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August 7, 2015 of 27

Clips

(August 7, 2015)


Today’s Clips Contents FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES (Page 3)

Albert Pujols, Clayton Kershaw team up for charity

It has been 20 years since the Angels' biggest collapse FROM THE OC REGISTER (Page 7)

Happy 24th birthday, Mike Trout: As a gift, here are 24 feats by the Angels star

The Angels' platoon plan: Four guys in two spots

On deck: Orioles at Angels, Friday, 7 p.m. FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 13)

Cowart's roller-coaster ride stabilizing at last

Pujols shares game's fundamentals with campers

Angels to host O's in matchup of playoff contenders FROM THE LA DAILY NEWS (Page 17)

Ex-Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski could be a perfect fit for Angels

Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney is proving he belongs with each start FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Page 21)

Orioles-Angels Preview

FROM FOX SPORTS (Page 22)

Trout has added yet another skill


FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES Albert Pujols, Clayton Kershaw team up for charity BY BILL SHAIKIN As Albert Pujols' foundation celebrated its 10th birthday this year, the Angels' first baseman wanted to broaden its reach. The foundation is well established in St. Louis, where the slugger played for more than a decade before joining the Angels, but less so in Southern California. The Pujols Family Foundation works to help children and families living with Down syndrome in St. Louis and Southern California, and organizes humanitarian missions to the Dominican Republic. Get news and notes on all the Dodgers matchups >> When foundation executives noticed that Kershaw's Challenge -- the foundation of Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw -- had expanded to support a pediatric orthopedic hospital in the Dominican, they approached Kershaw about a partnership. The result: wiffle ball. Pujols and Kershaw have launched a joint fundraising drive for their foundations, with two grand prize winners getting to play wiffle ball with the two stars at Angel Stadium next month. The minimum donation for the raffle is $10; other prizes are available. "It's kind of the perfect storm in L.A.," said Todd Perry, executive director of the Pujols Family Foundation. "Dodger blue and Angel red, hitter and pitcher, both MVPs and Hall-of-Fame-caliber players that are deeply involved with their charities." Details are available at omaze.com/experiences/wiffleball.

It has been 20 years since the Angels' biggest collapse BY MIKE DIGIOVANNA It was 20 years ago this week that Gary DiSarcina, then an All-Star shortstop for the Angels, suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb sliding into second base against the Seattle Mariners, an injury that might have triggered one of baseball's greatest collapses. Though the Angels lost that day — Aug. 3, 1995 — they held an 11-game lead in the American League West, one they built by winning 17 of 20 games after the All-Star break. DiSarcina was batting .317 and providing reliable defense when he got hurt, and when he returned seven weeks later, the entire lead was gone and the red-hot Mariners stood atop the division.


"If this team can't survive the loss of a No. 9 hitter," DiSarcina said at the time, "maybe we're not as good as we thought we were." Wasn't that the truth? The Angels endured a pair of nine-game losing streaks in DiSarcina's absence before pulling out of a deep funk to win their last five games and force a one-game playoff in Seattle for the AL West title. Waiting for them in the Kingdome was Randy Johnson, a 6-foot-10 left-hander who threw a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts in a 9-1 victory that ended one of the most promising Angels seasons in years. What happened? Five players from that Angels club — DiSarcina, pitcher Chuck Finley, outfielder Tim Salmon, infielder Rex Hudler and reliever Troy Percival — and manager Marcel Lachemann take a painful look back: Power surge The Angels began a strike-shortened 1995 season in late April with a mix of veterans (Finley, DiSarcina, Mark Langston, Lee Smith, Chili Davis, Tony Phillips) and promising youngsters (Salmon, Percival, Jim Edmonds, J.T. Snow). Garret Anderson was recalled from triple A in early June, and the team caught fire in mid-July amid a Midwest heat wave that killed hundreds. The Angels opened the second half with a four-game sweep in old Tiger Stadium, amassing 54 hits, nine of them homers, the start of a 20-game stretch in which they outscored opponents, 162-77. They soared from a first-place tie at the break to an 11-game lead on Aug. 2. Salmon: "We were just crushing the ball. We were clicking on all cylinders." Percival: "We were walking up the tunnel after we won a bunch of games in a row and somebody yelled, 'It's official, we're good!' I was like, 'OK, we're doing something special here.' " DiSarcina: "In early August, I was looking at the AL West title banners in right-center field, and they had three of them, for 1979, 1982 and 1986. We had an 11-game lead and I was thinking, 'Wouldn't it look good to have a 1995 banner up there?' In a matter of 50 days, [the lead] was gone." Deal or no deal As good as the Angels looked, they lacked an ace starter. All signs pointed to Toronto right-hander David Cone, who was 9-6 with a 3.38 earned-run average through July. Finley: "We were playing the Blue Jays and David said it was a done deal, that he was going to play for us. They were going to make the trade while they were playing us." Not quite. Toronto wanted the Angels' top rookies, Percival and Anderson, and then-General Manager Bill Bavasi refused to yield. Cone went to the New York Yankees, and the Angels made a deal with the Chicago White Sox to get Jim Abbott, who was good (5-4, 4.15 ERA) but not great down the stretch.


Salmon: "Everyone was hoping we would get Cone. He was the big, premier guy, and everyone was saying if we get him, it's over. The bargaining chips were G.A. and Percy. I would love to have Cone, but not for those two guys. But looking back, I promise you, we would have snapped those nine-game losing streaks with Cone in the rotation." Thumbs down For all the power the Angels had, they missed the slap-hitting DiSarcina. Four shortstops combined to hit .210 with 13 runs batted in and eight errors in 44 games in his absence. Hudler: "He was our leader. He was very steady and got hits at the right time. We used to drive to the park together. The day he got hurt, I said, 'DiSar, just stay healthy.' So he thinks I jinxed him." DiSarcina: "It was a totally helpless and hopeless feeling being on the sideline, seeing guys try to do the job you know you can do." Salmon: "We went from ruling the world, doing everything right, to running out of gas. We lost our confidence, our swagger." Slip 'n slide The Angels weathered DiSarcina's loss for two weeks and had a 10 1/2-game lead on Aug. 15, but they went into a tailspin, losing 29 of their final 43 games. An offense that averaged 6.2 runs a game through Aug. 15 averaged 3.9 runs the rest of the way. A rotation of Finley, Langston, Abbott, Brian Anderson and Shawn Boskie combined to go 10-24 with a 6.35 ERA. The Angels fell into an endless rut of falling behind early, and the bullpen buckled. The Mariners welcomed injured center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. back and went 22-8 from Aug. 24 to Sept. 26. Percival: "If we hit, we didn't pitch. If we pitched, we couldn't hit. We went from world-beaters offensively to not scoring runs at all, and if we did, we gave up four or five runs in the first inning." DiSarcina: "Everyone tried to hit a three-run homer with no one on base. The pitchers tried to throw no-hitters instead of letting their talent play out." The low points were the nine-game losing streaks from Aug. 25 to Sept. 3, when the Angels were outscored, 71-28, and Sept. 13-23, when they were outscored, 57-27, and went 75 innings without a lead. Hudler: "That's the most pain I've ever felt as a player in my life. … We would look at each other, shake our heads, stay after the game for hours, come back the next day all fired up, and things wouldn't work." Lachemann: "If there's anything I would have done differently, I would have tried to get them to relax a little more."


Hudler: "Not that we needed a cheerleader, but Lach was angry, mad, and so were we. We needed someone to relieve that tension." Recovery run Three games behind the Mariners with five to play, Finley won, 2-0, at Seattle on Sept. 27. The Angels closed the regular season with a four-game sweep of Oakland at home to pull even with the Mariners. They seemed to regain their swagger as they left for Seattle. Lachemann: "Teams with lesser makeup probably would have ended up eight behind, but they battled. I have nothing but respect for them." DiSarcina: "We walked to the team buses and there were thousands of fans out there screaming, yelling. I remember that feeling of pride. We still had a chance." Hudler: "We believed we were going to beat [Randy Johnson]. We had all the momentum." 'Big Unit' rules It took one at-bat — Phillips' infield popup — in the playoff against Johnson, who was 18-2 with 294 strikeouts, for the Angels to lose that momentum. DiSarcina: "I was hitting second and Tony said, 'You better get your … ready. He's blowing.' Randy's first pitch to me, I never saw it. I heard it go by me for a strike. 'Pfffft!' We were in trouble." Langston kept the Angels in the game, giving up one run through six innings. But Seattle loaded the bases in the seventh, and Luis Sojo's broken-bat squibber got by Snow at first and rolled down the line. Two runs scored as Salmon fished the ball out from under the bullpen bench and threw home. Langston cut off the throw and threw wildly past catcher Andy Allanson as a third run scored. Sojo rounded third and slid safely into the plate for a 5-1 lead, upending Langston, who remained on his back for about 10 seconds as the crowd went wild. "The whole game flashed before my eyes right there," Langston said. Finley: "I'm watching guys round bases and thinking, 'Did that thing go into a storm drain, or what?' You couldn't have taken a putter and lay that thing better down the line." Seattle added four more runs in the eighth, and Johnson, the future Hall of Famer, ended the game with his fourth strikeout of Salmon, the Kingdome erupting and fans pouring onto the field. Salmon: "I still see highlights of Randy throwing his arms in air after that strikeout. That was my lowest feeling of dejection. And I had a good season."


Postscript The Mariners beat the Yankees in a thrilling division series before losing to Cleveland in the AL Championship Series. Their historic comeback and first playoff run invigorated their fan base and helped save baseball in Seattle, where retractable-roof Safeco Field was soon built. Hudler: "I'll never forget walking to the bus in the Kingdome. All the people were gone and my ears were still ringing — they did for a couple of days, because that was loudest venue I've ever played in. I thought, 'Good for them.' They talked about contracting that team, moving them to Tampa Bay … Safeco Field is there because of that one playoff win. We got that stadium built for those guys." Seven years later, Anderson and Percival helped the Angels win the 2002 World Series, Anderson providing the decisive three-run double and Percival the save in a 4-1 Game 7 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Salmon: "Wouldn't you know, the two guys who were the trade chips in 1995 were the reason we won Game 7. I look back and say, 'Wow, Billy Bavasi probably took a lot of heat for not making that trade,' but it was a godsend in securing two players who were key in 2002. Winning the World Series definitely put to bed any of the demons in the closet from 1995."

FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Happy 24th birthday, Mike Trout: As a gift, here are 24 feats by the Angels star BY MARCIA SMITH One of the very few things Mike Trout does like other ordinary humans is age. The Angels All-Star center fielder and reigning American League MVP will have a birthday Friday. This makes him just 24 years old, still younger than most rookie ballplayers but already more accomplished through four-plus prodigious, productive, extraordinary seasons than most players in the history of the game. His ascension to becoming the game’s best player has happened quickly, which is fitting for the 6-foot-2, 230-pound speedster who has been Statcast-clocked zooming 20.8 mph on his trip from second base to score in 6.8 seconds in last month’s All-Star Game. Trout was even born quickly, recalls his father Jeff, of his son’s first recorded head-first slide on Aug. 7, 1991, at Newcomb Hospital in Vineland, N.J. “We got to the hospital at 4 in the morning and he was out by 7,” he said. So much of what Trout has achieved by the age of 24 has left spectators thrilled and historians rewriting the record books.


Check out the slideshow for a list of 24 amazing feats and ballplayer-bucket-list-worthy accomplishments by Trout, who will play in his 598th career game Friday night at Angel Stadium. 1. Won a league award: Trout already has an extensive collection, including the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year, three AL Silver Slugger Awards and the 2014 AL MVP. After two season as AL MVP runner-up to Detroit Miguel Cabrera, Trout, at the age of 23 years, 52 days, became the youngest to win the award last season. He became the first player to be voted a unanimous winner of both the ROY and MVP awards. 2. Hit a grand slam: Trout has done this three times, the most recent one blasted July 27, over the right-center field wall at Angel Stadium and into the “Trout Net” sign held by fan Jonathan Plaza, 25, of Santa Ana. 3. Got his own cheering section: Yeah, it’s called Angel Stadium, but more specifically, since 2013, the “Trout Farm” in left field, Section 101, is where fans get ballcaps with a protrouding trout (fish), bang together inflatable yellow “Fish Stix,” and like most of the ballpark, wear the top-selling No. 27 Trout jersey. 4. Hit for the cycle: On May 21, 2013 against Seattle, Trout became the youngest player in AL history – 21 years, 9 months, 16 days – to hit a single, double, triple and home run in the same game. 5. Made the AL All-Star team: Try 4 for 4, in every full season he has played. Trout has made four consecutive All-Star Games, garnering the first three selections before turning 23. Only three other AL outfielders – Mickey Mantle, Al Kaline and Ken Griffey Jr. – could match that. 6. Became All-Star Game MVP: Trout, this July in Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, became the first player to earn MVP in back-to-back. He also completed a “first at-bat cycle” in All-Star Games with a single in his first at-bat in 2012, a double in 2013, a triple in 2014 and a lead-off home run in 2015. 7. Had the winning hit: Trout has three, all home runs, the most recent coming July 17 in the bottom of the ninth, with two outs, for the victory over the Boston Red Sox. 8. Made the cover of Sports Illustrated: That seems like long ago, in 2012, when he stood, bat on shoulder, behind the words, “The Supernatural.” Add that to the covers of ESPN The Magazine and Men’s Health and the façade of Angel Stadium. 9. Collected 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases: He belted his 100th career home run April 17 at Houston, becoming the youngest player – 23 years, 251 days old – to have 100 homers and 100 stolen bases (102). Trout leads the majors with 32 home runs this season, his fourth season with 25-plus ome runs, and has 130 career homers. 10. Endorsed a product in his own national commercial: Trout appeared last season in Subway ads and this season pitches his favorite Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki pregame meal. 11. Made the postseason: Trout and the Angels ended a four-year playoff drought last season, facing Kansas City for a three-game divisional series. Trout became the youngest Angel (23 years, 59 days_ to homer in the postseason, connecting for a solo blast in the first inning of Game 3 to give the Angels their only lead of the series.


12. Robbed a home run: Though he has yet to win a Gold Glove, Trout most famously stole a home run from Baltimore’s J.J. Hardy with a leaping grab well over the right-center fence at Camden Yards on June 28, 2012. 13. Made $1 million: He was a millionaire before the 2014 season, if you count endorsement deals with Nike, Subway, Bodyarmor and Super Pretzel, among others. But he hit a seven-figure salary when the Angels renewed his contract for $1 million for the 2014 season. 14. Made superstar money: The Angels locked Trout up with a six-year, $144.5-million contract extension in March 2014, and he celebrated with a 56-ounce rib-eye dinner at The Ranch in Anaheim. By the way, Trout could be a free agent when he’s 29. 15. Bought a luxury automobile: Trout treated himself to a black, AMG-customized Mercedes CLK in 2012 to add to the fleet that began with a Toyota Tacoma pickup and has since grown by two Chevys, including a 2015 Silverado Midnight Edition Z71 truck, for being named 2014 All-Star Game MVP. 16. Got his own giant bobblehead: Operation “Big Fish,” as it was called by the Angels marketing department, unveiled a 6-8 ½, 190-pound polyresin and fiberglass bobblehead of Trout on July 24 in the Music Garden at Angel Stadium. 17. Met Derek Jeter: Trout shared the spotlight with one of his boyhood idols and got to talk with the New York Yankees shortstop at the 2014 All-Star Game in Minneapolis. As a boy growing up in Millville, N.J., Trout had a Jeter poster on his bedroom wall and wanted to be a shortstop. When Jeter retired, many believe Trout is “the face of baseball.” 18. Crushed a golf ball: Trout won the long-drive contest with a 346-yard tee shot at the 13th Albert Pujols Celebrity Golf Classic on May 11 at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach. He said he hopes he can one day play a round at Augusta National. 19. Pitched a sports drink: “It’s something, as a little kid, that I always wanted to do,” said Trout, a partner in Bodyarmor, which this season became the official sports drink of the Angels. 20. Outlasted a swarm of bees: Yes, a swarm of bees chased players from field and fans from their seats at Tempe Diablo Stadium this spring before an Angels Cactus League game against the Royals. Trout was unfazed, hitting his first home run of the spring in that victory. 21. Saw a tornado: A “weather geek,” according to his father, Trout stood outside to watch a tornado 20 miles away in 2011 in Arkansas while playing for the Angels double-A Travelers. “He’d probably be a stormchaser if he weren’t playing baseball,” Jeff Trout said. 22. Took batting practice…with an NFL player: An avid NFL fan and Philadelphia Eagles season ticket holder, Trout met one of his favorite players, Houston defensive end J.J. Watt, before a game last week at Minute Maid Park in Houston. “I wouldn’t want to be a running back getting hit by him, that’s for sure,” Trout said.


23. Reeled in a big fish: While on a 2013 fishing trip with his family off the coast of Key West, Fla., Trout hooked a grouper that was estimated to weigh between 500-550 pounds. Fish story? Knowing Trout, probably not. 24. Set career highs: “I’ve always got some goals to do better each season,” Trout said. He’s coming off a 2014 in which he set career-highs with 36 home runs and a league-leading 111 RBI. He’s projected to top his home run mark this season.

The Angels' platoon plan: Four guys in two spots BY JEFF FLETCHER ANAHEIM – Shane Victorino has been on both sides of the platoon question, literally and figuratively. Victorino, who said that strict adherence to left-right matchups is “sometimes a crock,” is now squarely in the middle of that issue. He is part of the Angels’ plan to use platoons to milk offense out of two of their least productive spots in the lineup. Acquired along with left-handed hitters David Murphy and David DeJesus last week, Victorino understands that he’s with the Angels mostly to play just against left-handed pitchers. That doesn’t mean he likes it. “Sometimes I just go, ‘Wow, that’s interesting,’ how much (matchups) are implemented in today’s game,” Victorino said. “It never used to be like that.” For as much as Victorino said managers are now more driven than ever to seek platoon-advantages, he concedes that perhaps he was just oblivious to it before because he had been a switch-hitter for most of his career. He stopped hitting left-handed in August 2013 after suffering a left hamstring injury. Victorino tried to go back to switch-hitting this spring with the Boston Red Sox, but he abandoned the plan. Instead he hit only right-handed, and after he got hurt again, he returned to find the Red Sox planned to only use him against lefties. “It’s kind of a gut-check sometimes,” Victorino said. “I started the year as a right-handed hitter playing every day, but injuries took away from that. As times went on, you are viewed differently.” Despite Victorino’s objections, the numbers bear it out. He has hit .310 against lefties and .190 against righties this season. If Victorino can be that productive against lefties with the Angels, they’ll be thrilled. Last week’s trades gave them other options to face righties. Lacking production in left field and at a designated hitter, the Angels swung three trades in the week before the trading deadline to install platoons at both spots.


DeJesus was acquired to share left field with Victorino, and Murphy came over mostly to split the DH job with right-handed hitting C.J. Cron. Murphy can also play some left field when the DH spot is occupied, usually by Albert Pujols. Manager Mike Scioscia said it has been about a decade, to his memory, since the Angels were regularly operating strict platoons at two spots. With the exception of Cron, who hasn’t been in the big leagues long enough, the other players are all accustomed to being in this role. “The initial shock of it is the toughest part,” said DeJesus, who stopped playing against lefties in 2011 with the Oakland A’s. “But I’ve had four years doing it now, so I am comfortable with it.” Murphy has also been platooning for years, mostly with the Texas Rangers. This season, his first with the Cleveland Indians, was the first time that he has been in a strict platoon. Murphy has just 17 of his 253 plate appearances against lefties. “I think it’s very easy,” Murphy said. “Obviously everyone wants to play every day but I have been a part of a platoon all year. You try to take the positives out of everything. Baseball can be a grueling game over 162 games. You just try to take a physical or mental rest on the days you aren’t starting. If you are called on to pinch-hit, be ready for it. Otherwise, be ready to play when called upon.” The Angels’ new platoons have not worked so far. Murphy is 4 for 23, DeJesus is 1 for 18, and Victorino is 2 for 11. Cron is 4 for 18 since the deals, but he actually had his biggest hit against a righty when he was playing first base, while Pujols was the DH. Still, the team is hoping they will benefit simply by having the flexibility to get a platoon advantage more often. In the American League this season, hitters have had the platoon advantage 55 percent of the time. The Angels have had it only 49 percent of the time. That’s because most pitchers are right-handed, and most of the Angels’ everyday players – Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, David Freese, Johnny Giavotella and both catchers – are right-handed. Erick Aybar is their only switch-hitter. The only left-handed hitters who have seen significant action this year have been Kole Calhoun and Matt Joyce, who was hitting .178 before he went on the disabled list with a concussion last week. As a result of being so right-handed heavy, the Angels are 41-41 against right-handed starters, compared with 16-9 against lefties. “For balance, no doubt about it (more left-handed bats) is important,” Scioscia said. The numbers don’t lie. Hitters do better against pitchers throwing from the opposite side. But why? First is the ease in picking up the ball. A hitter with a platoon advantage sees the ball coming at him better, instead of having it almost come from behind his head. Also, most pitchers’ breaking balls go away from their arm side, which means the ball runs away from same-side hitters.


Left-handed pitchers are much tougher on left-handed hitters than righties on righties simply because of the volume. Because most pitchers are right-handed, right-handed hitters get used to seeing them from their first days playing baseball. The platoon advantage is not always significant for a hitter, but it can be a nice little boost in a lineup spot without an established, frontline starter. Yoenis Cespedes, for example, would have answered the prayers of the Angels and their fans. No matter that he hits right-handed. He’s good enough to play every day and be productive against righties and lefties. But the acquisition cost was too high for a player of Cespedes’ caliber. Instead, they are trying to piece it together, milking the most out of four players for two spots. “You do it any way you have to,” Scioscia said. “If you have one guy that’s productive, great. If you split it up, it helps you certainly during the course of the season to keep two guys fresh, to keep two guys productive. You do it however you can.”

On deck: Orioles at Angels, Friday, 7 p.m. BY HAYDEN KNUDSEN Where: Angel Stadium TV: Fox Sports West, 7 p.m. Did you know: The Angels have won eight of the last 11 season series against the Orioles. THE PITCHERS LHP ANDREW HEANEY (5-1, 1.97) Heaney has been exactly what the Angels rotation needed after losing two veteran starters to injury. The rookie has given up no more than two runs in any of his first seven starts. He is, however, coming off his shortest outing of the year when he gave up two runs in 51/3 innings against the Dodgers. Vs. Orioles: First game At Angel Stadium: 3-0, 2.08 RHP KEVIN GAUSMAN (2-2, 3.97) After starting the season in the bullpen, Gausman has made six starts and enjoyed some success, particularly of late. In his last two starts he has given up just two runs in 142/3 innings.


vs. Angels: 1-0, 3.86 At Angel Stadium: First game Loves to face: David DeJesus, 1 for 8 (.125) Hates to face: None UPCOMING MATCHUPS Saturday: Orioles RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (8-7, 4.04) vs. Angels RHP Garrett Richards (11-8, 3.46), 6 p.m., Fox Sports West Sunday: Orioles TBA vs. Angels TBA, 12:30 p.m., Fox Sports West

FROM ANGELS.COM

Cowart's roller-coaster ride stabilizing at last BY ALDEN GONZALEZ / MLB.COM ANAHEIM -- As the season progressed and the struggles endured, Brenton Del Chiaro, hitting coach for the Angels' Class A Advanced affiliate, began to receive the same text message two to three times a week: Can I come over? On the other end was third baseman Kaleb Cowart, the former top prospect whose stock had fallen so far he was now thinking about becoming a pitcher. The two shared the same apartment complex in Redlands, Calif., roughly 10 miles from the team's home ballpark in San Bernardino. And after games throughout April and May, Del Chiaro's living room became the place where Cowart spilled his guts. He talked about the pressure of living up to the hype, relived his two crippling years in Double-A, expressed anger over his demotion and lamented the Angels' decision to basically move on, trading for fellow third-base prospect Kyle Kubitza because they could no longer count on Cowart's progression. "It was two years built up that he just needed to unload," Del Chiaro said of Cowart. "There were times when I went 45 minutes without speaking a word. I just let him talk and talk." These days, Del Chiaro is the one frequently reaching out to Cowart after games. Usually it's with a brief text message, typically centered on the same theme: I'm proud of you.


Cowart is with Triple-A Salt Lake now, suddenly hitting like the guy the Angels fell in love with three years ago. His slash line through 205 plate appearances for the Bees is a robust .326/.400/.494. His at-bats are competitive, his rhythm and timing is on point -- his career is off life support. "Man," Cowart said, "I can't even put into words how good that feels." The resurgence began in Del Chiaro's living room, with simulated batting stances at 2 o'clock one morning. To fix Cowart, they had to go back to when the struggles began. Drafted 18th overall out of Cook High School in Adel, Ga., in 2010, Cowart put himself on the fast track in 2012, storming through both of the Angels' Class A levels with a .276/.358/.452 slash line. He earned an extended stay at Major League camp the following spring, batting .348, and the buzz in Arizona was that Cowart could've won an everyday job if he hadn't been 19 years old and behind several veterans. Then, for the next 26 months, Cowart stopped hitting. He batted .221/.279/.301 at Double-A Arkansas during the 2013 regular season, repeated the level, batted .223/.295/.324 in 2014, got demoted to Class A Advanced Inland Empire to begin 2015 and sported an uninspiring .207/.277/.350 slash line through his first 36 games in a hitter-friendly league. In between, Cowart temporarily gave up switch-hitting and explored basically every mechanical adjustment possible, at one point copying Jim Edmonds by not even lifting his front foot off the ground. "I know your Spring Training in 2013 was incredible," Del Chiaro told Cowart one night in late May. "What were you doing then?" Cowart stood up. "I'll show you." Del Chiaro noticed how separated his hands were from his body, how his leg kick was in sync with his swing, and wondered how much better Cowart could be if he wasn't so fixated on getting his front foot down early. "Do you have video?" Del Chiaro asked. Cowart opened up a laptop, immediately pulled up at-bats from the spring of 2013 and turned to Del Chiaro: "You know how many times I've watched this?" Cowart drove several balls to the warning track that spring and was told he'd get more power if he lowered the placement of his hands, so he did it. He was told about the importance of getting his foot down early, but it made him "super-stagnant and really stiff" at the plate, prompting a double toe tap that threw off his timing and engulfed him in a downward spiral. "The images were messed up in my head, and I didn't quite understand them," Cowart said. "I thought I had to be down before the ball came out of his hand, but if you watch a big league hitter hit, that's not how it works."


Cowart -- subservient, by his own admission -- never brought that video to a coach's attention until that fateful night in Del Chiaro's living room. The next afternoon, he implemented what he saw in batting practice and brought it into the ensuing game. "It exploded," Del Chiaro said. "And the look on his face of pure happiness and relief was just awesome to see, because he started smiling, he started having more fun and he started to see the success from all this hard work he was putting in." In a six-game stretch from June 4-8, Cowart amassed seven doubles, four walks and three strikeouts. Right around that time, David Freese missed a couple of games with a tight hamstring, Kubitza was called back up to the Major Leagues and a new third baseman was needed at Triple-A Salt Lake, so Cowart jumped two levels. "Timing is everything," said Angels assistant general manager Scott Servais, in charge of scouting and player development. "You have to be at the right place at the right time, and to Kaleb's credit, he took it and ran with it." Now, with Freese a couple of months away from free agency, Cowart is making a strong case for an everyday job in 2016. He's a 23-year-old excelling at Triple-A, on the doorstep of his first Major League callup. He is, through it all, on time. "When you struggle, you just try to do more," said Cowart, ranked 12th in the Angels' system by MLB.com. "You try to do more and you try to do more and you bury yourself in a hole. And finally, it got to the point where it didn't matter if I struggled anymore. People had already given up, and it was what it was. There wasn't any pressure anymore. It got off me, and I was ready to play. I quit worrying. I quit worrying about trying to do everything and just went out and played."

Pujols shares game's fundamentals with campers BY DAVID ADLER / MLB.COM ANAHEIM -- As a solitary cow plodded across the neighboring field behind him, Albert Pujols was throwing Wiffle balls to 10-year-olds at Orange High School on Thursday morning. Coach Pujols, as they called him, was spending the Angels' off-day teaching baseball at his ProCamp for more than 250 first- through eighth-graders. "I did this in St. Louis, I do this in the Dominican Republic," Pujols said. "Some of these kids, they never get the opportunity to say hello to me, or get an autograph, or talk baseball. To have an opportunity like this, it was something that I never had as a little boy, so I know how important it is to give back." Pujols patrolled the various instructional stations set up around the field, as participants practiced the different parts of the game. He showed one group how to field ground balls from a strong defensive stance, explaining that the first step should be toward the ball and the most important thing is to catch


the ball first. He showed another group how to keep weight on the back leg, to avoid jumping at the baseball and to keep the head down to drive through the ball. "All they want to do is ask, 'How can you get better to hit home runs?'" Pujols said, smiling. "I tell them, 'You can't think about hitting home runs -- all you need to think about is putting good, quality swings on it and the ball goes out of the ballpark.'" Pujols took photos with all of the groups, signed autographs and participated in a Q & A session with the full camp -- insisting on fielding more questions even after the program host was ready to wrap things up. Pujols talked about his passion for baseball and that "When you're born in the Dominican Republic, the first thing they give you is a glove and a ball." He told the campers that he was a shortstop growing up before being drafted as a third baseman; then, when Cardinals manager Tony La Russa asked the 21-year-old rookie in 2001 if he could play the outfield, he responded that he would play anywhere, because he just wanted to make the lineup. In his first All-Star-Game that year, Pujols recalled, he even played second base. The several hundred young players in attendance drank in every word. "This is what you play for -- you play to give back," Pujols said. "Help these kids, as much as you can, that want to be like you."

Angels to host O's in matchup of playoff contenders BY ALDEN GONZALEZ / MLB.COM The Angels will host the Orioles for the second half of their 2015 season series starting Friday at Angel Stadium, after the Angels took two of three games in Baltimore in mid-May. Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney, who was still in Triple-A during the clubs' first meeting, will start the series opener between the playoff contenders. It will be the rookie's first career start against the O's. Heaney was handed his first loss of the season by the Dodgers in his his last start, but he's allowed two runs or fewer in each of his first seven outings as an Angel since debuting on June 24, and he just won American League Rookie of the Month honors for July. The Orioles will send Kevin Gausman to the mound in the opener. Gausman earned his first win since returning to the rotation in his last outing, holding the Tigers to two runs over seven innings on Saturday. He beat the Angels in his one previous start against them. Three things to know about this game • The Orioles have won the last two season series against the Angels, but the Halos have won eight of the past 11.


• With righty Gausman on the mound, David DeJesus and David Murphy figure to get the nod at left field and designated hitter for the Angels, as they have three games in a row. • There's a chance Angels right-hander Jered Weaver will return to the rotation for Sunday's series finale.

FROM THE LA DAILY NEWS

Ex-Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski could be a perfect fit for Angels BY MARK WHICKER Arte Moreno loves the marketplace. He went big for Albert Pujols. He went big for Josh Hamilton. He went big for Carl Crawford but didn’t get him, so he went disastrously big for Vernon Wells. This identifies Moreno as a true cowboy on the streets of baseball’s Rock Ridge. He likes that, too. But so far he’s been all hat, no title. As Moreno’s Angels deal with a skeletal farm system and a toughening American League West, another free agent looms. Dave Dombrowski was running the Detroit Tigers but was released Tuesday. His contract was up at the end of the season. His team, which went from a 43-119 record in 2003 to an American League pennant in 2006 and is working on a four-year streak of playoff appearances, is now decaying. Dombrowski began the cleanup last week by trading ace David Price to Toronto. But while other traders were accepting generic goods for their stars, Dombrowski insisted on Daniel Norris, considered a Rookie of the Year candidate in April. In his Detroit debut, Norris got 22 outs and gave up four hits at Baltimore. Price becomes a free agent this fall, too, but Norris will be a Tiger for a while. This is Dombrowski’s specialty. He is the Habitat for Humanity director. He became the Florida Marlins’ first general manager in 1993. Four years later, they won the World Series. Then Dombrowskii was ordered to implode the club for financial reasons and he did. He traded rich players to hungry teams that had top prospects, and Dombrowskii knew just who he wanted. In 2003, with Dombrowski in Detroit, the Marlins won the World Series again.


Before that, Dombrowski was the GM in Montreal. He was first hired by Bill Stoneman, who was the Angels’ GM when they won the 2002 World Series and is the interim GM now. With the Expos, Dombrowski drafted Marquis Grissom, Charles Johnson and Rondell White. He left before the teardown was finished, but in 1994 Montreal had baseball’s best record at the time of the work stoppage. The Angels should make Dombrowski president, general manager, ex-officio Jefe, whatever title he wants. At 59, he is the most logical person to combine the two contradictory goals of the Angels and every other franchise: Win today and win tomorrow. There is the kneejerk concern about manager Mike Scioscia’s ability to work with Dombrowski, considering Scioscia is no less stubborn than the crank on a circa-1970 lawn mower. But the difference is Dombrowski’s track record. Jerry Dipoto, the GM who challenged Scioscia and lost, had no such resume. Dombrowski worked with Jim Leyland at Florida and Detroit and Buck Rodgers in Montreal. He can work with Scioscia. After all, Stoneman did. Dombrowski can read a spreadsheet. He just doesn’t need it to tell him what a ballplayer is. He grew up with the White Sox and, specifically, in the Bard’s Room at Comiskey Park, where Leyland, Tony LaRussa, Don Drysdale, Hawk Harrelson, and assorted coaches, broadcasters, scouts and baseball street people would gather for baseball seminars until night became morning. Dombrowski would be the designated driver for some of the more animated participants. Although he is immaculately coiffed and is adept at corporate-speak, he knows the game at its roots. He has drafted well and traded better. When the Marlins chose to rebuild and made Dombrowski deal from weakness, he got first baseman Derrek Lee from San Diego for Kevin Brown, got closer Braden Looper from St. Louis for Edgar Renteria, got starter Carl Pavano for Cliff Floyd, got Mike Lowell from the Yankees before that. Then he went to Detroit and preyed upon his Florida successors by relieving them of Miguel Cabrera. The price included Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller, two former first-round picks by Dombrowski’s staff. He got Price in a three-team deal that cost him center fielder Austin Jackson and pitcher Drew Smyly. Not cheap, but then Jackson brings up another triangle trade. He came to Detroit as Dombrowski sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees and Edwin Jackson to Arizona. Oh, and the Tigers also picked up Arizona rigthhander Maxwell M. Scherzer. There are other candidates for the Angels. Former scouting director Eddie Bane worked for Dombrowski in Detroit and sings his praises. Bud Black was the Angels’ pitching coach and then San Diego’s manager. He is available and sees the world as Scioscia does. Dombrowski is the most expensive option. He would take up more room. He is also the one who would generate the most rumbling conversations throughout baseball.


Which is why Arte Moreno, if he still believes in walking tall, will load his chamber.

Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney is proving he belongs with each start BY ROBER MORALES It was April 3 at Angel Stadium. Southpaw Andrew Heaney had just no-hit the Dodgers for 5 1/3 innings in a Freeway Series exhibition game. Afterward, he talked about how hopeful he was of making the Angels roster. Deep down, he knew he probably wouldn’t. Even with that gem, he finished the spring 1-2 with an ERA of 7.03 in six starts. To Triple-A Salt Lake City, Heaney went. He sucked it up, compiled a record of 6-2 with an ERA of 4.72 in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, and was recalled by the Angels in late June. All Heaney has done is go 5-1 with an ERA of 1.97 in seven starts for the Angels. He was recently named American League Rookie of the Month for July, when he went 4-0 with an ERA of 1.98. “Just in seeing him up here for the amount of starts he’s had, the one thing is just his confidence level is very, very high, much higher than it was in spring,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s able to make pitches and I think he’s very comfortable in the fact that he trusts his talent and he’s going to feel good about making a pitch and making a team go out there and hit it.” Angels catcher Chris Iannetta has noticed a couple of things. “I think his fastball command has been much better since spring; his ability to command arm-side with his fastball has been really good,” he said. “And then his slider has really developed into an out-pitch. In spring, we saw more of a strike pitch and he was still trying to find a feel for it.” That’s not to mention his mental approach. “He doesn’t get too far ahead of himself,” Iannetta said. “He just focuses on one pitch at a time and he realizes all he can do is just do his best to execute that pitch and hit the glove and then move on to the next one.” Heaney, who will start Friday night at home against Baltimore, was asked to take himself back to that moment in early April when he was told he was headed for the farm. “I was bummed out about wasting the opportunity to make the team,” said Heaney, who said he knew he hadn’t earned it. “At that time, I was 23 years old and I know that I have time. But with a new organization, I wanted to prove myself, I wanted to show what they got, feel like I could prove something to them, to everyone else, to myself.


“But it’s not like it was the end of my career. I knew that I had time to get it right and I knew that they were invested in me and what I was doing and what I could bring to the team whenever I was right. I knew that it was, OK, it’s time to take a step back and kind of, you know, get to work.” The pressure was on Heaney. He was traded from Miami to the Dodgers on Dec. 11. That same day, the Dodgers sent Heaney to the Angels for popular longtime second baseman Howie Kendrick. Heaney has blossomed under that burden. “I’m not a big numbers guy,” Heaney said. “I think you can always twist numbers to make it prove your point, prove against your point. I’m sure there’s some statistician that can go out there and prove that I’m beating the system right now and getting hard-hit balls right at people, whatever you want to say. “The numbers that matter are wins. Other than that, if I’m surprising myself? No, I know I can help a team win.” Heaney combines a low 90s sinking fastball with a nice slider, curve and changeup. He has 34 strikeouts and just seven walks in 45 2/3 innings. Put it all together, and he has shown well in just his second taste of The Show. He had five starts in 2014 in Miami and went 0-3 with a 5.83 ERA. The question is, can Heaney continue on his current path? “That’s what I tell all young guys, ‘Anybody can do it for a month,’ ” said Angels closer Huston Street, who has helped mentor Heaney. “A lot of people have. Do it for a year, do it for four years.” In Street’s mind, Heaney has the physical and mental makeup to be there for the long haul. “I think he will do it,” Street said. “I think his talent is right where it needs to be.” This is much more fun that being sent down to the minors. Heaney, now 24, is having the time of his life. As are his parents, Mark and Chris. “My dad is very ‘One day at a time,’ ” Heaney said. “He doesn’t get too big on like, runs, he knows baseball can be streaky sometimes. He’s happy for me. I think he just wants me to enjoy it. My mom loves it. She’s always texting me, asking me how it’s going, if I’m having fun, enjoying myself. “So, yeah, I think everybody appreciates it. But like I said, everybody understands how baseball is. It can be really frustrating sometimes.” Nothing frustrating about being 5-1 with a sub-2 ERA. HEANEY FILE Height: 6-2 Weight: 185 Age: 24


High School: Putnam City in Oklahoma City College: Oklahoma State Acquired: In a trade with the Dodgers for second baseman Howie Kendrick on Dec. 11. 2015 stats: 5-1, 1.97 ERA

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Orioles-Angels Preview The Los Angeles Angels envisioned upgrading their offense with three trades prior to the deadline, not an adjustment period that has led to an extended slump. In the meantime, the Baltimore Orioles have made headway in a tight wild-card race. Los Angeles looks to provide enough support for Andrew Heaney on Friday night as the rookie tries to help prevent the visiting Orioles from winning for the 10th time in 13 tries. The Angels (57-50) acquired Shane Victorino, David Murphy and David DeJesus last week, but Los Angeles is batting .188 while dropping seven of nine. Victorino (2 for 11), Murphy (4 for 23) and DeJesus (1 for 18) have contributed to the struggles. Los Angeles was 0-44 when trailing after eight innings until pinch-runner Taylor Featherston streaked home on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth of Wednesday's 4-3 win over Cleveland. C.J. Cron's two-run, two-out single tied it one batter earlier. "It's been a process," said Kole Calhoun, who homered. "We're right in the middle of a race right now. As soon as we can get jelled together and kind of start playing as a team, the sooner the better. But it's a good group of guys. It's all veteran guys who came in here. They've been around here before, know what it takes to be winning players. I don't think we're far off." Gerardo Parra has hit safely in four of five games since being acquired from Milwaukee prior to the deadline, but Baltimore (55-52) has mainly relied on Chris Davis during its surge. Davis hit a grand slam in a win over Tampa Bay on July 25 that began the 9-3 run, then hit another in the top of the 10th in Wednesday's 7-3 victory over Oakland. He's hit nine of his 28 homers with an OPS of 1.251 over his last 15. "When he's hot he carries the team," closer Zach Britton said. "Some guys get hot, but to get hot and carry the team is two different things. CD's doing that."


The Angels lead the wild-card race, but Baltimore has pulled to within two games. Heaney (5-1, 1.97 ERA) was still in the minors when they took two of three from the Orioles from May 15-17. Los Angeles won Heaney's first six starts after he was called up June 24 before he gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings of Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It marked the first time the left-hander failed to get through the sixth. Kevin Gausman (2-2, 3.97) was on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis during the first series with the Angels. The right-hander has made three starts since voluntarily going to Triple-A for regular work before and during the All-Star break. Gausman pitched very well in his last two, allowing two runs while striking out 11 and walking one over 14 2/3 innings. "He's got a pretty fresh arm going right now," manager Buck Showalter said. Gausman has a 6.46 ERA in three starts and five relief appearances on the road. He beat the Angels 4-3 at home in his only career matchup July 30, 2014.

FROM FOX SPORTS

Trout has added yet another skill BY JEFF SULLIVAN As he celebrates his 24th birthday, it'€™s worth asking if there'€™s anything Mike Trout can'€™t do. In any case, there apparently is one more thing he can do. It got lost in the haze of the week of the trade deadline, but I want to take you back to a recent Trout performance against the Rangers. Let's look at a pitch that Nick Martinez threw. The approximate location:


Clearly low, clearly inside (relative to the middle of the plate). Trout swung, and this is where the ball went:

Home run, right field. Now, for a lot of players, it's enough to hit one home run. I've set up what's going to follow. A full-count pitch later in the same game, thrown by Spencer Patton:

Another pitch in. Another Trout swing. The result:

That, to the opposite side of center field. Twice in one game, Trout went deep. Twice in one game, Trout went deep to what could technically be referred to as the opposite field. Twice in one game, Mike Trout did that on inside pitches. Intuitively, that seems like a hard thing to do. When you think about it, it follows that inside pitches get pulled, and outside pitches get pushed. That is, generally, the way things go, at least when you're talking about balls hit with authority. But, see, Trout has learned something.


Here's another way to put this: I found another leaderboard that Trout's on top of. It's a little complicated, but stick with me. These numbers were made possible using Baseball Savant. Okay, first step, I isolated right-handed hitters. Then I isolated pitches inside from the middle of the plate. Then I looked for home runs, against those pitches, sent to the non-pull half of the outfield. Basically, it's a leaderboard of going inside-out, with power. The data: Mike Trout, 11 such home runs Paul Goldschmidt, 9 Josh Donaldson, 5 J.D. Martinez, 5 Nick Castellanos, 5 Lest you think I've done lefties wrong, I looked up the same data for left-handed hitters, and the leader is Joey Votto, at 5. No one else has more than one. That's remarkable, as far as Votto's concerned, but this is about Trout. Now, it's one thing for Trout to lead the list. Trout is no stranger to leading lists. But, look at his career. These are Trout's year-to-year totals of those home runs: 2011: 0 such home runs 2012: 3 2013: 4 2014: 0 2015: 11 This is something Trout didn't do a single time a year ago. He's gone from zip to league-leading, and though he's hit some of these homers in the past, Trout now is posting career-best power numbers, as he continues to adjust to everything opponents try to do to him. Let's look at some spray charts, against inside pitches. Trout and inside pitches, a year ago:


Compare that to this year:

You see the power to right and right-center. You see some more power up the middle. It's possible that Trout has gotten even stronger. It's probably more possible that Trout has altered the way he approaches inside pitches. Last season, as the games wore on, Trout had a weakness increasingly exploited -- he was vulnerable to fastballs up, and especially fastballs up and in. Everyone knew it, and Trout worked on it over the winter, in an effort to change the conversation. Trout, at times, was vague about the changes he was making, but we can always analyze video. Video doesn't lie, or at least it doesn't lie as often as people do. Lacking good alternatives, we'll just focus on a few examples. Trout and a low-inside home run, from 2014:


Trout and a low-inside home run, from 2015:

The former was pulled; the latter went to right. Look at the images closely. What do you see? You might look first at Trout's right elbow. In the second picture, it's tucked closer in to Trout's body. You can also look at Trout's left arm -- in the second picture, it's straighter from his shoulder toward the ground. And as a result, you have a more vertical bat angle. In the first picture, the bat is more level. With the hands in and the shoulders more vertical, Trout's able to get inside of the pitch. He looks a little like Kris Bryant, when he's going right. How about another case? Trout and a higher-inside home run, from 2014:

Trout and a higher-inside home run, from 2015:


Obviously, in the first picture, Trout had to hit the ball out in front of the plate -- that's why it got pulled. In the second one, Trout went yard to right in Yankee Stadium, and you can see that he stayed back. His right elbow, again, is tucked closer to the body, right up on his side. It's as if his upper arm is glued. The left elbow is higher in the second picture, and the right forearm is angled up, with the result being visible in the hand position. In the first picture, the hands are around belt level; in the second, they're at number level, allowing Trout to keep a steep bat path as he lets the ball travel deeper. A small number of examples might be unconvincing, and I myself would like better evidence. But I don't know where to find it without driving myself crazy, so I'll settle for what we have. We have image evidence of 2015 Mike Trout keeping his hands in closer against inside pitches. This helps him get the barrel to the ball without having to speed up and hit it in front of the plate. We also have statistical evidence that Trout is inside-outing more pitches with authority, to such a degree that he's a current league leader. So that's pretty good. Trout knew he needed to be able to shorten up if he wanted to have success against harder pitches in. It would appear he's shortened up, and his numbers are fantastic. His numbers are always fantastic, but that's an achievement on its own -- he gets more scouting attention than anyone else. He's always the main enemy. He's still winning. It's not that Mike Trout has gotten a lot better. That would be almost impossible. It's that Mike Trout continues to avoid getting worse. That's only possible when you consistently make good adjustments. Add it to Mike Trout's endless list of strengths.

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