Why the Angels Are 4-6 in Their Last 10

by Rev Halofan on May 15, 2008 11:39 PM PDT in News Comment 19 comments

The Angels are a listless bunch when it comes to combining good offense and good pitching. Jon Garland gave us a quality start tonight and the bats were flat. It was a familiar refrain in these past 10 games.

The absence of Chone Figgins and Howie Kendrick is exacerbating the problems of a batting average-dependent offense that considers Vlad's 109 OP+ would get kudos if he were a AAA player auditioning but he cannot satisfy the lofty expectations we have of him. Torii Hunter is flailing in a slump and I I have said my peace about G.A, GMJ and Just(Un)in-Speier.

Mike Scioscia is not going to wait around for the bullpen to adjust itself and, alå 2002, he is rebuilding the pen by audition - that time it was Donnelly this time it is Arredondo, but expect the roster of arms to change until a recipe that works is arrived at.

Treading water while the hamstrings heal, hoping veterans who do not produce will ride the pine to open up time to some other elusive combination of things, hopefully the pieces all fit in Mike's grand scheme of things. When the Angels came back tonight to tie the score, it reminded me of a glimmer of the 2002 squad. While it is a slicker presentation at the stadium all around, the product on the field may match the heart and talent of that team while the expectations of the fan base could be the most unrealistic cog in this otherwise well-oiled machine.

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You need to get over your GA thing

Seriously. He appears healthy and when healthy he has still got it.

Even though I am veteran biased, I am surprised our young 3b guys havn’t been able to to transfer their hitting potential to the MLB. They rip it up in AAA, then fold up when called upon. No more argumentsK about sending figgy elsewhere, at least for now.

I’m still thinking the pitching and hitting problems will work itself out.

Actually, with the injury situation, there is nothing else we can do. I think coach has tried everything and given everyone a chance to make a difference.

Keep plugging away.

Young Angels - Proof is in the consistency. But I'll take flashes for now.

by vladtheimpaler on May 16, 2008 12:52 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

the Q is the answer

he’s not the answer we’re looking for
but he’s better than the minor league scrubs we’ve seen
mike schmidt is not on our bench
let Q get some ab’s
the kids can play D if we get the lead

Who goofed? I've got to know.

by hittheg on May 16, 2008 2:46 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

because that's a great way for the kids to figure out MLB pitching

dont let them hit it!
you’ll only learn by experience, and there’s going to be some freaking bumps along the way. let them work out the kinks, because when they do, im sure you’ll be eating a gigantic plate full of crow.

we all said the same things when Napoli, Kotchman and Kendrick came up… “Oh, the cant hit, all they do is strikeout.” and now look at them – they’re solid fixtures in our lineup!. Good heavens, lay off the kids. that’s what they are… rookies. they’re not all going to be Ryan Braun, okay? give them some time to adjust before judging their talent. we’ve seen them for, what, 3 weeks? come on….

Bring up Wood!!!

by howiestheman on May 16, 2008 10:38 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Two points

Wood is a prospect, so I’m more than willing to ride through rough stretchs.

Matt Brown IS NOT a prospect. He will never be in the everyday lineup on the Angels barring massive injuries like they have right now. Letting him play when Q is much more capable is not what the Angels should be doing right now IMO.

by MH252525 on May 16, 2008 10:48 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Brown is horrible

it is all fine and dandy that the kid rips the cover off the ball in the launching pad of SLC, but he has been horrible in his showings with the Halos. The pitchers are striking him out with fastballs, not even cureve or splittys. He cant catch up to it and is looking pathetic…Why not give wood a block of at bats and stick with him…. Wood hasn’t been much better, but stick with him for an extended period…we need to know what we have in our “super prospect”

Could be work, could be baseball...but I got Spring Fever!!!!!

by P237 on May 16, 2008 11:34 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

i agree that Wood should get the time

we gave Adenhart 3 starts, why not give Wood a month?
if i remember correctly, he was starting to look A LOT more comfortable at the plate, and he was having some good at bats

Bring up Wood!!!

by howiestheman on May 16, 2008 11:43 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Look at Apr 29th and 30th as a prime example

Brandon Wood looks as good as he ever has at the plate going 1-3 with a walk and the very next day against another soft tossing LHP, Scioscia brings in Matt Brown who goes 0-4 with 3 K’s.

Scioscia is a big part of the problem. Just play someone (give them a sizeable number of abs to make a decision), the rotating system is crap.

by MH252525 on May 16, 2008 11:52 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

i agree

i effing hate platoons. you cant get into some sort of groove when you’re not playing every day. if you give people opportunities on a daily basis, they are bound to succeed (see Reggie Willits from last year)

Bring up Wood!!!

by howiestheman on May 16, 2008 12:59 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

wrong

you cant get into some sort of groove when you’re not playing every day

What about Napoli?

Halos Fan Since 5th Grade

by angels4adam on May 16, 2008 9:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

in all fairness

kotch went his first like 50 MLB at-bats without striking out once.
so at least i didn’t think that all he did was strikeout. haha.

"Here we go baby, 'bout f***'n' time!"

by b0rd3rline on May 16, 2008 11:11 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

GA

while healthy, is not a clean up hitter. He should be 6th or 7th at best. For as bad as Brown has looked at the plate, leave him in the lineup until Figgins comes back. The revolving door at 3rd base is counter productive. Leave Willits in the line up in LF and keep Torii in CF. The “let’s rotate the OF’s to keep them fresh” doesn’t allow them to get into a groove. Tell GA he is the DH.

Stay on the damn bag!!

by higdog on May 16, 2008 6:12 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

and the sooner Mike realizes all of this

the better. well said

Bring up Wood!!!

by howiestheman on May 16, 2008 10:38 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not even close to a GA supporter

But he’s not in the same class as GMJ or Matt Brown or Jeff Mathis as reasons why the Angels are struggling. He carried the offense in KC, and has continued to raise his average. He’s raised it like 50 some points the last 2 weeks or so, leaving GMJ in his dust.

GMJ, Brown, and Mathis are as close to automatic outs as they come.

When everyone gets healed up this is the lineup I would want….

Desmond 3B
HK 2B
Vlad RF
Kotch 1B
Hunter CF
GA DH
Naps C
Aybar SS
Willits LF

by MH252525 on May 16, 2008 9:20 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

looks great to me

except Morales isnt in it… haha

but seriously, i love that guy

Bring up Wood!!!

by howiestheman on May 16, 2008 10:33 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think you meant to say,

“I’m not even close to an Angels fan”

Halos Fan Since 5th Grade

by angels4adam on May 16, 2008 9:13 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

We are about to enter the DFA era

Everyone thought the Tigers made all the right moves this offseason, and Hank Steinbrenner is going apeshit but the Mitchell report completely changed the game. Purists got their way and now we have nightly shutouts around the league coupled with embarrasing runs scored and home run numbers.

Teams at or near the top include the A’s, Rays, D-Backs, and Marlins and are the youngest rosters in the game. Even our Angels are the 9th youngest in baseball.

Sucks to be a veteran right now.

by Wytelitning on May 16, 2008 9:30 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

GA over last month:

AB AVG R HR RBI SB
94 .298 12 3 17 2

Projected out to an entire season:

AB AVG R HR RBI SB
600 .298 77 19 109 13

That may not make him the most productive cleanup hitter in the league, but those numbers are nothing to sneeze at. And this comment is from someone who has a huge man-crush on Kotch.

Willits for ROY! Oh, wait... Um, Kendrick for batting title? Yeah!

by 101halo on May 16, 2008 4:28 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs