OC Register: Joe Maddon says Angels’ pitching not as bad as it seems

[AngelsWin.com]

BOSTON — As the Angels go through another season with disappointing results from the pitching staff, Joe Maddon is sticking to an opinion that is likely to be a tough sell to skeptical fans.

The Angels manager insists the pitching isn’t that bad.

“I can be accused of being Pollyanna on occasion,” Maddon said, “but I like what I’m seeing.”

The Angels are 16-20 and their struggles are in large part because of a pitching staff that has produced a 5.23 ERA, which is the worst in the majors.

Maddon and the Angels are clinging to the belief that their pitching – more accurately their run-prevention, when including defense – is going to improve.

It’s a belief based on metrics that show the Angels have been victimized by an unusually high number of bloopers, bleeders, dribblers and dunkers, all going for hits at the wrong times.

“I feel like we’ve pitched a lot better than our numbers show,” right-hander Alex Cobb said. “If we keep pitching the way we’re pitching, I don’t foresee that continuing.”

Maddon agrees that the pitchers have thrown the ball better than the results would indicate.

“The stuff out of the hand and numbers are good,” Maddon said. “They’re good. Their velocity is where it’s supposed to be. Their breaking pitches are what they’re supposed to be.”

Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is a metric that shows what an ERA would normally be based solely on strikeouts, walks and homers, which are the outcomes a pitcher most controls.

The Angels’ FIP is 4.11, which is 1.12 runs better than their actual ERA. That’s the largest gap in the majors. The second-largest gap belongs to the Kansas City Royals, whose FIP is .80 runs better than their ERA. Most teams are under half a run.

FIP, however, is considered by many a flawed statistic because it doesn’t take into account the quality of contact. Certainly, a pitcher does have some control over whether he gives up line drives or soft ground balls.

Statcast, however, does measure that, and that also provides hope for the Angels.

The Angels have allowed what Statcast defines as “hard” contact just 36.4% of the time, which is the fifth best in the majors. The average exit velocity they’ve allowed is 88 mph, which is third best in the majors.

What all that means is the Angels have not recorded outs at the rate they should based on the way opponents have hit them, which is not entirely bad luck.

The other part to this equation is the Angels’ defense, which has been a disappointment. They have made a major league-leading 33 errors, and they rank last in defensive runs saved.

One of the main reasons they designated Albert Pujols for assignment was so they could improve the defense at two spots. They put Jared Walsh at first instead of Pujols, and Taylor Ward or Juan Lagares in right field instead of Walsh.

The defense has also taken a hit by not having Anthony Rendon at third. He’s missed 21 of their 36 games with two stints on the injured list. Max Stassi, who is the Angels’ best defensive catcher and best pitch-framer, has also missed time with an injury and a concussion. He’s played just 11 games.

“Sometimes that gets lost in the shuffle, but he is a big part of what we’re doing,” Maddon said of Stassi.

Rendon and Stassi could be back this weekend.

Justin Upton’s defensive numbers in left field have been poor this year, but a part of that is because the Angels have been positioning deeper than usual, so plenty of soft singles are falling in front of him.

Maddon said this week that their defensive positioning in general is one of the issues they are re-evaluating.

“It would be something that’s probably not very obvious,” Maddon said. “It’s that very laser thin difference between a positive and a negative. We’re just talking about very, very micro kind of adjustments that might be helpful.”

Maddon has also regularly pointed out that the defensive problems don’t just result in extra runs, but they make pitchers throw more pitches. That means starters come out of games sooner, which leads to more relievers being used, which leads them either being fatigued or unavailable entirely.

On Tuesday night, the Angels lost when they could not use three of their top relievers, which was the result of using all of them to piece together the final five innings of Sunday’s game after José Quintana needed 97 pitches to get through four innings.

In that game, Quintana had to throw a few extra pitches because of an error, but his problem was mostly his own lack of control. He issued five walks, which has been a problem the pitchers can’t explain away with bad luck.

The Angels have walked 4.35 per nine innings, which is the worst in the majors.

Certainly, the Angels can work to correct the walks, including getting their best pitch-framer back behind the plate. If they get Rendon back on the infield and use more of Lagares in the outfield, and position their fielders more effectively, there is hope for defensive improvement.

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All of that, combined with the belief that the actual pitches being thrown aren’t so bad, gives Maddon reason for optimism.

“It’s all about confidence,” Maddon said. “It’s all about getting on a roll. It’s all about momentum. These guys are going to feel our support.”

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP Griffin Canning, 3-2, 5.19 ERA) at Red Sox (TBD), 4:10 p.m. Friday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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[Blarg]

1 minute ago, AngelsWin.com said:

It’s a belief based on metrics that show the Angels have been victimized by an unusually high number of bloopers, bleeders, dribblers and dunkers, all going for hits at the wrong times.

Or maybe the 440 foot home runs last night. 

[Angel Dog and Beer]

“The stuff out of the hand and numbers are good"

 

[Taylor]

Shades of Scioscia. "He looks good, he's just missing his spot on a few occasions."

[tdawg87]

He's not wrong.

Not sure about the bullpen but the rotation has been incredibly unlucky. It's unbelievable. And it isn't getting better.

What the fuck is going on?

[T.G.]

30 minutes ago, AngelsWin.com said:

Maddon said this week that their defensive positioning in general is one of the issues they are re-evaluating.

Paging @Inside Pitch. You've obviously been on target all year.

[Chuck]

3 minutes ago, True Grich said:

Paging @Inside Pitch. You've obviously been on target all year.

I'm not taking anything away from our resident analytical genius but anyone with two eyes could see that from day 1 and we've been calling it out accordingly. 

But to @Blarg's point Heaney when he's not on gives up a ton of long balls. There's no luck involved there, just shitty command. 

 

[Angel Oracle]

Interesting stat would be how many walks have been given up with Stassi behind the plate vs Suzuki.

[tdawg87]

30 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

I'm not taking anything away from our resident analytical genius but anyone with two eyes could see that from day 1 and we've been calling it out accordingly. 

But to @Blarg's point Heaney when he's not on gives up a ton of long balls. There's no luck involved there, just shitty command. 

 

Even when he IS on he will still give up a solo shot or two.

Dude loves giving up dingers.

[REDneck]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

1 hour ago, AngelsWin.com said:

It’s a belief based on metrics that show the Angels have been victimized by an unusually high number of bloopers, bleeders, dribblers and dunkers, all going for hits at the wrong times.

Or maybe the 440 foot home runs last night. 

Don't forget squibbers!

[T.G.]

Not as bad as it seems...

Yes, we know it's much worse.

[REDneck]

16 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

Even when he IS on he will still give up a solo shot or two.

Dude loves giving up dingers.

Homer Happy Heaney!!

 

 

That's prob been used before

[UndertheHalo]

Agreed.  Numbers are enemies. 

[T.G.]

4 minutes ago, REDneck said:

Homer Happy Heaney!!

 

 

That's prob been used before

It's on his birth certificate.

[Jason]

Joe Maddon

[Mark PT]

6 hours ago, Blarg said:

Or maybe the 440 foot home runs last night. 

You forgot about the 2 walks that usually precede those blasts.

[failos]

[tdawg87]

[Slegnaac]

....results, I don't care, he throwing the ball really well and he's going to get hot very soon.....

[jsnpritchett]

[REDneck]

His comments may have a grain of veracity to them, but by no means does it make this staff a good one.

Last in ERA in the bigs is more than just bad luck.

I may be old school, but you need good pitching to compete JOE!!

 

 

[eligrba]

I agree with Joe. It seems bad, but it might be worse.

[Angel Oracle]

This also explains the pitching issues after 2015, and coincidentally that was the most recent season they contended.

From 2016-2019, they never used fewer than THIRTEEN starters.   That can’t be good for a bullpen to follow.

[Taylor]

In all seriousness, what do we expect Joe to say to the media? "Our pitching sucks ass. They should be ashamed of themselves." He'd be the most popular manager ever on AW, but he'd piss off his players.

[failos]

1 hour ago, Taylor said:

In all seriousness, what do we expect Joe to say to the media? "Our pitching sucks ass. They should be ashamed of themselves." He'd be the most popular manager ever on AW, but he'd piss off his players.

He doesn’t have to say anything