and then doubles off of Felix and KRod.  Go figure.  I think at times he gets caught up in taking pitches and just needs to turn it loose a bit.

Kielty did not look good in his at bat, however, I can understand the move.  Kielty is seeing the ball really good and has started the season off well.  He also has more experience against K-Rod.  Milhuse has not.

if you would walk him with the bases loaded

.. that is why his nick is BadVlad ..

this for years.  There's learning the hard way, and just being dumb.  Pitching to Vladdy, when he's a proven hitter, it dumb.  Learning the hard way is making a young guy prove himself before walking him.  

.. now there's a Catch-22 for ya .. if he argues, then he has confirmed that he is argumentative, - and if he doesn't argue, then we assume he agrees with the assertion that he is argumentative .. ;-(

i offer my analysis, much of it agreeing with nico's, and instead of commenting on any of the positives i mention, you'd rather try and find a way to instigate an argument.  

interesting.  

Last year when he sat out with shoulder soreness he ended up on the DL.

.. if we can get healthy and stay healthy enough to put the 'A-Team' out on the field .. that was my point in few posts above ..

.. the angels are "pushing the envelope" with those two guys .. one of these days the bubble may burst .. i'm just sayin .. :)

how has he not looked dominant?

4.1 IP, 1 H, 5 K, 1 BB

what more could you ask for?

.. and Crosby, and Harden, and .. {g} ..

.. {as much as some fans don't like to hear it} .. the return of DJ, sooner than later, might be a boost to the team .. Swisher can play backup CF but Todd Walker at first {on a regular basis} is a defensive liability ..

I misspoke about his power.  He will probably hit around 25 HRs or so with a full season; but he certainly has shown flashes of being able to go for 30+ (especially in his season with the Dodgers in '05).  If he gets 550-600 at-bats, he could certainly come close.

Chone is hugely overrated.  He's fast and can steal bases, but he's just not a good hitter, especially at the positions he plays (OF and 3B).  There are better alternatives out there.  Juan Rivera though, is a stud.  I would love to have him, I'm sure any team would.

.. when are they going to make a move?  They keep turning down trade offers from other teams because they don't want to give up any of those hot prospects .. or so it seems .. {i think} in part because most other teams are after the angels young pitching ..

He's consistently hit at every level up until his bad stats last year.  There is no reason to believe he can't duplicate his success.  He's not with the team because he is hurt; there is no doubt he will see regular time at 1B in a platoon with Stewart/Bradley/Kotsay/Swisher and Co. in the outfield and 1B when he is healthy.  Kotsay will certainly be healthier than he was; he was in some major pain the last two years.  Backs are tricky but he will be better.  Back surgery is not as risky as it used to be, especially with his particular injury.  Crosby has been a bust, but if he's healthy he will hit for power, no doubt about that.  He's hit at every level and should continue.  The Halos young guys for the most part aren't playing or haven't shown their true skill set yet.  Kendrick has yet to show any power, even though he's a great raw hitter.  Napoli has great power but can't hit for average.  Most of their young talent is stifled behind guys like Garret Anderson, Maicer Izturis, and Orlando Cabrera, who just aren't very good hitters.  Kotchman doesn't have much power either and isn't really a young prospect anymore.

Piazza has been a full-time catcher up until this year; I would expect his plate appearances to go up because he won't need much rest at all.  If he plays around 140-150 games, and odds are he will, you will see him get about 550 at bats and hit a little over 30 HRs.

Kotsay is a great contact hitter, and if healthy I would expect him to hit around .290.  His career OPS has gone down the last two years because of health related issues; otherwise, from his age, he should be hitting at around his career peak right now.  I would expect him to hit at an OPS+ clip of around 110 when he gets back, which is in fact very good for a CF.  Back surgery is a big deal, but when you consider that Kotsay was in such pain during the last two years that he could hardly get out of bed, I think we can safely say that despite the downsides of surgery he will undoubtedly be better off now.

Shannon Stewart, also a guy who is undervalued based on his health the last few years, is now finally healthy, should be at around his career OPS (he's only 33 and has had 7 seasons of 110+ OPS+, so he's a capable athlete).

Crosby cannot stay on the field.  If he could however, I would expect him to show 20+ HR power.  He did this in his rookie season and his minor league stats back this up.  Same with DJ, more than capable of hitting for decent power based on his extrapolating his past performance and minor league statistics.

Garret Anderson has had two wonderful seasons ('02 and '03), a decent season (way back in '95), and a whole lot of mediocre seasons (OPS+ consistently at around 100).  His most generous projection would be to post an OPS+ of around 105, and he is the Angels' cleanup hitter.  He is a very overrated player, always has been.  GA is well past his prime, and even then, he only surpassed 30 HRs once.  He won't do it this year, and I expect him to hit maybe 20 HRs this year.  Shannon Stewart is a far better option in LF based on his OPS numbers.

Napoli is very good.  I would expect him to keep right at his OPS+ of 115 last season.  His minor league stats seem to indicate that would be about right.  Kendrick is also good, but has yet to show the prowess of hitting that he demonstrated in the minors.  If he develops though, watch out, he will be a legitimate stud.  He hasn't shown much power at the major league level yet.  Rivera will be a dangerous hitter as well.  The thing about Rivera though is he also hits for average better than most of our guys.  He and Napoli are the two best hitters secondary to Vlad.  Vlad is Vlad.  But of those 5 you mentioned, I only see Napoli, Rivera, and Vlad as legitimate hypothetical 30 HR threats.  Kendrick hasn't shown 30 HR power at any level yet, and only averaged about 1 HR per 60 at bats at the major league level.

entitled, "Why the A's get no respect?"

i just thought it was interesting that it was the headline before the 3rd game of a 4 game series. Even if they win tonight they might not take the series. :)

Obviously the bigger-market "LA" Angels have been "anointed" for media love by the media darlings; let's go out and give'em a good ol' country whuppin !!