July 8th to August 3rd

by WiHaloFan on Oct 30, 2009 1:13 PM PDT in Angels News

On July 11th, the Angels placed Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter on the disabled list retroactive to Wednesday July 8th. At the time of this transaction, the Angels were in second place, one game behind the Texas Rangers. This would be Guerrero's second trip to the DL, but at the time of Hunter's injury, he was easily the Angels' MVP up to that point of the season as he was hitting .305 and leading the team with 17 home runs.

Most teams, after losing the #4 and #5 hitters in their batting order for almost a month would typically call it a season. How could a team be able to withstand losing so much production from the middle of their order? Yet, in spite of losing both Hunter and Guerrero on the same day, the Angels went on a hitting spree resulting in the team winning 17 of the next 21 games and taking over first place in the West division, moving 4 games ahead of the Rangers.

How did the Angels withstand, in fact even flourish after losing two of their most important players? Possible explanations:

Playing against weaker teams
During this stretch, the Angels played the Rangers, Yankees, A's, Royals, Twins, and Indians. These teams went a combined 482-491 during the 2009 season, or a .495 winning percentage. Playing teams who were a combined 9 games under .500 may have had a small factor in the Angels success during those 21 games, however they did play 13 of the 21 games against the 3 teams with winning records (Rangers, Yankees, and Twins). No, they weren't beating up on weaker teams.

The Angels Pitching Was Fantastic
At the time when Hunter and Guerrero went onto the disabled list, the Angel pitching staff had a team ERA of 4.72 (380ER in 725IP). During the 21 games while Hunter and Guerrero were gone the staff ERA was 4.88 (104ER in 192IP). The pitching didn't get better, but actually was slightly worse.

The Angel Hitters Went Nuts
Prior to losing Hunter and Guerrero, the Angels were scoring 5.3 runs a game and hitting .281/.353/.435 as a team. After the Angels lost two of their more productive hitters, the rest of the line up went crazy, scoring 7.6 runs per game and hitting .324/.389/.511. The Angels 3, 4, 5, and 6 spots in their batting order:

	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Napoli	76	15	24	7	0	6	13	5	17	.316	.381	.645	1.026
Morales	72	16	26	5	0	9	24	6	9	.361	.425	.806	1.231
Rivera	42	9	13	1	0	2	8	3	3	.310	.356	.476	.832
Abreu	84	18	33	4	0	2	22	12	15	.393	.474	.512	.986
	274	58	96	17	0	19	67	26	44	.350	.407	.620	1.027

Bobby Abreu remained in the #3 spot throughout the entire 21 games, while Rivera played all 11 of his games in the clean-up spot. Morales and Napoli moved around in the batting order with Morales typically batting 5th and Napoli splitting his time hitting 4th, 5th or 6th. Here's what Napoli did in various spots of the batting order:

	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
4th	21	4	4	2	0	2	6	1	8	.190	.261	.571	.832
5th	29	6	9	2	0	2	4	3	4	.310	.394	.586	.980
6th	26	5	11	3	0	2	3	1	5	.423	.464	.769	1.234

Kendry Morales thrived hitting in front of Napoli:

AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
47	10	17	2	0	6	13	4	7	.362	.423	.787	1.210

While no one hit well in front of Matthews.

Batters' stats who preceeded:

	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
GMJ	36	5	9	4	0	0	2	2	7	.250	.308	.361	.669
Morales	61	15	19	3	0	3	12	9	10	.311	.417	.508	.925
Napoli	75	15	30	6	0	7	22	5	9	.400	.444	.760	1.204

I generally focused on the players who replaced Hunter and Guerrero in the #4 and #5 spots in the batting order, but the primary players who took over for Hunter and Guerrero in the lineup were Matthews, Izturis and Kendrick. Matthews received the bulk of playing time by replacing Hunter in centerfield, however he was easily the worst of the regular players:

	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Aybar	64	14	19	2	0	3	15	3	6	.297	.328	.469	.797
Izturis	64	14	19	2	0	3	15	3	6	.297	.328	.469	.797
Kendrick	55	12	24	5	0	2	15	5	7	.436	.492	.636	1.128
Figgins	87	21	28	2	2	2	9	14	20	.322	.416	.460	.876
Matthews	85	12	23	5	0	0	13	10	23	.271	.347	.329	.677

While Matthews wasn't doing much with his increased playing time, Howie Kendrick took advantage by getting on base almost half of the time and improving his batting average from .228 to .273 over the 21 games.

Was it a fluke that 8 of the nine regulars in the Angels lineup got hot at the same time, or was there another dynamic within their batting order that caused the hitters to improve once Hunter and Guerrero were gone?

I'm thinking it was a combination of both factors.

Poll

What caused the Angels offense to do so well while Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter were on the DL from 7/8 to 8/3?

Just a fluke they all got hot at the same time

160 votes

Better "dynamic" within the batting order

156 votes

Part fluke, part better batting order

176 votes

Other (comment below)

16 votes

508 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

i think it was part fluke

part everyone stepping up because they knew they had to.

but it looks like Napoli should be our #5 hitter next year… hahaha

Thank you, Nick Adenhart. You will always be remembered. #34

by howiestheman on Oct 30, 2009 1:29 PM PDT reply actions

Definitely a bit of both.

There had to a more profound thought with each hitter to get the right pitch to swing at. And when they got it, they obviously did not miss.

Nick would be proud.

by halofan4life on Oct 30, 2009 1:38 PM PDT up reply actions

Clearly

Vlad needs to be let go and Torii needs to be traded.

by BruinHalo on Oct 30, 2009 1:58 PM PDT reply actions

...and GMJ needs to be our everyday CF.

…and Palmer needs to be our #1.

I wonder what John Lackey must think about how long Sosh left Juan Rivera in the playoff lineup?

by Stirrups on Oct 30, 2009 2:02 PM PDT up reply actions

These were the Angels I was looking for in the ALCS.

The 2009 Pregame Picks Winner and Iron Man of Halos Heaven.com

by 44FAN on Oct 30, 2009 2:04 PM PDT reply actions

Me too.

This is why I was putting out all those Fanposts about re-vamping the batting order, but people laughed.

I totally felt that Scioscia needed to put loyalty and politics aside, and put out the best, most lethal line-up he could against the Yankees.

If you don’t bring your A+ games against the billionaire Yankees, you are screwed.

And that, unfortunately, is what happened to the Angels.

by Christhammer on Oct 30, 2009 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions

He did put that lineup out there.

Added a Vlad who all of a sudden learned how to take a walk and hit in the playoffs. We just peaked too soon.

Nick would be proud.

by halofan4life on Oct 30, 2009 2:58 PM PDT up reply actions

As were we all.

This is how well we know they can play when they get it all together. One would like to think that, if ever there were a time to get one’s s#!t together, it would be the playoffs. That they did not was just heartbreaking. Like, who cares if they did this well in July, if they were going to do this poorly in October. How the hell they beat the Red Sox is beyond me, but I will happily take it! How the hell the Yankees almost lost to them should worry NYY fans everywhere.

I wonder what John Lackey must think about how long Sosh left Juan Rivera in the playoff lineup?

by Stirrups on Oct 30, 2009 2:21 PM PDT up reply actions

Sometimes when a star player goes down

the players remaining on the team get a laser focus. This and the fact that the only team during that stretch that punished us were the Rangers. I know that the Twinkies were in that stretch, but that was when we owned the Yankees and their marvelous bullpen and the other teams were crap. Didn’t we play the NL during this stretch as well? or was that just another confidence builder during another part of the season.

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.

by Moondoggy on Oct 30, 2009 2:20 PM PDT reply actions

Also...JulyBar was so hot he spontaneously combusted.

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.

by Moondoggy on Oct 30, 2009 2:21 PM PDT up reply actions

Playoffs.

Playoffs would be a good time to acquire that laser focus. If it was just a matter of turning on the focus button, they would still be playing.

I wonder what John Lackey must think about how long Sosh left Juan Rivera in the playoff lineup?

by Stirrups on Oct 30, 2009 2:26 PM PDT up reply actions

It's reallly difficult to understand or explain why focus or consistency varies.

I’d bet – to a man – the players didn’t believe their focus was any different from July to October. Was it? Maybe. They sure made anough errors against the Yanks to make me wonder. Perhaps the Angels had a let-down from beating Boston.
But then, the Twins made a lot of mental errors (especially baserunning errors). Were they lacking focus? Too uptight? Tired from the stretch run and one game playoff against the Tigers?

Why did they do so well in July and part of August? An old baseball axiom is that good pitching beats good hitting. The teams they played from 7/8 to 8/3 were the Rangers, Yanks, Oakland, KC, Minnesota and Cleveland. Some of the pitchers they faced were definitely not playing their best. But others were otherwise doing well. So the poor pitching can explain some part of the offensive surge, but not all of it.

About the best explanation I can give is that “momentum” is a fickle mistress that that comes and goes as she pleases. When it’s here you gotta ride her like the gal in the Axe deodorant commercials (yeah I know…sh’e doing the riding in the commercials. Assume they switched hats for me to make my point). How else can anyone explain the likes of…Jeff Weaver going from Angel DFA to World Series hero in a couple short months?

by sothball on Oct 30, 2009 2:55 PM PDT up reply actions

Sweet, pretty "Mo-mentum" has a nasty-assed sister.

That paticular bitch is named “Choke”.

One comment I recall during, or immediately after, the Red Sox series was from Figgins. He proclaimed that he felt really comfortable in the batter’s box and that everything was working for him. This, when he was 0-12 with 6 strikeouts.

I wonder what John Lackey must think about how long Sosh left Juan Rivera in the playoff lineup?

by Stirrups on Oct 30, 2009 3:20 PM PDT up reply actions

The operative word in the post above

would be “Sometimes” Who knows when or why. I think Willis Reed limping on to the Garden floor and it makes me sick to my stomach.

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.

by Moondoggy on Oct 30, 2009 3:30 PM PDT up reply actions

Ms. Choke gets around a whole lot more...

…than Ms. Momentum. Must be why she’s considered the nasty-ass.

Was Figgy smiling in that interview?

by sothball on Oct 30, 2009 6:54 PM PDT up reply actions

slut!

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.

by Moondoggy on Oct 31, 2009 5:33 AM PDT up reply actions

Yup. Twisted sisters...

by sothball on Oct 31, 2009 11:07 AM PDT up reply actions

Vlad has carried our offense since he was signed.

I think when he was out, it made the others step up in their minds. And it worked in action. That’s how it seemed to me. Pros are pros. But they are also people to. I think most of those guys got used to Vlad being the big guy and when he wasn’t there, it gave them a chance to be something other than their regular role.

I’m probably not getting what I think out there right but oh well. It’s probably a flukey thing to. But when Vlad was out, it seemed like any guy at anytime would step up and make the big play. That’s what made the Angels really dangerous during that time.

Happy Birthday to the ground!

by Monkeyspanked on Oct 30, 2009 2:39 PM PDT reply actions

I think the playoff lineup was fine

If the halos don’t make stupid errors and if Fuentes is not Donnie Moore redux, the Angels are playing in the world series right now. That is not to say that the Angels hit well in the ALCS; they didn’t as a team. But they hit well enough to win the series; they just didn’t field well enough.

by bearnut on Oct 30, 2009 2:44 PM PDT reply actions

They just didn't hit

When it mattered against the Yanks- We can’t beat those guys if we don’t bat with runners on. Hunter looked like he was lost, Kendry and Rivera forgot how to hit- Figgs and Abreu took a holiday. Vlad was actually allright and so was Mathis- if everyone had responded in the same way we be playing the world series now.

Xavier Calvera

by xavier c on Oct 30, 2009 3:55 PM PDT reply actions

Schedule WAS weak... coupled with the hot bats

I think that Minnesota was not a good team when the Angels faced them. They got hot at the end of the season. Two doses of the Twins (7 games total), 4 games with the Oakland A’s, 3 games with the KC Royals, and 3 games with the Cleveland Indians certainly softened the blow of the absence of Vlad and Hunter.

Date: Matchup: Opposing Team’s record after the game
July 8 Texas @ Angels; Texas record: 47W – 36L
July 10 Yankees @ Angels; NYY record: 51W – 35L
July 11 Yankees @ Angels; NYY record: 51W – 36L
July 12 Yankees @ Angels; NYY record: 51W – 37L
July 13 – 15 OFF All-Star Break
July 16 Angels @ Oakland Athletics; OAK record: 37W – 50L
July 17 Angels @ Oakland Athletics; OAK record: 38W – 50L
July 18 Angels @ Oakland Athletics; OAK record: 38W – 51L
July 19 Angels @ Oakland Athletics; OAK record: 38W – 52L
July 20 Angels @ KC BBQ Royals; KC record: 37W – 55L
July 21 Angels @ KC BBQ Royals; KC record: 37W – 56L
July 22 Angels @ KC BBQ Royals; KC record: 37W – 57L
July 23 Minnesota Twins @ Angels; MIN record: 48W – 48L
July 24 Minnesota Twins @ Angels; MIN record: 48W – 49L
July 25 Minnesota Twins @ Angels; MIN record: 48W – 50L
July 26 Minnesota Twins @ Angels; MIN record: 49W – 50L
July 27 Cleveland Indians @ Angels; CLE record: 42W – 58L
July 28 Cleveland Indians @ Angels; CLE record: 42W – 59L
July 29 Cleveland Indians @ Angels; CLE record: 42W – 60L
July 31 Angels @ Minnesota Twins; MIN record: 52W – 51L
Aug 01 Angels @ Minnesota Twins; MIN record: 52W – 52L
Aug 02 Angels @ Minnesota Twins; MIN record: 52W – 53L

The first four games were the only ones played against “formidable” opponents. The Halos won all four. Pretty cool, but the rest of this Vlad/Torii absence was spent playing lesser teams.

I love this team.

by Downing Rules on Oct 30, 2009 4:49 PM PDT reply actions

It was because of that horrible Juan Rivera

We need to trade his ass this offseason.

"He's not a Rhodes Scholar to begin with''~Theo Epstein, talking about Papelbon

by George Kaplan on Oct 30, 2009 5:13 PM PDT reply actions

Oh reary Hans Bwix?

We should trade .287/25/88 and a .992 Fielding Pct. with a plus arm who ranked 3rd defensively among Major League Left Fielders? This is after his last near-full time season in which he went .310/23/85. Why?

Oh, and he stole more bases and had a higher batting average this postseason than Figgins.

Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are rightfully despised as announcers but they were right to call him one of the best kept secrets in the AL.

by Commander_Nate on Oct 30, 2009 6:21 PM PDT up reply actions

oh hans ur breakin mah ballz

Aybar is a nowhere man, Sitting in his Nowhere Land, Making all his nowhere plans for nobody.

by princeton11loveshalos on Oct 30, 2009 8:00 PM PDT up reply actions

It's called "sarcasm"

Have you heard of it?

Nice “Team America” ref, though.

"He's not a Rhodes Scholar to begin with''~Theo Epstein, talking about Papelbon

by George Kaplan on Oct 30, 2009 8:03 PM PDT up reply actions

Oh Hamburgers

My bad…I’m new here so I don’t really know who the sarcastic and serious ones are. I usually post on the Angels MLB page and some people over there keep saying shit about Rivera and I keep having to set em straight. Gotta defend the jersey I wear to the games ya know?

Plus I was kinda just lookin’ for a reason to quote Team America anyway…I mean come on who doesn’t like doing that right?

by Commander_Nate on Oct 30, 2009 9:47 PM PDT up reply actions

LOL

Anyway.. Welcome to HH!

RIP Nick Adenhart 4/9/09

by vlad IS my man on Oct 30, 2009 10:24 PM PDT up reply actions

Johnny Rivers

I was merely giving a shout out to all those folks who were grumpy when the bandwagon they were on came to a halt and they decided that Juan Rivera had to be traded because, after all, he had such a poor post-season that he must not be worth much to the team.

"He's not a Rhodes Scholar to begin with''~Theo Epstein, talking about Papelbon

by George Kaplan on Oct 31, 2009 5:13 AM PDT up reply actions

Wearing the jersey of a player who spors frosted tips

is a commendable act.

What do you need a fancy suit for, Charlie, you ain't got no job to wear it to.

by clover_black on Oct 31, 2009 8:58 AM PDT up reply actions

(sports)

What do you need a fancy suit for, Charlie, you ain't got no job to wear it to.

by clover_black on Oct 31, 2009 8:58 AM PDT up reply actions

Frosted Tips FTW

I became a big Rivera fan during that breakout year he had in ‘06. I was pretty bummed when he broke his shin in Winter Ball down in Venezuela after that. I busted my shin when I was in the military so I know how much it sucks. He overcame a lot to get back here and produce again and didn’t ask for a lot of money.

But yeah, that and frosted tips like people back in my middle school days is just boss!

by Commander_Nate on Oct 31, 2009 2:13 PM PDT up reply actions

Was it

the shin? I thought it was his leg.. sliding into first :/

RIP Nick Adenhart 4/9/09

by vlad IS my man on Oct 31, 2009 2:29 PM PDT up reply actions

Nah

It was his left shin I think. He had to get pins and I think a rod put in there permanently.

"Well make more fuckin' money. This is America. You don't make money, then you're a fuckin' douchebag" - Mr French "The Departed"

"You gotta have nuts." - Torii Hunter

by Commander_Nate on Oct 31, 2009 2:31 PM PDT up reply actions

True, numbers dont lie.

I was just bummed out he didn’t produce as effectively during the post season. But that can be said about a lot of players this year… im looking at you, figgy.

What do you need a fancy suit for, Charlie, you ain't got no job to wear it to.

by clover_black on Oct 31, 2009 3:33 PM PDT up reply actions