Clips (April 27, 2015)
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April 27, 2015 Page 1 of 28 Clips (April 27, 2015) April 27, 2015 Page 2 of 28 Today’s Clips Contents FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES (Page 3) Matt Joyce's slump ends but Angels lose to Texas Angels let ninth-inning lead slip away, lose to Rangers, 5-4, in 11th FROM THE OC REGISTER (Page 5) How accountability can be thwarted by unions Angels Notes: Hector Santiago walks a tightrope Angels' Matt Joyce breathes a sigh of relief as he ends his 0-for-26 slump Erick Aybar doesn't field, Joe Smith doesn't make pitches and Angels lose to Rangers in 11 innings Final: Angels lose rollercoaster game to Rangers Is Joyce's past good enough to keep him in the Angels' lineup? FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 12) With Street taking day off, Smith can't get final out Angels waiting on Hamilton-trade-to-Texas announcement Scioscia recalls Rangers' Beltre as 15-year-old phenom FROM THE ESPN (Page 15) Hamilton trade offers statistical hope FROM THE LA DAILY NEWS (Page 18) Los Angeles Angels can’t close out Texas Rangers, lose 5-4 in 11th inning Angels’ offense struggling, but Calhoun doing his part FROM FOX SPORTS WEST (Page 20) Week ahead for Angels: Six games in the Bay Area FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (Page 20) Rangers trade gives Hamilton chance at getting life, career back in order FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Page 24) Angels waste Trout's 2-run HR in 11-inning loss to Rangers In dealing Josh Hamilton, Angels will close an odd, expensive chapter April 27, 2015 Page 3 of 28 FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES Matt Joyce's slump ends but Angels lose to Texas By ZACH HELFAND After he rounded first base safely for the first time in eight games, Matt Joyce put his hands on his helmet, then opened his palms to the sky and looked upward. His misery at the plate had finally ended. He'd hit a single. On first base, Joyce took a big breath, then exhaled. Teammates celebrated. "I got that ball for you," third base coach Gary DiSarcina teased him. Angels want Josh Hamilton to be playing for someone Until the Angels' 5-4 loss to the Texas Rangers in 11 innings Sunday, Joyce had endured the longest hitting slump of his career. It spanned eight games and 26 at-bats, both career highs. The eighth-inning hit bumped his batting average up 15 points, to .140. "I haven't exactly been tearing the cover off the ball," said Joyce, the Angels' right fielder. With the trade of Josh Hamilton to the Rangers nearing completion, there is no replacement in waiting. Joyce is the Angels starter in right field. Manager Mike Scioscia has given him time to discover his swing. But, especially if Hamilton does not return, the Angels can use a spark. Even before Hamilton reported a relapse in his battle with substance abuse, the Angels anticipated a need for outfield help. The team was interested enough in Joyce to trade away Kevin Jepsen, who anchored the seventh inning last season and helped transform the Angels bullpen into one of the league's best, to the Tampa Bay Rays. Before the swoon, he had hits in five of his last 16 at-bats. Then, on April 17, he began a spiral. His timing was off, he said. He was late, so he overcompensated and rushed. He couldn't find the right tweaks. Angels let ninth-inning lead slip away, lose to Rangers, 5-4, in 11th "Sometimes it's a tough game," Joyce said. "It seems like you try everything, and you put in so much time and effort and work, it gets to be frustrating. It gets to be hard to swallow and accept it, and hard to keep showing up and grinding it out." Joyce slid down the order, but kept his starting spot. Scioscia has avoided putting a timeframe for Joyce to find his wing. "You have to certainly give Matt enough of a leash," Scioscia said. "Matt's going to hit," he added. "He can hit. He'll figure it out." Joyce called the support "awesome." Then, a few days ago, Joyce said, he started feeling more comfortable. He spoke with Albert Pujols and worked with the coaches to chip away at his mechanical problems. April 27, 2015 Page 4 of 28 The hit, he said, was "a relief. Like, oh God, finally I got a hit." It also came at an important time in the game. The score was tied, 2-2, and the Angels had a runner on base. The hit helped load the bases for a Johnny Giavotella go-ahead single, which the Angels squandered in the ninth inning. Joyce said he hopes he has turned a corner. Scioscia said the failure at the plate is conspicuous because it came at the beginning of the year, when one slump can torpedo a batting average. "You're naked at the beginning of the season," Scioscia said. "Everything's out there. If you're struggling, there's no hiding it." If Joyce is unable to stabilize, the Angels have some limited options. On the 25-man roster, there is Collin Cowgill and Grant Green. Cowgill, though, is batting .184 in 38 at-bats and Green has only five at-bats. They could also recall Efren Navarro from triple A. For now, Joyce has the confidence of the team. After the game, Joyce stood in the tunnel outside the Angels clubhouse. Scioscia walked out, smiled and gave him a pat on the back. Angels let ninth-inning lead slip away, lose to Rangers, 5-4, in 11th By ZACH HELFAND KEY MOMENT: In the 11th inning, Leonys Martin lifted a Jose Alvarez fastball just over the right-field wall to put the Rangers, who had trailed by a run entering the ninth inning, ahead 4-3. AT THE PLATE: The Angels had 15 hits but left 14 runners on base. Down, 2-0, in the seventh inning, Mike Trout hit a two-run home run to tie the score, and Johnny Giavotella followed with a run-scoring single in the eighth to put the Angels head, 3-2. Kole Calhoun, who was three for six, stayed hot. At one point, he had five consecutive hits, dating to his last game. C.J. Cron had hits in all four at-bats, a career high, and Matt Joyce ended a hitless streak at 26 at-bats with a hit in the eighth inning. ON THE MOUND: With Huston Street resting after three consecutive appearances, Joe Smith came in for the ninth inning. He had no trouble with the first two batters, but gave up three singles in a row. The last, from Mitch Moreland, was enough to drive in pinch-runner Delino DeShields to tie the score. Starter Hector Santiago battled command issues for all of his 5 1/3 innings. His six walks were a career high, and he hit a batter with the bases loaded in the second inning, but limited the damage to two runs, one earned. IN THE FIELD: With two outs in the second inning, Santiago induced what appeared to be an inning- ending pop fly. But Erick Aybar dropped the ball, which extended the inning. The error led to a run. In the 11th inning, another Aybar error with two outs led to the Rangers' fifth run. Angels Manager Mike Scioscia called Aybar's performance "uncharacteristic." ON THE BASES: After advancing to third base after right fielder Shin-Soo Choo bobbled a drive off the wall, Cron got caught napping. He was picked off third base by catcher Carlos Corporan. Cron was initially ruled safe, but the call was overturned after a review. April 27, 2015 Page 5 of 28 BYE, BYE: Rangers Manager Jeff Banister was ejected in the eighth inning after disputing an unusual ruling. While chasing down a fly ball in foul territory, Calhoun was prevented from catching the ball by the outstretched arms of a spectator. A review, though, overturned the call and the ruling was fan interference, meaning the batter, Elvis Andrus, was called out. Banister argued and was tossed, as was the spectator. UP NEXT: Right-hander Jered Weaver (0-2, 5.24 ERA) will face Oakland and right-hander Sonny Gray (2- 0, 2.12) Tuesday at 7 p.m. at O.co Coliseum. TV: FS West; Radio: 830, 1220. FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER How accountability can be thwarted by unions BY JOHN PHILLIPS Everyone knows California is a deep-blue state where Democrats call the shots, and labor unions reign supreme; but every once in a while, a particularly gross example of the unions’ unmitigated dominance can shock even me. On a recent broadcast of my KABC/AM 790 radio show, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan stopped by to chat about his new book, “The Mayor: How I Turned Around Los Angeles After Riots, An Earthquake and the OJ Simpson Trial.” During that appearance, the former mayor dropped a bomb: “When somebody is hired by the city, it’s impossible to fire them, no matter how incompetent they are.” I followed up by asking about cases in which he was actually successful at getting rid of a bad apple and how hard it was. Riordan responded, “It was expensive and hard. I essentially told my staff, ‘I want to get rid of that person, you find a way, and you have one month to make it happen.’ And they would. But sometimes you’d have to end up giving [the employee] a couple of hundred thousand dollars.