The Los Angeles Anaheim Angels of Anaheim, California spent a lot of money in the offseason, primarily on two free agents. After 1/5 of the season, that investment hasn’t quite paid off.

Last night, the Angles were shut out for the 8^thtime in 36 games. It is believed that the all-time Major League record for run scoring futility is 33, held by the 1908 St. Louis Cardinals. This puts LAA on a pace to break that record.

Much of the blame, of course, falls on the $250 million shoulders of Albert Pujols, who is hitting .197/.235/.275 with just 1 HR. But the team has an average OBP of .299. That’s not good. At all. Especially when the team they’re chasing in the standings, the Texas Rangers, have a team OBP of .351. The Angels have hit a total of 31 HR (as a team). Josh Hamilton, of the Rangers, has 18.

The point? The Angels are more than just an Albert Pujols (the real one) away from contending, like everyone thought they would. It’s going to take a lot of Christopher Lloyd arm-flapping to get the job done.

The New York Rangers are good.

It took New York two 7-game series to get to the Eastern Conference Finals. After last night, it looks like the Rangers are itching for a shorter series, as they dominated the third period against the New Jersey Devils, en route to a 3-0 shutout. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stopped each of the 21 shots that the Devils could muster.

A late, perhaps errant, whistle may have cost the Boston Celtics a chance to win the second game of their second round series with the Philadelphia 76ers last night.

With 10 seconds to play, an offensive foul was called on Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, as he moved to set a screen. It’s a move that happens in almost every late game situation and is rarely called. Last night was the exception.  The Sixers pulled out an 82-81 victory, stealing back home court advantage in the series.

In the Heartland, a much-hyped game between the Lakers and Thunder turned instead into a public shaming.

The Thunder used an explosive start to the second half to bury the Lakers in a deep hole that LA couldn’t have been bothered to pull itself out of. The final score of 119-90 wasn’t as indicative of the disparity between the two teams. Oklahoma City was fresher, certainly, after a 9-day layoff. But the Thunder looked hungrier than LA throughout. Oklahoma City looks to be on a  collision course with the Western Conference Finals.

Oh, and Ron Artest didn’t elbow anyone in the face. So that’s nice.

Bryce Harper! Bryce Harper! Bryce Harper!

As an act of atonement for a second inning error, Bryce Harper delivered his first Major League HR in the bottom of the 3^rdinning during last night’s game against the San Diego Padres. The hit was a deep blast to Centerfield off of a Tim Stauffer cutter. As Harper entered the dugout to high-fives, the fans began clamoring for a curtain call. The kid obliged, giving the vaunted double-point to the crowd.

The Nats entered the 9^th inning with an 8-5 lead, however another rocky appearance from Henry Rodriguez put that 8-5 lead in jeopardy. With the bases loaded and only 1 out, Manager Davey Johnson pulled his Closer and brought in Sean Burnett, who induced a double play to end the game.

The Nats (thanks to an Atlanta loss) find themselves back in first place in the National League East. The second, and final, game of their series with San Diego will be played in the daylight today. Stephen Strasburg will oppose Anthony Bass. Game time is 1:05 p.m.

With apologies to Josh Beckett, who will probably get in 9 holes before tonight’s start against Seattle….

LA Clippers @ San Antonio Spurs (9:30/TNT). The young Clippers (who aren’t actually that young) are coming off of a tough, physical 7-game series. The old Spurs (who aren’t actually that old) are coming off of a 4-game picnic. Rest did a lot of good for the Thunder. We’ll see if it does the Spurs good.