Are we always so optimistic?

[Second Base]

I know that hope isn't in short supply for every team, every Spring Training, and that we are inundated with BSOHL articles, but this year seems a little different. Either I'm paying more attention, or there's more hope than usual among fans for the 2021 Angels.

I know 2012 brought a lot of optimism with it, after Pujols and Wilson signings and Trout's promotion. 2018 brought its fair share of optimism too, after the Ohtani acquisition, and as we already know, those campaigns fell flat. The Angels really didn't make a major signing or trade this off-season, just a lot of peripheral acquisitions. 

And yet here we are, and I can't help but get the feeling that fans are more excited than usual for the 2021 Angels. Ohtani is healthy, boosting our lineup and rotation, our pitching acquisitions don't suck, our new SS looks like Simmons but with a better bat, we've got a new RF with a high OBP and team chemistry is riding high. We've also got a dugout and front office that seem to be operating on the same page. 

Maybe we're all sick of empty stands and passionless baseball, or maybe I'm mistaken, or maybe we expect the 2021 Angels to be different.

And as an attachment question, if you are indeed more optimistic this year than years past, what your reasoning?

[Jason]

I keep my expectations rather low every year so the let down is less painful. As far as increased optimism this year, I think people are sick of the pandemic and just want something normal and fun in their lives 

[Angelsjunky]

I'm more optimistic than in years past, at least since 2015. A few reasons:

- Ohtani seems healthy.

- The team is solid throughout: very good hitting, the rotation looks at least average and possibly better, bullpen is a bit iffy but has some promise, overall pretty good depth, especially if you consider the minor league talent in the pipeline.

- The farm system is stock-full of talent and we'll see a bunch of it this year: Adell, Marsh, maybe Detmers and Rodriguez.

- Maddon is a nice guy.

- New GM, seems to know what he's doing.

- Well, its spring and hope springs eternal.

[Slegnaac]

I see a line up with Fletcher, Trout, Rendon, Ohtani, Upton and that gives me hope.

Bundy, Canning, Cobb, Quintana give me hope.

Less Pujols gives me hope.

This year will be much better.

It has to be, right?

 

[BTH]

I think fans are more optimistic this Spring, but it may just be recency bias clouding that answer.

[Torridd]

55 minutes ago, Second Base said:

I know that hope isn't in short supply for every team, every Spring Training, and that we are inundated with BSOHL articles, but this year seems a little different. Either I'm paying more attention, or there's more hope than usual among fans for the 2021 Angels.

I know 2012 brought a lot of optimism with it, after Pujols and Wilson signings and Trout's promotion. 2018 brought its fair share of optimism too, after the Ohtani acquisition, and as we already know, those campaigns fell flat. The Angels really didn't make a major signing or trade this off-season, just a lot of peripheral acquisitions. 

And yet here we are, and I can't help but get the feeling that fans are more excited than usual for the 2021 Angels. Ohtani is healthy, boosting our lineup and rotation, our pitching acquisitions don't suck, our new SS looks like Simmons but with a better bat, we've got a new RF with a high OBP and team chemistry is riding high. We've also got a dugout and front office that seem to be operating on the same page. 

Maybe we're all sick of empty stands and passionless baseball, or maybe I'm mistaken, or maybe we expect the 2021 Angels to be different.

And as an attachment question, if you are indeed more optimistic this year than years past, what your reasoning?

I don't think I'm more optimistic this year than in years past, but I tend to be more optimistic for each year depending on which players we've acquired. Also, I tend to compare current seasons so I figure we can't continue to be bad and one day we'll get lucky. Why not this year?  

[Second Base]

39 minutes ago, Slegnaac said:

I see a line up with Fletcher, Trout, Rendon, Ohtani, Upton and that gives me hope.

Bundy, Canning, Cobb, Quintana give me hope.

Less Pujols gives me hope.

This year will be much better.

It has to be, right?

 

[failos]

As someone usually critical of the team, I feel a bit more optimistic this season.

[Taylor]

18 minutes ago, failos said:

As someone usually critical of the team, I feel a bit more optimistic this season.

You might have to change your username.

[sammyscioscia]

To be honest, I am a lot more optimistic this Spring, haven't been this excited since 2014 at the least.  And strangely I feel like it will be the year we didn't make any 'big splash' off-season signings or trades that we will make the post season.  Maddon had a good look at this team and what needed to change, our rotation looks like it should be able to keep our offense in many ballgames, we really don't need a flashy rotation or bullpen, just reliability.  Even if it's sub-par reliability, might even be enough to keep us in WC contention.  Our lineup really is nightmare fuel.  I'll say if we remain mostly healthy without season ending injury to our core lineup, we will win 88-94 games.  We could be even better than that if Ohtani provides 8+ wins and .850+ OPS and Trout has a better season offensively and defensively.

[sammyscioscia]

In order to win it all though, we will need 2 guys in the rotation that are much more than reliable, and at least 2 guys in the bullpen as well.  Just like the 2002 Angels.  Bundy/Ohtani, Slegers/C Rod anyone?

I feel like Ohtani will need to become an anime god, because we will need that lockdown starting pitcher to ensure we make it that far.  My expectations aren't THAT high, but it is a possibility.

[Justin]

I was incredibly optimistic in 2018. I thought Kinsler and Cozart were going to be very solid additions, and I thought a rotation of Ohtani, Richards, Heaney, Skaggs, and Tropeano was going to keep the team in contention for the AL West title for several years. 

The team started 13-3 and I felt like a genius. 

By the end of the season, I no longer did. 

[failos]

1 hour ago, Taylor said:

You might have to change your username.

Hailos?

[Fish Oil]

Ahhhh, come on now.
There are always some sourpusses, but this site is usually bubbling with enthusiasm this time of year. Of course we are. We love baseball and we love this team.
The past few years the optimism has lasted until the Angels get off to a slow start and then a pitcher leaves a game early with a stiff elbow. That's when we get the cold slap in the face from reality.

However, this year does feel different. I think our jinx is over. I really do.

[Lou]

I'm always optimistic because being pessimistic is dumb. 

[eligrba]

Joe Maddon’s emphasis on not wanting to get in the way of a player’s greatness, the players being more likely to hit the ball to the middle of the field and the other way, hitters striking out less/walking more, improved defense, multiple players trying to make the team doing well, Minasian’s pitchers look like good signings suggesting he knows what to look for, younger players who showed improvement last season continue to show improvement and in general, players look like they enjoy being on the team.

[Taylor]

5 hours ago, failos said:

Hailos?

I remember way back in the day (this may have been during the Halo Haven days ... anyone remember Fozzy?), there was a perpetual battle between the Failos and the Polyanna Patrol.

[Taylor]

Halo Haven, not to be confused with Halos Heaven, run by "The Rev" who is a total dbag.

[Docwaukee]

I am generally an optimist.  But for the first time in four years I think we've got a shot at division titles again which wasn't realistic as far back as 2017.  

We should have been better in 2015 and 2016 but injuries were the issue.  We've had some since but getting anything more than a wild card spot over the last few years because of the cheatn' bitches was unrealistic.  

I'm a little frustrated with the off season though.  More could have been done to improve RF and the pen.  I was actually pretty happy with where the rotation was headed until the Cobb deal and I am hoping to feel stupid about that.  Ohtani is such a difference maker or can be.  I like our lineup depth outside of RF.  Don't mind that we didn't pay big for a C.  The rotation isn't to drawer but it's got some depth.  I'm pretty comfortable down to 8 or 9 and maybe even 10 if Detmers or Rodriguez can chip.  

I just don't like the pen right now.  But usually I have more areas that I'm worried about.  Just that they could have done more with the pen and with a decently wide open division, it feels like some opportunity was left on the table.  

[tdawg87]

I've admittedly lost interest the last 3 years. I still follow the team and shitpost here, but the excitement just isn't there anymore.

That said, I always go into the year knowing the team has a clean slate. Everyone starts 0-0, and most teams have a shot to make the playoffs, including the Angels. 

This year does, admittedly, feel different. The AL West is far more wide open than people are stating, in my opinion, and the Angels are close enough to have a shot. 

The hitters look great, and the starters have looked far better than we could have possibly expected. I don't care about the numbers, but these guys look ready as fuck and there's a competitive aura in the air. We have 4 guys pitching for multi-year deals next year (not including our closer) and with Bundy and Heaney hitting their prime, we could see some great things. Throw in Ohtani looking like a beast with a chip on his shoulder and there's a reason to be excited.

If these guys stay healthy, we're looking pretty damn good. Having Barria and Sandoval in your back pocket doesn't hurt, either.

One more thing; we have a new GM. He comes from a good baseball background and deserves a chance. He's going to want to make an impact in his first year, so I'm going to "trust the process".

[tchula]

Admittedly, I am optimistic around this time of year.  I do have a better feeling about our team for a few reasons.  

Starting pitching:  So, we made no major acquisition, but we have a lot of guys coming back who are finally coming of age.  Barria, Canning, and Sandoval have all gotten enough exposure to the big leagues where they'll finally settle in.  I have a bit more faith in Barria and Canning than Sandoval (he's quite wild now that he's dramatically increased his velocity), but it's about time for these players to reach their potential.  In addition, Quintana is probably the best starting pitching acquisition we've made (one may say Bundy, but Bundy exceeded expectations last year) in the past five years.  Ohtani is also back and healthy, and hitting triple digits.  Finally, this is the healthiest I can recall our rotation being in a long time.  We just came off an shorten season, where quite frankly a lot of players got the opportunity to finally get healthy because in essence they've had a two year long off season, with a little baseball thrown somewhere in the middle.  This is why I think Cobb looks so good now.  This last point though, will benefit more than just the Angels.  

Relief pitching:  If we had better relief pitching we could have been in the extended playoffs last year despite our poor starting pitching.  I can't recall how many games the bullpen blew.  I think we got rid of the dead weight in the bullpen, and brought in some quality relievers with potential.  With this said, I thought the bullpen was going to be our strength last year but man oh man, a lot of those guys imploded.  Nevertheless, for the first time in a while, I think we have a legitimate closer.  With this said, I'd be much happier if we had one more proven ready arm in the pen.  

Line-up:  Putting up hits and runs has never really been our issue.  Any line-up with Trout and Rendon will produce a good amount of offense.  But throw in Fletcher, Iglesias (who I think is an upgrade offensively over Simmons), an emerging Walsh (who I think will regress a little but still have a decent OPS) I think we should be just fine here.  If Upton comes back healthy (another guy who will have extended from a two year off-season) this could be a real dynamic line-up. 

Coaching:  Maddon has had these guys for a full year and I think now has a GM he wasn't forced upon.  I see our coaching staff (one of the best in baseball) and front office being on the same page.  

Spring Training:  Our performance during spring training has really fueled my optimism, especially in our rotation.  Ohtani looks like the mega star we thought he'd be, Bundy is looking good, Cobb looks good, and Quintana also looks good.  Maybe I am setting myself up for disappointment (it has happened before), but I figure sooner or later we should catch some breaks. 

[Angels 1961]

The talent on this team Trout, Rendon and Ohtani in middle of the order. Plus guys like Fletcher, Upton and new SS Iglesias. Who will be the Jared Walsh on this team this year. All the young talent on the way in Marsh, Adell (I'm a big fan of Adell) Chris Rodriguez plus others. This is last year of Albert's contract so that will free up money for 22. I also see Pujols getting some big hits in his final year. Two weeks away from the start of a very great year of Angel baseball.

[floplag]

I think were all optimistic, or perhaps hopeful is a better word this time of year.
Do i think we will win the division, no, but its not out of possibility either if things break right.
Do i think were playoff team, yes, we should be, but ive thought that a lot in the last decade and been horribly wrong.
I am optimistic, I am hopeful, but im not at a place where i think 85-90 wins is enough.
I think whats tempering me this year is frustration with how the front office finished the off season leaving it what i can only call incomplete.  Started great, made some good acquisitions, but i think we all feel they could and perhaps should have done more.
I look forward to watching the games and hope the team finally overachieves a little. 

[Second Base]

Yeah that bullpen though. It has the makings to either carry or undo a lot of potential victories. I mean if they pitch up their ability, it's a shut down unit, bottom to top. If they collectively fail, we're really going to struggle getting the ball to Iglesias. The 6-8 innings may be very harsh. 

The hair middle ground suggests that the Angels will probably be pretty solid in the 8th and 9th innings, as well as long relief, but there's no one you can trust to put out a fire in the 6th or 7th innings.

[Warfarin]

My optimism is mainly around the faith I have in Minasian as a talent evaluator/system developer and Maddon as a manager.

It is easy for us fans to say "we added this pitcher or that hitter" and have an opinion on it, but there are a lot of things that happen behind that scenes that are tough to gauge.  What kind of analytics are being put to use?  What kind of traditional scouting is being utilized?  A lot of nuances and things like that are hard for us to perceive.

It is only spring training, which means we are just seeing a super small sample size, but it does seem that on the whole, more of our players are looking better than they previously were.  Perhaps it wasn't so coincidental that some of our young players started doing well after spending time with Maddon and the coaching staff last year and getting away from some of the principles that Eppler was utilizing - Maddon made a vague reference to this.

Atlanta is an incredibly well run organization, as Anthopolous was always a very good GM, then spend a year learning under the best executive in baseball (Friedman) and likely brought his learnings over to Atlanta.  Minasian spend multiple years working right under Anthopolous, and he has in turn brought over Tamin, who played an integral role with the Dodgers under Friedman until he went to Atlanta for a promotion.

I think what we are seeing is the true impact of a well-run front office, as well as a coaching staff that embraces a blend of analytics and scouting.  My optimism mainly has to do with that more than it does any individual player.