OC Register: Luis Valbuena’s rough season continues in Angels’ loss to Rays

[AngelsWin.com]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Angels are still waiting for Luis Valbuena’s season to turn around.

Valbuena had yet another forgettable game in the Angels’ 7-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.

There was plenty of blame to go around on a night when the Angels had one hit with a runner in scoring position and their pitchers walked seven and hit two batters.

As for Valbuena, he had nothing go right. He struck out twice and grounded out in three at-bats, each time coming up with at least one runner on base. He also made two errors at third.

Valbuena is now hitting .200 with nine homers, none since June 23. He had briefly lost his regular spot in the lineup when David Fletcher took over at third, but the trade of Ian Kinsler moved Fletcher to second and allowed Valbuena another shot to come out of his slump.

It didn’t go well on Wednesday. He struck out with two on and one out in the fourth, scuttling one of the Angels’ most promising rallies. He also fanned after an Andrelton Simmons one-out walk in the sixth.

Defensively, he made a poor decision in the fourth, when he tried to do a little too much. Tommy Pham was at third on a fly ball to left field. Pham had broken toward the plate but stopped. He wasn’t far off the bag when Valbuena cut off the throw from left and tried to flip it to Simmons to get Pham before he could get back to third. Simmons wasn’t close enough to the bag, and the ball dribbled into foul territory, allowing Pham to score.

 

Related Articles

• How position players pitching became baseball’s new market inefficiency
• Tyler Skaggs’ breakout season interrupted by a rare bad outing in Angels’ loss
• GM Billy Eppler says Angels didn’t have a ‘fire sale’ before trading deadline
• Angels trade Ian Kinsler to Red Sox for two prospects
• A ‘pesky’ hitter and slick fielder, David Fletcher has risen from Cypress High to the Angels’ everyday lineup

The run was earned because the next two hitters had hits anyway, giving the Rays a 3-2 lead against Nick Tropeano. In the sixth, Tropeano had to throw extra pitches to escape a bases-loaded jam after Valbuena booted a grounder with two outs.

 

Tropeano then gave up a homer to Willy Adames leading off the sixth, putting the Angels behind 4-2.

That was too much for the Angels on a night when their offense, which had been performing well for about a week, managed just one hit with a runner in a scoring position.

Kole Calhoun put the Angels on the board with a first-inning homer that splashed into the Rays’ “touch tank” beyond the right-center field fence. The tank of swimming rays was installed in 2006, and Calhoun became just the seventh player to hit a ball into it.

It was Calhoun’s 13th homer since he came off the disabled list on June 18, the most in the American League since then.

More to come on this story.

View the full article

[Angel Oracle]

What are Scioscia and Eppler thinking?

Unless Valnobuena is part of their tanking plan?

Dude might as well be Chris Davis!

[JoJo26]

When you Bat Flip on a simple single - Karma bites you in "the Valbuena"

[GrittyVeterans]

Lol at rough season. He's a .200 hitter since he put on an Angels uniform..

Not just one bad year...

[DMVol]

53 minutes ago, GrittyVeterans said:

Lol at rough season. He's a .200 hitter since he put on an Angels uniform..

Not just one bad year...

In almost two years as an Angel, he is hitting .199.    He'll have to settle for a minor league deal somewhere next year, if that....Eppler's worst decision to date...

[Ochocinco!]

He’ll still play every other day until the season is over

[Blarg]

20 hours ago, AngelsWin.com said:

The Angels are still waiting for Luis Valbuena’s season to turn around.

It is not going to so can Eppler please just correct his two year mistake and DFA him. There is no value to the Angels organization trying to resurrect his career, just let the guy go and give a rookie a chance to play.

[Ochocinco!]

Still sucks

[ten ocho recon scout]

When calhoun did this with the bat for 6 weeks, and could still play defense, we sent him down...

There is literally zero reason not to release him. 

[Glen]

After today's game they can change the date on the article and repost it.

[Chuck]

16 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

When calhoun did this with the bat for 6 weeks, and could still play defense, we sent him down...

There is literally zero reason not to release him. 

Yeah I really don't get it. 

Bring up Rengifo to play 2B and Fletcher 3B, or Taylor Ward to play 3B. 

There's no reason to keep Valbuena on this team.. 

[ten ocho recon scout]

Just now, Chuckster70 said:

Yeah I really don't get it. 

Bring up Rengifo to play 2B and Fletcher 3B, or Taylor Ward to play 3B. 

There's no reason to keep Valbuena on this team.. 

The only thing i can think of is roster moves, in terms of the 25 vs 40. Maybe theyre just waiting it out until rosters expand, then theyll dump him?

Not too sure how all that works. But either way, at least dont play him.

[Barrett]

2 hours ago, Blarg said:

It is not going to so can Eppler please just correct his two year mistake and DFA him. There is no value to the Angels organization trying to resurrect his career, just let the guy go and give a rookie a chance to play.

Obviously by the looks of it. Eppler and Mike S don't think Valbuena is a mistake. That is the absolute sad part of it. If I was Arte I would look long and hard at the way this team is being managed by the GM and the manager. 

[Glen]

This team is so fucking awful right now. They need to do something besides the trades. 

[Angel Oracle]

One friend is watching the game, and remarked that it looks like Valnobuena is just going through the motions.   If true, should be automatic DFA!

[Barrett]

5 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

One friend is watching the game, and remarked that it looks like Valnobuena is just going through the motions.   If true, should be automatic DFA!

I couldn't care less if he was spending an extra 7 hours daily working on his game. He is putrid out on the field and in the batters box. 

[GrittyVeterans]

Scisocia will bat him 6th tomorrow