Angel Stadium

Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto said his decision to fire hitting coach Mickey Hatcher and replace him with Jim Eppard could be "a spark. " Something, perhaps, like those fireworks that erupted Wednesday beyond Angel Stadium's center-field wall, where Albert Pujols deposited his second home run as an Angel in a 7-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Dipoto said he thought "long and hard" before deciding a hitting coach switch had...

The Angels lost Thursday because they couldn't see into a blinding sun and because pitcher C.J. Wilson couldn't seem to find home plate. The Chicago White Sox took advantage, using sun-caused misplays and six walks in less than four innings by under-the-weather Angels starter Wilson to earn a 6-1 victory at Angel Stadium. Wilson, battling a stomach virus he said nearly caused him to pass out in the first inning, fell behind, 1-0, in the third on a two-out walk to Paul Konerko and a run-scoring single to right field by A.J. Pierzynski.

The smiles should be wide and plentiful. The Dodgers' new owners should take over this week, meeting the media and greeting fans and officially liberating the team from its dysfunctional era. What could possibly wipe the smiles off the faces of Magic Johnson, Stan Kasten and Mark Walter? How about the Angels moving into a new ballpark in downtown Los Angeles, three miles from Dodger Stadium? As the Dodgers emerge from bankruptcy, the most compelling baseball story in town might well involve how the Dodgers and Angels handle their aging ballparks.

Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto said his decision to fire hitting coach Mickey Hatcher and replace him with Jim Eppard could be "a spark. " Something, perhaps, like those fireworks that erupted Wednesday beyond Angel Stadium's center-field wall, where Albert Pujols deposited his second home run as an Angel in a 7-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Dipoto said he thought "long and hard" before deciding a hitting coach switch had...

A season that started so disappointingly for the Angels was quickly forgotten among the roaring crowd of 27,288 at Angel Stadium on Wednesday night watching Jered Weaver throw the first individual home no-hitter since Nolan Ryan in 1975. Backed by chants of "Weaver, Weaver, Weaver," the 29-year-old right-hander was surrounded by teammates near the mound after Alexi Casilla's deep fly ball to right field was caught by Torii Hunter, giving the Angels a 9-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

EVENTS Motor sports fans will experience a massive collection of high performance monster trucks at Monster Jam — including Grave Digger, Tasmanian Devil and El Toro Loco — duking it out in the ultimate event of high-octane speed, racing and destruction. Angel Stadium of Anaheim, 2000 E. Gene Autry Way, Anaheim. 7 p.m. Sat. $22-$75. (714) 940-2000. http://www.monsterjam.com.

A list of upcoming concerts across the Southland, with on-sale dates in parentheses. Festival Grounds of Angel Stadium: Bamboozle with AFI and Something Corporate, March 27-28 (Sat.) Hollywood Palladium: Infected Mushroom, Feb. 20 (Fri.) The Wiltern: Citizen Cope, Jan. 8 (Fri.) El Rey Theatre: Lalah Hathaway, Jan. 22; Christian Death, Feb. 12; Copeland, March 26 (now); Gomez, March 20-21 (Sat.) Club Nokia: The Dan Band, Feb. 19; Brazilian Carnaval 2010, Feb. 20; Boyz II Men, March 6; Hard 13 with Fake Blood, March 13; Mint Condition, April 10 (now)

An All-Star?Come on down The Texas Rangers come to Anaheim this week, for the first time this season but the second time this year. The Rangers came in January too, not to Angel Stadium but to a private home in Anaheim Hills. Vladimir Guerrero lives there. The Rangers needed a designated hitter, but they wanted to see Guerrero before they signed him. They didn't work him out. He can hit in his sleep. They just wondered whether he might hold up. He had played in fewer games in each of his last four years with the Angels, from 156 in 2006 to 100 last year.

Two hundred fifty-four million dollars to play baseball. And now this. Saturday brought blue skies and temperatures near 70, gently swaying palm trees, two huge red caps with large A's bracketing the entrance to the stadium they define, and nearly 5,000 fans screaming his name and gushing their affection. Albert Pujols must have thought he had died and gone to heaven. Never before had a team presented a more fitting name for a player's situation. It is Angel-red heaven now, no matter how much that makes Tom Lasorda squirm.

Thundersticks and Rally Monkeys have brought playfulness to Angel Stadium in recent years, but two violent incidents at the ballpark in the still-young season have raised the question of whether the traditionally fan-friendly atmosphere at the stadium has eroded.

The Angels put All-Star right fielder Torii Hunter on baseball's restricted list Monday after his 17-year-old son's arrest in Prosper, Texas, on suspicion of felony sexual assault of a child. Darius McClinton-Hunter , of McKinney, Texas, was arrested along with four high school classmates after a monthlong investigation, according to Prosper police. McClinton-Hunter and Garrick White , also 17, were arrested as adults, police said, along with three juveniles. No record of charges against McClinton-Hunter could be found on the police website.

If Monday didn't represent rock bottom for the Angels, it's going to be a very long summer. A night after getting routed by division-leading Texas, the last-place Angels slipped deeper into the abyss by suffering their major league-leading eighth shutout - a 5-0 loss to the Oakland Athletics compounded by the troubling absence of their most uplifting player. A's starter Tyson Ross, who began the night with a 7.71 earned-run average, threw six shutout innings while retiring Albert Pujols three times and allowing just one Angel to reach third base.

MINNEAPOLIS — Peter Bourjos' game-changing speed and Gold Glove-caliber defense don't do the Angels any good on the bench, but that's where those tools were again Wednesday night. The center fielder was not in the lineup for the ninth time in 11 games, his playing time greatly reduced by the April 27 promotion of Mike Trout from triple A, but his attitude remaining upbeat and optimistic. "It will all work out one way or another," said Bourjos, who is batting .192 with a .259 on-base percentage.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Angels pitcher Jered Weaver is probably too young to have a "bucket list," but if he did, the 29-year-old right-hander would have crossed two things off it this past week. Last Wednesday night in Anaheim, Weaver threw his first major league no-hitter, blanking the Minnesota Twins for the first individual no-hitter in Angel Stadium since Nolan Ryan in 1975. Tuesday afternoon, Weaver reaped another reward for his gem when he presented the "Top 10" list on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman," filming the segment, which will air Tuesday night, in a suite next to the Target Field press box. "I watch Dave before I go to bed when I'm home, so it's pretty cool to be on the show," Weaver said.

While the legislature in Minnesota continued to work on a solution to keep the Vikings, AEG on Tuesday unveiled its latest vision for an NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles. Two weeks remain in the public-comment period of AEG's environmental impact report on the concept, and the company hopes to have its approvals in place by late summer, with the goal of luring a football team back to L.A. next spring. AEG's is one of two competing stadium proposals, with the other in City of Industry.

Albert Pujols has hit 446 home runs in a career that is certain to end in the Hall of Fame. But it's unlikely many felt better than the one he hit in the fifth inning Sunday at Angel Stadium. Because not only did the two-run shot account for the deciding runs in a 4-3 Angels win over the Toronto Blue Jays, silencing the boos from a fickle crowd of 37,548, but it was also Pujols' first home run as an Angel, ending a career-long drought at 27 games and 110 at-bats. "It's a relief for him. And I'm pretty sure it's a relief for us," teammate Torii Hunter said of a slump that was threatening to consume Pujols and the Angels.

Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu both were so shocked at the numbers they grabbed a notebook out of a reporter's hand to see for themselves. In 16 home games through Sunday, the Angels and their opponents combined to hit 13 home runs, six by the Angels. In 19 games on the road, the Angels and their opponents combined to hit 47 home runs, 25 by the Angels. "What?" Hunter said, when told of the power splits. "This year? Time out. Time out. " Abreu thought it was a joke.

Don't be surprised if the relationship between Scott Boras and the Dodgers improves with the new ownership group in charge. Boras has a strong relationship with top executive Stan Kasten and is likely to have a suite at Dodger Stadium. He has had a highly visible one at Angel Stadium for years. … Kasten is wasting no time trying to get his hands around the facility issues at Dodger Stadium. He will get a visit from design guru Janet Marie Smith this week when she's in Los Angeles on Rose Bowl business.

The ball exploded off the bat of the Angels first baseman Saturday night, arced high through a twilight sky and landed well beyond the left-field fence for a sixth-inning home run. "It comes with bat speed and squaring up the ball," Manager Mike Scioscia said of loud "thwack" produced by the homer. "He can leverage a ball as well as anyone in the game. " This is what the Angels expected from slugger Albert Pujols when they signed him to a 10-year, $240-million contract in December, only there was a small but very welcome glitch in the program Saturday.