AngelsWin.com

The outlook for the 21-27 Angels is not nearly as grim as it once was this season. Every portion of the Angels' game has picked up during a six-game win streak and there is further reason for optimism with ace Jered Weaver on the mend.
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By Geoff Stoddart, AngelsWin.com Director of Social Media
Where do you go when you have a question?  You ask an expert!
Angels fans have lots of questions about this team right now:  "Are they still in it?"  "What should we expect from Weaver upon his return?"  "Is Mike Trout going to beat out Miggy for MVP this year?"   "Am I the only one who wants to jump off a cliff when they hear "Buttercup?"  
These are all valid questions, and they deserve answers!  So we worked to assemble a sophisticated group of experts to answers all your Halo related inquiries.
Unfortunately, our efforts to assemble such a group fell a little short.  So in the absence of actual experts, AngelsWin.com Podcast hosts, Adam Dodge & Geoff Stoddart, along with AngelsWin.com founder, Chuck Richter, said they'd step up and take on the challenge.
On this Sunday's podcast, the boys will be talking Angels baseball and answering your questions.  You can Tweet your questions using the hashtag #AskAWExperts, post a question on our Facebook page or post a question on our board's Fan Forum.  No question is too tough for them to take head on, so ask away!
AngelsWin.com, Ask The "Experts."  Because if we don't know the answer … you can bet we'll make one up!
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By Scott Stedman, AngelsWin.com Staff Reporter -    1. Randal Grichuk, OF, Arkansas Travelers 

Past 10 Games: 13/39 (.333), 5 Doubles, 0 Triples, 3 HRs, 9 Runs, 9 RBIs, 0 SB Overall: .228/.281/.463 with 6 HRs and 1 SB   What’s Up:  Randal Grichuk is single-handedly proving that the pitcher-friendly Double-A does not always damper power hitter's numbers.  Though it took Grichuk a month or so before the average started to climb, his power remained consistent, leading the team in extra-base hits with 19.  His 1.042 OPS in the last 10 games shows that this extraordinary power does not displays signs of slowing anytime soon.  Grichuk continues to draw parallels to Royals outfielder Jeff Francoeur - tremendous power, a plus-plus arm and above average defense, with both of their downfalls being plate discipline.  However, Grichuk's walk rate has increased 1.6% from last season and has much more time to improve as Grichuk is still only 21-years-old.  Of note:  Grichuk's 69 total bases are good for 10th in the Texas League, a testament to his power-speed combination.  The 6'1" outfielder definitely has a chance at getting a look on the Angels in September if he can keep this play up.   2. Zach Borenstein, OF, Inland Empire 66ers Past 10 Games: 17/39 (.436), 4 Doubles, 1 Triples, 2 HRs, 6 Runs, 6 RBIs, 0 SB Overall: .345/.380/.690 with 12 HRs and 4 SB   What’s Up: Zach Borenstein just will not cool down.  This is Borenstein's 3rd consecutive week on the AngelsWin prospect hotlist - and for good reason.  This week, the 22-year-old's OPS was 1.207, bringing his total OPS to 1.070; incredible.  Borenstein leads the California League in home runs, total bases, slugging percentage, among others.  When he is going right, Borenstein has quick hands from the left side and drives the ball with authority to all fields, similar to that of Kole Calhoun.  On the bases and in the outfield, Borenstein is average to slightly above average, but his potential with the bat makes up for any shortcomings he may have.  Breaking from the Angels' norms, Borenstein actually thrives with runners in scoring position - hitting .410.  That is a true breath of fresh air.  However, only 2 home runs in the past 5 games? Unacceptable.     3. Taylor Lindsey, 2B, Arkansas Travelers Past 10 Games: 12/36 (.333), 2 Doubles, 0 Triples, 3 HRs, 6 Runs, 6 RBIs, 0 SB Overall: .236/.292/.414 with 6 HRs and 2 SB   What’s Up: Raise your hand if you thought Taylor Lindsey would be leading the Arkansas Travelers in home runs in mid-May.  And not only is Lindsey showing some serious power, his walk rate has increased by over 3%.  The 21-year-old second baseman has an unorthodox coil/spring-like swing but he encompasses some of the best hand-eye coordination in the organization.  Former Angels Scouting Director Eddie Bane goes so far as to say that Lindsey is the best hitter in the Angels minor leagues - above Cowart and Cron.  Defensively, Lindsey has some question marks, just as Howie Kendrick did coming up through the system, but he figures to get better as he gets more playing time under his belt.  Lindsey is also in that group of players who may get some playing time with the Angels in September if his numbers with the Travs' continue to improve.    4. Michael Snyder, 1B/3B, Inland Empire 66ers Past 10 Games: 11/37 (.297), 1 Double, 1 Triple, 4 HR, 8 Runs, 7 RBIs, 0 SB Overall: .276/.327/.506 with 8 HR and 0 SB   What’s Up:  Borenstein and Snyder have proved to be a helluva 4-5 punch in the 66ers lineup this season.  Snyder, a big-bodied former third-baseman was selected by the Halos in the 23rd round of the 2012 draft and immediately had a solid season with the Orem Owlz which earned him the 22nd spot on AngelsWin's prospect list.  Snyder's most impressive tool is his power which could potentially be as high as a 60-65 on the 20-80 scouting scale as seen by his 10 doubles and 8 home runs already this season.  Snyder is very quiet at the plate and has a natural gap to gap stroke.  Defensively, Snyder is currently below average at first and profiles to be a future DH.  With his bat, though, Snyder could be attractive to many teams if he can't find his way passed the glut of first basemen on the Angels.   5. Abel Baker, C, Inland Empire 66ers  Past 10 Games: 14/34 (.412), 4 Doubles, 1 Triple, 1 HR, 4 Runs, 5 RBIs, 0 SB Overall: .316/.359/.491 with 1 HR and 0 SB   What’s Up:  Abel Baker just continues to hit.  He came into the year as simply the backup catcher to Zach Wright, but because of his stick, Baker has thrust himself into the lineup on a regular basis.  Coming into the year, defense was supposed to be the 22-year-old's strong suit, and it still is, but the emergence of the bat is exciting to say the least.  Personally, I have had Baker at a 1.81 pop time, which is very advanced.  He also moves freely behind the plate and is quick on his feet.  He is definitely the type of catcher that Mike Scioscia prefers.  Although Baker does not produce much power at the plate, he is patient as could one day be a .270-.280 hitter in the big leagues.    Affiliate Reports:   Salt Lake Bees:  The Bees went 4-2 this week staying in 3rd place in their division.  Veteran Brad Hawpe continues to swing a very hot bat, getting on base about 41% of the time.  Efren Navarro is also having a great season, with an OPS well above .900.  Of note: Kole Calhoun was activated off the DL on Sunday, going 2-5 in his first game back.  Reliever Ty Kelley is joining the squad after an impressive season with the 66ers thus far.     Arkansas Travelers:  Arkansas had an incredible week, going 6-1 and catapulting them into first place.  This is due in the large part to the big hitters, Grichuk, Lindsey, Cron, etc. starting to actually hit.  Nick Maronde has a 2.70 ERA in his last 10 games with 23 strikeouts.  Catcher Jett Bandy was swinging an extremely hot bat before going on the DL with a bruised elbow.     Inland Empire 66ers: Just like the Bees, the 66ers went 4-2 this week.  They currently lead their division by a game and a half.  Reliever Mike Morin is stupid good.  29 Ks/2BBs with a 1.80 ERA and WHIP well below 1.  I highly doubt he is in IE much longer.  Mark Sappington continues to plug away, with his ERA hovering around 2 and K/9 around 9.     Burlington Bees: Burlington endured a tough week with a 3-5 record and playing a doubleheader, falling to the cellar in the division at 15-24. Eduard Santon, a 23-year-old pitcher has 32 Ks in just 26 innings.  1B/3B Michael Bolaski is hitting .371 in his past 10 games.  He is just 21-years-old and has the potential to be a breakout prospect.  

By Jonathan Northrop, AngelsWin.com Columnist - 
A Brief History of Franchise Ineptitude
I’ve never really liked the way the Angels were run. I started following the team around 1980, although I was just a kid and only vaguely followed them, not getting serious about the team until 1987, the year after their ill-fated 1986 campaign. The Angels had been to the playoffs three times in the previous eight years, and finished 1st or 2nd in the division in six of the last nine years (1978-86), so for most of my early years they had been a contender. 
After the accursed 1986 season, the franchise entered another dark age that rivaled their first decade and a half; as with 1961-1978, from 1987 to 2001, a span of 15 years, they didn’t make a playoff appearance. There were a couple of close calls, most notably the infamous Great Collapse of 1995, which for me was the low-point in Angels history. While 1986 was disappointing, it was the culmination of the Buzzie Bavasi and Mike Port crafted mercenary teams. The big stars were imports from other organization like Bobby Grich, Doug DeCinces, Reggie Jackson, and Rod Carew, and thus didn’t quite have the “these are my guys” feel that is symptomatic of a homegrown team. 
It wasn’t until the late 80s that the Angels began to focus more on player development. The first wave, including players like Wally Joyner, Devon White, and Jack Howell, didn’t bear fruit, perhaps partially because the Angels still relied upon bringing in aging free agents past their prime. The rosters of the late 80s and early 90s are veritable "Who’s Who" of 80s All-Star teams, yet of course all well past All-Star performance. When Tim Salmon arrived in 1993 and won Rookie of the Year, a new and more hopeful era began.  In 1995 the team was a mixture of a talented young outfield of Salmon, Jim Edmonds, and Garret Anderson, stalwart shortstop Gary DiSarcina hitting well, franchise cornerstone Chuck Finley leading the rotation, and a mixture of imports including sparkplug Tony Philips and first baseman JT Snow. On August 16 the team was 64-38 with a 10.5 game lead. What happened next was one of the worst collapses in baseball history and rather inexplicable. The Angels went 9-28 over their next 37 games, falling 3 games behind the Seattle Mariners. They then proceeded to win five games in a row to force a one game tiebreaker with the Mariners. What followed was probably the most painful game I’ve ever watched. A fading Mark Langston faced Cy Young Award winning Randy Johnson. Through six and a half innings the Mariners had a narrow 1-0 lead and then the bottom of the 7th happened. Langston loaded the bases which Luis Sojo cleared on a double, and then scored on a wild throw from Langston. The Mariners followed up with 4 more runs in the 8th and the game was lost 9-1.
The 1996 team struggled, finishing 70-91 and in last place, but then the team perked up in 1997 and ‘98, finishing 2nd place both years. But the homegrown talent of the 90s never manifested in a playoff run, not until a new wave of talent came in and 2002 happened. I write “happened” because just as the collapse of 1995 was unexplainable, so was the success of 2002. Like the 1995 team, the 2002 squad was a mixture of homegrown talent – including Salmon and Anderson, but also Jarrod Washburn, John Lackey, Darin Erstad, Troy Glaus, and Francisco Rodriguez – and imports like Adam Kennedy, David Eckstein, Brad Fullmer and Scott Spiezio. The team wasn’t bursting with talent, but it was well-balanced and had a heart of gold. 
Predictably, the 2003 team – comprised of most of the same players – disappointed. The fire was lost and what remained was the talent, which wasn’t overwhelming. But the offseason saw new team owner Arte Moreno wanting to make a “big splash,” and the Angels surprised by signing superstar Vladimir Guerrero, as well as pitchers Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar, and trading for problematic but talented outfielder Jose Guillen. If 2002 was the Golden Year of Angels baseball, 2004-09 was an echoing Golden Age. The Angels made the playoffs in every year but 2006, and even then they contended but finished 2nd.
A new level of expectation was established for Angels fans. After 41 years (1961-2001) with only three playoff appearances, the Angels went eight years with six appearances including a World Series championship. If the Angels weren’t quite yet a first tier franchise like the Red Sox, Yankees, Braves, and Cardinals, they were in the next group down. Life was good for Angels fans.
By the end of 2009 the franchise and fans were getting a bit world-weary. It was the third year in a row, and fifth of six years, of losing in the first or second round of the playoffs. The team was very good, but something was always missing. A shake-up was believed to be needed, so core players of the 2004-09 were let go of – most notably aging Vlad Guerrero and lineup sparkplug Chone Figgins. The Angels brought in former Yankees star Hideki Matsui and hoped to rely upon the homegrown core of Jered Weaver, Ervin Santana, Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick, Kendrys Morales, and Brandon Wood, as well as the veteran leadership of Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu.
2010 was the team’s worst year since 2003 and the team finished 80-82. The homegrown talent wasn’t quite as talented as hoped, with Wood in particular being a massive disappointment. Owner Arte Moreno and General Manager had big plans for the offseason, looking to be in on both Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre. They balked at the asking price of both and in what could only be described as a panic move of desperation, traded Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera to the Blue Jays for Vernon Wells and almost all of his $89 million contract. Wells was coming off a pretty good year, hitting 31 HR with an .847 OPS, but he had established a good-year, bad-year pattern and despite his superstar money had only really had a couple of superstar caliber seasons, in 2003 and 2006. He was considered untradeable due to his hugely overpriced contract until the Angels came along.
This trade sent the franchise reeling. Wells was a monumental disappointment in 2011, hitting .218/.248/.412, with one of the lowest on-base percentages in baseball history. The Angels perked up a bit overall, finishing 86-76 but still 10 games behind the Rangers and missing the wildcard by 5 games. Arte Moreno wasn’t satisfied, and neither were the relatively newly jaded Angels fans that were used to the success of 2002-09. 
Tony Reagins was demoted and relatively young Jerry Dipoto brought in. Moreno and Dipoto got to work and pulled off the two biggest free agent acquisitions of the 2011 Winter Meetings, signing mega-star Albert Pujols and Texas ace CJ Wilson. Things were looking bright until, well, the season started. Pujols got off to a terrible start and the team was at 15-21 on May 14th. The next day notorious hitting coach Mickey Hatcher was fired. Whether that catalyzed the Angels or if they finally just figured things out—and of course a 20-year old by the name of Mike Trout had finally arrived—the Angels began to play well and went 42-26 through the end of July, pulling back into contention. But the Angels faded in August and despite a strong September were still watching the playoffs from their couches, finishing 5 games behind the Athletics and 4 behind the Wildcard teams.
Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire
This brings us almost to the present. For the last few years before 2012 the problem had been the hitting, not the pitching (well, at least not the starting pitching). In 2012 the hitting finally started firing on all cylinders, but the pitching fell apart, even with the late-season trade for Zack Greinke. Going into the offseason the plan was, or should have been, to re-vitalize the pitching staff. But the Angels balked at the asking price of Zack Greinke, who ended up going across town to the tune of 6 years and $147 million. The Angels also traded erratic starter Ervin Santana for Brandon Sisk in an obvious salary dump, and didn’t pick up declining starter Dan Haren’s option. So the Angels were left with a rotation of staff ace Jered Weaver, disappointing but solid CJ Wilson, and…Jerome Williams? Garret Richards? Brad Mills?
But never fear, Jerry Dipoto was in command. In non-chronological order he traded Kendrys Morales – who didn’t really have a position and was obviously not the same player he was in 2009 – for Jason Vargas. He also traded Jordan Walden for Tommy Hanson and, in his most head-scratching move of the offseason, signed Joe Blanton for two years and $15 million. 
The real surprise was when the Angels, instead of going hard after Greinke consolation prize Anibal Sanchez or some other above average starter, signed Josh Hamilton for 5 years and $125 million. No one else was willing to give him more than 4 years, and for some reason the Rangers seemed quite willing to let him go – perhaps because of his injury-prone history and his erratic performance of 2012 - but Arte wanted a big name and a big bat and Arte holds the purse-strings. 
So the Angels gambled. They gambled that A) The cobbled together rotation would be solid enough to let a supposed high-powered offense led by aging superstars Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols.
So far, not good. As of the time of writing, the morning of May 18th, the Angels sit at 15-27, 12 games below .500 and 12 games behind the Texas Rangers. 12 games! And we’re only a quarter of the way into the season.
There is no way around the fact that 2013 has been a disaster. Dipoto’s gambles have not paid off. While Wilson, Vargas and Hanson have held their own and basically been league average starters (although Wilson is being paid to be better than that), Joe Blanton has been a disaster (to the tune of an 0-7 record and 6.46 ERA through 8 starts). Jered Weaver has missed most of the season to injury and when he pitched, all of two starts, he was throwing soft 85-mph fastballs. 
But the real goats of the season have been, first and foremost, Josh Hamilton and, secondly, Albert Pujols. Hamilton owns a .606 OPS and his performance at the plate can be best exemplified by his 9 walks to 48 strikeouts. Pujols, while starting better than last year, has been mediocre, hitting .242 with a .741 OPS. Together the two combine for an fWAR of -0.4, mainly due to Hamilton’s -0.4 (yet let us remind ourselves that Pujols 0.0 fWAR means he’s been of replacement value this year – that’s Paul McAnulty territory; it’s going to be a long nine years, folks).
The rest of the lineup has been solid, if unspectacular. For most of the year Peter Bourjos and Mark Trumbo played well, but Trumbo has struggled of late and Bourjos, surprise surprise, is injured. Mike Trout started slow but is playing very well, fWAR at 2.3, currently 6th in the majors. The bullpen has been, well, OK I guess – if blowing their usual saves.
To rub salt in wounds, former Angels are having good seasons across the league. Vernon Wells has seemingly discovered the flower of life, hitting .287/.345/.513 with 10 HR. Torii Hunter is also playing well, although seems to be fading and has only hit one HR. Perhaps worst of all is the fact that Ervin Santana is having his best season since his career in 2008, with a 2.79 ERA through 7 starts. Even Dan Haren, despite a 4.76 ERA, has pitched decently of late.
Where to Go From Here?
This brings us to the question. Or rather, there are many questions but I think we can simmer them down to two:
1) What’s wrong with this franchise?  2) What can and should be done about it?
Fans have looked to blame everyone and everything: Mike Butcher, Mike Scioscia, Jerry Dipoto, Arte Moreno, the players, the city, the team, the Indian burial ground, probably Barack Obama. Rather than trying to find someone to blame, it would behoove the powers-that-be to focus on how to make this team right – what to do. And unfortunately there is no easy answer.
Arte Moreno has been quite liberal with throwing his money around. While money can buy you a good team, it isn’t inherently causative that the more you spend, the more games you win. You have to spend that money well and the Angels, for the most part, have not done that. What is even more important is developing a strong farm system and savvy moves that optimize performance for cost.
Jerry Dipoto has made some savvy moves, but also some dunder-headed ones. In some ways he seems like he wants to be a moneyball-type GM, but is burdened by having too much money to spend, and the Steinbrenner-esque shadow of Arte Moreno looming over him.
What is wrong with this franchise is, I believe, what is also wrong with this country: a focus on the short-term and a lack of sustainability. Things not working out? Spend more! Buy buy buy!
The Angels need to look at their farm system as a garden, the prospects as flowers in the garden, and the major league team as a bouquet made from that garden. The bulk of that bouquet should be from the garden; that is the most cost-effective way to produce a bouquet and, furthermore, flowers fresh from one’s own backyard will be more beautiful and healthy than those imported from miles away. Now occasionally, when you want to bring in something exotic or to accent the bouquet, go ahead. But that should always be secondary and supplemental.
The Angels need to focus on the garden – on the farm system. It is terrible right now. Even the so-called “top prospects” like Kaleb Cowart, CJ Cron, Nick Maronde and Taylor Lindsey have struggled this year (although all are doing better, except for Cowart).
What can be done? This is the problem. At this point less is more. Let the team ride it out. Maybe make some minor adjustments, but by no means strip the minor league system further, or trade away someone like Peter Bourjos to bring in a rental to solidify the staff. Stop with the foolishness – enough damage has already been done. The Angels need to stop taking the psychiatric approach: prescribe one medication, then another to counter-act the side-effects of the first, then a third to counter-act the side-effects of the second, etc. It spirals out of control and you’re left with…well, a 15-27 record despite the 7th highest payroll in the majors.
Hey, at least the Angels aren’t the Dodgers, who have been almost equally inept but with a payroll almost $100 million higher.
From 2010 to the present the Angels have missed out on the playoffs. 2013 looks little different. We can hope, though, that Arte Moreno learns his lesson and stops throwing money around on bad gambles. We can hope that Jerry Dipoto has the long-range plan in mind so that the Angels can, once again, return to contention during Mike Trout’s prime years. Given that Trout’s only 21 that might sound fatalistic, but remember that the Angels have put a lot of eggs in just a small basket – they have $95 million invested in four players – Pujols, Hamilton, Weaver, and Wilson – in 2016, all four of whom have been disappointments this year. Hopefully the Angels stop trying to fix mistakes with further mistakes and take a more sustainable approach towards long-term success.
We can hope.

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By Ellen Bell, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer - 
It was my New Year’s resolution. A dare, if you will.

Over the years I had listened to many National Anthem singers at the ballpark. One day, I said to myself,
“I can do that.”
I’m not really sure what drove me to call the Angels Front Office to inquire about an audition in January of 1998. But for whatever the reason, I made the call, recorded a short cassette tape, and mailed it in. I told myself that the dare was complete. I had made the effort and followed through. Mission accomplished.
Then I got the call.
I came home to find a message from the Angels on my answering machine, wondering if I’d like to sing the National Anthem in April. My kids, who were only 6 and 3 at the time, wanted to know why my face looked funny. 
“Mommy’s gonna sing at the Angels game,” I answered weakly.
“Will you be on that giant TV screen in the field?” Tyler asked.
I had to sit down.
When the big day arrived and I drove to the stadium filled with a mixture of excitement and dread. I was thrilled for the opportunity but my anticipation was laced with panic. What if I messed up? What if I sang off key and embarrassed all of the neighbors and friends who had bought tickets to come and support me? 
But what of it all went well and I had the time of my life?
I hung on to that thought as I met the Andre, the Angels Stage Manager at the time, who walked me through the tunnels and then up the elevator to the press level. There I met Peggy Duquesnel, the wonderfully talented musician who used to play live organ music during every home game. Peggy made me feel right at home as we ran through the anthem and practiced “Take Me Out to The Ballgame.” She was a stickler for the lyrics, and insisted that every soloist sang…”I don’t care if I never get back.”  Even now, I still listen to the singers to see if they get it right.
After rehearsal, we took the elevator down to the dugout suites level.  Andre showed me to the dressing room that was so close to the field I could hear the crack of the bats as the players took batting practice.  Minutes later, I stepped up onto the field behind home plate and took a look around.
It was a beautiful, warm spring evening and the stadium was slowly filling with fans. Peggy’s music was floating over the field and I scanned the stadium around me, trying to memorize everything.  David Courtney announced the lineup of the visiting team and then “Spirit in the Sky” began to play over the loud speaker. This was my signal to step up and take my position at the microphone. To this day, no matter where I am when I hear that song, my stomach fills with butterflies.
Then David Courtney said, “Now would you please rise and kindly remove your hats and join Ms Ellen Bell in the singing of our National Anthem.”
I glanced up at the giant image of myself on the jumbotron and quickly looked away. I decided to smile and focus on the flag in the outfield instead.
“Oh say can you see…”
A funny thing happens when you’re singing the National Anthem in front of thousands of people. Your mind begins to play tricks on you. Sure, you try to stay focused on the task at hand, but a little voice in your head tries to mess you up. This is why I will always have empathy for Christina Aguilera or anyone else who has flubbed the lyrics. Suddenly, in the middle of the song, I was absolutely convinced that I had sung the wrong words. I looked at the cameraman to see if he was confused by my jumbled lyrics, but his expression told me nothing.  I continued on, singing through to the money note at the end, still believing that I had screwed the whole thing up.
“….O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.”
The cheers went up and I felt as if Mo Vaughn had been lifted off my shoulders. I walked off the field and whispered to my husband,
“Did I get the words right?”
“You were perfect,” he said just as the umpires took the field.
After that first night, I went on to sing the National Anthem more than 50 times at southern California sporting events. I had the honor of singing at Dodgers Stadium, Staples Center and on the ice for the Ducks when they still played at “The Pond.” But more than 30 of those games were for the Anaheim Angels, who always treated me and my family as if we were part of theirs.  I have many wonderful memories from singing at Angels Stadium, but I have to say that the best are from that very first night,
...when I dared myself to step up to the plate.

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By Jonathan Northrop, AngelsWin.com Columnist - 
A Brief History of Franchise Ineptitude
I’ve never really liked the way the Angels were run. I started following the team around 1980, although I was just a kid and only vaguely followed them, not getting serious about the team until 1987, the year after their ill-fated 1986 campaign. The Angels had been to the playoffs three times in the previous eight years, and finished 1st or 2nd in the division in six of the last nine years (1978-86), so for most of my early years they had been a contender. 
After the accursed 1986 season, the franchise entered another dark age that rivaled their first decade and a half; as with 1961-1978, from 1987 to 2001, a span of 15 years, they didn’t make a playoff appearance. There were a couple of close calls, most notably the infamous Great Collapse of 1995, which for me was the low-point in Angels history. While 1986 was disappointing, it was the culmination of the Buzzie Bavasi and Mike Port crafted mercenary teams. The big stars were imports from other organization like Bobby Grich, Doug DeCinces, Reggie Jackson, and Rod Carew, and thus didn’t quite have the “these are my guys” feel that is symptomatic of a homegrown team. 
It wasn’t until the late 80s that the Angels began to focus more on player development. The first wave, including players like Wally Joyner, Devon White, and Jack Howell, didn’t bear fruit, perhaps partially because the Angels still relied upon bringing in aging free agents past their prime. The rosters of the late 80s and early 90s are veritable "Who’s Who" of 80s All-Star teams, yet of course all well past All-Star performance. When Tim Salmon arrived in 1993 and won Rookie of the Year, a new and more hopeful era began.  In 1995 the team was a mixture of a talented young outfield of Salmon, Jim Edmonds, and Garret Anderson, stalwart shortstop Gary DiSarcina hitting well, franchise cornerstone Chuck Finley leading the rotation, and a mixture of imports including sparkplug Tony Philips and first baseman JT Snow. On August 16 the team was 64-38 with a 10.5 game lead. What happened next was one of the worst collapses in baseball history and rather inexplicable. The Angels went 9-28 over their next 37 games, falling 3 games behind the Seattle Mariners. They then proceeded to win five games in a row to force a one game tiebreaker with the Mariners. What followed was probably the most painful game I’ve ever watched. A fading Mark Langston faced Cy Young Award winning Randy Johnson. Through six and a half innings the Mariners had a narrow 1-0 lead and then the bottom of the 7th happened. Langston loaded the bases which Luis Sojo cleared on a double, and then scored on a wild throw from Langston. The Mariners followed up with 4 more runs in the 8th and the game was lost 9-1.
The 1996 team struggled, finishing 70-91 and in last place, but then the team perked up in 1997 and ‘98, finishing 2nd place both years. But the homegrown talent of the 90s never manifested in a playoff run, not until a new wave of talent came in and 2002 happened. I write “happened” because just as the collapse of 1995 was unexplainable, so was the success of 2002. Like the 1995 team, the 2002 squad was a mixture of homegrown talent – including Salmon and Anderson, but also Jarrod Washburn, John Lackey, Darin Erstad, Troy Glaus, and Francisco Rodriguez – and imports like Adam Kennedy, David Eckstein, Brad Fullmer and Scott Spiezio. The team wasn’t bursting with talent, but it was well-balanced and had a heart of gold. 
Predictably, the 2003 team – comprised of most of the same players – disappointed. The fire was lost and what remained was the talent, which wasn’t overwhelming. But the offseason saw new team owner Arte Moreno wanting to make a “big splash,” and the Angels surprised by signing superstar Vladimir Guerrero, as well as pitchers Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar, and trading for problematic but talented outfielder Jose Guillen. If 2002 was the Golden Year of Angels baseball, 2004-09 was an echoing Golden Age. The Angels made the playoffs in every year but 2006, and even then they contended but finished 2nd.
A new level of expectation was established for Angels fans. After 41 years (1961-2001) with only three playoff appearances, the Angels went eight years with six appearances including a World Series championship. If the Angels weren’t quite yet a first tier franchise like the Red Sox, Yankees, Braves, and Cardinals, they were in the next group down. Life was good for Angels fans.
By the end of 2009 the franchise and fans were getting a bit world-weary. It was the third year in a row, and fifth of six years, of losing in the first or second round of the playoffs. The team was very good, but something was always missing. A shake-up was believed to be needed, so core players of the 2004-09 were let go of – most notably aging Vlad Guerrero and lineup sparkplug Chone Figgins. The Angels brought in former Yankees star Hideki Matsui and hoped to rely upon the homegrown core of Jered Weaver, Ervin Santana, Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick, Kendrys Morales, and Brandon Wood, as well as the veteran leadership of Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu.
2010 was the team’s worst year since 2003 and the team finished 80-82. The homegrown talent wasn’t quite as talented as hoped, with Wood in particular being a massive disappointment. Owner Arte Moreno and General Manager had big plans for the offseason, looking to be in on both Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre. They balked at the asking price of both and in what could only be described as a panic move of desperation, traded Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera to the Blue Jays for Vernon Wells and almost all of his $89 million contract. Wells was coming off a pretty good year, hitting 31 HR with an .847 OPS, but he had established a good-year, bad-year pattern and despite his superstar money had only really had a couple of superstar caliber seasons, in 2003 and 2006. He was considered untradeable due to his hugely overpriced contract until the Angels came along.
This trade sent the franchise reeling. Wells was a monumental disappointment in 2011, hitting .218/.248/.412, with one of the lowest on-base percentages in baseball history. The Angels perked up a bit overall, finishing 86-76 but still 10 games behind the Rangers and missing the wildcard by 5 games. Arte Moreno wasn’t satisfied, and neither were the relatively newly jaded Angels fans that were used to the success of 2002-09. 
Tony Reagins was demoted and relatively young Jerry Dipoto brought in. Moreno and Dipoto got to work and pulled off the two biggest free agent acquisitions of the 2011 Winter Meetings, signing mega-star Albert Pujols and Texas ace CJ Wilson. Things were looking bright until, well, the season started. Pujols got off to a terrible start and the team was at 15-21 on May 14th. The next day notorious hitting coach Mickey Hatcher was fired. Whether that catalyzed the Angels or if they finally just figured things out—and of course a 20-year old by the name of Mike Trout had finally arrived—the Angels began to play well and went 42-26 through the end of July, pulling back into contention. But the Angels faded in August and despite a strong September were still watching the playoffs from their couches, finishing 5 games behind the Athletics and 4 behind the Wildcard teams.
Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire
This brings us almost to the present. For the last few years before 2012 the problem had been the hitting, not the pitching (well, at least not the starting pitching). In 2012 the hitting finally started firing on all cylinders, but the pitching fell apart, even with the late-season trade for Zack Greinke. Going into the offseason the plan was, or should have been, to re-vitalize the pitching staff. But the Angels balked at the asking price of Zack Greinke, who ended up going across town to the tune of 6 years and $147 million. The Angels also traded erratic starter Ervin Santana for Brandon Sisk in an obvious salary dump, and didn’t pick up declining starter Dan Haren’s option. So the Angels were left with a rotation of staff ace Jered Weaver, disappointing but solid CJ Wilson, and…Jerome Williams? Garret Richards? Brad Mills?
But never fear, Jerry Dipoto was in command. In non-chronological order he traded Kendrys Morales – who didn’t really have a position and was obviously not the same player he was in 2009 – for Jason Vargas. He also traded Jordan Walden for Tommy Hanson and, in his most head-scratching move of the offseason, signed Joe Blanton for two years and $15 million. 
The real surprise was when the Angels, instead of going hard after Greinke consolation prize Anibal Sanchez or some other above average starter, signed Josh Hamilton for 5 years and $125 million. No one else was willing to give him more than 4 years, and for some reason the Rangers seemed quite willing to let him go – perhaps because of his injury-prone history and his erratic performance of 2012 - but Arte wanted a big name and a big bat and Arte holds the purse-strings. 
So the Angels gambled. They gambled that A) The cobbled together rotation would be solid enough to let a supposed high-powered offense led by aging superstars Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols.
So far, not good. As of the time of writing, the morning of May 18th, the Angels sit at 15-27, 12 games below .500 and 12 games behind the Texas Rangers. 12 games! And we’re only a quarter of the way into the season.
There is no way around the fact that 2013 has been a disaster. Dipoto’s gambles have not paid off. While Wilson, Vargas and Hanson have held their own and basically been league average starters (although Wilson is being paid to be better than that), Joe Blanton has been a disaster (to the tune of an 0-7 record and 6.46 ERA through 8 starts). Jered Weaver has missed most of the season to injury and when he pitched, all of two starts, he was throwing soft 85-mph fastballs. 
But the real goats of the season have been, first and foremost, Josh Hamilton and, secondly, Albert Pujols. Hamilton owns a .606 OPS and his performance at the plate can be best exemplified by his 9 walks to 48 strikeouts. Pujols, while starting better than last year, has been mediocre, hitting .242 with a .741 OPS. Together the two combine for an fWAR of -0.4, mainly due to Hamilton’s -0.4 (yet let us remind ourselves that Pujols 0.0 fWAR means he’s been of replacement value this year – that’s Paul McAnulty territory; it’s going to be a long nine years, folks).
The rest of the lineup has been solid, if unspectacular. For most of the year Peter Bourjos and Mark Trumbo played well, but Trumbo has struggled of late and Bourjos, surprise surprise, is injured. Mike Trout started slow but is playing very well, fWAR at 2.3, currently 6th in the majors. The bullpen has been, well, OK I guess – if blowing their usual saves.
To rub salt in wounds, former Angels are having good seasons across the league. Vernon Wells has seemingly discovered the flower of life, hitting .287/.345/.513 with 10 HR. Torii Hunter is also playing well, although seems to be fading and has only hit one HR. Perhaps worst of all is the fact that Ervin Santana is having his best season since his career in 2008, with a 2.79 ERA through 7 starts. Even Dan Haren, despite a 4.76 ERA, has pitched decently of late.
Where to Go From Here?
This brings us to the question. Or rather, there are many questions but I think we can simmer them down to two:
1) What’s wrong with this franchise?  2) What can and should be done about it?
Fans have looked to blame everyone and everything: Mike Butcher, Mike Scioscia, Jerry Dipoto, Arte Moreno, the players, the city, the team, the Indian burial ground, probably Barack Obama. Rather than trying to find someone to blame, it would behoove the powers-that-be to focus on how to make this team right – what to do. And unfortunately there is no easy answer.
Arte Moreno has been quite liberal with throwing his money around. While money can buy you a good team, it isn’t inherently causative that the more you spend, the more games you win. You have to spend that money well and the Angels, for the most part, have not done that. What is even more important is developing a strong farm system and savvy moves that optimize performance for cost.
Jerry Dipoto has made some savvy moves, but also some dunder-headed ones. In some ways he seems like he wants to be a moneyball-type GM, but is burdened by having too much money to spend, and the Steinbrenner-esque shadow of Arte Moreno looming over him.
What is wrong with this franchise is, I believe, what is also wrong with this country: a focus on the short-term and a lack of sustainability. Things not working out? Spend more! Buy buy buy!
The Angels need to look at their farm system as a garden, the prospects as flowers in the garden, and the major league team as a bouquet made from that garden. The bulk of that bouquet should be from the garden; that is the most cost-effective way to produce a bouquet and, furthermore, flowers fresh from one’s own backyard will be more beautiful and healthy than those imported from miles away. Now occasionally, when you want to bring in something exotic or to accent the bouquet, go ahead. But that should always be secondary and supplemental.
The Angels need to focus on the garden – on the farm system. It is terrible right now. Even the so-called “top prospects” like Kaleb Cowart, CJ Cron, Nick Maronde and Taylor Lindsey have struggled this year (although all are doing better, except for Cowart).
What can be done? This is the problem. At this point less is more. Let the team ride it out. Maybe make some minor adjustments, but by no means strip the minor league system further, or trade away someone like Peter Bourjos to bring in a rental to solidify the staff. Stop with the foolishness – enough damage has already been done. The Angels need to stop taking the psychiatric approach: prescribe one medication, then another to counter-act the side-effects of the first, then a third to counter-act the side-effects of the second, etc. It spirals out of control and you’re left with…well, a 15-27 record despite the 7th highest payroll in the majors.
Hey, at least the Angels aren’t the Dodgers, who have been almost equally inept but with a payroll almost $100 million higher.
From 2010 to the present the Angels have missed out on the playoffs. 2013 looks little different. We can hope, though, that Arte Moreno learns his lesson and stops throwing money around on bad gambles. We can hope that Jerry Dipoto has the long-range plan in mind so that the Angels can, once again, return to contention during Mike Trout’s prime years. Given that Trout’s only 21 that might sound fatalistic, but remember that the Angels have put a lot of eggs in just a small basket – they have $95 million invested in four players – Pujols, Hamilton, Weaver, and Wilson – in 2016, all four of whom have been disappointments this year. Hopefully the Angels stop trying to fix mistakes with further mistakes and take a more sustainable approach towards long-term success.
We can hope.

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Angels could field a pretty good lineup with players who were traded, let go or never signed.
As if the pitching-thin Angels need another reminder of what might have been, there it is, on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated, New York Mets ace Matt Harvey, the one who got away.
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By Scott Stedman, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer - 

1. Cam Bedrosian, RP, Burlington Bees Past 10 Days: 0-0, 0 Save, 0.00 ERA, 8 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 12 K, 0.63 WHIP Overall: 0-2, 0 Save, 7.94 ERA, 17 IP, 19 H, 8 BB, 20 K, 1.59 WHIP, .288 BAA
What’s Up: Cam Bedrosian has fought and clawed his way back to an important name in the Angels' system.  After being a 1st round selection in the 2010 draft, Bedrosian underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2011 season.  He returned in 2012 and struggled mightily as a starter, walking more batters than he struck out.  This season, Bedrosian was put back in the rotation and the struggles continued.  However, on April 20th, he made an appearance out of the bullpen, and a new pitcher was born.  Since the move to the 'pen, the 21-year-old has pitched 12 innings giving up just 1 earned run while striking out 17 and walking just 2.  The exploding fastball in the mid 90s has now returned.  The devastating slider is back.  Now, the potential that the Angels saw in the son of Steve Bedrosian is slowly coming to fruition.  If he can continue this success in the bullpen, Cam Bedrosian should move quickly within the organization can could even become a future closer.  His pure stuff is that good and it seems like he has finally found his niche in the back-end of the bullpen.   Take a good look at him, Burlington, he may not be there for long.
2. Zach Borenstein, OF, Inland Empire 66ers Past 10 Games: 17/38 (.447), 4 Doubles, 1 Triples, 3 HRs, 7 Runs, 6 RBIs, 1 SB Overall: .339/.376/.678 with 10 HRs and 4 SB
What’s Up: Borenstein was featured in AngelsWin's prospect hot-list last week, but his domination of the California League has continued.  In the past 10 days, the 22-year-old outfielder is slugging a mind-boggling .842, and his overall OPS of 1.054 leads the league a good margin.  He also leads the league in home runs and is second in total bases with 80.  Reports indicate that the former 23rd round pick has shortened his swing vastly while still maintaining the torque that he creates to get extra-base hits.  In the outfield, Borenstein makes the plays the need to be made and has a solid to plus throwing arm.  However, if his bat stays this hot going forward it won't matter what he does in the outfield.  From here it will be tough for Borenstein to leap-frog the glut of outfielders ahead of him, but he has the potential to do so.
3. Randal Grichuk, OF, Arkansas Travelers Past 10 Games: 10/29 (.282), 1 Double, 2 Triples, 4 HRs, 10 Runs, 9 RBIs, 0 SB Overall: .205/.271/.451 with 6 HRs and 1 SB
What’s Up: Though Grichuk has struggled some to start the 2013 campaign, a few things have remained constant: Defense, power and an improve idea of the strike zone.  Last year, the main knock on Grichuk was that he was far too much of a free-swinger, and this year he has improved on that aspect.  In fact, he is already nearly 40% of the way to his walk total from 2012.  On top of that, the 21-year-old outfielder is starting to really crush the ball in a tough hitting environment.  He has 4 home-runs in as many days to bring his season total to 6, and has an OPS of 1.051 in his past 10 games.  Grichuk is still incredibly young for Double-A so any success here will simply solidify his standing as a top prospect in the organization.  If he progresses with the bat and maintains his plus defense, I would not be surprised to see Grichuk with the Angels in September.  
4. Kyle Johnson, OF, Burlington Bees Past 10 Games: 12/41 (.293), 2 Doubles, 0 Triples, 0 HRs, 5 Runs, 2 RBIs, 7 SB Overall: .330/.443/.404 with 0 HRs and 22 SB
What’s Up: What an incredible season Kyle Johnson is having after 30 games.  The most amazing feat, however, is Johnson's consecutive stolen base streak, which now sits at 22.  Since being drafted by the Halos in 2012, the 23-year-old corner outfielder is a perfect 29-for-29 in stolen base attempts.  His jumps are what make the difference, a true 70-75 base stealer on the 20-80 scouting scale.  Oh by the way, he is getting on-base at a clip of 44%.  The killer on-base and speed combo perfectly fits into what a leadoff man needs to accomplish.  Due to his advanced age after being drafted out of college, look for Johnson to move to Inland Empire as soon as there is an opening.  But for now, run Kyle, run.
5. C.J. Cron, 1B, Arkansas Travelers Past 10 Games: 13/40 (.325), 4 Doubles, 0 Triple, 1 HR, 6 Runs, 4 RBIs, 0 SB Overall: .313/.362/.453 with 2 HR and 4 SB
What’s Up: Rounding out this week's list is Mr. "Light-Tower Power" himself, C.J. Cron.  Cron's plate discipline is finally coming around, which has directly led to his numbers at plate improving.  There is no doubt that these two parts of his game are directly proportional, and extremely important.  Like Grichuk, Cron is showing much more patience at the plate lately, a crucial aspect of his game simply because he profiles as a long-term DH.  His 10 doubles lead the team and his 13 extra base hits are just behind Grichuk's 14.  The big man has some wheels too, ripping off 4 bags without being caught.  As with his teammate Grichuk, Cron may have the opportunity to get his feet wet in the big leagues this September.
Affiliate Reports:
Salt Lake Bees: The Bees went 3-4 this week to bring their overall record to 18-20, 3rd in the Pacific Coast League Northern division.  First-baseman Efren Navarro has a .874 OPS.  Starting pitcher Matt "Beautiful Beard" Shoemaker has 6 quality starts out of 7 starts overall.  Reliever Jeremy Berg has a 1.40 ERA and Brad Hawpe has a .419 OBP in his last 10 games.              
Arkansas Travelers: Arkansas had a hot week, going 5-2.  They are now 18-17 just a half-game back in their division.  Taylor Lindsey is hitting .300 with 2 home-runs in his last 10 games.  Nick Maronde has tossed 7 scoreless innings in a row with 12 punch-outs.  Catcher Jett Bandy is getting on-base at a 48% clip in the month of May.  
Inland Empire 66ers: 'Twas a 4-2 week for the 66ers, improving their record to 21-15 overall, a half-game back of first-place.  Mike Morin is ridiculous.  2.01 ERA out of the 'pen with 24 Ks and a just 2 walks.  Mark Sappington still has an ERA below 2 with nearly a 9K/9 rate.  Opponents are hitting .196 off Sapp.  Alex Yarbrough has raised his average back up to .307 after a killer week.  The second-baseman has 66 total bases and an 80 smile.  
Burlington Bees: Tough week for Burlington, going 2-4.  Side-armed starting pitcher Alex Keudell has an ERA of 1.64, and his opponents are hitting just .176.  Impressive.  Jairo Diaz is now a closer and has 5 saves and a 1.35 ERA.  Mickey Hatcher's son Kenny was added to the roster and pitched 0.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in his debut.

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Director of Scouting Ric Wilson snagged Stamets in the 6th round after Sappington and the Angels sent him straightway to Low-A ball where he held his own and demonstrated gold glove defense.
Eric Stamets has two plus tools, speed and defense at shortstop. With well above-average speed, Stamet's home-to-first times is in the 4.1-second range from the right side of the plate. He stole 100 bases in three seasons at Evansville. Stamets' speed also helps him cover a lot of ground at shortstop, where he's shown soft hands and a strong arm. Offensively, Stamets is a slap hitter who makes solid contact, but he has no power and little extra base pop. Slapping at the ball will play out well with his plus speed and should allow Stamets to hit for a high average if he can catch up to top tier fastballs as he advances through the minors.
Stamets played in 62 games at Cedar Rapids and held his own and for the High-A Inland Empire 66ers he's hitting a .281 with a solid .374 on base pct. The head scratcher thus far is that Stamets has just two stolen bases through 32 games.  2013 should be a telling season to see whether the Angels have a good find in Stamets as a future starter, or the next Andrew Romine, destined for a utility spot on a major league roster.
Check out our interview with Eric conducted a couple weeks ago by David Saltzer.



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Welcome to AngelsWin.com, @lostkiwi! 
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By Gregory Bird, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer -    We are all experiencing this Yogi quote here on AngelsWin and so I think it is time for a team progress report from Inside Edge. I remember when I was a good, hardworking student I didn’t mind my parents seeing my progress report but if I wasn’t doing well or had been messing around then I dreaded it being mailed home. I feel like just writing “you’re crappy, do better” as my progress report for the team but that would be a lot like the last Angels’ game I watched, depressing. So instead I will look at Angels’ player trends in measurable ways with the existing sample size and give them a grade. Yes, the grades are arbitrary. 
I would first like to thank Pizza Cutter’s research over on the FanGraphs’ site and credit his research with the foundation of this article. Cutter’s research as to when stats stabilize is how I determined what to focus on here. This doesn’t mean these stats won’t change at all throughout the year; it does means there is some real change happening that we can see and measure in these early statistics.

Hitters
There are three tiers of hitting stats that have stabilized at this time. At 50 plate appearances (PA) a hitter’s swing rate stabilizes. This measures just how often he swings at the pitches he sees. At 100 PA a hitter’s contact rate stabilizes. This measures how often he can actually make contact with the pitches he swings at. At 150 PA three more important things stabilize: strikeout rate, line drive rate, and pitches per plate appearance (P/PA). No Angels’ player has actually reached this level yet, but 5 players are very close.

Let’s look at our star student first and the improvements he is making at the plate. Trumbo, I bet some of you thought I was talking about Trout, has reduced the number of pitches he is swinging at while making a little less contact than last year. Mark has never been very good at making contact and is now about 10% worse than league average. This is the most troubling thing about his game. The good news is most of his reduced swing rate can be attributed to him improving his O-Swing rate (pitches swung at outside the strike zone) by 7.5%. This has resulted in Trumbo cutting down his strikeouts by 1.7% and increasing his line drive percentage by 2%. A big strong guy like Mark striking out less and making better contact with the ball suggests that he could have continued success. His P/PA hasn’t changed instead he is just being more selective at the plate. His strikeouts would probably vastly improve if he could just make more contact with pitches in the zone which is 9.7% worse for him over the past two years.  Mark only has 135 PA so this is still a bit premature. Grade A-

Let’s check in next with the young phenom, Trout. He leads the team with 142 PA but the news is mixed. His overall swing rate is nearly the same as last year but he is making less contact with the pitches he swings at because he is swinging at more pitches outside the strike zone and less pitches in the zone. He made contact 81.8% of pitches he swung at last year compared to only 79.3% this year which mirrors the difference in his O-Swing rate from this year to last year. The good news is that even though he has poorer pitch selection he is actually striking out less, almost 3% less. Strikeouts were his biggest problem last year, if you can say he had a problem. Hopefully this trend continues but it could be hard if he doesn’t adjust his swing rates. Trout is seeing fewer P/PA this season. All of this hasn’t affected the type of contact he is making as his line drive rate has improved by 1.2%. The only thing I can attribute his increased line drive rate to is his improvement at making contact with pitches in the strike zone. He is successful in reducing strikeouts and increasing line drives yet he is doing it by swinging at some bad pitches and swinging earlier. Hopefully his selectivity sorts itself out but it something to keep our eye on all season. Grade B+

Let’s turn now to the long time teacher’s pet, our aging superstar, Pujols. Albert is swinging at the same number of pitches as last year but making 3% less contact with them. This is mostly because he is making less contact on pitches outside the strike zone, nearly 7% less. The good news is he has reduced his O-Swing rate and improved his Z-Swing rate (swinging at pitches in the zone) over last year. He is seeing fewer P/PA but isn’t striking out any more this year than last and his better selectivity at the plate is probably why. His strikeout rate through the first 100 PA was better than his rate over the past 38. It is also worth noting his 11.6% strikeout rate is nearly a full 2% over his career average. Swinging at better pitches is also helping him hit more line drives which should mean more hits this season, I hope. Grade C+

Next we’ll evaluate the classmate that teachers always expect so much from and who never quite delivers, Howie. Kendrick has been somewhat successful but his underlining numbers this year don’t really make much sense to me. He is swinging at more pitches outside the zone (+4.9% O-Swing rate) this year and making less contact with those pitches (-3.4% O-Contact rate) but he is currently having a career year hitting line drives. His career average for line drives is 19.3% and this year he is hitting 25.5% line drives. He is still seeing about the same number of pitches in the zone but he is seeing fewer fastballs than at any other time in his career. Somehow during this time he has reduced his strikeouts by 3.4%. This doesn’t seem sustainable with him swinging at more pitches outside the zone. He is also seeing slightly more P/PA. None of this really adds up so there is some fear of him regressing as the year progresses unless he drops his O-Swing rate back in line with his career norms, which is possible. My final verdict is that I’m going to take a more wait and see approach with our potential batting champion as he only has 131 PA right now. Grade C

Finally we’ll analyze the transfer from our rival school who we all really wanted to root for this year. I like Josh but his numbers are frustrating and are not very superstar-like. He is swinging at 59.7% of pitches, which is only slightly more than last years’ swing rate of 58.9% and this number has been dropping the last week or so. It is however still 4% more than his career average. He is making 4.5% more contact with the ball this year, but this is still 2.1% below his career average and nearly 5% below his most productive years. Josh is seeing the same number of P/PA but striking out 2.5% more often and hitting 1.8% less line drives. This is evident to any person observing his at bats as he flails at outside pitches, hits weak grounders to the right side, and pops up to outfielders. He is doing better than last year in some areas but not good enough. This is only over 132 PA so this hasn’t really stabilized yet and we can all hope the mental day he had against the Orioles will be the turning point in his season. Grade D

The Rest
Nobody else is really close to 150 PA and only Bourjos and Iannetta were even really close to 100. Aybar, Harris, and Jimenez have all reached the 50 PA level. Here are some highlights from the rest of the class.

Aybar is swinging at a lot less pitches this year. He swung at 51.6% of pitches last year and has held himself to a 46.7% swing rate so far this year. This is also nearly 3% below his career average. Most of this has to do with him lowering his O-Swing rate (pitches outside the strike zone) by 8.8%, a big improvement. Hopefully this new plate selectivity keeps up throughout the year and he shakes off his free-swinging ways.

Bourjos is swinging more this year, 3.9% more than last year. This is closer to his 2011 swing rate. Last year Peter swung at less pitches out of the zone than in 2011 but also at less pitches in the zone. This year he is maintaining the same low O-Swing rate of 2012 but is now swinging at more strikes instead of letting them go by.

Iannetta is also swinging more in 2013 than in 2012. He is swinging more at both balls in and out of the zone and making less contact with those outside the zone. This looks a lot like he is pressing or trying to make something happen instead of just staying within his skillset. He is still walking a lot but this new ‘freer-swinging’ strategy seems to be contributing to Chris’ lower batting average.

Pitchers
For pitchers we look at how many batters they’ve faced to get a read on how they’re doing. It takes a lot more data to really decipher these stats and there is only one tier that has been achieved so far this season and only by three of the starters: Wilson, Blanton, and Vargas. It is 150 batters faced (BF) and here we see a pitcher’s strike out rate (K%,) groundball rate, and line drive rate stabilize.

Last year’s new kid and jack of all trades, CJ, has stats that are both interesting and boring all at the same time. Almost nothing has changed for Wilson from last year. His K% is 19.6%, his groundball rate is 49.5%, and his line drive rate is 19%. These are all within 1% of last year’s numbers. They are also very much in line with his career numbers. He is pretty much doing what he has always done, as far as anyone can tell. His BABIP (batting average on balls in play) is .298, just about where it always is for him so hitters aren’t getting lucky either. His only out of line stat is his walks per 9 innings. It looks like if he can just cut down on the walks he could turn it around. Maybe he should just throw strikes, eh? Grade B-

Blanton, or as many refer “Blantana,”may be the universally hated classmate right now but he has some positives. Blanton’s biggest problem is his K%. He is striking out only 9.5% of batters he has faced. That is 11.1% fewer than last year and 6.3% fewer than his career average. He doesn’t appear to be fooling people, which is kind of what we’ve all seen out there. What he does seem to be doing is limiting line drives and getting more groundballs. He is getting 50% of balls in play to be hit on the ground, which is a jump of 5.4%. That is huge. Also, despite what it seems, he is limiting hard hit balls as his line drive rate has dropped 3.4% from last year. Fewer line drives and more groundballs could mean his recent success isn’t a total fluke. He has been raising his K rate recently too. If this all turns around he could be exactly what DiPoto billed him as: a reliable innings eater that keeps us in games. Grade C+

This year’s new kid, Jason Vargas, is turning out to be the same mixed bag last year’s new kid was. He is striking out 4.2% less people than last year and that has nothing to do with the park factors. His line drive rates are consistent with last year, so hitters aren’t making any better contact than before. He has also become more of a groundball pitcher. He has raised his groundball rate from last year’s 40.2% to 43.7% this year. This can’t hurt him and if this helps him keep the ball in the park more I’m all for it. If he can raise his K% closer to career norms and keep the lower groundball rate then he could be very effective the rest of the year for the Halos. Grade C

Hanson and Richards are the next Pitchers that will reach the 150 BF plateau. They both have around 125 BF right now. Hanson has fewer line drives and fewer strikeouts so far this year while maintaining his 40% groundball rate. Richards has more strikeouts, a lot more grounders and fewer line drives. We will see what happens over their next 25 batters faced.

Looks like the overall grade is a C+ on process but the results on the field are a D- in my grade book. There are some positives but the biggest problems here are our two superstars and our pitching. I didn’t even look at the bullpen, which looks like 5-year olds in a food fight. Hopefully with Madson going out on rehab assignment later this week, Jepsen throwing off a mound soon, Burnett’s positive medical news, and with Lowe coming back Tuesday it will straighten itself out. We can only hope, right?

I believe Butcher is a smart guy but I think he is the first to go if the pitching woes continue. I don’t believe another pitching coach is actually that much of an improvement over Butcher but it could serve to shake up the pitching staff and be a warning shot across the bow. We will check in again next month at which time I hope to have better news to write about.  Let’s hope and pray it is still early enough to get back into this thing but I am very afraid “it’s getting late early out here.”

By Gregory Bird, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer -    We are all experiencing this Yogi quote here on AngelsWin and so I think it is time for a team progress report from Inside Edge. I remember when I was a good, hardworking student I didn’t mind my parents seeing my progress report but if I wasn’t doing well or had been messing around then I dreaded it being mailed home. I feel like just writing “you’re crappy, do better” as my progress report for the team but that would be a lot like the last Angels’ game I watched, depressing. So instead I will look at Angels’ player trends in measurable ways with the existing sample size and give them a grade. Yes, the grades are arbitrary. 
I would first like to thank Pizza Cutter’s research over on the FanGraphs’ site and credit his research with the foundation of this article. Cutter’s research as to when stats stabilize is how I determined what to focus on here. This doesn’t mean these stats won’t change at all throughout the year; it does means there is some real change happening that we can see and measure in these early statistics.

Hitters
There are three tiers of hitting stats that have stabilized at this time. At 50 plate appearances (PA) a hitter’s swing rate stabilizes. This measures just how often he swings at the pitches he sees. At 100 PA a hitter’s contact rate stabilizes. This measures how often he can actually make contact with the pitches he swings at. At 150 PA three more important things stabilize: strikeout rate, line drive rate, and pitches per plate appearance (P/PA). No Angels’ player has actually reached this level yet, but 5 players are very close.

Let’s look at our star student first and the improvements he is making at the plate. Trumbo, I bet some of you thought I was talking about Trout, has reduced the number of pitches he is swinging at while making a little less contact than last year. Mark has never been very good at making contact and is now about 10% worse than league average. This is the most troubling thing about his game. The good news is most of his reduced swing rate can be attributed to him improving his O-Swing rate (pitches swung at outside the strike zone) by 7.5%. This has resulted in Trumbo cutting down his strikeouts by 1.7% and increasing his line drive percentage by 2%. A big strong guy like Mark striking out less and making better contact with the ball suggests that he could have continued success. His P/PA hasn’t changed instead he is just being more selective at the plate. His strikeouts would probably vastly improve if he could just make more contact with pitches in the zone which is 9.7% worse for him over the past two years.  Mark only has 135 PA so this is still a bit premature. Grade A-

Let’s check in next with the young phenom, Trout. He leads the team with 142 PA but the news is mixed. His overall swing rate is nearly the same as last year but he is making less contact with the pitches he swings at because he is swinging at more pitches outside the strike zone and less pitches in the zone. He made contact 81.8% of pitches he swung at last year compared to only 79.3% this year which mirrors the difference in his O-Swing rate from this year to last year. The good news is that even though he has poorer pitch selection he is actually striking out less, almost 3% less. Strikeouts were his biggest problem last year, if you can say he had a problem. Hopefully this trend continues but it could be hard if he doesn’t adjust his swing rates. Trout is seeing fewer P/PA this season. All of this hasn’t affected the type of contact he is making as his line drive rate has improved by 1.2%. The only thing I can attribute his increased line drive rate to is his improvement at making contact with pitches in the strike zone. He is successful in reducing strikeouts and increasing line drives yet he is doing it by swinging at some bad pitches and swinging earlier. Hopefully his selectivity sorts itself out but it something to keep our eye on all season. Grade B+

Let’s turn now to the long time teacher’s pet, our aging superstar, Pujols. Albert is swinging at the same number of pitches as last year but making 3% less contact with them. This is mostly because he is making less contact on pitches outside the strike zone, nearly 7% less. The good news is he has reduced his O-Swing rate and improved his Z-Swing rate (swinging at pitches in the zone) over last year. He is seeing fewer P/PA but isn’t striking out any more this year than last and his better selectivity at the plate is probably why. His strikeout rate through the first 100 PA was better than his rate over the past 38. It is also worth noting his 11.6% strikeout rate is nearly a full 2% over his career average. Swinging at better pitches is also helping him hit more line drives which should mean more hits this season, I hope. Grade C+

Next we’ll evaluate the classmate that teachers always expect so much from and who never quite delivers, Howie. Kendrick has been somewhat successful but his underlining numbers this year don’t really make much sense to me. He is swinging at more pitches outside the zone (+4.9% O-Swing rate) this year and making less contact with those pitches (-3.4% O-Contact rate) but he is currently having a career year hitting line drives. His career average for line drives is 19.3% and this year he is hitting 25.5% line drives. He is still seeing about the same number of pitches in the zone but he is seeing fewer fastballs than at any other time in his career. Somehow during this time he has reduced his strikeouts by 3.4%. This doesn’t seem sustainable with him swinging at more pitches outside the zone. He is also seeing slightly more P/PA. None of this really adds up so there is some fear of him regressing as the year progresses unless he drops his O-Swing rate back in line with his career norms, which is possible. My final verdict is that I’m going to take a more wait and see approach with our potential batting champion as he only has 131 PA right now. Grade C

Finally we’ll analyze the transfer from our rival school who we all really wanted to root for this year. I like Josh but his numbers are frustrating and are not very superstar-like. He is swinging at 59.7% of pitches, which is only slightly more than last years’ swing rate of 58.9% and this number has been dropping the last week or so. It is however still 4% more than his career average. He is making 4.5% more contact with the ball this year, but this is still 2.1% below his career average and nearly 5% below his most productive years. Josh is seeing the same number of P/PA but striking out 2.5% more often and hitting 1.8% less line drives. This is evident to any person observing his at bats as he flails at outside pitches, hits weak grounders to the right side, and pops up to outfielders. He is doing better than last year in some areas but not good enough. This is only over 132 PA so this hasn’t really stabilized yet and we can all hope the mental day he had against the Orioles will be the turning point in his season. Grade D

The Rest
Nobody else is really close to 150 PA and only Bourjos and Iannetta were even really close to 100. Aybar, Harris, and Jimenez have all reached the 50 PA level. Here are some highlights from the rest of the class.

Aybar is swinging at a lot less pitches this year. He swung at 51.6% of pitches last year and has held himself to a 46.7% swing rate so far this year. This is also nearly 3% below his career average. Most of this has to do with him lowering his O-Swing rate (pitches outside the strike zone) by 8.8%, a big improvement. Hopefully this new plate selectivity keeps up throughout the year and he shakes off his free-swinging ways.

Bourjos is swinging more this year, 3.9% more than last year. This is closer to his 2011 swing rate. Last year Peter swung at less pitches out of the zone than in 2011 but also at less pitches in the zone. This year he is maintaining the same low O-Swing rate of 2012 but is now swinging at more strikes instead of letting them go by.

Iannetta is also swinging more in 2013 than in 2012. He is swinging more at both balls in and out of the zone and making less contact with those outside the zone. This looks a lot like he is pressing or trying to make something happen instead of just staying within his skillset. He is still walking a lot but this new ‘freer-swinging’ strategy seems to be contributing to Chris’ lower batting average.

Pitchers
For pitchers we look at how many batters they’ve faced to get a read on how they’re doing. It takes a lot more data to really decipher these stats and there is only one tier that has been achieved so far this season and only by three of the starters: Wilson, Blanton, and Vargas. It is 150 batters faced (BF) and here we see a pitcher’s strike out rate (K%,) groundball rate, and line drive rate stabilize.

Last year’s new kid and jack of all trades, CJ, has stats that are both interesting and boring all at the same time. Almost nothing has changed for Wilson from last year. His K% is 19.6%, his groundball rate is 49.5%, and his line drive rate is 19%. These are all within 1% of last year’s numbers. They are also very much in line with his career numbers. He is pretty much doing what he has always done, as far as anyone can tell. His BABIP (batting average on balls in play) is .298, just about where it always is for him so hitters aren’t getting lucky either. His only out of line stat is his walks per 9 innings. It looks like if he can just cut down on the walks he could turn it around. Maybe he should just throw strikes, eh? Grade B-

Blanton, or as many refer “Blantana,”may be the universally hated classmate right now but he has some positives. Blanton’s biggest problem is his K%. He is striking out only 9.5% of batters he has faced. That is 11.1% fewer than last year and 6.3% fewer than his career average. He doesn’t appear to be fooling people, which is kind of what we’ve all seen out there. What he does seem to be doing is limiting line drives and getting more groundballs. He is getting 50% of balls in play to be hit on the ground, which is a jump of 5.4%. That is huge. Also, despite what it seems, he is limiting hard hit balls as his line drive rate has dropped 3.4% from last year. Fewer line drives and more groundballs could mean his recent success isn’t a total fluke. He has been raising his K rate recently too. If this all turns around he could be exactly what DiPoto billed him as: a reliable innings eater that keeps us in games. Grade C+

This year’s new kid, Jason Vargas, is turning out to be the same mixed bag last year’s new kid was. He is striking out 4.2% less people than last year and that has nothing to do with the park factors. His line drive rates are consistent with last year, so hitters aren’t making any better contact than before. He has also become more of a groundball pitcher. He has raised his groundball rate from last year’s 40.2% to 43.7% this year. This can’t hurt him and if this helps him keep the ball in the park more I’m all for it. If he can raise his K% closer to career norms and keep the lower groundball rate then he could be very effective the rest of the year for the Halos. Grade C

Hanson and Richards are the next Pitchers that will reach the 150 BF plateau. They both have around 125 BF right now. Hanson has fewer line drives and fewer strikeouts so far this year while maintaining his 40% groundball rate. Richards has more strikeouts, a lot more grounders and fewer line drives. We will see what happens over their next 25 batters faced.

Looks like the overall grade is a C+ on process but the results on the field are a D- in my grade book. There are some positives but the biggest problems here are our two superstars and our pitching. I didn’t even look at the bullpen, which looks like 5-year olds in a food fight. Hopefully with Madson going out on rehab assignment later this week, Jepsen throwing off a mound soon, Burnett’s positive medical news, and with Lowe coming back Tuesday it will straighten itself out. We can only hope, right?

I believe Butcher is a smart guy but I think he is the first to go if the pitching woes continue. I don’t believe another pitching coach is actually that much of an improvement over Butcher but it could serve to shake up the pitching staff and be a warning shot across the bow. We will check in again next month at which time I hope to have better news to write about.  Let’s hope and pray it is still early enough to get back into this thing but I am very afraid “it’s getting late early out here.”

By Scott Stedman, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer - 
1. Eric Stamets, SS, Inland Empire 66ers
Past 10 Games: 12/36 (.333), 0 Doubles, 1 Triple, 0 HR, 7 Runs, 4 RBIs, 1 SB Overall: .294/.365/.353 with 0 HRs and 1 SB
What’s Up: Shortstop Eric Stamets takes the top spot for the AngelsWin Prospect Hotlist this week.  Two facets of Stamets' game truly stand out above the rest: Speed and defense.  In his chat with AngelsWin, Angels scouting director Ric Wilson ranked Stamets as being the fastest baserunner and best defensive infielder in the system.  Although a minor leg injury has slowed Stamets somewhat this year, he is still covering incredible amounts of ground at the shortstop position.  At the plate, Stamets has a very quick swing - a slap and run type of approach.  Couple with this an extremely good understanding of the strike zone and you have a solid, complete player.  Stamets will likely continue to be paired up with second-baseman Alex Yarbrough as they climb the ladder in the organization, possibly replacing Kendrick and Aybar one day.  
2. Kyle Johnson, OF, Burlington Bees Past 10 Games: 12/39 (.278), 2 Doubles, 0 Triple, 0 HR, 6 Runs, 6 RBIs, 7 SB Overall: .359/.500/.438 with 0 HRs and 15 SBs
What’s Up: Kyle Johnson was a 25th round pick for the Halos last year out of Washington State, and the put up a solid season at Rookie Ball Orem.  Johnson has quick hands from the right side which bodes well for his well above-average speed.  In addition to his speed, he knows how to steal a base, a perfect 15/15 in stolen base attempts this year.  Also of note is Johnson's .500 OBP, a testament to his control of the strike zone.  At 23-years-old, Johnson will have to move quickly to be considered a real prospect.
3. Joseph Krehbiel, RP, Burlington Bees  Past 10 Days: 1-0, 1 Save, 0.93 ERA, 9.2 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 15 K, 0.81 WHIP Overall: 1-0, 1 Save, 0.93 ERA, 9.2 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 15 K, 0.83 WHIP, .125 BAA
What’s Up: Originally drafted as a third-baseman out of high school, Krehbiel was quickly transitioned into a reliever after his strong arm at the hot corner impressed scouts.  At just 20-years-old, Krehbiel has seemingly grasped the position change.  Armed with a hard fastball and a huge curveball with tons of depth, Krehbiel profiles well for a back-end reliever if he can continue to progress.  Like many relievers with big stuff, Krehbiel's biggest obstacle will be controlling his pitches and commanding the strike-zone.
4. Zach Borenstein, OF/1B, Inland Empire 66ers Past 10 Games: 14/37 (.378), 2 Doubles, 0 Triple, 5 HRs, 6 Runs, 6 RBIs, 1 SB Overall: .288/.329/.630 with 7 HRs and 1 SB
What’s Up: Borenstein has thrust himself onto the season for Inland Empire in a year where he was expected to be just a backup outfielder for the team.  However Borenstein put up a .824 OPS in a tough hitting environment in Cedar Rapids, so the power has seemingly always been here.  Borenstein, while unspectacular in the outfield, takes good routes and makes the routine play.  If the power at the plate continues to progress, Borenstein could make his way into the Angels' plans due to the fact that he can play the outfield and some first-base.
5. Taylor Lindsey, 2B, Arkansas Travelers Past 10 Games: 10/37 (.270), 2 Doubles, 0 Triple, 1 HR, 4 Runs, 4 RBIs, 0 SB Overall: .200/.260/.286 with 1 HR and 1 SB
What’s Up: Taylor Lindsey rounds out this weeks list mainly because of his defense.  Yes, his bat is slowly coming around as evidenced by the .270 clip in the past week.  In fact, former Angels scouting director Eddie Bane believes that Lindsey is the best pure hitter in the Angels minor leagues.  However defensively, Lindsey has really turned a corner.  In addition to making the routine plays, Lindsey has been improving his range and his throwing arm looks stronger than ever. 
Affiliate Reports:
Salt Lake Bees: The Bees endured a really rough week, going 1-6 and dropping to .500 on the season.  The offense has been doing just fine, with 5 hitters including Chris Synder and Efren Navarro, batting above .500.  However, only relievers Jeremy Berg and Fernando Cabrera have ERA's below 4.15.  The pitching will need to step it up if the Bees hope to compete this year.
Arkansas Travelers: The Travs' went 4-3 this week with the help of an offense that is beginning to wake up.  Cowart, Witherspoon, Cron, Lindsey and Grichuk are all slowly waking up for their early season woes.  Veteran Jarret Grube and reliever Michael Cisco have held the pitching staff together.  With the amount of talent on this team, there is no telling how good they can be.  
Inland Empire 66ers: The 66ers finished off a scorching week, going 5-1 and now just a game out of first place.  The offense has certainly carried the team to this point.  Stamets, Yarbrough, Borenstein, Synder among others are having terrific seasons.  Of note:  Mike Scioscia's son, Matt Scioscia joined the team this week.
Burlington Bees: Burlington went 2-3 this week with 2 games that were rained out.  Overall, the Bees are 8-11, 7 games back in the Midwest League Western division.  Offensively, Pedro Toribio and Kyle Johnson are leading the way.  On the pitching side, 23-year-old Alex Keudell and Ryan Crowley are consistently throwing up quality starts.

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Angels Prospect Mark Sappington is all smiles this season with the IE 66ers
 
AngelsWin.com Prospect Hotlist 
By Scott Stedman, AngelsWin.com Minor League Reporter
 
1. Mark Sappington, RHP, Inland Empire 66ers
Past 10 Days: 2-0, 0 Saves, 1.59 ERA, 11.1 IP, 10 H, 3 BB, 11 K, 1.15 WHIP
Overall: 3-0, 0 Saves, 1.59 ERA, 22.2 IP, 17 H, 9 BB, 23 K, 1.15 WHIP, .205 BAA
 
What’s Up: In his chat with AngelsWin, Angels Scouting Director Ric Wilson lauded Sappington as a player who, "has big stuff and... loves to learn." Those two qualities have lined up for Sappington to start the 2013 campaign as he continues to dominate High-A hitters.  The strikeout numbers (9K/9) speak for themselves, and those coupled with Sappington's ability to keep runners off base have have allowed the big right-hander to have an extremely impressive start to the year.  Sappington's fastball sits in the mid 90s and he can pump it up to 98 MPH in short bursts. The 6'5" 22-year-old also features a sharp slider and a change up that is much improved.  If Sappington continues to  dominate High-A ball, look for the team to jump him to Double-A mid-season.
 
2. Reid Scoggins, RHP, Burlington Bees
Past 10 Days: 0-0, 0 Saves, 1.50 ERA, 6 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 8 K, 0.50 WHIP
Overall: 0-0, 0 Saves, 1.00 ERA, 9 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 11 K, 0.78 WHIP, .129 BAA
 
What’s Up: The Angels made a substantial move with Scoggins this year, converting him to a high-potential starting pitcher after a successful year as a closer.  Based on the numbers thus far, the move has worked better than anyone could have expected.  While Scoggins' fastball has ticked down all the way to the mid 90s, his control and command have been much better.  With this move to the rotation, the sky is the limit for Scoggins as his secondary pitches continue to improve.  Of note: His strikeout rate is still ridiculous, so his ability to get the punch-out has not deteriorated since moving to the rotation.
 
3. Pedro Toribio, SS/2B, Burlington Bees
Past 10 Days: 10/22 (.455), 2 Doubles, 1 Triple, 0 HRs, 3 Runs, 6 RBIs, 3 SBs
Overall: .364/.400/.545 with 0 HRs and 3 SBs
 
What’s Up: Pedro Toribio is an interesting case of a prospect who has flown well-under the radar even though his numbers have been consistently good.  A scout I spoke to described Toribio as an very aggressive hitter, plus defender, and plus runner. The scout also told me that Toribio is a high-energy type of player with great baseball instincts, although there are concerns about his body developing.  After 5 years in baseball, he sits at 150 pounds soaking wet.  However as we have seen with Amarista, Altuve and others, body size can be overlooked if the bat is special enough.  Time will tell with Toribio.
 
4. Mike Morin, RHP, Inland Empire 66ers
Past 10 Days: 0-0, 0 Saves, 1.93 ERA, 4.2 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 6 K,1.29 WHIP
Overall: 0-0, 0 Saves, 1.08 ERA, 8.1 IP, 7 H, 0 BB, 11 K, 0.84 WHIP, .233 BAA
 
What’s Up: Armed with the best change-up in the Angels system according to Ric Wilson, Morin has taken the lead in the 66ers bullpen.  Not only does the 21-year-old Morin have 11 Ks in just 8.1 IP, but he has yet to allow a walk.  Even though his fastball is not on the same level as a Scoggins or Sappington, it is respectable in the low 90s and he complements it with a solid curve. With the Angels lack of depth out of the bullpen, look for Morin to shoot up the depth chart and possibly compete for a spot in the Angels bullpen in 2014.
 
5. C.J. Cron, 1B, Arkansas Travelers
Past 10 Games: 12/39 (.308), 2 Doubles, 0 Triple, 2 HR, 3 Runs, 6 RBIs, 0 SB
Overall: .305/.359/.441 with 1 HRs and 4 SBs
 
What’s Up: Rounding out AngelsWin's Prospect Hotlist is former 1st round pick C.J. Cron.  The power has yet to come for Cron, but he is one of the only players on the team succeeding at the dish.  By now I think most of us have heard the scouting report on Cron: light-tower power, solid hit tool, but concerns over his plate discipline and lack of a real defensive position.  With Pujols and Trumbo seemingly blocking his road to the show, Cron will really have to hit, and he can, or else he will become trade bait.  Either way, Cron's potential with the bat could make him a valuable piece for all 30 teams.
 
Affiliate Reports
 
Salt Lake Bees:  The Bees are currently tied in first place in the Pacific Coast League with a record of 10-7.  Led by the veteran presence of Chris Snyder, Jimmy Swift and Matt Shoemaker, Salt Lake has a well-balanced team.  Former Major League All-Stars Bill Hall and Chad Cordero joined the team on Sunday.  Cordero had started the season with Inland Empire.
 
Arkansas Travelers:  Arkansas is in 3rd place in the Texas League North with a mediocre record of 7-9.  With players such as Kaleb Cowart, CJ Cron, Randal Grichuk and Nick Maronde, there is no doubt that this team will turn around soon.  Of note, relievers Daniel Tillman and Michael Cisco have maintained a solid bullpen for the Travs'.
 
Inland Empire 66ers: With a record of 8-10, the 66ers are currently in 4th place in the California League South.  The team has stayed afloat due to the starting rotation which consists of Mark Sappington, Austin Wood, Eswarlin Jimenez, Kramer Sneed and Dan Reynolds.  The offense outside of Alex Yarbrough and Eric Stamets has struggled.
 
Burlington Bees: The Burlington Bees have struggled out of the gate, with a 6-9 record, good for 7th place.  Like the 66ers, virtually the only offense produced has been by two players - Pedro Toribio and Kyle Johnson.  An interesting note:  Cameron Bedrosian has been converted to a reliever after failing to come back from Tommy John surgery as a starter.

By Ellen Bell, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer - 
Picture this: It’s the summer of 1947 and you’re on the grass at Ebbets Field. You’re feeling the heat in your Dodger flannel as you watch Jackie Robinson fly by right before your eyes, safe at first.  
This wasn't a dream, but the first day on the set for Rob Goldman who spent five weeks as an extra on the film, “42.”  
“I kept thinking to myself that day, ‘Holy Cow, how did I get here?” said Goldman, an actor and life-long baseball fan. 
For Rob Goldman, the journey to his summer of “42” began years ago, when as a boy he met Jackie Robinson at Dodger Stadium. It was an exhibition game in 1971 honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Goldman crossed paths with Robinson in the stands and got an autographed program as a souvenir. 
“I had my own Jackie Robinson moment,” he said.  
Years later, as an actor who has appeared in such films as “Dances With Wolves” and “JFK” , Goldman heard about the possibility of a movie about his boyhood idol. Several different directors tried to make the film, but writer-director Brian Helgeland was the first to get a green light and make it a reality.  
“When I heard about the project,” said Goldman “I had to take a chance.” 
In May of 2012, Goldman traveled to Birmingham, Alabama to begin shooting the baseball sequences for the film. Extras aren't guaranteed screen time on a film. Like minor league baseball players, they need to be ready when it’s their chance to bat. On the first day of shooting, Goldman saw an opportunity and stepped up to the plate.  
“People were taking the field and I saw that there was no one coaching first base,” Goldman said. “Instead of waiting for someone to ask, I just took the spot. I hit my marks on the first take and it became my job for the rest of the shoot.” 
That’s where Goldman can be seen in the film, coaching first base and getting in the umpire’s face after a blown call.  
“ I've played and coached a lot of baseball so I brought my experience to the film. It felt good to contribute and be part of the team.” 
Teamwork was prevalent on the set, as more than 100 baseball players worked together   to film the action scenes. There were three different baseball groups; the cast members who had speaking roles and the “Graf Dodgers” named for the college students led by second unit director Allan Graf, who played the other teams. Goldman was part of the third group, called The Rovers.  
“We were the guys who would fill in the holes, playing whatever else was needed.” 
As weeks of shooting passed, the groups of actors became a real team, contributing on the field and joking around in the locker room.  
“There was an atmosphere of teamwork on the project,” Goldman remembered. “The actors weren't ego driven at all. Chad (Chadwick Boseman who played Jackie Robinson) was just one of the guys. Harrison Ford had no trappings, no entourage. He just wanted to be part of the team.” 
“Everyone was committed to the project. The subject matter was too important and everyone wanted to get it right. They put their egos aside.”  
The result is a film destined to become a baseball classic. “42” is a powerful portrayal filled with teachable messages for children. 
Jackie Robinson’s widow, Rachel, was very involved in the making of the film. She felt that the tone should be honest yet appropriate for a younger audience. The racial language is disturbing but necessary in the context of the story. Ultimately, the story of Jackie Robinson is given the respect and reverence it deserves.  
So how does it feel to sit in a darkened movie theater and watch yourself on the screen? Rob Goldman says that, at first, all you see are the technical aspects of the film. Like the way Engel Field in Chattanooga, Tennessee was transformed into Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field though the magic of digital technology.  
But about halfway through the screening, something began to change.  
“I stopped noticing the technical stuff and got swept away in the story, “ Goldman said. “At some point the story took over.” 
So were the 16-hour workdays in southern humidity and weeks of Motel 6 stays worth it?  
“I walked out of the theater feeling very content. This movie’s going to be around for a long time, and I’m proud to be a part of something that can have such a positive impact,” 
Thinking about his life-long admiration of an American hero, he said, “This movie serves the legacy right.”
Pick up a copy of Rob Goldman's book "Once They Were Angels" here!  View the full article

By Ellen Bell, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer - 
Picture this: It’s the summer of 1947 and you’re on the grass at Ebbets Field. You’re feeling the heat in your Dodger flannel as you watch Jackie Robinson fly by right before your eyes, safe at first.  
This wasn't a dream, but the first day on the set for Rob Goldman who spent five weeks as an extra on the film, “42.”  
“I kept thinking to myself that day, ‘Holy Cow, how did I get here?” said Goldman, an actor and life-long baseball fan. 
For Rob Goldman, the journey to his summer of “42” began years ago, when as a boy he met Jackie Robinson at Dodger Stadium. It was an exhibition game in 1971 honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Goldman crossed paths with Robinson in the stands and got an autographed program as a souvenir. 
“I had my own Jackie Robinson moment,” he said.  
Years later, as an actor who has appeared in such films as “Dances With Wolves” and “JFK” , Goldman heard about the possibility of a movie about his boyhood idol. Several different directors tried to make the film, but writer-director Brian Helgeland was the first to get a green light and make it a reality.  
“When I heard about the project,” said Goldman “I had to take a chance.” 
In May of 2012, Goldman traveled to Birmingham, Alabama to begin shooting the baseball sequences for the film. Extras aren't guaranteed screen time on a film. Like minor league baseball players, they need to be ready when it’s their chance to bat. On the first day of shooting, Goldman saw an opportunity and stepped up to the plate.  
“People were taking the field and I saw that there was no one coaching first base,” Goldman said. “Instead of waiting for someone to ask, I just took the spot. I hit my marks on the first take and it became my job for the rest of the shoot.” 
That’s where Goldman can be seen in the film, coaching first base and getting in the umpire’s face after a blown call.  
“ I've played and coached a lot of baseball so I brought my experience to the film. It felt good to contribute and be part of the team.” 
Teamwork was prevalent on the set, as more than 100 baseball players worked together   to film the action scenes. There were three different baseball groups; the cast members who had speaking roles and the “Graf Dodgers” named for the college students led by second unit director Allan Graf, who played the other teams. Goldman was part of the third group, called The Rovers.  
“We were the guys who would fill in the holes, playing whatever else was needed.” 
As weeks of shooting passed, the groups of actors became a real team, contributing on the field and joking around in the locker room.  
“There was an atmosphere of teamwork on the project,” Goldman remembered. “The actors weren't ego driven at all. Chad (Chadwick Boseman who played Jackie Robinson) was just one of the guys. Harrison Ford had no trappings, no entourage. He just wanted to be part of the team.” 
“Everyone was committed to the project. The subject matter was too important and everyone wanted to get it right. They put their egos aside.”  
The result is a film destined to become a baseball classic. “42” is a powerful portrayal filled with teachable messages for children. 
Jackie Robinson’s widow, Rachel, was very involved in the making of the film. She felt that the tone should be honest yet appropriate for a younger audience. The racial language is disturbing but necessary in the context of the story. Ultimately, the story of Jackie Robinson is given the respect and reverence it deserves.  
So how does it feel to sit in a darkened movie theater and watch yourself on the screen? Rob Goldman says that, at first, all you see are the technical aspects of the film. Like the way Engel Field in Chattanooga, Tennessee was transformed into Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field though the magic of digital technology.  
But about halfway through the screening, something began to change.  
“I stopped noticing the technical stuff and got swept away in the story, “ Goldman said. “At some point the story took over.” 
So were the 16-hour workdays in southern humidity and weeks of Motel 6 stays worth it?  
“I walked out of the theater feeling very content. This movie’s going to be around for a long time, and I’m proud to be a part of something that can have such a positive impact,” 
Thinking about his life-long admiration of an American hero, he said, “This movie serves the legacy right.”
Pick up a copy of Rob Goldman's book "Once They Were Angels" here!  View the full article

The Angels Can Be Good for Your Health    
  By Glen Mckee, AngelsWin.com Columnist - 
  No really, despite the horrible start - what, is this 2012 again? - the Angels can be good for you!  You just have to have a plan.  I've had a plan that I have used for a few years, but usually taper off and on.    “The Angels Push-up Plan!”  In the past it was simple: do 10 push-ups for every run the Angels score.  Easy, straightforward, and it rewards your fandom with enhanced pecs if the Angels are doing well.    This season, I've been more serious about getting into better shape so I added to the plan: 10 push-ups for every run the Angels score, and five for every run the other guys score.   Eight games into the season, I've realized something important: even at a 1:2 ratio the other team is making me do more push-ups than the Angels are. Thanks blowpen and questionable starters!  I wonder if I can somehow deduct money spent on Angels gear by claiming Mike Butcher as my trainer, because of his wonderful work with the pitching staff?   If you're into fitness at all then you know that repetitious training is not good for the long term; if I keep doing just push-ups eventually there won't be much benefit to them. So, taking a good look at how the Angels have performed so far I've come up with … “The New and Improved Angels Fitness Program!”   This complete training regimen that will have your flabby body beach-ready in a month, but only if you stick to it.  Oh, and you have to do this for every game.  No slacking!  Note that with the exception of the push-ups (in case of a high-scoring game), all of these should be done during the game when the events happen (there will be some overlap, but do them in order of occurrence).  OK, here's the program: 
* Every run the Angels score: 10 push-ups.   * Every run the other team scores: five push-ups.   * Every runner left on base (non-scoring-position): 10 four-count jumping jacks.

* Every runner left on base (scoring position): Two eight-count body builders 
(http://www.youtube.c...h?v=TxQT-wZdP28).   * Every inning an Angels starter gives up more than one run in an inning: Plank for 30 seconds    * Every time Albert Pujols screws up on the bases: 10 leg-lifts  (http://www.youtube.c...h?v=l-mPHKQFMkk)   * Every time Josh Hamilton strikes out: Run in place for 30 seconds.   * When the camera shows Mike Scioscia looking confused: Jump rope for one minute.   * The bullpen, according to your own definition, is mismanaged: 10 good morning darlings  (http://www.youtube.c...h?v=tv8drdaRWL8 go to 1:49)   * The Angels get a clutch hit with RISP: eat two raw kale leaves.   * Dino Ebel waves a runner home while standing about 10 feet from home plate: 10 arm windmills, both directions.    * You find yourself saying "Scioscia made the right move there" and are surprised by that: 20 crunches of your choice.   * The Angels take the lead and then give it up in the next half -inning: eat a can of spinach.   * The game goes longer than three hours: drink a beer, you're gonna need it (yes, I know this goes against fitness in general but you need to reward yourself a bit too).   * The Angels lose: 15 angry squats or five minutes on a speed bag.   * The Angels win: Two sets of 10 star-jumps:    * The Angels come from behind and hold on to win: find your significant other and make sweet, sweet love to him or her.  

Note: if you let this be the only time you make sweet, sweet love I am not responsible for broken relationships due to the infrequency of boot-knocking. Trust me, you'll need to do it more often than this.  Much more.   That's it, folks!  Follow this plan and you'll go from Paul Giamatti to Channing Tatum or Melissa McCarthy to Anne Hathaway by the end of the season!

By Glen Mckee, AngelsWin.com columnist - 

“We will always be busy making misery” - Soul Asylum, "Misery"
I've been an Angels fan since 1979, when as a wee lad of 10 and I started paying attention to baseball.  I remember having the "Yes We CAN!" button proudly displayed at the top of my button board after I made the decision to root for this team.  Unfortunately, they couldn't.  Not that year, not in 1982, not in 1986, and not any year until 2002 and not again since then. 
I'm still a relative rookie in terms of Angels misery, compared to some of the misery veterans that have been around since the beginning in 1961.  However, yesterday something made me realize that I am indeed a misery-aholic and the Angels are my poison of choice. 
Before I explain that, I have to confess that although I enjoy my Angels misery I understand it's not even a bummer compared to what Cubs fans have experienced.  Or fans of any Cleveland football or basketball team.  However, I do take some sad pleasure in recently passing Red Sox fans on the misery index.  They had a much longer and more miserable spell but they won two World Series' in a handful of years, and that effectively ended their misery cred.  Shut up, Seattle fans.  And San Diego fans.
Anyway...this year, after once again making a big free-agent signing splash the Angels started out horrible.  Some posters on AngelsWin.com, myself included, were already writing off the season before the game on Friday, April 19.  The Angels were 4-10, a 1/2 game out of last place, and looked horrible.  Starting pitching was awful, the offense was inconsistent, hitting with RISP was - I'm running out of synonyms for "suck" here - abysmal, and the bullpen was a train wreck (apologies to the nice train wrecks out there).  And then Friday night's game ... 
Even for the first seven innings and a 3-0 lead, misery held sway like it usually does.  Scoring opportunities were wasted, Hanson was barely dodging bullets, and it felt like the bullpen was gonna blow the game and justify our (my) misery.  And then in the bottom of the 8th the Angels turned everything around.  They put up a crooked number of runs for the first time since we had a different president, the bullpen did its job against a (struggling) playoff-caliber team, the game was won and misery was hesitantly pushed aside to celebrate the game.  And then Saturday happened ... 
I was at a matinee movie so I missed the incredible first inning (and several after that) so I never had time to get miserable.  After the game was over I found my misery, though, if only just barely.  â€œThey'll probably lose tomorrow,” I thought to myself.  Petting my misery like it was a hurt dog.  And then Sunday happened…
For a while my misery once again seemed justified.  The Angels faced an early 3-1 deficit.  Woohoo, they're gonna blow it again!  Then the Angels tied the game and misery went to hang out in the basement, sulking.  As the game progressed into extra innings misery crept back upstairs and sat beside me.  She (misery is always the opposite sex) didn't have to say anything; I knew she was there and she knew I knew.
Then Trumbo came up in the bottom of the 13th inning and he kicked misery back down the stairs into the basement and slammed the door shut.  She didn't even protest (perhaps because she knew...).  Mark didn't even break his leg jumping on home plate, which was like gagging misery.
I was excited!  The Angels just completed a sweep, and played three straight games the way they should have played most every games this season.  For the last three days everything was firing on all eight cylinders - this team is a V-8 for sure!  But then I looked to my left, and whaddaya know ... misery was sitting there again. 
I thought about the series for a bit and then went to AngelsWin.com to create a thread titled "How much worse can Hamilton get?" - because he was the only bad spot this weekend. 
After posting the thread I began to feel a little guilty for sharing my misery on what was truly a happy day for Angels baseball.  So shortly thereafter I tried to make amends by posting another thread talking about how good it felt to sweep.  However, that thread sank down the board while the Hamilton thread kept getting posts.  (Apparently misery does in fact love company.)  
It was a feeble attempt to pretend that the misery wasn't riding shotgun with me.  I tried to tell myself it wasn't and then thought about the series coming up: three games with Texas in Anaheim.  My first thought: “Man, I hope we don't get swept.”  I couldn't even enjoy the weekend.
We could build a factory and make misery.  But not now.  That'll start tomorrow night if the Angels fall behind.  Until then, I'm kicking misery back into the basement where she belongs! 
For now. View the full article

By Jessica Grey, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer -   There’s no way to sugar coat this: the start of this season has sucked.  I’m a generally optimistic person, but even I’m having a hard time finding the silver linings in this particular black cloud.

Sometimes good things come out of bad starts.  I know you’ve heard the comparison before, but the 2002 season did start off pretty crappy.  True, the win/loss ratio was a little bit better than it is right now, but it was still bad.  The 2009 season also started out with struggle, albeit for different and much more important reasons then just losing baseball games. 

Both of those seasons saw the Angels recovering from their early struggles and going on to postseason play.  And of course the 2002 season ended with the Angels as the champions of baseball.

“Yeah, yeah,” you say, “But we are an almost entirely different team than we were in 2009, and most definitely a different team than we were in 2002.”

This is true.  It’s also true that maybe “recovering” from a bad start isn’t the right term.  It’s not like you just get over this kind of defeat and go away unchanged as a person or a ball club.  The early struggle becomes a part of who you are, a part of how you play.  I would argue that without the bad start in 2002—if the Angels had come out and been a middle of the road team, maybe gone 10-10 instead of 6-14, it might have been easier to say “well, this is just going to be another average year.

It’s so much easier to be complacent when you’re cruising around in the average lane.

It’s harder when you can objectively look at something and say “Wow, we suck. Something needs to be done.”  Because then you actually have to do things.  Things like change and grow and get better.

That—the coming out of the fire and being better for it—that’s what makes great stories.  That’s why every single sports movie starts with a team not doing well.  It’s why championship teams like the 2002 Angels speak so strongly to us, why they live in our memory for so long. Would it be fun for fans and awesome for the players if a team started out fantastic, stayed fantastic, and ended fantastic?  Of course.  But it would be just that—fun.  The reward is sweeter when the struggle has been harder.

Of course this doesn’t address the issue of what the Angels can do to change—to grow from the place they are now.  And as much as I’d like to act like I can talk with authority about what it takes to run a professional baseball team, balancing every single thing that needs to go into putting together a winning season, it would be just that—an act.  I think, if we were honest, it is for most fans.  We all have our own ideas about what would work, what reliever should come in and in what inning...I suspect it might be a little bit more difficult to make those choices if we were actually in charge (please note, I am not saying fans don’t have a right to complain about manager decisions, complain all you want).

So am I frustrated by our rough start?  Yes.  Does it depress me?  Yes.  Am I sorry it happened?  I don’t know yet.

If the Angels can pull themselves together as a team, walk out of this fire, and come out stronger and more cohesive as a team, then no.  I will not be sorry one bit for any of these losses.  If they can’t, I will be sorry...but maybe not for the losses.

As a fan I believe they will come out of it.  I can look at the group of guys on our team and honestly say that I am sure they will pull it together.  The only question in my mind is how long will it take.  I know that the response of many fans will be, “Well, it better be soon or we won’t have a chance at the post season.”  Personally, I’m not even going to worry about the post season right now.  I want to see good baseball.  I want to see a functioning, healthy team. 

Here’s what we have going for us: being in last place.  You read that right. For me, at least, there’s a freedom in being in last place.  To hit rock bottom nice and early so that you can experience the pain and struggle and that uncomfortable growth process before you’ve settled into complacency.

Let me put it this way: I’d rather having a crappy record now than a mediocre one with a crash later.

I could end this with any number of cliches - it’s always darkest before the dawn, the reward will be sweeter (oh wait, I already used that one), there’s nowhere to go but up, (insert your favorite cliche here).  But I won’t, even though they’re mostly true.  I’ll end with this instead:

The start of this season has sucked. I look forward to the rest of the season.

By Danny Farris, AngelsWin.com Contributor -

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Danny Farris and I'm a huge Angels fan. My first Angels game was when I was 5 and I witnessed JT Snow hit a bomb. I learned that not only was he a local kid, he went to the same high school that I was going to go to. Ever since that day I was absolutely hooked. And because of THAT moment (and to make an extremely long story short) I am currently sitting in the MLB Fan Cave in Manhattan representing our Halos.
The great guys at AngelsWin.com contacted me and asked if I could write a weekly blog giving you guys the highlights of the Cave and I jumped at the opportunity. I'm not only here for myself - I'm here for all of you Angels fans as well. I'd like for us to share this experience and this is a great way to do it. For those who do not know what the Fan Cave is, let me give you a quick explanation. The Cave is an event space in NYC built so that myself and the other Cave Dwellers can watch every game throughout the season. Us Dwellers went through an application process and MLB ultimately selected nine of us to watch these games and bridge the gap between baseball and pop culture. So far this season we have met members of the Padres bullpen, Marlins catcher Rob Brantly, and this weekend with the Orioles in town, Chris Davis and Darren O'Day will come in to film a skit with us. We've only been here for about two weeks and it's already been the experience of a lifetime. I never want to leave, but there are eliminations throughout the year, leading to an Ultimate Cave Dweller being crowned at the end of the year.
So throughout the season, I'm going to be sharing stories and updates from the Cave as well as voicing my opinion about the Angels. Right now I don't really want to talk about them. I know it's early, but the pain is still present. I will say that I really like Garrett Richards and I think he will do well in the starting role.
You can see all of our videos and blogs on MLBFanCave.com. 

I'd highly recommend following @MLBFanCave on Twitter. Not only do they post happenings around the Cave, but they post awesome things that baseball fans would love. You can follow me @ohshootitsdan as well. If you guys have any questions, let me know! I'd be happy to answer questions from everybody. I look forward to interacting with everybody this year!

By Danny Farris, AngelsWin.com Contributor -

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Danny Farris and I'm a huge Angels fan. My first Angels game was when I was 5 and I witnessed JT Snow hit a bomb. I learned that not only was he a local kid, he went to the same high school that I was going to go to. Ever since that day I was absolutely hooked. And because of THAT moment (and to make an extremely long story short) I am currently sitting in the MLB Fan Cave in Manhattan representing our Halos.
The great guys at AngelsWin.com contacted me and asked if I could write a weekly blog giving you guys the highlights of the Cave and I jumped at the opportunity. I'm not only here for myself - I'm here for all of you Angels fans as well. I'd like for us to share this experience and this is a great way to do it. For those who do not know what the Fan Cave is, let me give you a quick explanation. The Cave is an event space in NYC built so that myself and the other Cave Dwellers can watch every game throughout the season. Us Dwellers went through an application process and MLB ultimately selected nine of us to watch these games and bridge the gap between baseball and pop culture. So far this season we have met members of the Padres bullpen, Marlins catcher Rob Brantly, and this weekend with the Orioles in town, Chris Davis and Darren O'Day will come in to film a skit with us. We've only been here for about two weeks and it's already been the experience of a lifetime. I never want to leave, but there are eliminations throughout the year, leading to an Ultimate Cave Dweller being crowned at the end of the year.
So throughout the season, I'm going to be sharing stories and updates from the Cave as well as voicing my opinion about the Angels. Right now I don't really want to talk about them. I know it's early, but the pain is still present. I will say that I really like Garrett Richards and I think he will do well in the starting role.
You can see all of our videos and blogs on MLBFanCave.com. 

I'd highly recommend following @MLBFanCave on Twitter. Not only do they post happenings around the Cave, but they post awesome things that baseball fans would love. You can follow me @ohshootitsdan as well. If you guys have any questions, let me know! I'd be happy to answer questions from everybody. I look forward to interacting with everybody this year!

The Angels Can Be Good for Your Health    
  By Glen Mckee, AngelsWin.com Columnist - 
  No really, despite the horrible start - what, is this 2012 again? - the Angels can be good for you!  You just have to have a plan.  I've had a plan that I have used for a few years, but usually taper off and on.    “The Angels Push-up Plan!”  In the past it was simple: do 10 push-ups for every run the Angels score.  Easy, straightforward, and it rewards your fandom with enhanced pecs if the Angels are doing well.    This season, I've been more serious about getting into better shape so I added to the plan: 10 push-ups for every run the Angels score, and five for every run the other guys score.   Eight games into the season, I've realized something important: even at a 1:2 ratio the other team is making me do more push-ups than the Angels are. Thanks blowpen and questionable starters!  I wonder if I can somehow deduct money spent on Angels gear by claiming Mike Butcher as my trainer, because of his wonderful work with the pitching staff?   If you're into fitness at all then you know that repetitious training is not good for the long term; if I keep doing just push-ups eventually there won't be much benefit to them. So, taking a good look at how the Angels have performed so far I've come up with … “The New and Improved Angels Fitness Program!”   This complete training regimen that will have your flabby body beach-ready in a month, but only if you stick to it.  Oh, and you have to do this for every game.  No slacking!  Note that with the exception of the push-ups (in case of a high-scoring game), all of these should be done during the game when the events happen (there will be some overlap, but do them in order of occurrence).  OK, here's the program: 
* Every run the Angels score: 10 push-ups.   * Every run the other team scores: five push-ups.   * Every runner left on base (non-scoring-position): 10 four-count jumping jacks.

* Every runner left on base (scoring position): Two eight-count body builders 
(http://www.youtube.c...h?v=TxQT-wZdP28).   * Every inning an Angels starter gives up more than one run in an inning: Plank for 30 seconds    * Every time Albert Pujols screws up on the bases: 10 leg-lifts  (http://www.youtube.c...h?v=l-mPHKQFMkk)   * Every time Josh Hamilton strikes out: Run in place for 30 seconds.   * When the camera shows Mike Scioscia looking confused: Jump rope for one minute.   * The bullpen, according to your own definition, is mismanaged: 10 good morning darlings  (http://www.youtube.c...h?v=tv8drdaRWL8 go to 1:49)   * The Angels get a clutch hit with RISP: eat two raw kale leaves.   * Dino Ebel waves a runner home while standing about 10 feet from home plate: 10 arm windmills, both directions.    * You find yourself saying "Scioscia made the right move there" and are surprised by that: 20 crunches of your choice.   * The Angels take the lead and then give it up in the next half -inning: eat a can of spinach.   * The game goes longer than three hours: drink a beer, you're gonna need it (yes, I know this goes against fitness in general but you need to reward yourself a bit too).   * The Angels lose: 15 angry squats or five minutes on a speed bag.   * The Angels win: Two sets of 10 star-jumps:    * The Angels come from behind and hold on to win: find your significant other and make sweet, sweet love to him or her.  

Note: if you let this be the only time you make sweet, sweet love I am not responsible for broken relationships due to the infrequency of boot-knocking. Trust me, you'll need to do it more often than this.  Much more.   That's it, folks!  Follow this plan and you'll go from Paul Giamatti to Channing Tatum or Melissa McCarthy to Anne Hathaway by the end of the season!

The Angels Can Be Good for Your Health    
  By Glen Mckee, AngelsWin.com Columnist - 
  No really, despite the horrible start - what, is this 2012 again? - the Angels can be good for you!  You just have to have a plan.  I've had a plan that I have used for a few years, but usually taper off and on.    “The Angels Push-up Plan!”  In the past it was simple: do 10 push-ups for every run the Angels score.  Easy, straightforward, and it rewards your fandom with enhanced pecs if the Angels are doing well.    This season, I've been more serious about getting into better shape so I added to the plan: 10 push-ups for every run the Angels score, and five for every run the other guys score.   Eight games into the season, I've realized something important: even at a 1:2 ratio the other team is making me do more push-ups than the Angels are. Thanks blowpen and questionable starters!  I wonder if I can somehow deduct money spent on Angels gear by claiming Mike Butcher as my trainer, because of his wonderful work with the pitching staff?   If you're into fitness at all then you know that repetitious training is not good for the long term; if I keep doing just push-ups eventually there won't be much benefit to them. So, taking a good look at how the Angels have performed so far I've come up with … “The New and Improved Angels Fitness Program!”   This complete training regimen that will have your flabby body beach-ready in a month, but only if you stick to it.  Oh, and you have to do this for every game.  No slacking!  Note that with the exception of the push-ups (in case of a high-scoring game), all of these should be done during the game when the events happen (there will be some overlap, but do them in order of occurrence).  OK, here's the program: 
* Every run the Angels score: 10 push-ups.   * Every run the other team scores: five push-ups.   * Every runner left on base (non-scoring-position): 10 four-count jumping jacks.

* Every runner left on base (scoring position): Two eight-count body builders 
(http://www.youtube.c...h?v=TxQT-wZdP28).   * Every inning an Angels starter gives up more than one run in an inning: Plank for 30 seconds    * Every time Albert Pujols screws up on the bases: 10 leg-lifts  (http://www.youtube.c...h?v=l-mPHKQFMkk)   * Every time Josh Hamilton strikes out: Run in place for 30 seconds.   * When the camera shows Mike Scioscia looking confused: Jump rope for one minute.   * The bullpen, according to your own definition, is mismanaged: 10 good morning darlings  (http://www.youtube.c...h?v=tv8drdaRWL8 go to 1:49)   * The Angels get a clutch hit with RISP: eat two raw kale leaves.   * Dino Ebel waves a runner home while standing about 10 feet from home plate: 10 arm windmills, both directions.    * You find yourself saying "Scioscia made the right move there" and are surprised by that: 20 crunches of your choice.   * The Angels take the lead and then give it up in the next half -inning: eat a can of spinach.   * The game goes longer than three hours: drink a beer, you're gonna need it (yes, I know this goes against fitness in general but you need to reward yourself a bit too).   * The Angels lose: 15 angry squats or five minutes on a speed bag.   * The Angels win: Two sets of 10 star-jumps:    * The Angels come from behind and hold on to win: find your significant other and make sweet, sweet love to him or her.  

Note: if you let this be the only time you make sweet, sweet love I am not responsible for broken relationships due to the infrequency of boot-knocking. Trust me, you'll need to do it more often than this.  Much more.   That's it, folks!  Follow this plan and you'll go from Paul Giamatti to Channing Tatum or Melissa McCarthy to Anne Hathaway by the end of the season!

The Boys Are Back In Town!      
By Geoff Stoddart, Director of Social Media   “The Jukebox in the corner blasting out my favorite song The nights are gettin' warmer it won’t be long Won’t be long ‘til summer comes Now that the boys are here again   The boys are back in town, the boys are back in town!!! The boys are back in town, the boys are back in town!!!”   You’re like a modern day Paul Revere.   You throw the top down on your convertible roll your windows down all the way and/or slide back your sunroof.  You hit play on your CD player and drive through Southern California with this Thin Lizzy song blasting through your crackling speakers.  Just as Paul Revere announced that, “the British are coming,” you’re telling the world, “The boys are back in town!  Angels baseball is back!”    It’s time to “play ball!”  And it’s time to gather up Angels fans from around the southland to celebrate baseball’s glorious return!   You are cordially invited to join your fellow Halo fans on Tuesday April 9th at the OC Sports Grill for the Angels Home Opener Pregame and Watch Party!  If you've got tickets to the game, stop in for some in-bar tailgating!  If you don’t have tickets, come in and watch the action on one of the 50 HDTVs or 3 thirteen foot projector screens!  Join us starting at 5pm and take advantage of specials on food and drinks:  $3 tequila shots, $4 margaritas, $4 imperial imports and 2 tacos for $3!  We’ll also be auctioning off Angels items throughout the evening!   “The boys are back in town!  Angels baseball is back!”  Let’s celebrate!   RSVP HERE

By Gregory Bird, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer - 
During Spring Training this year and during Jered Weaver’s first start against Cincinnati there has been some concern about the ability of our Ace to continue being one. Can he survive his diminishing velocity on his fastball as he ages? The basic fear is ‘will we still have an ace that can strike people out or not? Or without Weaver pitching like an ace will we be able to win the World Series this year?’ There are some real concerns here but I suspect we have nothing to fear because Weaver has continued to evolve as pitcher learning other tools to succeed on the mound. 

Over the past three years Weaver has been the unquestioned number 1 in the Angels’ rotation. 2011 was Weaver’s best year by ERA+. ERA+ is a stat that our front office really likes. It takes a pitcher's ERA, adjusts it for park factors, and compares it to the league average. He had a 156 ERA+ in 2011 and anything over a 100 (league average) is good.
2010 was Weaver’s best year by FIP. FIP, or Fielding Independent Pitching, is a stat that measures what it is believed the pitcher can control and converts it to an expected ERA, assuming they had league average defense backing them up. FIP assumes that a pitcher has no control of how his fielders play the ball behind him and therefore no control of what happens to balls hitters put into play. The things a pitcher can control are called “The Three True Outcomes” and they are: walks, strikeouts, and home runs.
The difference between Weaver from 2010-2012 and when he first entered the league is easy to see. He cut down his walk percentage from around 7.3% to 6.1%. He cut down his home runs per 9 innings from 1.05 to around .9. He also increased his use of his curveball (2010) and introduced his no-seam fastball (2010) and his cut fastball (2011) to keep hitters more off-balance. All of these changes coincide with a dramatic reduction in his Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP) to below or well below league average. Basically this means fewer balls hit by batters in the field of play end up as hits.
The bad news that causes people to question Weaver is twofold: Weaver’s Fastball velocity has dropped from 90.1 to 88 or 87 and his strikeout percentage has dropped from 25.8% (2010) to 19.2% (2012.) With these lower speeds and lower strikeout rates can Weaver continue his success or will he wilt? Will it happen in 2013, when we need him to stabilize our perceived weak rotation? Can he sustain his previous success as he ages?
The more I dug into his numbers the more I learned about how he pitches and how he is continuing to evolve as a pitcher. Weaver has succeeded in three different ways in his career and I want to first talk about how he’s done it to see if he can continue.
When Weaver’s first came up to the big leagues in 2006/2007 he was relying primarily on his 4-seam fastball and his deception to strikeout hitters. His cross firing delivery made hitters uncomfortable and made his fastball seem faster than it was. This allowed for more infield fly-balls (automatic outs) and more strikeouts (21.4% in 2006 and 20.4% in 2008.) He struggled with runners getting on base due to his higher walk rate during this time, which would often come back and bite him. His BABIP was fairly normal in the league. How well he performed was related to his defense and how lucky he was when he allowed the Homerun, which he was prone to as an extreme fly-ball pitcher.
As an important note, being a fly-ball pitcher is not always a bad thing, as many people tend to believe today. Often we hear ground-ball pitchers being praised as the best and this is due to the rise in the value of “the Three True Outcomes” in baseball. The reasons analysts value ground-ball pitchers more now is because it is hard for a pitcher who gets more ground-balls to give up many homeruns (the worst of the three outcomes.) A fly-ball pitcher is obviously more apt to give up HRs because he has more chances to do so. What is often not realized is that when we compare ground-balls to fly-balls we find “fly-balls that aren’t home runs have a mere .167 batting average compared to ground-balls that have a .236 batting average.” If a pitcher can consistently keep the balls in the yard or runners off base than he can do well giving up fly-balls.
Now, sometime in 2009 Weaver came to believe that allowing batters to put the ball in play was not a terrible thing. Around that time he was convinced he needed to get deeper in the game and not worry as much about striking hitters out. He began his journey of getting early count outs, limiting base runners, and pitching deeper into games, but can we measure this?
First, Weaver began to change his pitching repertoire. He began using his no-seam fastball and increased his curveball use from 8.6% in 2009 to 13% in 2010. His curveball use has since leveled off at around 10.6%. His curveball creates a different look for him and it is a good pitch for him to confuse the hitters timing since it clocks in around 70 MPH, or 17-20 MPH slower than his fastball. His no-seam sinker also helps to reduce line-drives and gives him another look to the hitters. These also could serve to create more weak contact by hitters and easier outs.
Second, his walk percentage dropped in the 2010 season from 7.5% to 6% and remained at 6.1% in 2012. He wanted to pitch to more contact in 2009 but as he continued to walk hitters he found it detrimental to the tune of a 3.75 ERA that year. He seems to have worked to reduce his walks the following year. The only thing this seems to coincide with is his introduction of the sinker and increased use of his curveball, as mentioned earlier. Not sure if that helped him with control but the fact remains he did limit his free passes which really helped to turn it around for him.
Finally, Weaver pitched more innings. In 2008 he pitched only 176.2 innings. He increased that in 2009 to 211 but his success didn’t really start until he reduced his walk rate in both 2010 and 2011 where he pitched 220+ innings a year. He got deeper in games and became more of a workhorse by keeping the bases clearer.
This leads us to Weaver’s second style of pitching which was to remain a fly-ball pitcher but reduce both solid contact and runners on base. With fewer runners on base when someone hit a homerun, he could limit the damages. Also, they wouldn’t be able to square up his curveball or sinker and hit as many line-drives off him. 
We can see this in his reduced line-drive percentage in 2010. This is important for a pitcher because hitters have a batting average around .600 on line-drives. We know there are two things that help to prevent line-drives: “1) good sinking pitches and; 2) throwing hard.” Weaver’s good velocity in 2010 and his introduction of his no-seam sinker and curveball resulted in an immediate LD% drop of 3%, but it wasn’t a sustainable drop. The reason it wasn’t sustainable could’ve been due to Weaver’s drop in velocity in 2011 because “faster pitches in general seem to lead to a lower LD%” and slower pitches do not. 
This leads us to how Weaver adjusted to these changes last year. He seems to have begun to reinvent himself a third time via the influence of pitchers on his team. 
Near the end of Scott Shields’ career, in 2009/2010, he began to teach Weaver his no-seam sinking fastball. As we already mentioned, Weaver worked hard to learn it and brought it into games in 2010. This helped Weaver to reduce his reliance on his 4-seam fastball. In 2009 Weaver threw the 4-seamer 47.4% of the time. In 2010 he threw the 4-seamer 38.2% and the no-seamer 17.4%. Last year Weaver increased his no-seam fastball even more to a 24.6% clip and decreased his 4-seam use to only 28.3%.
Sometime between August 2010 and the start of the 2011 season Weaver began to learn Dan Haren’s cut fastball. As Weaver’s fastball velocity was dropping in 2011 he began to add the cutter into his repertory of pitches 6% of the time. Weaver used his 4-seam FB even less in 2011, only 30.5% of the time, to allow for his increased use of his other two fastballs. 
With Weaver losing more velocity on his fastball last year he decided to transition away from being an extreme fly-ball pitcher. With his increased cutter use (9.0%) and the increased use of his sinker (24.6%) he has reduced his overall fly-ball percentage to 42.8% from his career average of around 48%. This is still well above the league average last year of 33.9% but it is a significant move down for Weaver. Also his GB/FB rate went up considerably from an averaging around .7 to .84 in 2012. This means more ground-balls as compared to fly-balls. This again is still well below the league average of 1.33 but a significant change for Weaver. 
With all this movement on his fastball he is no longer relying on the 4-seam fastball and the strikeout to get hitters out and his K% has dropped accordingly back to 19.2%. While still respectable it is only slightly above the league average of 18.7%. But while reducing strikeouts he has also dramatically increased his double play percentage from his career norm of around 5% to last year’s 11% rate (league average.)
With all these changes Weaver’s BABIP has remained well below the league average and this has really been his advantage. This started in 2009 and 2010 when Weaver still had his hard fastball with deception. As his velocity decreases Weaver is trying to maintain that lower BABIP with ball movement. In an article on FanGraphs about pitcher’s BABIP this quote appeared after a description about pitch types and their effect on BABIP, “It seems movement is a lot more important than speed when it comes to fastballs and BABIP.”
Weaver is challenging the accepted norms of the sabermetric world. Back when the idea of “The Three True Outcomes” was postulated there was still more to be learned. These lessons come from the outliers. Weaver is one of those outliers. He continues to succeed where he should not be able to. He has, what many would consider, an unsustainably low BABIP with a declining strikeout rate. This should be the obvious sign that he will regress to the mean, but he has not done so. 
Weaver is showing us all that there is a lot more that pitchers can control than just walks, strikeouts, and home runs. Recently a lot of work is being done to validate a fourth true outcome, infield fly-balls. Other work, like the article linked to here that I’ve quoted from, have shown that there are correlations between the outcome and how a pitcher chooses to pitch. 
Weaver has chosen to give up the holy grail of strikeouts and simply work on what he can. He has reduced walks and increased weak contact through movement and changing speeds. He utilizes the tools he has, develops more as needed, and does all he can to limit his opponents BABIP (although he probably sees it as limiting their batting average.) 
With Weaver’s ability to evolve and learn I believe that he can continue his success as the ace of the Angels’ staff. Could things go wrong? Sure. But will they? Not likely. This is because Weaver will adjust to them. That is what great players do. The league adjusts to them and they adjust to the league. Weaver will make it work, no matter what the velocity. 

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