Buster Olney on ESPN Radio just now...

[Greenbaumer]

Was on SVP and Rusillo talking about teams that may be better than advertised and the other side. Said scouts at Angels games are concerned with starting pitching. Obviously not breaking news but it hasn't been pretty this spring. Weaver looked great last night but should we be worried? I don't feel worried, yet.

[Brent Maguire]

Hanson is really the only guy I'm really concerned with. I think we know what we'll get from the other 4 guys. I think Hanson could completely blow up or surprise us. I have no idea how his season will go. 

[Bob Trop]

I am maybe more worried about the pen. Can the Angels hold a lead after 5-6 innings?

Of course with Hanson and Blanton will we be in the game after 5 or 6 innings.

[WallyWorld]

I'm MUCH more concerned about the bullpen than I am the starters, but I think it's silly to make any sort of judgment until the games start for real.  

 

I like Olney, but he and his colleagues are desperate for stuff to talk about at this point in the spring and are just speculating for the sake of speculating.

[Chuck]

Just the pen, not starting pitching.

The same people last year said the staff was one of the best in the league going into the season.

Vargas/Blanton/Hanson will do much better than what we got from Haren/Santana and the #5 spot.

[nando714]

This sounds weird but Blanton will have the best yr out of our 3 SP acquisitions we got in the off season

[Greenbaumer]

This sounds weird but Blanton will have the best yr out of our 3 SP acquisitions we got in the off season

I see Vargas having the best year. Will be interesting either way.

[Schildog]

i'll say it. i hate the starting pitching. 

[Angel Oracle]

Weaver:  The usual, an ideal ace

Wilson:  If he would trust his d_mn stuff and stop nibbling, he would be a true #2.

Vargas:  A solid #4 and a decent #3

Blanton:  Based on past, he's Blantana and will allow 35 HRs.   Based on ST, "maybe" a solid #4?

Hanson:  Will he even make say 25 starts, with his recent health history?

 

 

Madson:  Maybe ready by May 1, but how long to round into form?

Frieri:  Struggling with the newly added pitch in ST, will he ever find enough command?

Jepsen:  Will 2nd half of 2012 be like 2nd half of 2009, a fluke?   Or is he finally here to stay?

Burnett:  Can he stay healthy?

Richards:  Can he find any kind of consistency in the pen?

Williams: Solid utility pitcher, when on; when not on, not very good.

Lowe:  Decent stats since 2009, but also injury prone since 2010.

 

 

This pitching staff has a TON of question marks!

[Eric]

Everyone knew coming into this season that Starting Pitching would be an issue, however, as always happens, "Hope Springs Eternal" and people tend to want to overlook the deficits.

 

The fact, and I do mean FACT, is that the Angels have a vast chasm of a dropoff in their rotation when you get past Weaver and even Vargas.  The only way the Angels become competative this season is if Wilson and Blanton have career years, and that's a lot to ask.

 

As someone else said in another thread on this board, the 2013 Angels look eerily similar to the way that the early and mid-2000 Texas Rangers looked.  All bats and one or two arms.

 

Expect a lot of high scoring affairs at Angel Stadium this year, for good or for ill.

[rc4halos]

The starting pitching should be ok. Middle of the pack, probably. The issue is the BP. This team was built to be offensive (literally and unfortunately, figuratively). Most nights it will score runs. In that regard we should be fine with the SP keeping us in the game. The problem is we don't have any shutdown reliever(s) at this point. We have some potential but thus far no one is stepping up. We don't have complete game type pitchers so the BP is critical.

[Jason]

As of today, not many positive things to say about anyone in the pen. The roles will probably change on a day to day basis depending on performance so consistency will be a problem. I know ST stats are meaningless but seeing the performance from ALL of them is a little concerning. I do not see this pitching staff as "championship" caliber.

[Angel Oracle]

Better analogy = 1979 Halos

Tons of runs scored, tons of runs allowed when the 4th and 5th starters pitch, and a so-so number of runs allowed when Wilson and Vargas pitch.

[Angel Oracle]

I hope a couple of these surprises in the pen in ST turn out to be the real deal.

[WallyWorld]

 The only way the Angels become competative this season is if Wilson and Blanton have career years, and that's a lot to ask.

 

Give me a break.  That's not even remotely true.  Then again, you misspelled competitive, so what does one expect.

[TroutField]

Weaver: The usual, an ideal ace

Wilson: If he would trust his d_mn stuff and stop nibbling, he would be a true #2.

Vargas: A solid #4 and a decent #3

Blanton: Based on past, he's Blantana and will allow 35 HRs. Based on ST, "maybe" a solid #4?

Hanson: Will he even make say 25 starts, with his recent health history?

Madson: Maybe ready by May 1, but how long to round into form?

Frieri: Struggling with the newly added pitch in ST, will he ever find enough command?

Jepsen: Will 2nd half of 2012 be like 2nd half of 2009, a fluke? Or is he finally here to stay?

Burnett: Can he stay healthy?

Richards: Can he find any kind of consistency in the pen?

Williams: Solid utility pitcher, when on; when not on, not very good.

This pitching staff has a TON of question marks!

You can go through any team's staff and nitpick and look at the negatives in every player.

[WallyWorld]

Weaver:  The usual, an ideal ace

Wilson:  If he would trust his d_mn stuff and stop nibbling, he would be a true #2.

Vargas:  A solid #4 and a decent #3

Blanton:  Based on past, he's Blantana and will allow 35 HRs.   Based on ST, "maybe" a solid #4?

Hanson:  Will he even make say 25 starts, with his recent health history?

 

Madson:  Maybe ready by May 1, but how long to round into form?

Frieri:  Struggling with the newly added pitch in ST, will he ever find enough command?

Jepsen:  Will 2nd half of 2012 be like 2nd half of 2009, a fluke?   Or is he finally here to stay?

Burnett:  Can he stay healthy?

Richards:  Can he find any kind of consistency in the pen?

Williams: Solid utility pitcher, when on; when not on, not very good.

 

This pitching staff has a TON of question marks!

 

With Wilson, I don't think it's a matter of not trusting his stuff.  I think his command is really that shaky.

 

Also, you forgot Downs in the BP.  For 2011 and the first half of 2012, he was our best and most important RP.  He looks lost this spring, and if that's the case, that's a huge blow to the pen.

[HaloFan85]

With how they've been struggling in spring, I think they open with 12 pitchers for sure.

[mrwicked]

im ok with it now but come playoff time our rotation is not going to strike fear in anyone.

my friends up here say: "great offseason for your angels. great bats but with those starters you get the pleasure of being the latest team to lose to the giants in the world series."

and its hard to not agree with them.

[xboom28x]

I'm more worried about Wilson than any other SP on the staff. If he doesn't pitch like a #2SP then we are screwed.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

The starting pitching should be ok. Middle of the pack, probably. The issue is the BP. This team was built to be offensive (literally and unfortunately, figuratively). Most nights it will score runs. In that regard we should be fine with the SP keeping us in the game. The problem is we don't have any shutdown reliever(s) at this point. We have some potential but thus far no one is stepping up. We don't have complete game type pitchers so the BP is critical.

 

I don't want any repeats of the series at Texas last year, when we scored 23 runs in two games and lost them both.

[AngelsLakersFan]

The pitching is a real role of the dice this season. Make no question, DiPoto was pinching pennies and crossing his fingers that the defense does what he expects, and the marine layer sticks around throughout the season. 

 

My real fear is that there is no shut down reliever on this team. There is no ace in the pen and a huge lack of depth. In years past I've been concerned with counting on certain guys in the pen to throw more innings than they reasonably could - this years the issue is getting solid innings out of guys who are not great bets to deliver. 

 

Frieri might be good, but he was figured out by the end of the season. He needs to learn how to throw his two seamer for strikes or he wont cut it. Downs, huge platoon split of late, and terrible the last half season. Madson, hasn't pitched in a year, who knows what we'll get. Can Jepsen repeat last year, or was it just a fluke? Burnett is the only guy with a reasonable track record, but not really a bullpen corner stone. That is the heart of the pen right there, and I'd bet only half of them really deliver this season.

[Angel Oracle]

I did forget Downs, partly out of his crappy 2nd half of 2012 and partly because the guy is so injury prone now.

I'm glad this is his final season under contract.   Dude now looks like Speier did, when we released him.

[TobiasFunke]

i'll say it. i hate the starting pitching. 

Co-signed.

 

Wilson is going to have a horrendous year as our "#2"

[laagamer]

Have we played any meaningful baseball yet?

 

Then what is there to be worried about? Hell, the Astros are just as good as any other team in the league at this point in the season.