Izturis set for breakout season with new contract
The American League West has been a hot bed for young talent for quite a few years. To win the World Series in 2002, the LA Angels relied on Francisco Rodriguez in the bullpen and John Lackey in the rotation. The Oakland A’s have been known to develop young pitching from the Big Three (Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito) to Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill to their two Rookie of the Year closers (Huston Street in 2005 and Andrew Bailey in 2009). The Seattle Mariners had Ken Griffey Jr, then Alex Rodriguez and now ace Felix Hernandez. The Texas Rangers have begun to develop young pitching through Nolan Ryan. The AL West figures to be a division up for grabs so young breakout players figure to be the reason one team wins the division and the others three teams don’t. Here’s a look at some AL West breakout players:
Maicer Izturis, LA Angels, (utility man): Most Angels fans remember his throwing error to end Game 2 of the ALCS at Yankee Stadium. However one errant throw does not explain the magnitude of how much Izturis means to the Angels. That is why they rewarded him with a three year, $10 million contract. The contract is something Izturis is happy about. “…they want to have me around,” he said. “I hope to play a lot, and I’ll do whatever they want me to do.”
Former teammate Chone Figgins was envious of Izturis’ relaxed approach to the game. He called him “The Natural”. “He can do anything,” Figgins said. “It’s like he came out of his crib playing baseball. That’s why I call him ‘The Natural’.” The soft-spoken infielder would smile at Figgins’ comments, saying that his father taught him (and his Major League brother Cesar) to play the game right.
Manager Mike Scioscia, who is an Izturis fan, plans on getting him at least 97 starts, which is how many starts he received in 2009. While primarily diving time with Howie Kendrick at second base and getting some time at shortstop and third base, Izturis hit .300 with a .359 on-base percentage. Scioscia said “we are a much stronger team with his versatility…and he has the ability to lead off or hit down in the order.” He is expected to share Figgins’ leadoff duties with shortstop Erick Aybar. In recent season, Izturis has hit everywhere but fourth in the order. Scioscia said that “Izzy developed that part of his game, as far as being patient, earlier in his career…It’s not just taking pitches, it’s fighting off pitches, fouling them off, keeping an at-bat alive.”
Izturis is a rare player that is gifted enough to handle second base, shortstop, and third base at close to a Gold Glove level. “As long as I’m on the field, I’m happy,” he said. In 2009, he made 68 starts at second base, making just two errors (.993 fielding percentage). In 28 games at shortstop, he made two errors (.977 fielding percentage) and he made five errorless starts at third base. Figgins said that Izturis “has the best hands and most accurate arm you’ll see.” Now Figgins will have to watch him as an opponent.
2009 was the first season that Izturis spent zero days on the DL. “Staying healthy is the most important thing for me.” Being healthy showed in his overall numbers. In 114 games, he had 22 doubles, 3 triples, 8 homeruns, and 65 RBIs. He also walked 35 times compared to 41 strikeouts. Izturis stole 13 bases in 2009 but could steal more in 2010 if he is leading off and batting in front of the patient Bobby Abreu. Izturis has always hit in the clutch as he is a career .327 hitter with runners in scoring position (he hit .302 in 2009).
Izturis is close to indispensable in the Angels lineup and in the field on defense. For the Angels to continue their dominance in the AL West, they will need Izturis to fill the gap that Figgins’ signing with Seattle left.






Manager Mike Scioscia guided the LA Angels through a season of adversity, starting in early April with the loss of young pitcher Nick Adenhart, just a few hours after his dominant outing against Oakland. In keeping his players together through injuries and tragedy to make the playoffs, Scioscia was named American League Manager of the Year.
This season, like every other postseason, there have been disappointments. First have been the first two opponents of the NY Yankees: the Minnesota Twins and the LA Angels. Both teams were lacking the fundamentals and is the main reason they are home and the Yankees are in the World Series. Both teams were victimized by fielding errors, baserunning blunders, and too many walks by the pitching staffs. The Twins made 2 errors in the Yankees three-game sweep. Poor baserunning plagued the Twins in the three games, like Nick Punto’s base running gaffe of trailing too far away from third base (and getting thrown out). The Twins combined to walk 9 batters in the ALDS. The Angels made 5 errors combined in Games 1 and 2, costing them both games in NY. They also had 2 errors in the 8th inning of Game 6. In the two games the Angels won, they committed zero errors. The Angels also had a few baserunning blunders, including Vladimir Guerrero getting picked off of first on a shallow pop fly to right field and Bobby Abreu rounding second base too far. The Angels pitchers also walked too many, including the nine in the deciding Game 6. The Angels pitchers combined to walk 38 batters in the ALCS. The St. Louis Cardinals also had their problems: Matt Holliday’s error (dropping a fly ball to left) in Game 2 of the NLDS, which led to the Dodgers comeback win; 11 walks by Cardinals pitchers in 3 games; and the Cardinals inability to come up with a clutch hit.
Second, the Angels offense in the ALCS against the Yankees was meager. Except for Guerrero, Jeff Mathis (who didn’t play in every game), Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick (who also didn’t play in every game), and Torii Hunter, the offense was nonexistent. The top of the order (Chone Figgins and Bobby Abreu) combined to hit around .146 with just 3 RBI and 4 runs scored. They also struck out 11 times. If the top of the order is not getting on base, the middle of the order (Guerrero and Hunter) will not have anyone to drive in. When the Angels did get men on base, like in Game 2 of the ALCS, they could not drive them in, stranding 16 runners in Game 2 alone.
Third, most of the closers throughout the postseason have been disappointing. Despite the Holliday miscue in left, Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin still had 2 outs with just one runner on base in Game 2 of the NLDS. He could not get the job done, resulting in a blown save and loss. Joe Nathan of the Twins came in the bottom of the 9th in Game 2 of the ALDS and imploded, giving up a game-tying 2-run homerun to Alex Rodriguez. The game went into extra innings and the Twins lost a game they seemed to have in the bag going into the 9th inning. In both Games 3 and 4 of the NLDS, Colorado Rockies closer Huston Street could not finish the game. In Game 3 of a tie game, Ryan Howard hit a sacrifice fly to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 6-5 lead. In Game 4 and handed a 4-2 lead in the 9th, Street gave up a Howard 2-run double to tie the game and a bloop single to Jayson Werth to give the Phillies a 5-4 lead, sending the Phillies to the NLCS. In Game 3 of the ALCS, Red Sox closer Jonathon Papelbon was handed a 6-4 lead in LA. However, he could not get the third out without giving up the lead, sending the Angels to the ALCS. After the Angels had taken the lead in 11th inning of Game 2 of the ALCS, Angels closer Brian Fuentes quickly gave up the lead as A-Rod homered off of him to tie the game at 3-3 and sending the game to further extra innings…a game later won by the Yankees.
The final disappointment so far has been the offense from the Yankees’ Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher. Yes the two have been playing great defense at first base and right field, respectively. Teixeira has saved many errors with his stretching for throws at first base and Swisher has made some diving catches, even doubling off the Angels Guerrero at first base. The offense from the two, especially in the ALCS, has been virtually nonexistent. Teixeira was 6-for-27 with 4 RBI, 3 of which came in Game 5 on a 3-run double. Teixeira also struck out 8 times. Swisher had just 3 hits in 20 at-bats and 0 RBI, along with 7 strikeouts. Swisher had been so clutch for the Yankees all season but has not been able to come up with a big hit in the postseason. These two guys will be needed if the Yankees are to win another World Series title.
Yankees 5, Angels 2: After getting an extra day off due to the rainy Saturday night, the Yankees seemed to be the fresher team from the start. The Angels however struck first. Jeff Mathis, the hot-hitting catcher who was receiving another much-deserved start, doubled to lead off the top of the third. With 2 outs and Mathis still on base, Bobby Abreu drove him in with a base hit up the middle. The RBI was just his second RBI of the series. With runners on base in almost every inning, the Yankees finally broke through against Angels starter Joe Saunders with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth. Johnny Damon came through with a 2-run single to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead and 
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