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Vernon Wells News & Rumors

Angels get a win to keep hope alive
September 21
Los Angeles Times
 
"Reporting from Toronto — Every B-grade adventure movie has a scene in which the intrepid hero, finding himself in a fix, comes up with an escape plan that has only a slim chance of succeeding. That's where the Angels find themselves now. Despite Tuesday's easy 10-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Angels remain five games back of victorious Texas in the American League West with eight games left to play. In the wild-card race the Angels climbed to within 3½ games of the lead. But though Boston and Tampa Bay both lost a game, they moved a day closer to the end of the season. As a result the Rangers' magic number — the combination of Texas wins and Angels losses — to clinch the division"
Vernon Wells has been catalyst in Angels' turnaround
August 29
Los Angeles Times
 
"Reporting from Arlington, Texas -- If the Angels rally into the postseason, they're likely to point to a stretch in mid-August as the point in which the season turned. And they're also likely to point to Vernon Wells as the man who sparked the turnaround. After going one for four with a run batted in Sunday in a 9-5 loss to the Texas Rangers, Wells has a seasonlong seven-game hitting streak. And six of the hits in that streak have gone for extra bases, raising his season average 16 points to .216. Wells credits the success to changes he made to his stance after viewing video from his 2006 season in Toronto, when he hit .303 with 32 homers. "Something needed to change," said Wells, who"
Scioscia losing patience with Wells
August 22
L.A. Daily News
 
"Vernon Wells was back in the starting lineup in left field Sunday after not starting two of the previous three games. Wells figures to lose more playing time than anyone else in order to get 20-year-old Mike Trout in the lineup, Angels manager Mike Scioscia saying he can't be as patient with Wells in late August as he was earlier in the season. "At this point in the season it's more difficult to burn at-bats for a guy trying to find it," Scioscia said. "It's not a faith thing -'is Vernon going to find it?' - it's more pragmatic, where we need something now." Wells went into Sunday's game hitting .201 after coming into the season with a .280 lifetime average. But because Wells is signed for"
Mike Trout is called up, which means less playing time for Bobby Abreu and Vernon Wells
August 20
Los Angeles Times
 
"There was heavy action Friday in the principal's office, where struggling outfielders Vernon Wells and Bobby Abreu were summoned for lengthy individual closed-door meetings with Manager Mike Scioscia and hitting coach Mickey Hatcher. Change was in the air, precipitated by the return of 20-year-old outfielder Mike Trout, who was called up from double-A Arkansas on Friday and will push Wells and Abreu into more part-time roles. Scioscia said the speedy Trout, who hit .163 but showed much promise during a three-week stint with the Angels in July, will start at least three or four times a week, mostly in the corner outfield spots and occasionally in center. Abreu, who entered Friday hitting"
Angels give Wells chance to rest, regroup
August 19
Orange County Register
 
"Whatever the Angels thought they were getting when they traded for Vernon Wells, this is not it. With Wells plumbing new depths in his season-long slump, the veteran outfielder was benched by Manager Mike Scioscia for Thursday's series finale against the Texas Rangers. Scioscia said Wells was "a little sore" after running into the left-field wall in pursuit of Michael Young's ninth-inning double Wednesday but "even if he wasn't banged up" would have been on the bench. Wells entered the game in the seventh as a defensive replacement for Bobby Abreu and struck out when he batted in the eighth. Before the game, Scioscia would not say how long Wells - .200 batting average, .232 on-base"
Angels' slumping Vernon Wells is kept out of starting lineup
August 19
Los Angeles Times
 
"Vernon Wells was sore from a crash into the left-field wall Wednesday night, but it was his eyesore of a batting average, along with some other hideous numbers, that kept him out of the lineup Thursday night. "He was a little banged up," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "But he was going to get the day off anyway." (Wells entered the game in the seventh inning and struck out in the eighth.) The Angels are at a loss to explain Wells' dramatic decline since the 32-year-old was acquired from Toronto in January. Wells was a career .280 hitter who averaged 25 home runs and 90 runs batted in for 91/2 seasons. Four and a half months into 2011, he's hitting .201 with 17 homers and 46 RBIs."
Angels' Vernon Wells checks out videos from Blue Jays' library
August 16
Los Angeles Times
 
"While a "Seinfeld" rerun played on the clubhouse television Monday afternoon, struggling left fielder Vernon Wells was in the Angels' video room watching reruns of his 2006 season with the Toronto Blue Jays. Wells hit .303 with a career-high 32 home runs, 40 doubles and 106 runs batted in that year. When the Angels were in Toronto over the weekend, he received permission from the Blue Jays to take some video of his at-bats from the last five seasons. "But 2006 is the year I'm concentrating on," Wells said. "That was the year my average and power were where they should be." Wells' average and power this season, especially over the last three weeks, aren't close to where they should be, and"
Fans get it right with Wells
August 14
Toronto Sun
 columnist Bob Elliott
"Parting is such sweet sorrow, the no-hit, good-write, William Shakespeare used to say while hanging around the batting cage. It's the returning part that players are uncertain about. We remember ... -- Andre Dawson, making his first visit to Olympic Stadium after 11 years in a Montreal Expos uniform and being booed every at-bat. Dawson went 7-for-15 (.467) with three doubles, two homers and six RBIs for the Chicago Cubs. He homered in his final at-bat of the series finale and was given a standing ovation. -- Larry Walker, an Expos stalwart for six years, returned to louder boos in April of 1997 with the Colorado Rockies. Walker went 4-for-5, with three homers and told manager Don Baylor to"
Wells the hero as Angels beat Jays
August 13
Toronto Sun
 
"Vernon Wells has always been one cool, laid back cat. Few, though, figured that Wells would have orchestrated such a dramatic return to the building where for the 12 preceding years he patrolled centre field with such grace and elegance. Having been traded away to the Los Angeles Angels back in January, Wells was making his return to the scene of the crime, as it were. Batting sixth in the Angels lineup Friday night, Wells made it to the plate with two out and nobody on in the second inning. What followed was unexpected and pure theatre. A figure of derision for most of his final two seasons here, the crowd of 24,731 turned in his favour at his comeback as they stood and gave him a long,"
Wells shows flair for dramatic in Toronto return
August 13
Toronto Star
 columnist Richard Griffin
"In his first plate appearance at the Rogers Centre in his first trip back with his Angels teammates, Vernon Wells captured the moment forever in an emotional snapshot, homering to centre field on the first pitch he saw from Brandon Morrow. The unexpected blast gave the Angels a lead they never relinquished, on the way to a 5-1 victory. Who knew Wells had that flair for the dramatic? Earlier in the afternoon, the 32-year-old former Jays' first-round pick in June '97 addressed the local media, unsure what the reception would be from a fan base that has been known to boo him, even in the uniform of the home team, when things weren't going well. He was philosophical about it. "Anything you"
Angels' Vernon Wells has happy homecoming in victory over Toronto
August 13
Los Angeles Times
 
"There are occasions in baseball that define players beyond their salaries or statistics, moments that are about emotions and not numbers. For one night, Vernon Wells could escape the constant reminders of how low his batting average is, or how high his salary is. On this night, he had the happiest of homecomings. "It's something I'll be able to tell my kids about," Wells said, "when they forget I played this game." First game back in Toronto, after 12 years with the Blue Jays . First at-bat. First pitch. Home run. Wells put the Angels ahead for good, in a 5-1 victory for which more credit went to Ervin Santana than to Wells. Santana pitched his third complete game in four starts,"
Angels' Wells eager to return to Toronto
August 12
Orange County Register
 
"Vernon Wells doesn't know if Blue Jays fans will use their nickname for him when he returns to Toronto this weekend. "That was only in spurts," Wells said with a smile. "There were a lot of good times there. Some not so good times." During the "not so good times" when the home fans at Rogers Centre were not pleased with Wells' performance - or the burden his contract became for the Jays - Wells would joke with reporters that those weren't derisive cheers he was getting from fans. They were just chanting his new nickname - "Boo." Wells spent 12 seasons with the Blue Jays, winning three Gold Gloves and one Silver Slugger award, making three All-Star teams and moving to or near the top of the"
Oft-maligned outfielder Wells returns to Rogers Centre
August 12
Toronto Star
 
"Going back to Canada Day, there's been a steady procession of special baseball moments at the Rogers Centre. There was the return of Roy Halladay, plus the excitement of the entire Phillies series, followed by the Yankees with Derek Jeter fresh off his 3,000th hit. A month later, there's more subplots — the intensity and hype of Brett Lawrie's debut on Tuesday and on Friday the return to Toronto of Vernon Wells, one of the most overrated yet at the same time underrated Blue Jays in club history. The 32-year-old Wells was traded to the Angels in January along with the remaining $86 million (all figures U.S.) for the final four years of his overblown seven-year, $126 million contract. In"
Vernon Wells to face many changes in return to Toronto
August 12
Los Angeles Times
 
"Reporting from New York— No one has batted more times for the Toronto Blue Jays than Vernon Wells. He has more hits than anyone besides Tony Fernandez, more home runs than anyone besides Carlos Delgado. He returns Friday in several unusual positions — in a visiting uniform, in left field, and in a pennant race in August. The Blue Jays have scheduled a news conference for the reunion, though Wells does not sound overly sentimental. "It's just another road trip," he said. "It's going to be a little different going there. It'll be good to get back, but it's just another road city now." In his nine years as Toronto's center fielder, the Jays posted a winning record five times — four in the"
Weaver, Wells equal win for Angels against Seattle
August 6
L.A. Daily News
 
"Vernon Wells had been in this situation many times in his career, but it had been five years since he'd won a game in this fashion. He changed his thinking, and it resulted in a walk-off hit. "Most of those times in that situation, when you come up late innings, usually you're thinking about hitting homers instead of just putting the ball in play," Wells said. "Most of the times, we do ourselves an injustice by trying to do too much in situations like that." Wells hit a bloop single to center off Mariners pitcher Dan Cortes in the 10 th inning to give the Angels a 1-0 victory after they left 12 men on base and wasted another brilliant Jered Weaver outing. Weaver pitched nine scoreless"
Vernon Wells finishes what Jered Weaver starts
August 6
Los Angeles Times
 
"Jered Weaver is feeling a little invincible these days, which is understandable when you're pitching as well as he is and you just dominated the Seattle Mariners, a team that would struggle to score runs in the Pacific Coast League. Maybe that's why the Angels' ace, after Vernon Wells' 10th-inning single gave his team a 1-0 walk-off win over the Mariners on Friday night, said he plans to go through with an appeal of a six-game suspension for throwing at the head of Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila last Sunday. "I want my voice heard, so we're going to follow through with the appeal and see what happens," Weaver said after giving up seven hits in nine scoreless innings. "Mike [Scioscia] is"
Tall order is paying off for Angels' Vernon Wells
July 6
Los Angeles Times
 
"It began June 13 in Seattle with a slight adjustment in his batting stance. Vernon Wells straightened his upper body a bit, and the left fielder has stood tall ever since. "Being comfortable in the box allows you to think about the most important thing, which is hitting the ball," Wells said. "When you're out of sorts mechanically, you're thinking about that in the box, and all of a sudden the ball is on top of you." And by you. Or tapped for an easy ground-ball out. Or popped up for a routine fly-ball out. That's how most of April and early May went for Wells, who hit .183 with four home runs, 13 runs batted in and 30 strikeouts in his first 35 games as an Angel before suffering a right"
Veterans guide Angels to first place
July 5
Orange County Register
 
"It is not the last place you would have expected to find the Angels on the Fourth of July this year – but it wasn't the first place, either. The Angels reached the holiday in first place in the AL West for the fifth time in the past seven seasons (and stayed that way after a win over the Tiges). This time, though, it seemed like they got there with one arm tied behind their back – an offense that has been sporadic at best and must "get better," as Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Monday. "I don't feel any different," Scioscia said of his team's sharing first place with the Rangers. "We've started to get some wins and inch up there. It's really academic where you are right now. You might"
Hunter, Abreu and Wells kept together in lineup
July 5
L.A. Daily News
 
"Manager Mike Scioscia had a direct answer when asked about keeping the Torii Hunter-Bobby Abreu-Vernon Wells triumvirate connected in the lineup. "Probably because we've tried every other thing and we've probably gone the wrong direction," Scioscia said. Scioscia gathered the three players a few weeks ago and told them he was going to marry them in the middle of the order in an attempt to generate offense, and he stuck to that when Hunter returned to the lineup Monday night. And Hunter was back hitting second, where he was first placed in June after he hit there only 16 previous times in his career. He hasn't had much success, hitting only .135 (5 for 37) in the two spot coming into Monday"
Vernon Wells puts together a big game in Angels' 11-5 victory
June 29
Los Angeles Times
 
"As if the Angels and Washington Nationals didn't do enough to fill a blooper reel Tuesday night, the usually sure-handed teams combining for seven errors and three wild pitches, Washington right-hander Todd Coffey provided even more comic relief in the sixth inning. The bullpen gate swung open, and out burst Coffey, a 6-foot-4, 280-pounder who broke into a dead sprint on the warning track and didn't stop until he got to the mound 90 yards away. To an Angel Stadium crowd unfamiliar with Coffey's game-entering shtick, it looked like a defensive lineman who recovered a fumble and raced the length of the field for a touchdown. Which seemed fitting on a night both teams flexed some considerable"
Slump is over for Wells
June 26
Orange County Register
 
"He said he wasn't stressed. Turns out – he wasn't being entirely truthful. "Y'all didn't 'see' me stressed," Angels outfielder Vernon Wells said of dealing with a brutal start that saw him batting .183 over 100 plate appearances into his first season with a new team. "You do a lot of thinking," he said. "A lot of thoughts go through your head, trying to figure everything out. Sometimes it's better to do what you know you can do. Simplify things and just get back to what you can do." It's easier for Wells to say that now than it was to do it then. A groin injury that landed him on the DL for 26 games served as an obvious way to hit the restart button. In 16 games since returning, Wells is"
Wells, Chatwood spark Angels past Mets
June 20
Orange County Register
 
"Vernon Wells sunk his plastic fork into a slice of red velvet cake after the Angels' 7-3 victory over the New York Mets on Sunday in their interleague series finale at Citi Field. It was a celebration, no doubt. But the occasion was his son's sixth birthday and not the Angels winning two of the three in the series, or the offense's coming through with 11 hits or Wells going a season-best 3 for 4, or the former All-Star seeing his batting average crest above .200 for the first time since opening day. "No, it's not for that (his .202 average), which is nowhere near where I want it to be," said Wells, who lugged in a .190 batting average before his two singles, three RBIs and seventh home"
Wells' two homers power Angels past Mariners, 6-3
June 14
Orange County Register
 
"Even as he made one of the worst first impressions in franchise history – a six-week stumble that fanned the flames of off-season discontentment sparked when the Angels took on his oft-bemoaned contract – Vernon Wells' confidence never shrank in proportion with his batting average. At one point, he posted on his Twitter account, "Too blessed to be stressed," even as the distress over his lack of production mounted. So, it wasn't surprising that he playfully boasted to a member of the Angels' broadcast crew before Monday's game at Safeco Field in Seattle that he was going to go deep during the game. For the first time as an Angel, Wells did more than advertised – he drove in three runs with"
Vernon Wells turns on the power with two homers, rejuvenates Angels in 6-3 win over Seattle
June 14
L.A. Daily News
 
"This was the kind of game the Angels thought they would be getting when they acquired Vernon Wells in January. It also was the kind of game Wells thought he could find after endlessly watching himself on video earlier in the year. Wells, who missed a month of the season with a right groin strain and only returned to the lineup last week, put a charge into the Angels with two homers, including a two-out, two-run tiebreaker in the seventh inning that carried the Angels to a 6-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Monday at Safeco Field. "For a long time I was missing balls I thought I should be hitting," Wells said. "(In April and May) I looked at lots of video and didn't see anything wrong.""
Angels' 6-3 victory over Seattle is good for all concerned, especially Vernon Wells
June 14
Los Angeles Times
 
"The Angels, who had lost nine of 11 games as they embarked on a 12-game trip in which they will touch all four corners of the country and travel 6,822 miles, needed this. General Manager Tony Reagins, who is feeling heat for his January trade that brought Vernon Wells and the four years and $81 million left on his contract to Anaheim, needed this. Hitting instructor Mickey Hatcher, the object of harsh criticism from fans calling for his firing amid the drought-like conditions surrounding the team's offense, needed this. But most of all, it was Wells who needed what the struggling left fielder provided Monday night, a two-homer game that lifted the Angels to a 6-3 victory over the Seattle"
Wells promises hits will come
June 12
Orange County Register
 
"They gathered in the stands around the home team dugout and down the left-field line, just like they always do before these games. The difference Saturday was that instead of seeking the Angels' autographs, the fans could have been seeking the Angels' pulse. This team had gone more than just limp. The Angels had gone lifeless, too. They'd looked like a boxer, a badly beaten one — punchless and toothless. Going into this game, the Angels had scored 15 runs in June. Boston scored 16 on Saturday alone. Then they finally broke through against Kansas City. A four-run second inning and a seventh-inning surge to win, 7-5. "It's that one or two big hits we're lacking right now," Vernon Wells said."
Wells glad for return to Anaheim
June 8
Orange County Register
 
"Vernon Wells only spent two days in the Class-A California League, both spent in wind-blown Lancaster. But he came back with a healthy respect for the major-league lifestyle. "It makes you appreciate what we have up here," Wells said before returning to the Angels' lineup Tuesday night against the Rays. He went 0 for 3 with a strikeout in his first game since suffering a groin-muscle injury May 9. Despite his .183 average through the first five weeks of the season, the Angels actually started to feel the same way about Wells. In his absence, the team went 10-16, averaged 3.3 runs per game (down from 4.1 when he was injured) and went from four games over .500 and a game up in the AL West to"
Wells could make return to Angels' lineup tonight
June 7
L.A. Daily News
 (scroll down)
"Vernon Wells went 0 for 2 with a walk and a run scored Sunday in a rehab game for the Single-A Inland Empire 66 ers against the High Desert Mavericks. Wells, out since May 10 with a strained groin, was scheduled to play again for the 66 ers on Monday and could be activated as soon as tonight for the game against the Rays."
Vernon Wells' dad has a different frame of reference
May 25
Los Angeles Times
 
"Angels pitcher Dan Haren wanted a special gift for his wife, Jessica. Something personal and out of the ordinary, but not gaudy or sappy. So, he thought, how about a painting? "It is different," Haren decided, staring at the portrait he commissioned as he stood before his locker in the visiting clubhouse at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington earlier this month. "It's a unique thing to give someone a painting of yourself, your family. Pictures are one thing, but a painting is really interesting." It used to be that getting one's own portrait was mainly reserved for presidents, members of the British royal family and ruthless Third World dictators. Now all you need is an idea and access to Vernon"
Wells trying to remain patient
May 22
L.A. Daily News
 
"Vernon Wells didn't hesitate when asked when he thought he could return to the lineup. "Tomorrow," he joked. Then the easy-going veteran gave his realistic answer. "I'm hoping it's going to be the next two to three weeks," he said. "They're telling me it will be closer to three." That would be much longer than desired by Wells, who's had to exercise patience with a right groin strain that's kept him out since May 9. He was hoping it would be a matter of weeks before he returned, but it will likely be more than a month when it's all said and done. "Anytime you kind of pop something, it's not a good thing," Wells said. "Usually if it's a hamstring or something, I can kind of get through it."
Angels' Wells goes to DL with groin injury
May 10
Orange County Register
 
"Two weeks ago, a slumping Vernon Wells was asked if his first weeks with the Angels could have gone any worse than they had. "It could be worse," he said. "A lot of other stuff could have gone wrong." He was proved right Monday night when he went on the DL after injuring a muscle in his right groin. "That's kind of what I meant," Wells said with a rueful smile. "This isn't a good thing." Wells injured himself on a swing in the fourth inning of the Angels' 8-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox. He hit a ground ball to third base and could barely leave the batter's box, limping back to the dugout with the help of White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski at one point. "I think it (the injury) was on the"
'Heads-up' play by Wells leads to Angels win
May 2
Orange County Register
 
"Vernon Wells has been making enough outs as an Angel. This time, he found a way to make it work for them. Wells' decision-making on the bases in the eighth inning allowed the winning run to score as the Angels spotted the Tampa Bay Rays a five-run head start, then came back to win, 6-5, Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field. "That was a great heads-up play by Vernon – he basically won the game for us there," said Angels outfielder Torii Hunter, who scored the winning run. With the score tied at 5, Hunter led off the top of the eighth inning with a double. He moved to third on a wild pitch by Rays reliever Joel Peralta with one out, bringing the slumping Wells up with a chance to put the"
Vernon Wells finds way to help Angels beat Tampa Bay, 6-5
May 2
Los Angeles Times
 
"If you ask Vernon Wells, he'll tell you everything's fine. "I don't panic," Wells said Sunday after a second consecutive hitless day dropped his average to .170. "There's no sense of hopelessness." Watch Wells, however, and you'll come to a different conclusion. After striking out twice Friday, he nearly swung a bat at Tampa Bay catcher John Jaso in anger. And when he popped out twice Sunday, he flipped the bat aside in frustration each time. "I've been here before, I've done this before," he said quietly. "It's baseball." That cool paid off Sunday when Wells used his feet, not his bat, to help the Angels steal an eighth-inning run and a 6-5 victory over Tampa Bay, sending them on to"
Wells moved down in lineup
May 1
Orange County Register
 
"The Angels went from eight runs on 17 hits in Friday's win to one run on seven hits in Saturday's extra-innings loss. But it was a different disparity contained in those numbers that prompted Angels manager Mike Scioscia to shuffle his lineup for today's game against Rays right-hander Alex Cobb (making his major-league debut). "Right now, we're doing great against left-handed pitching but really struggling against right-handed pitching," Scioscia said. "It's a bit of a creative lineup in some respects but we've got to try to find a little continuity against right-handed pitching." Through the first 27 games of the season, the Angels are batting .309 with a .363 on-base percentage and .482"
Bumpy start hasn't shaken Wells' confidence
April 28
Orange County Register
 
"If Vernon Wells tried to dream up a worst-case scenario for his first month with a new team, he might have had to get pretty creative to come up with something worse than his current reality. "It could be worse. A lot of other stuff could have gone wrong," the Angels outfielder said after Wednesday's 2-1 loss to the A's, keeping that "other stuff" to himself and out of karma's crosshairs. "It hasn't been the smoothest transition, that's for sure. The good thing is it's only one month. There are six more to go." It has been one pretty bad month, however, for the Angels' big offseason acquisition and one of the highest-paid players in baseball. The latest list of failures includes a"
Vernon Wells tries to see positives after Angels' 2-1 loss to Oakland in 10 innings
April 28
Los Angeles Times
 
"It was with a straight face that Vernon Wells answered a question about whether his first month with the Angels could be going any worse. "Yeah, it could be worse," Wells said after the Angels' 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday. "A lot of other things could have gone wrong. It hasn't been a smooth transition, but it's only one month." Technically, Wells is correct. The former Toronto Blue Jays slugger, acquired by the Angels in January for catcher Mike Napoli and outfielder Juan Rivera, could be batting .100 instead of .178, his average after 25 games. The left fielder could have no home runs instead of one. He could have fewer than the five runs batted in he has."
Angels' Vernon Wells lacks patience at the plate
April 26
Los Angeles Times
 
"It's hard to imagine a hitter who can make Vladimir Guerrero look like a picture of patience, but Vernon Wells seems determined to try. The Angels left fielder entered Monday night's game having seen 287 pitches in 94 plate appearances this season, an average of 3.05 that ranked dead last among 187 major league players with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. The two players just above him on that list are Guerrero, the notorious hacker who now plays in Baltimore, and Cleveland second baseman Orlando Cabrera, who played with Guerrero on the Angels' free-swinging 2005 club that had as much trouble scoring runs as this current Angels outfit. "I've always been that"
Angels' Torii Hunter and Vernon Wells exit early
April 25
Los Angeles Times
 
"Late in the Angels' 7-0 loss to Boston on Sunday, Manager Mike Scioscia took right fielder Torii Hunter out of the game. "He told me I [stink] right now, so I just need to take a mental break," Hunter said. Hunter is hitting .102 (five for 49) in his last 13 games, and though nearly all the Angels are struggling offensively, having scored only five runs in four games, Hunter's frustration is obvious. "Torii is swinging a lot better than what his stats show," hitting coach Mickey Hatcher said. "He's hitting a lot of balls hard, but he's not getting hits." Hunter agrees. "They say hit the ball hard and you'll get a hit," said Hunter, who was two for 13 in the four-game series with Boston."
Wells finally catching on
April 22
Orange County Register
 
"After Vernon Wells hit his first Angels home run Wednesday, his teammates greeted him in the dugout with silence. It's a common prank, most often used for rookies hitting their first home run — such as Hank Conger earlier this month. But an 11-year veteran? "Still get the silent treatment, like some rookie over here," Wells said. "I blame Torii (Hunter)." Who does instigate such team efforts? Believe it or not, even Manager Mike Scioscia can't answer that. "It just happens sometimes," he said. "You don't talk about it. A ball goes out and it's like, man, that's his first one, and guys look at each other and say: 'All right, all right, sit down, sit down.'" And who gives the word to break"
Former Arlington Bowie star Wells coming out of slump
April 19
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
 
"When you can spend $1 million a day for three weeks straight and still have a few million dollars left over for a rainy day, as Angels left fielder Vernon Wells could based on his 2011 salary, you'd better produce. But that hasn't been the case for the three-time All-Star so far this season. He entered Monday's game against Texas with a .148 batting average in 61 at-bats with 15 strikeouts and two RBIs. Angels manager Mike Scioscia benched him on April 12 in the midst of a 1 for 26 slump and he's already been the subject of scattered boos in Anaheim, which is expecting a lot from its prized acquisition. The Toronto Blue Jays sent Wells, who has four years and $86 million left on the $126"
Wells finally delivers for Angels
April 14
Orange County Register
 
"Vernon Wells sparked a 12th-inning rally with his first hit since Saturday as the Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3, at Angel Stadium on Wednesday. Wells had been 4 for 48 as an Angel and 0 for 4 in the game before the one-out single. "It's getting close" Wells said. "I mean, for some reason, you'll get in the box and you'll start feeling comfortable, right at the plate just in the middle of the at-bat and like, 'Oh, yeah, that's it. That feels like I've done this before.' All of a sudden, hit a ball hard, and it's like, all right, let's go. "I actually had (that moment) during the at-bat before that. I just missed a pitch, and popped that ball up. And I felt better in my last"
Vernon Wells finds something positive in victory over Indians
April 14
Los Angeles Times
 
"All that early batting practice and extra hitting in the cages were not only designed for Vernon Wells to find the stroke that made him one of baseball's more productive hitters for the last 10 years. "I was taking as many swings as possible," the Angels left fielder said, "to try to get as many of the bad swings out as I can." Maybe he ran out of bad swings, or maybe he ran out of bad luck, but Wells finally ran into a positive development Wednesday. Stepping to the plate with an .083 average in the 12th inning, Wells smashed a single off the glove of shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and eventually scored the winning run on Jeff Mathis' sacrifice fly, as the Angels beat the Cleveland Indians,"
Vernon Wells' hitting troubles continue
April 12
Orange County Register
 
"It's not as though Vernon Wells has never been in a slump before. He entered Monday's game 4 for 40. He went 4 for 40 during a stretch of June 2010. And in May 2009. And in July 2004. There are probably other times, too, but nobody notices a 4 for 40 in the middle of the season, when those bad at-bats can hide in the mass of statistics that accumulate over 162 games. But everybody has noticed Wells' slow start this season. On Sunday, Angels manager Mike Scioscia and Wells met to talk about how to break the slump. Wells is a veteran who knows his swing and his routines, the thinking went, so he would know best what would get him going again. He studied video with batting coach Mickey"
Anaheim fans to say "Halo" to Wells
April 8
Toronto Sun
 
"After going 3-3 in their opening six games, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will play host to the Blue Jays this weekend with Friday night's game their home opener. Opening up on the road has been something of a godsend for former Blue Jay Vernon Wells. He would have been booed out of the state if the Halos had opened at home. When a high-priced player switches teams, more often than not the player presses a bit through the opening month, wanting to show one and all what a great deal it was to acquire him. It takes a while for the player to relax and just allow his talent to take over. In the Jays' case, think back to 1993 when Paul Molitor came on board as a replacement for the beloved"
Vernon Wells faces friends turned foes in Angels' home opener
April 8
Los Angeles Times
 
"Until last week, the only team Vernon Wells had played for was the Toronto Blue Jays. Friday night he'll be playing against them for the first time while playing in his first home opener with his new team, the Angels. "It'll definitely be strange," said Wells, who played parts of 12 seasons for the Blue Jays before being traded to the Angels in January. "But it's better to get it out of the way early. It's funny how it worked out." Torii Hunter had a similar experience when he signed a free-agent contract with the Angels after 15 years in the Twins organization. That spring his new team opened the season against his old one in Minnesota. "I was like, 'C'mon, who made this up?' " said"
'First day of school' for new Angel Wells
February 19
Orange County Register
 
"After 14 years in the Toronto Blue Jays' organization, Vernon Wells headed west from his Texas home for spring training rather than east to Florida. At camp with the rest of the Angels' position players who reported on Friday, Wells said it was like "my first day of school" and he went around the room to introduce himself to players in his new clubhouse. The lesson plan for Wells in his first spring with the Angels will involve learning a new position. The Angels envision an outfield with Peter Bourjos in center field and two Gold Glove-winning centerfielders in the corners - Torii Hunter in right and Wells in left, a position he has only played for a few innings in the All-Star Game."
Wells criticizes Rangers over Young
February 19
Orange County Register
 
"Vernon Wells and Michael Young were each drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1997 (Wells in the first round, Young in the fifth) and "we hit it off immediately," Wells said. They became close friends while playing together for parts of three seasons in the minor leagues. They have remained close since (even after Young's trade to the Rangers' organization in 2000) and Wells is not happy with the way the Rangers are treating his friend. "It’s been handled poorly on their end, I’ll say that," Wells said of the Rangers' attempts to trade Young this winter and the rift that has been created between Young and the team. "I’ve heard about everything. It’s not just this off-season. It"
For the Angels' Vernon Wells, it's a whole new ballgame
February 19
Los Angeles Times
 
"If Friday felt like "the first day of school" for Vernon Wells, who introduced himself to dozens of new teammates and coaches, Saturday will probably feel like the first day of class. Wells, acquired from Toronto for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera on Jan. 21, is moving from center field, a position where he won three Gold Glove awards, to left field, a position he has not played in any of his 12 regular seasons in the major leagues. The transition will begin Saturday, when Wells and the Angels hold their first full-squad workout. "It's pretty much, 'The ball's hit, go catch it.'" said Wells, who did play left field in the All-Star game last July. "I've been around this game long enough."
Vernon Wells: Rangers have handled the Michael Young situation 'poorly'
February 19
Dallas Morning News
 
"Entering his first season in the American League West, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Vernon Wells has already made critical comments about the division rival Rangers. Wells and Michael Young were each drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1997. According to a Friday story in The Orange County Register, the two became close friends while playing together for parts of three seasons in the minor leagues. Wells made it known Friday that he is not happy with the way the Rangers have dealt with Young's request for a trade. "It's been handled poorly on their end, I'll say that," Wells told the Register. "I've heard about everything. It's not just this off-season. It started a couple years ago.""