The Angels have removed 32-year old righty starting pitcher Joel Pineiro from the starting rotation. He deserved to be yanked from the rotation as he hasn’t pitched well since May. In his last 11 starts (June, July and August), Pineiro is 3-4 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. Pineiro has pitched in 18 games (18 starts) overall for the Angels this year and he is 5-6 with a 5.31 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. He hasn’t missed many bats this year as he has given up 135 hits in his first 103 1/3 innings so far this year. The Angels are in the heat of a penant race so they couldn’t afford to keep running Pineiro out to the mound every five days.