It's been a little while since I've posted about this, and since I've had a Kent comment, so here goes. The Angels are kind of amazing lately. - They are down their three biggest power hitters, but they're still managing to average something like 6-8 runs a game.
- Their team batting average is near the top in all of baseball, if not at the top.
- Pitching has been okay, but seeing all of their recent call-ups from the minors, I actually feel most confident in their bullpen. The Jepsen kid throws 100 mph+. They signed Darren Oliver a few seasons ago, but the guy is having his best season by far with us. Jose Arredondo has stunk and gone back down to the minors, but even losing Scott Shields to injury and K-Rod to free agency has not been much of a problem at all. I was optimistic about Brian Fuentes, and although he started off a little slow, the guy has the most saves in all of baseball, and has gone about 6-7 weeks without allowing a run. It's amazing.
- Their hitting philosophy has totally shifted this past season. I used to be all for getting rid of Mickey Hatcher, but signing Bobby Abreu has gotten all of the younger guys on board with working pitch counts. It's unbelievable. Their OBP is incredibly high from the top to the bottom of the order. It's not uncommon for consecutive guys to work 10 or more pitches per at bat. I went to the day game on Saturday and they had a nine-run 4th inning. They just kept hitting. That stuff is great now, but will make all the difference in the post season.
- Kendry Morales. I was all for resigning Mark Texeira, but mostly because I was tired of all of waiting for one of our prospects live up to their potential. Kendry has come through in a big way for us. He just wrapped up a 20 game hit streak, and already has almost 20 home runs for the season. I remember when we signed that guy 4-5 years ago and gave him $6 million just to come over from Cuba when he hadn't even played in the minors yet. The guy is really coming up big.
- Juan Rivera and Mike Napoli. I've always loved these guys, and I really thought that Rivera would be the perfect solution for GA leaving. The guy has good pop, and hits for a decent average. He just never really had much of a chance to be an everyday guy. Mike had a breakout rookie season, then developed a big hole in his swing, but now seems to be a guy that we can really count on for power.
- Erick Aybar and Chone Figgins have been unbelievable. Truly. They're on-base machines, and on Saturday I saw Figgins steal three bases, get on base four times, and hit a home run. Kent...you're right. I didn't appreciate him enough, but the guy has been HUGE for us this season. He's been so important for us. I can't overstate how much so.
- They still need some starting pitching. Lackey has flashes of being great, but hasn't been entirely consistent yet. Jered Weaver is having a good season. I think we need to trade Ervin Santana while his value is still somewhat high. I don't think we're ever going to get a consistent stream of good innings from him. I think he's just shakey in his confidence. Joe Saunders is struggling a little bit, but for whatever reason I feel confident that he'll be a solid second or third starter. But other than that, I'm feeling pretty dang good about this team, which is a far cry from what I would have said if you had asked me a few months ago.
Oh...are you guys in for the All-Star game next year? I will pay upwards of $100 for home run derby tickets. The game would be fun too. It's on a lottery system, so we better all be signing up, and getting all significant others to sign up too. And we should scalp some of them tickets. Yup. Anyway...Go Angels!
4 comments:
sorry, just couldn't read this post. you up to go to a dodger game?
Hell yes, you know I am. Just say when.
its not that i dont want to comment on other posts but i dont for whatever reason. but i do read the other posts if thats any consolation.
anyways, glad we are talking angels again. im jealous you were at saturday's game. i was cleaning the house but had the game on and watched the whole 9 run inning. pretty incredible. its cool because it seems like the guys actually get along and seem to enjoy playing with each other. the clubhouse seems to have good chemistry, which is really important.
everyone is hitting. if i had one concern it would just be that i hope everyone isnt peaking too early. i hope we are playing this good at the end of september and not just at the end of july.
you bring up interesting points about pitching. i think its our weakness. i used to be worried about middle relief, but now im a little concerned about our starting pitching. its good. and good enough to win the division, but we do that every year. i dont think its good enough to win the pennant or the world series. so my question is: do you think we need roy haliday or cliff lee and what would you be willing to give up for one of them?
i think we need haliday. i dont think we have strong enough starters to really compete against the yankees, dodgers or red sox in the postseason. lackey is a big game pitcher and will come through when it matters. we have to hold on to weaver, he's legit. but i would be willing to part with any other starter. i agree about santana and that we should try and get something for him, but i would even trade saunders. he's really good, but if he's what it took to get haliday or a true ace, i think its worth it. i dont know how else we are going to win it all and i dont think our current starting pitching can get it done. haliday is our no. 1, lackey is 2 and weaver is 3. in a 7 game series, we would be hard to beat.
I think if there is going to be any real hope about advancing in the playoffs, we definitely need another front of the line starter. I think we definitely need Hallady or Lee to fill out our rotation. I had read somewhere that we were actually looking good in the Halladay sweepstakes, but then I read that they were asking for not only one of our starters (Santana, Saunders, or Weaver), but that they were also asking for Erick Aybar and then a couple of other prospects. I can't in good conscience submit to losing one of our most valuable position players also. I think Aybar can be a cog in the middle infield for years to come. I love Saunders and Weaver, but if losing one of them brings in one of those other guys, I'm all for it. I think it's going to take at least four players, and I would give up one of the aforementioned starters, Brandon Wood, and two other top level prospects, but I'm not sure that we have enough to get a deal done. At least not for Halladay. I'd even throw in Jeff Mathis. I think the Blue Jays aren't in fire-sale mode just yet, and therefore, they can afford to wait this one out. I think we can get Lee for a more reasonable price, and although this season hasn't been as good as last season, he's been super awesome as of late.
I'm a little concerned about the peaking too soon prospect, but there's not much we can do other than just enjoy this part of the season. What keeps me optimistic is thinking that we're doing this without those three big bats. Imagine what we can do with a healthy Hunter, Guerrero, and Rivera in middle of the lineup. They say that in the playoffs, it's not necessarily the best team that wins, but the hottest one. That happened to us in 2002, and we really don't know anything until we get to that point.
But all things considered, this seasons performances have already exceeded my expectations. I think Aybar, Morales, and Napoli are all guys we can count for the long term. Even Howie Kendrick has really come on since coming back up from the minors. I feel surprisingly comfortable with our bullpen. I just wish that starting pitching would get more consistent. Our recent success is all due to our hitting, but that's not something you can count on in the playoffs when rotations shorten up and you're having to face guys like Beckett multiple times.
I don't know, I guess we'll be seeing in the next week how it all pans out.
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