Let's be clear about one thing: the Angels want to win now.
Prior to the Greinke trade this Friday which sent three top Angels prospects to Milwaukee for the coveted right-handed pitcher, it seemed unlikely the Angels would be able to pull-off a major deal to solidify their starting pitching depth.
After all, their farm system is depleted. Leaving the Halos with short stacks at the trade table. If a trade was to go down, it seemed almost destine to involve Peter Bourjos who, despite a lackluster sophomore major league year, has a lot of upside and has been unable to find much playing time.
Then the Greinke trade happened. And the Angels farm system was depleted even more with two of the three players in the Angels top 10 prospects according the Baseball Prospectus.
This send a clear message that the Angels are living in the moment. Jerry DiPoto wants a ring with 2012 engraved on it.
What this also means, though, is that the pressure for the Angels to win and to win now is even greater. This is especially highlighted by the fact that Greinke becomes a free agent at the end of the year and there is no guarantee that the Angels will be able to sign him.
If the Angels don't win a ring in 2012 and Greinke doesn't return, then that leaves the possibility of future blockbuster moves even more difficult for the Halos to pull-off.
If they end up champions, then the loss of Segura, Hellweg and Pena seem to be of very little consequence.
Welcome to the Baseball in the Now.
7.30.2012
Kendrys Morales Gets Historical
After having a mostly forgetful July, Kendrys Morales broke his offensive slump with a huge game last night with 6 RBI and 2 HRs in a single inning. The most special part was that each home run was from a different side of the plate. Morales is only the third person in baseball history to do that.
According the MLB, Morales is the first to do it with a grand slam.
LA Times writer Mike DiGiovanna also tweeted that the six runs batted in during a single inning by one player is an Angels record. Morales is the second Angel to hit two home runs in a single inning.
Before tonight, Morales' July has consisted of a .233/.282/.315 slash. Strangely, though, with tonight's performance, July has become his best month this year for driving in runs. In May and June he batted in 11 while in July he has thus far batted in 17.
It should also be of note that it was all or nothing for Morales. He also struck out 3 times in the game.
According the MLB, Morales is the first to do it with a grand slam.
LA Times writer Mike DiGiovanna also tweeted that the six runs batted in during a single inning by one player is an Angels record. Morales is the second Angel to hit two home runs in a single inning.
Before tonight, Morales' July has consisted of a .233/.282/.315 slash. Strangely, though, with tonight's performance, July has become his best month this year for driving in runs. In May and June he batted in 11 while in July he has thus far batted in 17.
It should also be of note that it was all or nothing for Morales. He also struck out 3 times in the game.
7.17.2012
A Brief Moment of Deserved Admiration for Jim Eppard
Remember when the Angels were six games under .500 this year? Remember when they couldn't score runs and Albert Pujols couldn't hit a ball out of the park?
Remember how something happened? You know the story, Mike Trout got called up and Albert starting hitting and Vernon Wells got hurt and the Angels went crazy offensively eventually finding themselves with the fifth best record in baseball.
In the whole whirlwind of it all, everybody forgot about something. The hitting coach. The replacement hitting coach by the name of Jim Eppard.
Maybe that's the way it's suppose to be. Maybe a hitting coach really doesn't make that much of a difference and while the blame for the early offensive struggles of the Angels so easily landed on former hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, it really had very little to do with him. Just as this sudden success may or may not have anything to do with Eppard.
Judging from the amount of articles and online Angels communities, no one seems to contribute the Angels recent offensive successes to Eppard. So if the hitting coach doesn't get credit for the success, then should Hatcher have received the blame for the their lack of success?
Probably not. But, that is one of those weird things about baseball that you can't really quantify.
Irregardless, the Angels are hitting and doing it well. So while it may have everything or nothing to do with new Angels hitting coach Jim Eppard, let's review a few stats on how they've done since he took over on May 16th.
* The Angels have gone won 33 of the 53 games with Eppard as their hitting coach. Before he came on the Angels were 15 and 21.
* The Angels have been shut out only once since Eppard took over. That's a span of 53 games. Before Eppard took over they had been shut out 8 times in 37 games in 2012.
* During Eppard's tenure, they have scored 10+ runs in a game six times. Before Eppard, they didn't do that once in 2012.
* The Angels are fifth in Batting Average overall in the MLB and third in the AL.
Not bad, Jim. Now let's see if it lasts.
Remember how something happened? You know the story, Mike Trout got called up and Albert starting hitting and Vernon Wells got hurt and the Angels went crazy offensively eventually finding themselves with the fifth best record in baseball.
In the whole whirlwind of it all, everybody forgot about something. The hitting coach. The replacement hitting coach by the name of Jim Eppard.
Maybe that's the way it's suppose to be. Maybe a hitting coach really doesn't make that much of a difference and while the blame for the early offensive struggles of the Angels so easily landed on former hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, it really had very little to do with him. Just as this sudden success may or may not have anything to do with Eppard.
Judging from the amount of articles and online Angels communities, no one seems to contribute the Angels recent offensive successes to Eppard. So if the hitting coach doesn't get credit for the success, then should Hatcher have received the blame for the their lack of success?
Probably not. But, that is one of those weird things about baseball that you can't really quantify.
Irregardless, the Angels are hitting and doing it well. So while it may have everything or nothing to do with new Angels hitting coach Jim Eppard, let's review a few stats on how they've done since he took over on May 16th.
* The Angels have gone won 33 of the 53 games with Eppard as their hitting coach. Before he came on the Angels were 15 and 21.
* The Angels have been shut out only once since Eppard took over. That's a span of 53 games. Before Eppard took over they had been shut out 8 times in 37 games in 2012.
* During Eppard's tenure, they have scored 10+ runs in a game six times. Before Eppard, they didn't do that once in 2012.
* The Angels are fifth in Batting Average overall in the MLB and third in the AL.
Not bad, Jim. Now let's see if it lasts.
7.16.2012
Tough Times Ahead for Angels
The three game weekend series for the Halos was a tough one. They saw numerous leads evaporate and witnessed their two strongest relief pitchers struggle. Scott Downs gave up a 2-run home run to Mark Teixeira on Friday while Ernesto Frieri was wild and erratic yesterday walking two Yankees and giving up a two-run home run to Eric Chavez before getting pulled.
Blame it on the heat. Blame it on the Yankees or the time off from the All-Star break. Whatever the reason, the Halos are going to need both Downs and Frieri to be just as solid during the second half of the season as they were in the first.
Of course, a little slack can be handed to these two who have been nearly perfect. The home run Downs gave up was his first of the year. And the two runs charged to Frieri were the first runs the young reliever has given up as an Angel in 26.1 innings of work. Okay, I guess they ARE human.
Still the Angels have a very tough schedule ahead of them and are going to rely heavy on Downs, Frieri and the rest of the team to carry over their success from the first half. As mentioned in the previous post, the Angels face the Rangers thirteen times in the second-half including seven games in the next two weeks.
Looking through August, the Angels play only two teams -- Mariners and Royals -- with losing records. Including the recent series with the Yankees, the Angels play they will play first place teams 13 times in the next 23 games.
Tough times ahead, indeed.
Blame it on the heat. Blame it on the Yankees or the time off from the All-Star break. Whatever the reason, the Halos are going to need both Downs and Frieri to be just as solid during the second half of the season as they were in the first.
Of course, a little slack can be handed to these two who have been nearly perfect. The home run Downs gave up was his first of the year. And the two runs charged to Frieri were the first runs the young reliever has given up as an Angel in 26.1 innings of work. Okay, I guess they ARE human.
Still the Angels have a very tough schedule ahead of them and are going to rely heavy on Downs, Frieri and the rest of the team to carry over their success from the first half. As mentioned in the previous post, the Angels face the Rangers thirteen times in the second-half including seven games in the next two weeks.
Looking through August, the Angels play only two teams -- Mariners and Royals -- with losing records. Including the recent series with the Yankees, the Angels play they will play first place teams 13 times in the next 23 games.
Tough times ahead, indeed.
7.06.2012
Are the Orioles A Potential Playoff Matchup?
The Angels had a wild game against the O's last that saw the Angels come back from a four run deficit with a five-run inning. Looking at the standings, with a Texas loss last night that puts the Angels 4 back from the Rangers.
So where does that put the Angels in the playoff picture?
PLAYOFFS?!
Right. Maybe a bit too early? After all, we are just over half way through the season and there is a lot of baseball to play.
Let's have some fun, though. If the season ended today. The Angels would win the first wild card and the second would go to…the Orioles!
The Halos and the Birds would then play a single game playoff. So, are we watching a potential playoff matchup? You bet.
The Orioles are just one game ahead of the Rays and the Indians for the playoff spot. With 79 games to go, a lot can happen. Still, when watching this series play out, it's fun to think that this might be a playoff matchup.
So how do you feel about it? If you are an Angel fan, you should feel pretty good.
This year, the Angels have gone 5 and 1 against the O's and have outscored the Orioles by 23 runs.
In fact, considering what the Halos have done against the other potential wild card matchups at this moment in the season, the Orioles are likely the best matchup to face if the Halos won the wild card and not the division.
Against Cleveland the Angels have gone a dismal 2 and 4, having been outscored by 14 runs. Against the the Rays, the Angels are winless. In fact, the Orioles are the only team in the AL East that they have a winning record against.
After the series, the Angels are done playing the Orioles for the rest of the season. In the second half they will see Detroit six times, the Red Sox nine times, the Yankees and play the Texas Rangers thirteen times(!) including seven times in the first two weeks after the All-Star break.
Conclusion? No more day-dreaming about meeting the O's in a one-game wild card game. There's a lot of TOUGH baseball ahead for the Angels.
So where does that put the Angels in the playoff picture?
PLAYOFFS?!
Right. Maybe a bit too early? After all, we are just over half way through the season and there is a lot of baseball to play.
Let's have some fun, though. If the season ended today. The Angels would win the first wild card and the second would go to…the Orioles!
The Halos and the Birds would then play a single game playoff. So, are we watching a potential playoff matchup? You bet.
The Orioles are just one game ahead of the Rays and the Indians for the playoff spot. With 79 games to go, a lot can happen. Still, when watching this series play out, it's fun to think that this might be a playoff matchup.
So how do you feel about it? If you are an Angel fan, you should feel pretty good.
This year, the Angels have gone 5 and 1 against the O's and have outscored the Orioles by 23 runs.
In fact, considering what the Halos have done against the other potential wild card matchups at this moment in the season, the Orioles are likely the best matchup to face if the Halos won the wild card and not the division.
Against Cleveland the Angels have gone a dismal 2 and 4, having been outscored by 14 runs. Against the the Rays, the Angels are winless. In fact, the Orioles are the only team in the AL East that they have a winning record against.
After the series, the Angels are done playing the Orioles for the rest of the season. In the second half they will see Detroit six times, the Red Sox nine times, the Yankees and play the Texas Rangers thirteen times(!) including seven times in the first two weeks after the All-Star break.
Conclusion? No more day-dreaming about meeting the O's in a one-game wild card game. There's a lot of TOUGH baseball ahead for the Angels.
7.03.2012
Good Reasons Why Ernesto Frieri Deseves That Last AL All-Star Roster Spot
Four Angels are heading to Kansas City for the All-Star Game and it could be five. Ernesto Frieri is one of five candidates selected to participate in the final fan vote for who gets the last roster spot on the AL team.
Frieri is up against four other players but it seems the only one that will really give Frieri hell in the fan vote is Yu Darvish. Which makes sense...kind of. There was a lot of press given to the signing of Yu Darvish over the off-season and for the most part, he has been a more than solid addition for Texas.
The final spot should go to Freiri, though and here are a few reasons.
Since joining the Angels, Frieri has...
* Pitches 25.1 scoreless innings
* Faced 91 batters and allowed six hits
* Struck out 40 of the 91 batters he's faced
* In his first 10 games, struck out 20 in 9 innings. Only 3 other pitchers have done that. Of course, they were all starters and thus, it's a bit more impressive. Still!
* Became the first pitcher in 8 years to pitch 10 scoreless innings after joining a club.
* Became the first pitcher since 1921 with 20-plus strikeouts and no earned runs in his first 10 innings with a new club (according to Stats LLC.)
* Is 10 for 10 in saves and has a ZERO ERA.
Finally, as the great Vin Scully told us, Frieri blames the fact that he became a pitcher on his grandmother who used to make him grind the corn for her tamale business. He says it built up his strength.
Has Yu Darvish done anything historic? Not yet. Instead, he's just been a very very good pitcher who will likely see an All-Star game, if not many, before his career is over.
This year, though? That final spot belongs to Ernie.
Vote HERE and vote as much as you want!
Frieri is up against four other players but it seems the only one that will really give Frieri hell in the fan vote is Yu Darvish. Which makes sense...kind of. There was a lot of press given to the signing of Yu Darvish over the off-season and for the most part, he has been a more than solid addition for Texas.
The final spot should go to Freiri, though and here are a few reasons.
Since joining the Angels, Frieri has...
* Pitches 25.1 scoreless innings
* Faced 91 batters and allowed six hits
* Struck out 40 of the 91 batters he's faced
* In his first 10 games, struck out 20 in 9 innings. Only 3 other pitchers have done that. Of course, they were all starters and thus, it's a bit more impressive. Still!
* Became the first pitcher in 8 years to pitch 10 scoreless innings after joining a club.
* Became the first pitcher since 1921 with 20-plus strikeouts and no earned runs in his first 10 innings with a new club (according to Stats LLC.)
* Is 10 for 10 in saves and has a ZERO ERA.
Finally, as the great Vin Scully told us, Frieri blames the fact that he became a pitcher on his grandmother who used to make him grind the corn for her tamale business. He says it built up his strength.
Has Yu Darvish done anything historic? Not yet. Instead, he's just been a very very good pitcher who will likely see an All-Star game, if not many, before his career is over.
This year, though? That final spot belongs to Ernie.
Vote HERE and vote as much as you want!
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