ALDS Excuses

Fielding questions about the Angels' loss in the ALDS...

The Angels need a big bat.

True. If you think about it, there are probably 30 teams in baseball who would like an additional "big bat". In this series, I don't think one big bat wouldn't have been enough, unless that bat was Manny Ramirez or David Ortiz. The "big bat" every Angel fan talks about is Alex Rodriguez. He would've been no help. In three playoff games this season, he has two singles.

The Red Sox own the Angels.

For many years, the Yankees absolutely owned the Red Sox. I think we're seeing that now with the Red Sox owning the Angels. There is no good explanation for it. The Sox are just a thorn in the Angels side. The same might be said about the Angels owning the Yankees.

Scioscia should have tried for homefield advantage.

False. Didn't you see how banged up the Angels were? Matthews couldn't even be on the postseason roster. Vlad was hobbled. There was no reason for Scioscia to push these guys to try and get home field advantage. Plus, in the past several seasons, the team with home field advantage has lost a majority of the series.

Stoneman should have made some trades.

The Atlanta Braves traded their future for Mark Teixeira. Are the Braves in the postseason? No. Did they even qualify for the playoffs? No. Did their record improve with Teixeira? No. (.523 pre-trade, .509 after trade.)