The fans erupted after the Angels closed out the Yankees on Wednsday afternoon, but in a sense of anticipation and hope. The team congratulated each other as usual, but was all business going into the clubhouse. After the Mariners defeated the Rangers an hour later, the Angels were set to begin their celebration with the customary champagne baths. Before any of this started, however, the Angels came back out on to the field to celebrate with the near 10,000 fans that had stayed to watch the end of the Rangers-Mariners game on the big screen at Angel Stadium. The Angels are the 2008 American League Western Division Champs.

It’s a great day,” said first-year Angels general manager Tony Reagins. Reagins was crucial in getting the team to where they are today, acquiring Jon Garland and Torii Hunter in the offseason and Mark Teixeira in July.

On a team with stars such as Garland, Hunter, and Teixeira–it was Robb Quinlan and Dustin Moseley who emerged as heroes in the clinching game. Quinlan had a clutch 2-run single in the 3-run 6th inning that put the Angels ahead for good.  Moseley allowed 2 early runs but kept the game close pitching into the 6th inning.

“It’s a beautiful thing,” Moseley, a part-time starter the past two seasons, said. “The team camaraderie at times I’ve been here, what a great group of guys. Hopefully, great things can happen this season. Clinching the division so early shows the talent and commitment here.”

The fans are all a great inspiration to me,” Chone Figgins said. “It’s a great thing to get so many to come out to support us.”

“It hasn’t been easy, by any means,” a relieved manager Mike Scioscia said. “This team has pulled together and done the job all year long.”

The amazing thing was that in this clinching game, the Angels had a team out on the field that consisted of many backup players. Mark Teixeira, Chone Figgins, Torii Hunter, Erick Aybar, and Howie Kendrick all were out of the lineup. The Angels had an all-backup infield: Quinlan at third, rookies Brandon Wood and Sean Rodriguez  at shortstop and second, respectively, and Kendry Morales behind Moseley and the relief staff.

Speaking of relief, Francisco Rodriguez closed out this 4-2 win over the Yankees, earning save             number 56. By the way, that’s one away from tying Bobby Thigpen’s single season saves record. K-Rod should tie, break, and pad this record before the season ends. This is one of the two goals the Angels need to accomplish before October. This is one, and the other is trying for the AL’s best record, which would give them a home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Jered Weaver had something to say about that.

“This is goal No. 1, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us,” Jered Weaver said. “We still have guys that need to get healthy and back on track. We know we can play much better as a club right now. We just want to get rolling into the postseason.”

Then there is the goal the Angels would like to reach during the month of October.

The Angels lost 2 disappointing game sin Chicago to begin the 3-game series. Now, they had to avoid the sweep the lower their magic number. As it turns out, they were able to hold on.

In a battle of lefties, Joe Saunders beat John Danks. Saunders was brilliant through 7 1/3 innings, giving up only two runs. John Danks managed 5 1/3 innings, also giving up 2 runs. Paul Konerko and Toby Hall had hit solo homers against Saunders for the Whit Sox this afternoon. The Angels used the small ball, with RBI’s from Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter. So, the Angels would need to break the tie to get the lead for Francisco Rodriguez. They were able to, with a run in the 8th against Horacio Ramirez. Rodriguez, trying to redeem himself for blowing the save the previous night, was able to close it out. This inning included a couple of strikeouts. K-Rod is only 2 saves away from tying the single-season record, which is 57. Let’s see what the team had to say about K-Rod and this game:

Mike Scioscia: “That’s essential to what a closer needs to do. That page gets heavy — like cement. Time after time after a tough night he’s come back and been terrific.”

K-Rod: “I feel like I have 10,000 pounds on my shoulders. To break the record and clinch [the American League West title], take those 10,000 pounds off my shoulders on the same day … that would be nice.”

The Angels inched closer to clinching the AL West today, with their win. The team’s magic number is now 3.

You had to expect a good series with 2 playoff contending teams matching up in Chicago. The White Sox and Angels battled each other for 3 games. Unfortunately, the Angels lost 2 out of 3. Here are the recaps:

Game 1: The first one was a fun one–for White Sox fans. The South Siders pounded their way to a 10-2 victory, much to the delight of the home crowd. Starter Dustin Moseley was hit very hard, giving up 4 runs in only 1 1/3 innings pitched. The Sox scored 2 runs in the 1st and 2 in the second. A 2-run single from Ken Griffey Jr. and a 2-run home run from Juan Uribe gave Chicago its 4-0 lead. It didn’t get any better for the Angels. Darren Oliver came in and gave up 3 more runs in the third. This included another home run by Juan Uribe, and a solo home run by Paul Konerko. The White Sox hitting the long ball shouldn’t come as a surprise–they lead baseball in the catagory. The Angels were buried, and Chicago lefty Mark Buehrle was outstanding, shutting out them through 6 innings. The Angels would plate a pair of runs in the 7th, but it was ALL White Sox on this night.

Game 2: This game was more even, but the end result was still disappointing. In the longest September game ever that featured two first-place clubs, the White Sox won on a walk-off blast by Jim Thome in the 15th to send Chicago home happy. The Angels jumped out to an early lead in the 1st against Gavin Floyd. They would enjoy it until the bottom of the 2nd, when John Lackey gave up 2 runs. A home run by, of all people, Chone Figgins would even up the score in the 3rd. With the score 2-2, the Angels scored 3 times in the 6th. Home runs by Juan Rivera and Mike Napoli really gave the team a boost of confidence. Unfortunately, the White Sox chipped away by doing what they do best–hitting the long ball. Paul Konerko’s solo shot in the 6th brought them to within 2 runs in the 6th. Then, with Lackey still in the game, Nick Swisher clutched up with a man aboard to tie the game. The home run was Swisher’s 24th. John Lackey and Gavin Floyd each gave up 5 runs in 7 innings. Nobody would score until the 9th, when rookie Brandon Wood would go deep–a clutch home run at the time for the Angels. Nobody would expect it, but K-Rod would blow the save in the bottom of that inning, sending the two teams to extra innings. Running out of pitchers, the Angels used Justin Speier, who had pitched in the last 3 games. Jim Thome crushed one of Speier’s fastballs well into the seats in right to win the game for the White Sox, 7-6 in 15 innings. The homer by Thome was no. 30 for the season, and no. 537 for his career, passing the great Mickey Mantle. The Angels couldn’t lower their magic number on this day, and would try to avoid the sweep on Sunday afternoon.  

(For Game 3, see my next post)

The Angels won a close one in the Motor City on Tuesday night, beating the Tigers 5-4. This win was propelled by Torii Hunter’s 3 hit, 3 RBI game. Joe Saunders pitched a strong ballgame, and the Angels took the go-ahead lead when Mark Teixeira drove in a run with a sac fly.

Torii Hunter delivered the Angels an early lead against Chris Lampert, who was making just his second career start. Hunter’s double drove in a pair, and the team with the major’s best road record was looking strong again. Miguel Cabrera drove in a run during the bottom of that inning to cut the Angels’ lead in half. Torii Hunter drove in his third run of the game to get that run back in the 3rd inning, but just like that, RBI doubles by Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera knotted up the game.

“After the third inning,” Mike Scioscia said, “that’s when Joe really got aggressive. That was good to see.”

Indeed, Saunders did. He ended up pitching 6 1/3 innings and at the time of his departure, had a 4-3 lead. That was until, Miguel Cabrera, a thorn in the Angels side all night, stepped up to the plate against Scot Shields in the 8th inning. Cabrera’s opposite-field drive with 2 outs knotted up the game, and the two teams headed into the 9th tied up.

The Angels wasted no time. A single and a steal of second base from Chone Figgins, a ground ball by Garett Anderson, and a sac fly by Mark Teixeira put them in front. By the way, the steal by Figgins was No. 30 of the season, who became the fourth player in the Majors to reach that total over the past five seasons.

*K-Rod Watch: K-Rod was the man again in the bottom of the 9th, earning his 54th save of the season. Not only that, but this save was the 200th of his fabulous career, a career that has still a long way to go.