The Los Angeles Angels now know their starting pitchers for the first four games of their series against the New York Yankees. On Wednesday, manager Mike Scioscia said that John Lackey will pitch Game 1, Joe Saunders will pitch Game 2, Jered Weaver will pitch Game 3 and Scott Kazmir will pitch Game 4.
Lackey will face a lot of pressure in Game 1. If the Angels want to advance to the 2009 World Series, they will need to quiet the confidence that the Yankees currently hold. To do so, Los Angeles really needs to win the first game of the …read more

John Lackey has flown under the radar for a long time. The Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher has been very consistent over the years but doesn’t get an abundance of praise. On Thursday, the Seattle Mariners got a first-hand look at how well Lackey can pitch as he lead the Angels to a 3-0 victory.
Lackey went all nine innings for a five-hit shutout. The win was his tenth of the season and his ERA lowered to 3.53. Lackey now has at least ten victories in each of the last seven seasons. As a rookie in 2002, he had nine victories …read more

The Los Angeles Angels had the best record in baseball last season. Their 2009 baseball season hasn’t started quite as they would have liked. Starting pitcher John Lackey now joins Ervin Santana and Kelvim Escobar as starting pitchers who could be out until the middle of May.
Lackey’s issue is a sore right elbow, however tests have been positive and the hurler isn’t expected to miss more than six weeks. Last season, the 30-year-old from Texas had a 12-5 record with an ERA of 3.75. A few sources close to the team indicate that Lackey could return as early as the …read more

I broke my right ankle when I was 15. I broke my right orbital bone (beneath the eye) when I was 26. Only two bones I’ve ever broken in my life — both playing softball.
But we’re not here to talk about me. We’re looking today at players who are injury risks in 2008. And when I say “we,” I actually mean Chris Neault, who has a detailed rundown up at Hardball Times. Here’s his take on Angels right-hander John Lackey:
Inner elbow pain is not something that you want to have. Lackey logged over 3500 pitches last season, and over 200 …read more