Aftermath of Bullpen Meltdown in Detroit

The shyt has hit the fan.

Vlad hits like a sissy, Lackey wants to leave, and Kendrick is a bust.

If we don’t win at least the next 8 of 10, I’m changing teams to the Red Sox. I’m going to Ebay right now to check out the Josh jerseys and the Neil Diamond albums.

Ok, so I’ve had a few cocktail but here goes. This team is in need of some shot in the arm. In december I went to Vegas and put down $100 on them to win the WS. I really don’t mind loosing if its competitive but what I’ve seen so far has been insulting. There is no reason why we should have the record we have so far. Sure the Nick situation took some understandable attention away but its time to regroup. The bullpin and hitting has been horrible. I realize we are 3rd in BA but appartently that doesn’t get us to the WS which is what its all about. So with that in mind its time to make a command decision and get send this team in the proper direction, I beleive the first step is Wood!, then address the bullpin, Ninga needs to show that everyone is accountable and make the hard decisions to DFA when necessary. At this point I feel I wasted $100 at the start of the year, please change my mind. With that in mind, its time for one more Hefenwiser!

But why is the bullpen so much worse than last year? It’s largely the same cast of characters from 2008, with the notable exception being K-Rod. O’Day pitched in 30 games and was not dominant; Bulger pitched in 14 games and was pretty much what we are getting this year. Speier was crap in 2008, but Arredondo was lights out.

Shields was healthy and pitched good in 2008, and our starting pitching did not have extended time on the DL (exception being Escobar). Garland, Santana and Saunders pitched over 600 innings combined.

Has the weak starting pitching in 2009 exposed the bullpen? If so, is trading Aybar and getting a RP in return really going to fix the situation?

The answer to this question will be self-evident over the next couple of weeks. Baseball games are won by scoring more runs that your opponent. You can get more hits, steal more bases, and make more great defensive gems. But if you don’t score more runs than your opponent you lose. Period.

Last year’s 100 wins were a fluke. Historically, teams who score 765 runs and give up 697 runs end up with a lot closer to 88 wins than 100 wins. The fact is that the Angels have had 1 good offensive season in the last 5 years, when they scored 822 runs in 2007. The only reason they’ve had success despite a very average offense is very good starting pitching and a stellar bullpen, which has managed to limit the number of runs scored by opponents.

What’s the point? Right now the Angels are on pace to score 766 runs this season – virtually identical to last year’s 765. This means that the very mediocre offense we have this year is pretty much the same as the mediocre offense we had last year. What’s different is that the 268 runs allowed so far projects a total of 789 runs allowed for the season. Historically, teams that score 766 runs and give up 789 runs tend to win about 78 or 79 games. This is the current state of the 2009 Angels.

So the current state of the teams can and should be addressed from tow sides. For one, the Halos must start scoring more runs. After 55 games, he entire infield minus Morales has has 6 HRs. That may be fine for 1909 or even 1971, but it’s a total sham for 2009. The team’s batting average of .275 is above the AL average. But thier team slugging of .406 is their worst since 2001, and we all remember what happened during that dreadful season. Angels don’t need guys who can hit more singles and steal more bases. They need guys who can hit more liners into the gap and over the wall.

And of course the 2009 Angels bullpen is the worst in the AL this season and the team’s worst in the Scioscia era. It’s had to find anything good to say about the performance of the relief corps this year. It’s also painfully obvious that there is absolutely no immediate help at all in the teams’ minor league system. How did such a team strength transform into a liability over night?

This makes Kelvim Escobar insertion into the starting rotation all the more of a mystery. Why place is right arm, twice DL-ed since 2005, under the stress of 100 pitches every 5 days, ,and thereby knocking the surprisingly rock steady Matt Palmer out of the rotation when instead he could be inserted into the bullpen give it some much needed stability. Escobar was a proven, successful closer with the Blue Jays before he joined the Angles. Wouldn’t it make more sense to ease his right shoulder/arm/elbow back into the role of a starter by providing help to a floundering bullpen? And if not Escobar, then whom?

So how serious is the Angles’ front office about 2009? We shall soon find out. Figgins, Aybar, Izturis and Kendricks are all expendable, and probably have some trade value. They all have strengths as MLBers. But their strengths are not the strengths that the Angels need right now. The Halos could lose 2 of the 4 and not even notice the difference. Unfortunately, the Angels are probably more than 1 trade away from correcting the ship. But of they don’t make a proactive move to address the team’s glaring weaknesses, and do it soon, I think it raises questions about the Front office’s commitment to trying to win the AL pennant this year. We shall see.

its seems a rarity these days on HH.

At the beginning of the season, Sam ran a “what if?” column, showing a best case scenario of “what if everyone performed to the 99th percentile of their ability?” We all laughed a bit and hoped that it might actually happen.
  Now the guys are mostly performing below the 50th percentile (a number I just pulled out of my a**) of their ability, making all completely terrible.

Also, Sam drafted Milton Bradley with the pick right before I was going to get him. So I blame him for my complete and utter suckitude in the HalosHeaven Fantasy League as well, despite Milton Bradley’s poor performance thus far.

C’mon, Sam! Write a negative column exploring what will happen if every player plays to about the 10th percentile—or worse!—of their ability! You’re the only man who can save LAA now!

If the FO is really going to look at external solutions to the bullpen woes then really who is available that could make an impact? The Pirates seem to be willing to give up any decent player for 50 cents on the dollar so maybe we could Matt Capps, who has only given up 1 run in his last 7 and 2/3 of an inning, on the relatively cheap. Also, Jose Valverde is coming back soon for Houston (who is currently in last place in the central) and LaTroy Hawkins has filled in admirably so maybe the Angels go after him. Do any of these seem like viable options? Do people have any other ideas?

Kinda funny eh? I guess Frankie woulda had probably 20 or so by now.

If we score more runs, there is a lot less pressure on the starting pitching and the bullpen. I think if we can get a decent arm for Aybar, do it two weeks ago and get Wood up here.

Although our offense might not be that bad, more offense won’t hurt. If someone wants Aybar, why not deal him for an ARM. Even a AAA arm. Wood in the line up will help. Scoring runs will help.