Morenos unwillingness to spend past the luxury tax threshold, ev

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- After the Los Angeles Angels stumbled to their ninth loss in 10 games Wednesday, manager Mike Scioscia held a closed-door meeting before they packed up and flew to Boston.Although everybody described the meeting as relatively upbeat, the Angels didnt emerge with any big ideas on how to slow a season going south. With too many injured players and not enough big hitters, the Angels (32-47) are on pace for the worst record in franchise history.We know weve seen some guys performing at their absolute worst for the first half, and we know theyre better than that, Scioscia said. Thats going to be our goal, to get those guys going in the right direction ... I dont think these guys are taking losing in stride. I think thats a positive.If so, its one of the few positives in Anaheim these days.Houston completed a three-game sweep of the Angels on Wednesday, outscoring its AL West rivals by a combined 21-7. The Angels been swept in seven series already this season, and their 8-19 record in June was their worst in the month since 1980.Those 1980 Angels lost 95 games. The current Angels are on pace for 96 defeats, less than two years after they won 98 games for the majors best record.Mike Trout is still performing brilliantly, going 18 for 30 with three homers during their six-game homestand. Just about everybody else in an Angels uniform is struggling to some degree -- when theyre healthy enough to put on the uniform, that is.Our team has to be more than Mike, Scioscia said. Weve been struggling to get our lineup a little deeper. ... Were looking forward to getting some guys back, but the guys that are in that room should be playing better than we are, and thats what were going to focus on. Were all looking in the mirror and trying to get us going in the right direction. We all need to get better.Injuries are the most obvious cause for the Angels woes, particularly on the mound. Few teams could thrive after the loss of three top-of-the-rotation starters -- in the Angels case, Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney and C.J. Wilson. Several key regulars also have missed extended time, from shortstop Andrelton Simmons and third baseman Yunel Escobar to top reliever Joe Smith.The Angels have already used 43 players in their first 79 games.The injuries are something Ive never been a part of, said Jered Weaver, who dropped to 6-7 with a 5.51 ERA after losing to Houston. Theres been a lot of people going down, a lot of people getting called up and back and forth. But its no excuse. Its nothing that any other team hasnt gone through. No one is going to feel sorry for us.Yet the Angels slide also is rooted in decisions made years ago.Their depleted farm system has produced very few candidates to replace those injured players, and owner Arte Moreno already devoted a huge chunk of the Angels payroll to Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton this season and into the future. Combined with Morenos unwillingness to spend past the luxury tax threshold, even this big-budget club cant buy its way out of trouble now.The Angels have some salary relief in sight: Weaver and Wilson, who are making $20 million apiece, will be off the books this winter. But Hamilton is owed another $17 million in 2017 while he plays for Texas, and Pujols will make $140 million over the next five years while he jogs well past his 40th birthday.At least Pujols plays every day and keeps things interesting by climbing the career homers list, passing Harmon Killebrew for 11th place last week with his 574th. The three-time NL MVP is second on the team with 50 RBI, but is batting .247 with a meager .417 slugging percentage.General manager Billy Eppler hasnt had much early luck in his first year on the job. Eppler said this week that Scioscias job isnt in jeopardy during his 17th season, acknowledging that the Angels injuries and depth problems can hardly be solved by the longest-tenured manager in baseball.Eppler said the Angels have too many financial resources to be forced to enter a rebuilding phase. He wont trade Trout, but its possible the Yankees former professional scouting director could restock his largely barren cupboard by trading the Angels few valuable assets once this hard-luck season officially becomes lost.There is no doubt we want to be a contending team, year in and year out, Eppler said. Every move that we are going to make, whether its in July or the offseason, is for the betterment of the team. Running Shoes Outlet Australia . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Best Cheap Running Shoes Australia . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. http://www.australiarunningshoescheap.com/ .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Running Shoes Sale Clearance Australia .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. Running Shoes Cheap Australia . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. RIO DE JANEIRO -- The Brazilians closed out the Rio Games in style Sunday. So did the U.S. mens basketball team.Kevin Durant scored 30 points and helped the Americans rout Serbia 96-66 for their third straight gold medal. That capped an Olympics in which the U.S. dominated the medal tables, both the gold (46) and overall totals (121).Their 51-medal margin over second-place China is the largest in a non-boycotted Olympics in nearly a century.This experience has been the dream of a lifetime for me, said U.S. gymnast and closing ceremony flagbearer Simone Biles, who won five medals, four of them gold, in her first Olympics.After a few close calls in Rio de Janeiro, including a 94-91 win over Serbia in pool play, the U.S. sent Mike Krzyzewski out with a third gold medal. Carmelo Anthonys third gold made him the most decorated male in Olympic basketball history.Brazil also rallied at the end.The countrys determined mens volleyball team won another sensational gold right next door to where Neymar and Co. did it less than 24 hours earlier in a thrilling penalty shootout against 2014 World Cup champion Germany.Brazil beat mighty Italy 25-22, 28-26, 26-24 for the home teams first Olympic mens volleyball title since Athens in 2004.In other highlights of Day 16, American wrestler Kyle Snyder won gold, becoming at 20 the youngest Olympic wrestling champion in U.S. history. And middleweight Claressa Shields became the first American boxer of either gender to win two Olympic boxing gold medals.Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya sloshed his way to the gold medal in the mens Olympic marathon as Rio de Janeiro began its grand goodbye to the 2016 Games in clammy conditions that did nothing to dampen Brazils frenzied mood. Feyisa Lelisa of Ethiopia finished second for the silver, and American Galen Rupp took bronze in his second marathon and Olympic debut.The race began in an early morning drizzle while the host nation was still basking in Neymars kiss and immpossible-to-forget penalty kick that secured the gold medal in soccer.ddddddddddddhe nation desperately needed something to celebrate after demoralizing World Cup and Copa America failures and a host of economic, political and health woes that dominated the lead-up to South Americas first Olympics.A blustery storm swept in before the start of the closing ceremonies at Maracana Stadium, where Rio de Janeiro handed the torch to Tokyo , host of the 2020 Games.Other highlights as the Rio Games came to a close:DOUBLE GOLD : French fighter Tony Yoka joined fiancee Estelle Mossely as gold medal winners, defeating Britains Joe Joyce in a super heavyweight bout Sunday. Mossely won lightweight gold on her 24th birthday on Friday and was in the stands shouting encouragement for Yoka. Mossely took off and made a golden leap into Yokas massive arms, just as she did after her victory.GASOLS GOODBYE? : Pau Gasol scored 31 points in what might have been his final Olympic game and Spain added a bronze to its collection on Sunday with an 89-88 win over Australia, again denied its first medal inside the rings. Sergio Rodriguez made two free throws with 5.4 seconds left and the Spaniards, who captured silver in 2008 at Beijing and the London Games, got the defensive stop they needed.MIXED BAG : Brazil managed to pull off South Americas first Olympics under difficult economic and political conditions, with the competitions, venues, athletes, friendly hosts, TV images and Rios scenic backdrops all rising to the occasion. But there were also empty seats, ticket fiascos, spread-out venues, green water, street crime, traffic chaos and lack of a clear Olympic feel in the parks.---AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org---Follow AP Sports Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton ' ' '