Are we all a little disgusted tonight?

[Blarg]

9 hours ago, cals said:

Maybe if he hadn’t been babied those 3 months by Catorce he wouldn’t have hurt his arm.

You do realize that makes no sense at all?

[Blarg]

Drury the last 6 games has been hitting .174/.208/.435/.643.

Yes, you pinch hit for him with someone who can bunt. 

[Sully151]

There are no Exit Velo or Launch Angle stats for a bunt, so why do it?

[IheartLA]

All this talk of Scioscia makes me nostalgic. Nevin should have pinch ran Rendon for Phillips. Chance he goes 1st to 3rd on the Renfroe single. Drury and Thaiss would have different approaches at the plate needing just a SF instead of a hit. Maybe the outcome is different. God I miss that fat Italian bastard…

[IheartLA]

the king of small ball

[T.G.]

I'm so outraged that I won't watch them play today.

[Swordsman78]

8 hours ago, REDneck said:

Fair enough!

Just stick to Twitter.  We shouldn't have to be explaining basic concepts on this higher level forum. 

[Swordsman78]

52 minutes ago, IheartLA said:

All this talk of Scioscia makes me nostalgic. Nevin should have pinch ran Rendon for Phillips. Chance he goes 1st to 3rd on the Renfroe single. Drury and Thaiss would have different approaches at the plate needing just a SF instead of a hit. Maybe the outcome is different. God I miss that fat Italian bastard…

Another Twitter neophyte 

[Angelsjunky]

[Erstad Grit]

11 hours ago, full circle said:

So great there were all those other teams knocking down his door to hire him.  

Based on nothing I suspect he held out for the Dodgers job which never came

[REDneck]

1 hour ago, Swordsman78 said:

Just stick to Twitter.  We shouldn't have to be explaining basic concepts on this higher level forum. 

You didn't explain jack shit to me.

I said fair enough bc I respect his opinion, even if I don't agree with it.

[BTH]

4 hours ago, Blarg said:

Drury the last 6 games has been hitting .174/.208/.435/.643.

Yes, you pinch hit for him with someone who can bunt. 

He also hit a go-ahead RBI triple in a tied game B8 two days earlier against the same Astros.

[Angels 1961]

Bunting a lost art in MLB. You want bunting watch women's college softball.

[Angels 1961]

Can someone tell me why Philips was not used as pinch runner for Rendon in 9th inn. Was it his scheduled day off. I thought Monday was his day off as he was not used with his elite defense in 9th inn of that game. Did Minasian sign someone for a million to hand out that hat? Would Scioscia have used Philips in that spot? 

[jsnpritchett]

8 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

Can someone tell me why Philips was not used as pinch runner for Rendon in 9th inn. Was it his scheduled day off. I thought Monday was his day off as he was not used with his elite defense in 9th inn of that game. Did Minasian sign someone for a million to hand out that hat? Would Scioscia have used Philips in that spot? 

[Stradling]

14 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

He’s just incredibly dumb and repetitive.  He’s like flunky AO. 

[Angels 1961]

1 hour ago, Stradling said:

He’s just incredibly dumb and repetitive.  He’s like flunky AO. 

No these are questions as to why he has not been used. You and others said he is on team because of his speed and elite defense. He has not been used in those spots. I'm just asking why. Why is that being dumb maybe you are by not answering the question. 

[Angels 1961]

1 hour ago, Stradling said:

He’s just incredibly dumb and repetitive.  He’s like flunky AO. 

 

1 hour ago, jsnpritchett said:

Just asking a question. You and others raved about his elite defense and speed. Seems like 2 perfect spots for him. If not going to be used he is useless player too carry on this team. 

[REDneck]

2 hours ago, Angels 1961 said:

Bunting a lost art in MLB. You want bunting watch women's college softball.

The guillotine is also archaic.

Doesn't mean it wouldn't still get the job done if utelized.

 

 

[Stradling]

24 minutes ago, REDneck said:

The guillotine is also archaic.

Doesn't mean it wouldn't still get the job done if utelized.

 

 

In that situation the math says it increases your chances of scoring one run and decreases your chances of scoring multiple runs. 

[OhtaniSan]

50 minutes ago, Angels 1961 said:

 

Just asking a question. You and others raved about his elite defense and speed. Seems like 2 perfect spots for him. If not going to be used he is useless player too carry on this team. 

Not wrong here. I respect Nevin's attitude for preferring to be the hardened team that drives in all their runs and rolls the lineup over, but this philosophy hurt them in last nights game. Phillips should have absolutely been used to at the very least to pinch run for Rendon, and honestly he probably should have been called in to bunt the runners over. If the runners had been bunted over, a pop out becomes a game-tying sac fly. 

These are very clear indicators of what we have all been saying as well: that Nevin's philosophy doesn't properly emphasize mechanics, fundamentals, or really any outside the box thinking other than traditional "let them hit" American baseball. Dropping a sac bunt or pinch running for your best hitter isn't sexy - but goddamn what it does do is put pressure on the other teams defense and increase your chances of getting that crucial run in. Playing fundamentally sound baseball and finding small ways of putting pressure on another teams defense is sexy enough in my book.

I remember earlier this season there was a game with like 3 bunt hits in a row against us and our defense fell apart and pitching collapsed right after. In a nutshell, that's what we need to be doing to other teams and what we need to stop letting other teams do to us.

[Stradling]

3 minutes ago, Stradling said:

In that situation the math says it increases your chances of scoring one run and decreases your chances of scoring multiple runs. 

@Trendon shared something recently on Twitter. My chart is a little older and I haven’t looked at more recent data. 

[Angels 1961]

41 minutes ago, REDneck said:

The guillotine is also archaic.

Doesn't mean it wouldn't still get the job done if utelized.

 

 

You are right and heads would not be rolling all over the place now if it worked.

[Duren, Duren]

Actually the Angels play boring baseball. At least to me. Granted that I'm more old school and enjoy seeing the ball in play rather than go over the fence. I find it more exciting seeing defenses challenged. Outfielders having to track down line drives and bloopers. Challenge runners on the bases. Infielders diving and jumping, maneuvering around with runners on base. 

That's action. Not static posing after a home run. Though if course the four bagger is still important. 

The Angels still have double digit strikeouts at the plate as much or more than most teams. At or near the top of the league for strikeouts. That's boring and reflects a one dimensional approach. Sure, good pitching is a huge factor. But some hitters just make it easier for them by chasing or trying to over power bad percentage pitches. 

Waiting for the big home run in most situations has been a constant for years. How's that worked out ? Even when men are on base they still mostly take big swings and try to pull the ball. And when men do get on base there rarely is any aggression or creativity. How about some set plays like hit and run, bunt, steals? 

A more balanced lineup would provide more options. Ward, Trout, Ohtani, Renfrew, whoever is catching or at first. Usually about six of nine in the batting order are mostly looking to overpower the ball at most at bats. Drury praised for occasional power rather than being even an average hitter. Rendon ironically has lost his slugging power and is a little more situationally adaptable. But if he regains his power swing he'll probably revert to a slugging mindset. And his defense? Will that ever normalize? And now that Neto has homered will people start expecting more? 

I won't go into pitching and defense now because those are different issues with separate strategic and coaching factors. 

My frustrations boil down to a failure to put things together and get team momentum going. The hitting side of things isn't the only reason, but it is frustrating watching such a static one dimensional approach game after game. 

 

[Stradling]

Rendon has never had a slugging mindset.