Unofficial Pollyanna thread...

[Inside Pitch]

So.... 

 

I genuinely like this team.  I like it's makeup, I like the additions to the coaching staff.  I like the additions to the rotation.... although I'd still like to see them add a guy with MLB experience.  I'm hoping Weaver continues to evolve and works the rock-pile to his advantage.  I hope Wilson nibbles less but even if he doesn't, if he can just repeat last year we have a nice 1-2.  I think a lot is riding on the continued development/improvement of Richards, IMO he's one of the keys to the Angels success.  If he turns into the solid number three the team currently lacks then this team has a shot to play for something.  Santiago, Skaggs -- yeah there are questions but the certainty that they aren't Hanson or Blanton still makes me feel better.

 

I'm not sold on the bullpen, but I do think the guys they have could possibly work together as a unit.  In a perfect world Burnett is actually healthy and MS has a "go to" RHP (Smith), and LHP (Burnett), so he can just throw poop on the wall with the rest of the BP and hope the gods of bullpen volatility are smiling down on the Halos.  

 

I hope the defense that has always been steady shows up again this season -- if they can't pick it, they will end up packing it in IMO.

 

I love that there is position certainty for the first time in a while.  The OF is set, the IF is set, the only questions are who the back-ups will be and how the bench gets rounded out.  I really like the additions of guys like Boesch and company... Players with MLB experience and little chance of challenging for a starting role..  Given the lack of minor league options those guys make for a decent safety net.  I think we will see a better AP, the one legged version still managed a 116 OPS+ last year.   Yes, the diminishing walk rate is worrisome, but I don't think he is done.  I'm hoping the second half Hamilton shows up and that it's always overcast so his blue eyes have a chance of overcoming the evil HR fighting marine layer.  I hope Freese's ability to get on base carries over to the AL and that he can stay healthy.  I'd love to see Conger come into his own a little bit..  I want Trout and Calhoun to just stay the way they are..  I hope Howie keeps hitting and that Aybar never sees the top of the lineup..  I hope Raul Ibanez can fight father time off for one more year, or at least until Cron forces the issue.

 

I'm really looking forward to seeing Cron and Lindsey in AAA -- the interview Cron did with FGs shed light on a things that I was concerned about. I still consider him somewhat suspect, but am less apt to consider him a bust. I would really like to see Lindsey take a big step forward at AAA.  I'm in the minority here, but I think the gap between him and HK is still pretty sizeable -- that being said I think the kid will be a MLB player.  I'm hoping the player known as Toby's brother puts the wood to the doubters and establishes himself as Jewish Calhoun.  As thin as our system is, those three guys could on their own bridge the gap between this team and a future wave of Angels prospects.

 

The AL West looks to be  dogfight.  The A's are the A's and even if they aren't doing well early, Beane will find a way to alter his team if he needs to.  Texas has seen a lot of changes the last couple years, it will be interesting to see how it comes together.  I'm pulling for Fielder so long as he tanks vs the Halos -- nobody should have to deal with what he did last year, he seems like a decent person.  The M's are going to be interesting.  Lots of young guys, lots of potential for breakout seasons, they seem the team most likely to do something really nutty at the deadline if they are close.

 

And in conclusion.  Eff You A-Rod...

Edited February 8, 2014 by Inside Pitch

[Ordos]

Hehe, Jewish Calhoun

[Brent Maguire]

Awesome.

Biggest concern is clearly the back end of the rotation as it stands.

The offense will be the best in baseball IMO. Every player should hit around league average or above(Way above for Trout and Pujols).

This team should win anywhere from 85-93 games, probably somewhere in the high 80's. Hopefully the team has a little more luck this year than in years past.

[Second Base]

Since I'm so confident in the rotation, I'd say my biggest concern is Mike Scioscia's bullpen mismanagement.  I honestly think Burnett's going to be shelved for a long time the Angels will need to find another 7th inning arm and Scioscia will keep sending Jepsen out there and keep paying the price for it and that DDLR will be worn down.  I think the problem solvers to this issue are Fernando Salas' AAA numbers transferring or the Angels rushing Morin, Alvarez & Bedrosian up.

[Chuck]

I'm seriously not worried about going into the season with Santiago, Richards, Skaggs, Mulder and Shoemaker fight it out for the 3 remaining spots in the rotation.

[EDinTUSTIN]

Awesome.

Biggest concern is clearly the back end of the rotation as it stands.

The offense will be the best in baseball IMO. Every player should hit around league average or above(Way above for Trout and Pujols).

This team should win anywhere from 85-93 games, probably somewhere in the high 80's. Hopefully the team has a little more luck this year than in years past.

Winning somewhere in the high 80's doesn't sound Pollyannish to me. That sounds a bit like 3rd place with no October invite.

[Brent Maguire]

Winning somewhere in the high 80's doesn't sound Pollyannish to me. That sounds a bit like 3rd place with no October invite.

High 80's puts them as a potential 2nd wild card winner.

Any amount of luck could push them into low 90's.

[Second Base]

Real life never works like this, but this is what makes sense in my mind (before crashing back down to reality)

 

1. The Angels played poorly against the Astros and won 78 games.  They'll win 3 more games against them this year, so 81 wins.

2. Conger will be even better than last year, one more win, 82.

3. Albert Pujols will be back and healthy, that's worth 3 more wins, so 85.  

4. David Freese is better than Callaspo and Chris Nelson by another couple of games, so 87 wins.

5. Kole Calhoun will be a bit better than Bourjos-Shuck, so 88 wins.

6. Josh hamilton will actually show up to play this year, another two wins, 90.

7. We replaced Trumbo with a 41 year old plantoon bat, -2, so 88.

8. Richards will be better than Williams-2013 Richards, so another 2 wins, 90.

9. Santiago is on par with Vargas.

10. Skaggs is better than Tommy Hanson, another 2 wins, 92.

11. Frieri will be a bit better this season and not crank his ERA up at .383, so another 2 wins, 94.

12. Joe Smith gives us another 2, 96.

 

So yeah, 96 wins....before I wake up and realize it doesn't work like that.

[Inside Pitch]

Winning somewhere in the high 80's doesn't sound Pollyannish to me. That sounds a bit like 3rd place with no October invite.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/coolstandings.aspx

 

There seem to be a lot of teams that are really very close to each other talent wise...

Anything can happen.

Edited February 8, 2014 by Inside Pitch

[Splint7438]

Healthy Albert. Comfortable Josh. A bounce back on defense. Eliminate half the base running mistakes. Don't give Blanton so many starts. Stop being scared of Texas. There were so many aberrations last year that there are so many ways to pick up wins that were losses last year. Think back to last year. How many times did you think " what the **** did I just see"? They found UNBELIEVABLE ways to lose last year. That won't happen this year. Color me Pollyanna!

[Brent Maguire]

Don't forgot playing near .500 ball against the Astros.

There's no reason why the Angels should take at least 12-13 of the games we play against them this year.

[Ohtaniland]

Here's one.....

 

I think Santiago will soon end up being a solid #3 starter and Richards will end up being a good fit at #4.

 

Yes I'm actually in the Pollyanna thread.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Don't forgot playing near .500 ball against the Astros.

There's no reason why the Angels should take at least 12-13 of the games we play against them this year.

 

There wasn't a reason last year, either, but one of the primary differences in the AL West race last year was how the respective teams fared against the Astros. The Rangers were 17-2, the Athletics were 15-4 and we were 9-10.

[Inside Pitch]

Here's one.....

 

I think Santiago will soon end up being a solid #3 starter and Richards will end up being a good fit at #4.

 

Yes I'm actually in the Pollyanna thread.

 

Admit it -- as much as you want to hate them..  Baseball just sucks us in...

[Brent Maguire]

There wasn't a reason last year, either, but one of the primary differences in the AL West race last year was how the respective teams fared against the Astros. The Rangers were 17-2, the Athletics were 15-4 and we were 9-10.

You're right.

I also think this team will play much better in general this year. If they play .500 against the Astros again, it may cost them.

[Ohtaniland]

Admit it -- as much as you want to hate them..  Baseball just sucks us in...

 

Well for me it's love 'em or leave 'em. I can't leave 'em so yes, I'm sucked in.

 

​And I really believe that Santiago and Smith will be a huge help to our pitching staff.

[eligrba]

It is interesting that having a positive and hopeful attitude for your team is Pollyanna.  Shit, shouldn't a fan be positive before the season starts?.

[IEAngelsfan]

I also like this team so I'm on board the Pollyanna train.

[jangel7]

How can a you not be excited about a team with Mike Trout. However to play pollyanna. Don Baylor fixes all our hitters and creates a Kick Butt attitude in the dugout that's been missing for years.

[JAHV76]

I think Don Baylor and Gary Disarcina will have a huge impact on the performance of this team. Better hitting, better base running , and corner defense will increase the number of wins.

Edited February 9, 2014 by JAHV76

[Tank]

It's February 8. We should all feel like Pollyanna at this point. Everyone's healthy and no one has started sucking yet, save for Blanton.

[Docwaukee]

Personally, I think pollyanna is 95 or more wins.  That's if everything goes right.  Which it rarely does. 

 

I think 90 wins is actually realistic.  89 two years ago with a pretty bad back of the rotation and a horrible bullpen. 

Bullpen now still isn't great, but way better than that year.  Weaver was lights out, but Wilson wasn't very good in the second half so front end should hopefully be similar.  Greinke was solid but only made 13 starts.  Haren was below average.  Williams and Richards were very good, and Santana was arguably the worst starter in baseball that year and was allowed to be so for 180ip.  

 

Richards, Skaggs and Santiago are all stuff guys.  Not needing smoke and mirrors, but because of their inexperience, I think we will see mostly solid efforts mixed in with a handful of really bad starts.  I think one of Mulder, Shoemaker, and hopefully not Blanton are going to play a pretty big role this year because of some of those outings.  Still not completely comfortable with that, but I feel a hell of a lot better than last year.   

[Angel Oracle]

Here's one.....

I think Santiago will soon end up being a solid #3 starter and Richards will end up being a good fit at #4.

Yes I'm actually in the Pollyanna thread.

Don't worry Claude, I'm here too. Agree with those two and also think Skaggs can give 150 decent to solid innings, which is why all we need is a utility guy to fill in the remaining 50+ innings plus whatever starts anyone else misses.

[tdawg87]

I predict 92 wins and either the division, or the first wildcard.

 

After that, who knows. It will just be nice to see meaningful baseball being played in September once again.

[wopphil]

This team is loaded with star talent, and I am excited about the season. But that being said, I don't have anywhere close to the expectations I have had the last two years. And that's just fine, because if they suck again, it won't be quite as disappointing.