For the second time this month, the Angels have gone on a 5+ game skid. Of course, this time, they had to one up it and lose 6 in a row. The Angels narrowly avoided losing every SINGLE GAME last week and were swept by division rivals the Astros, followed by a series loss to the Athletics.
The Halos went past the A's for cellar dweller rights in this series and now sit in last place at - 0.5 games behind the A's and 17 games out of first place. The Twins, Rays, Reds, and Braves are the only teams in MLB with worse records right now, which means the Angels would currently be set to have the #5 pick in the 2017 draft. Over the past week, the Padres, A's, and Rays have all passed up the Angels in winning percentage. Those are some pretty crappy teams with low payrolls and the Angels are supposed to be at least decent, hanging on to a payroll near the luxury tax threshold. Years of bad contracts, a shallow farm system, and injuries have put the Angels is a pretty dire spot for 2016.
A very small bright spot in the week was in the final hour, the final minute - when Jefry Marte hit a walk-off sac fly in Sunday's game, and scored Mike Trout who led off the inning with a single. All is well that ends well?
THE GOOD
Matt Shoemaker continues to be one of the few shining stars on this team. He went 7.1 innings against the Astros and allowed only 3 runs. Of course, he ended up getting the loss because his team only managed to round up 2 measly runs in support.
Cam Bedrosian actually didn't give up a hit or run in his 2.2 innings of work in 3 games last week. Jose Alvarez didn't allow a run either in his 2.2 innings.
Mike Trout was doing Mike Trout things over the past week and hit .414 with 2 HR, 12 hits, a triple, and a stolen base. His OPS on the week was 1.141.
It was only 10 AB, but Shane Robinson had a .500 OBP last week and only struck out once.
The Bandy Man can! Jett Bandy was a force from behind the plate and at the plate. He hit .353 last week and pushed Carlos Perez to the side for all but one game. However, it's been pointed out (by angelslogic) that the Angels are 2-10 while he catches and they snapped their losing streak on Sunday when Perez was behind the dish. Coincidence??
Albert Pujols took sole possession of 11th place on the all time HR list with his 2 home runs, and also hit .310 while driving in 4 runs.
Kole Calhoun had a pretty good week as well with a .355 OBP and a home run. Unfortunately he also led the team in strikeouts with 6.
Middle infielders Johnny Giavotella and Andrelton Simmons both hit just shy of .300 and collected 15 hits together.
THE BAD
Nick Tropeano came off the DL and went straight to AAA. Supposedly because he was the only starter they were willing to send down that had options left. I feel like we are being punk'd. In what world do you take your pitcher with the best ERA on the team and send him to AAA? "Right now at this point in time, we’re going to go with these five guys," Scioscia said. Well that's just great. If I were Tropeano, I'd already be on the phone planning my exit from this Angels organization. If you care AT ALL about winning, you find a way to put him on the roster. There are options. Send down Achter and move someone to the pen. DFA Chacin and pick him up after he clears waivers because no one is going to want him. Seriously this decision was baffling to me and I've only recently come off the ledge.
Tim Lincecum was pretty good against the A's in his Angels debut, but was pretty bad when he faced them again in Anaheim. He only lasted 3 innings and needed 83 pitches to even get that far.
Similar to Lincecum, Jered Weaver was great against the A's last week. In fact, he pitched a compete game allowing only one run. On Friday, he gave up 4 runs in only 4.2 innings.
Good thing we kept Jhoulys Chacin on the roster instead of bringing Tropeano back, right? He was a disaster last week and gave up 10 runs over 2 games in only 6.2 IP. Tack on 9 walks, 12 hits, and only 1K and you get a pitcher gone wild.
Huston Street had one save opportunity last week and he blew it. On Tuesday, he took the mound with a 2-1 lead, then gave up back to back walks followed by back to back hits that ended in a Carlos Correa walk-off double.
For some reason, despite his horrible stats in high leverage situations, Mike Scioscia continues to use Fernando Salas in spots that he can't handle. Friday he entered a tie game int he 8th inning, and when he left, the Angels were down 3 runs.
Mike Morin didn't technically blow any games last week, but he did have a 7.71 ERA and allowed 4ER, 3 walks, and 5 hits in his 4.2 innings over 3 games.
Yunel Escobar made another costly error and also suffered a knee contusion just as teams were starting to inquire about him. Not sure if this is coincidence, but it seems the Angels can't even win the trade game when one of their better trade pieces finds himself hurt.
Carlos Perez, Daniel Nava, and Jefry Marte all hit under .140 last week and struck out 16 times in 47AB. At least Marte redeemed himself a bit with a walk off Sac Fly on Sunday.
THE MEH
Hector Santiago looked pretty good his first time on the mound last week when he only gave up 1 run over 6 innings, but then he took the mound in Sunday's game and gave up back to back homeruns that started off with a grand slam, and left the game with 6 ER under his belt.
A.J. Achter had a couple of good appearances last week, but also was one of the difference makings contributing to the Halo loss on Monday when he gave up 7 hits, 2HR, and 3 runs over 3 innings in a game the Angels would end up losing by 3 runs.
C.J. Cron hit a HR over the past week but only batted .227. Fortunately, he managed to put up a .320 OBP