Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Fun fact: Who has the best winning percentage of any pitcher in baseball over the past five seasons?

Here's a hint. It's not C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Johan Santana, Josh Beckett or any of the other pitchers the East Coast writing establishment loves to go on endlessly about.

It's Jered Weaver at .663.

Weaver has clearly taken his game to another level in the absence of former Angels ace John Lackey, and has managed to single-handedly carry his team through a horrific stretch in the process.

While lefty starter Joe Saunders came out strong through eight innings on Friday night at Angel Stadium, Brian Fuentes was not able to slam the door on a 1-0 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. 

Kansas City's Mike Aviles was able to break through the shutout attempt with an RBI hit, his second hit of the ballgame, forcing the Angels to extend into extra innings where the Halos would fall short 2-1 to the Royals in Game 1 of a holiday weekend in Southern California.

Angel fans have been spoiled. From 1996 to 2008 it was just about automatic, the game was over in the 9th inning. Between Troy Percival and Francisco Rodriguez , Angel fans saw the two relievers combine for an amazing 524 saves. Rodriguez lead the league in saves three times including a Major league record 62 in his final season with the club in 2008.

While rumors swirl about Adam Dunn or Adam LaRoche coming to the Halos in a trade, is first base the real trouble spot for the Angels?

California's upcoming gubernatorial election is about as bleak as the state's financial funk. It's time we made a change.

This state deserves a governor we can believe in, someone who knows how to convince the public of even the most obvious lies and keep a straight face while delivering them.

Someone like Mike Scioscia.

The manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is the perfect candidate to be California's next governor. In the first place, it's not as if he's got any real competition from the rest of the so-called political candidates out there.

The grades are in as we approach the halfway mark of the 2010 season.

What teams have lived up to the hype in the American League West, and which have laid an egg and why?

Here is a team-by-team breakdown recapping the first 81 games (almost), and what to watch for in the second half.

Who will be the movers and shakers in the second half?

The Angels need bullpen help.

The Indians need payroll relief.

The Angels are about to give up on their top prospect Brandon Wood.

The Indians are about to give up on their season and closer Kerry Wood.

These are just a few of the reasons why a Wood-for-Wood trade might make sense for both teams.

Kerry's bloated 7.02 ERA and 1.56 WHIP are not exactly living up to his bloated $10.5 million salary. It's going to make it extremely hard for the Indians to get anything for him if they choose to try and get out from under that albatross of a contract.

Garret Anderson returned to Anaheim last week to play against his former team for the first time in his career. Anderson is currently a Los Angeles Dodger but is best known for his time with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Anderson spent more than 14 seasons with the Angels and is the franchise’s all-time leader in games, at bats, runs, hits, doubles, RBIs, extra-base hits and total bases.

Angels Hall of Famer, 1979 MVP and current Rockies hitting coach Don Baylor joins Jeff Biggs and talks about his time with the Angels, Gene Mauch and Gene Autry.

Drafted in the first round of the 2009 draft, outfielder Mike Trout instantly entrenched himself among the team’s best prospects. Opening the season at Single-A, he has done little to disappoint:

257 At Bats
.370 Batting Average (95 Hits)
6 Home Runs
35 RBI
59 Runs
34 Stolen Bases
.449 On Base Percentage
.553 Slugging Percentage
.420 Batting Average on Balls in Play