What’s in a name?
If you’re an Orange County resident, like myself, you are beginning to wonder… with all the moves that the Angels have made this off-season, is it time to start lobbying for yet another name change? It was rumored for the longest time that Arte Moreno, being the billboard advertising mogul that he is, wanted to take the Los Angeles name and slap it on his ballclub for marketing rights to a larger populous. True or not, the Angels do not call L.A. their home, and I know I’m not alone when I say that I take offense in my team having to share a name with the blue crew up the 5 freeway. This is Anaheim, and the flags we fly down here are red with Angel pride!
Our jerseys do not say Los Angeles; Our hats do not have L’s on them; and we certainly do not have any reason to piggy back off of a lesser team anymore. You ask anybody in this town that loves this team, what the A in the parking lot stands for. They will tell you:
Angels… Autry… Adenhart… Arte… Albert… Anaheim!
The last time I checked, this team has pulled in over 3,000,000 fans every year since 2003. Is that what the A stands for? Attendance? Is that what’s in a name… more people? Or was it the fact that we won the World Series in 2002, and have been a thorn in the side of every American League West team ever since? Is it the fact that we’ve beaten up the Dodgers worse than they beat up their rivals fans over the last 5 seasons? Perhaps the teams success lies not in a name, but in a Rally cry… or a Rally Monkey? No… You want to know what I think the key to our Angels winning is?
A city. A symbol. A letter. A reminder. A great owner. A great fanbase. An A on the chest and an A on the cap.
My Angels deserve to be recognized not only for who they are, but for where they play. If you’ve never been to Southern California, you wouldn’t quite understand my angst… but Orange County is not L.A. County. The Rangers don’t play in Houston, the A’s don’t play in Frisco, and the Angels sure as hell don’t play in Los Angeles… We play in Anaheim. As a fan, that’s the city I was raised in, the city I call home, and the city where I love to watch my Angels take the field.
It’s time to make a change in the off-season… let this be my first new years resolution for 2012!
Oh Captain My Captain!
Today marks the one year anniversary of the biggest loss the Angels have suffered in recent history. Between dwelling on Kendrys and the Giants loss of Buster Posey this last week, I found myself asking most certainly the same question the Giants themselves are asking… “Where do we go from here?” The loss of a single player, a single position player… the captain of the team, has all but crippled San Francisco’s chances of returning to the Fall Classic. Perhaps the biggest breakout player of 2010, and most definitely the most sought after catcher in Fantasy Baseball (if you’re into that sort of thing), Buster Posey in my eyes is simply irreplaceable. What does this have to do with my beloved Angels you ask? See if you can follow my train of thought for a bit…
Since the Angels won the World Series in 2002, they have shown that there will always be a chink in their armor. The closest thing to a five star backstop the Angels have had in recent history is Bengie Molina, who contrary to popular belief, was at the time one of the premier catchers in the game. Nowadays, the angels catching regiment consists of a very inconsistent Jeff Mathis, a very underused Bobby Wilson, and a very inexperienced Hank Conger… who many, including myself, believe to be the future of this franchise. In my opinion, the Angels made one of the worst trades ever when they let Mike Napoli escape to the Rangers via the Blue Jays in exchange for Vernon Wells and a potload of incurred debt. He was the closest thing the halos had to a sure thing behind the plate, but with Mathis being the clear club favorite, Naps just never stood a chance to become the elite Mike Piazza like catcher that I saw him becoming. So, again… the question remains, where do we go from here?
If you look back at every Championship team going back to 2002, there was not a winning club without a single (or battery of) elite catcher(s). In ’02 it was the Angels who rode the leadership of the Molina brothers to their first club championship. In 2003 it was the Florida Marlins, who relied on the leadership of Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez to lead them to victory. 2004 brought the Red Sox nation and Boston by, yackstop Jason Varitek a sigh of relief and their first championship in like 1,000 years. One year later, the White Sox rode A.J. Pierzynski to the promised land. Then, in 2006, another Molina brother burst onto the scene and showed that leadership runs thru their veins as he and the St. Louis Cardinals laid claim to the best in the land. 2007 sent the Championship back to Beantown where long time Captain V-Tek and longtime backup Doug Mirabelli showed their experience by winning their second series in 5 seasons.
In 2008, the first time since ’02 a team won with a starting catcher that did not play the magic number of games. The six previous years, each teams catcher had played in no less than 120 games. There is, at least to me, a clear relation between having your captain in the game, and winning on a consistent basis. In ’08, the Philadelphia Phillies rode to the series on the backs of a tag team effort from Carlos Ruiz and Chris Coste, and in ’09 the Yanks played the double dip game on the backs and experience of Jorge Posada and Jose Molina. Then this last year in San Francisco, Buster Posey showed that although he didn’t even play in 100 games, he learned from one of the absolute best in the business… Bengie Molina.
So, again… what does this have to do with the Angels? Well, Jeff Mathis has only caught more than 80 games once in his career, and is on pace to catch roughly 75 games this season. With Hank Conger in the lineup and with the ability to hit from the left side, the chances of Mathis seeing more games than Conger is highly unlikely. Although many scoff at the thought of a rookie catcher becoming the everyday starter, Angels fans have been waiting for Conger to make his mark on the Bigs for some time now. The only problem, he has nobody to learn from. The one person that Hank is going to have to rely on for his on the job training is an underachieving, defensively overrated Jeff Mathis. The fact that Scioscia was once a backstop himself means nothing when his duties don’t quite extend to that of development. The clear choice for this club at catcher should have been Napoli… the clear choice now must be Hank. The question I ask now is the same as I am sure the Giants are asking this week… Where do we go from here? Well I can tell you where we will not be going… the post season.
About Time Guys!
After dropping 6 of their last 7 games and being outscored 35 to 13, the halos decided to play to their potential Friday night in their win over the Atlanta Braves. The first game of interleague play this year gave life to the Angels offense, who scored more runs in the 3rd inning of yesterday’s win than they had in any of the previous weeks worth of games. In a postgame interview, first baseman Mark Trumbo told reporters that the team had rallied together before the game, and decided that after being swept in Oakland and Seattle they had admitted not playing to potential. The halos had agreed as a team that they would turn that around this homestand, and on Friday night that is exactly what they did.
It is no surprise to me that the one player exceeding everybodys expectations for Anaheim is Alberto Callaspo. Not only do Angels fans generally lack confidence in players they aren’t familiar with, but to see a player come over from the Royals and be productive for the halos is almost unheard of. Like most fans, I too would normally be skeptical of such a move, but the fact is… Callaspo is batting .306, and he is currently 2nd on the team in hits (49), tied for 3rd in team doubles (9), and is the team leader in RBIs with 23. Before the season started, I would have been surprised to find a dozen fans walk thru the gates at the Big A that even knew Callaspo’s first name, let alone anything else about him. The only thing they know about him now is that he keeps driving in runs for the Angels, and to be quite honest, as a fan myself… that’s all we care about! Halo fans, he may not be Troy Glaus, but he does have a better carrer batting average… look it up!
We were also reminded last night of one very important bit of information that most halo fans may have forgotten… Ervin Santana has some NASTY stuff! He came to the ballpark Friday night and gave the Braves a look at his notorious chinstrap beard, his great big inviting smile, and his magnificently unhittable slider. If you ask me, I’m still not sure which I liked the most, but I can guarantee the boys from the ATL were not all that impressed with the slider. In fact, I don’t think very many of them even saw it when he was gracious enough to show it to them… it does have a habit of dropping right out of sight that way. Santana looked on top of his game though, going all nine innings to get the CG shutout, and a very important W for a struggling to stay healthy Angels team. Ervin showed no signs of struggle, no signs of fatigue, and absolutely no signs of walking away from that game without a win last night. He was consistent with a 92-94 mph four-seamer and a 81-84 mph slider, and the Braves bats were consistently fooled to match.
Unsure of what was ultimately said in the behind closed doors team meeting Friday, one thing is certain… It worked. Bourjos showed some pop and some speed, with a double and his 4th stolen bag. Abreu went 2-3 with a double, raising his average to .267. Most notable was Trumbo, who went 3 for 4, a triple shy of the cycle… just another reason the bandwagon fans in SoCal can rest assured that all is not lost with the loss of Morales. The local kid Trumbo is among the leagues best rookies, among the Angels best hitters, and is clearly a leader on this team. No doubt the power and presence of Kendrys’ bat is missed, but rather than grieving the loss, fans need to realize what a special player Mark Trumbo is, and what a blessing the Angels depth has been.
Last night’s W was a great beggining to a very important series here in Anaheim with the Braves, but nothing is more important than winning this series and looking ahead to the next. A hot and charged up Oakland team is looking forward to coming into our town and roughing us up, so Braves beware. You all are just the standing in the way of the Angels redemption series with the A’s. Pinerio and Chatwood will be throwing the next two games for us to get Atlanta out of the way, so please oh please… will everyone come out and see Jered Weaver put the A’s in their place and get W #7 already! Light the halo up already… I’m feeling a sweep!
SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
After last years “Snuggie” night and this evenings Nacho Libre night, nothing really catches me by surprise anymore. That is until I caught first glimpse of the halos lineup card this afternoon and saw that Howie Kendrick, never having played an inning of professional baseball in the outfield, was slated as the Angels starting left fielder. With the temporary loss of Vernon Wells in left field and the chance to capitalize on a struggling John Danks (now 0-6 in 8 starts), what may have seemed like a practical joke now looks like comedic genius. Scioscia has the last laugh after all…
The halo offense sure stepped it up tonight, looking like a team full of hungry rookies. Oh wait, that is exactly what they are! Every single batter in the Angels lineup had at least one hit tonight, with the exception of 2. Peter Bourjos, though 0-3 in tonights matchup, is still batting .291 on the season. Slightly more impressive with Peter’s speed is the rapid rate at which he is striking out. With 2 more K’s in tonights game, that brings his total to a ******** 40 in 37 games. No worries though, as long as he continues to dazzle with his Edmonds like defense in CF, we will continue to look the other way and not pay notice that he is on pace to strikeout 175 times this year. The only other batter to not reach base safely in this contest was, of course, Jeff Mathis. A once fan favorite, now playing second fiddle to Conger it seems, has lost his place in the hearts of Angel’s fans everywhere (myself included). His 0-5 in this series thus far brings his season average to .186, only slightly worse than his career average of .198, so you know he’s bound to turn things around.
Wait, what in the world am I saying? Turn things around? I will be the first to offer to buy Jeff a drink, help him pack his things, and drive him to the train station. That is how they used to do things right? What in the world is the holdup with this guy? Conger clearly has what it takes to play at this level and Mathis is a constant reminder of why players like Brandon Wood just aren’t worth the wait.
Regardless, whether Mathis can hit or not… the rest of the Angels showed tonight that they are clearly dialed in as of late. Tonight’s 12-36 line brings the team average up to a league leading .271, with contributions from some of the leagues hottest hitters. Erick Aybar, though 1-5 tonight, is still batting a resounding .344. Bobby Abreu and Maicer Izturis were both 2-5 in the game, with a combined 3 runs between them, 1 on the solo shot by Izturis (his 3rd of the year). Torii Hunter and left fielder Howie Kendrick (it’s just fun to say isn’t it) combined for the teams 3 additional runs, both going 2-4 in the contest. Perhaps a breakout performance of sorts was had by Callaspo, who was also 2-4 in the game, and was responsible for 3 of the teams RBI’s (a season high).
Pineiro capped off a stellar performance, as he always seems to do at the Big A. The win tonight brings his record at home with the Angels to 8-2 with an ERA of 2.18. Clearly theres something about pitching in Anaheim that Joel seems to feed off of, be it the masks or the matchups, we may never know. One thing is for certain though… he’s a winner at home… and a winner tonight! Light up the halo baby! The Angels spanked the Dank!
The Angels Rain on Boston’s Parade
After five long hours of wind and rain, a delay of game for some wet weather, and 13 grueling innings of back and forth baseball, the Angels snuck away with a victory at Fenway tonight! It was a great way to start off the Cinco de Mayo celebration, and a great way to cap off the beginning of the end of this Boston series. The Angels got a big showing tonight from the bats of Wells, Kendrick, and Conger… but it was the game winning hit off the bat of Bobby Abreu that sealed the deal. Vernon Wells, a late arrival to the Angels offense, showed up in rare form tonight going 2-6 with a 2 run HR that shifted the momentum of the game in the top of the 7th inning. Though he did also strikeout twice in the game, I think for once in his life Angels fans may actually let that slide. Nothing means more to halo honks, from the die hards to the bandwagoners, than beating up on the boys from beantown!
Howie Kendrick, who played first base again tonight for the halos, went 2-6 with a double. Howie also added a few more strikeouts to tonights tally, three to be exact, but did account for 2 of the Angels 5 runs scored. Hammerin Hank came through with some timely hitting, going 3-4 with a double and a walk… clearly stepping up to the challenge of taking over as catcher numero uno! Scioscia may love Jeff Mathis, but I’m here to tell you… we Angels fans love Hank, and we want to see more of him! By the time the game had ended, I had completely forgotten that Ervin Santana had started this game… and not to sound unappreciative, but who cares! It was all about Trevor Bell for me tonight! This guy was absolutely lights out, going 4 innings, striking out 3 and not allowing a single run to score. He collects his first win of the season, and only his fourth career victory, on just 56 pitches. Now… I can’t not say anything about Bobby Abreu, but what is there really to say? His 13th inning 2 run single to right ultimately won the game! He went 1-7 in the game… better late than never i suppose.
As excited as I am about tonights win, the halos performance really just reaffirms my belief that the Angels still have some tweaking to do to their lineup and their apporach at the plate in scoring situations before this team really gets it. The halos went only 3-11 with RISP, and left 13 runners stranded on the basepath. First inning, bases loaded, 1 out… Callaspo grounds into a DP. Top of 6, one out, Aybar on second, Izturis on first… ground out by Hunter, pop out by Callaspo, inning over. Top of 11, Amarista on second, one down… Strikeout, groundout, inning over. Three instances in one game where the halos failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position and less than two outs. This is clearly plaguing the Angels offense, and I am still uncertain if it is the coaching decisions made in these situations (opting not to utilize the sac bunt), or the complete lack of self confidence in the halo bats. You can refer back to the last article I wrote just this afternoon (http://socalsportshub.com/2011/05/04/boston-has-our-number/) and see that this trend is killing the Angels run production, and almost cost them yet another game tonight!
All in all however, a good time was had by all! I stayed up later than I really wanted to just to see our guys finally win one, and I was told that the Red Sox ownership handed out branded trash bags and free coffee to all the fans still in attendance when the game finally resumed. That’s a nice touch.
Boston Has Our Number
The 2011 season has proven to be yet another heartbreaking chapter in the “Red Sox own the Angels” saga. Six games played, six games won… all by Boston. The Angels have just not been able to figure out the secret of the Sox. Is it their pitching? Their lineup? Is it the fact that there have been more Boston fans than Angel fans at all six of these games? Yes, even the ones played in Anaheim! I’d like to shed a bit of light on what I think may be contributing to the Angels woes with the Red Sox this season.
It is a very simple concept… the more runs you score, the better your chances of winning. This is nothing more than common sense, and is no more common than in the halos battles with the boys from beantown. The key to the Angels turning the tides on the Red Sox is simple… score more runs. Regardless of who they throw at them, the halos can’t ever seem to silence the Boston bats, leaving them no choice but to outhit them. In 30 games so far this season, the halos are 16-14 (tied for first place), and in each game that the offense showed signs of life the Angels won. When their bats seemed to go to sleep, they dreamt their way to a loss. In matchups where the Angels have scored four runs or better (and they currently are averaging 4.07 per game) they have a record of 14-3. When they fail to score more than three however, their record is 2-11. It really is that simple… the more they score the more they win.
You may think that simply conceding 8 games to
Boston this year and getting on with our season is no big deal, given that the halos are currently atop the AL West, and that’s is all that most fans care about. But, when the postseason arrives and the Angels are again faced with a team who clearly has their number, these numbers may mean a bit more. In 6 games, only 6 games… 56 innings… the Angels have been outscored by Boston 36-13 (68-36 in 2010). If they had played 12 games and lost every game by a score of 3 to 1, it may not sound so scary. But only having played six games, Scioscia’s boys have been losing 6 to 2 on average. In fact, in only one of these six games have the halos scored more than 3 runs. If this trend is going to continue and the Angels can’t wake up their offense, they will NOT beat Boston. You can absolutely count on the Red Sox putting up at least four runs each game… they have done so thus far!
Public enemy number one for the halos has been timing. The Angels have had 45 opportunities in 56 innings to get a runner across the plate from scoring position against Boston. 45 times… roughly seven times per 9 innings to get the runner in from second or third base… and the Angels have done it only 5. 11% of the time with RISP, the halos have been able to capitalize against Boston … the other 40 chances, they failed miserably.
With the Angels 2 aces already down for the count in this series, the teams last two regular season games with Boston will not be decided by pitching. It is going to have to be the bats that carry this Angels team to victory and get them out of beantown with a W. We need more bombs from Trumbo, more Hammerin Hank, more of Bourjos on the bases… and of course the veteran bats of Bobby, Torii, and Mr. 126 million! Let’s end the “Curse of Lackey” once and for all. That’s just how I see things.
Back to Tampa
After winning the first series 2 games to none, the Angels return to Tampa for a 3 game weekend battle to take on a hot Rays team once again. In their last meeting, the halos outscored Tampa Bay 10-4 in a 2 game sweep. Since starting the season off 1-8, the Rays have been on a tear of late winning 13 of their last 16 games… all without the help of slugging third baseman Evan Longoria. Players the likes of Johnny Damon, Ben Zobrist, and the legendary Sam Fuld have all been big contributors to the success of the Rays, and will surely look forward to giving the visiting Angels some trouble this weekend. The Angels have not been without their breakout guys either, as their latest wins have come on the backs and bats of Peter Bourjos, Tyler Chatwood, and Hammerin Hank Conger… all looking solid, and all hungry to win!
The first game of this series the Angels will send out Ervin Santana, who in his last outing against the Red Sox looked great with 9 strikeouts in seven innings. It was clearly his best outing of the year, and though the halos still took the loss in that game, Santana had to feel good about the way he pitched. His frustration with not a single win in his last five starts may just be the tool to push him over the edge and break the Rays win streak, or his confidence. Either way, he’s starved for a win, so I can only assume he will pitch his heart out. Tampa will counter with David Price, who is 1-1 lifetime against the halos, and pitching great this year. In his last 3 starts, Price has gone 23.2 innings, with 17 K’s. Price is 3-2 with a 3.19 ERA vs Santana’s 0-5 and 5.51 ERA.
Game 2 of the series will bring the long awaited return of Angel Joel Pineiro, who was injured (back) on March 20th and has not pitched for the halos yet this season. Joel is a sinker, slider, get you out via the grounder kind of pitcher, and no doubt he will come in with the same strategy as before. Pineiro in 2010 was 10-7 for the halos in 23 starts, with an ERA of 3.84 and a WHIP of 1.24. Not only will he be looking for his first win of the season, but also his 1,00th career strikeout as a Major Leaguer (currently has 996). Tampa will come back at Pineiro with James Shields, who in his last 2 games, threw complete game wins in both outings. He is a lifetime 5-3 against the Angels, and though he just pitched a full 9 innings on Sunday, he did it on only 95 pitches, so you can bet he will be ready to throw. Shields on Wednesday was just named the American League Player of the Week by Major League Baseball… so confidence you can bet will be oozing out of every pore! Great for James, perhaps not so for the halos.
The wrap-up game of the series will feature none other than the AL leading 6-0 Jered Weaver. Weaver currently tops the AL stat charts in almost every category… Wins (6), Strikeouts (49), Innings Pitched (45.2), ERA (0.99), and is tied with TB pitcher James Shields for Complete Games (2). Perhaps the one stat not mentioned that is the most impressive is his opponents batting average against him, a mere .163. Not surprising, Tampa Bay has yet to schedule a pitcher to face Weaver in Sundays matchup. I wonder if the certainty of a sure loss in that game has got the Rays coaching staff searching for an answer to the riddle that Jered Weaver has become. If it were me, I’d pick the rookie that doesn’t know any better and give him a chance to become the spoiler to Weavers perfect season. Either way, regardless of who they throw out there against the Angels on Sunday, the Angels offense will still need to come alive to get away with the W!
Good, Bad and Pretty Stupid!
The Angels dropped their home opener tonight to a lackluster team from Beantown led by none other than Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia led the Red Sox to a victory tonight with a clutch single in the Top of the 11th inning to advance the runner from first to third, eventually scoring both the baserunner and himself, giving the Sox a 4 to 2 lead and the eventual win. Neither team looked all that dialed in tonight offensively until Boston’s late inning surge. Boston finished the game with 4 runs on 8 hits with 3 stolen bags. The Angels simply failed to deliver with the bats tonight, scoring only 2 runs on 4 hits, and one giant baserunning error that most likely cost them the game. The halos will take on lefty Jon Lester tomorrow in Game 2 of the four game series, and will counter with a very dominant Dan Haren.
The Good: Tyler Chatwood looked good in his third major league start, but just couldn’t seem to get the calls when calls were needed. He pitched extremely well, kept his composure, and kept his sinker down… the zone just seemed to get smaller and smaller for the rookie as the innings progressed. All in all though, a great showing from right hander Chatwood who threw 6 solid innings giving up 2 earned runs on 6 hits. I think he hit his spots, the umpire seemed to think otherwise. Three of the five walks he issued were run to full counts before a free pass was handed out. One thing can be said, this kid is the real deal… a little more seasoning and it may prove difficult for Scioscia to remove him from the rotation once Pineiro/Kazmir return.
The Bad: Maicer Izturis, who came into this game batting .400 lifetime against Josh Beckett, went 0-4 in tonights matchup with a weak flyout, a walk, a weak groundout, and two pop ups. Izturis, who entered the game with an AL leading .380 batting average, has been not only the best hitter in the American League argueably since the beginning of the season, but is historically very clutch… and just did not show in this evenings loss. Maicer’s batting average drops to .360 following tonights loss, still placing him amongst the top five batters in the league. Not taking anything away from him as a hitter, just did not come thru when his team really needed that “Mighty Maicer” boost he’s known to provide.
The Stupid: There is a rule in baseball… it’s one you are taught in little league (at least I was)… Never Ever Ever Make The First Or The Third Out At Third Base! Erick Aybar… you know you screwed up… enough said. Stop at 2nd, bunt over to third, sac fly to score, gives you the lead, game ends in the 9th. Not… That… Difficult.
Lets look forward to tomorrows game where Dan the Man Haren will be picking up his 5th win of the season, write that down!
Beantown Invades Toriitown!
The K’s are Key!
Only the Blue Jays and the White Sox pitching staffs have recorded more outs than the Angels, who sit now in 2nd place in the AL West. The halo staff has recorded 121 punchouts as a team, with their two aces leading the charge. With really only a 3 man rotation and a rotisserie spot in the 4 hole, the Angels have been pressed to find a live arm other than Haren or Weaver to get them a win.
The key to the Angels success has clearly been these two studs, who have both been lights out thus far. The team as a whole boasts that 121 mark for strikeouts, but its no surprise that almost half of those belong to these two men. Dan Haren not only leads the AL in innings pitched (31.0), but is also tied with teammate Jered Weaver as the only 2 pitchers in the AL with 4 wins. Haren has successfully sent 27 batters back to the pines, bat in hand, and is so far the only pitcher in the American league to throw a complete game shutout this season.
Jered Weaver, though revered as the teams ace, clearly has Haren riding his coattails in a game of “anything you can do, I can do better”. Weaver, the reigning strikeout king of 2010 (233) is sitting atop his throne once again with 31 strikeouts in 27.2 innings. Also tied for the league lead with 4 wins, he is also 4th in the AL in innings pitched, and 4th in the AL in ERA with an earned run average of 1.30 (Haren is 2nd in the AL with a 1.16 ERA).
The remaining Angels starters (Santana, Chatwood, Palmer, Kazmir) have only combined for 27 punchouts in 44 innings through 8 starts. Compare that to the 58 strikeouts in 58.2 innings from the halos 1-2 punch, and its no wonder the team notched 8 of their ten wins with these guys on the mound. Runs are the obvious necessity when it comes to winning games, but for the boys in red from Anaheim, the key to their success… at least how I see it… is without a doubt the strikeout!
BadHopsBaseball
Recent Comments