Angels Official Website: Wilson sees a more disciplined Angels camp

[AngelsWin.com]

The Angels have now gone four years without making the playoffs and they're coming off an uncompetitive 84-loss season. C.J. Wilson believes that's creating a sense of urgency at Spring Training.

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[Angel Oracle]

Good to see!

[WallyWorld]

why hasn't there been a sense of urgency in the past?  

[Blarg]

They were too blessed to be stressed.

[tdawg87]

There it is!

[fan_since79]

Does that mean Butcher won't be sleeping like a baby anymore?

[tdawg87]

Does that mean Butcher won't be sleeping like a baby anymore?

 

I always thought that was a stupid comment. Do babies ever sleep through the night with no problems? It seems like they always wake up screaming at some point. Maybe Butcher was actually saying he would wake up screaming and wanting his baba in the middle of the night because he was so upset with his performance as a coach.

[HaloFan85]

Urgency and pressure go hand in hand and could lead to more hitters pressing at the plate or pitchers nibbling at the corners.

 

This could be a good thing or a bad thing depending how you look at it.  It'll ultimately come down to how they handle this sense of urgency especially if things start off bad.

[mtangelsfan]

Words in ST mean nothing.  Just like somebody being "in the best shape of their career".

 

I won't be encouraged and I won't be pissed.

[tdawg87]

I expect AT LEAST 14 wins by May 1st. No more slow starts to the season!

 

Stop it, just STOP it!

[Adam]

Trout is using reduced fat ranch dressing? 

[fan_since79]

If we have a bad first two weeks, this place will go nuts.

 

Just hoping to get through April with a better than .500 record.

[jshep]

But the 2002 team started the season 6-14!

[Hubs]

I expect AT LEAST 14 wins by May 1st. No more slow starts to the season!

 

Stop it, just STOP it!

 

They open with the Mariners for three, then at the Astros for four, then at the M's for two. Then the Mets at home for three.

 

If they don't go 8-4 in those games (or better) I'm going to be disappointed. Thats four teams that won an average of just over 65 games last season.

 

Then they host Oakland, go on a 9 game east coast swing in Detroit, Washington, and New York…That's gonna be a tough 12 game stretch. Even though the Angels dominated Detroit last year, and Washington and New York had subpar years, 6-6 here would be a good stretch.

 

That would make them 14-10 after 24 games.

 

The East coast trip is followed by a 9 game home stand against the Indians, Rangers and Yankees.  Again, pretty tough. It's at home though, so you have to hope for 5-4 or 6-3.

 

Follow that with four in Toronto, two in Philadelphia and then four against Tampa and three against Houston at home. Toronto struggled last year, as did the Phillies, but hoping for a 4-2 record on that trip. Follow that with a split at Tampa and a sweep of Houston and you've got 9-4, but really, 8-5 would be great.

 

They finish May with three against the Royals and then four against the Mariners in Seattle, three games against Oakland (last is on June 1). 5-5? 6-4? 

 

After two months of ball, you've got a 32-24 record? I'd be really happy with that. 

 

The rest of the first half features 19 home games against the White Sox, A's, Rangers, and Twins in June and the Astros and Blue Jays in July.

 

They go on the road against the Astros, Braves, Indians, Royals and White Sox and Rangers for 23. If they can just go 23-19 in this stretch, they'd enter the all Star Break at 55-43. I'd be really happy with that.

 

Though the faced some good teams in the first half, the second half schedule is noticeably more difficult, with 10 against the Rangers and 10 against the A's. Add in 7 against the Red Sox, 7 against the Orioles, three on Tampa in the road and 4 against the Dodgers. That's 44 games against teams that made the playoffs in 2012 or 2013 and only 20 against teams like the Astros, Mariners, Twins, Phillies, and Marlins. If they just went .500 post all-star break, they'd finish at 87 wins. That won't make the playoffs. 

 

Unluckily, only 7 of the 20 games against the A's and Rangers are at home so they'll have to win some tough road games. 

 

So their first two months are extremely important. Here's hoping for a hot start.

[CaliAngel]

If we have a bad first two weeks, this place will go nuts.

 

I'm not going to go nuts until July, by then we will have an idea of this teams abilities, and whether or not this is just another season to flush down the toilet.

[IEAngelsfan]

I always thought that was a stupid comment. Do babies ever sleep through the night with no problems? It seems like they always wake up screaming at some point. Maybe Butcher was actually saying he would wake up screaming and wanting his baba in the middle of the night because he was so upset with his performance as a coach.

Not only that, but babies crap in their diapers all the time.

[halonatic13]

I always thought that was a stupid comment. Do babies ever sleep through the night with no problems? It seems like they always wake up screaming at some point. Maybe Butcher was actually saying he would wake up screaming and wanting his baba in the middle of the night because he was so upset with his performance as a coach.

You have kids tdawg?

[Stradling]

I'm not going to go nuts until July, by then we will have an idea of this teams abilities, and whether or not this is just another season to flush down the toilet.

Cali, you aren't fooling anyone with the, "I won't go nuts until July" comment. You will go nuts within the first three games, unless of course we somehow win the first three games all in blowouts. It is how you have been since you started posting here. You aren't as bad as some, but I would say being critical and at times a little over-reactive would describe you pretty well, just like I would be characterized as being polyana and an apologist.

[Blarg]

Nutswinger.

[Mauch Won]

Anyone read the section on instant replay? This caught my eye.

"Teams are allowed to have a club employee monitoring video throughout the game to determine which plays are worth reviewing. One candidate for the Angels is Nick Francona, son of Indians manager Terry Francona, who was commander for a sniper battalion in Afghanistan and was brought in as coordinator of Major League player information."

Tito's son is a badass.

[JAHV76]

It's official they have turned the page on 2013.

[Brent Maguire]

It would be a welcomed sight if the Angels actually finished above .500 in April this year.

A good start could really help propel this team into the playoffs

[Ohtaniland]

So with all this new urgency to get off to a great start in Tempe. If we start something like 12-3 will the annual @ngelswin "relax guy's its only spring training" still apply?

[AngelsAndRamsFan]

So with all this new urgency to get off to a great start in Tempe. If we start something like 12-3 will the annual @ngelswin "relax guy's its only spring training" still apply?

Of course. It goes both ways. If the Angels start ST 3-12, the attitude should still be "relax guys, it's only ST". 

[ten ocho recon scout]

Anyone read the section on instant replay? This caught my eye.

"Teams are allowed to have a club employee monitoring video throughout the game to determine which plays are worth reviewing. One candidate for the Angels is Nick Francona, son of Indians manager Terry Francona, who was commander for a sniper battalion in Afghanistan and was brought in as coordinator of Major League player information."

Tito's son is a badass.

I like it.

'Hey blue. The sniper that works for us....whos SOMEWHERE in this crowd...didnt like that last call.....'