We've seen this before many times

[Bruce Nye]

The Angels have a poor or so-so April.  May shows a slight improvement.  June to the All Star Game the team gets red hot.

 

So the question is, will the team have its usual after ASB swoon?

[ten ocho recon scout]

No, dipoto is gone. We fixed the problem.

[Mark68]

Not sure Jose could have phrased the thread title any better.

[Blarg]

I've never seen Pujols like this in an Angels uniform.

[floplag]

i still believe we will win the division.. Hou isnt that good yet great start aside. 
You can see them slipping a little and i think we catch them sooner rather than later though i hate the break coming a we are getting close.  id love to catch them this week before the break to not lose momentum.
Pujols has made up  for the lack of offense in other places mostly, but i also dont think he stays this hot all year either... though it wouldnt shock me if he did.
We really need to get something out of LF... it has to happen

[Chimi]

Our June was far from red hot. But we managed to stay close to the Astros and now we're right on their heels. With a little good luck, we could be in first by the ASB.

[Angel Oracle]

What causes the constant slow starts in April and post-ASB?

[Blarg]

The Angels were 6-4 coming out of the all star break last season.

[tomsred]

What causes the constant slow starts in April and post-ASB?

 

 

In April I believe it's because Scioscia experiments with the lineups, he wants to know what what he has on the full roster to work with, and who he can count on to fill what role in the latter part of the season.  The post-ASB break I have no clue.  We all refer to that as being the norm, do we have any real data to back up that claim?  Baseball is so intense for so long, it's unrelenting day after day.  Then the players get three-four days off they probably really relax (except for the All Star guys), then it becomes hard to crank up the intensity level for the first couple of weeks back.  But that probably applies to all teams.

[Mark68]

It's because the players all head to the golf courses or participate in the Home Run Derby and it screws up their swings.

 

 

Duh.

[arch stanton]

I'd prefer that they chase the Astros until about September 15. Keep them infighting shape for October

[tomsred]

The Angels were 6-4 coming out of the all star break last season.

 

There you go, real data.  This year post post-ASB we play Boston for 4, Minnesota for 3 (Minnesota is real good), and Texas for 3.  Those are all home games.  We hate Boston so much it's in our heads and will be real lucky to win 3-4. Minnesota is a toss up, and you would think we are in Texas' head at this point.  You can't ever count on sweeps, it's hard to do for anyone except maybe the Cardinals and the Royals at this point.

[Reveille1984]

Joyce has an .800 OPS in his last 40 games after putting up an abysmal .435 OPS in his first 35 games, which brings down his numbers a lot obviously.

 

I would be fine with Joyce going forward in LF as long as he keeps playing like he has, instead of trading for a plug like Revere.

[tomsred]

Joyce has an .800 OPS in his last 40 games after putting up an abysmal .435 OPS in his first 35 games, which brings down his numbers a lot obviously.

 

I would be fine with Joyce going forward in LF as long as he keeps playing like he has, instead of trading for a plug like Revere.

 

Yep, I'm a big believer is what's happened the last 30 days or so.  Looking at what's happened months ago isn't very relevant when the end of the regular season comes around.  It becomes all about who's been playing well lately.  Baseball will always be geared around full year stats, and they have their place as well in evaluating contribution to success, or failure.  And it will always be that way, it's historic, and the history is so important in baseball.

 

My dream is that someday at a game the scoreboard guys post the stats for the past 30 days on the scoreboard only, like the season started 30 days ago.  That would provoke a lot of thought about that among the crowd.  Or another good one would be to post the WAR for each player over a relatively short period of time.  I go to the Angels website and pull up the last 30 days of stats all the time, it's kind of fun.

 

Last Night's Lineup - Last 30 days

(BA/HR/RBI/OBP)

 

Giovatella  .255/1/11/.290

Calhoun .271/4/21/.307

Trout .344/6/15/.446

Pujols .277/11/27/.393

Aybar .301/1/10/.327

Freese .267/1/5/.368

Joyce .211/1/2/.348

Iannetta .250/1/3/.404

 

A couple of interesting things.  So why are the OBP's of Joyce and Iannetta so high the past 30 days?  Are the pitchers not giving them much in the zone because they think they will swing at bad pitches?  And the OBP of the leadoff guy is the worst on the team, think if Joyce or Iannetta were leading off.  Would we have scored an additional 5-8 runs recently, LOL?

 

Also interesting to note is that in the last 30 days Trout and Pujols have walked 30 times, Iannetta and Joyce have walked 24 times on fewer AB's, the rest of the team would rather hit their way on.

Edited July 8, 2015 by tomsred

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

I've never seen Pujols like this in an Angels uniform.

 

I agree.  Cutest he's ever been.

[DMVol]

It does seem like Groundhog Day....I'd like to see if we really do get hot in late June/early July every year...sure seems like it....

Edited July 8, 2015 by DMVol

[Guest]

In April I believe it's because Scioscia experiments with the lineups, he wants to know what what he has on the full roster to work with, and who he can count on to fill what role in the latter part of the season.  The post-ASB break I have no clue.  We all refer to that as being the norm, do we have any real data to back up that claim?  Baseball is so intense for so long, it's unrelenting day after day.  Then the players get three-four days off they probably really relax (except for the All Star guys), then it becomes hard to crank up the intensity level for the first couple of weeks back.  But that probably applies to all teams.

 

An explanation I've heard from people who follow spring training more closely tahn I do (and who I have no reason to doubt) is that Scioscia and the Angels tend to do less intensive conditioning and workouts in spring compared to other teams. This isn't so much out of laziness or neglect as a philosophical decision that Scioscia would rather have players not peak too early, and have them be less worn out at the end of a long season. Basically sacrificing some performance early in the season for a chance at being in better shape during the postseason. 

 

The problem with that approach is there is a risk of narrowly missing the postseason because of doing poorly in April. That strategy made sense when the AL West had no competition, and when the Wild Card meant a ticket to a real postseason series. Now that the season is all or nothing the strategy should be adjusted.

Edited July 8, 2015 by ScottLux

[Homebrewer]

^^^

Not working very well...Scioscia's Angels are 10-22 in the post season since 2002.

[arch stanton]

32 post season games? Not bad

[UndertheHalo]

the issue is consistency with the bats, even last year it was a problem.  Its cause we have guys like Aybar and Freese up and down the line up.  Super hot or worthless.

[Homebrewer]

"32 post season games? Not bad"

Not bad? Could be worse I guess, but the under .300 record in them...is bad.

Maybe some attention to scouting reports and metrics.. and a willingness to implement them might have helped, ya think?

Not to mention the stubbornness he shows to "Do things like I've always done them", instead of thinking of the playoffs like something that calls for something a little different...might have helped win at least a few more.

[ELEVEN]

Squeeze bunting the pennant away with Aybar was "different".

[Homebrewer]

"Squeeze bunting the pennant away with Aybar was "different".

NOT for Mike Scioscia.