Erick Aybar Leadoff

[Lou]

remember when Aybar went on that hitting streak?

last 15 games:

.183 BA

.231 obp

.200 slg

.431 ops

he is now 2 for his last 27 (.074)

[Lou]

batting leadoff:

.213/.260/.265/.525

sweet

Edited June 17, 2015 by Lou

[Blarg]

Not to repeat myself too much but... enough of this bullshit!

[stormngt]

To answer your question: there is a big difference between wanting to win a championship every year and viewing that a successful season is only when you winning the championship.

Every competitor wants to win the championship. Every true competitor is disappointed when they don't win championship. That is given.

what is idiotic is viewing your season a failure if you don't win the championship. It's people with that mentality i feel sorry for.

if that is the mentality your should support steroid users and the mentality "if your not cheating your not trying". After all in that mentality all that matters if you win.

People with that mentality are probably the type of parents who would have their 12 year old son play in a 10 year old and younger league. Or in the case of Chicago deny players from making a little league all star team because they imported ringers from a divergent district.

Why are people idiots for wanting/expecting to win a championship every year?

And why do you feel sorry? If it is not about winning, then what is it about? I could say I feel sorry that you're happy being a participant in the playoffs, but that is your deal. I do not care. If it makes you feel better that the division was a consolation prize then good for you, but some people expect more. Winning the division was exciting, but it really did not mean much in the grand scheme of things. No one is going to remember the 2014 Angels and how great of a division winner they were or that they won 98 games.

I am not saying the Angels need to win a championship every season, obviously, but having expectations to seriously compete for a championship should be the norm. That's the message the players and FO send to the fans, so when that is not happening, which it is not, of course fans are going to be disappointed. Winners expect to win every year and losers are okay with anything less than a championship. It is what it is.

[stormngt]

Do you really believe a playoff team had a mediocre season?

That's exactly what the Angels were in the playoffs last year: a participant. The players probably all got "participant" ribbons, which is about what they deserved.

I, too, want to win championships. Sometimes that is impossible, like during rebuilding periods. Sometimes a team has to be stripped down before it can be rebuilt into a championship contender.

I'm not saying that is where this team is, but I certainly don't want year after year of mediocrity, which is what we've been seeing despite last year's exception (and early bounce from the postseason).

[stormngt]

I would be shocked if anyone on the team last year feels the season was a failure. There is no doubt they would feel it had a disappointing ending but they would not say the season as a whole was a failure.

that is where so many are missing the boat.

I was talking about the current Angels' team. There can also be different levels of failure, too. Losing in the WS would be less of a failure but could still be seen as a pretty successful season, albeit missing the goal. I would trade 98 wins and a division title for sneaking in as a WC if it meant actually making a legitimate run at it. That's what it is all about.

This team's goal, I would assume, is to win a championship. I'd be shocked if any player said last year was not a failure, so why is it stupid for fans to have those same expectations? As a fan, I want my team to see last year as a failure. That's what will help make them even hungrier to win.

[robblin17]

To answer your question: there is a big difference between wanting to win a championship every year and viewing that a successful season is only when you winning the championship.

Every competitor wants to win the championship. Every true competitor is disappointed when they don't win championship. That is given.

what is idiotic is viewing your season a failure if you don't win the championship. It's people with that mentality i feel sorry for.

if that is the mentality your should support steroid users and the mentality "if your not cheating your not trying". After all in that mentality all that matters if you win.

People with that mentality are probably the type of parents who would have their 12 year old son play in a 10 year old and younger league. Or in the case of Chicago deny players from making a little league all star team because they imported ringers from a divergent district.

 

 

Do you feel sorry for the Angels since they probably viewed last season as a failure, team wise? And WTF does this have to do with steroids? HAHAHAHA! Winning and cheating are not synonymous. 

 

Your last point is ridiculous. Those people have no ability to decipher that one is Major League Baseball and the other is rec league baseball. Big difference. One can have that mentality while also not being like the people you mentioned. They do not go hand in hand. 

[robblin17]

I would be shocked if anyone on the team last year feels the season was a failure. There is no doubt they would feel it had a disappointing ending but they would not say the season as a whole was a failure.

that is where so many are missing the boat.

 

 

Really? If that's the case, we have some sad competitors in that dugout.

 

I'm sure Arte, Trout, and Pujols looked at it like, "Well, we won 98 games but got our asses handed to us in the playoffs! Oh well, what a year!" 

[mulwin444]

I always find it fascinating that someone who has never been close to being on a championship team knows the correct and proper mentality to be a champion.  Due tell - do you have literature I can subscribe to?  A twitter handle I can follow?

[QuinlansMinion]

Really? If that's the case, we have some sad competitors in that dugout.

 

I'm sure Arte, Trout, and Pujols looked at it like, "Well, we won 98 games but got our asses handed to us in the playoffs! Oh well, what a year!" 

Haha dont bother with that guy, he doesnt get it.  You are absolutely right in this aspect, Trout said it himself.

 

"With this team (it's) to win a championship. Anything less than that is a failure," Trout said

 

So glad the face of this franchise doesnt have the sad participation ribbons mentality as most Angels fans.  

[Angel Oracle]

Back on topic, how soon before Giovatella is tried in the leadoff spot, given his OBP being some 30-35 pts. higher than Aybar's?

Giovatella

Calhoun

Trout

Pujols

Freese

Aybar

Perez/Iannetta

DH Du Jour

LF Du Jour

[robblin17]

I always find it fascinating that someone who has never been close to being on a championship team knows the correct and proper mentality to be a champion.  Due tell - do you have literature I can subscribe to?  A twitter handle I can follow?

 

Was this directed at me?

[shellback]

remember when aybar called for that pop fly, lost it and it bounced off his head?

[AngelArcher]

I could've sworn Aybar was on a hot streak prior to being moved into the leadoff. Made sense to move him there to try and kick start the offense, but not only has it not worked or ever worked, it has backfired and put Aybar into a slump. Scioscia is only compounding the problem by keeping him there.

[Mark68]

We need to end this ****ing experiment now. It is not working, Aybar leading off has NEVER worked, we have no reason to think it will work now.

[robblin17]

We need to end this ****ing experiment now. It is not working, Aybar leading off has NEVER worked, we have no reason to think it will work now.

Dipoto needs to get off of his ass NOW and swing a deal too. If he does not want to/can't then we should just stand pat and be sellers at the TDL.

The scariest part about all of this is we are a .500 team and have not made up any ground with Pujols hitting the way he has been. Imagine if he regresses, which from what we have seen the past few years is probably more likely than not. Where would we be then!?