Angels need offense for second-half AL West race

Baseball Betting Lines

07/15/2010 -

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -After Torii Hunter spent the past 48 hours shaking hands, hosting parties and generally serving as the Angels' unofficial host of the All-Star game, the Los Angeles outfielder was more than ready to get back to his day job.

``I had about 30 family members here, and they don't believe in sleep,'' Hunter said. ``I was up at 7 in the morning every day. I thought this was the All-Star break, man.''

While the All-Star festivities were a big success, the Angels' quest for a fourth straight AL West title could be in trouble if Hunter and his teammates don't get it going soon. The Angels, who open the second half at home with a four-game series against Seattle, lost six of seven leading into the break, getting outscored 44-14 on a trip to Chicago and Oakland.

``Hopefully guys weren't even watching the game,'' Hunter said Tuesday night after going 0 for 2 at Angel Stadium. ``Hopefully they were just relaxing on the beach, taking a step back from the game, and getting ready to come back.''

Los Angeles entered the break at 47-44, trailing first-place Texas by 4 1/2 games in the AL West. The deficit would have been even worse if the Rangers hadn't lost four straight to lowly Baltimore before the break.

Hunter is the Angels' clubhouse leader, but he also has been the most potent offensive force in a lineup that could use a little more pop - either through improved efforts or a trade.

After Los Angeles led the majors in multiple offensive categories for long stretches of last season, the bats aren't helping out a solid starting rotation. The Angels fielded a lineup with nine .300 hitters in August last season, but nobody on their current roster is hitting .300.

``We have to all come together,'' said Hunter, batting .298 with 15 homers and 62 RBIs. ``Some guys need to step up. I need to step up. We can make it happen. Every team has that dry spell. We had it in the last week, but we can get back.''

The Angels have won five of the past six division titles, but this season hasn't seemed terribly promising for a lineup that still hasn't recovered from the offseason departure of leadoff hitter Chone Figgins and slugger Vladimir Guerrero.

So far, the Angels' season has been most memorable for two reasons: The All-Star game, and one of the wackiest serious injuries in baseball history.

Kendry Morales, the Angels' slugging Cuban first baseman, was lost for the year when he broke his leg jumping on home plate after a game-ending grand slam against Seattle on May 29.

The injury will go down in sports infamy, but it isn't making the Angels laugh just yet.

``The break came at a good time,'' said ace Jered Weaver, who made his first All-Star game but wasn't allowed to pitch because he had been on the mound last Sunday in Oakland. ``The injury to Kendry hurt us from a lot of standpoints. A lot of guys are playing more than they normally would have, so hopefully the break gave everybody a chance to get recharged.''

Catcher Mike Napoli has filled in capably at first base for Morales, producing 14 homers and 37 RBIs. Others haven't been so sharp: Veteran slugger Bobby Abreu is batting just .257 with 10 homers and 47 RBIs, while Hideki Matsui has been mostly unimpressive in his first season on the West Coast. The reigning World Series MVP is batting just .252 with mediocre power numbers as the replacement for Guerrero, who rebounded to make the AL All-Star team with Texas.

Manager Mike Scioscia knows the Angels likely need reinforcements on offense to keep up with the Rangers, who dramatically improved their pitching by acquiring Cliff Lee from Seattle. Yet Los Angeles has never been a team to loot its farm system for a desperate postseason run, and general manager Tony Reagins seems unlikely to change that philosophy.

``Our lineup needs to get deeper,'' Scioscia said. ``If there's someone out there who can make us deeper, Tony is going to act on it. The offensive end obviously has been a concern.''

Scioscia credits his starting pitching for the Angels' ability to ``hold our heads above water.'' Indeed, all five starters in his solid rotation have won at least six games, with Weaver (8-5, 3.20 ERA), newcomer Joel Pineiro (9-6, 3.95) and Ervin Santana (8-7, 3.76) all posting strong numbers.

``We can get it together,'' Hunter said. ``It's still July. This team knows what time it is.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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