Baltimore Orioles break out brooms, sweep Los Angeles Angels

Orioles starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie stymies Angels hitters, giving Orioles weekend sweep.

                                                                       Photo: Harry How/Getty Images

The Los Angeles Angels can't get the Baltimore Orioles out of town fast enough. The Orioles are wishing they could stay for an extended period of time.

Listless Angels shut out by Millwood, Orioles

                                           The Angels are now 34-31 at home this season at Angels Stadium

Baltimore Orioles' pitcher Kevin Millwood has suffered through a nightmarish season, yet he still takes the ball every fifth day and gives his best effort. On Saturday night, against the Los Angeles Angels, Millwood's best effort turned into into his best start of the season.

Los Angeles Angels playoff hopes still alive, but fading quickly

The Los Angeles Angels' hopes of making playoffs in 2010 are fading quickly.

                                                                 Photo: Los Angeles Angels/MLB

The month of August has not been kind to the Los Angeles Angels. Heading into their weekend series with the Baltimore Orioles, the Angels are 10-12 for the month, and losers of seven of their last 10 games.

Traditionally, August is the "make or break" month for teams who are still in contention for the postseason. After the July 31 trade deadline, in which those same teams look to bolster their rosters in order to improve their playoff chances, they use August as the month to make their push and decide their fate.

After starting the month 6-4 and sweeping the Kansas City Royals in a three-game series, the Angels have since gone 4-8, failing to win any series and falling further back in the NL West standings to the division-leading Texas Rangers.

While a number of factors contributed to the dismal month thus far, one that clearly sticks out is their bullpen.

With the fourth worst bullpen ERA in the American League at 4.29, Angels' relievers have struggled. RP Francisco Rodriguez failed on two occasions to hold leads in the Orioles' sweep of the Angels in early August, and normally reliable Kevin Jepsen failed to hold a lead in Boston on August 18.

In the early to mid 2000's, the Angels bullpen was the cream of the crop in the American League, with the best ERA out of the bullpen from 2002-04. Manager Mike Scioscia was masterful in pulling the right strings to protect late inning leads, and had the talent to pull it off.

Those days are apparently gone, as evidenced by the team's current struggles.

Another major culprit has been the bottom of the Angels' batting order. Combined, the Nos. 8 & 9 hitters in the lineup are hitting a paltry .211 for the season, a full .033 below the league average.

While these spots in the batting order in the American League are typically reserved for players less adept at the plate, fairly automatic outs are certainly not what the Angels had in mind for players manning these slots in the batting order.

For the Angels to have any hope of postseason glory in 2010, these two important aspects of their game must improve dramatically, and if recent performance is used as an indicator, their hopes will turn into despair.

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This day in sports, August 21: First ever Little League World Series

The Little League World Series, held each year in Williamsport, PA, has gained worldwide popularity.

                                                     Photo: Ruhrfisch/Creative Commons license

Little League Baseball, originally founded in 1939 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, organized the first ever Little League World Series tournament on August 21, 1947.

Pedroia Back on DL, Stick Fork In Sox, They Could Be Done

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia's latest setback a blow to Sox playoff chances.

                                      Photo: Courtesy Keith Allison via Creative Commons license

And the hits just keep comin'. The Boston Red Sox announced that second baseman Dustin Pedroia will go back on the disabled list to rest his sore left foot.

 

This day in sports, August 20: Philadelphia Phillies set dubious record of 23 straight losses

Phillies Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts was a member of the infamous '61 Phillies squad.

                                        Photo: Courtesy cliff1066 via Creative Commons license

Ignominy is a terrible thing. Waking up and wondering whether or not you're going to lose another game today is a horrible way to start the day. The 1961 Philadelphia Phillies collectively harbored those same thoughts. On August 20, 1961, the Phillies lost their 23rd consecutive game, a modern baseball record.

This Day In Sports, August 19: Giants Announce Move to San Francisco

                               Candlestick Park became home to the San Francisco Giants in 1960.
                                        Courtesy of moppet65535 via Creative Commons license



In the early 1950's, the baseball New York Giants were the talk of the town. Bobby Thompson's "shot heard round the world" electrified the fan base, and a young rookie by the name of Wilie Mays was starting to generate buzz.


Following the 1954 World Series, in which the Giants swept the Cleveland Indians, the following three seasons saw the team's overall play drop off dramatically. A third place finish in 1955, followed by sub .500 seasons in '56 and '57, saw the Giants' attendance drop off dramatically.


Giants owner Horace Stoneham was looking for a new stadium to replace the crumbling Polo Grounds. Stoneham became to think about moving the team outside of the New York area.


Stoneham fielded an offer from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area to move the team to Metropolitan Stadium, home of the Giants' top farm team, the Minneapolis Millers.


Then, San Francisco came calling. Mayor George Christopher approached Stoneham about moving cross-country. Stoneham entered into negotiations with San Francisco city officials. At the same time, Brooklyn Dodgers' owner Walter O'Malley was in negotiations with Los Angeles city officials about moving the team out of Brooklyn.


O'Malley was told that he would be unable to move the team unless another team moved to California at the same time.

O'Malley approached long-time rival Stoneham, and the two agreed to move their teams at the same time, creating a void in which the era of National League baseball in New York ended.


On August 19, 1957. Stoneham announced in a press conference that the Giants would be playing their home games in the city of San Francisco starting in 1958.


Two shareholders of the Giants were opposed to the deal, Joan Whitney Payson and M. Donald Grant. Ironically, Payson and Grant partnered to bring National League baseball back to New York, founding the New York Mets in 1962.


The famous "NY" script on the Giants' hats, along with the orange trim on their uniforms, was adopted by the New York Mets upon their inception.


The Giants moved into their new permanent home, Candlestick Park, in 1960, and remained there until 2000, when they moved into Pacific Bell Park (later called AT&T Park).

This day in sports, August 17: Lou Gehrig sets new all-time consecutive games played record

Yankees' legend Lou Gehrig's Hall of Fame replica statue sits outside of Yankee Stadium.

Courtesy autiscy/Creative Commons license

On June 1, 1925, then New York Yankees' manager Miller Huggins made a decision. He replaced aging first baseman Wally Pipp with a younger option: sweet swinging, slick fielding Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig.



Gehrig took the field for the Yankees that day for the first time as their regular first baseman, and did not leave the field for the next 14 seasons.


Each and every day, Gehrig was penciled into the lineup, and eight seasons later, on August 17, 1933, Gehrig extended his consecutive game playing streak to 1,308, topping the previous mark held by former Yankee shortstop Everett Scott, set in 1925, ironically the same season in which Gehrig started his streak.



Gehrig went on to extend his steak until April 30, 1939. By then, it was very clear that something was wrong with him. Lacking his normal strength, balls he hit that normally would have been home runs turned into short pop flies. He had a hard time picking up his feet, shuffling most of the time.



In the first weeks of the 1939 season, Gehrig managed only four hits, and teammates were congratulating him for literally stumbling into an average play.



On April 30th, Gehrig took himself out of the game, and following a day off, on May 2nd, Gehrig told manager Joe McCarthy that he was benching himself, stating that he was no longer useful to the team.



Gehrig's consecutive game streak ended at 2,130, a record that stood until Baltimore Orioles' shortstop/third baseman Cal Ripken, Jr. surpassed the 56-year-old record when he played in his 2,131st consecutive game on September 6, 1995 between the Orioles and the California Angels in front of a sold-out crowd at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.



During Gehrig's streak, he persevered through a broken thumb, a broken toe, back spasms and a bout of lumbago. Later in his career it was revealed that Gehrig's hands had endured 17 different fractures that had "healed" while he continued to play.



During his incredible streak, Gehrig became the most feared right-handed hitter in the game. He was selected to each of the first seven All-Star games and he won the American League's Most Valuable Player award in 1927 and 1936. He was also a Triple Crown winner in 1934, leading the American League in batting average, home runs, and RBIs.



Gehrig, ended his career with a lifetime .342 batting average, 475 home runs, 1,995 RBI's and was the first player in the American League ever to hit four home runs in one game, accomplishing the feat in 1932.



Several weeks after he pulled himself from the lineup, doctors at the Mayo Clinic diagnosed Gehrig with a very rare form of degenerative disease: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is now called Lou Gehrig's disease. His baseball career was over, and he was fighting for his life.



On July 4, 1939, the New York Yankees held a recognition day to honor Lou Gehrig. During his speech, Gehrig told the sold out crowd that he was "the luckiest man on the face of the earth."



By the time Gehrig was done speaking, there was not a dry eye in the house, and even Babe Ruth, who had not spoken to Gehrig since 1934, came over to him, put his arm around Gehrig's shoulder, and offered words of encouragement. Gehrig was elected to the Hall of Fame later that same year.



On June 2, 1941, Gehrig finally succumbed to his disease, and the entire world mourned the passing of the man who forever became known as "The Iron Horse."

This day in sports, August 16: Baseball's home run king is dead

Babe Ruth transformed the game of baseball, ushering in the "live ball era".

                                        Photo: Photo courtesy of majorvols/Creative Common License

He single-handedly changed the way the game of baseball was played. He set records that remain in place until this day. His superstar status transcended the game of baseball. And, on this day, August 16, 1948, the world mourned the death of baseball's greatest hero, George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Jr.

Mat Latos quickly becoming ace of Padres staff

San Diego pitcher Mat Latos has quickly risen to the top of the Padres rotation.

Courtesy SD Dirk under Creative Commons license

When the city of San Diego was awarded a Major League Baseball franchise in 1969, local fans were thrilled, envisioning a long and storied history of success. That success has largely eluded them, with the San Diego Padres only advancing to the World Series twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing both times.

Los Angeles Dodgers need a hot streak, and need it now

Can Casey Blake and the Dodgers overcome several obstacles to reach the playoffs? Time will tell...

Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images

The 2010 Major League Baseball season is now two thirds completed, and this is the time of year where teams who are on the bubble show their mettle. Hearken back to the '07 Colorado Rockies, who won 21 of 22 games down the stretch to make the playoffs, sweeping seven games in the playoffs before being defeated by the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers need that kind of a run, and they need it now.

Boston Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis to have surgery on right thumb, out for rest of season

Red Sox hopes for a playoff spot are now clearly diminished after news of Youkilis' injury.

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

Boston Red Sox starting first baseman Kevin Youkilis, a major offensive threat in the Red Sox lineup, will be lost for the rest of the season with a torn muscle in his right thumb.