Angels Team Report 8/23/2011

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Sed ut perspiciatis unde.

INSIDE PITCH

Any way you look at it, it was a very good weekend for the Angels.

They swept the woeful Baltimore Orioles, gained ground on the first-place Texas Rangers, made an overdue move to infuse some life into their offense by promoting youngsters Mike Trout and Hank Conger—and, most importantly for the long term, reached agreement on a contract extension with their ace, RHP Jered Weaver. Weaver agreed to a five-year, $85 million deal that ties him to the team through the 2016 season. The contract extension will be officially announced at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

The Weaver signing represents a major victory for the Angels. The five-year deal covers Weaver’s final year of arbitration eligibility plus four years of potential free agency. It is a rarity for clients of agent Scott Boras to give up free agent years like that.

Weaver’s deal is in line with five-year, $80 million extensions given to Mariners ace Felix Hernandez and Tigers ace Justin Verlander before the 2010 season. But it represents a “hometown discount” of sorts given by weaver, a Southern California native.

After emerging as an elite-level pitcher the last two seasons, he no doubt would have drawn even bigger offers if he hit free agency following the 2012 season. The fact that the deal reportedly includes a full no-trade clause is another indication that Weaver was motivated more by a desire to remain with the Angels than he was by the more lucrative contract offers he might have been able to draw as a free agent.

Weaver is making $7.37 million this season after losing to the Angels in arbitration in February. Weaver had sought $8.8 million.

The AL starter in the All-Star Game this season, Weaver is 14-6 with a 2.10 ERA. Over parts of six seasons with the Angels, Weaver is 78-45 (.634 winning percentage) with a 3.30 ERA and 937 strikeouts in 1,084 1/3 innings.

NOTES, QUOTES

• RHP Jerome Williams allowed just one run on six hits in seven innings Sunday in his first MLB start since 2007 and earned his first victory since 2005. Williams’ most effective pitch was a cut fastball that he taught himself in 2009 and refined while pitching in Taiwan in 2010. He got 19 swinging strikes during Sunday’s start, 10 via the cut fastball.

• RHP Ervin Santana will start Tuesday against the White Sox. Santana threw a career-high 129 pitches in his most recent start (last Wednesday vs. Texas) and has pitched into the eighth inning in nine of his past 10 starts. He is 6-1 with a 1.69 ERA in those 10 starts.

• With the signing of RHP Jered Weaver to a five-year, $85 million contract extension, the Angels now have nine players under contract for 2012 at a total salary of approximately $99 million. The nine (in order of highest salary) are OF Vernon Wells, OF Torii Hunter, Weaver, RHP Dan Haren, RHP Ervin Santana, OF Bobby Abreu, LHP Scott Downs, LHP Hisanori Takahashi and IF Maicer Izturis. The Angels’ payroll this season is a club-record $141 million.

• OF Peter Bourjos has been on a tear lately. He had three hits and a home run in each of the three games against the Orioles this weekend and has an eight-game hitting streak. He is batting .500 (17 for 34) during the eight-game streak and has raised his average 23 points (from .263 to .286) since the end of July.

• 3B Alberto Callaspo was not in the lineup Sunday after going 3 for 22 in the first six games of this homestand. For the season, Callaspo is hitting .310 on the road but only .253 at Angel Stadium.

By The Numbers: 2,156—Days between major league victories for RHP Jerome Williams (Sept. 25, 2005 with the Cubs and Sunday with the Angels)

Quote To Note: “He’s got a lot of baseball left in him if he keeps pitching like that.”—Angels manager Mike Scioscia after RHP Jerome Williams’ start Sunday.

ROSTER REPORT

Medical Watch:

• LHP Scott Downs (left hamstring tightness) was injured while warming up to enter the Aug. 20 game. He did not pitch. His status will be re-evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

• RHP Garrett Richards (right groin strain) went on the 15-day disabled list Aug. 16. He will not return until possibly sometime in September.

• RHP Francisco Rodriguez (right shoulder inflammation) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 10, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on Aug. 10. He will treat the problem with rest and rehab.

• 1B Kendrys Morales (fractured left ankle) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22. He was never able to progress to running the bases in workouts, let alone playing in games during spring training or on a rehab assignment. He had a second surgery on his ankle May 26 to address continued discomfort and lack of mobility. Morales, who was transferred to the 60-day DL on July 20, will not play until the 2012 season.

Rotation:

RHP Jered Weaver

RHP Dan Haren

RHP Ervin Santana

RHP Joel Pineiro

RHP Jerome Williams

Bullpen:

RHP Jordan Walden (closer)

RHP Fernando Rodney

LHP Scott Downs

LHP Hisanori Takahashi

RHP Rich Thompson