Monday, April 30, 2012

Angels Stumble Into A Win (11/81)

Didn't get to watch the game tonight, (damn you AT&T U-Verse dispute!) but I was able to follow the final stats during the 8th inning, or as Angels fans like to call it, "please don't use the bullpen~!"



Angels escaped away with this one by beating the Minnesota Twins 4-3 during Rally Monkey Beanie night at Angel Stadium.

Desperate to never use the bullpen again, manager Mike Scioscia let his pitchers pitch throw at least 108 pitches for the fourth straight day trying to get as much mileage from them as possible. It's early in the season, and pitchers need to save their arms for late in the season when it really counts, but the Angels are in win-now mode. Anything less than a 10-run lead is risky to turn over to the bullpen. Actually, don't be surprised if Scioscia allows his starters to throw a complete game if the Angels are ever up to 10 runs at any point in this season.

Torii Power

With offensive threat, Mark Trumbo, getting the night off it was up to Torii Hunter to do the damage to his former team. Hunter drove in 3 runs this evening, including two off a blast that ended up being his 3rd home run in 4 days despite not hitting one for the previous 19 games. Catcher Chris Iannetta also went yard to extended the lead to 4-0, a lead that actually held.

Trouble in the Late Innings? No Surprise.

I think all of us listening to the game were holding our breath when we saw LaTroy Hawkins enter the game when C.J. Wilson got into trouble in the 8th. After giving up 3 runs, Hawkins got the out, and then Scioscia, with his smartest move of the season, brought in Scott Downs to get a four-out save, his second in as many chances. Looks like the Angels have found their new closer.


Final Thoughts:

As much as I'll miss the firing 9th inning power brought in by the cannon arm known as Jordan Walden, I think having Scott Downs close out games is the best thing for the Angels right now. They need a guy who is dependable with the game on the line, and Downs has proven his mettle as an Angel. When you lose late-inning leads, morale takes a hit, and the Angels can't suffer any hits to what is left of the little morale they have left right now.

Walden has been wild since Spring Training, so him losing the job was no surprise, but it is interesting that Angels are shopping for a closer. I think a strong middle relief guy is what they need. Someone who can transition to the late innings, but if this leads to Trumbo getting shipped out for a guy like Grant Belflour, then I will be up in arms against the Angels.

I've got a bad feeling about this search for a new closer business.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Where Is The Angel's Bullpen? (10/81)

It's hard to give an award to the worst bullpen in the majors with teams like Toronto B-Jays, the BoSox and the Angels, but Los Angeles of Anaheim are sure doing their best to stake that claim.


Dan Haren took a shutout into the 8th inning on an overcast Sunday afternoon, but the bullpen couldn't hold the lead. They blew their fourth save of the season to tie (appropriately) with the B-Jays. No wonder ace, Jered Weaver, insisted on going the distance the other day, not wishing to entrust the bullpen with a 3-run lead. Even the usually dependable Scott Downs got rocked by giving up two runs in the eighth. LaTroy Hawkins got tagged with the loss in extra innings when he gave up an RBI single to Baltimore Oriole's outfielder, Nick Markakis. Baltimore beat the Angels in 10 innings 3-2.

The bullpen, that has been Angel's Achilles' Heel for the past two seasons, was supposed to be upgraded this off-season with experience. The Angels added veteran relievers, Hawkins and 39-year old Jason Isringhausen, and hard throwing righty, Kevin Jepsen was returning healthy after an injury plagued 2011 campaign.

However, the Angels have seen strong starts come and enough times this season for a hush to overcome Angel Stadium whenever a relief pitcher gets brought into the game. On top of blown saves, the Angels relievers have inherited 26 runners and allowed 12 of them to score. Poor Dan Haren, who's lost two quality starts thanks to a revolving door bullpen. If I'm Haren, I'm never letting that ball out of my hand no matter how much manager Mike Scioscia insists.

Howard Homers

Howie Kendrick got his second home run of the season. With the bomb, he becomes the only second baseman besides Texas Ranger's Ian Kinsler to hit at least 12 home runs since August 15 of last year.

Vernon Wells: Scoring Machine

Baseball is all about scoring more runs than the other team. Say what you will, but Vernon Wells is helping this team win games by getting on base and leading the team in home runs (3) and runs scored (10). The stats still look insignificant next to another outfielder just down the freeway, but the much maligned hitter is producing at a relatively higher rate than some of the other guys on the team.

Final Note:

The Angels might possibly sign reliever Mike Gonzalez, a Scott Boras client. Angels fans are conditioned to hate the super-agent, Boras, thanks to all the stress he has caused them with the early handling of Weaver and the departure of Mark Texeira, but this would be a good thing.

Boras handles players with talent, and Gonzalez is no exception. Gonzalez was part of the Texas Ranger's solid bullpen last year that included Mike Adams, Koji Uehara, Darren Oliver, and Neftali Feliz, and owns a lifetime 2.94 ERA. The former Pittsburgh Pirates closer who notched 26 saves in 2006, would add a steady right handed arm for the middle innings that Isringhausen, Jepsen, and Hawkins have failed to deliver thus far.

It may sound like the Angels have a ton of relievers signed as it is, but you can never have too much quality arms in the pen. Doesn't matter how many runs you score if a bullpen can't hold a lead. Just ask the Boston Red Sox.


Sunday, April 22, 2012

Weaver Feels Great In First Complete Game of the Year (9/81)

Had a late night last night, but I was able to catch some of the recap from Saturday night's game. Let's see how the Angels did.



On the back of Jered Weaver's complete game, the Angels trumped the Baltimore Orioles for the second time in as many days, beating them 6-3 at Anaheim Stadium.

Weaver was in control last night, striking out 5 and walking none on a relatively low 114 pitches. His lone mistake was underestimating Orioles catcher Matt Weiters on a 3-0 count by throwing a fastball right down the middle. Weiters made Weaver pay by driving the ball into the stands for a 2-0 lead.

The Angels didn't give up though, and strung together enough hits for a 5-run 5th inning. Angels sent 11 men to the plate that inning including RBI singles from Mark Trumbo, Erick Aybar and Kendrys Morales with a big 2-run double hit by Bobby Abreu.

Bobby In The Lineup

Abreu got his sixth start of the season in left field last night, and, as mentioned above, delivered the death blow during that 5-run fifth. I have a few theories on Bobby playing as much as he has this season, and I'd like to list them here:

1. Mike Scioscia knows how much depth he has...

...so he's giving everyone an equal chance to prove themselves with the hopes that their numbers will not falter with inconsistent playing time. He's not doing this for a disgruntled player, as many of us believed was the case when Scioscia and General Manger Jerry Dipoto promised Abreu 400 at-bats during spring training. It's about seeing who's going to produce and who isn't early in the season so that you don't have to worry about it later. Scioscia was quoted after the game last night saying,

“The bottom line is, for a century they said, ‘If you want to play more, play better.’ … I don’t think our goal is to keep everyone happy. Our goal is to keep them productive.

2. Angels Are Trying to Trade Bobby

A productive player is always more valuable that an unproductive player. Yeah, the Angels could eat Abreu's salary and trade him for an obscure minor league player who will then be sent down to the Angel's farm system and never be heard from again, but what would they gain from doing that besides making another team better with a motivated Bobby Abreu.

If Abreu produces well, then it can only mean good things for the Angel's lineup if they decide to keep him, or he becomes more valuable if they opt to trade him. If Abreu doesn't produce, then the Angels will probably release or trade him and get nothing in return, but at least they can be content with the fact that they tried.

3. Scioscia Has Accidentally Switched His Manager's Rulebook with a Little League Rulebook...

...and feels the need to give everyone equal amounts of playing time regardless of talent or depth at any given position. After playing Abreu the minimum amount of innings required by Little League, Scioscia substituted Vernon Wells for Abreu just to be fair.

4. Bobby Abreu Knows Where The Bodies Are Buried...

...and is holding the Angels hostage for playing time.

Don't get me wrong, I love Bobby. He was one of the best things to happen to the Angels 2-3 years ago. However, I lost a lot of respect for him with all the public complaining he was doing about his expected playing time with the Angels this year and having Scioscia and Dipoto baby him to calm him down. His lack of defensive effort in the first series against the Kansas City Royals was the final straw for me. He needs to learn his role on the team, a veteran bat off the bench, and do what needs to be done to win a World Series. It's either that or get traded to a team like the Pittsburgh Pirates and lose all hope of ever reaching a World Series again before he retires.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Finally, The Angels Put Together A Solid Game (8/81)

The Angels had 11 hits, the Baltimore Orioles had 3 errors, Jerome Williams bounced back, and Jordan Walden picked up his first save of the season as the Angels finally put together a solid game for the second time this week to beat the Orioles six to three.


I attended the game last night and had some great seats to watch the action. After getting roughed up by the Yankees in his season debut, Williams delivered a solid night by keeping the ball down and not running into any trouble until the the 7th inning when he gave up a towering 2-run home run to Nolan Reimold. Manager Mike Scioscia came out to the mound to let the journeyman know it was his time to come out, and then brought in LaTroy Hawkins for the Hold.

Speaking of Holds, nobody talks about them anymore. The middle relief guys don't nearly get as much glory or recognition as the starters or closers, but their the ones who have to hold the fort down until the big guns show up. Granted, this has been an area the Angels have struggled in recent years, but guys like Scott Downs, Yankee's David Robertson, and Ranger's Alexi Ogando should be getting a lot more ink for consistently coming in and shutting down opposing batters.  

Howard Lights Up The Halo

The Angels left a lot of base runners stranded last night, but still hit good enough to manage four runs thanks to a great hitting night from second baseman Howard Kendrick (don't ask me why he prefers "Howard" over "Howie"). Kendrick managed carried the team last night by going 3 for 5 with a single, a run scored, and two doubles including this one that cleared the bases, giving him three RBIs for the night.  

Trumbo In Left

Mark Trumbo got his first start in Left Field today in a lineup that featured the Angel's best hitters. I'm not going to get used to it because it's almost guaranteed that we'll see a different order tomorrow, but I was glad to see Scioscia put out a lineup that I completely agree with. Batting Trumbo behind Torii Hunter was a great idea to take some of the pressure off designated hitter, Kendrys Morales.  

Is Trout Here Yet?

Despite his amazing batting line in Triple A right now, Mike Trout talk has cooled off this week thanks to some decent play by Vernon Wells. Wells is batting .286 in the past 7 days with 2 home runs, 8 hits, and 3 RBIs. He's reached base nine times in the past week and scored 6 runs. Six out of nine is a pretty good average for scoring when you get on base. Thank Chris Iannetta for those runs.  

Final Note:

The Angels have been off to a rough start this season. Scioscia has been playing around with the lineup on a daily basis trying to find the one that clicks. I may not always agree with his decisions on who is playing or the order of the lineup, but there is a method to his madness. He's not panicking. He tells the players on a daily basis to just "grind it out" and not worry about records, slumps, etc. He wants his players to be relaxed although focused at the same time. I agree with what he's said before that his team has too much talent to stay down for long. The Angels will find their chemistry, Pujols will hit home runs, the rotation will get the wins, but everyone just needs to be patient.

As for Trumbo, he is the best hitter in the Angel's lineup right now, but he's only playing half as much as the regular starters. Scioscia has ALWAYS been a defense-first kind of manager, and Trumbo's initial go at third didn't leave a good taste in Scioscia's mouth. Trumbo going to have to work hard to build his manager's trust again no matter how hard he is hitting the ball. That's just the way Scioscia is. It's the reason why the Angels kept Mathis instead of Mike Napoli last year, and it's the reason why Alberto Callaspo is still in the lineup. I don't see Scioscia changing his ways as manager anytime soon, so his players are just going to have to meet his expectations instead.

Side-note: I honestly believe that General Manager Jerry Dipoto should run for a government office. That guy is the biggest politician I have ever seen in baseball, and I don't mean it in a bad way. Everything that comes out of Dipoto's mouth means everything and nothing. He says all the right things to build confidence and avoid controversy. You can tell he has a great baseball mind by never publicly doubting his players and always building up his investments. He knows how mental a sport baseball is. Good job, Jerry, the Angels are lucky to have you.

Friday, April 20, 2012

CJ Throws Away His First Home Start (7/81)

The Angels hit, but couldn't score, and the Angels fell to the Oakland Athletics 4-2 last night. The Angels have lost every series this season, falling to the Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees and now the A's. What is happening to this team that was supposed to strike fear into opposing teams?



CJ Wilson had a rough inning in the fourth. The Angel's best pitcher through the first 12 games lost his control, walked the first two batters he faced, then threw away a dribbler to the mound that lead to two runs scoring.

Wilson must've been going on autopilot when he fielded that hit ball because he could have easily got the runner at third base, but instead elected to turn and throw towards first. The throw was short and Albert Pujols couldn't play the ball with the runner barreling down the line. The two batters Wilson had walked earlier, scored easily, and the lead held up to win the game.

Baseball is one of the most precise sports to ever exist. Sometimes all it takes is one throw to win or lose a game. Unfortunately, it didn't go the Angel's way last night, but there were some positives to take away.

It's Going, Going, Going...


...and ALMOST out of here! Pujols did his best to quiet the critics about his lack of home runs last night by smashing 3 doubles. He missed his first home run of the season by inches, and you could tell that he really wanted to get that one out of the way by the way he stopped at second base.

Trumbo was also making his bid to be in the lineup every day by hitting a ball so hard off the wall, he only got a single out of it. Trumbo also walked in the game, showing more plate discipline early in the season than he did all of last year. With his improvement at the plate and working with 1st base coach, Alfredo Griffin, at third base every day, Trumbo is working harder than anyone on the team to earn his spot.

Not So Good

Pujols only has 4 RBIs in the season, but a .300+ batting average. It's not his fault. Angel's leadoff hitters have been atrocious this year, and Howard Kendrick doesn't walk very much. Kendrick is still swinging to find a consistent groove.

I'll be going to the game tonight, and we've got great seats. Expect LOTS of pictures tomorrow.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Bartolo Colon Baffles Angels Hitters (6/81)

Did Bartolo Colon shutout the Angels last night as the Oakland Athletics beat them six to zero? Great scott, Marty, are we back in 2005?!



The waist-band-stretching A's hurler, shut down the Angels yesterday and even managed to set a major league record in most consecutive strikes thrown at 38 (at least as far as recorded data goes back 24 years ago). This goes to show that the Angels weren't swinging and missing at bad pitches. They were missing pitches over the MIDDLE OF THE PLATE.

You could thank the hitters, you could blame batting coach, Mickey Hatcher, by the number one culprit who deserves all your praise for turning Colon back into a phenom is manager Mike Scioscia. Seriously, take a look at this lineup posted before the game:



For the record, I didn't catch any of the game because it was on FSN, and we don't have that channel, BUT I saw this lineup posted on the Angels Official Facebook, and I knew right then and there that it was going to be bad news.

First of all, don't let Bobby Wilson's batting average fool you, he only had 3 at-bats going into the game. That lineup has one, maybe two, guys who can steal a base, although that's not why I'm upset with this lineup. I'm upset with this lineup because you have the most disgruntled, laziest player, Bobby Abreu on the team batting leadoff in favor of your fastest, best defender, and adequate hitter Peter Bourjos. Don't get me wrong, Bobby's a great hitter, but his speed is gone and his defense is poor at best. He looks like he's walking after every hit to left field.

Subbing Maicer Izturis in for slumping Erick Aybar was a good move, but not by sandwiching him between the two worst hitters on the team. Who's going to drive him in when he's surrounded by three automatic outs?

And lastly, can we please leave Trumbo in? I'd rather him make the errors now than in September. Give us a consistent lineup, Mike!

I've discovered what Scioscia is doing this year. He's OVER-MANAGING. He wants everything to be in his control this year and be called a genius for figuring out the perfect formula. Problem is, the Angels are last in the AL West, compared to the Texas Rangers who are 10-2, and have lost 2 out of 3 to the A's, who have an even worse offense than the Angels.

As a former player, I know that baseball players need consistency. It's a mental game, and you want to feel comfortable and get into a rhythm. It's tough to feel comfortable if you're checking the lineup every day to see if you're playing or not and where. Don't believe me? Ask Bobby Abreu. I have a great respect for utility guys like Izturis, Emilio Bonafacio, and Chone Figgins, who have had to check the lineup regularly throughout their careers, yet have still managed to produce. Izturis could start for any number of teams, but he has a strong mental grasp of the game, wants to play for a contender like the Angels, knows his role and chooses not to complain about it (something Abreu should take note of).

Former Angels

Speaking of former Angels like Figgins, it's still weird how the Angels haven't managed to score off former players Colon and Brian Fuentes, and that the underachieving Fernando Rodney has a win and 3 or 4 saves this season with the Tampa Bay Rays. Baseball truly is a strange sport.

Contract Extension

The Angels extended Gold Glove-winning shortstop, Erick Aybar's contract into the 2016 season for $40.075 million. Congrats to the guy. He plays great defense and good enough offense to warrant it. With the move, the Angels have locked up their core players, Jered Weaver, CJ Wilson, Albert Pujols, Howie Kendrick, and Aybar for the next 4 years at least. Other fixtures, Peter Bourjos and Mark Trumbo are young enough to still have a couple more years left of arbitration, and Dan Haren has a team option for 2013 that the Angels are almost certain to use.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Growing Pains for the Angels Skipper (5/81)

A genius coach is always determined by doing something different. A failed coach is always determined by doing something different.



Manager Mike Scioscia is having a difficult time getting a feel for the deepest team he's ever fielded, and it really showed last night during the Angels 5-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics.

For what seems like the 30th time this season (the Angels have only played 11 games) Rookie of the Year runner-up, Mark Trumbo was on the bench. Currently sporting the best batting average on the team, behind Maicer Izturis, the former first baseman's glove at third base has been his downfall. Scioscia claims to not have given up on Trumbo's third base project, but has made the baffling move to start Alberto Callaspo's .174 batting average at third base 7 times this season.

Scioscia was quoted before the game saying:

"We want to get Trumbo in there as much as possible. Nothing's changed from spring training," Scioscia said. "Right now, there are some guys that look like they're about to break out that we want to keep playing in the lineup."

He can't be talking about Callaspo, can he? It's either that or Erick Aybar's .171 batting average. Hope that factors into the contract negotiations.

However, in AC's defense, he went 2-4 and has yet to commit an error at third base, but I mean COME ON, it's Trumbo we're talking about.

More Growing Pains

On Monday night when Jered Weaver's pitch count was getting a little high, the Angel's skipper pulled his ace in favor of Kevin Jepsen to come close out the seventh. Scott Downs made his return and pitched a shutout ninth. LaTroy Hawkins finished the shutout, although no thanks to his defense as the Angels committed two fielding errors forcing the veteran reliever to throw 31 pitches.

Last night, Scioscia tried to do the reverse and, as it so happens, produced reverse results. Despite only throwing 85 pitches, Scioscia came out to pull starter Dan Haren after two outs, but with two men on. Downs came in to get the last out.

Not wanting to throw his best reliever out there after having him sit a half inning on the bench, Scioscia brought in hard throwing Jepsen, and the 2011 Angels bullpen reared its ugly head. Jepsen and rookie reliever, David Carpenter, combined to blow the lead and the save by giving up four runs to put the Angles down 5-2.

Scioscia made a genius move the night before because it worked out, but really looked like an idiot here by entrusting a one-run lead to two relievers with very limited experience in high pressure situations.

Not Everyone Hates Vernon


He may be the most hated man in an Angels uniform (let's all agree that it's a crime to keep Mike Trout anchored in the minors), but what the guy needs is some confidence. It's hard to build that confidence when you know that all 40,000 people in the stadium hate your contract and batting average. Hopefully last night was a step in the right direction for the Angel's second-highest paid player. Wells had two hits last night, including a blasting line drive home run to center field in the 9th inning.

Pujols Still Homerless


This is the longest Albert Pujols has ever gone without a home run to start the season. Maybe it's the AL pitchers, maybe it's the contract, maybe it's an Angels curse, but it's probably just him trying too hard. Nothing to worry about...yet. However, the man who disdains being called El Hombre hit a towering popup on a 3-1 count in the ninth that was probably the highest fly ball I've ever seen hit to the shortstop.

Speaking of Pujols, it was Albert Pujols Bobble Head night that attracted a sellout crowd last night. Attending my second game of the season, I was able to get my hands on one of the 40,000 figures. Don't expect me to sell mine on eBay for $20 though. I've been waiting to get an Angels bobble head for years.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Is Jered Weaver the Best Pitcher in Baseball (4/81)

I feel like we're going to be asking this question all season: Is Jered Weaver the best pitcher in baseball? The answer is, "almost."



Jered Weaver got the 1,000th strikeout of his career tonight as the Angels blanked the Oakland Athletics 6-0. With his strikeout in the sixth inning, Weaver, 29, becomes the eighth player in franchise history to have at least 1,000 strikeouts, and, combined with his older brother, Jeff, became the sixth set of siblings to have 1,000 strikeouts.

Along with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Justin Verlander, and Clayton Kershaw, Weaver is among the top 5 pitchers in baseball right now. Many would debate this and say Weaver is not even the best pitcher on his own team, much less all of baseball. Improvement tells the story.

In 2009, Weaver pitched good, but not great. In 211 innings, Weaver had a 3.75 ERA and struck out just 174. The next year, Weaver got control of his fastball and posted a 3.01 ERA with a whopping 233 strikeouts. Last year, 2011, Weaver upped his game to the next level by becoming a workhorse as well as a smarter pitcher. He lowered his walks per nine innings, lowered his hits per nine innings, had 198 strikeouts and a career-best 2.41 ERA in a career-high 235.2 innings. He continues to get better.

Tonight Weaver went 6 and two-thirds innings, striking out 6 while walking only one. He dominated an Oakland A's lineup that, quite frankly, is in the lower echelon of hitting, but it was important because he made a great rebound from his previous start against the Twins.

Weaver is the most competitive player the Angels have on their roster and will continue to improve. It's his Cy Young Award to lose this year because there's no way Verlander, the next best pitcher in the AL, matches his crazy numbers from last year, even with an improved offense.

One-Liners


Congrats to Kendrys Morales for smacking his first home run since 2010 tonight and successfully NOT breaking his leg on home plate as he finished his trot.

Can't blame Vernon Wells for not getting into a hitting rhythm when Mike Scioscia can't even pick a steady lineup, but he better take swimming lessons soon because he's about to get lapped by a Trout.

It's bad enough that Mike Scioscia can't pick a consistent lineup; it's worse that I agree with YANKEES coach Joe Giradi.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Santana Gets Rocked (3/81)

Happy Easter! Hope you had a good one because the Angels sure didn't.



Ervin Santana made his first start of the season, and like Dan Haren yesterday, his best stuff just wasn't there. Santana gave up 6 runs to the Kansas City Royals on 7 hits and 2 walks in 5 and 2/3 innings. Three of the 6 runs he gave up came in the first inning, putting the Angels in an early hole.

As a former baseball player, it's hard playing catch-up baseball before you've even had your first at-bats. Rather than going up there relaxed, looking for a pitch to hit, you start with the pressure that if you don't score X-amount of runs, you aren't going to win the game.

Even with the added pressure, the Angels always threatened. Despite the final score being 7-3 the Angels had plenty of opportunities to get back into the game, but they couldn't string enough hits together. The Angels finished the game 0-13 with runners in scoring position.

The 3rd Base Experiment

Even with Mark Trumbo's superior batting in the lineup, manager Mike Soscia is going to have to make an important decision very soon regarding the fate of his 3rd baseman. Trumbo committed his third error at 3rd base today in only his second game. The error led to a run scored, and one has to wonder, how many early games are worth sacrificing before Trumbo begins to feel comfortable at the position? The problem here is not lack of skill (Trumbo was more than an adequate 1st baseman last year), but more of a lack of confidence. After Friday's Opening Day game in which Trumbo made two errors, he was beating himself up after the game. He needs to go back and talk to his Little League coach from when he was a kid. He needs to be reminded that mistakes are unavoidable, but you have to do your best to move on from them and limit them in the future. Here's hoping he gets enough time to figure it out, or a move to the outfield might end up in the biggest traffic jam this side of the I-5 freeway.

Lineup Management

Kendrys Morales needs to bat fourth! The switching-hitting, comeback kid needs to be in the batting order right behind the million dollar man, Albert Pujols. Soscia, we don't want to hear it that you're playing matchups based on left-handed pitching. You have the most powerful lineup for the first time in your managerial career since the days of Troy Glaus, Tim Salmon, and Garrett Anderson. The speed is good. The speed is the Angel's identity, but not protecting your best hitter with the second bast bat on your team is just foolish.

The lineup could not put together a string of hits today, and I partially blame Soscia for this mess. The 1-2-3 spots in the lineup batted a combined total of 7 for 13 the Angel's best hitter from the first two games, Morales, dropped to sixth in the lineup followed by Trumbo batting seventh. We get it Mike, you've got a deep team, with Torii Hunter and Vernon Wells completely competent cleanup and number five hitters, but that doesn't mean you need to bat them there when you have better options. Let's accept that we're going to have to deal with lineup tinkering for at least the first month or so, but in Soscia's case, it will probably last the whole season.

That's it for today. Hope your day was filled with love, family, and an abundance of chocolate. I'll be back Monday, April 16th when the Angels host the Oakland A's for their next home game. I'm going to try to make it to Pujols Bobblehead night on the 17th, so wish me luck. As always, follow me on Twitter for my daily thoughts on sports and relevant links and retweets from across the NBA, NFL, and MLB.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Haren and the Angels Receive First Loss (2/81)

Today I was lucky enough to attend my first Angel game of the year, and my first day game since before the infamous periwinkle days. Even though the Angels suffered their first loss of the season and lost all hope of becoming the first team to ever go undefeated, it was probably one of the most beautiful days of the year.



Layla and I got to the game around 12:45 and snuck in Albertos California Burritos. Not counting the traditional stadium nachos or Angel Dogs, bringing in outside grub like a Cali Burrito is hands down better (and cheaper) than any of the other food you're going to get at the stadium. We got there early enough to take our seats and grab a few brewskies.

Today's promotion ended up being Angel's fleece blankets. I feel like the Angel's PR team really dropped the ball with the calendar placement of these blankets, but they ended up being pretty useful for covering our blazing hot seats during today's 80+ degree day game. After snapping a few pictures and watching my one of my favorite Angel's video packages of all time, we were ready to start the game.

Haren's Rocky First Start


We knew the Angels were going to get in a big hole early with the way Dan Haren opened up the game. He was leaving the ball over the middle of the plate, and the Kansas City Royals were just punishing him with easy singles. It was baffling to watch these hitters put together strings of hits on a guy who had looked so dominant during Spring Training. Not one to let things get to him, Haren still managed to buckle down, put some life on his fastball and strike out 5 batters, but it wasn't enough as he couldn't miss bats and ended after 5 and a third innings.

Kendrys Morales Doesn't Miss A Beat

The real story today is not the Angels' loss, but the fact that they're best hitter from over two seasons ago has finally gotten himself healthy enough to play, and is picking up right where he left off. Many critics, myself included, thought the two year layoff would have a big impact on Morales' numbers. Would he be able to still hit the ball with power? How would his approach change after missing two seasons? Was 2009 a fluke offensively for the guy?

It's too early in the season to answer these questions, but the big fella is off to a great start to the 2012 season. After watching him stroke the ball to both sides of the field today, you can tell that he still has his eye on the ball, and he's not pulling off pitches like the rest of his teammates.

Angels Early Hitting Woes


Last year, the Angels lead the league in being shut out 50 times before the 5th inning. This year they already have two in their first two games.

This has been the theme of the last two years. This revamped offense was supposed to change that, but after two games, the Angels look exactly the same as previous years (if not slower). Today, Manager Mike Soscia baffled us by taking out his best offensive hitter from last season, and giving his fastest player a day off. I can understand why Mark Trumbo was absent from the lineup after his mistakes at 3rd base last night, but Peter Bourjos is the catalyst of your offense. He's the one who gets things started, scores runs, steals bases and generally gets in the heads of pitchers because they have to worry about someone who isn't the batter.

Soscia, instead, sent Vernon Wells to center and Albert Callaspo to 3rd base and the pair went a combined 0-9 for the day. Late in the game, Callaspo came up with runners in scoring position with one out, but was left in despite Mark Trumbo leading the team in both RBI's and home runs last year. Needless to say, Callaspo did not have a positive impact offensively in this game.

And what the heck was up with Bobby Abreau? Yeah he got a nice double down the line that scored some runs and provided the only excitement of the day, but the dude has morphed into Garret Anderson in left field (except even SLOWER). I couldn't tell if it was lack of motivation or a player knowing the limits of his body, but it sure didn't look like he was trying very hard to run down balls in the gap or shallow line drives.

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Friday, April 6, 2012

Opening Day/1st Blog of the Year (1/81)




I can’t remember a time where I have ever been this excited for Opening Day, or the beginning of any professional sports season for that matter. Granted, it was great to avoid lockouts in both the NFL and NBA this year, nothing can replace my favorite hometown team, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (still a ridiculous name). I thought about writing this blog a few days ago, but wasn’t fully motivated until after watching tonight’s game. Hope you enjoy this blog as much as I hope to write it.

From now until October, I am going to do my best to cover every single one of the Angel’s 81 home games (and hopefully playoffs). This is going to be a long season, but I’ll do my best to update after every game or at least by the end of the next day.

In this blog, I’ll give my thoughts on the previous game as well as developing stories, while trying to keep the writing light-hearted and easy to read. Comments are always welcome, and I hope to have a lot of fun working on this.

Without further ado, let’s get started with the Angels 2012 season!

Angels won! Thanks to a nice 8th inning rally, Angels were able to beat the Kansas City Royals 5-0. To some, tonight’s game was really slow. Let’s face it, in baseball the closest thing you’ll see to a slam dunk is a home run, and unless you’re playing the Rockies, those home runs can be few and far between. Home runs are exciting, but the real drama comes from the pitchers’ dual.

Pitchers’ Dual


Tonight we witnessed Kansas City Royal’s young ace, Bruce Chen go toe-to-toe with Cy Young Award runner-up Jered Weaver. Chen pitched 6 innings of shutout ball and only allowed the revamped Angel’s offense to get 3 hits, but it was still no match for Weaver picking up right where he left off last year. The Angel’s ace went 8 shoutout innings, only allowing 4 hits and struck out an Opening Day best of 10.

Angels Hitting Woes

The big story before the game, and quite frankly this whole offseason, was Albert Pujols. The man who wishes to not be called El Hombre, went hitless in his Angels debut (the only Angels starter to do so for the day). To be fair, the entire team was hitting poorly for the whole game until a breakout 8th inning. The hits (and homers) will come for the new face of the franchise, but expectations could not be higher for the 2nd highest paid player in baseball.

Don’t fret Angel’s fans; the hits will come in this revamped Angels lineup. Torii Hunter remarked after the game that hitters are at a disadvantage earlier in the season as opposed to pitchers because they show up to spring training three or four weeks earlier than position players and have more time to get ready.

8th Inning

The five run 8th inning was the direct result of Angels hitters focusing and not trying to do too much with the ball. Instead of trying to bash homeruns like in the previous 7 innings, the bottom of the order put together a string of clutch hits that would have made a certain white-haired, capuchin monkey proud.

My favorite part of the inning had to be Peter Bourjos racing from 1st to home to be the throw on Erick Aybar’s 3-RBI triple. There’s no debate about it: the dude is FAST. There are maybe a handful of players in the major leagues that aren’t named Juan Pierre (or a younger Ichiro) that could have scored on that play. I don’t know about you, but I sure can’t wait to see the one-two punch of speed from Bourjos and Mike Trout, once Trout swims his way up to the majors again.

That’s it for today. I’ll be going to the day game tomorrow versus the Royal to get my fleece blanket. Who is the idiot PR professional that thought it would be a great idea to give blankets away during the day games?

I'll leave you with Jered Weaver's 10 K's for the evening.



If you would like to follow me on Twitter, I retweet a lot of sports-related content as well as mostly post about sports.