The 2015 Angels are not a 98 win team.........

[Bruce Nye]

My "theory: is that neither one will perform up to expectations. They're spent. 

[Docwaukee]

MS won't take Wilson out of the rotation.  If he struggling, he'll get an 'injury' and be sent on a rehab stint to figure it out.  

 

I agree that strong performances from Wilson and Hamilton make this team the clear favorite to win the division.  If they don't do well, I think the halos are still the favorite but if any one of the other teams came on and had a good year it wouldn't surprise me.  Including the Astros.  

[Stradling]

What we did well last year is grind out wins and our pen kept us in games after the first couple of months. So not only did we have a lot of talent, but we were grinders as well. That is what we will need to do this year again, especially if Hamilton can't be counted on. I hope Scioscia just bats the guy 6th or 7th, and take pressure off of him and see if he can get some of his swagger back. With the Hamilton we saw early last year, we are a completely different team. We can only hope.

[Stradling]

MS won't take Wilson out of the rotation. If he struggling, he'll get an 'injury' and be sent on a rehab stint to figure it out.

Same thing

[Spirit]

I'm still chuckling at 98 soft wins.

[ten ocho recon scout]

I have no idea how many games they will win, however to say a lot of things went right only tells half the story. Sure Calhoun had his best season, Cowgill played well in Hamilton's absence, Shoemaker pitched great all year as did Richards, but let's look at what went wrong. Hamilton and Wilson were just plain awful. Santiago had to be taken out of the rotation. Richards and Skaggs were hurt and didn't finish the season. Freese was not good in the first half and we were hoping Ian Frickin' Stewart would help us at third. The bullpen the first six weeks or so was as bad as it gets. Hamilton spent a couple months on the DL. Albert played decent but not great, and Trout led the world in K's, and arguably had his worst season to date. Not to mention we finished the last month of the season having "bullpen" games every fifth day. So to say a lot of things went right is true, but the exact opposite article or post could be written, "Considering all the things that went wrong this past year, we could easily win 98 games this year". All that being said I expect 90-95 wins because, baseball.

I feel its disrespectful to not give ernesto his due here.

[Stradling]

I feel its disrespectful to not give ernesto his due here.

Bullpen = Ernesto

[ten ocho recon scout]

Bullpen = Ernesto

Yeah, but.... thats like saying offense and not mentioning trout by name. Ernie was his own spin off sitcom.

[Stradling]

I'm still chuckling at 98 soft wins.

Yea, it is tough to take Scotty seriously when he says stuff like this or early in the off season when he said Weaver was a fourth or fifth starter. When I read that stuff I struggle to take his opinions on our minor leagues seriously.

[Stradling]

Yeah, but.... thats like saying offense and not mentioning trout by name. Ernie was his own spin off sitcom.

Would you feel better if I edited it and mentioned him by name? If so I better go in and mention the emergence of Navaro, since he helped us win a few games last year.

[Troll Daddy]

My "theory: is that neither one will perform up to expectations. They're spent.

I felt the same way last night .., don't now.

[Stradling]

I felt the same way last night .., don't now.

That explains a lot.

[Ohtaniland]

I'm still chuckling at 98 soft wins.

 

We won 27 1-Run games last season so a lot of good things went our way. 

[Stradling]

We won 27 1-Run games last season so a lot of good things went our way.

Yes, we grinded out some wins.

[Troll Daddy]

Hamilton's perception of not caring, loner, clubhouse house caner, and not giving 100% is f•••ed up around here.

Sorry

Edited January 11, 2015 by Troll Daddy

[Docwaukee]

maybe I am in the minority, but I took Scotty's 'soft 98 wins' comment to mean that there was actually room for improvement and that several players could improve from the previous year.  I think it was a poor way to say it, but I'm pretty sure that's what he meant.  

 

his minor league assessments are very fair and rooted in a lot more information specifically about the halos than most other sites outside of AW.  They aren't totally impartial of course because how could they be. Prospect analysis and prediction is among the most difficult thing to do in all of baseball and I feel like he is completely off base about those in the halos system much less often than others who actually get paid to analyze them.  

 

Plus, its an opinion and it creates a nice platform for discussion.  

[Angelsjunky]

I agree and disagree, the 98 wins were a soft 98. But what are the chances Trout is better? Hamilton? Calhoun? Joyce/Cron? Freese?

I feel like all the guys I just listed are going to be better than they were last year. I get the feeling Weav will take a step back, Wilson will crap the bed and be dealt, but I also think Santiago will be better and Heaney and Tropeano will be at least as good as Skaggs last year.

The bullpen will be better. A full year of Street plus no Frieri offsets the loss of Jepsen. Morin will be great, Pestano will make a huge difference, and if things shake out the way I think they will, the bullpen will likely have two good lefties in Cesar Ramos and Hector Santiago.

No predictions on how many they'll win, except to say I think they'll repeat as AL West champions.

 

I basically could have written this exact same post. All of the players that you listed would improve and do worse, I agree with. I think Trout's BA will come back up and he'll hit something like .300/.400/.570 with 35 HR and 25 SB, that Calhoun will thrive in a full season and hit .280/.340/.460 with 20 HR. I even think Freese could improve a bit, maybe hit .270/.340/.420 with 15 HR. Angels fans are allowed to be a bit myopic too.

 

That said, I'm a bit dubious about Cron. I think he needs regular at-bats but am not sure the Angels will give that to him in 2015. I'm really cheering for Jered, but the trajectory is clear. At some point his ERA is going to slip over 4.00 and will stay there. 2015 might be the year; if not then, then 2016. Wilson, who knows. I think he'll bounce back but still be erratic and not as good as 2012-13. I'm worried that we'll see regression from Richards and Shoemaker.

 

All things tolled, though, I'm feeling quite optimistic.

[Ohtaniland]

Yes, we grinded out some wins.

 

Which is the reason I started this thread. We can't count on 98 wins just because we did it last season. We have a lot of question marks going into this season and we might stumble a few times. Pujols, Hamilton, Wilson, Heaney, Santiago, Pestano, Richards, Rutledge and Tropeano will all have a lot to say about the 2015 season. I think we will win the division and be better prepared for the post season.

[Docwaukee]

We won 27 1-Run games last season so a lot of good things went our way. 

I think the way you have presented this is a little disigenuous.  

 

We were 27-22 so we were about 2 games better than what is statistically most likely.  So not a huge outlier. And with our pen we should be better in one run games than most teams.  It's a competitive advantage we have established.  

 

One run games are not completely random.  

[Stradling]

Which is the reason I started this thread. We can't count on 98 wins just because we did it last season. We have a lot of question marks going into this season and we might stumble a few times. Pujols, Hamilton, Wilson, Heaney, Santiago, Pestano, Richards, Rutledge and Tropeano will all have a lot to say about the 2015 season. I think we will win the division and be better prepared for the post season.

I completely agree with you that we probably won't win 98 games, just don't agree that a lot of things went right. There hasn't been a team in history to win 98 games where you couldn't say that. In a sense it is discrediting what they accomplished. But I do completely agree that we could even play better this year, with more players contributing and still not win 98 games.

[Troll Daddy]

I always find it somewhat interesting that most of you have more confidence in unproven prospects with no success at the ML level .,. than you do with proven vets with great past success at the ML level. It's not like thest guys are in their late thirties.

I can't wait to see how next season pans out. My money is on the vets. I'm also excited to see how the prospects develop into ML players.

Edited January 11, 2015 by Troll Daddy

[Ohtaniland]

I think the way you have presented this is a little disigenuous.  

 

We were 27-22 so we were about 2 games better than what is statistically most likely.  So not a huge outlier. And with our pen we should be better in one run games than most teams.  It's a competitive advantage we have established.  

 

One run games are not completely random.  

 

Well here's my point....In 2014 we were on the "plus win" side in all Day games, Night games, Grass games, Turf games, 1-Run games and XTRA games. That's a tough act to follow so I'm expecting a few less wins but we will be watching better Angels baseball overall in 2015.

[Stradling]

I always find it somewhat interesting that most of you have more confidence in unproven prospects with no success at the ML level .,. than you do with proven vets with great past success at the ML level. It's not like thest guys are in their late thirties.

I can't wait to see how next season pans out. My money is on the vets. I'm also excited to see how the prospects develope into ML players.

You act like Hamilton has been anything but disappointing. If he is a .270 hitter with a .330 OBP and he hits 25 homers, then that is great, but that is what we are "HOPING" for, rather than expecting that. Wilson, I have a lot more faith in that he is better than he was last year.

[Troll Daddy]

You act like Hamilton has been anything but disappointing. If he is a .270 hitter with a .330 OBP and he hits 25 homers, then that is great, but that is what we are "HOPING" for, rather than expecting that. Wilson, I have a lot more faith in that he is better than he was last year.

When did I say that Hamilton hasn't been disappointing?

[ten ocho recon scout]

Would you feel better if I edited it and mentioned him by name? If so I better go in and mention the emergence of Navaro, since he helped us win a few games last year.

Yes. Ernie deserves almost his own thread.