The Angels answered the doubters with a very convincing three game sweep over the Mariners. Now, they face the A’s starting Tuesday night in Anaheim.

The Giants survived the weekend without Barry Bonds.

The Red Sox showed once again that their bull pen woes will drag them down. Jeff Weaver’s performances have got to give the Yankees some concern.

The A’s lack of that one big bat and an umpires call that went in their favor prevented them from sweeping the sleeping Rangers.

All in all, some entertaining baseball was played and more of the same is forthcoming this week.

Click Read More and we’ll talk.Randy Johnson is not throwing on all cylinders. His average game (for him) last week against the Giants was the tip off to his miseries. The Pads never hit Johnson very hard, Sunday they did without sympathy for the Big Unit. Arizona needs one more innings guy, Paul Wilson from Tampa Bay may be the one.

With the Bonds hamstring injury, the Giants must change their direction (looking for pitching) and get some outfield help. Randy Winn is a possibility for SF as well as Jose Cruz from Toronto. The Giants can win the West or the Wild Card with some help and shouldn’t wait too long before bringing in help.

St. Louis comes to town Monday night. Livan Hernandez didn’t pitch badly last week against the Cards ( they do have some good lefty hitters), but St. Louis got a big boost from Chuck Finley Sunday and they are hopeful Jason Simontacchi can pitch seven innings or more because the bull pen is still very, very shaky. The Giants are in for some low scoring games without Bonds. If I was Brian Sabean I’d be a little worried right now.

The A’s will have their hands full with Anaheim starting Tuesday. They changed the rotation and will have Barry Zito pitch first, then Tim Hudson, this way Zito gets a crack at Texas over the weeknd. Ted Lilly didn’t pitch too well Saturday night. He is similar to Jamie Moyer, here we go again can’t anyone throw hard, but has never made ten to fifteen starts in a row as he is being asked to do now. I want to see how he holds up after not pitching regularly in the majors prior to the trade bringing him to Oakland.

The Angels are hitting the ball better than the A’s. Kevin Appier, Aaron Sele, and Ramon Ortiz get shots at the A’s. Oakland better rake against these three or it could be a long week. The A’s need the current players (Hernadez, Long, Justice, Chavez, Hatteberg, and Dye) to hit before thinking one more newly acquired hitter could change their offensive woes.

I’d go for a righthanded reliever and a center fielder before trying to break the bank on a big bopper who they probably can’t afford anyway.

Oakland management is skittish about forking over any money that isn’t already budgeted. They wouldn’t even pay to bring in Reggie Jackson for the 1972 Championship Reunion because Reg wanted a $5000 appearance fee. So, you tell me, are they going to fork over millions for a big time hitter? I don’t think so. If they do anything expect a low salaried player to be added.

Seattle has been vulnerable since the season began. I have written that they can be caught if the Angels could help out. Now it looks like the Seattle pitching is shaky enough for both Oakland and Anaheim to pass them during these midseason series. Jamie Moyer is their ace and he didn’t get to pitch against Anaheim. It won’t happen again.

Jeff Weaver looks like a wreck on the mound as he watches homers sail hopelessly over the fence. Weaver is under some scrutiny especially with the Yankee bull pen falling into the same abyss ( not quite, but close) as the Red Sox pen. If both of these teams aren’t careful they could find one out of the wild card picture on Oct.1.

Houston, the Mets, the Reds, and Expos keep treading water, hoping that they can catch fire and move into the post season picture. If Cincy adds Kenny Rogers this week, they can make a move on St. Louis because the Reds schedule is soft in spots which will allow them to challenge again in the division. The worst thing about the Reds right now is their relief corps, They aren’t getting the job done. Houston seems like the logical choice to catch St. Louis, but I’m still waiting for their hitting and pitching to jell at the same time. With 60 games or so to go, there is plenty of time for all these teams to make a move, so keep watching for signs of consistent life from one of them.

I did pick the Mets to win the division once upon a time, so I’ll stick with this crew to make a real run at the wild card at some point.

Edgardo Alfonzo would fit the A’s or the Giants if they wanted to rent a righthanded hitter for three months.

With Bonds out, Johnson not himself, and the Dodgers unable to score runs, the NL Wild Card is very much up for grabs.

The Dog Days of August are right around the corner. If you think you have seen some big scores in games, just wait two weeks and see what the middle relievers do when asked to work three or four days in a row.

Toronto leaves the friendly confines of Skydome this week and will hit the real world in Baltimore for some payback.

Texas was calmly walking through the A’s series until the umpires enraged the Rangers by calling Mark Ellis safe as he eluded a non tag by Rafael Palmiero on a bunt attempt, continuing an Oakland rally that later fizzled. The Rangers came in after the inning with fire in their eyes, obviously upset after the call, and proceeded to score five runs in the 12th to salt the game away. Maybe some of the enthusiasm will carry over into Seattle this week, but I doubt it because this team (Texas) looks absolutely dead. If the game is dropped into their laps, they play hard, if their pitchers give it away early, they pack it in. Too bad because the other three teams in the division are pretty good and the division could be the best in baseball if Texas would try once in a while.

Joe Mays threw well for Minnesota in his first start since April 14th. Once Brad Radke comes back, the Twins should just concentrate on getting ready for the playoffs.

A final thought on the labor strife directed to the owners and players.

Don’t mess with the season, ultimately you’ll be sorry. It’s only money and the average Joe is having a tough time time right now. There is a financial crisis in the country. Baseball has always stepped to the plate in times of crisis, don’t swing and miss this time.