Angel down in the outfield and in the bullpen

A three-game sweep of the AAA Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres over the weekend and a win against the San Francisco Giants Monday night doesn't necessarily inspire confidence - the Angels are far from a good team, despite a record over .500[33-29].

Now, Angels' centerfielder Torii Hunter will likely be out a several games - he bruised his ribs after slamming into a wall Monday night in San Francisco.

If he is out for a prolonged period of time - it will be a major blow to the team.

'Spiderman' has earned his keep as the face of the Halos franchise in 2009 - making spectacular catches and it looks like he is having a career year at the plate.


I tend to think participating in the World Baseball Classic maybe a curse for pitchers in the Major Leagues - just look at Jake Peavy [out for a month], Roy Oswalt [down year], Joel Hanrahan [lost his job as a closer], Matt Lindstrom [not very good so far], J.J. Putz [out with an injury], et al.

Now set-up ace and WBC participant Scot Shields is out for the year and with his prolonged struggles two years ago, his implosion this year and the number of innings he has pitched – it isn’t unreasonable to think he may done as the lights-out set-up guy Angels fans expect to see on a regular basis.