How do you fix this team?

[robblin17]

Step 1- Sign The Beard. He will certainly add some character to this team (they need some). I am not sure when he will be ready, but a pen with a healthy Wilson and Madson sure looks a lot better than what we have now. This is all dependent on their health though. Situational Closer by committee.

 

Step 2- Fire Butcher. He has not done anything for this staff. They need a pitching coach that can lead, inspire and light a fire under the but of thie kids and Vets. Percy anyone? I am not sure if he would be interested or good, if not, someone else then.

 

Step 3- Send Eppard back to AAA. I think he is a good coach and teacher, but it seems to me that the entire hitting philosophy is flawed. Maybe this comes from Scioscia. I would love to see Salmon as a batting coach, but I am sure there are other good options.

 

Step 4- Move Trout back to the Lead-off spot and put Hamilton in the two hole. with Trout (and in later innings Bourjos) hopefully on base with the threat to steal and Pujols batting behind him, Hamilton should see more fast balls.

 

Step 5- Put Scioscia on a super short leash and start looking for a new manager just in case.

 

I like all of this. Good call. It is a start. 

[DW711]

Step 1- Sign The Beard. He will certainly add some character to this team (they need some). I am not sure when he will be ready, but a pen with a healthy Wilson and Madson sure looks a lot better than what we have now. This is all dependent on their health though. Situational Closer by committee.

 

Step 2- Fire Butcher. He has not done anything for this staff. They need a pitching coach that can lead, inspire and light a fire under the but of thie kids and Vets. Percy anyone? I am not sure if he would be interested or good, if not, someone else then.

 

Step 3- Send Eppard back to AAA. I think he is a good coach and teacher, but it seems to me that the entire hitting philosophy is flawed. Maybe this comes from Scioscia. I would love to see Salmon as a batting coach, but I am sure there are other good options.

 

Step 4- Move Trout back to the Lead-off spot and put Hamilton in the two hole. with Trout (and in later innings Bourjos) hopefully on base with the threat to steal and Pujols batting behind him, Hamilton should see more fast balls.

 

Step 5- Put Scioscia on a super short leash and start looking for a new manager just in case.

 

Brian Wilson is a freaking idiot.

 

He knows his elbow is hurt in a game at Coors (in April) and what's he do? He stays in.

 

That was his 2nd tommy john and no team wants him.

 

2011 his whip was 1.47 whip and got a ton of calls he shouldn't have.

 

If they're facing a lefty..I wouldn't bat Hamilton higher than 8th.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

To "build around Trout" will take years and I don't believe Angels fans, sponsors, and the companies that hold their television and radio contracts will tolerate a building process that will take seasons to complete. What does need to happen is the Angels need to figure out a way to win with the players they have on the roster now.

I agree but regardless of what fans, sponsors and so on want every team has to rebuild at some point but that point isn't now. Also agree with your second point because while this team has holes they have the talent to compete now. I don't know what the solution is but they need a fire lit under their asses.

[Eric]

I'm going to take a bit of an unorthodox approach to "fixing" this team.  Let's start with the "problems".

 

 

1.  Most of the mistakes we've seen so far this season, and in Spring Training, were mental errors.  Players are thinking too much.

• They are missing fly balls and throws because they are trying to think about the next step (tagging a runner, where to throw, etc.) rather than getting the ball in the glove.
• They are getting thrown out on the basepaths because they are trying to stretch too many bases.
• They are pressing at the plate because they are trying to clear the bases with one swing when they are behind.
• The pitchers are allowing a single hit or walk or error to lead to big innings, rather than focusing on the batter at the plate.

2.  Scouting - Either the scouts themselves are producing bad intel, or the players and management are not properly using the data they are given.  Admittedly, this is a part of the game we, as fans, never see, except for the result.  The Angels themselves are being scouted better or using the scouting better by their opposition and it shows.

 

3.  The players themselves are just not executing.  This is the situation where most of the members on this board are finding themselves concluding that someone needs to be fired, hence all the "Fire So and So" threads and posts.  But the fact is, the onfield management (Scioscia, Butcher, Eppart, etc.) have little to do with on field execution when it comes to the brainfarts the players are making (see mental errors above).  Most of these errors are in the moment errors and not something that a coach can control.

 

So, what are the solutions?

 

First, in order to deal with the mental errors of this club, the Angels need to do a few things.  First of all, they need to relax.  They are pressing themselves too much.  They are feeling the pressure of their own failures and letting that mentally take over.  Forgive me for the analogy, but Baseball is a lot like Poker, mentally, in that there are going to be more little failures in the game than there are going to be successes.  A GOOD baseball player only succeeds less than 1 time out of 3, or just less than twice per game at the plate, like Poker.  A good poker player doesn't take down half of the pots they are in, but rather, they try to minimize their losses in those they lose while maximizing those they win.  The Angels right now are attempting to maximize every situation, thereby maximizing the losses when they come.  This leads to a more small-ball approach, especially with the dreaded RISP.  Instead of going for power in those spots, the Angels hitters need to step back and go for more contact.  Go for the big inning by going for the smaller approach.  Don't keep swinging for the fences when there's 2 RISP and no one out, go for the contact and get at least one of those runners across.

 

Second, and this is a bit more tricky, the Angels need to seriously evaluate their Scouting system, from the advanced scouts they have to the analysis of the information they are receiving.  This is something that the Angels used to be heads and tails above other teams, but have fallen far behind.  It's also something that has plagued this team for close to 5 years, so it's nothing new to this season.  The solution for this is something that I cannot give simply because I don't know where the failure is occurring, but there is most definitely an issue somewhere that is affecting the onfield performance when it comes to execution.

 

And speaking of execution, this where the players themselves need to man up and work on their issues individually.  It's called practice.  Repetition.  This is something that the Angels individually just need to do.  More Pop fly drills.  More situational hitting drills.  More cut off drills.  Right now, the catches are circuslike.  The throws are, well, more wild than on target.  Everyone seems to be trying to get the job done themselves as opposed to relying on their fellow team members.

 

Maybe that's just it.  Maybe this team is not a team yet, but simply 25 guys who happen to wear the same uniform?  The only way to make a team is to trust one another, and maybe the Angels just don't trust each other right now.

 

Ah well, what do I know?  Besides, at this point I expect a 99% "tl:dr" percentage on this post, with a 1% " he's lost his mind" percentage making up the difference.

[ODNight]

Wow. Was a little intimidated by the length, but once I delved in, I couldn't agree more.

[Grigori]

Maybe they could trade for these players:

 

Hunter .405/.419/.476

 

Santana 1.07 WHIP, 3.21 ERA
 
Wells .360/.467/.720

[robblin17]

Maybe they could trade for these players:

 

Hunter .405/.419/.476

 

Santana 1.07 WHIP, 3.21 ERA

 

Wells .360/.467/.720

 

I wonder what Santana could have been with a competent pitching coach that could help him dial in with his issues. He always had the stuff. 

[Grigori]

I wonder what Santana could have been with a competent pitching coach that could help him dial in with his issues. He always had the stuff. 

 

Don't know if he can keep that up, but maybe we'll find out.

[Adam]

The rotation below average with Weaver and is god awful w/o him. Can't fix that.

[tennischmp]

The only way the pitching turns it around is if Richards pitches like an Ace and Madson comes back and pitches lights out.

[dimitrig]

1. Make a mid-season trade for a free-agent-to-be that you are sure you will not be able to resign

 

2. Sign a high-priced free agent on the downside of his career

 

These are the keys to success!

[tj_]

Maybe the players should stop going to the bar after the games?

 

I remember when I saw the Angels play in Kansas City in 2004, John Lackey was partying it up at the Cheesecake Factory bar the night before his start. He gave up like 4 runs the next day.

[HaloRed16]

How do you fix this team?

 

Everyone just shut up for now and let things settle before jumping the schnide, that's how you fix it!!