Has your assessment of the Angels changed from where it was before the season started?

[BTH]

38 games in, they’re 20-18.

Has your assessment of the Angels changed from where it was before the season started?

6-13 against opponents above .500

14-5 against opponents below .500

[BTH]

I’d have to say it’s the same. They’re on pace to win 85 games, which is around where I had them before the season started.

Granted, they’re gonna need to play better against teams above .500 in order to sustain an 85 win pace.

But the starting pitching is capable of being better and I still don’t think we’ve seen the offense fully click. Walsh’s LH bat feels like a potential game-changer vs. RHP if he’s healthy and productive.

Edited May 11, 2023 by Trendon

[mmc]

No, I thought they were improved but still not a playoff team and I still think that

[Jason]

2 minutes ago, mmc said:

No, I thought they were improved but still not a playoff team and I still think that

Same for me 

[Jay]

I figured they were about a 90-win team before the season started. I think they are better than their current record so my opinion hasn't changed.

[DMVol]

3 minutes ago, mmc said:

No, I thought they were improved but still not a playoff team and I still think that

 

Just now, Jason said:

Same for me 

Same here....

[BTH]

9 minutes ago, mmc said:

No, I thought they were improved but still not a playoff team and I still think that

 

6 minutes ago, Jason said:

Same for me 

 

5 minutes ago, DMVol said:

Same here....

The one saving grace is that IF they’re still hanging around in the wild card race at the deadline, I have to imagine they’ll be super aggressive.

The current roster may not be a playoff team, but maybe the roster in August/September will be.

[REDneck]

15 minutes ago, Trendon said:

38 games in, they’re 20-18.

Has your assessment of the Angels changed from where it was before the season started?

6-13 against opponents above .500

14-5 against opponents below .500

One more loss against better teams and we're at the franchise magical record of 6-14!!

[AngelsFanSince86]

Nope. They got to beat up on the struggling cards and the awful A's. This is a large reason they are above .500. They continue to lose games they should have won and continue to underperform as a team. Score 4,5,6, 7 runs and lose and then hold a team to 3 or less runs and still lose. I think on paper they are a borderline playoff team, but for some reason the Angels repeatedly underperform their talent. I won't believe in this team until they prove they worth it. But I'll still go to games and cheer, just with no expectation of success.

[Jason]

17 minutes ago, Trendon said:

 

 

The one saving grace is that IF they’re still hanging around in the wild card race at the deadline, I have to imagine they’ll be super aggressive.

The current roster may not be a playoff team, but maybe the roster in August/September will be.

I believe pitching and the garbage defense will have them out of the race at the deadline. Hopefully I’m way off and they get their crap figured out 

[Justin]

I thought this would be a better Angels team than we have seen for several years and the division would be worse than we have seen for several years. I still think both of those things. 

There have been some really disappointing games and some bad luck. But there is plenty of season left and both of those things can improve. I have not yet given up. 

 

 

[halodground]

Going into the season I felt like they needed health and a few things to go right for them to contend. So far, they’ve been fairly healthy but most of the things I felt needed to go right (continued improvement of the young pitchers and Ward/Rengifo plus a couple guys in the BP stepping up) haven’t really happened and somehow they are still above .500 by a couple games. There is still lots of time for Sandoval and Detmers to adjust and improve on last year. Suarez looks lost though. Ward and Rengifo have looked better of late. Estevez and Moore are building blocks but still need help from someone in the pen.  Overall, I’m hopeful. It could be much worse, but it’s definitely not the start I would have liked to see.

Of course, this is the Angels we are talking about, so if key performances do improve and they seem to be putting it all together then the big injuries will automatically happen. 

[Angelsjunky]

Worse. I was pretty optimistic (overly so, as I usually am), thinking they were going to win 90+ games. Now I think it most likely that they'll fight it out to about 85. 

But...I do think that they have the talent to fulfill my original prediction. The rotation has underperformed, and we haven't seen Trout go off yet. This is a team that could come together and very good. Could. I do think I probably over-estimated them and/or under-estimated The Curse, and 85 wins is more likely.

[Stradling]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

I figured they were about a 90-win team before the season started. I think they are better than their current record so my opinion hasn't changed.

I don’t often agree with you but I’m pretty much right there. I thought they were 88 win team with the idea of upgrading at the deadline to get around 89-92 wins. 
I’ll say this, my outlook hasn’t changed but I thought that starting pitching would be much better. I’m disappointed in the defense.  The pen has performed much better than fans think. I thought the depth created would allow us to beat teams that on paper were better with more frequency. 
I still see about an 88 win team and right now and they are on pace to win about 85-86 games. 

[BTH]

36 minutes ago, Stradling said:

I thought the depth created would allow us to beat teams that on paper were better with more frequency. 

I wonder if that’s something that becomes a bigger factor later in the season.

Like as the season goes on, more players are injured and tired around the league. Whereas the Angels have been able to rest players more often and have more depth for when injuries occur throughout the season.

The depth is good for a marathon of a season, so it might not help during the “sprint” at the start of the season, but may pay huge dividends in July/August.

Edited May 11, 2023 by Trendon

[T.G.]

I think that when all is said and done this team will make the post-season.  That hasn't changed for me. It's a long season and we're barely into it.

[Second Base]

I predicted they'd finish around 87 wins and to me, that appears initially accurate. 

[Taylor]

53 minutes ago, T.G. said:

I think that when all is said and done this team will make the post-season.  That hasn't changed for me. It's a long season and we're barely into it.

Winning just one series against an above .500 team would be a good start.

[Revad]

I voted worse after estimating 90 wins.  I realize they look better on paper and I like the depth but I’m not seeing playoff quality play.  After nearly a quarter of the season, this team has not played at all up to my expectations.

[fan_since79]

3rd place at best.

Wild cards will probably come from the East.

A better bullpen next year, a better manager, a new owner, and maybe we'll contend for a WC in 2024. Maybe.

[Stradling]

36 minutes ago, Taylor said:

Winning just one series against an above .500 team would be a good start.

We say that but if the Mariners win 3 in a row we will have won a series against a team over .500 and none of us will feel better. 

[Stradling]

27 minutes ago, fan_since79 said:

3rd place at best.

Wild cards will probably come from the East.

A better bullpen next year, a better manager, a new owner, and maybe we'll contend for a WC in 2024. Maybe.

You’ve missed how good the bullpen has been. Every team in the division is flawed but we only focus on the Angels flaws. 

[Blarg]

[Taylor]

7 minutes ago, Stradling said:

We say that but if the Mariners win 3 in a row we will have won a series against a team over .500 and none of us will feel better. 

I mean an above .500 team at the time the Angels played the team.

[ten ocho recon scout]

5 minutes ago, Blarg said:

That's been stuck in my head for a few weeks... I keep picturing that scene when I think of Ohtanis parents watching back home.