Do you blame starters or relievers (season, not this game)

[Lou E Ville]

Did we simply have too many schmoes in the bullpen like Morin and Bedrosian, or was our entire bullpen worn down at season's end because we had a below average rotation?

 

Discuss

[NJHalo]

Starters

Especially Skaggs

[seenoevil]

Jerry had the BP rocking last  year, to bad he was fired

[FabulousFabregas]

Relievers.  I didn't trust anybody in this last week outside of Joe Smith.

[tdawg87]

Both.

[halomatt]

Why assign blame?  The Angels are a good, but flawed team.  Lots of things need to happen to produce a champion. Generally, health and luck are a part of the equation. 

[Glen]

I blame deez nutz

[Guest]

I blame Harry Dickoto

[Lou E Ville]

The only reason to assign blame is so you can fix what's broken for next year.

 

The rotation and bullpen go hand in hand. If your starters don't make it to the seventh more often than not, every flaw in your bullpen gets exposed.

[AngelsFanSince86]

Angels were 6th in the AL in SP ERA, 8th in RP, and 6th in overall ERA.  The offense taking until September to actually start clicking is who is to blame.  Being 12th in runs scored and 14th in OPS in the AL is the biggest reason.  Both SP and RP need improvement, but they aren't the major reason for the Angels weak season.

[AngelsLakersFan]

There really aren't any strengths on this team... aside from Mike Trout.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Not scoring runs was the biggest problem. It severely restricted the margin for error for the pitching staff, which led to a number of other problems. When pitchers have no confidence in their team picking them up, it changes the way that they pitch.

Edited October 4, 2015 by Vegas Halo Fan

[DEVLBAT]

I think the Angels need a legitimate number one starter and additional bullpen depth.

Offense was the biggest problem. It always felt like they had to claw out every single run. You can't depend on one player to carry the team throughout the entire season.

They have some problems to fix this offseason though. That's for sure.

[tdawg87]

Boy IP is gonna have a field day with this thread.

[Inside Pitch]

Angels were 6th in the AL in SP ERA, 8th in RP, and 6th in overall ERA.  The offense taking until September to actually start clicking is who is to blame.  Being 12th in runs scored and 14th in OPS in the AL is the biggest reason.  Both SP and RP need improvement, but they aren't the major reason for the Angels weak season.

 

Going into game 162....

 

Offense - 98 OPS+

Pitching - 96 ERA+

 

They couldn't hit or bat well but don't let the fact that they play in a pitcher's park blind you..   As bad as the offense was, it actually outperformed the pitching staff.

 

  

 

Boy IP is gonna have a field day with this thread.

 

 

LOL!   

Edited October 4, 2015 by Inside Pitch

[Homebrewer]

I blame "lasagna breath" for everything, but thanks for asking.

[tomsred]

I blame the "tweeners", you know the guys who pitch between the starters and the set up guy.  I also blame the "settlers", you know the guys who sit on the bench most of the time, then come in to screw up when necessary.

[AngelsLakersFan]

They should try and focus on bringing in quality defensive players that can hit a little bit. There is no way to overhaul a whole pitching staff, and there is no way to turn this into a power house offense. Focus on defense and try to get better offensively where possible.

[AngelsFanSince86]

Going into game 162....

 

Offense - 98 OPS+

Pitching - 96 ERA+

 

They couldn't hit or bat well but don't let the fact that they play in a pitcher's park blind you..   As bad as the offense was, it actually outperformed the pitching staff.

 

 

Touche.  It was basically a wash though.  Both were essentially average.  Both underperformed big time.  I still think it was the offense though.  To me it seemed they underperformed more than the pitching.  Hector was on par with last year, Weavers velocity continued to decline (but was still solid at home and crap away as usual), Wilson was Wilson before leaving for the season (and as a result we got to see more of Tropeano), Shoemaker regressed a little more than expected, Richards was always a toss up because of the injury and overall was reasonably solid just not the ace we know he can be, and lastly Heaney was very solid.  Conversely, Pujols severely underperformed even by his own underperforming standards, Joyce was waaay under his career stats, Cron took half a season to not be the worst DH in baseball, Calhoun fell off a cliff after the first month, Aybar underperformed, Ianetta went from a 124 OPS+ to a 76 OPS+, and Trout disappeared for a month.  

[Inside Pitch]

They should try and focus on bringing in quality defensive players that can hit a little bit. There is no way to overhaul a whole pitching staff, and there is no way to turn this into a power house offense. Focus on defense and try to get better offensively where possible.

 

Despite the garbage we have seen the last ten or so days -- the defense was actually the one part of the team that performed well.  Third best defensive efficiency in MLB all of 0.001 behind the team in second place.   They defensive showing really helped masked the pitching staff's woes..

[Inside Pitch]

Touche.  It was basically a wash though.  Both were essentially average.  Both underperformed big time.  I still think it was the offense though.  To me it seemed they underperformed more than the pitching.  Hector was on par with last year, Weavers velocity continued to decline (but was still solid at home and crap away as usual), Wilson was Wilson before leaving for the season (and as a result we got to see more of Tropeano), Shoemaker regressed a little more than expected, Richards was always a toss up because of the injury and overall was reasonably solid just not the ace we know he can be, and lastly Heaney was very solid.  Conversely, Pujols severely underperformed even by his own underperforming standards, Joyce was waaay under his career stats, Cron took half a season to not be the worst DH in baseball, Calhoun fell off a cliff after the first month, Aybar underperformed, Ianetta went from a 124 OPS+ to a 76 OPS+, and Trout disappeared for a month.  

 

While I believe the Angels need a legit front of the rotation type and a lot of relief help, there is a lot more potential upside on the pitching side than the offense.    This was a bad team basically except for the defense..... and it was the defense that crashed the hardest when we needed it most..   Not sure if that's irony, or just baseball.

Edited October 4, 2015 by Inside Pitch

[TroutCron]

The individuals and the team in general, has very little upside. Position player wise Trout and Calhoun will be above average but no one else. The pitching staff has Heaney, Skaggs and Richards with a chance to be above league average. The bullpen has no arms above average except Smith and Street. The bench is extremely weak.

The new GM(Eppler) has a huge job ahead with no position players in the minors who appear to be can't miss. There are a few good arms but most likely another year away. This team is not close to contending going forward.

[AngelsLakersFan]

Despite the garbage we have seen the last ten or so days -- the defense was actually the one part of the team that performed well.  Third best defensive efficiency in MLB all of 0.001 behind the team in second place.   They defensive showing really helped masked the pitching staff's woes..

 

I have my doubts though... Gia & Freese leave a lot to be desired. I don't see this team's defense as a weakness though, simply a way to approach solving systemic issues throughout the pitching staff.

[disarcina]

First half of the season -- we certainly had some middle inning pen issues.

 

The rotation pitched well above expectations the first half of the season and into July when the wheels started to come off -- especially that terrible August record.

 

the pitching, whether it was rotation or pen, was hampered by some poor defense.  Freese not real strong defensively at third -- he has had some clutch hits for the Halos during his time here but I don't see him in a Halos uni next year.

 

Cron is weak defensively at first base -- Pujols is a part time 1B, part time DH -- lost in some of this is that Pujols put up some Pujols like numbers this year -- 40 HRs/ 95 RBI -- of course, hitting behind Trout certainly helps.

 

the weak spot for us was middle pen guys and less than solid D at the corners.

[arch stanton]

They traded Jepsen and let Grilli walk expecting that Morin and Pestano could handle those roles. Oops. We need another power arm and a true loogy.