Wood's Back...Back Woods

by K3YEROUT on May 22, 2008 2:23 PM PDT Comment 20 comments

Frequent Flyer program award winner for 2008, Brandon Wood is back.

Brandon Wood is on his way back to offer support on the left side of the infield and third baseman Matt Brown is returning to Triple-A Salt Lake.

I think it is time for one of our prized, highly touted prospects to come up and kick ass on a permanent basis? I for one am rooting for you to play BW!

Linkie to article

I always enjoy the "tidbits" section at the bottom.

"Wood's arrival gives depth at shortstop and third, while Brown is primarily a third baseman without as much experience at shortstop. ... Dustin Moseley will continue his bid to get back in the Angels bullpen when he pitches for Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday. "He showed some positive signs last outing," Scioscia said of Moseley, on the DL since May 4 with right forearm stiffness. "Hopefully, he'll keep building stamina." ... After struggling last season against left-handers, finishing 19-21, the Angels have turned it around. They're 7-2 this year against lefty starters, hitting .280 against southpaws compared to .262 against right-handers. ... They hit .284 last year with runners in scoring position and have upgraded that as well, to .292 this season. Their best hitters this season with runners in scoring position have been sidelined, accounting in part for the recent frustrations. Kendrick is 6-for-8 (.750) and Figgins is batting .429 with runners on second and/or third. Casey Kotchman is hitting .366 with runners in scoring position and .400 against southpaws (fourth in the AL). Kotchman also is the fourth hardest hitter to strike out in the AL, going down just once every 15.5 at-bats. "

I think I exceeded the 50 words! :)

This Fan-Post is authored by an independent fan. Tell us what you think and how you feel.

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Comments

most of us here feel the same way

from what i’ve read, anyways.

i know i want him to play full time for the next month

Bring up Wood!!!

by howiestheman on May 22, 2008 2:39 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

no thanks

he has shown absolutely NOTHING in the bigs, limited ABs or not. most of the time hes not even a difficult out. a month of him would just destroy our offense even further and even then everyone would say he still needs more time. i know hes only 23 but his star has certainly dimmed over the past 2 seasons.

we already have sean rodriguez, jeff mathis, gary matthews serving as offensive black holes. Four would be a little too much.

by ihearhowie2.0 on May 22, 2008 11:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

oh em gee

the kid’s been up sparatically in 2 years! give him a break. once again, with consistent playing time, he’ll pull through.. we’ve seen the evidence of that in his minor league career.
geez, it sounds like some of you guys want to just up and trade him because he hasnt done anything huge yet. my goodness, he’s twenty freaking three. give the guy some time.

Let Wood play!!!

by howiestheman on May 23, 2008 9:20 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sporadic or no, his at-bats are terrible

Somebody needs to sit him down and tell him flat out that he’s not going to make the show ever, ever again, barring injury, unless he strikes out in 25% or fewer of his AAA at bats. Right now he’s at 31%.

Just watching his at-bats is an awful experience. He constantly looks overwhelmed and nervous. He’s really quite a ways from being a productive offensive player at the major league level.

Witty .sig goes here.

by scareduck on May 23, 2008 10:15 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

25%....

what if he gets it down to 25.2? Think he will notice the difference?

"At some point, a veteran player will more often than not find his stroke. You just have to show them a little bit of patience."

by Downing Rules on May 23, 2008 10:27 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

He did it last year

No reason to think he couldn’t do it again.

Witty .sig goes here.

by scareduck on May 23, 2008 10:33 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wood immediately gets the start tonight

Anyone read anything about setbacks for Figgy? I’m off to explore the interwebs….

Please go away Justin Speier. Your work here is done. And take Quinlan's half-inch fielding radius with you.

by ReggieBullits on May 22, 2008 2:50 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Baseball Prospectus

still considers Wood one of the top SS prospects in the game, Today’s article lists him ahead of JJ Hardy and Stephen Drew. In fact, among shortstops 25 years old and younger, only Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, and Troy Tulowitzki rank ahead of him.

Read the article here:

(Subscription required)

The reason for the optimisim really boils down to the fact that although he still strikes out a lot, he has held his own at such a young age.

"When you don't know that you don't know, it's a lot different than when you do know that you don't know" - Bill Parcells

by johnnyangel101 on May 22, 2008 3:43 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

That, and

the whiff rate is going down a bit.

Witty .sig goes here.

by scareduck on May 22, 2008 5:27 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

And he promptly went out and laid an egg tonight

0 fer 3…no K’s though…

Nap’s did that for him when PH’ing for him in the 9th…

I’m a little curious why Soth played him at 3b instead of SS…why not play him where he is most comfortable? Gazoo played a righteous 3b when Figgy was out!

Keep playing him Soth….let’s see what he does!

This is bad Vlad and his band of wimps!

by K3YEROUT on May 22, 2008 8:46 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Wood

To me he is Troy Glaus II – he is still filling out and I wouldn’t be surprised if he sticks it out at third base for most of his Major League career.

by BBFan1 on May 22, 2008 9:35 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

who cares anymore

we give this guy, myself included, so much attention, but he hasn’t done anything yet. im done getting excited every time his name is in the lineup. the way things are going it looks like its going to be awhile before we see anything from brandon “balsa” wood

I'd rather see Willits in LF

by UCIHalo on May 22, 2008 9:48 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Exactly. Me too.

Nobody likes unrequited man-love. It just hurts.

by Higz on May 23, 2008 11:10 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

But did you realize...

that balsa is classified as a hardwood?

Snippet from Wikipedia:
“Despite being very soft, balsa is classified as a hardwood, the softest commercial hardwood.”

"At some point, a veteran player will more often than not find his stroke. You just have to show them a little bit of patience."

by Downing Rules on May 23, 2008 11:17 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It has a very good strength-to-weight ratio.

It’s the Alfonso Soriano of woods.

by Higz on May 23, 2008 11:20 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

sweet, we were lacking some strike outs.

think positive! K > GIDP

by ihearhowie2.0 on May 22, 2008 11:15 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Flash me boy

Young Angels - Proof is in the consistency. But I'll take flashes for now. Note to woods: Please flash me. Now is your chance.

by vladtheimpaler on May 23, 2008 2:40 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

He needs

to play everyday somewhere. AAA or in the bigs. My only knock on Sciosica is that he rotates guys too much to get a consistent rhythm. And he plays Cpl. Jr. too much.

Stay on the damn bag!!

by higdog on May 23, 2008 3:30 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Time for Wood

to shit or get off the pot. He’s had plenty of chances in the bigs over the last year or so and while I sympathize with his being bounced back and forth so often, it really doesn’t excuse his offensive performance this year. I hope he hasn’t reached a plateau but I certainly haven’t seen much, if any, improvement in his approach at the plate.

He can only be a prospect for so long, eventually he’s gonna have to perform. While we’re in a tight division race, we can’t afford to stick him in the lineup every day if he’s gonna hit .138 and strike out 38% of the time. If he wants consistent ABs he’s gonna have to earn them. If he doesn’t show some progress with the bat this year his stock is gonna go way down.

by 100wins on May 23, 2008 3:55 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

CHILL OUT

he’s had 62 CAREER at-bats. 62! how can you possibly say it’s “shit or get off the pot time” about a 23-year-old, power-hitting infielder who’s had 62 career at-bats?!

Preposterous!

Halos Fan Since 5th Grade

by angels4adam on May 24, 2008 1:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs