Seasons

CHICAGO - All the pieces seemed to fall into - and, in one case, out of - place this season for the Angels to have their most regular lineup in years. The infield was set. The trade of Kendrys Morales to Seattle assured that Peter Bourjos , a favorite of General Manager Jerry Dipoto , would start in center field and slugger Mark Trumbo would have a spot. And the March trade of outfielder Vernon Wells to the Yankees removed any temptation for Manager Mike Scioscia to tinker with the lineup by playing Wells too much.

Staff writer Tim Hubbard takes at look at some not-so-likely assets that can help fantasy owners fill the gaps in their lineups. James Loney 1B | Tampa Bay Dodgers fans may not have noticed, or my not want to notice, how productive Loney has been for the Rays. After a mostly disappointing seven years with the Dodgers in which he averaged 10 home runs and 60 RBIs, Loney is leading the American League in hitting at .385. Loney still has low-wattage power, but he has provided solid protection for cleanup hitter Evan Longoria.

Every season, Andre Ethier seems to be bothered by something different. His thumb. His knee. His toe. His ankle. But not this season. "I think this is the healthiest I've been in four, five years and the best I've felt every day," the Dodgers outfielder said. "Something's not adding up. " Ethier began Saturday batting .235 with three home runs and 10 runs batted in. Laughing, Ethier recalled how the team's medical services director, Stan Conte , jokingly told him, "Maybe we should slam a hammer on your toe or something and ding you up. " The left-handed-hitting Ethier has historically hit right-handers far better than he has left-handers.

When: 2 p.m. Where: JELD-WEN Field. On the air: TV: UniMas; Radio: 690 Records: Chivas USA 3-4-2, Timbers 3-1-6 Record vs. Timbers (2012): 3-0-0 Update: Chivas USA swept the Timbers in their three games last season, but this year Chivas USA faces a Portland club that's undefeated in its last eight games, a streak that includes five ties. In addition, Chivas USA will be without regular goalkeeper Dan Kennedy, who was suspended after being given a red card a week ago in Chivas USA's 4-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City.

This week, on Facebook, someone posted one of those preprinted witticisms that vie with cute kittens for the attention of people sharing stuff: "I don't know where YOU live, but the weather here is somewhere between bipolar and psychotic this year. " I live in the woods in Northern California at an elevation of 2,500 feet. In my backyard, fenced to keep the deer out, there are 30 rosebushes. Most years, the first flush of roses comes at the end of May, but there are a couple hundred roses in full bloom out back, an unusual sight at this elevation this early in the season.

George Karl led the Denver Nuggets to a team-record 57 wins without a big name on his roster. For that endeavor, Karl earned the NBA's Coach of the Year award on Wednesday. He received 62 first-place votes, followed by Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat with 24 votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. New York's Mike Woodson finished third and San Antonio's Gregg Popovich , who won the award last season, was fourth. The Nuggets were 57-25 -- the league's fourth-best record -- and captured the No. 3 seeding in the Western Conference.

The 28,000-acre Springs fire spread swiftly over arid territory at a time of year when Southern Californians have barely started thinking about the coming fire season. Typically, the hills around us are still green in mid-spring. But this year, after a particularly rain-starved winter, the ubiquitous nonnative grasses that have taken over so much of the region's open spaces browned out in April. The Springs fire obviously caught the region unprepared. One landowner said he had been just about to trim back the plants on his land.

Switching from cold, snowy vistas to the backdrop of a Pacific sunset, the NHL on Monday confirmed the Kings and the Ducks will face off in an outdoor game Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. Dodger Stadium. The contest, the first regular-season NHL game scheduled for an outdoor venue in a warm-weather city, will be played on a portable rink laid out from first base to third base. Contingency plans will be made for rain or other issues. "I think that's a perfect setting for a hockey game," said Kelly Cheeseman, chief operating officer of the Kings' parent company, AEG. "With the mountains and the palm trees in the background, you couldn't ask for a more magical setting.

SAN FRANCISCO - Adrian Gonzalez emerged as one of the finest power hitters in baseball during his final four seasons with the San Diego Padres. He hit 30 home runs every year - and 40 one year - while playing in cavernous Petco Park. His days as that kind of power hitter are gone. BOX SCORE: San Francisco 4, Dodgers 3 That is not a whisper from an anonymous scout. That is the word from Gonzalez himself, who says he has been unable to recover the swing that made him an elite power hitter.