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The Pittsburgh Pirates are 23-17 after pn the season, but have done so on good pitching. The club's offense has struggled, posting a .244 batting average in 40 games, good for No. 11 in the National League. The Bucs also rank No. 10 in on-base percentage, offsetting their respectable No. 7 ranking in slugging. One of the problematic spots in the order is occupied by third baseman Pedro Alvarez.

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The Angels' Josh Hamilton and his manager had a difference of opinion as to why the outfielder left after six innings of Monday’s 11-4 loss to Kansas City.

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Good news for the 14-24 Los Angeles Angels has been in limited supply, but there was some Monday night when reliever Ryan Madson pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for Class A Inland Empire.

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Baseball’s longest tenured manager is Mike Scioscia, who has been at the helm of the Los Angeles Angels since 2000 and led the franchise its only World Series title in 2002.

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The last time Tony La Russa was in a big league dugout as manager was the All-Star Game in Kansas City last July. Could the longtime bench boss make a comeback?

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Earlier this week, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney wrote that several soon-to-be free agent starting pitchers are either hurt or struggling mightily over extended periods, greatly impacting their value come the offseason. Buster was looking forward. I'm going to put on my hindsight shades and put the ship in reverse.

Fourteen players signed free agent contracts this past winter worth $25 million or more with a team they did not play for the previous season. While I'm not suggesting any of them are busts after five weeks or so, most of those players are either hurt or struggling right now.

Zack Greinke ($147 million) broke his collarbone in a brawl, but he is ahead of schedule to return, while Josh Hamilton ($125 million is batting a meek .205/.255/.311 with three home runs and 40 strikeouts for the Angels. B.J. Upton ($75 million) is batting .153/.240/.270 with 42 punch outs while Michael Bourn ($48 million) and Shane Victorino ($39 million) have spent the majority of the year on the disabled list. Cody Ross ($26 million) hasn't been awful, necessarily -- .280/.310/.378 -- but those are fourth outfielder numbers and he began the year on the disabled list.

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In recent weeks there has been some chatter about batting some of the better hitters in the game in the No. 2 hole -- as the Los Angeles Angels and the Minnesota Twins have done with Mike Trout and Joe Mauer -- rather than the traditional spots at No. 3 or No. 4. ESPN Insider's Keith Law wrote earlier this week that Cincinnati Reds' star Joey Votto is a fit to bat second.

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Los Angeles right-hander Garrett Richards has struggled since replacing Jered Weaver in the starting rotation, surrendering 16 earned runs in 19 innings of work, and that includes a stellar seven innings versus the Detroit Tigers. Furthermore, one of the three clunkers for Richards came against the Seattle Mariners, among the more offensively challenged lineups in baseball.

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Albert Pujols started his ninth game of the season as a designated hitter Sunday against the Tigers, one more than he has made at first base. That gap could only widen in the coming weeks.

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The Los Angeles Angels are without ace Jered Weaver for about a month, perhaps six weeks total, and ESPN Insider's Jim Bowden writes that the Halos should go out and land a starting pitcher that can help them now, naming Houston Astros right-hander Bud Norris as a prime target.

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As if things weren't going poorly enough for the Los Angeles Angels, a left heel contusion for Erick Aybar adds injury to insult.

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With word coming out Tuesday that Jered Weaver was placed on the disabled list, the next order of business was centered on who would replace the club's ace in the rotation. One thing we know is that it won't be Aaron Harang, as Jim Bowden reports via Twitter that L.A. does not have interest in the veteran right-hander.

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Jered Weaver left Sunday night's start after injuring his left (non-throwing) elbow avoiding a comebacker. What's his status going forward?

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When the Los Angeles Angels committed $240 million to Albert Pujols over a 10-year period, the key question was whether he would still be a productive player by the end of the deal, when he would easily be past his 40th birthday.

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