There is little doubt that these 2007 Angels don't comeback to win games very often. For one reason, they are usually leading the game early and don't need a comeback to win. They also have not been hitting well in the late innings as discussed in a post earlier. In any case, there wasn't a whole lot of rallying last year either. So where did the Rally Monkey go?
Across the street.
Ducks fans won't want to hear it, but isn't it a little suspicious the way the Ducks have had late goals? The Ducks last three home wins have all been by one goal. The last two games (both Stanley Cup games) were tied late until the Ducks scored.
The Ducks trailed Game 1 of the Stanley Cup as the third period started. Five minutes later it was tied on a Ryan Getzlaf goal. With under three minutes remaining, Travis Moen scored to give the Ducks the lead and the win.
Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals was scoreless the entire game until Samuel Pahlsson scored with less than 6 minutes remaining.
Road games don't really count, but what about Game 5 in Detroit? The Ducks were losing 1-0 with less than a minute left when #27 (Scott Niedermayer) scored to tie the game. Teemu Selanne then scored eight minutes into overtime for the sudden death victory.
That's 3 amazing come backs in the last 2 weeks.
Need more proof?
May 13, Game 2 at Detroit - Scott Niedermayer scores in overtime.
May 3, Game 5 vs Vancouver - Scott Niedermayer wins it with a goal in the 2nd overtime. Is Scott Niedermayer a reincarnation of Scott Spiezio?
May 1, Game 4 at Vancouver - The Ducks trail 2-0 entering the 3rd period and win it 3-2 in overtime on Travis Moen's goal.
April 29, Game 3 at Vancouver - Tied 2-2 entering the 3rd period and Corey Perry scores the game winner.
Hopefully, the Angels will continue to not need late inning heroics to win games and when hockey season is over, maybe the monkey will come back.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Sanders to start Saturday?
With Bartolo Colon admitting that he is banged up, the Angels need someone to fill Bart's big shoes.
Dustin Moseley, Hector Carrasco and Joe Saunders seem to be the obvious choices.
Scioscia likes having a 7th inning pitcher and with Justin Speier injured, Moseley is currently the guy. Moseley also pitched 2+ innings tonight (Wednesday), so it does not seem that Scioscia is resting him for Saturday.
Carrasco started three games last year for the Angels, but has not pitched well lately. His era has gone from 3.41 last year to 5.86 this year.
That leaves Saunders. Saunders pitched great earlier this year for the Angels. He went 2-0 in 3 starts with a 1.96 era. However, he has struggled in AAA with a 5.06 era. He last pitched on Sunday, so he would be ready for Saturday. Unfortunately, in his last game he was hit hard - 13 hits and 6 earned runs in 5 innings.
Despite his recent struggles, Saunders is my pick. To make room for Saunders, I think the Angels will send Kendry Morales back to Salt Lake. This will also provide Morales with some extra at-bats which he hasn't seen while in the majors.
If Scioscia wants to get crazy, the Angels could call up either Kasey Olenberger or Nick Adenhart.
Olenberger is 6-1 at AAA Salt Lake with a 3.49 era. He is already scheduled to pitch on Saturday, so rest is not a question.
Adenhart is the top arm in the Angels' farm system and is currently at AA Arkansas. After a super hot April (5 starts 3-1, 0.80 era), Adenhart has struggled in May (05 starts, 0-1, 7.13 era). He is scheduled to start Friday night for the Travelers.
Dustin Moseley, Hector Carrasco and Joe Saunders seem to be the obvious choices.
Scioscia likes having a 7th inning pitcher and with Justin Speier injured, Moseley is currently the guy. Moseley also pitched 2+ innings tonight (Wednesday), so it does not seem that Scioscia is resting him for Saturday.
Carrasco started three games last year for the Angels, but has not pitched well lately. His era has gone from 3.41 last year to 5.86 this year.
That leaves Saunders. Saunders pitched great earlier this year for the Angels. He went 2-0 in 3 starts with a 1.96 era. However, he has struggled in AAA with a 5.06 era. He last pitched on Sunday, so he would be ready for Saturday. Unfortunately, in his last game he was hit hard - 13 hits and 6 earned runs in 5 innings.
Despite his recent struggles, Saunders is my pick. To make room for Saunders, I think the Angels will send Kendry Morales back to Salt Lake. This will also provide Morales with some extra at-bats which he hasn't seen while in the majors.
If Scioscia wants to get crazy, the Angels could call up either Kasey Olenberger or Nick Adenhart.
Olenberger is 6-1 at AAA Salt Lake with a 3.49 era. He is already scheduled to pitch on Saturday, so rest is not a question.
Adenhart is the top arm in the Angels' farm system and is currently at AA Arkansas. After a super hot April (5 starts 3-1, 0.80 era), Adenhart has struggled in May (05 starts, 0-1, 7.13 era). He is scheduled to start Friday night for the Travelers.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Ex-Angels Report 5/29/07
Stats & Notes from former Angels in the Major Leagues.
EX-ANGEL TEAM AB R HR RBI BB SO AVG OPS
Troy Glaus TOR 108 22 8 24 17 23 .278 .939
Damion Easley NYM 93 15 7 15 10 15 .280 .885
Bengie Molina SF 159 10 4 30 5 19 .314 .805
Jose Guillen SEA 160 23 6 27 10 27 .269 .781
Scott Spiezio STL 91 11 1 15 9 17 .275 .720
Darin Erstad CWS 171 20 2 21 13 20 .275 .681
David Eckstein STL 155 16 1 9 8 6 .277 .660
Jim Edmonds STL 135 13 3 16 14 29 .230 .626
Alfredo Amezaga FLA 134 9 1 12 9 15 .246 .623
Adam Kennedy STL 131 12 0 10 10 7 .237 .596
Sal Fasano TOR 27 3 1 2 2 13 .148 .567
Josh Paul TB 49 4 0 5 4 14 .245 .547
Alberto Callaspo ARI 104 8 0 4 8 9 .212 .534
Orlando Palmeiro HOU 36 4 0 2 7 2 .167 .513
Steve Finley COL 88 9 1 2 8 4 .182 .500
EX-ANGEL TEAM G W-L SV IP BB K ERA BAA
Kevin Gregg FLA 26 0-2 5 31.0 13 33 2.03 .198
Bobby Jenks CWS 21 2-1 14 20.0 9 21 2.70 .200
J.C. Romero BOS 20 1-0 1 15.1 12 8 2.93 .311
Russ Springer STL 22 1-0 0 15.0 8 16 3.00 .185
Matt Wise MIL 21 1-1 0 20.1 5 11 3.10 .205
Jarrod Washburn SEA 10 5-4 0 67.0 16 34 3.22 .236
Derrick Turnbow MIL 23 1-2 1 21.1 9 27 3.80 .192
Paul Byrd CLE 8 5-1 0 52.0 3 30 3.81 .294
Brendan Donnelly BOS 22 2-1 0 16.1 5 12 3.86 .246
Joel Peralta KC 23 1-2 0 33.2 9 27 4.54 .269
Aaron Sele NYM 12 1-0 0 19.2 10 15 5.03 .329
Ramon Ortiz MIN 10 3-4 0 56.1 11 24 5.75 .293
Jake Woods SEA 2 0-0 0 7.2 5 1 5.87 .258
Scott Schoeneweis NYM 22 0-0 0 19.0 16 9 6.16 .254
Jeff Weaver SEA 6 0-6 0 22.0 7 12 14.32 .459
- Darin Erstad has a 12-game hitting streak and is now batting .275.
- Jeff Weaver pitched a simulated game yesterday and has pronounced himself ready to pitch again. Weaver and his 14.32 era have been on the DL for 3 weeks due to a sore right shoulder.
- JC Romero had a similar streak end this week when he allowed a run for the first time in 11 outings.
- Bengie Molina has a 9-game hitting streak during which he has 5 multiple hit games.
- Paul Byrd has won three straight starts dating back to May 15.
- Josh Paul was placed on the 15 day DL with a left elbow sprain.
- Jeff DaVanon reinjured his shoulder in an extended spring training game in Arizona. DaVanon has been out all season with the shoulder injury. He now expects to be back in late June.
- Jarrod Washburn was 2-0 last week, giving up 4er in 13.1ip against Tampa Bay and Kansas City.
- David Eckstein has missed three straight games due to back spasms. He has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games.
- Ramon Ortiz was demoted to the bullpen after allowing 6 earned runs in his last start against Toronto. Ortiz started the year 3-0 with a 2.05 era, and is now 3-4 with a 5.75 era.
- Troy Glaus was not in the lineup today for Toronto due to a sore hamstring. Glaus also sat out Sunday to try and break out of an 0-for-16 slump.
- Scott Schoeneweis has settled back down with two consecutive scoreless outings. Prior to that he had allowed 11 earned runs in his previous 3 innings spanning three games.
- Cardinal reliever Russ Springer went 19 appearances without allowing an earned run until Sunday against Washington.
- Damion Easley has a modest 7 game hitting streak.
EX-ANGEL TEAM AB R HR RBI BB SO AVG OPS
Troy Glaus TOR 108 22 8 24 17 23 .278 .939
Damion Easley NYM 93 15 7 15 10 15 .280 .885
Bengie Molina SF 159 10 4 30 5 19 .314 .805
Jose Guillen SEA 160 23 6 27 10 27 .269 .781
Scott Spiezio STL 91 11 1 15 9 17 .275 .720
Darin Erstad CWS 171 20 2 21 13 20 .275 .681
David Eckstein STL 155 16 1 9 8 6 .277 .660
Jim Edmonds STL 135 13 3 16 14 29 .230 .626
Alfredo Amezaga FLA 134 9 1 12 9 15 .246 .623
Adam Kennedy STL 131 12 0 10 10 7 .237 .596
Sal Fasano TOR 27 3 1 2 2 13 .148 .567
Josh Paul TB 49 4 0 5 4 14 .245 .547
Alberto Callaspo ARI 104 8 0 4 8 9 .212 .534
Orlando Palmeiro HOU 36 4 0 2 7 2 .167 .513
Steve Finley COL 88 9 1 2 8 4 .182 .500
EX-ANGEL TEAM G W-L SV IP BB K ERA BAA
Kevin Gregg FLA 26 0-2 5 31.0 13 33 2.03 .198
Bobby Jenks CWS 21 2-1 14 20.0 9 21 2.70 .200
J.C. Romero BOS 20 1-0 1 15.1 12 8 2.93 .311
Russ Springer STL 22 1-0 0 15.0 8 16 3.00 .185
Matt Wise MIL 21 1-1 0 20.1 5 11 3.10 .205
Jarrod Washburn SEA 10 5-4 0 67.0 16 34 3.22 .236
Derrick Turnbow MIL 23 1-2 1 21.1 9 27 3.80 .192
Paul Byrd CLE 8 5-1 0 52.0 3 30 3.81 .294
Brendan Donnelly BOS 22 2-1 0 16.1 5 12 3.86 .246
Joel Peralta KC 23 1-2 0 33.2 9 27 4.54 .269
Aaron Sele NYM 12 1-0 0 19.2 10 15 5.03 .329
Ramon Ortiz MIN 10 3-4 0 56.1 11 24 5.75 .293
Jake Woods SEA 2 0-0 0 7.2 5 1 5.87 .258
Scott Schoeneweis NYM 22 0-0 0 19.0 16 9 6.16 .254
Jeff Weaver SEA 6 0-6 0 22.0 7 12 14.32 .459
Monday, May 28, 2007
Angels Prospect Report from USA Today in 2002
As I was looking for information on Nathan Haynes, I came across an old USA Today article titled "Angels 2002 prospect report."
It was written in April 2002 and includes reports on David Eckstein, Alfredo Amezaga, Nathan Haynes, Casey Kotchman, Francisco Rodriguez, Jared Abruzzo, Elpidio Guzman, Chris Bootcheck, Bobby Jenks and John Lackey.
It's a good read.
Here are some excerpts...
"Hard-throwing righthander Francisco Rodriguez, a 20-year-old with big-time fastball and a nearly limitless ceiling, put up excellent strikeout numbers in the high Class A California League for a second straight season but was also very hittable and still lacks the maturity to move through the system."
"A star first baseman who earned All-American status while leading Grayson County Community College to a national title, the 23-year-old John Lackey was raw when drafted but has blossomed into a steady starter."
Read the article and keep in mind what happened 6 months after the article was written.
It was written in April 2002 and includes reports on David Eckstein, Alfredo Amezaga, Nathan Haynes, Casey Kotchman, Francisco Rodriguez, Jared Abruzzo, Elpidio Guzman, Chris Bootcheck, Bobby Jenks and John Lackey.
It's a good read.
Here are some excerpts...
"Hard-throwing righthander Francisco Rodriguez, a 20-year-old with big-time fastball and a nearly limitless ceiling, put up excellent strikeout numbers in the high Class A California League for a second straight season but was also very hittable and still lacks the maturity to move through the system."
"A star first baseman who earned All-American status while leading Grayson County Community College to a national title, the 23-year-old John Lackey was raw when drafted but has blossomed into a steady starter."
Read the article and keep in mind what happened 6 months after the article was written.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Angels call up Nathan Haynes
The Angels sent down Tommy Murphy and brought up outfielder Nathan Haynes who was hitting a cool .391 at AAA Salt Lake.
Haynes was tearing up AAA pitching with his average near .400 for most of the young season. In 43 games with the Bees, Haynes had 169 at-bats with 4 home runs, 6 triples and 14 stolen bases. He also was good defensively with no errors this year.
Haynes has played ten seasons of professional baseball but has not made the show until today.
The journey for Haynes has been remarkable. He was a first round pick (#32 overall) of the Oakland A's in 1997. If that does not seem that long ago, the Angels first pick that year was Troy Glaus. Other first round picks in 1997 included J.D. Drew, Vernon Wells, Lance Berkman and Adam Kennedy.
Haynes was with the A's for 2 1/2 seasons before being traded to the Anaheim Angels on July 29, 1999. Haynes was dealt with Jeff DaVanon and Elvin Nina for Omar Olivares and Randy Velarde.
Haynes made it as high as AAA with the Angels in both 2002 and 2003, hitting .283 and .217 respectively. He was granted free agency after the 2003 season and signed by the San Francisco Giants.
For most of the next two seasons, Haynes was injured. He played in only one game in 2004 and only seven in 2005.
In 2006, Haynes was healthy again and started his comeback with the Gary-SouthShore RailCats of the independent Northern League. After two months, the Angels liked the way Haynes looked and signed him to a minor league deal. He played 52 games at AA Arkansas hitting .280 and then finished the year in Salt Lake hitting .228 in 16 games.
This season has been a complete breakout year for Haynes. He hits .444 off of right handed pitchers, but only .233 off of lefties. Otherwise, his numbers have been quite consistent - .396 at home, .385 away; .387 in April, .394 in May.
Haynes probably won't start any games while he is up, but he will probably see some time as a pinch runner and possibly as a pinch hitter against right handed pitchers.
To make room for Haynes on the 40-man roster, the team placed pitcher Phil Seibel on waivers. Seibel was acquired from the Boston Red Sox in a trade for Brendan Donnelly this past off-season. He had a terrible spring training (16.89 era) and then started poorly at Salt Lake with an era of 11.25 in two starts. He then had season ending surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his left forearm. Seibel's career is potentially over after missing all of 2005 with Tommy John Surgery.
Haynes was tearing up AAA pitching with his average near .400 for most of the young season. In 43 games with the Bees, Haynes had 169 at-bats with 4 home runs, 6 triples and 14 stolen bases. He also was good defensively with no errors this year.
Haynes has played ten seasons of professional baseball but has not made the show until today.
The journey for Haynes has been remarkable. He was a first round pick (#32 overall) of the Oakland A's in 1997. If that does not seem that long ago, the Angels first pick that year was Troy Glaus. Other first round picks in 1997 included J.D. Drew, Vernon Wells, Lance Berkman and Adam Kennedy.
Haynes was with the A's for 2 1/2 seasons before being traded to the Anaheim Angels on July 29, 1999. Haynes was dealt with Jeff DaVanon and Elvin Nina for Omar Olivares and Randy Velarde.
Haynes made it as high as AAA with the Angels in both 2002 and 2003, hitting .283 and .217 respectively. He was granted free agency after the 2003 season and signed by the San Francisco Giants.
For most of the next two seasons, Haynes was injured. He played in only one game in 2004 and only seven in 2005.
In 2006, Haynes was healthy again and started his comeback with the Gary-SouthShore RailCats of the independent Northern League. After two months, the Angels liked the way Haynes looked and signed him to a minor league deal. He played 52 games at AA Arkansas hitting .280 and then finished the year in Salt Lake hitting .228 in 16 games.
This season has been a complete breakout year for Haynes. He hits .444 off of right handed pitchers, but only .233 off of lefties. Otherwise, his numbers have been quite consistent - .396 at home, .385 away; .387 in April, .394 in May.
Haynes probably won't start any games while he is up, but he will probably see some time as a pinch runner and possibly as a pinch hitter against right handed pitchers.
To make room for Haynes on the 40-man roster, the team placed pitcher Phil Seibel on waivers. Seibel was acquired from the Boston Red Sox in a trade for Brendan Donnelly this past off-season. He had a terrible spring training (16.89 era) and then started poorly at Salt Lake with an era of 11.25 in two starts. He then had season ending surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his left forearm. Seibel's career is potentially over after missing all of 2005 with Tommy John Surgery.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Spiderman 77 - The Sequel
Who wears red and climbs walls in New York City?
Reggie Willits, of course.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Down On The Farm 5/25/07
Here's a look at the Angels' Minor League Teams and top prospects.
AAA- Salt Lake
The Bees have a record of 26-22 and are in first place of the PCL Pacific North Division. The Bees just took 3 of 4 games from the Sacramento River Cats (Oakland A's). On Wednesday Joe Saunders outdueled a rehabbing Esteban Loaiza with 9 strikeouts in 6ip. Starting pitcher Kasey Olenberger won both of his starts this week and is tied for the league lead in wins with six. Nathan Haynes leads the PCL in batting average (.394) and on base percentage (.473).
AA- Arkansas
In a Texas League battle of last place clubs, the Travelers were swept by the Corpus Christi Hooks (Houston Astros). The Travs are in last place of the Texas League North Division with a record of 18-28. Nick Adenhart had his worst outing of the year on Wednesday lasting only 2.2 innings while giving up 9 hits and 6 earned runs.
A- Rancho Cucamonga
The Quakes have won 5 out of 6 and are 24-23, 2 games out of first place. Relief pitcher Darren O'Day recorded 2 wins and a save this past week. Rancho is above .500 despite being last in the league in batting average (.226), on base percentage (.290), slugging percentage (.324) rbi (147) and ops (.615).
Player Pos Age Lg H/AB AVG OPS MISC
Nathan Haynes OF 27 AAA 63/160 .394 1.073 13-sb, 32-rbi
Terry Evans OF 25 AAA 57/174 .328 .914 6-hr 46-k
Matthew Brown IF 24 AAA 42/140 .300 .843 3-hr
Brandon Wood 3B 22 AAA 34/145 .234 .733 5-hr 42-k
Jeff Mathis C 24 AAA 35/143 .245 .645 27-k
Sean Rodriguez SS 22 AA 41/156 .263 .814 6-hr, 24-rbi
Bradley Coon OF 24 A+ 53/174 .305 .774 22-sb, 2-hr
Hank Conger C 19 A 36/137 .263 .749 6-hr, 7-sb
Chris Pettit OF 22 A 53/151 .351 .979 5-hr, 12-sb
Player Pos Age Lg IP W-L ERA MISC
Joe Saunders SP 25 AAA 37.2 2-3 4.30 38k/10bb
Greg Jones RP 30 AAA 19.1 2-0 6.05 1.91-whip
Jason Bulger RP 28 AAA 19.1 1-1 2.79 28k/12bb
Kasey Olenberger SP 29 AAA 62.2 6-1 3.30 38k/12bb
Nick Adenhart SP 20 AA 50.0 3-2 3.60 0-hr
Brok Butcher SP 23 A+ 60.0 3-2 1.50 40k/11bb
Stephen Marek SP 23 A+ 38.2 3-2 3.49 1.27 whip
Sean O'Sullivan SP 19 A 56.0 3-3 2.57 1.34 whip
Douglas Brandt SP 22 A 40.2 3-0 1.11 44k/7bb
AAA- Salt Lake
The Bees have a record of 26-22 and are in first place of the PCL Pacific North Division. The Bees just took 3 of 4 games from the Sacramento River Cats (Oakland A's). On Wednesday Joe Saunders outdueled a rehabbing Esteban Loaiza with 9 strikeouts in 6ip. Starting pitcher Kasey Olenberger won both of his starts this week and is tied for the league lead in wins with six. Nathan Haynes leads the PCL in batting average (.394) and on base percentage (.473).
AA- Arkansas
In a Texas League battle of last place clubs, the Travelers were swept by the Corpus Christi Hooks (Houston Astros). The Travs are in last place of the Texas League North Division with a record of 18-28. Nick Adenhart had his worst outing of the year on Wednesday lasting only 2.2 innings while giving up 9 hits and 6 earned runs.
A- Rancho Cucamonga
The Quakes have won 5 out of 6 and are 24-23, 2 games out of first place. Relief pitcher Darren O'Day recorded 2 wins and a save this past week. Rancho is above .500 despite being last in the league in batting average (.226), on base percentage (.290), slugging percentage (.324) rbi (147) and ops (.615).
Player Pos Age Lg H/AB AVG OPS MISC
Nathan Haynes OF 27 AAA 63/160 .394 1.073 13-sb, 32-rbi
Terry Evans OF 25 AAA 57/174 .328 .914 6-hr 46-k
Matthew Brown IF 24 AAA 42/140 .300 .843 3-hr
Brandon Wood 3B 22 AAA 34/145 .234 .733 5-hr 42-k
Jeff Mathis C 24 AAA 35/143 .245 .645 27-k
Sean Rodriguez SS 22 AA 41/156 .263 .814 6-hr, 24-rbi
Bradley Coon OF 24 A+ 53/174 .305 .774 22-sb, 2-hr
Hank Conger C 19 A 36/137 .263 .749 6-hr, 7-sb
Chris Pettit OF 22 A 53/151 .351 .979 5-hr, 12-sb
Player Pos Age Lg IP W-L ERA MISC
Joe Saunders SP 25 AAA 37.2 2-3 4.30 38k/10bb
Greg Jones RP 30 AAA 19.1 2-0 6.05 1.91-whip
Jason Bulger RP 28 AAA 19.1 1-1 2.79 28k/12bb
Kasey Olenberger SP 29 AAA 62.2 6-1 3.30 38k/12bb
Nick Adenhart SP 20 AA 50.0 3-2 3.60 0-hr
Brok Butcher SP 23 A+ 60.0 3-2 1.50 40k/11bb
Stephen Marek SP 23 A+ 38.2 3-2 3.49 1.27 whip
Sean O'Sullivan SP 19 A 56.0 3-3 2.57 1.34 whip
Douglas Brandt SP 22 A 40.2 3-0 1.11 44k/7bb
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
What's a walk?
I realize that the Angels hitters are not known for taking walks. They never have been. It's not part of Mike Scioscia's or Mickey Hatcher's offensive philosophy. But this season there are a few players with incredibly low totals.
Four Angels players (with at least 50 at-bats) have only one walk each.
According to baseball-almanac.com, the record low for a full season (150 games played) is 10 set by Ozzie Guillen in 1996.
Garret Anderson has 1 walk in 95 at-bats. That leaves him 231 shy of Barry Bonds' single season record of 232 set in 2004.
Howie Kendrick and Robb Quinlan each have 53 at-bats and one walk.
Jose Molina has 1 walk in 59 at-bats. That means that in 2007, you are as likely to see Jose Molina walk (once) as you will see him steal home (once).
If you thought Shea Hillenbrand hitting a home run was a rarity (he has two), you are right. But it's no rarer than Hillenbrand taking a walk (also two).
Here are projected walk totals for 5 Angels. The games and at-bats for GA and Howie look low due to injury.
Player Games AB BB
Hillenbrand 124 479 7
GA 79 327 3
Molina 59 203 3
Howie 52 183 3
Quinlan 69 183 3
Four Angels players (with at least 50 at-bats) have only one walk each.
According to baseball-almanac.com, the record low for a full season (150 games played) is 10 set by Ozzie Guillen in 1996.
Garret Anderson has 1 walk in 95 at-bats. That leaves him 231 shy of Barry Bonds' single season record of 232 set in 2004.
Howie Kendrick and Robb Quinlan each have 53 at-bats and one walk.
Jose Molina has 1 walk in 59 at-bats. That means that in 2007, you are as likely to see Jose Molina walk (once) as you will see him steal home (once).
If you thought Shea Hillenbrand hitting a home run was a rarity (he has two), you are right. But it's no rarer than Hillenbrand taking a walk (also two).
Here are projected walk totals for 5 Angels. The games and at-bats for GA and Howie look low due to injury.
Player Games AB BB
Hillenbrand 124 479 7
GA 79 327 3
Molina 59 203 3
Howie 52 183 3
Quinlan 69 183 3
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Ex-Angels Report 5/22/07
Stats & Notes from former Angels in the Major Leagues.
Troy Glaus TOR 88 20 8 21 15 18 .307 1.033
Damion Easley NYM 74 13 7 14 8 14 .270 .926
Jose Guillen SEA 132 19 5 22 9 23 .273 .806
Bengie Molina SF 138 10 4 24 5 18 .304 .797
Scott Spiezio STL 76 7 0 12 9 16 .276 .716
Darin Erstad CWS 156 18 2 20 11 17 .269 .668
Adam Kennedy STL 117 11 0 9 9 6 .239 .610
Alfredo Amezaga FLA 113 8 1 9 8 15 .230 .606
David Eckstein STL 133 13 0 6 7 4 .256 .601
Jim Edmonds STL 120 11 1 10 12 26 .225 .577
Josh Paul TB 49 4 0 5 4 14 .245 .547
Alberto Callaspo ARI 99 6 0 3 7 9 .202 .514
Steve Finley COL 84 8 1 2 8 4 .179 .500
Sal Fasano TOR 24 2 1 2 1 12 .125 .484
Orlando Palmeiro HOU 28 4 0 1 6 2 .143 .457
EX-ANGEL TEAM G W-L SV IP BB K ERA BAA
Russ Springer STL 18 1-0 0 13.1 7 14 2.03 .167
Kevin Gregg FLA 21 0-1 3 26.0 11 26 2.42 .183
J.C. Romero BOS 18 1-0 1 14.2 9 8 2.45 .310
Bobby Jenks CWS 20 1-1 14 19.0 9 20 2.84 .209
Matt Wise MIL 19 1-1 0 18.1 3 9 2.95 .209
Jarrod Washburn SEA 8 3-4 0 53.2 14 28 3.35 .234
Paul Byrd CLE 7 4-1 0 45.2 3 26 3.55 .290
Derrick Turnbow MIL 21 1-2 1 19.1 8 26 4.19 .208
Aaron Sele NYM 10 1-0 0 16.2 8 10 4.32 .333
Joel Peralta KC 21 1-2 0 28.0 8 26 4.82 .275
Ramon Ortiz MIN 9 3-4 0 50.1 10 20 5.36 .282
Jake Woods SEA 2 0-0 0 7.2 5 1 5.87 .258
Scott Schoeneweis NYM 21 0-0 0 18.0 15 9 6.50 .265
Jeff Weaver SEA 6 0-6 0 22.0 7 12 14.32 .459
- Darin Erstad is batting .333 during his currnet 8 game hitting streak.
- Adam Kennedy has a 6 game hitting streak and has hit safely in 9 of his last 10 games.
- David Eckstein just snapped a 5 game hitting streak in which he was 11 for 19 (.579).
- Kevin Gregg is now unofficially the closer for the Florida Marlins. Gregg has held the opposition hitless in 7 of his past 8 outings all of which have been at least 1 full inning.
- Scott Spiezio had a 4-hit game as dh against the Tigers last Saturday.
- Alberto Callaspo rejoined the Diamondbacks after being placed on the restricted list for 10 days after being charged with domestic violence.
- Orlando Palmeiro is mired in an 0 for 16 slump dating back to April 23rd.
- The Colorado Rockies have replaced center fielder Steve Finley with Willy Taveras in their starting line up.
Troy Glaus TOR 88 20 8 21 15 18 .307 1.033
Damion Easley NYM 74 13 7 14 8 14 .270 .926
Jose Guillen SEA 132 19 5 22 9 23 .273 .806
Bengie Molina SF 138 10 4 24 5 18 .304 .797
Scott Spiezio STL 76 7 0 12 9 16 .276 .716
Darin Erstad CWS 156 18 2 20 11 17 .269 .668
Adam Kennedy STL 117 11 0 9 9 6 .239 .610
Alfredo Amezaga FLA 113 8 1 9 8 15 .230 .606
David Eckstein STL 133 13 0 6 7 4 .256 .601
Jim Edmonds STL 120 11 1 10 12 26 .225 .577
Josh Paul TB 49 4 0 5 4 14 .245 .547
Alberto Callaspo ARI 99 6 0 3 7 9 .202 .514
Steve Finley COL 84 8 1 2 8 4 .179 .500
Sal Fasano TOR 24 2 1 2 1 12 .125 .484
Orlando Palmeiro HOU 28 4 0 1 6 2 .143 .457
EX-ANGEL TEAM G W-L SV IP BB K ERA BAA
Russ Springer STL 18 1-0 0 13.1 7 14 2.03 .167
Kevin Gregg FLA 21 0-1 3 26.0 11 26 2.42 .183
J.C. Romero BOS 18 1-0 1 14.2 9 8 2.45 .310
Bobby Jenks CWS 20 1-1 14 19.0 9 20 2.84 .209
Matt Wise MIL 19 1-1 0 18.1 3 9 2.95 .209
Jarrod Washburn SEA 8 3-4 0 53.2 14 28 3.35 .234
Paul Byrd CLE 7 4-1 0 45.2 3 26 3.55 .290
Derrick Turnbow MIL 21 1-2 1 19.1 8 26 4.19 .208
Aaron Sele NYM 10 1-0 0 16.2 8 10 4.32 .333
Joel Peralta KC 21 1-2 0 28.0 8 26 4.82 .275
Ramon Ortiz MIN 9 3-4 0 50.1 10 20 5.36 .282
Jake Woods SEA 2 0-0 0 7.2 5 1 5.87 .258
Scott Schoeneweis NYM 21 0-0 0 18.0 15 9 6.50 .265
Jeff Weaver SEA 6 0-6 0 22.0 7 12 14.32 .459
Monday, May 21, 2007
No Rally In These Angels
In the past week, much has been said about the Angels excellent 1st inning production. They have scored runs in the first inning the past five games - all Angel victories.
What hasn't been mentioned in the joyful glow of a Dodgers sweep is the poor hitting the Angels have been doing in the late innings. I suppose you take the good with the bad, and (despite the rallying origins of this website 6 years ago) I would rather see the Angels hit well early in the game.
In innings 1-6, the Angels are 2nd in MLB (behind Detroit) with a .290 batting average. In innings 7-9+, the Angels are 28th in batting with a .229 average. A drop off of 61 points.
It's not just batting average, the Angels have hit 25 home runs in innings 1-6, and only 5 home runs after the 6th inning. The Angels OPS drops from .772 (11th in MLB) to dead last at .594 (30th in MLB).
There are 14 Angels with at least 45 at bats this year, and only one of them has a higher batting average in the late innings - Howie Kendrick.
Here is a breakdown of the top 14 Angels hitters along with MLB and Angel averages.
Player 1-6 7+ Difference
Howie .297 .417 +.120
Izturis .246 .241 -.005
MLB AVG .263 .249 -.014
Anderson .271 .240 -.031
Kotchman .278 .244 -.034
Molina .233 .188 -.045
Quinlan .256 .200 -.056
ANGELS .290 .229 -.061
Vlad .361 .297 -.064
Aybar .296 .231 -.065
Hillenbrand .258 .190 -.068
Matthews .317 .227 -.090
Figgins .140 .045 -.095
Napoli .270 .172 -.098
Willits .392 .258 -.134
Cabrera .333 .186 -.147
What hasn't been mentioned in the joyful glow of a Dodgers sweep is the poor hitting the Angels have been doing in the late innings. I suppose you take the good with the bad, and (despite the rallying origins of this website 6 years ago) I would rather see the Angels hit well early in the game.
In innings 1-6, the Angels are 2nd in MLB (behind Detroit) with a .290 batting average. In innings 7-9+, the Angels are 28th in batting with a .229 average. A drop off of 61 points.
It's not just batting average, the Angels have hit 25 home runs in innings 1-6, and only 5 home runs after the 6th inning. The Angels OPS drops from .772 (11th in MLB) to dead last at .594 (30th in MLB).
There are 14 Angels with at least 45 at bats this year, and only one of them has a higher batting average in the late innings - Howie Kendrick.
Here is a breakdown of the top 14 Angels hitters along with MLB and Angel averages.
Player 1-6 7+ Difference
Howie .297 .417 +.120
Izturis .246 .241 -.005
MLB AVG .263 .249 -.014
Anderson .271 .240 -.031
Kotchman .278 .244 -.034
Molina .233 .188 -.045
Quinlan .256 .200 -.056
ANGELS .290 .229 -.061
Vlad .361 .297 -.064
Aybar .296 .231 -.065
Hillenbrand .258 .190 -.068
Matthews .317 .227 -.090
Figgins .140 .045 -.095
Napoli .270 .172 -.098
Willits .392 .258 -.134
Cabrera .333 .186 -.147
Friday, May 18, 2007
Down On The Farm 5/18/07
Just a quick look at the Angels' Top Prospects
AAA- Salt Lake
The Bees are in first place of the PCL Pacific North with a record of 22-18. Joe Saunders was roughed up yesterday allowing 7er in 5ip. Nathan Haynes continues his hot hitting. He has 7 multiple hit games in his past 10 games and leads all of AAA with a .403 batting average.
AA- Arkansas
The Travelers are 16-23 and in last place of the Texas League North Division. Nick Adenhart recovered from two poor outings allowing just 2 earned runs against Springfield on Wednesday night. Sean Rodriguez is slumping with 1 hit in his last 19 at-bats.
A- Rancho Cucamonga
The Quakes have lost six straight games and are 19-22, 3 games out of first place. Pitcher Brok Butcher has lasted at least 6ip and allowed 3er or less in all 7 starts this season.
Player Pos Age Lg H/AB AVG OPS MISC
Jeff Mathis C 24 AAA 32/128 .250 .641 9-xbh
Terry Evans OF 25 AAA 48/148 .324 .911 5-hr 40-so
Kendry Morales 1B 23 AAA 27/94 .287 .674 1hr 10rbi
Brandon Wood 3B 22 AAA 28/120 .233 .718 4-hr 35-so
Nathan Haynes OF 27 AAA 54/134 .403 1.118 12-sb, 6-3b
Matthew Brown IF 24 AAA 34/114 .298 .870 16-xbh
Howie Kendrick 2B 23 AAA 1/6 .167 .452 1-bb 2-so
Sean Rodriguez SS 22 AA 34/135 .252 .821 6-hr 20-rbi
Bradley Coon OF 24 A+ 50/163 .307 .775 20-sb 5-cs
Hank Conger C 19 A 29/115 .252 .736 5-hr, 6-sb
Player Pos Age Lg IP W-L ERA MISC
Jason Bulger RP 28 AAA 18.1 1-1 2.95 25k/12bb
Joe Saunders SP 25 AAA 12.2 1-3 4.55 0.98-whip
Greg Jones RP 30 AAA 15.1 2-0 7.63 2.02-whip
Kasey Olenberger SP 29 AAA 49.2 4-1 2.90 1.13-whip
Nick Adenhart SP 20 AA 47.1 3-2 1.70 35k/21bb
Brok Butcher SP 23 A+ 53.0 3-2 1.36 1cg, 32k
Stephen Marek SP 23 A+ 32.2 2-2 3.86 1.26 whip
Sean O'Sullivan SP 19 A 43.0 2-3 3.35 32k/10bb
AAA- Salt Lake
The Bees are in first place of the PCL Pacific North with a record of 22-18. Joe Saunders was roughed up yesterday allowing 7er in 5ip. Nathan Haynes continues his hot hitting. He has 7 multiple hit games in his past 10 games and leads all of AAA with a .403 batting average.
AA- Arkansas
The Travelers are 16-23 and in last place of the Texas League North Division. Nick Adenhart recovered from two poor outings allowing just 2 earned runs against Springfield on Wednesday night. Sean Rodriguez is slumping with 1 hit in his last 19 at-bats.
A- Rancho Cucamonga
The Quakes have lost six straight games and are 19-22, 3 games out of first place. Pitcher Brok Butcher has lasted at least 6ip and allowed 3er or less in all 7 starts this season.
Player Pos Age Lg H/AB AVG OPS MISC
Jeff Mathis C 24 AAA 32/128 .250 .641 9-xbh
Terry Evans OF 25 AAA 48/148 .324 .911 5-hr 40-so
Kendry Morales 1B 23 AAA 27/94 .287 .674 1hr 10rbi
Brandon Wood 3B 22 AAA 28/120 .233 .718 4-hr 35-so
Nathan Haynes OF 27 AAA 54/134 .403 1.118 12-sb, 6-3b
Matthew Brown IF 24 AAA 34/114 .298 .870 16-xbh
Howie Kendrick 2B 23 AAA 1/6 .167 .452 1-bb 2-so
Sean Rodriguez SS 22 AA 34/135 .252 .821 6-hr 20-rbi
Bradley Coon OF 24 A+ 50/163 .307 .775 20-sb 5-cs
Hank Conger C 19 A 29/115 .252 .736 5-hr, 6-sb
Player Pos Age Lg IP W-L ERA MISC
Jason Bulger RP 28 AAA 18.1 1-1 2.95 25k/12bb
Joe Saunders SP 25 AAA 12.2 1-3 4.55 0.98-whip
Greg Jones RP 30 AAA 15.1 2-0 7.63 2.02-whip
Kasey Olenberger SP 29 AAA 49.2 4-1 2.90 1.13-whip
Nick Adenhart SP 20 AA 47.1 3-2 1.70 35k/21bb
Brok Butcher SP 23 A+ 53.0 3-2 1.36 1cg, 32k
Stephen Marek SP 23 A+ 32.2 2-2 3.86 1.26 whip
Sean O'Sullivan SP 19 A 43.0 2-3 3.35 32k/10bb
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Santana Solutions
I know that I'm beating a dead horse by mentioning the difference between Home Santana and Road Santana, but today I offer two solutions.
First, a look at his home and road splits throughout his career.
HOME HOME ROAD ROAD TOTAL TOTAL
Year W-L ERA W-L ERA W-L ERA
2005 9-3 3.18 3-5 7.43 12-8 4.65
2006 10-2 3.02 6-6 5.95 16-8 4.28
2007 2-1 2.57 0-4 7.86 2-5 5.51
Career 21-6 3.04 9-15 6.69 30-21 4.56
Santana Solution #1
Have Dustin Moseley start on the road in place of Ervin Santana. Santana could be used as a long reliever in between starts. The following list shows the scheduled starts up to the All Star Break. Joe Saunders could also be called up to fill in. Saunders currently has a 3.04 era in AAA Salt Lake.
Santana May 18 vs Dodgers
Moseley May 24 at Tigers
Santana May 29 vs Mariners
Santana Jun 03 vs Orioles
Moseley Jun 09 at Cardinals
Moseley Jun 15 at Dodgers
Santana Jun 20 vs Astros
Santana Jun 26 vs Royals
Moseley Jul 03 at Rangers
Moseley Jul 08 at Yankees
Santana Solution #2
Use scheduled off days to skip Santana in the rotation if the Angels are on the road.
Santana May 18 vs Dodgers
Santana May 25 at Yankees (1 career game at NYY - 6.1ip 1er)
Santana May 30 vs Mariners
Santana Jun 04 vs Twins
Santana Jun 16 at Dodgers (1 career game at LA - 4ip, 5er)
Santana Jun 22 vs Pirates
Santana Jun 27 vs Royals
Santana Jul 06 at Yankees (1 career game at NYY - 6.1ip 1er)
Here's the breakdown of skipping Santana on off days. (Proof that all other starters get at least 4 days rest.)
Weaver Escobr Lackey Colon Santna Off Days
May 14 May 15 May 16 May 17 May 18
May 19 May 20 May 22 May 23 May 25 May 21
May 24 May 26 May 27 May 28 May 30
May 29 May 31 Jun 1 Jun 2 Jun 4
Jun 3 Jun 5 Jun 6 Jun 8 Jun 7
Jun 9 Jun 10 Jun 12 Jun 13 Jun 11
Jun 14 Jun 15 Jun 17 Jun 18 Jun 16
Jun 19 Jun 20 Jun 23 Jun 24 Jun 22 Jun 21
Jun 25 Jun 26 Jun 29 Jun 30 Jun 27 Jun 28
Jul 1 Jul 3 Jul 4 Jul 5 Jul 6 Jul 2
Jul 7 Jul 8
First, a look at his home and road splits throughout his career.
HOME HOME ROAD ROAD TOTAL TOTAL
Year W-L ERA W-L ERA W-L ERA
2005 9-3 3.18 3-5 7.43 12-8 4.65
2006 10-2 3.02 6-6 5.95 16-8 4.28
2007 2-1 2.57 0-4 7.86 2-5 5.51
Career 21-6 3.04 9-15 6.69 30-21 4.56
Santana Solution #1
Have Dustin Moseley start on the road in place of Ervin Santana. Santana could be used as a long reliever in between starts. The following list shows the scheduled starts up to the All Star Break. Joe Saunders could also be called up to fill in. Saunders currently has a 3.04 era in AAA Salt Lake.
Santana May 18 vs Dodgers
Moseley May 24 at Tigers
Santana May 29 vs Mariners
Santana Jun 03 vs Orioles
Moseley Jun 09 at Cardinals
Moseley Jun 15 at Dodgers
Santana Jun 20 vs Astros
Santana Jun 26 vs Royals
Moseley Jul 03 at Rangers
Moseley Jul 08 at Yankees
Santana Solution #2
Use scheduled off days to skip Santana in the rotation if the Angels are on the road.
Santana May 18 vs Dodgers
Santana May 25 at Yankees (1 career game at NYY - 6.1ip 1er)
Santana May 30 vs Mariners
Santana Jun 04 vs Twins
Santana Jun 16 at Dodgers (1 career game at LA - 4ip, 5er)
Santana Jun 22 vs Pirates
Santana Jun 27 vs Royals
Santana Jul 06 at Yankees (1 career game at NYY - 6.1ip 1er)
Here's the breakdown of skipping Santana on off days. (Proof that all other starters get at least 4 days rest.)
Weaver Escobr Lackey Colon Santna Off Days
May 14 May 15 May 16 May 17 May 18
May 19 May 20 May 22 May 23 May 25 May 21
May 24 May 26 May 27 May 28 May 30
May 29 May 31 Jun 1 Jun 2 Jun 4
Jun 3 Jun 5 Jun 6 Jun 8 Jun 7
Jun 9 Jun 10 Jun 12 Jun 13 Jun 11
Jun 14 Jun 15 Jun 17 Jun 18 Jun 16
Jun 19 Jun 20 Jun 23 Jun 24 Jun 22 Jun 21
Jun 25 Jun 26 Jun 29 Jun 30 Jun 27 Jun 28
Jul 1 Jul 3 Jul 4 Jul 5 Jul 6 Jul 2
Jul 7 Jul 8
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Percival to come back?
According to Fox Sports, Troy Percival is considering making a comeback attempt. Their source says he has been throwing daily and has been consistently reaching 96 mph without pain.
I'd personally love to see him hanging out in the bull pen spreading wisdom to the other pitchers, but I don't know how he would do in non-save situations.
I'd personally love to see him hanging out in the bull pen spreading wisdom to the other pitchers, but I don't know how he would do in non-save situations.
Ex-Angels Report 5/16/07
A weekly look at ex-Angels in the major leagues.
Ramon Ortiz back to form. Ortiz got shelled today in a matchup against Cleveland's Paul Byrd. Ortiz game up 6 earned runs in 1+ innings. After starting the season 3-0, Ortiz has lost 4 straight and has given up 15 earned runs in his last 11 innings.
Paul Byrd out duels Ortiz. Byrd gave up 5 earned runs in 7 innings for the win against Ortiz. Byrd's record is now 3-1 with a 3.49 era.
Jarrod Washburn gets revenge. Washburn pitched 8 scoreless innings for the Mariners against the Yankees last Saturday. A week earlier in a game at Yankee Stadium, Washburn was criticized for intentionally hitting Josh Phelps.
Jeff Weaver finally sent to the DL. We knew it was right shoulder tendinitis all along. In 6 starts for Seattle, Weaver was 0-6 with a 14.32 era.
Derrick Turnbow has lost 2 games in a row. Entering Monday's game against Philadelphia, Turnbow had a 1.76 era in 16 appearances for the Brewers. On Monday, he gave up 4 runs in 2/3 of an inning. Tuesday he was in again and surrendered a walk off solo home run to Carlos Ruiz. His era is up to 4.24.
EX-ANGEL TEAM AB R HR RBI BB SO AVG OPS
Troy Glaus TOR 68 17 7 17 14 12 .324 1.122
Damion Easley NYM 56 9 5 11 5 9 .268 .905
Jose Guillen SEA 105 16 4 16 8 17 .286 .831
Bengie Molina SF 114 9 3 18 5 15 .307 .815
Scott Spiezio STL 61 6 0 9 9 13 .246 .680
Darin Erstad CWS 128 15 2 14 9 15 .250 .641
Alfredo Amezaga FLA 99 5 1 9 6 14 .222 .597
Adam Kennedy STL 105 7 0 9 7 5 .238 .590
Jim Edmonds STL 110 9 1 9 10 23 .218 .563
David Eckstein STL 115 12 0 4 7 3 .226 .558
Sal Fasano TOR 21 2 1 2 1 10 .143 .551
Alberto Callaspo ARI 93 6 0 3 7 8 .215 .546
Josh Paul TB 42 3 0 5 3 12 .238 .527
Steve Finley COL 77 6 1 2 6 3 .182 .501
Orlando Palmeiro HOU 24 4 0 1 5 2 .167 .500
EX-ANGEL TEAM G W-L SV IP BB K ERA BAA
Brendan Donnelly BOS 14 1-1 0 9.2 3 7 0.93 .147
Russ Springer STL 15 1-0 0 11.2 6 13 2.31 .125
Jarrod Washburn SEA 7 3-3 0 47.2 12 26 2.64 .217
J.C. Romero BOS 16 1-0 1 12.2 6 7 2.84 .333
Paul Byrd CLE 5 2-1 0 31.2 3 16 2.84 .292
Kevin Gregg FLA 17 0-1 1 22.0 9 20 2.86 .213
Scott Schoeneweis NYM 18 0-0 0 15.1 11 7 2.93 .208
Matt Wise MIL 17 0-1 0 16.2 3 7 3.24 .226
Bobby Jenks CWS 17 1-1 12 16.0 7 17 3.38 .228
Ramon Ortiz MIN 7 3-3 0 45.0 9 18 3.80 .236
Derrick Turnbow MIL 17 1-1 1 16.0 7 23 3.94 .203
Aaron Sele NYM 9 1-0 0 15.1 8 10 4.11 .322
Joel Peralta KC 17 0-2 0 22.0 7 22 5.32 .279
Jake Woods SEA 2 0-0 0 7.2 5 1 5.87 .258
Jeff Weaver SEA 6 0-6 0 22.0 7 12 14.32 .459
Ramon Ortiz back to form. Ortiz got shelled today in a matchup against Cleveland's Paul Byrd. Ortiz game up 6 earned runs in 1+ innings. After starting the season 3-0, Ortiz has lost 4 straight and has given up 15 earned runs in his last 11 innings.
Paul Byrd out duels Ortiz. Byrd gave up 5 earned runs in 7 innings for the win against Ortiz. Byrd's record is now 3-1 with a 3.49 era.
Jarrod Washburn gets revenge. Washburn pitched 8 scoreless innings for the Mariners against the Yankees last Saturday. A week earlier in a game at Yankee Stadium, Washburn was criticized for intentionally hitting Josh Phelps.
Jeff Weaver finally sent to the DL. We knew it was right shoulder tendinitis all along. In 6 starts for Seattle, Weaver was 0-6 with a 14.32 era.
Derrick Turnbow has lost 2 games in a row. Entering Monday's game against Philadelphia, Turnbow had a 1.76 era in 16 appearances for the Brewers. On Monday, he gave up 4 runs in 2/3 of an inning. Tuesday he was in again and surrendered a walk off solo home run to Carlos Ruiz. His era is up to 4.24.
EX-ANGEL TEAM AB R HR RBI BB SO AVG OPS
Troy Glaus TOR 68 17 7 17 14 12 .324 1.122
Damion Easley NYM 56 9 5 11 5 9 .268 .905
Jose Guillen SEA 105 16 4 16 8 17 .286 .831
Bengie Molina SF 114 9 3 18 5 15 .307 .815
Scott Spiezio STL 61 6 0 9 9 13 .246 .680
Darin Erstad CWS 128 15 2 14 9 15 .250 .641
Alfredo Amezaga FLA 99 5 1 9 6 14 .222 .597
Adam Kennedy STL 105 7 0 9 7 5 .238 .590
Jim Edmonds STL 110 9 1 9 10 23 .218 .563
David Eckstein STL 115 12 0 4 7 3 .226 .558
Sal Fasano TOR 21 2 1 2 1 10 .143 .551
Alberto Callaspo ARI 93 6 0 3 7 8 .215 .546
Josh Paul TB 42 3 0 5 3 12 .238 .527
Steve Finley COL 77 6 1 2 6 3 .182 .501
Orlando Palmeiro HOU 24 4 0 1 5 2 .167 .500
EX-ANGEL TEAM G W-L SV IP BB K ERA BAA
Brendan Donnelly BOS 14 1-1 0 9.2 3 7 0.93 .147
Russ Springer STL 15 1-0 0 11.2 6 13 2.31 .125
Jarrod Washburn SEA 7 3-3 0 47.2 12 26 2.64 .217
J.C. Romero BOS 16 1-0 1 12.2 6 7 2.84 .333
Paul Byrd CLE 5 2-1 0 31.2 3 16 2.84 .292
Kevin Gregg FLA 17 0-1 1 22.0 9 20 2.86 .213
Scott Schoeneweis NYM 18 0-0 0 15.1 11 7 2.93 .208
Matt Wise MIL 17 0-1 0 16.2 3 7 3.24 .226
Bobby Jenks CWS 17 1-1 12 16.0 7 17 3.38 .228
Ramon Ortiz MIN 7 3-3 0 45.0 9 18 3.80 .236
Derrick Turnbow MIL 17 1-1 1 16.0 7 23 3.94 .203
Aaron Sele NYM 9 1-0 0 15.1 8 10 4.11 .322
Joel Peralta KC 17 0-2 0 22.0 7 22 5.32 .279
Jake Woods SEA 2 0-0 0 7.2 5 1 5.87 .258
Jeff Weaver SEA 6 0-6 0 22.0 7 12 14.32 .459
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
How Long with Hillenbrand?
He just grounded out to third with two outs and the bases loaded.
I'm not sure how long this can go on. It is feeling a little like Steve Finley redux from '05 (.222 for the year), although at least with Finley you knew you were getting good defense.
Sure, are we sure Quinlan/Morales are better options, but they can't be much worse...
I'm not sure how long this can go on. It is feeling a little like Steve Finley redux from '05 (.222 for the year), although at least with Finley you knew you were getting good defense.
Sure, are we sure Quinlan/Morales are better options, but they can't be much worse...
Hittin' while the hittin' was good
Texas' pitching sucks. And the Angels took advantage of it scoring at least 6 runs in all four of their games. That's 4 straight days without a Mickey Hatcher complaint. But now the Angels are on to Seattle and things are different there.
The hitting explosion was nice. Casey Kotchman, Shea Hillenbrand, Mike Napoli and Gary Matthews Jr all hit home runs. Reggie Willits and Kotchman reached base 9 times, while Vladimir Guerrero and Orlando Cabrera each reached base 8 times.
It would be nice to think that the Angels bats are hot right now, but it probably had more to do with Texas' pitching. The four starters they faced were Padilla 4.78 (era), Loe 5.89, Wood 7.02 and Millwood 6.62.
In Seattle they are scheduled to face Felix Hernandez 1.56, Cha Seung Baek 5.40, Jarrod Washburn 2.64.
Hernandez is making his first start after spending 4 weeks on the DL with soreness in his elbow. In his first couple of starts this season, the 21-year old Hernandez was virtually unhittable. On Opening Day he shutout the Oakland A's for 8 innings while striking out 12 and allowing just 3 hits. His next start was a complete game, one-hit shutout of the Red Sox in Boston. Hernandez will be on a pitch count, so the Angels hitters need to show some patience and take some pitches.
Baek was the replacement for Hernandez in the rotation. He pitched a complete game in his last outing, beating the Detroit Tigers 9-2. He is now taking the spot of Jeff Weaver, who went on the DL with right shoulder tendinitis. In 6 starts, Weaver was 0-6 with a 14.32 era, so the "tendinitis" must be bad.
Washburn is 5th in the American League in era, yet only has a record of 3-3. He is coming off a strong performance against the Yankees where he threw 8 shutout innings.
The hitting explosion was nice. Casey Kotchman, Shea Hillenbrand, Mike Napoli and Gary Matthews Jr all hit home runs. Reggie Willits and Kotchman reached base 9 times, while Vladimir Guerrero and Orlando Cabrera each reached base 8 times.
It would be nice to think that the Angels bats are hot right now, but it probably had more to do with Texas' pitching. The four starters they faced were Padilla 4.78 (era), Loe 5.89, Wood 7.02 and Millwood 6.62.
In Seattle they are scheduled to face Felix Hernandez 1.56, Cha Seung Baek 5.40, Jarrod Washburn 2.64.
Hernandez is making his first start after spending 4 weeks on the DL with soreness in his elbow. In his first couple of starts this season, the 21-year old Hernandez was virtually unhittable. On Opening Day he shutout the Oakland A's for 8 innings while striking out 12 and allowing just 3 hits. His next start was a complete game, one-hit shutout of the Red Sox in Boston. Hernandez will be on a pitch count, so the Angels hitters need to show some patience and take some pitches.
Baek was the replacement for Hernandez in the rotation. He pitched a complete game in his last outing, beating the Detroit Tigers 9-2. He is now taking the spot of Jeff Weaver, who went on the DL with right shoulder tendinitis. In 6 starts, Weaver was 0-6 with a 14.32 era, so the "tendinitis" must be bad.
Washburn is 5th in the American League in era, yet only has a record of 3-3. He is coming off a strong performance against the Yankees where he threw 8 shutout innings.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Notes & Observations 5/13/07
Notes & Observations from the weekend games against Texas.
Reg-gie. Reg-gie. Leadoff hitter Reggie Willits continues to get on base. Two hits Friday, two hits Saturday and a walk and a hit Sunday. His batting average is a nice .365 and his obp is .434.
Vladimir Guerrero is slumping. Only 3 for 9 in the 3 games against Texas? That's almost 100 points lower than his career .432 batting average against the Rangers. OK, I'll throw in the 5 walks and look at his .571 obp in the 3 games.
Gary Matthews Jr sticks it to his old team. 2 home runs and 7 rbi in the 3 games at Texas would qualify as "sticking it to them."
Hillenbrand homers. Is this the "breaking out of a season long slump" home run we have been waiting for? Or is this just a "that goes to show you how bad the Rangers pitching staff is" home run?
Starting pitching is consistent. Lackey is good, Colon is good and Santana is bad on the road. John Lackey threw 8 scoreless innings Friday night before giving up a couple of meaningless 9th inning runs. Bartolo Colon continued his mastery of Texas by winning his 11th straight start as an Angel against Texas.
Shields continues to have problems with home runs. Scot Shields has incredible numbers for a reliever - a whip under 1.00, a batting average against under .150, 17 strikeouts in 19 innings and only 9 hits. The problem is (and it's a big problem) that 4 of those 9 hits have been home runs. He only allowed 8 last year and 5 the year before and we're just now half way through May.
Scioscia over-reacts. I'm a huge Mike Scioscia fan and I like it when he gets thrown out. But did he really think that Texas pitcher Joaquin Benoit intentionally threw at Matthews in the 7th inning of a tie ball game? There were no outs and a runner on second. Absolutely no way that the pitch was intentional.
Reg-gie. Reg-gie. Leadoff hitter Reggie Willits continues to get on base. Two hits Friday, two hits Saturday and a walk and a hit Sunday. His batting average is a nice .365 and his obp is .434.
Vladimir Guerrero is slumping. Only 3 for 9 in the 3 games against Texas? That's almost 100 points lower than his career .432 batting average against the Rangers. OK, I'll throw in the 5 walks and look at his .571 obp in the 3 games.
Gary Matthews Jr sticks it to his old team. 2 home runs and 7 rbi in the 3 games at Texas would qualify as "sticking it to them."
Hillenbrand homers. Is this the "breaking out of a season long slump" home run we have been waiting for? Or is this just a "that goes to show you how bad the Rangers pitching staff is" home run?
Starting pitching is consistent. Lackey is good, Colon is good and Santana is bad on the road. John Lackey threw 8 scoreless innings Friday night before giving up a couple of meaningless 9th inning runs. Bartolo Colon continued his mastery of Texas by winning his 11th straight start as an Angel against Texas.
Shields continues to have problems with home runs. Scot Shields has incredible numbers for a reliever - a whip under 1.00, a batting average against under .150, 17 strikeouts in 19 innings and only 9 hits. The problem is (and it's a big problem) that 4 of those 9 hits have been home runs. He only allowed 8 last year and 5 the year before and we're just now half way through May.
Scioscia over-reacts. I'm a huge Mike Scioscia fan and I like it when he gets thrown out. But did he really think that Texas pitcher Joaquin Benoit intentionally threw at Matthews in the 7th inning of a tie ball game? There were no outs and a runner on second. Absolutely no way that the pitch was intentional.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Piling On Hillenbrand
How about that? A home run from the designated hitter. It's about time Shea Hillenbrand went yard. Except for the fact that the DH tonight was Kendry Morales. For those of you keeping track at home, that's one home run for Morales and zero for Hillenbrand.
I'm curious to see who the DH is tomorrow. It's a day game so the lineup doesn't always include the "starters". Maybe Morales has earned the spot. Maybe it still beongs to Hillenbrand. Maybe Hillenbrand will be there tomorrow to give the (new) regular guy (Morales) a day off. Then again, if I were a betting man I'd place my money on Vladimir Guerrero.
Here's a look at Angels Designated Hitters in 2007.
DH H AB HR BI AVG OPS
Anderson 2 4 0 0 .500 1.250
Morales 3 8 1 2 .375 1.194
Willits 1 2 0 0 .500 1.167
Vlad 4 13 1 3 .308 .976
Hillenbrand 21 94 0 7 .223 .492
Quinaln 0 5 0 0 .000 .000
Aybar 0 2 0 0 .000 .000
I'm curious to see who the DH is tomorrow. It's a day game so the lineup doesn't always include the "starters". Maybe Morales has earned the spot. Maybe it still beongs to Hillenbrand. Maybe Hillenbrand will be there tomorrow to give the (new) regular guy (Morales) a day off. Then again, if I were a betting man I'd place my money on Vladimir Guerrero.
Here's a look at Angels Designated Hitters in 2007.
DH H AB HR BI AVG OPS
Anderson 2 4 0 0 .500 1.250
Morales 3 8 1 2 .375 1.194
Willits 1 2 0 0 .500 1.167
Vlad 4 13 1 3 .308 .976
Hillenbrand 21 94 0 7 .223 .492
Quinaln 0 5 0 0 .000 .000
Aybar 0 2 0 0 .000 .000
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Angels Call Up Matt Brown
The Angels sent Brandon Wood back to Salt Lake City so he could play every day and called up 24 year old infielder Matt Brown.
Matt Brown (6'0" 200 lbs) was hitting .300 with 3 home runs and 22 rbi for the Bees in 110 at-bats. Brown has played mostly third base throughout his career but has become a utility player this year with Wood getting the majority of starts at third. Brown has started games at second base, first base, left field and designated hitter this year.
Brown was signed out of Coeur D'Alene (Idaho) High School in the 10th round of the 2001 draft by the Angels. He spent the entire season last year at AA Arkansas where he hit .293 with 19 home runs, 41 doubles and 79 runs batted in.
Brown had nice numbers in spring training with the Angels batting .353 with 3 home runs in only 17 at-bats. The three long balls tied him for the most by an Angel this spring with Gary Matthews Jr (60 ab) and Casey Kotchman (63 ab).
Brown is not expected to play much for the Angels as he was called up to fill in the Angels need for a backup infielder.
The parade of reserve replacements from AAA will continue as the Angels have six players on the DL who were expected to contribute this season - Maicer Izturis, Justin Speier, Garret Anderson, Howie Kendrick, Juan Rivera and Dallas McPherson.
Matt Brown (6'0" 200 lbs) was hitting .300 with 3 home runs and 22 rbi for the Bees in 110 at-bats. Brown has played mostly third base throughout his career but has become a utility player this year with Wood getting the majority of starts at third. Brown has started games at second base, first base, left field and designated hitter this year.
Brown was signed out of Coeur D'Alene (Idaho) High School in the 10th round of the 2001 draft by the Angels. He spent the entire season last year at AA Arkansas where he hit .293 with 19 home runs, 41 doubles and 79 runs batted in.
Brown had nice numbers in spring training with the Angels batting .353 with 3 home runs in only 17 at-bats. The three long balls tied him for the most by an Angel this spring with Gary Matthews Jr (60 ab) and Casey Kotchman (63 ab).
Brown is not expected to play much for the Angels as he was called up to fill in the Angels need for a backup infielder.
The parade of reserve replacements from AAA will continue as the Angels have six players on the DL who were expected to contribute this season - Maicer Izturis, Justin Speier, Garret Anderson, Howie Kendrick, Juan Rivera and Dallas McPherson.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Ex-Angels Stats 5/8/07
Stats & Notes on Ex-Angels in the Major Leagues
EX-ANGEL TEAM AB R HR RBI BB SO AVG OPS
Troy Glaus TOR 54 16 6 14 13 11 .352 1.226
Sal Fasano TOR 11 2 1 2 1 6 .273 1.021
Bengie Molina SF 99 8 3 16 4 12 .333 .881
Damion Easley NYM 40 6 3 5 5 8 .225 .826
Jose Guillen SEA 89 14 3 10 3 16 .258 .728
Darin Erstad CWS 105 11 2 13 9 14 .267 .684
Orlando Palmeiro HOU 17 4 0 1 5 2 .235 .670
Alfredo Amezaga FLA 82 4 1 8 5 13 .232 .642
Scott Spiezio STL 54 3 0 5 8 10 .222 .611
Adam Kennedy STL 80 4 0 5 5 4 .238 .595
Steve Finley COL 57 5 1 2 6 3 .175 .535
David Eckstein STL 102 10 0 4 6 1 .216 .528
Alberto Callaspo ARI 88 5 0 3 5 8 .216 .527
Jim Edmonds STL 87 6 1 6 10 20 .184 .521
Josh Paul TB 39 3 0 5 2 11 .231 .499
EX-ANGEL TEAM G W-L SV IP BB K ERA BAA
Brendan Donnelly BOS 12 1-1 0 8.2 3 6 1.04 .133
Scott Schoeneweis NYM 16 0-0 0 12.2 9 6 1.42 .205
Derrick Turnbow MIL 14 0-0 1 13.1 5 22 2.03 .170
Russ Springer STL 13 1-0 0 9.2 4 10 2.79 .121
Kevin Gregg FLA 14 0-1 1 19.0 9 20 2.84 .206
Paul Byrd CLE 4 2-1 0 24.2 3 13 2.92 .287
Jarrod Washburn SEA 6 2-3 0 39.2 11 20 3.18 .222
Ramon Ortiz MIN 6 3-2 0 39.0 6 17 3.23 .235
Bobby Jenks CWS 15 1-1 10 14.2 5 15 3.68 .245
Matt Wise MIL 14 0-1 0 13.2 3 5 3.95 .231
J.C. Romero BOS 12 0-0 1 9.0 3 4 4.00 .342
Aaron Sele NYM 8 1-0 0 14.1 7 10 4.40 .309
Joel Peralta KC 14 0-2 0 18.2 6 17 5.30 .293
Jake Woods SEA 2 0-0 0 7.2 5 1 5.87 .258
Jeff Weaver SEA 5 0-5 0 17.0 7 10 15.35 .465
- Troy Glaus hit 3 home runs last week after coming off the DL.
- Bengie Molina hit 2 home runs in the 5th inning yesterday against the Mets.
- The Los Angeles Cardinals of St Louis (Jim Edmonds, David Eckstein, Adam Kennedy & Scott Spiezio) continue to struggle with batting averages below .240.
EX-ANGEL TEAM AB R HR RBI BB SO AVG OPS
Troy Glaus TOR 54 16 6 14 13 11 .352 1.226
Sal Fasano TOR 11 2 1 2 1 6 .273 1.021
Bengie Molina SF 99 8 3 16 4 12 .333 .881
Damion Easley NYM 40 6 3 5 5 8 .225 .826
Jose Guillen SEA 89 14 3 10 3 16 .258 .728
Darin Erstad CWS 105 11 2 13 9 14 .267 .684
Orlando Palmeiro HOU 17 4 0 1 5 2 .235 .670
Alfredo Amezaga FLA 82 4 1 8 5 13 .232 .642
Scott Spiezio STL 54 3 0 5 8 10 .222 .611
Adam Kennedy STL 80 4 0 5 5 4 .238 .595
Steve Finley COL 57 5 1 2 6 3 .175 .535
David Eckstein STL 102 10 0 4 6 1 .216 .528
Alberto Callaspo ARI 88 5 0 3 5 8 .216 .527
Jim Edmonds STL 87 6 1 6 10 20 .184 .521
Josh Paul TB 39 3 0 5 2 11 .231 .499
EX-ANGEL TEAM G W-L SV IP BB K ERA BAA
Brendan Donnelly BOS 12 1-1 0 8.2 3 6 1.04 .133
Scott Schoeneweis NYM 16 0-0 0 12.2 9 6 1.42 .205
Derrick Turnbow MIL 14 0-0 1 13.1 5 22 2.03 .170
Russ Springer STL 13 1-0 0 9.2 4 10 2.79 .121
Kevin Gregg FLA 14 0-1 1 19.0 9 20 2.84 .206
Paul Byrd CLE 4 2-1 0 24.2 3 13 2.92 .287
Jarrod Washburn SEA 6 2-3 0 39.2 11 20 3.18 .222
Ramon Ortiz MIN 6 3-2 0 39.0 6 17 3.23 .235
Bobby Jenks CWS 15 1-1 10 14.2 5 15 3.68 .245
Matt Wise MIL 14 0-1 0 13.2 3 5 3.95 .231
J.C. Romero BOS 12 0-0 1 9.0 3 4 4.00 .342
Aaron Sele NYM 8 1-0 0 14.1 7 10 4.40 .309
Joel Peralta KC 14 0-2 0 18.2 6 17 5.30 .293
Jake Woods SEA 2 0-0 0 7.2 5 1 5.87 .258
Jeff Weaver SEA 5 0-5 0 17.0 7 10 15.35 .465
Monday, May 7, 2007
Absurd Projections Part 2
It's hard to believe, but the baseball season is already one-fifth done. That's 20% gone, in the books and the Angels stand alone in first place at 17-15, one game up on Seattle.
At this pace the Angels will win 86 games which I doubt will be enough to win the West. Fortunately, no other team has got off to a hot start and ran away with the West.
A couple weeks ago I projected some season totals for the Angels players based on their first 16 games. Now that they have played 32, the same ridiculous projections can be made by multiplying their statistics by 5. I completely understand that there is no science behind this and that's exactly why I like doing it.
I'll start by looking at some of the projections and see how they're coming along.
Gary Matthews will hit 0 home runs. - At the time, Matthews had yet to go deep. He's now hit 2 long balls which puts him on pace for 10 this season. About half of the 19 he hit last year.
Orlando Cabrera will not commit an error, score 70 runs and hit in 40. - Cabrera finally made an error which puts him on pace for a fantastically low 5 errors this season. His bat has picked up as he is now on pace to score 100 runs and drive in 70 runs.
Vladimir Guerrero will have 40 hr and 130 rbi - In other words, a typical season for Vlad. He's currently on pace for MVP type number - 45 hr and 150 rbi.
John Lackey and Joe Saunders will have 20 win seasons - Lackey is still on pace with a record of 4-3 (projected 20-15), but Saunders is now only projected to have 15 wins - 10 in the majors and 5 in the minors.
Francisco Rodriguez will record 50 saves - After the first 16 games, Frankie had 5 saves. After 32 games, he has 10 saves. I would say that is consistent with 50 games this year.
Ervin Santana will go 10-0 at home and 0-20 on the road - Sadly this projection is still dead on. Santana is 2-0 (1.93 era) at home and 0-4 (7.97 era) on the road.
Kelvim Escobar will go on the DL 10 times this season - Good news, Kelvim is still healthy. Bad news for Garret Anderson and Bartolo Colon.
Now a couple of new projections
Scot Shields will surrender 15 long balls - He's given up 3 home runs already this season. He's only allowed an average of 6 per season for the past three years. Amazingly his whip (0.90) and baa (.148) are career lows, he has just been tagged for too many dingers.
Vladimir Guerrero will be the only Angel to hit more than 10 home runs - This is pathetic. Vlad leads the team with 9. There is a three way tie for second - Howie Kendrick, Gary Matthews Jr & Casey Kotchman all have hit a whopping 2 home runs each.
At this pace the Angels will win 86 games which I doubt will be enough to win the West. Fortunately, no other team has got off to a hot start and ran away with the West.
A couple weeks ago I projected some season totals for the Angels players based on their first 16 games. Now that they have played 32, the same ridiculous projections can be made by multiplying their statistics by 5. I completely understand that there is no science behind this and that's exactly why I like doing it.
I'll start by looking at some of the projections and see how they're coming along.
Gary Matthews will hit 0 home runs. - At the time, Matthews had yet to go deep. He's now hit 2 long balls which puts him on pace for 10 this season. About half of the 19 he hit last year.
Orlando Cabrera will not commit an error, score 70 runs and hit in 40. - Cabrera finally made an error which puts him on pace for a fantastically low 5 errors this season. His bat has picked up as he is now on pace to score 100 runs and drive in 70 runs.
Vladimir Guerrero will have 40 hr and 130 rbi - In other words, a typical season for Vlad. He's currently on pace for MVP type number - 45 hr and 150 rbi.
John Lackey and Joe Saunders will have 20 win seasons - Lackey is still on pace with a record of 4-3 (projected 20-15), but Saunders is now only projected to have 15 wins - 10 in the majors and 5 in the minors.
Francisco Rodriguez will record 50 saves - After the first 16 games, Frankie had 5 saves. After 32 games, he has 10 saves. I would say that is consistent with 50 games this year.
Ervin Santana will go 10-0 at home and 0-20 on the road - Sadly this projection is still dead on. Santana is 2-0 (1.93 era) at home and 0-4 (7.97 era) on the road.
Kelvim Escobar will go on the DL 10 times this season - Good news, Kelvim is still healthy. Bad news for Garret Anderson and Bartolo Colon.
Now a couple of new projections
Scot Shields will surrender 15 long balls - He's given up 3 home runs already this season. He's only allowed an average of 6 per season for the past three years. Amazingly his whip (0.90) and baa (.148) are career lows, he has just been tagged for too many dingers.
Vladimir Guerrero will be the only Angel to hit more than 10 home runs - This is pathetic. Vlad leads the team with 9. There is a three way tie for second - Howie Kendrick, Gary Matthews Jr & Casey Kotchman all have hit a whopping 2 home runs each.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Hindsight is 20/20 - Hillenbrand
Why the Angels made the right move by signing Shea Hillenbrand.
It's easy to sit here today and say that Shea Hillenbrand has been an overwhelming bust. Unfortunately, it was the right move at the time and, like I've said before, we fans need to get over it.
Again, I need to remind everyone that if Juan Rivera doesn't break his leg in a Winter League game, Hillenbrand would have never been an Angel. Rivera hit 23 home runs last season and was slated to be the Angels' opening day designated hitter. However, once Rivera was hurt, the Angels were in need of a replacement.
The internal options were not that appealing on a team in desperate need of some pop. Robb Quinlan, Maicer Izturis and Kendry Morales would have been at the top of that list, but none of them has a better resume than Hillenbrand.
Realizing that their internal options weren't good enough, the Angels were forced to either sign a free agent or make a trade. Making a trade was never a good idea. Why would the Angels give up a player or prospect for someone who they were essentially just "renting" for three months? Free agency was a much better option.
So it came down to available free agents who could produce and be signed to a one-year deal. Keep in mind, the Angels were just renting a hitter.
So here is the list of free agents who were signed this off season to a one year contract. Who had a better resume than Hillenbrand? He is 31 years old and a .285 career hitter. Last year he hit .271 with 21 home runs. Take a look at this list and see who you think the Angels should've signed last December 26th.
Mike Piazza DH 38 Oak $8,500,000
Moises Alou LF 40 NYM $8,500,000
Luis Gonzalez LF 39 LAD $7,350,000
Shea Hillenbrand 1B 31 LAA $6,500,000
Kenny Lofton CF 39 Tex $6,000,000
Jose Guillen RF 30 Sea $5,500,000
Marcus Giles 2B 28 SD $3,200,000
Cliff Floyd LF 34 Chc $3,000,000
Trot Nixon RF 33 Cle $3,000,000
Mark Loretta 2B 35 Hou $2,500,000
Rod Barajas C 31 Phi $2,500,000
Craig Wilson 1B 30 Atl $2,000,000
Ryan Klesko 1B 35 SF $1,750,000
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B 32 NYY $1,500,000
Jeff Cirillo 3B 37 Min $1,500,000
Royce Clayton SS 37 Tor $1,500,000
Mike Lieberthal C 35 LAD $1,250,000
Daryle Ward RF 31 Chc $1,050,000
Darin Erstad CF 32 Cws $1,000,000
Shannon Stewart LF 33 Oak $1,000,000
Preston Wilson RF 32 StL $1,000,000
Aaron Boone 3B 34 Fla $925,000
Paul Bako C 34 Bal $900,000
Gary Bennett C 35 StL $900,000
Damion Easley 2B 37 NYM $850,000
Chris Woodward 2B 30 Atl $850,000
Jayson Werth RF 27 Phi $850,000
Jose Cruz Jr. LF 33 SD $650,000
*This list includes all free agents who signed one year deals and switched teams.
Honestly, I would have liked to see the Angels sign Mike Piazza. The A's signed him on December 8th, so he wasn't available. He's currently on the DL with a sprained shoulder so in hindsight, he too, was not a great signing. He has only one home run in 103 at-bats.
Moises Alou, Kenny Lofton and Luis Gonzales were all too old for the Angels to sign. Alou is hitting .348 for the Mets, but has sat out the past two games and is beat up. Last week he had an MRI on his shoulder and this week he had swelling in his left knee. He might have lasted the three months the Angels needed him.
Gonzales is having a nice year for the Dodgers, but the last time the Angels tried to bring a career National Leaguer to the American League (Steve Finely) it turned out terribly.
Lofton is hitting .242.
Jose Guillen, Cliff Floyd, Trot Nixon?
The Angels were basically stuck signing Hillenbrand. It hasn't worked out so far but maybe things are going to turn around. Heck, with the double he hit today, he's now on pace for 10 extra base hits this season instead of 5.
If that's not enough optimism for you, think positive, Juan Rivera should be back sometime in July.
It's easy to sit here today and say that Shea Hillenbrand has been an overwhelming bust. Unfortunately, it was the right move at the time and, like I've said before, we fans need to get over it.
Again, I need to remind everyone that if Juan Rivera doesn't break his leg in a Winter League game, Hillenbrand would have never been an Angel. Rivera hit 23 home runs last season and was slated to be the Angels' opening day designated hitter. However, once Rivera was hurt, the Angels were in need of a replacement.
The internal options were not that appealing on a team in desperate need of some pop. Robb Quinlan, Maicer Izturis and Kendry Morales would have been at the top of that list, but none of them has a better resume than Hillenbrand.
Realizing that their internal options weren't good enough, the Angels were forced to either sign a free agent or make a trade. Making a trade was never a good idea. Why would the Angels give up a player or prospect for someone who they were essentially just "renting" for three months? Free agency was a much better option.
So it came down to available free agents who could produce and be signed to a one-year deal. Keep in mind, the Angels were just renting a hitter.
So here is the list of free agents who were signed this off season to a one year contract. Who had a better resume than Hillenbrand? He is 31 years old and a .285 career hitter. Last year he hit .271 with 21 home runs. Take a look at this list and see who you think the Angels should've signed last December 26th.
Mike Piazza DH 38 Oak $8,500,000
Moises Alou LF 40 NYM $8,500,000
Luis Gonzalez LF 39 LAD $7,350,000
Shea Hillenbrand 1B 31 LAA $6,500,000
Kenny Lofton CF 39 Tex $6,000,000
Jose Guillen RF 30 Sea $5,500,000
Marcus Giles 2B 28 SD $3,200,000
Cliff Floyd LF 34 Chc $3,000,000
Trot Nixon RF 33 Cle $3,000,000
Mark Loretta 2B 35 Hou $2,500,000
Rod Barajas C 31 Phi $2,500,000
Craig Wilson 1B 30 Atl $2,000,000
Ryan Klesko 1B 35 SF $1,750,000
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B 32 NYY $1,500,000
Jeff Cirillo 3B 37 Min $1,500,000
Royce Clayton SS 37 Tor $1,500,000
Mike Lieberthal C 35 LAD $1,250,000
Daryle Ward RF 31 Chc $1,050,000
Darin Erstad CF 32 Cws $1,000,000
Shannon Stewart LF 33 Oak $1,000,000
Preston Wilson RF 32 StL $1,000,000
Aaron Boone 3B 34 Fla $925,000
Paul Bako C 34 Bal $900,000
Gary Bennett C 35 StL $900,000
Damion Easley 2B 37 NYM $850,000
Chris Woodward 2B 30 Atl $850,000
Jayson Werth RF 27 Phi $850,000
Jose Cruz Jr. LF 33 SD $650,000
*This list includes all free agents who signed one year deals and switched teams.
Honestly, I would have liked to see the Angels sign Mike Piazza. The A's signed him on December 8th, so he wasn't available. He's currently on the DL with a sprained shoulder so in hindsight, he too, was not a great signing. He has only one home run in 103 at-bats.
Moises Alou, Kenny Lofton and Luis Gonzales were all too old for the Angels to sign. Alou is hitting .348 for the Mets, but has sat out the past two games and is beat up. Last week he had an MRI on his shoulder and this week he had swelling in his left knee. He might have lasted the three months the Angels needed him.
Gonzales is having a nice year for the Dodgers, but the last time the Angels tried to bring a career National Leaguer to the American League (Steve Finely) it turned out terribly.
Lofton is hitting .242.
Jose Guillen, Cliff Floyd, Trot Nixon?
The Angels were basically stuck signing Hillenbrand. It hasn't worked out so far but maybe things are going to turn around. Heck, with the double he hit today, he's now on pace for 10 extra base hits this season instead of 5.
If that's not enough optimism for you, think positive, Juan Rivera should be back sometime in July.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Down On The Farm 5/4/07
Bees bats are cold - Jeff Mathis went 1-for-16 this week and Terry Evans went 1-for-18.
Adenhart finally roughed up - After 5 great outings, Nick Adenhart was roughed up today for 4 earned runs in 3.1 innings. He gave up 6 hits and walked 5. His era jumped from 0.80 to 1.70.
Haynes tearing it up - Career minor leaguer Nathan Haynes is hitting .380 for Salt Lake City with a .484 obp. After 10 minor league seasons, Haynes might finally be ready for the show.
Just a quick look at the Angels' Top Prospects
Player Pos Age Lg H/AB AVG OPS MISC
Jeff Mathis C 24 AAA 24/84 .286 .758 1-for-16 slump
Terry Evans OF 25 AAA 24/89 .292 .828 1-for-18 slump
Kendry Morales 1B 23 AAA 23/81 .284 .672 1hr, 10rbi
Tommy Murphy OF 28 AAA 10/29 .345 .963 4sb, 1cs
Nathan Haynes OF 27 AAA 30/79 .380 1.092 10sb, 3-3b
Sean Rodriguez SS 22 AA 25/90 .278 .870 4hr, 11rbi
Bradley Coon OF 24 A+ 36/112 .321 .811 16sb, 5cs
Hank Conger C 19 A 20/76 .263 .747 4hr, 4sb
Player Pos Age Lg IP W-L ERA MISC
Jason Bulger RP 28 AAA 12.1 1-1 4.38 15k/10bb
Joe Saunders SP 25 AAA 12.2 0-1 3.55 1.03whip
Greg Jones RP 30 AAA 9.1 1-0 6.75 2.14whip
Nick Adenhart SP 20 AA 33.2 3-1 1.70 28k/15bb
Brok Butcher SP 23 A+ 34.2 2-1 0.78 1cg, 22k
Stephen Marek SP 23 A+ 15.0 1-0 2.40 1.20 whip
Sean O'Sullivan SP 19 A 29.0 1-3 4.03 19k
Adenhart finally roughed up - After 5 great outings, Nick Adenhart was roughed up today for 4 earned runs in 3.1 innings. He gave up 6 hits and walked 5. His era jumped from 0.80 to 1.70.
Haynes tearing it up - Career minor leaguer Nathan Haynes is hitting .380 for Salt Lake City with a .484 obp. After 10 minor league seasons, Haynes might finally be ready for the show.
Just a quick look at the Angels' Top Prospects
Player Pos Age Lg H/AB AVG OPS MISC
Jeff Mathis C 24 AAA 24/84 .286 .758 1-for-16 slump
Terry Evans OF 25 AAA 24/89 .292 .828 1-for-18 slump
Kendry Morales 1B 23 AAA 23/81 .284 .672 1hr, 10rbi
Tommy Murphy OF 28 AAA 10/29 .345 .963 4sb, 1cs
Nathan Haynes OF 27 AAA 30/79 .380 1.092 10sb, 3-3b
Sean Rodriguez SS 22 AA 25/90 .278 .870 4hr, 11rbi
Bradley Coon OF 24 A+ 36/112 .321 .811 16sb, 5cs
Hank Conger C 19 A 20/76 .263 .747 4hr, 4sb
Player Pos Age Lg IP W-L ERA MISC
Jason Bulger RP 28 AAA 12.1 1-1 4.38 15k/10bb
Joe Saunders SP 25 AAA 12.2 0-1 3.55 1.03whip
Greg Jones RP 30 AAA 9.1 1-0 6.75 2.14whip
Nick Adenhart SP 20 AA 33.2 3-1 1.70 28k/15bb
Brok Butcher SP 23 A+ 34.2 2-1 0.78 1cg, 22k
Stephen Marek SP 23 A+ 15.0 1-0 2.40 1.20 whip
Sean O'Sullivan SP 19 A 29.0 1-3 4.03 19k
Death, taxes, and...
"In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." - Benjamin Franklin.
After the Angels second consecutive loss to the Royals, I have a few certainties to add.
After an Angels' loss, nothing is certain but...
Well after today's loss, it was with great anticipation that I waited to hear the post game radio show to see how many "certainties" I could check off today. I usually can't listen to an entire post-game show because the callers say stupid things and Rory/Terry gives terrible, uninteresting, monotone, party-line rhetoric for answers. Not to mention it's mostly commercials anyway.
So I switched over to 710 and holy crap, I forgot, D'Marco Farr & Kevin Kiley were taking calls today. A bad day gets worse. As bad as Rory/Terry is, these clowns are worse. Especially when it comes to talking baseball. And especially Kiley. Listening to Kiley is almost as unbearable as listening to Vic The Brick on 570.
One call was all I could stand today and he was all about death and taxes.
The first complaint was about the lack of power in the lineup. Nothing like beating a dead horse. We all know there's a hitting problem, but Juan Rivera, Garret Anderson and Howie Kendrick are all injured. Those three bats are hard to cover. I could go on talking about trades and free-agent signings, etc, but I'll save that for another day. Today we're focusing on Death And Taxes.
Same caller, next complaint - they shouldn't have traded Troy Glaus. Bingo! Well firstly, they didn't trade Glaus, he signed with Arizona as a free agent. Secondly, get over it! What's done is done and it happened a long time ago. You sound like Lakers fans complaining that Shaq left. You can complain today that Weaver didn't pitch too well today or that the Angels bats were cold, but seriously, Troy Glaus?
If you're going to bring up Troy Glaus, why not complain about the Angels not re-signing Wally Joyner back in 1991?
I don't want to get started on the Troy Glaus argument. Today is all about Death and Taxes. And taxes and death.
And, heck the Angels just had a 4-3 road trip which is pretty darn good considering that Mickey Hatcher is still their hitting coach, Bill Stoneman is still their general manager, Shea Hillenbrand is still in the starting lineup and Troy Glaus is still a Blue Jay.
--------------
TV Announcers road records as of May 1st:
Mota & Gubi 4-2 .667
Phys & Hud 1-6 .143
National Fox 0-1 .000
After the Angels second consecutive loss to the Royals, I have a few certainties to add.
After an Angels' loss, nothing is certain but...
- fans wanting to fire Mickey Hatcher
- fans wanting to fire Bill Stoneman
- fans complaining that the Angels didn't re-sign Troy Glaus 3 years ago
- fans complaining that Arte promised us a big bat and didn't deliver.
- fans complaining that Garret Anderson is too slow
- fans complaining about the signing of Shea Hillenbrand
Well after today's loss, it was with great anticipation that I waited to hear the post game radio show to see how many "certainties" I could check off today. I usually can't listen to an entire post-game show because the callers say stupid things and Rory/Terry gives terrible, uninteresting, monotone, party-line rhetoric for answers. Not to mention it's mostly commercials anyway.
So I switched over to 710 and holy crap, I forgot, D'Marco Farr & Kevin Kiley were taking calls today. A bad day gets worse. As bad as Rory/Terry is, these clowns are worse. Especially when it comes to talking baseball. And especially Kiley. Listening to Kiley is almost as unbearable as listening to Vic The Brick on 570.
One call was all I could stand today and he was all about death and taxes.
The first complaint was about the lack of power in the lineup. Nothing like beating a dead horse. We all know there's a hitting problem, but Juan Rivera, Garret Anderson and Howie Kendrick are all injured. Those three bats are hard to cover. I could go on talking about trades and free-agent signings, etc, but I'll save that for another day. Today we're focusing on Death And Taxes.
Same caller, next complaint - they shouldn't have traded Troy Glaus. Bingo! Well firstly, they didn't trade Glaus, he signed with Arizona as a free agent. Secondly, get over it! What's done is done and it happened a long time ago. You sound like Lakers fans complaining that Shaq left. You can complain today that Weaver didn't pitch too well today or that the Angels bats were cold, but seriously, Troy Glaus?
If you're going to bring up Troy Glaus, why not complain about the Angels not re-signing Wally Joyner back in 1991?
I don't want to get started on the Troy Glaus argument. Today is all about Death and Taxes. And taxes and death.
And, heck the Angels just had a 4-3 road trip which is pretty darn good considering that Mickey Hatcher is still their hitting coach, Bill Stoneman is still their general manager, Shea Hillenbrand is still in the starting lineup and Troy Glaus is still a Blue Jay.
--------------
TV Announcers road records as of May 1st:
Mota & Gubi 4-2 .667
Phys & Hud 1-6 .143
National Fox 0-1 .000
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Notes & Observations - 5/2/07
Notes from today's game.
Reggie Willits continues to hit. His three hits boosted his average to .421 and his ops to .976. He only has 38 at-bats so it's not time to anoint him as the starting left fielder, but he has filled in well for Garret Anderson.
Shea Hillenbrand still stinks. He has one extra base hit (a double) this year in 84 at-bats. Last year in 530 at-bats, he had 49 extra base hits (27-2b, 1-3b, 21-hr). This year, 1 xbh per 84 ab, last year 1 xbh per 11 ab. He has to snap out of it, doesn't he? His average is terrible (.238) but pales in comparison to how bad his (.506) ops is. I know everyone would like to blame Bill Stoneman for Hillenbrand, but if Juan Rivera doesn't play winter ball (and break his leg), we wouldn't be talking about Hillenbrand.
Mike Scioscia still tied. Scioscia has 625 wins as Angels manager and is tied with Bill Rigney for most in club history. Here's a look at all the Angels managers who have reached 200 career wins.
Bill Rigney 625-707 .469 1961-69
Mike Scioscia 625-537 .538 2000-present
Gene Mauch 379-332 .533 1981-82, 1985-87
Jim Fregosi 237-249 .488 1978-81
Doug Rader 232-216 .518 1989-91
Lefty Phillips 222-225 .497 1969-71
Terry Collins 220-237 .481 1997-99
Ervin Santana pitches o.k. And for Santana, "o.k." on the road would usually be good enough. He pitched six scoreless innings until giving up the 3-run home run in the bottom of the seventh. In his six scoreless, he continually worked out of jams, with Royals on base every inning. He took the loss, but it was his best road start of the year.
Erick Aybar looks good. And better yet, he looks comfortable. With all of the "prospect hype" on Brandon Wood, Howie Kendrick and Jered Weaver, Aybar has been able to fly under the radar. His numbers are good - .315 avg - but it's his defense that has really been impressive. He's playing second base like he's played there his whole career, rather than someone who made a switch in spring training. He has also hit safely in 12 of his past 13 games.
Reggie Willits continues to hit. His three hits boosted his average to .421 and his ops to .976. He only has 38 at-bats so it's not time to anoint him as the starting left fielder, but he has filled in well for Garret Anderson.
Shea Hillenbrand still stinks. He has one extra base hit (a double) this year in 84 at-bats. Last year in 530 at-bats, he had 49 extra base hits (27-2b, 1-3b, 21-hr). This year, 1 xbh per 84 ab, last year 1 xbh per 11 ab. He has to snap out of it, doesn't he? His average is terrible (.238) but pales in comparison to how bad his (.506) ops is. I know everyone would like to blame Bill Stoneman for Hillenbrand, but if Juan Rivera doesn't play winter ball (and break his leg), we wouldn't be talking about Hillenbrand.
Mike Scioscia still tied. Scioscia has 625 wins as Angels manager and is tied with Bill Rigney for most in club history. Here's a look at all the Angels managers who have reached 200 career wins.
Bill Rigney 625-707 .469 1961-69
Mike Scioscia 625-537 .538 2000-present
Gene Mauch 379-332 .533 1981-82, 1985-87
Jim Fregosi 237-249 .488 1978-81
Doug Rader 232-216 .518 1989-91
Lefty Phillips 222-225 .497 1969-71
Terry Collins 220-237 .481 1997-99
Ervin Santana pitches o.k. And for Santana, "o.k." on the road would usually be good enough. He pitched six scoreless innings until giving up the 3-run home run in the bottom of the seventh. In his six scoreless, he continually worked out of jams, with Royals on base every inning. He took the loss, but it was his best road start of the year.
Erick Aybar looks good. And better yet, he looks comfortable. With all of the "prospect hype" on Brandon Wood, Howie Kendrick and Jered Weaver, Aybar has been able to fly under the radar. His numbers are good - .315 avg - but it's his defense that has really been impressive. He's playing second base like he's played there his whole career, rather than someone who made a switch in spring training. He has also hit safely in 12 of his past 13 games.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Ex-Angels Stats 5/1/07
Stats & Notes on Ex-Angels in the Major Leagues
EX-ANGEL TEAM AB R HR RBI BB SO AVG OPS
Troy Glaus TOR 32 10 3 9 10 6 .344 1.168
Damion Easley NYM 22 4 2 2 3 2 .273 .996
Alfredo Amezaga FLA 67 4 1 7 4 11 .284 .772
Bengie Molina SF 79 5 1 8 3 10 .291 .756
Darin Erstad CWS 88 11 2 11 7 13 .261 .688
Scott Spiezio STL 45 3 0 5 7 7 .244 .670
Josh Paul TB 29 3 0 5 2 10 .310 .665
Jose Guillen SEA 67 10 2 5 2 11 .239 .665
Orlando Palmeiro HOU 16 3 0 1 3 2 .250 .650
Jim Edmonds STL 72 5 1 5 9 16 .222 .614
Adam Kennedy STL 70 3 0 5 5 4 .229 .594
David Eckstein STL 84 9 0 4 5 1 .226 .552
Alberto Callaspo ARI 66 4 0 2 4 6 .212 .525
Steve Finley COL 45 2 1 2 4 3 .156 .491
Sal Fasano TOR 2 1 0 0 0 2 .000 .333
EX-ANGEL TEAM G W-L SV IP BB K ERA BAA
Brendan Donnelly BOS 9 0-0 0 6.0 2 4 0.00 .100
Scott Schoeneweis NYM 13 0-0 0 9.2 8 5 1.86 .206
Derrick Turnbow MIL 13 0-0 1 12.1 5 21 2.19 .163
Ramon Ortiz MIN 5 3-1 0 35.0 6 14 2.57 .217
Jarrod Washburn SEA 4 1-2 0 27.1 8 13 2.96 .216
Kevin Gregg FLA 11 0-1 1 16.0 8 17 3.38 .224
Matt Wise MIL 11 0-1 0 10.1 1 5 3.48 .231
Paul Byrd CLE 3 2-1 0 18.0 3 10 3.50 .299
Russ Springer STL 11 1-0 0 7.2 4 7 3.52 .115
Bobby Jenks CWS 13 1-1 8 12.2 4 11 4.26 .261
J.C. Romero BOS 10 0-0 0 7.1 3 3 4.91 .364
Aaron Sele NYM 7 1-0 0 12.1 4 10 5.11 .327
Jake Woods SEA 2 0-0 0 7.2 5 1 5.87 .258
Joel Peralta KC 12 0-2 0 13.2 5 13 6.59 .333
Jeff Weaver SEA 4 0-4 0 11.1 4 7 18.26 .492
- Troy Glaus comes off the DL.
- The Los Angeles Cardinals of St Louis (Jim Edmonds, David Eckstein, Adam Kennedy & Scott Spiezio) are all hitting below .250.
- Steve Finley continues to suck.
- Sal Fasano is called up by the Blue Jays to replace the injured Gregg Zaun.
- Darin Erstad has a big week going 9 for 20 including 6 for 12 against the Angels.
- Jarrod Washburn gets his first win - a 3-hit complete game shutout vs Oakland.
- Jeff Weaver starts and faces 9 batters - 7 hits, 1 walk and 1 out - against the Royals.
EX-ANGEL TEAM AB R HR RBI BB SO AVG OPS
Troy Glaus TOR 32 10 3 9 10 6 .344 1.168
Damion Easley NYM 22 4 2 2 3 2 .273 .996
Alfredo Amezaga FLA 67 4 1 7 4 11 .284 .772
Bengie Molina SF 79 5 1 8 3 10 .291 .756
Darin Erstad CWS 88 11 2 11 7 13 .261 .688
Scott Spiezio STL 45 3 0 5 7 7 .244 .670
Josh Paul TB 29 3 0 5 2 10 .310 .665
Jose Guillen SEA 67 10 2 5 2 11 .239 .665
Orlando Palmeiro HOU 16 3 0 1 3 2 .250 .650
Jim Edmonds STL 72 5 1 5 9 16 .222 .614
Adam Kennedy STL 70 3 0 5 5 4 .229 .594
David Eckstein STL 84 9 0 4 5 1 .226 .552
Alberto Callaspo ARI 66 4 0 2 4 6 .212 .525
Steve Finley COL 45 2 1 2 4 3 .156 .491
Sal Fasano TOR 2 1 0 0 0 2 .000 .333
EX-ANGEL TEAM G W-L SV IP BB K ERA BAA
Brendan Donnelly BOS 9 0-0 0 6.0 2 4 0.00 .100
Scott Schoeneweis NYM 13 0-0 0 9.2 8 5 1.86 .206
Derrick Turnbow MIL 13 0-0 1 12.1 5 21 2.19 .163
Ramon Ortiz MIN 5 3-1 0 35.0 6 14 2.57 .217
Jarrod Washburn SEA 4 1-2 0 27.1 8 13 2.96 .216
Kevin Gregg FLA 11 0-1 1 16.0 8 17 3.38 .224
Matt Wise MIL 11 0-1 0 10.1 1 5 3.48 .231
Paul Byrd CLE 3 2-1 0 18.0 3 10 3.50 .299
Russ Springer STL 11 1-0 0 7.2 4 7 3.52 .115
Bobby Jenks CWS 13 1-1 8 12.2 4 11 4.26 .261
J.C. Romero BOS 10 0-0 0 7.1 3 3 4.91 .364
Aaron Sele NYM 7 1-0 0 12.1 4 10 5.11 .327
Jake Woods SEA 2 0-0 0 7.2 5 1 5.87 .258
Joel Peralta KC 12 0-2 0 13.2 5 13 6.59 .333
Jeff Weaver SEA 4 0-4 0 11.1 4 7 18.26 .492
The "New Road Record Conspiracy Theory" Continues
Mota & Gubi brought home another victory.
TV Announcers road records as of May 1st:
Mota & Gubi 3-1 .750
Phys & Hud 1-6 .143
National Fox 0-1 .000
For an explanation, see the previous post.
TV Announcers road records as of May 1st:
Mota & Gubi 3-1 .750
Phys & Hud 1-6 .143
National Fox 0-1 .000
For an explanation, see the previous post.
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