The Angels are second to last in home runs in the American League. Neither Bobby Abreu nor Vlademir Guerrero have flashed any sign of power this year. Fortunately, the Angels have two infielders hanging around the home run leaderboard in AAA, second baseman Sean Rodriguez (21) and short stop Brandon Wood (14). While Wood is still destroying pitchers in Salt Lake City, Sean Rodriguez has finally been called up following the demotion of Howie Kendrick. However, it looks like at-bats will be hard to come by for S-Rod. Steve Bishop of the LA Times:

"When Izzy goes five for eight [as he did against the San Diego Padres for a couple of games], it's tough to take him out," the Angels manager said Sunday. Remember, this is the same manager who has had Izturis batting third on occasion.

What about platooning the right-handed-hitting Rodriguez with Izturis, who is a much more effective hitter left-handed? Nope, that doesn't seem in the plans, either. "We want to keep Izzy fresh," Scioscia said, "but we're not going to platoon. We'll give Sean some playing time."

This is no knock on Izturis. He's a solid little player with good skills. But despite what occurred during the sweep of the pathetic Padres over the weekend, the Angels are still glaringly short on power. ...

That's why Rodriguez would be so welcome. Sure, he struck out a lot in the PCL (67 times in 202 at-bats, compared to 36 in 160-plus at-bats for Brandon Wood). But his ability to hit the ball out of the park could elevate the punchless bottom part of the Angels' lineup to a new level.

Izturis can't do that.

Do I still wish Wood were in the big league lineup? Absolutely. But I understand not wanting to change the whole defense, especially with Figgins playing at an All-Star caliber at third. When Howie Kendrick was sent down to rediscover his batting stroke, there was no question Rodriguez was the right one to replace him, not just on the roster, but in the starting lineup as well.

Izturis has an OPS of .687 this season and a career mark of .716. He's 28 years old, it's unlikely that he will get much better all of the sudden. That's ok, he is a pretty good sub, but not more. The 24 year old Rodriguez on the other hand has an OPS of .989 this season and had a 1.042 last season. He has nothing more to prove in AAA and now with Kendrick in the minors, he should take over second base immediately.

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