NOTES, QUOTES

Posted on 2010 under Angels | Comments are off

20 Mar

--OF Bobby Abreu missed a week's worth of games because of a sore muscle in his rib cage. He returned to Cactus League action on March 19 and homered in his first at-bat. --SS Erick Aybar has been held out of games because of stiffness in his forearm. Aybar has played in a couple minor league games (hitting only) in order to get some at-bats. He is expected back to full duty soon. --RHP Bobby Cassevah was returned to the Angels by the Oakland A's. The A's selected Cassevah in the Rule 5 draft in December but were not willing to keep him on their major league roster all season. Cassevah had a 3-7 record and 3.68 ERA in 73 relief appearances for Double-A Arkansas last season. --C Mike Napoli was unable to throw out any of the first 12 baserunners who tried to steal bases while he was behind the plate, including five Padres in one game. "It's definitely mechanics, but I think it's related to some of the concepts he's trying to carry forward," manager Mike Scioscia said. "When somebody tells you to dance, they don't tell you, 'OK, put one foot here and one foot there.' You do it with a natural rhythm. I think that's what Mike has gotten away from a little bit." --RHP Jered Weaver was one of the most extreme flyball pitchers in baseball last season. RHP Joel Pineiro had the highest groundball ratio of any pitcher in 2009. So Weaver asked Pineiro to show him the grip he uses to get the sinking action on his two-seam fastball. Weaver has tried the pitch during spring games with mixed results. "I'm a flyball pitcher. If I can get some more groundballs, it will help a lot," Weaver said of the experiment. BY THE NUMBERS: .256 -- Angels' team batting average this spring through March 19, 13th in the American League. Last spring, the Angels hit .315 as a team. QUOTE TO NOTE: "That wasn't me out there. I want to bring me back." -- RHP Scot Shields on his 2009 season, which ended in May because of a knee injury.