Gameday Thread: Angels vs. Astros (4-23-2021)

[Blarg]

Sorry but it wasn't that close to the line, I had an unobstructed view at the game. 

[Jason]

8 minutes ago, Vlad27Trout27 said:

Tough break. 

we're 9-9, it's only been 18 games 3 gb behind the As and 0.5 GB for the wildcard. Bedside's the As (kinda of) no one is really  running away, most of the top teams are either below 500 or at 500. like I said it's early, we are getting guys back, Heaney is showing that he's can be a solid 3 behind Bundy, Othani. We just need to clean some cranks in the Bullpen and lower our walks and let the season play out. 

Just need to clean up the pen? It’s a dumpster fire and needs a lot of work. I’m not worried about the offense though. 

[Make Angels Great Again]

5 minutes ago, cals said:

MAGA would make a fantastic gimp.

 

You're clearly very turned on right now.

[Make Angels Great Again]

By the way, one of these seasons I'll hopefully be able to change my username.

 

[Jay]

8 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Sorry but it wasn't that close to the line, I had an unobstructed view at the game. 

[Slegnaac]

1 hour ago, Don said:

If that ball was fair it’s because it hit the line. And if it hit the line there would have been some chalk flying up. It’s really simple.

Or at least some PHYSICAL evidence that it hit the line.  But can one of those fat sobs in black bother taking a walk down the line to check?

#aprilgamesmatter

[Slegnaac]

56 minutes ago, Turd Ferguson said:

You win, you always do.

You’re right, bad calls and my shitty math are the problem, not our stellar pen. 

Carry on.

In the playoffs they deploy 6 Umps, one down each foul line.  If one had been out there tonight the chance of getting the call correct is significantly better.

[Angel Oracle]

This team is supposed to be a contender?

Heaney needs to tell Claudio and Iglesias to grow some.

[Slegnaac]

49 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Walsh repeatedly pointed to the exact location the ball landed. It was foul by nearly a foot.

I didn't see that on TV.  Glad to hear he was doing that.

Stupid Umps

[Slegnaac]

5 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

This team is supposed to be a contender?

Heaney needs to tell Claudio and Iglesias to grow some.

Time for the closed door players only meeting?

[Finfrock]

Just a horrible and excruciating loss (I really wish that I didn't care about the Angels any more).  A lot of breaks went against us tonight;  Iglesias was probably the victim of some bad luck but he still just needs to be way better (his stuff just looks pretty weak).  And quite a shame that Heaney's gem of a game was wasted (I would have left him in to finish the 7th).  All signs point to another year of mediocrity.  Yeah, getting some guys back from injury will help but we don't have any one we can count on in the bullpen and we have a ton of weak links in our hitting lineup and our reserves are all guys who belong in the minors.  

[fan_since79]

That first week when we were 6-2 seems like three months ago.

The injuries are really hurting. 

And when the hell is Rendon coming back?!

[Angels Never Die]

This game made me sick

[Angelsjunky]

3 hours ago, beatlesrule said:

Oh there's no doubt he is 2-3 years older. Makes his decline easier to understand. Again though, I still don't understand how he all of a sudden loses what a ball and strike is. Oh well. We just have to hope this team can win despite him. I was at the game Tuesday night where he hit a bomb but those will be rarer and rarer. I am just hoping Maddon continues to hit him lower and lower in the lineup. Last year.......last year........

This is pure speculation, but I think every player faces a kind of watershed moment, usually around 31-32. The mileage starts wearing on them, their skills start eroding,  and they lose a half step. They can either accept reality or deny. When they accept reality, they adjust and find a slightly lower plateau and decline commensurate with their abilities. When they deny reality, they try harder at doing what they've always done, and often end up over-compensating.

The second is what, I think, happened with Pujols. He lost a bit of bat speed, the weight on his lower body started having an impact, and rather than adapt his game and become a different kind of hitter, instead, he started swinging harder, trying to be the same hitter, and ended up being an all-or-nothing guy. Meaning, he tried being the same hitter; he was in denial about his eroding skill set, and rather than adjusting and becoming, say, a .290/.900 guy, he tried to hit everything over the fence and became a .250/.750 guy. The irony is that by trying to hit home runs in every at-bat, he didn't increase his home runs but declined everywhere else. A classic instance of the difference between a "hitter with power" and a "power-hitter."

Or to put it another way, he went from being Lou Gehrig to Tony Armas in just a few years. 

 

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

Heaney has looked good. I have to give him props. His first outing, I believe, was pretty rough but he’s looked pretty damn good last couple. Hope he can keep it up. I actually have more faith in him right now than Bundy for some reason. 

[Erstad Grit]

28 minutes ago, Angel Oracle said:

This team is supposed to be a contender?

Heaney needs to tell Claudio and Iglesias to grow some.

[Angel Oracle]

Nice bullpen, Perry!

Seems like your bullpen grade for the off-season is a big fat D!

[OregonLAA]

5 hours ago, Stradling said:

I don’t think he can protest a game on a judgement call. 

I think Scioscia did against the White Sox once for the same call 

[Jason]

7 hours ago, Angel Oracle said:

This team is supposed to be a contender?

Heaney needs to tell Claudio and Iglesias to grow some.

Outside of fans trying to be positive about this team, nobody believed them to be a serious contender. We knew going into the season that the pitching was a huge question mark. It was unrealistic to view them as more than a .500 team. 

[Crampknees]

10 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

@Blarg when are you meeting up with @Crampknees?

I'm going to make him sing "Deep in the Heart of Texas" if they start that shit.  I usually take a knee during. 

Edited April 24, 2021 by Crampknees

[Inside Pitch]

10 hours ago, Blarg said:

Maddon is a fucki g idiot.

His genius is making everyone believe he's a genius by being witty after losses.

[Stradling]

But he says cooler things after a loss than Scioscia, so he must be better. 

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

Outside of fans trying to be positive about this team, nobody believed them to be a serious contender. We knew going into the season that the pitching was a huge question mark. It was unrealistic to view them as more than a .500 team. 

The PITCHING hasn't been the issue some of you think it's been -- as a team they rank 11th in pitcher WAR.  Angels starters have combined for the 8th best WAR in MLB...  Iglesias last night is pretty much the epitome of RP volatility unless he's suddenly lost it, which is really hard to say at this point.

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2021&month=0&season1=2021&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2021-01-01&enddate=2021-12-31&sort=20,d

Defensive lapses and poor decision making from the bench has pretty much cost the team at least four games.

[Inside Pitch]

4 minutes ago, Stradling said:

But he says cooler things after a loss than Scioscia, so he must be better. 

I got tired of saying this...   MS could manage circles around Maddon.  Anyone that watched the Cubs WS saw they won in spite of him.

[Inside Pitch]

4 hours ago, OregonLAA said:

I think Scioscia did against the White Sox once for the same call 

If there is a MLB rule.  MS knows it.