Kendry Morales

If you define depth as having a number of options at a position, then yes, the Angels have plenty of "depth" at first base, a spot they've scrambled to fill since Kendry Morales suffered a season-ending leg injury May 29. Catcher Mike Napoli , outfielder Michael Ryan and Robb Quinlan shared first base duties in the first 15 games since Morales went down, and utility infielder Kevin Frandsen made his first big league start there...

Ervin Santana continued his mastery of the Oakland Athletics Saturday night, and a struggling Angels offense showed the kind of potency and depth that Manager Mike Scioscia envisioned from his lineup this spring. The result was a 12-3 victory in Angel Stadium that extended the Angels win streak to two -- it's only the fourth time this season they've won at least two games in a row -- and moved them within 3 1/2 games of first-place Texas in the American League West. Santana allowed three runs -- two earned -- and seven hits in six innings, striking out six and walking three, to improve to 2-3 on the season and 11-2 with a 1.50 earned run average in 18 career starts against the A's. The right-hander's performance continued a revival of sorts for the Angels rotation, which combined for a 5.02 ERA and 25 home runs allowed in 24 games in April but has a 3.60 ERA and seven homers allowed in 14 games in May. The Angels pounded out a season-high 15 hits, including home runs by Kendry Morales in the fourth (three-run shot to left-center)

It seems a little early for Mike Scioscia to "bounce a couple of things off" his players, which is manager-speak for the postgame tongue-lashings Scioscia delivers when the Angels are not playing up to their capabilities. A mere eight games into the 2010 season, Scioscia reached a breaking point. The Angels lost to the New York Yankees, 7-5, on Tuesday to fall to 2-6, their worst eight-game start since they opened 1972 with the same record and finished 75-80 and fifth in the American League West.

The game over, the Angels' victory secure, Howie Kendrick rounded third base and jogged toward home plate after hitting a walk-off, three-run homer in the ninth inning. There was no one waiting to greet him. The party rules have changed. The team that lost its best hitter in a freak celebratory mishap perfected its do-over Sunday at Angel Stadium, where the Angels stayed off the dirt that encircles home plate following their second consecutive walk-off victory. A day after first baseman Kendry Morales fractured his lower left leg when he gleefully leaped into the air and landed awkwardly following a 10th-inning grand slam, Kendrick planted his left foot uneventfully on home plate at the conclusion of the Angels' 9-7 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

It is reasonable to assume there was a fracture of faith on the part of many Angels fans shortly after Kendry Morales' left foot hit the plate Saturday and celebration became calamity. He was their best hitter and this was bizarre. It would be understandable if some looked heavenward, allowing the thought of Nick Adenhart to slip back. That was tragic. This is merely traumatic. If bad things are not supposed to happen to good people, then what is going on here? Are these the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim or the Bad News Bears?

Reporting from Kansas City, Mo. -- The Angels climbed their way back to what many consider mediocrity Thursday, riding seven shutout innings from Jered Weaver to a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals that pushed their record to .500 (28-28) for the first time since April 30. "Any time you start off slow, getting back to .500 is key," said Weaver, who gave up four hits and struck out nine to outpitch 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke. "We're in the same position we were in last year.

As deep and as balanced as the Angels have been in recent years, their roster has come under fire for being something of a liability come October, less suited for a do-or-die playoff series than for the grueling 162-game schedule. Yet when pitchers and catchers report to Tempe, Ariz., on Wednesday and hold their first spring training workout Thursday, the Angels will have a similar look. There will be no front-of-the-rotation stud, that guy you can count on to win three times in a seven-game series, such as CC Sabathia or Roy Halladay.

The Angels fired scouting director Eddie Bane on Wednesday, informing the 58-year-old that his contract would not be renewed. He has held the position since 2003. Bane, whose two-year deal expires after this season, oversaw a department that was responsible for drafting and developing such highly regarded prospects as Jered Weaver, Kendry Morales, Nick Adenhart, Hank Conger, Peter Bourjos and Mike Trout. But the farm system, among the top five in the game from 2005 to 2007, has fallen to 25th according to Baseball America's most recent rankings.

It was a magnificent shot, the trajectory of the ball seemingly beginning in Havana and ending in Anaheim. Kendry Morales, the Cuban defector the Angels signed last winter, stood in the batter's box and admired the majesty of the moment, the ball easily clearing the right-field fence. It was his second home run since being assigned to Class-A Rancho Cucamonga by the Angels, and Morales was feeling good about himself. In Cuba, he would have been lauded for his pause at the plate.

In a season of surprises for the Angels, perhaps none has been more welcome than the play of Kendry Morales . And it isn't just the team-leading 32 homers and 102 runs batted in, which have gone a long way toward making up for the loss of free agent Mark Teixeira to the New York Yankees. The Angels knew Morales could hit. But no one was sure how well he'd fit in at first base, where Teixeira is a two-time Gold Glove winner. "The more I improve my defense, the more I can help the team," said Morales, who played primarily in the outfield before defecting from Cuba and signing with the Angels as a 21-year-old.