Scot Shields Has Lost His Job

Anybody who's paid attention to the Angels the last few years knows that Scot Shields is one of, if not the best, setup guys in the game. For years the Angels have been turning games into 7 inning affairs with Shields and Francisco Rodriguez shutting things down in the 8th and 9th inning.

Or at least they used to be. K-Rod is still doing his job, but Shields has been struggling lately. He gave up a game winning grand slam to Hank Blalock on Sunday, and he has an ERA of 10.00 since the All-Star break. Even worse? He hasn't had a 1-2-3 inning since July 7th. It's hard to keep your job when you perform like that, and Shields found out first hand, as he's been demoted from his normal set up role.

Welcome to the wonderful world of middle relief, Mr. Shields!

"He's a huge part of our bullpen," Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. "Right now, to get him back to where he needs to be, he needs to take a half-step backward."

Scioscia said Shields would pitch a simulated game today -- a step usually reserved for pitchers rehabilitating an injury -- and would not pitch for another day or two thereafter. Scioscia said Shields would then be used in middle relief so as to "reinsert him in more of a way where he can get his feet on the ground."

Stepping in to Shields old position will be Justin Speier. Luckily for the Angels, Seattle's recent 9-game losing streak helped them build a more comfortable 6.5 game lead in the West, so this move should only be a minor bump in the road.

Going on Shields' track record, I don't think it will be too long until fixes whatever is wrong, and gets his old job back.