Angels' speed isn't translating into stolen bases

ANAHEIM -- One of the most surprising stats in the early portion of the Angels' season may be their stolen-base numbers. Heading into Tuesday's game against the Rangers, they had only six, fewer than 24 other teams despite having two of baseball's fastest players -- Mike Trout and Peter Bourjos -- in their regular lineup.

Trout had three of the Angels' steals, while Bourjos -- stranded on first base while representing the tying run in Monday's ninth inning -- has yet to even attempt a stolen base despite having a .355 on-base percentage.

Part of the reason for the low numbers is that Erick Aybar has been out since April 9. Another could be that Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and Mark Trumbo have been directly following Bourjos and Trout in the lineup, making manager Mike Scioscia less willing to sacrifice an out or put pitchers in position to give an intentional walk.

But the Angels' skipper said his typically aggressive philosophy "hasn't changed."

"We're going to stay as aggressive as we can," Scioscia added. "There's a little more that goes into it than just the stolen base, as far as what it maybe does for some matchups or taking the bat out of somebody's hands that you always consider. But I don't think there's anything that's going to keep us from being aggressive because it's part of what we need to do on the offensive side."