This team looks special

[Make Angels Great Again]

5 minutes ago, Brandon said:

great job of coaching by sosh

I think I can count on one hand the times i've read that here, lol.

[Brandon]

3 minutes ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

I think I can count on one hand the times i've read that here, lol.

always the conversation starter.

i will say, if you're going to have fire sosh threads when the team sucks, surely there must be some praise when the team does well, right?

[Troll Daddy]

I see exceptional team chemistry ... these players are all on the same page and pulling for one another to do good. 

[totdprods]

It may not seem like, but Maybin's been destroying it compared to LF production the last three years.

Maybin/Revere: .267/.333/.433/.767
Angels LF 2016: .204/.271/.313/.584
Angels LF 2015: .216/.275/.317/.592
Angels LF 2014: .234/.293/.336/.629

Goes to show how terrible the Angels have been there and how little we really need from Maybin just to get a major improvement.

Espinosa, even with his low BA and high K's, should still stomp 2B production in years past.

Espinosa/Pennington: .207/.281/.414/.695
Angels 2B 2016: .235/.275/.345/.620
Angels 2B 2015: .250/.295/.352/.646
 

 

[Chuck]

@Mark68, I completely concur with your take.  

 

[nando714]

1 hour ago, totdprods said:

Can't wait to see which one gets bumped when Street comes back in a couple weeks. :|
 

Good question 

and also does cam stay at the 9th inning guy

[HaloNArizona]

1 hour ago, Brandon said:

great job of coaching by sosh

Does this not merit a ban of some sort?

 

Complementing Sven....come on now.

 

Seriously, great job of coaching and a great call on the squeeze, and better execution.

[totdprods]

6 minutes ago, nando714 said:

Good question 

and also does cam stay at the 9th inning guy

I'm fine using Cam as the high-leverage guy. If Street wants the 9th and seeks capable, he can go there to start. 

Norris, Parker, Ramirez, and Petit are out of options and any will definitely get claimed on waivers - even if they struggle between now and then. So you're losing depth from the org completely at that point. 

Alvarez could go down - but then no lefty. And he's pitched well. 

Theoretically, one of our long relievers could slot into the rotation if Skaggs/Shoe are struggling so bad they need to go to SLC or if Richards is still on the shelf. 

Gonna be interesting. 

[gurn67]

From the 9th inning on this season, the Angels are currently batting .471 with an OPS of 1.403! I know this won't continue, but it's been really exciting to watch. Also, on a side note, the Angels did lead MLB in batting last year from the 9th inning on at .276.

[Troll Daddy]

[Stradling]

7 hours ago, Homebrewer said:

So many starting pitchers coming back from trauma and injuries and surgery.....it will take time.

But seeing an offense that will pick them up on off nights is going to give these pitchers added resilience, knowing that they don't have to be perfect. Not only that, but a bullpen that can keep runs from scoring in bunches...that helps the starters AND the offense.

Great post HB

[Angelsjunky]

Good times so far - I am cautiously optimistic in that the Angels seem to have the most important fundamentals down: a lot of spirit, team chemistry, and defense.

I'm getting ahead of myself, but I imagine Eppler is considering options for starting pitcher trades, in case one or more of Richards, Shoe, or Skaggs doesn't work out. There's always Banuelos and Meyer, or maybe Pounders, Campos, or Smith, but I'm not sure any of these guys could replace the 1-3 starters. Don't be surprised if, come July, we see prospects shipped off for a decent pitcher.

[Angel Oracle]

I imagine that there aren't any solid FA pitchers this upcoming off-season?   Seems like they are mainly two years down the road.

So far, LSU's RHP Alex Lange seems to be the best bet with the #10 overall pick in the June draft. 

[tdawg87]

Good thread.

[Jason]

Just now, tdawg87 said:

Good thread.

They are special

[fan_since79]

Change thread title to "This team looks like the Angels".

[Make Angels Great Again]

This thread is gonna be bumped all year.

[Angels#1Fan]

The opinion seems to have changed some in recent days, but it's really too early to get a real take on the Angels thus far.

The pitching is suspect, especially the starting rotation.

In the end the Angels will go as far as the pitching allows.

[Jason]

1 hour ago, Angels#1Fan said:

The opinion seems to have changed some in recent days, but it's really too early to get a real take on the Angels thus far.

The pitching is suspect, especially the starting rotation.

In the end the Angels will go as far as the pitching allows.

Honestly, I do not see a situation where the pitching staff performs at a high enough level to compete. The talent just isn't there and we've seen the ceiling for most of them. Bedrosian is going to be good though

[Blarg]

This team looks Special Ed.

[arch stanton]

At this point we have as many wins as the defending champs and 6x as many as the Blue Jays

[Chuck]

31 minutes ago, Blarg said:

This team looks Special Ed.

Fairweather grumpy ass grandpappy.

[fan_since79]

The last time I remember fair weather for this team (outside of the ultimately meaningless 98 wins in 2014) was Jeffy getting pummeled after his walk-off double against the Yankees in 2009.

 

[Homebrewer]

You guys crack me up!

[AngelsFanSince86]

Meh, Angels still have a decent record.  Especially for April.  This was bound to show up at some point with Richards out and it was good they got the comeback wins they got.  If Richards can come back relatively soon and Skaggs and Shoe can start putting together some solid outings then all will be fine.  If Richards doesn't come back soon and/or one or both of Skaggs and Shoe can't get it together then there isn't much that else to say other than the team is in general heading in the right direction.  Personally, going into the offseason I viewed this year as a stepping stone to contention in 2018 when we got more of our pitching back, had some payroll freed up, and had some younger guys like Thaiss starting to contribute.  As the offseason progressed I became more and more optimistic.  We all knew things were going to have to break just right with the pitching for contention to be a possibility.  The offense has shown it is capable of being very good.  We'll have to wait and see how the pitching holds up, but for now the team as a whole has been decent.  Who knows, maybe Meyer will surprise everyone and Richards will come back better then ever.