The good and the bad

[Michifan]

Yes, I know it is one week, but after what had been a productive spring, it was a tough week to swallow. But here is what I see as good and bad FWIW

Good

Trout leading off with a home run against King Felix AGAIN

Of Pujols' only 4 hits, two are doubles and two are home runs

Freese already has 1/5 of the home runs he hit last year.

CJ did have one really good outing

Rucinski looks good--see how he does tonight.

Bullpen generally has looked good sans Salas

 

Bad

Okay, this is a longer list.

Trout already has 6 strike outs

Pujols ONLY has four hits

Cron who was hitting everything in spring looks awful at the plate, and Joyce hasn't looked much better nor Cowgill. 

Mr Hyde version of CJ pitched yesterday. 

Weave isn't sharp. 

Salas

Most surprisingly, Iannetta has been Ianawful in every way at the plate. 10 strikeouts already to lead the team, no walks, and only 1 hit. On the plus side, he did actually throw out a base stealer. 

Angels have yet to swipe a base AND have a SB attempt from Pujols. 

 

I hope the team "turns the page" on this week, gives the Royals a "tip of the cap" and finds a groove. 

[fan_since79]

Excluding Salas, the rest of the bullpen has a 0.00 ERA in 15 innings pitched.

[wopphil]

Cron's troubles surprise me. He dominated spring, and while I realize the competition is harder now, it still is odd that he can't hit a damn thing now.

[wopphil]

Salas has looked like garbage since late last year. I am thinking he won't be on the team very long if he doesn't pull it together soon.

[fan_since79]

Cron's troubles surprise me. He dominated spring, and while I realize the competition is harder now, it still is odd that he can't hit a damn thing now.

Bad case of the nerves?

 

But he was teeing off on AAA pitching during much of the spring.

[Lhalo]

Most surprisingly, Iannetta has been Ianawful in every way at the plate. 10 strikeouts already to lead the team, no walks, and only 1 hit. On the plus side, he did actually throw out a base stealer. 

 

Butera has thrown out 2 base stealers and has just as many hits as Ianawful. (1)

[Michifan]

Butera has thrown out 2 base stealers and has just as many hits as Ianawful. (1)

That's saying something when you're hitting worse than Butera.

[ELEVEN]

Buterrible>>>Iannawful

[Guest]

That's saying something when you're hitting worse than Butera.

People on this board laughed when I said the team would sorely miss Hank Conger. CJ Wilson's ability to obtain called strikes is much worse with Iannetta and we saw the results of that last night

[Angel Oracle]

Which minors reliever would best replace Salas in the pen, if this continues and he needs to go?

[stormngt]

I am not disappointed. 2-4 starts are common for the Angels.

[DMVol]

People on this board laughed when I said the team would sorely miss Hank Conger. CJ Wilson's ability to obtain called strikes is much worse with Iannetta and we saw the results of that last night

Ianetta must have framed his pitches pretty well in Seattle....

[TroutCron]

It was unfortunate that the Angels had to start the season against the 2 best pitching staffs in the league. If the offense still looks the same after this week then it may be time to panic.

CJ seemed more concerned with Hammy than his pitching. He just has never been consistent.

Overall, I am much more concerned about the starting pitching than the offense after one week.

[stormngt]

I am very concerned that CJ will be 2014 version and Weaver actually pitching like his brother sis for the Angels

It was unfortunate that the Angels had to start the season against the 2 best pitching staffs in the league. If the offense still looks the same after this week then it may be time to panic.

CJ seemed more concerned with Hammy than his pitching. He just has never been consistent.

Overall, I am much more concerned about the starting pitching than the offense after one week.

[fan_since79]

A sweep by the Rangers and this board will self-destruct.

 

Ain't gonna happen, though. Shoemaker will right the ship.

[JAHV76]

When is Rasmus scheduled to be back? He could replace Salas.

[WallyWorld]

Keep in mind that of Trout's 6 Ks, 3 came on opening day against a locked-in King Felix. I expect he will cut down on his Ks from a year ago, but he is always going to be a 100+ K guy. People forget that before last year he struck out 139 and 136 times in '12 and '13 respectively, and '12 wasn't even a full season. He's never going to be like Pujols in his prime and K only 50/60 times in a season.

[WallyWorld]

I'll also defend CJ Wilson a little. He wasn't sharp yesterday, but he was also facing a red-hot offense and was let down by his defense somewhat. I think he's going to be OK this year. I'm actually more concerned about Weaver.

[mtangelsfan]

Honestly, it is the lack of speed, team defense and the starting pitching that are of the most concern. 

 

I would have thought we learned our lessons about run prevention two seasons ago.

[nando714]

I'm not worried at all

KC will have the best record in the AL when season is done. 1 win vs them I would have been happy. Being swept doesn't shock me at all. They're (kc) gonna roll through the season

Edited April 13, 2015 by nando714

[Chuck]

I see Bedrosian replacing Salas at some point and Carlos Perez replacing Drew Butera

[stormngt]

Only two were against Felix

Keep in mind that of Trout's 6 Ks, 3 came on opening day against a locked-in King Felix. I expect he will cut down on his Ks from a year ago, but he is always going to be a 100+ K guy. People forget that before last year he struck out 139 and 136 times in '12 and '13 respectively, and '12 wasn't even a full season. He's never going to be like Pujols in his prime and K only 50/60 times in a season.

[Don]

I'm not worried at all

KC will be the best record in the AL when season is out. 1 win vs them I would have been happy. Being swept doesn't shock me at all. They're (kc) gonna roll through the season

Agreed. They were a solid team last year that got hot at the right time. They're a better all around team this year than they were in 2014. I don't know if they'll be THE best team in the AL this year, but I think 90 to 95 wins is very possible.

[Puget Sound Angel]

The first week of the season is always the toughest to remind yourself it's a 162 game season.

[Michifan]

Keep in mind that of Trout's 6 Ks, 3 came on opening day against a locked-in King Felix. I expect he will cut down on his Ks from a year ago, but he is always going to be a 100+ K guy. People forget that before last year he struck out 139 and 136 times in '12 and '13 respectively, and '12 wasn't even a full season. He's never going to be like Pujols in his prime and K only 50/60 times in a season.

Yes, I agree. But my concern is that he abandons that aggressiveness he had in spring training and resorts to taking the first pitch all the time.