LA Angels: Erick Aybar assuming lead role with a flourish

On Saturday afternoon in Texas, Los Angeles Angels shortstop Erick Aybar singled in the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games. More importantly, Aybar is doing it from the leadoff spot, giving the Halos the on-base threat at the top of the order they have been looking for since the departure of Chone Figgins. Last season, Angels manager Mike Scioscia had pegged Aybar as the leadoff man as well, but Aybar struggled, hitting just .253 for the year, a full 59 points lower than the previous season. Aybar admittedly tried to adjust his style at the plate to what he thought the Angels needed, in spite of Scioscia telling him to be just be himself. This season, Aybar is back to being the hitter he was in 2009, and the results clearly reflect the change. In 15 games as the leadoff hitter, Aybar is hitting .328 with eight stolen bases, and he’s been particularly nasty from the left side of the plate, hitting .367 thus far. It’s no secret that Scios...