The Angels soaked the jersey in beer, champagne and tears, holding Nick Adenhart's No. 34 high in the middle of the celebration he missed.

Los Angeles is headed back to the playoffs for the sixth time in eight years, and the Angels intend to go with the memory of their late teammate alongside them. The 22-year-old pitcher's death in an April car accident roiled their season early on, but it couldn't sink this resilient team.

Kendry Morales homered and drove in three runs, and the Angels wasted no time clinching their third straight AL West title with an 11-0 victory over the second-place Texas Rangers on Monday night.

Ervin Santana pitched a seven-hitter for his fourth career shutout, while Maicer Izturis had three hits and two RBIs to wrap up the Angels' fifth division crown in six years. Los Angeles (92-64) will open at home in the best-of-five first round next week -- most likely against Boston, a familiar nemesis. The Red Sox need one win or a Texas loss to earn the AL wild card.

About 10 minutes into their clubhouse celebration, the players grabbed Adenhart's jersey and gave it a dousing. The Angels have taken Adenhart's jersey on every road trip and kept his locker intact in memory, and reliever Kevin Jepsen brought the shirt back to the clubhouse from the dugout for the celebration.

"We remembered Nick before we started," manager Mike Scioscia said. "We've played the whole year with heavy hearts. But it was never about us, and it isn't about us. It's all about supporting Nick's family in any small way, and we're going to bring Nick's memory forward."

Angels players returned to the field and several grabbed a hose from the grounds crew, using it to spray water on fans behind both dugouts. Then the Angels jogged to the outfield and reverently touched Adenhart's photo and No. 34 on the outfield fence. Players posed for a team photo in front of the image.

"We had a rough start, lost a dear friend and teammate, and we didn't do much in the first half," outfielder Torii Hunter said. "We made this a very special season, though. We're going to celebrate tonight, and then get ready for what's next."

Adenhart's death hours after his strong season debut was the most painful of several major obstacles for the Angels, who persevered through early season injuries, midseason lulls and a late-summer slump for their productive offense. Yet they passed Texas atop the division in mid-July -- and needing one victory in this four-game series to secure the division title, the Angels swiftly eliminated any suspense.

With Morales and Vladimir Guerrero propelling the offense, Los Angeles took a 7-0 lead in the third inning against rookie Tommy Hunter (9-5), who struggled mightily in the shortest start of his promising season. Erick Aybar and Guerrero drove in two runs apiece, while Bobby Abreu had three hits.

After the final out, the Angels formed a mob on the field around Santana (8-8), slapping his shoulders and rubbing his head. Although the right-hander is likely to be in Los Angeles' bullpen in the playoffs, Santana made sure Scioscia won't forget him, earning his first win in seven starts and second shutout this season.

The Angels made just three playoff appearances in the franchise's first 39 seasons before Scioscia took over in 2000. Los Angeles has been a postseason fixture during the former Dodgers catcher's decade in the dugout, winning the 2002 World Series in the Angels' only wild-card appearance.

And getting pushed by the Rangers down the stretch could benefit the Angels in October, if last season's performance is any guide.

Los Angeles clinched the AL West title with 17 games to play on the way to a major league-leading 100 victories in 2008, but that 2½-week stretch with little motivation was seen as a factor in Los Angeles' listless effort in its division series loss to Boston, the Angels' likely playoff foe for the third straight year.

"After the last few years, everyone feels that it's time for us to go to the next level," said owner Arte Moreno, who partied with his players in the clubhouse. "We had a meeting about a week or 10 days after the end of last season, and we talked about what we needed to do to get better. Basically, that was our goal. I tell people all the time, 'Why should I be owning a team if I'm not trying to win?'"

Michael Young had two hits in his return from a hamstring injury for the Rangers, on the verge of elimination from the pennant race after fighting to stay in contention all summer despite several major injuries.

Texas (85-71) trails Boston (91-65), which lost to Toronto, by six games with six to play.

"We didn't get it done, and that's not a good feeling," Young said. "The Angels had a great year and overcame a tremendous amount of adversity, and they deserve a lot of credit. But from our side, it's not a good feeling. We've got to get better. It's as simple as that."

Young was back in the Rangers' lineup for just the second time since straining his left hamstring Sept. 1. The third baseman aggravated the injury against Oakland in an aborted return two weeks later, and his absence along with Josh Hamilton's lingering back problems seriously hurt Texas' playoff hopes.

"I just told them to keep their heads up," manager Ron Washington said. "We didn't get it done, but there's still games to be played. We didn't finish first, but I'd certainly like to win as many more games as we possibly can. We certainly don't want to be falling down to third or fourth, that's for sure."

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Kazmir provides needed arm, hope for Angels
By JustAnotherHaloVicto on Friday, September 04, 2009 - 01:14 AM
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Scott Kazmir: Angel of October? The Angels continue attempting to out-run their pitching staff, which ranked 27th in the majors with a 4.88 ERA entering play Sunday. Worse yet, they've recently been forced to break into a sprint: The August team ERA is 5.46, highest of any month this season, and Angels pitchers have surrendered 40 homers in 28 games this month.

Not a good trend, even if, as expected, the Angels remain in control and win the AL West for what would be the sixth time in eight years. Because, after that, you know who's next ... yep, as of today, a nice, ripe, first-round October rematch with Boston.

The Angels need Scott Kazmir, acquired over the weekend from Tampa Bay, in September. And they especially need him in October. Boston has bounced the Angels from the playoffs in three of the past five years. Not that the Angels are developing a complex about that, but rumor has it that they've banned Cheers reruns and all Ben Affleck movies from the clubhouse flat-screens.

Just given his Get Out of Jail Free card from the wicked AL East, Kazmir arrived in Anaheim on Sunday with some impressive credentials: Lifetime, he's 6-4 with a 3.05 ERA in Fenway Park over 13 starts (including 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA in two starts this summer). He's yet to face the Yankees in new Yankee Stadium, but he is 2-0 with a 2.63 ERA against them this summer in Tropicana Field.

"I kind of like that," Angels center fielder Torii Hunter says, smiling. "That made me feel good."

"That's a very tough division, and he's handled it well," says Angels right fielder Bobby Abreu, an AL East alum after time in the Yankees' lineup from 2006-2008. "It's very important for us that he comes from one of the toughest divisions, and that he came from one of the best teams."

Now, understand: Nobody in the Angels' clubhouse is putting a potential playoff matchup against Boston, or the Yankees, or anybody else ahead of what they've got to do in September. Texas is a vastly different team than in past years, and the Rangers have whacked the Angels in nine of 12 games so far this year to prove it. Ask manager Mike Scioscia about how Kazmir might change things this October and you'll no doubt get a six-part dissertation on the dangers of the Seattle Mariners and starter Luke French in Monday's series opener there.

That's fine. But we also know contenders must look a month or more ahead during these last few days of August, because no player acquired after Aug. 31 can play in the postseason. When the Angels acquired Kazmir, it was a move they desperately needed to make. Entering Sunday, the Angels ranked second in the majors with 727 runs scored, and they led the majors in batting average (.289) and batting average with runners in scoring position (.303).

Offense, especially with first baseman Kendry Morales banging away, is no problem.

Pitching, that's a problem.

Kazmir is no Roy Halladay, whom the Angels attempted to acquire from Toronto last month. And he's no Cliff Lee, whom they attempted to nab from Cleveland. But. ...

"He's one of the best left-handers in the game," Hunter says. "I don't like facing him. And if I don't like facing him, I think I'll take him."

Though Kazmir has had a highly disappointing season (8-7 with a 5.92 ERA -- now below 6.00 for the first time all summer), he is 2-1 with a 3.20 ERA over his past three starts. And he's reunited with the pitching coach, Mike Butcher, who first helped get him going in 2006 and 2007 in Tampa.

"It feels like I'm a lot more comfortable now," Kazmir says. "I'm attacking the strike zone, trying to get strike one. That's the main thing. Earlier in the year, I was battling from behind."

As for his success against the dreaded Red Sox, Kazmir says: "You really get a lot of adrenalin. I feel real comfortable in big situations facing the Yankees, facing the Red Sox in Fenway."

The way things shape up now, he will get that opportunity. Even with only three starters needed in the first round, he could slide in behind John Lackey, for example, with either Jered Weaver or Ervin Santana following him (and the other working out of the bullpen, which currently ranks 12th in the AL with a 4.74 ERA. Or, Kazmir could give the Angels a left-handed long man out of the pen.

Yes, there's still a long way to go until October. But it's also just around the corner.

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Chone Figgins added to AL roster for All-Star Game; Joins teammate Fuentes
By JustAnotherHaloVicto on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 - 03:52 PM
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Chone Figgins made it to the All-Star Game after all.

The Angels third baseman, who finished third at the position in last week's fan vote for the final roster spot, was added to the American League roster today when Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria pulled out of the game because of an infected ring finger on his right hand.

Tim Mead, the Angels vice president of communications who is in St. Louis, was at a breakfast function this morning when he received a call from Major League Baseball officials at about 9 a.m. CDT, informing him that Figgins had been added to the team.

"We made numerous calls to Chone, but he wasn't answering his cellphone at first," Mead said by phone from St. Louis. "We finally got a hold of him. Suffice it to say, he was very excited."

"He was excited, and then you realize you have to do so many things," Mead said. "He's trying to get his mother, father and stepfather to St. Louis for the game, and MLB officials and [Angels traveling secretary] Tom Taylor are trying to get him extra rooms.

"It's definitely not the circumstances you want to make your first All-Star Game appearance under, but he's embraced it, and we couldn't be happier for him."

He joins teammate Brian Fuentes as the only Angels participating in the 2009 MLB All-Star Game. Hunter was also voted in, but had to turn it down due to his injury.

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