opportunities. Ng was able to convince the three-person arbitration panel that the Dodgers’ offer of $5 million was more in line with his peers, and the arbitration panel agreed. On her watch, only two Dodgers players went to arbitration – Gagne and Joe Beimel, the latter in 2007 – and the Dodgers won both cases.

In 2005, Ng became the first woman to interview for a general manager position when she interviewed with the Dodgers after Paul DePodesta was fired. Ng also interviewed with the Seattle Mariners in 2008 and with the San Diego Padres in 2009.

The Angels have also received permission to interview Billy Eppler and Damon Oppenheimer of the New York Yankees and Jerry DiPoto of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

For more on Angels baseball, head to Halos Heaven.

As the first Hispanic to own a major sports team in the United States, Arte Moreno is no stranger to trail-blazing.

Eight years after assuming control of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Moreno is now reportedly considering Kim Ng to become North America’s first female general manager.

ESPN’s Buster Olney—who broke the news—also reports the Angels have interest in Texas Rangers assistant general manager Thad Levine.

Former Angels GM Tony Reagins resigned on Sept. 30 following a meeting with Moreno and the team has since announced it won’t be renewing the contracts of assistant general manager Ken Forsch and special assistant Gary Sutherland.

Los Angeles went 86-76 and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year in 2011, despite owning baseball’s fourth-highest payroll.

The 42-year-old Ng has been short-listed for a few vacant GM jobs in the past, most recently in 2008 when she was the runner-up in Seattle to Jack Zduriencik.

In March, Ng left her post as vice president and assistant GM with the Los Angeles Dodgers to accept the position of senior VP for baseball operations at MLB under Joe Torre.

At the time, Ng said her long-term goal remained the same: to become a general manager in MLB.

“This is a chance for me to contribute in a very meaningful way to the game,” she said of her post with MLB. “As far as long-term aspirations, they’re still there. If anything, this makes me a more fully qualified candidate.”

A native of Ridgewood, NJ, Ng began her career as an intern with the Chicago White Sox shortly after graduating from the University of Chicago where she played softball for four years and earned a bachelor’s degree in public policy.

At 26, she became the youngest person and the first woman to present a salary arbitration case, defeating agent Scott Boras and saving the White Sox $650,000 in pitcher Alex Fernandez’s $3.25 million case.

The New York Yankees hired her as an assistant general manager in 1997, and she assumed the same role with the Dodges in 2001.

“What impresses me about Kim is she’s able to work in an environment where she’s basically the only one,” then-Mets GM Omar Minaya told Newsweek back in 2006. “She’s as tough as anybody.”

Under Moreno’s leadership, the Angels haven’t been afraid to make bold moves.

Shortly after assuming control of the team, Moreno cut ticket and beer prices at the stadium and increased the team payroll by signing high-priced free agents such as Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero.

He ruffled feathers among the Anaheim municipal council — and his own fans — over his decision in 2005 to change the name of the team from the Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

ANAHEIM, Calif., Sept. 8 (UPI) — Maicer Izturis put Los Angeles in front with a two-run double in the eighth Wednesday, rallying the Angels to a 3-1 victory over Seattle.

The late comeback kept the Angels within 2 1/2 games of first-place Texas in the American League West.

Los Angeles found itself in danger of losing a game in which the opposition had only one hit — a solo homer by Trayvon Robinson in the sixth. The Mariners managed only one other base runner off Angels’ starter Jerome Williams through eight innings.

Charlie Furbush threw seven shutout innings for Seattle, but he gave up an infield single to Erick Aybar with one away in the eighth and then walked Alberto Callaspo. Izturis followed with a double that brought home both runners, and then he scored the third run of the inning on a single by Peter Bourjos.

Furbush lost his fourth straight start and fell to 3-8.

Williams (3-0) is perfect in his three starts with the Angels this year after having not pitched in the majors since 2007. He went 0-7 during the 2006 and 2007 seasons while with the Chicago Cubs, Oakland and Washington.

Jordan Walden needed just seven pitches to get through the ninth and pick up his 29th save.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—The back end of the rotation has been a major problem
this season for the Los Angeles Angels, so manager Mike Scioscia and pitching
coach Mike Butcher are hoping Joel Pineiro’s(notes) best starts are ahead of him with
the club still in playoff contention.

Pineiro posted his first victory in almost two months, leading the Angels to
a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday in the rubber game of the weekend
series.

Los Angeles remained 3 1/2 games behind AL West-leading Texas, which won 11-4
at Boston.

“Every game I go out there I want to contribute and not just count on the
big three, like we’ve been doing all year,” Pineiro said. “Hopefully me and
Tyler Chatwood(notes), or whoever is at the back of the rotation can help our team the
rest of the season. We need it.”

Pineiro (6-6) allowed a run and five hits over seven innings. The
right-hander, making his third start since a brief demotion to the bullpen, was
0-3 with a whopping 10.30 ERA in six starts since beating Seattle 9-3 on July 9
at Angel Stadium.

“I’m just trusting my stuff now and believing in not trying to invent the
wheel,” said Pineiro, who made three relief appearances before returning to the
rotation. “I’m just finding my sinker, working down in the zone and being
aggressive with it instead of just trying to get a feel for it. Today I had a
good sinker that stayed down and I got a lot of ground-ball outs, and I also had
good defense behind me.”

Bobby Abreu(notes) homered for the Angels, and Torii Hunter(notes) and Vernon Wells(notes) added
insurance runs with RBI singles in the eighth inning. Rookie Jordan Walden(notes)
followed Scott Downs(notes) out of the bullpen with a hitless ninth to get his 28th
save in 37 chances.

Scioscia gave Abreu a day off on Saturday, ending any chance he had of
playing in 150 or more games for the 14th consecutive season. He remains tied
with Willie Mays for the major league record in that category.

“I don’t control that,” Abreu said. “I don’t want a day off. I just like
to play every single day. But there’s nothing I can do about it. Today I hit a
homer that helped the team win, and that’s all that really matters to me.”

Abreu connected in the first for his seventh homer, hitting a towering drive
to right field on a 3-2 pitch that ended up in the back of the old Angels
bullpen. It ended a home run drought of 18 games and 60 at-bats since his
tiebreaking two-run shot against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera(notes) on Aug. 9 in New
York.

“It’s been a long time since I hit a homer,” he said. “I think that I
need to just work on my approach. I don’t feel the same a little bit. Sometimes
I just miss pitches that I used to hit, so I’ve been going to the video to see
what I’ve been doing wrong and make my adjustments.”

Minnesota starter Kevin Slowey(notes) (0-4) allowed two runs and seven hits in
seven innings before calling it a day because of a slight hamstring problem.
Twins catcher Joe Mauer(notes) returned to the lineup as the designated hitter, going 1
for 2 with a homer and two walks after missing two games because of an upper
respiratory infection.

The Angels made it 2-0 in the third when second baseman Trevor Plouffe(notes) lost
track of the number of outs and didn’t attempt a relay to first following Howie
Kendrick’s(notes) one-out grounder to third. Hank Conger(notes) scored on the play and
Kendrick was credited with his 51st RBI.

Plouffe apologized to Slowey after the inning ended.

“Slowey pitched well and he doesn’t deserve that,” Plouffe said. “Bottom
line, it’s just a stupid play. Every play is big. But we all know that mistakes
happen. Gardy (manager Ron Gardenhire) said: ‘Forget about it. You’ve got a big
at-bat coming up. Let’s go.’ That’s what a good manager would say. That’s what
he said to me and that’s what I did. I’ll tell you what, it’s not going to
happen again to me.”

Mauer got the Twins on the board in the fourth with his second home run of
an injury-plagued season that has limited the three-time AL batting champ to
just 73 games. He had a career-high 28 homers in 2009, when he was the AL MVP.

NOTES: The Angels increased their active roster to 31 players by recalling
RHP Trevor Bell(notes) from Triple-A Salt Lake to help shore up their bullpen. … The
Angels’ Orem farm club in the Advanced Rookie League made the playoffs for the
11th consecutive season under manager Tom Kotchman. Three of the players in
Sunday’s Angels lineup—Kendrick, SS Erick Aybar(notes) and 1B Mark Trumbo(notes)—started
out on that club. So did CF Peter Bourjos(notes), who had the day off. … The Angels
are 6-4 this season when they get a first-inning home run—including Saturday
night’s 10-6 victory, which Trumbo ignited with his first career grand slam. …
Aybar extended his hitting streak to 14 games with two singles, including his
11th bunt hit of the season. … Conger threw out Jason Kubel(notes) and Danny Valencia(notes)
trying to steal second base in the second and fifth innings, respectively. The
rookie came in having thrown out only eight of 58 baserunners trying to steal.
… Downs has not allowed an earned run in 27 2-3 career innings against
Minnesota, spanning 26 appearances.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The back end of the rotation has been a major problem this season for the Los Angeles Angels, so manager Mike Scioscia and pitching coach Mike Butcher are hoping Joel Pineiro’s best starts are ahead of him with the club still in playoff contention.

Pineiro posted his first victory in almost two months, leading the Angels to a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday in the rubber game of the weekend series.

Los Angeles remained 3½ games behind AL West-leading Texas, which won 11-4 at Boston.

“Every game I go out there I want to contribute and not just count on the big three, like we’ve been doing all year,” Pineiro said. “Hopefully me and Tyler Chatwood, or whoever is at the back of the rotation can help our team the rest of the season. We need it.”

Pineiro (6-6) allowed a run and five hits over seven innings. The right-hander, making his third start since a brief demotion to the bullpen, was 0-3 with a whopping 10.30 ERA in six starts since beating Seattle 9-3 on July 9 at Angel Stadium.

“I’m just trusting my stuff now and believing in not trying to invent the wheel,” said Pineiro, who made three relief appearances before returning to the rotation. “I’m just finding my sinker, working down in the zone and being aggressive with it instead of just trying to get a feel for it. Today I had a good sinker that stayed down and I got a lot of ground-ball outs, and I also had good defense behind me.”

Bobby Abreu homered for the Angels, and Torii Hunter and Vernon Wells added insurance runs with RBI singles in the eighth inning. Rookie Jordan Walden followed Scott Downs out of the bullpen with a hitless ninth to get his 28th save in 37 chances.

Scioscia gave Abreu a day off on Saturday, ending any chance he had of playing in 150 or more games for the 14th consecutive season. He remains tied with Willie Mays for the major league record in that category.

“I don’t control that,” Abreu said. “I don’t want a day off. I just like to play every single day. But there’s nothing I can do about it. Today I hit a homer that helped the team win, and that’s all that really matters to me.”

Abreu connected in the first for his seventh homer, hitting a towering drive to right field on a 3-2 pitch that ended up in the back of the old Angels bullpen. It ended a home run drought of 18 games and 60 at-bats since his tiebreaking two-run shot against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera on Aug. 9 in New York.

“It’s been a long time since I hit a homer,” he said. “I think that I need to just work on my approach. I don’t feel the same a little bit. Sometimes I just miss pitches that I used to hit, so I’ve been going to the video to see what I’ve been doing wrong and make my adjustments.”

Minnesota starter Kevin Slowey (0-4) allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings before calling it a day because of a slight hamstring problem. Twins catcher Joe Mauer returned to the lineup as the designated hitter, going 1 for 2 with a homer and two walks after missing two games because of an upper respiratory infection.

The Angels made it 2-0 in the third when second baseman Trevor Plouffe lost track of the number of outs and didn’t attempt a relay to first following Howie Kendrick’s one-out grounder to third. Hank Conger scored on the play and Kendrick was credited with his 51st RBI.

Plouffe apologized to Slowey after the inning ended.

“Slowey pitched well and he doesn’t deserve that,” Plouffe said. “Bottom line, it’s just a stupid play. Every play is big. But we all know that mistakes happen. Gardy (manager Ron Gardenhire) said: ‘Forget about it. You’ve got a big at-bat coming up. Let’s go.’ That’s what a good manager would say. That’s what he said to me and that’s what I did. I’ll tell you what, it’s not going to happen again to me.”

Mauer got the Twins on the board in the fourth with his second home run of an injury-plagued season that has limited the three-time AL batting champ to just 73 games. He had a career-high 28 homers in 2009, when he was the AL MVP.

NOTES: The Angels increased their active roster to 31 players by recalling RHP Trevor Bell from Triple-A Salt Lake to help shore up their bullpen. … The Angels’ Orem farm club in the Advanced Rookie League made the playoffs for the 11th consecutive season under manager Tom Kotchman. Three of the players in Sunday’s Angels lineup — Kendrick, SS Erick Aybar and 1B Mark Trumbo — started out on that club. So did CF Peter Bourjos, who had the day off. … The Angels are 6-4 this season when they get a first-inning home run — including Saturday night’s 10-6 victory, which Trumbo ignited with his first career grand slam. … Aybar extended his hitting streak to 14 games with two singles, including his 11th bunt hit of the season. … Conger threw out Jason Kubel and Danny Valencia trying to steal second base in the second and fifth innings, respectively. The rookie came in having thrown out only eight of 58 baserunners trying to steal. … Downs has not allowed an earned run in 27 2-3 career innings against Minnesota, spanning 26 appearances.

CBSSports.com wire reports
Sep. 4, 2011

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The back end of the rotation has been a major problem this season for the Los Angeles Angels, so manager Mike Scioscia and pitching coach Mike Butcher are hoping Joel Pineiro’s best starts are ahead of him with the club still in playoff contention.

Pineiro posted his first victory in almost two months, leading the Angels to a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday in the rubber game of the weekend series.

Los Angeles remained 3½ games behind AL West-leading Texas, which won 11-4 at Boston.

“Every game I go out there I want to contribute and not just count on the big three, like we’ve been doing all year,” Pineiro said. “Hopefully me and Tyler Chatwood, or whoever is at the back of the rotation can help our team the rest of the season. We need it.”

Pineiro (6-6) allowed a run and five hits over seven innings. The right-hander, making his third start since a brief demotion to the bullpen, was 0-3 with a whopping 10.30 ERA in six starts since beating Seattle 9-3 on July 9 at Angel Stadium.

“I’m just trusting my stuff now and believing in not trying to invent the wheel,” said Pineiro, who made three relief appearances before returning to the rotation. “I’m just finding my sinker, working down in the zone and being aggressive with it instead of just trying to get a feel for it. Today I had a good sinker that stayed down and I got a lot of ground-ball outs, and I also had good defense behind me.”

Bobby Abreu homered for the Angels, and Torii Hunter and Vernon Wells added insurance runs with RBI singles in the eighth inning. Rookie Jordan Walden followed Scott Downs out of the bullpen with a hitless ninth to get his 28th save in 37 chances.

Scioscia gave Abreu a day off on Saturday, ending any chance he had of playing in 150 or more games for the 14th consecutive season. He remains tied with Willie Mays for the major league record in that category.

“I don’t control that,” Abreu said. “I don’t want a day off. I just like to play every single day. But there’s nothing I can do about it. Today I hit a homer that helped the team win, and that’s all that really matters to me.”

Abreu connected in the first for his seventh homer, hitting a towering drive to right field on a 3-2 pitch that ended up in the back of the old Angels bullpen. It ended a home run drought of 18 games and 60 at-bats since his tiebreaking two-run shot against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera on Aug. 9 in New York.

“It’s been a long time since I hit a homer,” he said. “I think that I need to just work on my approach. I don’t feel the same a little bit. Sometimes I just miss pitches that I used to hit, so I’ve been going to the video to see what I’ve been doing wrong and make my adjustments.”

Minnesota starter Kevin Slowey (0-4) allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings before calling it a day because of a slight hamstring problem. Twins catcher Joe Mauer returned to the lineup as the designated hitter, going 1 for 2 with a homer and two walks after missing two games because of an upper respiratory infection.

The Angels made it 2-0 in the third when second baseman Trevor Plouffe lost track of the number of outs and didn’t attempt a relay to first following Howie Kendrick’s one-out grounder to third. Hank Conger scored on the play and Kendrick was credited with his 51st RBI.

Plouffe apologized to Slowey after the inning ended.

“Slowey pitched well and he doesn’t deserve that,” Plouffe said. “Bottom line, it’s just a stupid play. Every play is big. But we all know that mistakes happen. Gardy [manager Ron Gardenhire] said: ‘Forget about it. You’ve got a big at-bat coming up. Let’s go.’ That’s what a good manager would say. That’s what he said to me and that’s what I did. I’ll tell you what, it’s not going to happen again to me.”

Mauer got the Twins on the board in the fourth with his second home run of an injury-plagued season that has limited the three-time AL batting champ to just 73 games. He had a career-high 28 homers in 2009, when he was the AL MVP.

Notes

• The Angels increased their active roster to 31 players by recalling RHP Trevor Bell from Triple-A Salt Lake to help shore up their bullpen.
• The Angels’ Orem farm club in the Advanced Rookie League made the playoffs for the 11th consecutive season under manager Tom Kotchman. Three of the players in Sunday’s Angels lineup — Kendrick, Erick Aybar and 1B Mark Trumbo – started out on that club. So did CF Peter Bourjos, who had the day off.
• The Angels are 6-4 this season when they get a first-inning home run — including Saturday night’s 10-6 victory, which Trumbo ignited with his first career grand slam.
• Aybar extended his hitting streak to 14 games with two singles, including his 11th bunt hit of the season.
• Conger threw out Jason Kubel and Danny Valencia trying to steal second base in the second and fifth innings, respectively. The rookie came in having thrown out only eight of 58 baserunners trying to steal.
• Downs has not allowed an earned run in 27 2/3 career innings against Minnesota, spanning 26 appearances.