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AngelsWin.com Today

A group blog by Blog Authors in General

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About this blog

Enjoy some of the finest content on the internet from our talented writers at AngelsWin.com on our Blog here. From the Greatest Moments in Angels Baseball, our feature stories throughout the season & offseason, to our annual primer series by Robert Cunningham and to all of our player/prospect interviews, prospect hotlists and our annual top-30 prospects list.

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Connor Justus on launch angles and swing changes

In the 5th round of the 2016 MLB Draft, the Angels selected a shortstop from the University of Georgia Tech by the name of Connor Justus(156th overall). Widely proclaimed by scouts and baseball people to be a defense first shortstop who could reach the majors based on his defense alone, many assumed his track record of not hitting much would limit his upside. However, in his junior year at Georgia Tech, he started to show life with his bat, hitting .324/.442/.446, after posting a .657 OPS in 201

April 12, 2017

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Inland Empire 66ers Opening Day Recap

By Brent Maguire, AngelsWin.com Staff Reporter The 2017 Minor League Baseball season kicked off Thursday as the Inland Empire 66ers faced off against the San Jose Giants. The 66ers roster has some familiar names from last year’s team, including Michael Hermosillo and Jake Jewell, but also brings some new faces, including 2016 draft picks Matt Thaiss and Connor Justus. The long season ahead begins as many players will continue their path towards reaching the next minor league levels and, hop

April 7, 2017

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Breakout Prospects in 2017

By Scott Allen, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer The minor leagues are brutal. Not just because of the long bus rides, less than favorable conditions, low pay and long odds. The fact is, as a prospect, you either get better or get lost. If a prospect stops developing, that’s the equivalent of getting worse, because others around you are improving constantly. Believe it or not, the Angels have prospects, and some of those prospects breakout. Let’s give you an example from this past season

April 6, 2017

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Matt Shoemaker’s Story “105 MPH to the head”

MATT SHOEMAKER / CONTRIBUTOR 105 mph to the Head When the baseball smacked into the side of my head, it was traveling 105 miles per hour. Yet somehow I didn’t hear a sound. I never lost consciousness, so I remember everything about that moment. I can even remember the breath I took before I threw the pitch — just that long, exaggerated inhale through the nose as I focused on hitting my spot, my lungs filling up with air. Then, after a brief pause, I did wha

April 4, 2017

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2017 Season Primer Part XVI: Final Thoughts

By Robert Cunningham, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer First of all, in the aggregate, Billy Eppler and the front office have done a really good job in navigating this offseason and acquiring players that have an opportunity to help the team win in 2017 and beyond. Eppler clearly stated when he first came on the job as general manager that he wanted to be defensively sound at every position around the diamond and, minus, perhaps, Escobar, he has executed on that goal. This is perhaps the fi

April 4, 2017

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2017 Season Primer Part XV: Lineup Construction

By @ettin, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer Before we dive into the projected probable lineups for 2017 it would be good to have a conversation about lineup optimization, batted ball data, balls in play, and hitter contact. In 2007, a groundbreaking baseball novel, The Book, was written by three esteemed statisticians, Tom Tango, Mitchel Lichtman, and Andy Dolphin. The Book took long-held baseball traditions, such as lineup optimization, platooning, and batting/pitching match ups for exampl

April 4, 2017

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Thoughts on Managing Baseball

By David Saltzer, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer There are many reasons why I’ve been away from the keyboard lately. It’s not that I haven’t had things to say about the Angels (I have–they are improved and have more depth–I’m more optimistic about this season), it’s that I’ve really lacked the time to say them. While my time to write about baseball has been limited, my time spent with baseball has dramatically increased. After years of being an assistant coach for both of my sons’ teams,

April 3, 2017

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The Line

By David Saltzer, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer Over the weekend, I was talking with one of my friends, Chad, about the start of the upcoming 2017 season. And, he said to me that outside of his favorite team (the Cubs), up until a few years ago, he didn’t follow the other teams and leagues as much unless he had something vested in the game—maybe a $1 bet or so. When he got into fantasy baseball, it made more games a lot more interesting for him. Knowing that many others on AngelsWin.com might fe

April 3, 2017

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Angels’ Spring Training Winners and Losers

By Jason Sinner, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer Winners Jefry Marte – it’s not that he did well this spring, but he looked like a legit middle of the lineup major league hitter. 10 xbh in 72 at bats with an 8/9 bb/k rate. The challenge will be finding him at bats. It really shouldn’t be a challenge as he deserves to play. If there is an opportunity to steal time from Yunel, I think we’ll see it. I have a gut feeling that MS likes Marte and isn’t overly enamored with Escobar’s one trick. We shall s

April 3, 2017

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Examining the 2017 Angels

By Brent Maguire, AngelsWin.com Staff Reporter The 2017 MLB season is now underway and the Angels begin their quest for success tomorrow night in Oakland. If you saw my predictions for the American League this season, you’d see that I’m not sold on the Angels being a playoff team this season. This isn’t to say I’m not a believer in this team contending this season. There’s every reason to think this team could at least be competitive this year and maybe sneak up near a wild card spot, that

April 2, 2017

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#1 – Oct. 27, 2002: Champions of baseball | Top-50 Greatest Moments in Angels Baseball

By now, most Angels fans can recite Rory Markas’ call verbatim: “Here’s the pitch to Lofton. Fly ball, center field. Erstad says he’s got it. Erstaaaaaad MAKES THE CATCH! The Anaheim Angels are the champions of baseball!” When the Angels’ unofficial team captain settled under and clasped his glove around that most precious of final outs, it was the culmination of many things: an incredible World Series comeback; a riveting postseason run; an unprecedented 99 win regular season; the ant

April 2, 2017

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#2 – Oct. 26, 2002: The swing that changed a franchise | Top-50 Greatest Moments in Angels Baseball

It was just one swing out of hundreds of thousands in the Angels’ 47-year history, but it produced three of the biggest runs and, in one instant, shifted an entire franchise’s momentum. With one swing, hopeless became hopeful. When Scott Spiezio coaxed that ball over the short wall in right field, just far enough to elude the reach of Giants right fielder Reggie Sanders, there was an immediate sense that it would prove the most important hit in Angels history. Around 24 hours later, it was

April 1, 2017

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#3 – Oct. 13, 2002: “He has homered THREE times!” | Top-50 Greatest Moments in Angels Baseball

ANAHEIM, CA – OCTOBER 13: Adam Kennedy #2 of the Anaheim Angels hits his third home run of the game to drive in three runs in Game five of the American League Championship Series against the Minnesota Twins on October 13, 2002 at Edison International Field in Anaheim, California. The Angels defeated the Twins 13-5 to advance to the World Series. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)Chances are had you asked a diehard Angels fan if he or she would have been satisfied with a nondescript 5-2 victory p

April 1, 2017

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#4 – Oct. 27, 2002: “Garret Anderson clears the bases!” | Top-50 Greatest Moments in Angels Baseball

After an incredibly emotional come-from-behind victory of historic proportions in Game 6 of the 2002 World Series – one which saw the Anaheim Angels force a deciding Game 7 at Edison Field – the home team had every ounce of momentum on its side. The Angels entered the bottom of the third inning tied, 1-1, with the San Francisco Giants. Though the scoreboard said it was clearly not make or break time, the guts of 44, 598 fans in the stadium and millions more watching on television said otherwise

April 1, 2017

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The Sports Daily MLB Power Rankings

New for the 2017 season are the Sports Daily Major League Baseball Power Rankings. Comprised of writers from Burning River Baseball, Cards Diaspora, Metstradamus, Angels Win and The Giants Cove, every month we’ll get together to determine who is the best of the best and rank all 30 MLB teams. 1. Chicago Cubs – 2016 Record: 103-58 – World Champions No longer the lovable losers, the Cubs are poised to be the most dominant MLB franchise since the late 90’s Yankees. Las Vegas has them as the heavy

April 1, 2017

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#5 – Sept. 25, 1979: Angels win first ever division title | Top-50 Greatest Moments in Angels Baseball

“The Angels one out away from their first championship ever. Porter at the plate, he waits. The pitch from Frank … swing and a ground ball hit to Carew. He bobbles it, recovers, throws to Tanana … IN TIME! The 19-year wait is over, they’ve done it: The Angels are the champions of the West!” In light of all the recent success the Angels have enjoyed this decade – a World Championship and division titles in five of six seasons – it’s sometimes easy to forget just how difficult a struggle it was f

March 31, 2017

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AngelsWin.com Top 30 Prospects: #1 1B Matt Thaiss

TEMPE, AZ – FEBRUARY 21: Matt Thaiss of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim poses for a portrait during Angels Photo Day at Tempe Diablo Stadium on February 21, 2017 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Rob Tringali/Getty Images) 2015/16: UR Position(s): First Base Level: Class A Ball Age: Entering Age 22 season in 2017. Height: 6’0” Weight: 195 lb.

March 31, 2017

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