Should I feel excited about this offense

[wpghalo]

Are we back at being this type of offense that can out score any team?

Man are we putting up the numbers in training camp! Is any team better then Angels right now offensively?

So should I feel like our offense is close to death we are seeing here?

Let's Go Halo's. Canada's biggest fan@

[Blarg]

This Spring the Angels are second most productive offense in baseball.

They were also in 2015 so temper your excitement.

[Docwaukee]

we actually put up very good offensive numbers last spring, but the approach feels different this year.  Hitters seem like they are in charge of their at bats.  

[ScottT]

Offense is always up in spring training

[Blarg]

The on base percentage is much higher this spring.

[Blarg]

Offense is always up in spring training

tell that to the Lastros

[Blarg]

The top five batting average for the AL this spring is

Angels

Rangers

Seattle

Red Sox

Oakland

It could be an interesting season since neither the Rangers or Oakland can field

worth a shit.

Texas holds the lead for OPS by .001 over the Angels.

Edited March 27, 2016 by notti

[ScottT]

Cliff Pennington is hitting over .400

Tells you all you need to know. Small sample sizes against pitchers that suck, aren't ready, or are just working on things.

I'm a bit more optimistic about Nava because he is coming off injury., but that's about it.

[fan_since79]

Strikeouts are way down, contact is way up. 

 

Good news all around, but as everyone knows, this can all disappear once the regular season starts.

[tdawg87]

Season not over yet

[Troll Daddy]

YES

[nando714]

The starting pitching is all of a sudden the question mark

[Inside Pitch]

The starting pitching is all of a sudden the question mark

 

Yes, because that combined ERA+ of 95 last year wasn't a hint or anything.  

[laagamer]

Yes, because that combined ERA+ of 95 last year wasn't a hint or anything.

Hint about what? I don't get it.

[Second Base]

Iit makes a big difference if a GM provides the manager with the necessary pieces to put together a solid lineup. Under Dipoto, Scioscia was left with Jonny-G or Aybar at leadoff despite their low OBP, Calhoun at #2 despite being terrible with bases empty and struggling to reach base, Cron was expected to batv5th except he still had serious adjustments to make, thenwe got nothing from Joyce.

The end result was a malfunctioning offense that couldn't get on base, manufacture runs or hit with men on.

But now we have the leadoff hitter we need in Escobar, and if Nava is back healthy, it puts men on for Trout and Pujols, allows us to slide Calhoun down to 5 where he belongs and gives us the freedom to move Cron around depending on where he us developmentally. Eppler also gave us a useful bat off the bench in Choi and a good pinch runner in either Gentry or Ortega.

We should have a decent functioning offense again. Maybe not the best in the league like 2014, but at least average.

[Inside Pitch]

Yes, because that combined ERA+ of 95 last year wasn't a hint or anything.  

 

ERA+ is park/league adjusted...   100 is league average.   Our pitching staff combined for a ERA+ of 95, meaning it was below average.   The offense that everyone railed about and saw as the weak link combined for an OPS+ of 97 -- again, 100 is average.  

 

The pitching last year was worse than the offense -- the home park makes one look worse and the other look better.

[tdawg87]

But...muh runs

[gurn67]

Hey! The Angels are scoring tons of runs in the spring! Can't wait until the at bats start counting!

 

So do the opposing pitchers. Coming from a fan of the last 38 years, this is nothing new. If they're in the top 5 in the AL in runs scored on June 1, then you can start to feel excited.

[tdawg87]

Hey! The Angels are scoring tons of runs in the spring! Can't wait until the at bats start counting!

So do the opposing pitchers. Coming from a fan of the last 38 years, this is nothing new. If they're in the top 5 in the AL in runs scored on June 1, then you can start to feel excited.

Found the blast at parties.

[eaterfan]

ERA+ is park/league adjusted...   100 is league average.   Our pitching staff combined for a ERA+ of 95, meaning it was below average.   The offense that everyone railed about and saw as the weak link combined for an OPS+ of 97 -- again, 100 is average.  

 

The pitching last year was worse than the offense -- the home park makes one look worse and the other look better.

 

I have been saying the pitching may be more of the question mark too. But I think the reason the hitting is drawing so much attention is that Mike Trout is so good. If we drop the performance of Trout our OPS+ probably drops considerably. If we drop the performance of our top pitcher our pitching probably remains around 95. It's easier to find improved replacements for the non Trout hitters.

[eligrba]

Strikeouts are way down, contact is way up. 

 

Good news all around, but as everyone knows, this can all disappear once the regular season starts.

 

This is worth being excited about.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

we actually put up very good offensive numbers last spring, but the approach feels different this year.  Hitters seem like they are in charge of their at bats.  

 

I'm with Doc. We saw some of the same things last season, but this feels different. There were major changes in the coaching staff (much needed, IMO), so it stands to reason that there may be different philosophies at work.

[Angelfaninidaho]

They have won 7 out of their last 8 (at the end of ST when the roster is rounding out) and have been red hot in the first 5 innings of those games when Scioscia has been playing the core lineup.  The stats in ST get screwed up because they all unload the benches after 6 and it turns into a slosh ball game.  I don't know if there are stats for just the 1st 5 innings of ST games, but I suspect we are doing pretty well.  I don't see why that won't translate to the regular season.  Escobar and Nava have just been insane.  

[Angel Oracle]

The only starters I have confidence in currently are Richards, Santiago, and Heaney.

Hopefully, Skaggs adds to that by May.

Tropeano, Shoe, or Weave needs to step up, otherwise they will be much too lefty heavy in the rotation.  

[WeatherWonk]

I'm not seeing much difference in this spring, compared to last, except (and this is a big exception), we are getting production out of our third baseman, who is also doing a great job of leading off.. Our left fielders are hitting well..........but so did Matt Joyce in ST last year.

 

With so many pitchers working on locating their 2nd, 3rd and 4th pitches UP TO THIS POINT IN ST, I put very little credence in ST hitting stats.

 

But now that we're down to most everyone's last start of the spring, I expect so see pitchers really letting go. This week ahead may show us much.

Edited March 28, 2016 by WeatherWonk