A win, but not a total victory.

A win always feels good. It often covers up the problems. But when you've had as many blunders as the Angels have had lately, the problems are worth mentioning, even after a nice 11-6 clubbing of the Padres (sorry Buddy Black, wish it weren't you.) On the plus side, great hitting, both situational and with runners in scoring position. Guys were taking pitches, working the count, going after their pitch. Mostly. Some good aggressive base running. And Palmer was solid, if not spectacular. It shows he never should have been taken out of the rotation. On the 'did they not get the message from Scioscia yesterday' front: Vladdy. What to do about the Vladdy problem. And yes, right now it is a problem. He is the weak link in the line-up. He continues to defy logic by swinging at pitches so far off the plate they were probably meant to be set-up pitches for anyone else. His power numbers are nonexistent, which is to be expected when you swing at pitches that knock you off balance. And then he goes and commits a base running blunder. If this team needs to get cleaned up, it has to start with Vladdy.Napoli. I'm not sure what he was thinking when he took strike three with a runner in scoring position RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE PLATE. He was waiting on a curveball? Well, whatever he was thinking he thought it again his next time up, when he took strike three again. Of course, the alternative is worse. Mathis looks like a little leaguer at the plate. It was a nice win. A needed win. But right now, simply put, this team feels like a team riding on reputation. And a reputation has rarely won a World Series.