AngelsWin.com

By Jessica Melendez, AngelsWin.com Feature Writer - 
What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title
- Juliet, Romeo & Juliet
Naming things is hard; whether it’s babies, or pets, or baseball teams.  This is because names, no matter what Juliet says, mean something.  Yes, I’m saying Shakespeare was wrong.  Would Romeo have been quite as attractive if his name was Barry Dungworth?  I think not.
This week the big Angels news hitting the internet was about the upcoming Anaheim City Council vote on the Angels stadium lease.  Bill Shaikin reported on Twitter that: Under new #Angels stadium lease, team could call itself whatever it wants. No more "of Anaheim" in "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim."
It was as if millions of Angels fans suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.*
There are a lot of strong feelings about the place name attached to the Angels.  I think most people agree that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is pretty much a dumb name...cause you know, geography, and facts, and stuff.  It looks silly, it sounds silly, and it opens up us to ridicule.  My own mother, for example, delights in referring to the team as the Los Angeles California Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  It’s long, but at least it’s historically accurate.
Here’s the thing: No matter what place name the team attaches to itself not everyone is going to be happy.  However, we can look at the pros and cons of each, argue amongst ourselves all while resting in the supremely comforting knowledge that what we think doesn’t matter a damn bit and Arte will do whatever the hell he wants.  
First, the good news!  Place name aside, we have one of the best team names in baseball! Everyone just take a pause—inhale, exhale—revel in the awesomeness that is our team name! The Angels! How fabulous is that?  How awesome is our A?  We could be the Athletics for goodness sake...or the Dodgers! WHAT ARE THEY DODGING?**  Does anyone else feel like speaking in a Dickensian accent and picking pockets?
Which brings me to the perfect solution for this whole debacle.  Perfect, that is, in a perfect world in which MLB didn’t routinely make sucky rules.
Angels
Drop the place name. Be the Angels. If Madonna can get away with only one name, so can we.  The place name has already been dropped from jerseys and quite a bit of merchandise.  This would be the perfect solution...except for MLB not letting it happen.  (I am told this is a rule. I cannot actually find anywhere that actually cites this rule.  Please let me know if it isn't actually a rule because...problem solved!)
By the way, in case you missed it, our own founder of AngelsWin.com, Chuck Richter, had his take heard live on the radio on the popular LA news station AM KNX 1070 and then later on by an AP reporter back in 2005-2006, that ultimately made its way to ESPN. You can read that here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=2286482
The Los Angeles Angels
I hate to break it to you guys, but this is probably going to happen.***  I know a lot of people hate this idea with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns.  I’m not here to defend it, just to point out that while it is geographically a little sketchy, historically the team has been called this before. 
In fact, as the original sports team in Los Angeles (suck it, snarky Dodger fans) beginning in 1892, and then again as part of the Pacific Coast League starting in 1903, and then Mr. Autry bought the rights to the franchise name in 1961 when he established the Angels as a new MLB franchise.  That’s right, he paid $350,000 for the name, guys. It’s ours. We bought it.  
I’m not saying we have to use it, just that all this nonsense about the name being misleading is...Okay, fine it’s misleading.  I’m making a distinction between geography and history here.  And one could always argue the “greater Los Angeles basin region” as opposed to the “City of Los Angeles.”  Am I saying I want this to be the team name?  No.  Am I saying this probably is going to be the team name? Yes. Especially with the most recent news of the City of Anaheim extending the lease and dropping the "of Anaheim" off the name as part of the deal. 
California Angels
In my opinion, this name has the strongest case for being the name of the team based purely on the amount of time the Angels spent in MLB as the California Angels.  32 years.  From 1965 when the team changed from the Los Angeles Angels in anticipation of their move to Anaheim, through 1997 when Anaheim contractually required that the Angels change their name in return for stadium renovations.  
Speaking from a purely graphic design based perspective, I think more awesome logos can be created from the CA mix than the AA mix...it’s really hard to make two As next to each other look sexy.  These are the facts.  I don’t make ‘em, I just report ‘em.
Anaheim Angels
As discussed above, the team changed their name yet again in 1997 to the Anaheim Angels because Anaheim basically paid them to do it.  I know this is a fan favorite.  If you had a gun to my head and made me pick one name, I’d probably pick this (with CA Angels a close second).  
What does it have going for it?  Alliteration.  Never underestimate the power of alliteration. And the stadium is called Angel Stadium...and there’s, you know, a BIG A outside with a halo on it.  It’s all the As...all the time!  Also? The stadium is in Anaheim so geographically it makes sense.  Do I think the logos with two As are fab? No, I do not (see above).  Arte has already snuck his way around this with the new logo (which I love), so in theory you could go back to being the Anaheim Angels and stick with the same logo and everyone is happy.  
Everyone, that is, except Arte.  What does he have against Anaheim? People say it’s marketing...possibly, but it can’t be easy to market a team that’s always changing its name, why not stick with one?  
Why are fans so into it?  Hometown pride, LA/OC rivalry, winning the series with this name...probably all of the above.  It does behoove us to remember that the most universally hated team logo was an Anaheim Angels logo.  But I know we are all trying to forget about it. (I do, however have several yards of fabric with that logo on it, so if for some reason you’re one of the two people who are huge fans, hit me up, I’ve got you covered.)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Then there’s this.  Um, the positives of our current name are...well, the Anaheim is still in it.  That’s something even if it results in an odd name.  I’m pretty certain this name is universally disliked.  Could it be worse? Yes.  I’m sure somehow it could be.  I made the historical argument for the Los Angeles name above, so you could say this name is like the historical/geographical name.  Yes, we are the Los Angeles Angels...originally...and we are now from Anaheim!  It’s kind of like hyphenating your maiden and married names.  Or something.
The good news is we are likely not keeping this name now that there will be a new stadium contract.  The bad news is we are probably going to be the Los Angeles Angels once again and there ain't much we can do about it!
Something Completely Different
If we can’t just be the Angels, and we can’t agree on one of the previously used place names, why not come up with something completely new?  We could be the Southern California Angels, or the Orange County Angels, or That Team Located Where a Lot of Freeways All Come Together Angels.  The possibilities are endless.  Okay, I’m lying, they’re actually quite finite, but there must be more than what we’re currently working with.
And maybe Shakespeare was right after all.  The Angels will be the Angels no matter which city or state name is in front of (or behind) their name.
But it is fun to argue amongst ourselves, so if you had to pick one, which would it be and why? 
* Thank you, Obi-wan Kenobi, you are indeed our only hope ** Trolleys. I do actually get it. Made more sense in NY, guys, not as much in LA. *** And the award for most obvious statement goes to me!

View the full article

By Jessica Melendez, AngelsWin.com Feature Writer - 
What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title
- Juliet, Romeo & Juliet
Naming things is hard; whether it’s babies, or pets, or baseball teams.  This is because names, no matter what Juliet says, mean something.  Yes, I’m saying Shakespeare was wrong.  Would Romeo have been quite as attractive if his name was Barry Dungworth?  I think not.
This week the big Angels news hitting the internet was about the upcoming Anaheim City Council vote on the Angels stadium lease.  Bill Shaikin reported on Twitter that: Under new #Angels stadium lease, team could call itself whatever it wants. No more "of Anaheim" in "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim."
It was as if millions of Angels fans suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.*
There are a lot of strong feelings about the place name attached to the Angels.  I think most people agree that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is pretty much a dumb name...cause you know, geography, and facts, and stuff.  It looks silly, it sounds silly, and it opens up us to ridicule.  My own mother, for example, delights in referring to the team as the Los Angeles California Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  It’s long, but at least it’s historically accurate.
Here’s the thing: No matter what place name the team attaches to itself not everyone is going to be happy.  However, we can look at the pros and cons of each, argue amongst ourselves all while resting in the supremely comforting knowledge that what we think doesn’t matter a damn bit and Arte will do whatever the hell he wants.  
First, the good news!  Place name aside, we have one of the best team names in baseball! Everyone just take a pause—inhale, exhale—revel in the awesomeness that is our team name! The Angels! How fabulous is that?  How awesome is our A?  We could be the Athletics for goodness sake...or the Dodgers! WHAT ARE THEY DODGING?**  Does anyone else feel like speaking in a Dickensian accent and picking pockets?
Which brings me to the perfect solution for this whole debacle.  Perfect, that is, in a perfect world in which MLB didn’t routinely make sucky rules.
Angels
Drop the place name. Be the Angels. If Madonna can get away with only one name, so can we.  The place name has already been dropped from jerseys and quite a bit of merchandise.  This would be the perfect solution...except for MLB not letting it happen.  (I am told this is a rule. I cannot actually find anywhere that actually cites this rule.  Please let me know if it isn't actually a rule because...problem solved!)
By the way, in case you missed it, our own founder of AngelsWin.com, Chuck Richter, had his take heard live on the radio on the popular LA news station AM KNX 1070 and then later on by an AP reporter back in 2005-2006, that ultimately made its way to ESPN. You can read that here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=2286482
The Los Angeles Angels
I hate to break it to you guys, but this is probably going to happen.***  I know a lot of people hate this idea with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns.  I’m not here to defend it, just to point out that while it is geographically a little sketchy, historically the team has been called this before. 
In fact, as the original sports team in Los Angeles (suck it, snarky Dodger fans) beginning in 1892, and then again as part of the Pacific Coast League starting in 1903, and then Mr. Autry bought the rights to the franchise name in 1961 when he established the Angels as a new MLB franchise.  That’s right, he paid $350,000 for the name, guys. It’s ours. We bought it.  
I’m not saying we have to use it, just that all this nonsense about the name being misleading is...Okay, fine it’s misleading.  I’m making a distinction between geography and history here.  And one could always argue the “greater Los Angeles basin region” as opposed to the “City of Los Angeles.”  Am I saying I want this to be the team name?  No.  Am I saying this probably is going to be the team name? Yes. Especially with the most recent news of the City of Anaheim extending the lease and dropping the "of Anaheim" off the name as part of the deal. 
California Angels
In my opinion, this name has the strongest case for being the name of the team based purely on the amount of time the Angels spent in MLB as the California Angels.  32 years.  From 1965 when the team changed from the Los Angeles Angels in anticipation of their move to Anaheim, through 1997 when Anaheim contractually required that the Angels change their name in return for stadium renovations.  
Speaking from a purely graphic design based perspective, I think more awesome logos can be created from the CA mix than the AA mix...it’s really hard to make two As next to each other look sexy.  These are the facts.  I don’t make ‘em, I just report ‘em.
Anaheim Angels
As discussed above, the team changed their name yet again in 1997 to the Anaheim Angels because Anaheim basically paid them to do it.  I know this is a fan favorite.  If you had a gun to my head and made me pick one name, I’d probably pick this (with CA Angels a close second).  
What does it have going for it?  Alliteration.  Never underestimate the power of alliteration. And the stadium is called Angel Stadium...and there’s, you know, a BIG A outside with a halo on it.  It’s all the As...all the time!  Also? The stadium is in Anaheim so geographically it makes sense.  Do I think the logos with two As are fab? No, I do not (see above).  Arte has already snuck his way around this with the new logo (which I love), so in theory you could go back to being the Anaheim Angels and stick with the same logo and everyone is happy.  
Everyone, that is, except Arte.  What does he have against Anaheim? People say it’s marketing...possibly, but it can’t be easy to market a team that’s always changing its name, why not stick with one?  
Why are fans so into it?  Hometown pride, LA/OC rivalry, winning the series with this name...probably all of the above.  It does behoove us to remember that the most universally hated team logo was an Anaheim Angels logo.  But I know we are all trying to forget about it. (I do, however have several yards of fabric with that logo on it, so if for some reason you’re one of the two people who are huge fans, hit me up, I’ve got you covered.)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Then there’s this.  Um, the positives of our current name are...well, the Anaheim is still in it.  That’s something even if it results in an odd name.  I’m pretty certain this name is universally disliked.  Could it be worse? Yes.  I’m sure somehow it could be.  I made the historical argument for the Los Angeles name above, so you could say this name is like the historical/geographical name.  Yes, we are the Los Angeles Angels...originally...and we are now from Anaheim!  It’s kind of like hyphenating your maiden and married names.  Or something.
The good news is we are likely not keeping this name now that there will be a new stadium contract.  The bad news is we are probably going to be the Los Angeles Angels once again and there ain't much we can do about it!
Something Completely Different
If we can’t just be the Angels, and we can’t agree on one of the previously used place names, why not come up with something completely new?  We could be the Southern California Angels, or the Orange County Angels, or That Team Located Where a Lot of Freeways All Come Together Angels.  The possibilities are endless.  Okay, I’m lying, they’re actually quite finite, but there must be more than what we’re currently working with.
And maybe Shakespeare was right after all.  The Angels will be the Angels no matter which city or state name is in front of (or behind) their name.
But it is fun to argue amongst ourselves, so if you had to pick one, which would it be and why? 
* Thank you, Obi-wan Kenobi, you are indeed our only hope ** Trolleys. I do actually get it. Made more sense in NY, guys, not as much in LA. *** And the award for most obvious statement goes to me!

View the full article

By Jessica Melendez, AngelsWin.com Feature Writer - 
What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title
- Juliet, Romeo & Juliet
Naming things is hard; whether it’s babies, or pets, or baseball teams.  This is because names, no matter what Juliet says, mean something.  Yes, I’m saying Shakespeare was wrong.  Would Romeo have been quite as attractive if his name was Barry Dungworth?  I think not.
This week the big Angels news hitting the internet was about the upcoming Anaheim City Council vote on the Angels stadium lease.  Bill Shaikin reported on Twitter that: Under new #Angels stadium lease, team could call itself whatever it wants. No more "of Anaheim" in "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim."
It was as if millions of Angels fans suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.*
There are a lot of strong feelings about the place name attached to the Angels.  I think most people agree that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is pretty much a dumb name...cause you know, geography, and facts, and stuff.  It looks silly, it sounds silly, and it opens up us to ridicule.  My own mother, for example, delights in referring to the team as the Los Angeles California Anaheim Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  It’s long, but at least it’s historically accurate.
Here’s the thing: No matter what place name the team attaches to itself not everyone is going to be happy.  However, we can look at the pros and cons of each, argue amongst ourselves all while resting in the supremely comforting knowledge that what we think doesn’t matter a damn bit and Arte will do whatever the hell he wants.  
First, the good news!  Place name aside, we have one of the best team names in baseball! Everyone just take a pause—inhale, exhale—revel in the awesomeness that is our team name! The Angels! How fabulous is that?  How awesome is our A?  We could be the Athletics for goodness sake...or the Dodgers! WHAT ARE THEY DODGING?**  Does anyone else feel like speaking in a Dickensian accent and picking pockets?
Which brings me to the perfect solution for this whole debacle.  Perfect, that is, in a perfect world in which MLB didn’t routinely make sucky rules.
Angels
Drop the place name. Be the Angels. If Madonna can get away with only one name, so can we.  The place name has already been dropped from jerseys and quite a bit of merchandise.  This would be the perfect solution...except for MLB not letting it happen.  (I am told this is a rule. I cannot actually find anywhere that actually cites this rule.  Please let me know if it isn't actually a rule because...problem solved!)
By the way, in case you missed it, our own founder of AngelsWin.com, Chuck Richter, had his take heard live on the radio on the popular LA news station AM KNX 1070 and then later on by an AP reporter back in 2005-2006, that ultimately made its way to ESPN. You can read that here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=2286482
The Los Angeles Angels
I hate to break it to you guys, but this is probably going to happen.***  I know a lot of people hate this idea with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns.  I’m not here to defend it, just to point out that while it is geographically a little sketchy, historically the team has been called this before. 
In fact, as the original sports team in Los Angeles (suck it, snarky Dodger fans) beginning in 1892, and then again as part of the Pacific Coast League starting in 1903, and then Mr. Autry bought the rights to the franchise name in 1961 when he established the Angels as a new MLB franchise.  That’s right, he paid $350,000 for the name, guys. It’s ours. We bought it.  
I’m not saying we have to use it, just that all this nonsense about the name being misleading is...Okay, fine it’s misleading.  I’m making a distinction between geography and history here.  And one could always argue the “greater Los Angeles basin region” as opposed to the “City of Los Angeles.”  Am I saying I want this to be the team name?  No.  Am I saying this probably is going to be the team name? Yes. Especially with the most recent news of the City of Anaheim extending the lease and dropping the "of Anaheim" off the name as part of the deal. 
California Angels
In my opinion, this name has the strongest case for being the name of the team based purely on the amount of time the Angels spent in MLB as the California Angels.  32 years.  From 1965 when the team changed from the Los Angeles Angels in anticipation of their move to Anaheim, through 1997 when Anaheim contractually required that the Angels change their name in return for stadium renovations.  
Speaking from a purely graphic design based perspective, I think more awesome logos can be created from the CA mix than the AA mix...it’s really hard to make two As next to each other look sexy.  These are the facts.  I don’t make ‘em, I just report ‘em.
Anaheim Angels
As discussed above, the team changed their name yet again in 1997 to the Anaheim Angels because Anaheim basically paid them to do it.  I know this is a fan favorite.  If you had a gun to my head and made me pick one name, I’d probably pick this (with CA Angels a close second).  
What does it have going for it?  Alliteration.  Never underestimate the power of alliteration. And the stadium is called Angel Stadium...and there’s, you know, a BIG A outside with a halo on it.  It’s all the As...all the time!  Also? The stadium is in Anaheim so geographically it makes sense.  Do I think the logos with two As are fab? No, I do not (see above).  Arte has already snuck his way around this with the new logo (which I love), so in theory you could go back to being the Anaheim Angels and stick with the same logo and everyone is happy.  
Everyone, that is, except Arte.  What does he have against Anaheim? People say it’s marketing...possibly, but it can’t be easy to market a team that’s always changing its name, why not stick with one?  
Why are fans so into it?  Hometown pride, LA/OC rivalry, winning the series with this name...probably all of the above.  It does behoove us to remember that the most universally hated team logo was an Anaheim Angels logo.  But I know we are all trying to forget about it. (I do, however have several yards of fabric with that logo on it, so if for some reason you’re one of the two people who are huge fans, hit me up, I’ve got you covered.)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Then there’s this.  Um, the positives of our current name are...well, the Anaheim is still in it.  That’s something even if it results in an odd name.  I’m pretty certain this name is universally disliked.  Could it be worse? Yes.  I’m sure somehow it could be.  I made the historical argument for the Los Angeles name above, so you could say this name is like the historical/geographical name.  Yes, we are the Los Angeles Angels...originally...and we are now from Anaheim!  It’s kind of like hyphenating your maiden and married names.  Or something.
The good news is we are likely not keeping this name now that there will be a new stadium contract.  The bad news is we are probably going to be the Los Angeles Angels once again and there ain't much we can do about it!
Something Completely Different
If we can’t just be the Angels, and we can’t agree on one of the previously used place names, why not come up with something completely new?  We could be the Southern California Angels, or the Orange County Angels, or That Team Located Where a Lot of Freeways All Come Together Angels.  The possibilities are endless.  Okay, I’m lying, they’re actually quite finite, but there must be more than what we’re currently working with.
And maybe Shakespeare was right after all.  The Angels will be the Angels no matter which city or state name is in front of (or behind) their name.
But it is fun to argue amongst ourselves, so if you had to pick one, which would it be and why? 
* Thank you, Obi-wan Kenobi, you are indeed our only hope ** Trolleys. I do actually get it. Made more sense in NY, guys, not as much in LA. *** And the award for most obvious statement goes to me!

View the full article

By Geoff Stoddart, AngelsWin.com Director of Social Media - 
My kid’s new school schedule has me all jacked up.  He just started middle school last week and the bus is picking him up at 6:43 am.  (6:43 am!!!!  WTH?!?!  What kind of school board does something like that to parents … errrrr … I mean kids?!?!)  So getting up with him at 5:45 am has my internal clock all out of whack. 
This morning I woke up at 4:40am and was trying to figure out what day it was.  My internal dialog went something like this …
“4:40 am, Cool, I still have an hour left to sleep.  Wait … do I?  What day is it?  Oh, it’s Sunday.  Sweet!  I can go back to sleep for hours.”  (Rolls over and tries to get comfortable.)
“Man it’s hot in this room!  I should open a window.”  (Gets up and opens window, then gets back in bed.) 
“There, that’s better.  Well … not really better, it’s still hot in here.  But it ought to start cooling down now.  You know what?  I have to pee!”  (Goes to the restroom, and then gets back in bed.) 
“There!  Window open.  Bladder emptied.  Now I can go back to sleep.”  (Checks clock again.  It’s 5:02 am.)
“Hey … it’s September.  Man the summer went by quick.”  (More tossing and turning.)
“Yup … September.  Only a month left of Angels baseball.”  (Lays there for a moment.  Eyes open wide…)
“Only a month left of Angels baseball?!?!?  No!!!!!”
Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it, this has been a disappointing year for Angels baseball.  It’s September 1st and not only is the team 16.5 games out of first place, but they’re still 10 games below .500.  This is not what we were expecting when we gathered in Tempe, AZ last March for our AngelsWin.com Spring Training Fanfest. 
But do you know what’s worse than a disappointing Angels baseball season?  No Angels baseball!
It’s a loooooonnnnnnggggg winter folks.  Starting in just 29 days, we will have 5 months of no Angels baseball action! 
I get that some of you may have already tuned out.  But honestly, if you’re one of those people, you’re not reading this anyway.  If you are reading this (and thank you for doing so!), then you’re still plugged in.  Yes, you’re not happy with how the season has gone, but you’re still plugged in.  You’re addicted.  You’re a fan!
So enjoy this last month!  Cherish these last 28 games!  When the December cold is chilling your bones, you'll be longing for the game’s sights and sounds. 
The crack of the bat.
The freshly cut grass.
The pop of the catcher’s mitt. 
Many fans, myself included, have spent a good portion of the 2013 season complaining about the performances and results on the field.  There has been endless dialog and discussions about what needs to be done to fix the team for the 2014 season.  Who should be traded, who should be fired, etc. etc. etc. 
I get it.  Believe me, I do.  But I submit to you that we have all winter to perfect our hand wringing.  We have all winter to second, third and fourth guess the moves (or lack of moves) that the team makes. 
When the final out is recorded in Texas on September 29th, Angels baseball goes dark.  The field will be empty, the ballpark will be closed and the long wait for Spring will begin.  Don’t hasten that!  There are 28 games left! 
28 games for another towering #Trumbomb. 
28 games to enjoy watching Calhoun, Green and Jimenez bloom into big leaguers. 
28 games to see what #Troutstanding thing Mike is going to do next.
Folks, there are just 28 games left to watch Angels baseball in 2013.  Don’t let them slip by!  Drink it in!  Treasure it!
September 30th will be here before you know it and the team’s schedule will be empty.  The autumn and winter will feel like they last forever.  Don’t cavalierly let these last 28 games slip by.  Cherish it! 
Because you don't know what you've got …
… until it’s gone.

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By Geoff Stoddart, AngelsWin.com Director of Social Media - 
My kid’s new school schedule has me all jacked up.  He just started middle school last week and the bus is picking him up at 6:43 am.  (6:43 am!!!!  WTH?!?!  What kind of school board does something like that to parents … errrrr … I mean kids?!?!)  So getting up with him at 5:45 am has my internal clock all out of whack. 
This morning I woke up at 4:40am and was trying to figure out what day it was.  My internal dialog went something like this …
“4:40 am, Cool, I still have an hour left to sleep.  Wait … do I?  What day is it?  Oh, it’s Sunday.  Sweet!  I can go back to sleep for hours.”  (Rolls over and tries to get comfortable.)
“Man it’s hot in this room!  I should open a window.”  (Gets up and opens window, then gets back in bed.) 
“There, that’s better.  Well … not really better, it’s still hot in here.  But it ought to start cooling down now.  You know what?  I have to pee!”  (Goes to the restroom, and then gets back in bed.) 
“There!  Window open.  Bladder emptied.  Now I can go back to sleep.”  (Checks clock again.  It’s 5:02 am.)
“Hey … it’s September.  Man the summer went by quick.”  (More tossing and turning.)
“Yup … September.  Only a month left of Angels baseball.”  (Lays there for a moment.  Eyes open wide…)
“Only a month left of Angels baseball?!?!?  No!!!!!”
Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it, this has been a disappointing year for Angels baseball.  It’s September 1st and not only is the team 16.5 games out of first place, but they’re still 10 games below .500.  This is not what we were expecting when we gathered in Tempe, AZ last March for our AngelsWin.com Spring Training Fanfest. 
But do you know what’s worse than a disappointing Angels baseball season?  No Angels baseball!
It’s a loooooonnnnnnggggg winter folks.  Starting in just 29 days, we will have 5 months of no Angels baseball action! 
I get that some of you may have already tuned out.  But honestly, if you’re one of those people, you’re not reading this anyway.  If you are reading this (and thank you for doing so!), then you’re still plugged in.  Yes, you’re not happy with how the season has gone, but you’re still plugged in.  You’re addicted.  You’re a fan!
So enjoy this last month!  Cherish these last 28 games!  When the December cold is chilling your bones, you'll be longing for the game’s sights and sounds. 
The crack of the bat.
The freshly cut grass.
The pop of the catcher’s mitt. 
Many fans, myself included, have spent a good portion of the 2013 season complaining about the performances and results on the field.  There has been endless dialog and discussions about what needs to be done to fix the team for the 2014 season.  Who should be traded, who should be fired, etc. etc. etc. 
I get it.  Believe me, I do.  But I submit to you that we have all winter to perfect our hand wringing.  We have all winter to second, third and fourth guess the moves (or lack of moves) that the team makes. 
When the final out is recorded in Texas on September 29th, Angels baseball goes dark.  The field will be empty, the ballpark will be closed and the long wait for Spring will begin.  Don’t hasten that!  There are 28 games left! 
28 games for another towering #Trumbomb. 
28 games to enjoy watching Calhoun, Green and Jimenez bloom into big leaguers. 
28 games to see what #Troutstanding thing Mike is going to do next.
Folks, there are just 28 games left to watch Angels baseball in 2013.  Don’t let them slip by!  Drink it in!  Treasure it!
September 30th will be here before you know it and the team’s schedule will be empty.  The autumn and winter will feel like they last forever.  Don’t cavalierly let these last 28 games slip by.  Cherish it! 
Because you don't know what you've got …
… until it’s gone.

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By Geoff Stoddart, AngelsWin.com Director of Social Media - 
My kid’s new school schedule has me all jacked up.  He just started middle school last week and the bus is picking him up at 6:43 am.  (6:43 am!!!!  WTH?!?!  What kind of school board does something like that to parents … errrrr … I mean kids?!?!)  So getting up with him at 5:45 am has my internal clock all out of whack. 
This morning I woke up at 4:40am and was trying to figure out what day it was.  My internal dialog went something like this …
“4:40 am, Cool, I still have an hour left to sleep.  Wait … do I?  What day is it?  Oh, it’s Sunday.  Sweet!  I can go back to sleep for hours.”  (Rolls over and tries to get comfortable.)
“Man it’s hot in this room!  I should open a window.”  (Gets up and opens window, then gets back in bed.) 
“There, that’s better.  Well … not really better, it’s still hot in here.  But it ought to start cooling down now.  You know what?  I have to pee!”  (Goes to the restroom, and then gets back in bed.) 
“There!  Window open.  Bladder emptied.  Now I can go back to sleep.”  (Checks clock again.  It’s 5:02 am.)
“Hey … it’s September.  Man the summer went by quick.”  (More tossing and turning.)
“Yup … September.  Only a month left of Angels baseball.”  (Lays there for a moment.  Eyes open wide…)
“Only a month left of Angels baseball?!?!?  No!!!!!”
Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it, this has been a disappointing year for Angels baseball.  It’s September 1st and not only is the team 16.5 games out of first place, but they’re still 10 games below .500.  This is not what we were expecting when we gathered in Tempe, AZ last March for our AngelsWin.com Spring Training Fanfest. 
But do you know what’s worse than a disappointing Angels baseball season?  No Angels baseball!
It’s a loooooonnnnnnggggg winter folks.  Starting in just 29 days, we will have 5 months of no Angels baseball action! 
I get that some of you may have already tuned out.  But honestly, if you’re one of those people, you’re not reading this anyway.  If you are reading this (and thank you for doing so!), then you’re still plugged in.  Yes, you’re not happy with how the season has gone, but you’re still plugged in.  You’re addicted.  You’re a fan!
So enjoy this last month!  Cherish these last 28 games!  When the December cold is chilling your bones, you'll be longing for the game’s sights and sounds. 
The crack of the bat.
The freshly cut grass.
The pop of the catcher’s mitt. 
Many fans, myself included, have spent a good portion of the 2013 season complaining about the performances and results on the field.  There has been endless dialog and discussions about what needs to be done to fix the team for the 2014 season.  Who should be traded, who should be fired, etc. etc. etc. 
I get it.  Believe me, I do.  But I submit to you that we have all winter to perfect our hand wringing.  We have all winter to second, third and fourth guess the moves (or lack of moves) that the team makes. 
When the final out is recorded in Texas on September 29th, Angels baseball goes dark.  The field will be empty, the ballpark will be closed and the long wait for Spring will begin.  Don’t hasten that!  There are 28 games left! 
28 games for another towering #Trumbomb. 
28 games to enjoy watching Calhoun, Green and Jimenez bloom into big leaguers. 
28 games to see what #Troutstanding thing Mike is going to do next.
Folks, there are just 28 games left to watch Angels baseball in 2013.  Don’t let them slip by!  Drink it in!  Treasure it!
September 30th will be here before you know it and the team’s schedule will be empty.  The autumn and winter will feel like they last forever.  Don’t cavalierly let these last 28 games slip by.  Cherish it! 
Because you don't know what you've got …
… until it’s gone.

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By Jonathan Northrop, AngelsWin.com Columnist - 
OK, “easy” is an exaggeration and the type of thing a naïve armchair GM would say, but what I really mean is do-able. It is my belief that the team isn’t that far from being a contending 90+ win team in 2014, and for a few years to come.
Given the utter disappointment that is 2013, it is easy to think that the team needs a complete rebuild. But for two reasons I think a “re-tool” is all that is required for the Angels to contend for the next few years while the farm is re-stocked.
1) The Angels have a lot of money tied up into four players, two of whom are signed through 2016 (Wilson and Weaver), one through 2017 (Hamilton), and one for the rest of eternity (Pujols). They cannot justify a complete franchise re-build while all four are present; at the least, they need to keep trying to contend for the next few years, although I suppose both Wilson and Weaver could be traded next year if the team tanks again.
2) The team is actually pretty good, or could be good with just a few changes, which is the focus of this piece.
Before going to the changes, let’s look at the offense. Through August 30 the Angels have scored 4.46 runs per game, which is 7th in the American League and slightly above the AL average of 4.36. Furthermore, that 4.46 is closer to 3rd (Baltimore at 4.76) than it is to 10th (Kansas City at 4.05). Now while that doesn’t scream “powerhouse” there are two reasons to think it will improve next year: Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton. Even if they only have modest rebounds, the team should score more runs. We might also see small improvements in other areas, so that next year the team should be in the upper third of AL team offenses.
Dipoto still has to figure out what to do at third base. One would think that if the team was considering Grant Green at the hot corner he’d be getting innings now. Its hard to imagine the job being handed to Chris Nelson or Luis Jimenez, but the Angels might figure that if Hamilton and Pujols improve, the offense might be able to carry the slick-fielding but weak bat of Jimenez, at least until he is able to hold his own with the bat. But there are workable parts here – the Angels have Nelson, Jimenez, Field, and Green as options.
Third base is more of a queston mark long-term than it was before the year began. Top prospect Kaleb Cowart was (and still is) considered the future, but with his terrible performance in AA they question is no longer “Who holds down third base until Kaleb is ready?” but “When will Kaleb actually be ready and should we start having a contingency plan?” But even the most optimistic scenario saw Cowart taking over in 2015, so he doesn’t figure into 2014 so much.
Defense has also been a problem this year, with the Angels tied for second in the AL with 92 errors – well above the AL average of 72. While errors aren’t everything, they do matter. Anyone who has watched a few games this year has seen a team defense that looks, at best, mediocre, but occasionally brings back memories of the Bad News Bears.
A healthy year from Peter Bourjos – or even Kole Calhoun, if Bourjos is traded – will greatly improve the outfield defense. Shuck has only committed two errors, but he is not a good defender and often looks clueless out there. Third base is a question mark, but Jimenez will greatly improve the defense there if he’s given a shot. One concern is if Howie Kendrick is traded for pitching help (more on that in a moment), Green is first in line and preliminary findings have not been positive about his second base defense.
I’m of the opinion that defense—even more than hitting and pitching—is reliant upon the overall team psychology, and that the team defense can best be improved by both drilling fundamentals in spring training and doing well in other facets of the game. The team could be an average defensive team, if they’re in a healthy mind-space and doing well in other areas, particularly pitching. 
Which brings us to the big area of concern: the pitching staff. First, let’s look at some numbers. The Angels are 12th in the AL (of 15 teams) in both ERA (4.35) and runs allowed per game (4.66). The AL average has been 4.01 and 4.31 respectively, so they’re pretty far off.
Despite what one might think, the Angels have actually been above average in terms of save pecentage – saving 70% of chances, which is just a hair above the AL average of 69%. Their 14 blown saves are 4th fewest in the AL. That said, the bullpen has not been as good about keeping inherited runners from scoring – their 32% is below the AL average of 30%.
Overall the bullpen has been worse relative to league average ; Angels starters have a 4.37 ERA relative to 4.19 AL average, while Angels relievers have a 4.32 ERA relative to the 3.67 AL average.
Both the starting rotation and bullpen need radical improvement. Let’s look at both in turn.
The rotation is relatively straight forward in that the team already has 3-4 solid to strong building blocks. Weaver and Wilson, while hardly Johnson and Schilling, give the Angels two legitimate “sub-aces” – pitchers that, while not Cy Young contenders, championship teams are happy to have in their first three slots. After those two, the questions begin. Jason Vargas has been good when healthy, and seems to be either a passable #3 starter or a very good #4. Garret Richards seems to be finally coming into his own. His second half ERA, which includes 7 starts, is 3.15 compared to 4.87 in the first half. He looks to be, at the least, a solid #4-5 pitcher, and he may actually be on the cusp of fulfilling his potential as a legitimate #3 starter.
After that the starting pitching has been disastrous. Tommy Hanson, Joe Blanton, and Jerome Williams have all been terrible and have been responsible for 52 of the team’s 133 starts, or almost 40%. In those 52 starts they have collectively pitched 287.1 innings of 5.54 ERA ball. Even with a great offense and strong bullpen, no team can overcome such a large percentage of starts being so terrible.
With Weaver, Wilson, and Richards in fold for rotation spots next year, the Angels need to acquire two starting pitchers – one of whom could be Jason Vargas. If they get Vargas, though, I would think the other starter would need to be better, either a top pitching prospect who is ready to contribute, or an established #2-3 type. Easier said than done, of course, but its rather clear and straightfoward.
Where more work is required is the bullpen. Looking at the relievers there’s no single pitcher who shouts “we must keep this guy no matter what, he’s a building block for next year and beyond.” The best of the group – Frieri, De La Rosa, and Kohn – all have problems, and none even looks like a quality set-up man, more of “bullpen filler.” Roth and Maronde don’t look ready, and the jury is out on Cory Rasmus.  We can hope that Sean Burnett comes back healthy and is for the Angels next year what Scott Downs was the last few.
The cheap route to “fixing” the bullpen would be to throw all of the current parts, plus Jeremy Berg and Jerome Williams, who has actually done very well as a reliever, and see how they shake out in spring training. But that doesn’t encourage a lot of confidence. The bullpen needs at least two strong relievers: a real closer and a strong set-up man. 
So let’s get back to improving the team in a few easy steps: 1. Hope that Hamilton and Pujols improve 2. Re-sign Jason Vargas 3. Sign or trade for a #2-3 starter 4. Re-make the bullpen, acquiring at least two very good relievers
A fifth, but optional step, would be to trade for or sign a third baseman. Given his poor year, Chase Headley might have slipped into the affordable range.
So what are the options? MLBTradeRumors.com has a group of nifty “Free Agent Leaderboards”, using Fangraphs.com. There are too many to name, but you can view them here.
The tricky part with regards to the rotation is not as much finding a decent mid-rotation starter (in addition to Vargas), but having depth. If the Angels sign Tim Lincecum or Matt Garza or, better yet, James Shields, and if they re-up Jason Vargas, then their Opening Day rotation looks pretty good. But what about injury? Blanton is untradeable with his contract so might be kept around as the mop-up man, and Williams has done well in relief. I suppose the Angels could try to re-build Tommy Hanson in the minors, although even despite a crappy 2013 he’ll likely receive two or three million in arbitration, which makes him an expensive “project.” 
Here’s the problem: if one of the starters goes down, do we really want to see one of the Three Amigos starting a game again? The Angels have no starting pitching prospects that are anywhere close to being major league ready, at least as not more than a spot starter. I suppose if all goes well, Mark Sappington could be ready late in the year, but there’s going to be a learning curve.
As far as the bullpen goes, if one of Maronde or Roth pans out, they can complement Burnett as a lefty in the bullpen and the Angels can focus on acquiring right-handed relievers, which are more plentiful. Jesse Crain is particularly appealing, and there are a few others worth checking out. The Angels also have a few prospects that might make it to the majors in 2014, including RJ Alvarez and Mike Morin (Cam Bedrosian is at least a year away).
So there are some pieces. Not a lot, but they’re there. What remains to be seen is if Jerry Dipoto can do this offseason what he couldn’t do last: make the right choices with the limited moves he’s got. The Angels need at least four pitchers, two starters and two relievers. Make your choices count, Jerry.

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By Jason Sinner, AngelsWin.com Contributor - 
*Warning – this article is optimistic and does not necessarily reflect the views of AngelsWin.com or its members.  In fact, it is likely to be met with ridicule and suggestions that the author be committed to a mental institution.  At the writer’s request, AngelsWin.com has been asked to inform its members that if they don’t like it, they can go suck it! (happy face emoticon to make it seem like a joke). 
Everyone remember the movie ‘Brewster’s Millions’? Remember when Monty Brewster earns back a bunch of the money he had worked so hard to spend?  He get’s really pissed and proclaims ‘GDammit, I’m right back where I started!!!’  
Yeah, that movie sucked, but it had a happy ending.  Except that in real life both the main characters are dead.  Anyway….
Although the Angels aren't getting any of their money back any time soon, they are damn close to where they started before the 2013 season.  After an 89 win campaign in 2012 that saw some successful upgrades prior to the season (yes, that’s right, successful upgrades), yet even still, they were left needing 3 starters and a spanky new bullpen.  Or at least most of one.  And here we sit at the end of this season.  Needing three starting pitchers and a spanky new bullpen. 
So why did we go from almost 90 wins to what will likely be near 90 losses when we essentially have the same needs?  Well, when you replace poor production with catastrophic failure, some good production with catastrophic failure, and you add some injuries to good producers being replaced by bad producers, you get failure. 
But here’s the good news.  Horrendous disasters are easy to upgrade.  Example: No offense to teams like the Twins, Padres, and Brewers, but as a whole, they have a bunch of players who really aren't that good.  The Halos?  They have a bunch of really good players and a few that really suck or have performed poorly yet usually do better.
So let’s fire up the flux capacitor, cross the streams, and combine the last two off seasons to get us where we are now.  Coming off an 89 win season (wink wink, cough cough)
Year 1 Moves made Pujols – left two OF spots open to Trumbo, Wells, Abreu, and Bourjos.  Trumbo essentially took one of them and Trout eventually took the other.  So Albert essentially took what would have been at bats to Bourjos and Wells. 
Iantetta – replaced Mathis and Wilson Wilson – took the spot vacated by Joel Piniero and minor leaguers Izzy – took innings from Cassevah, Thompson, and Bell Hawkins – essentially replaced Fernando Rodney Frieri – Move everyone down a notch Greinke – replaced innings from Williams and Richards
- Expected Production   - Actual Production  - Production they replaced (estimates)
.300/900ops .280/.860ops .240/.700ops
.240/.750ops .230/.740ops .200/.600ops
3.00era/200ip 3.80era/200ip 5.00era/200ip
4.00era/50ip 4.10era/50ip 4.50era/50ip (gross estimate) 3.5era/50ip 3.6era/42ip 4.5era/40+ip 
2.8era/50ip 2.3era/50ip 4.0era/50ip
3.3era/100ip 3.5era/90ip 5.0era/90ip
Added a lot of long term payroll and weakened the farm system long term but let’s assume Arte’s goal was to win a championship now (and minimize eye contact with the staff).  Don’t want to get into who the ringleader was. The moves worked.  Everything that was supposed to be an upgrade turned out to be.  The existing players failed, and the off season moves weren't enough to offset that. 
Yr 2 Madson – supposed to be the closer or 8th inning guy.  Replacing innings from Izzy, Hawk and moving everyone down a slot.
Burnett – same as above Hanson – obtained for Walden.  Replacing Haren Blanton – replacing Santana Hamilton – replaced Torii Vargas – for morales.  Replacing production from Greinke, Richards, Williams  De La Rosa – pen depth.  Not much expectation here.
- Expected production - Actual Production - What they were supposed to replace - What we got instead 
2.8era/50ip Nothing Innings from the bottom of the pen (4.5era/50ip) The above innings    3.0era/50ip Almost nothing Innings from the bottom of the pen (5.0era/50ip) The above innings
4.3era/180ip 5.6era/67ip 4.3era/180ip (Dan Haren the previous year) 5.0era/110ip (from guys like williams, buckner, enright, roth)
4.75era/200ip 5.7era/120ip (as a starter) 5.2era/180ip (Ervin from the previous year) 5.0era/80ip (from guys like williams, buckner, enright, roth)
.280avg/.875ops .235avg/.715ops .313avg/.820ops (Hunter)
4.0era/200ip 4.25era/200ip (innings from Greinke, Williams, Richards the previous year) 3.5era/150ip (on pace) 4.2era/50ip (from Richards)
4.5era/30ip 3.5era/40ip (Jordan Walden) 3.4era/70ip
Also, Morales being replaced by Bourjos  .250avg/.720ops + Trout over Trumbo’s defense in LF .280avg/.780ops  .290avg/.715ops (Bourjos and Shuck - without the improved defense or much of it)
So where are we now relative to where we were at the end of the very very recent 89 win season:
Rotation
2012 – Weaver (2.8era 190ip), Wilson (3.8era 200ip), Greinke/Richards/Williams (4.25era 200ip), Haren (4.3era 180ip), Santana (5.2era 180ip)
Like Caddyshack II, Hanson and Blanton did not exist.  
2014 – Weaver (3.2era 190ip), Wilson (3.5era 200ip), Re-sign Vargas? (3.7era 200ip), Richards (4.3era 180ip), New Guy? (3.5-4.5era, 200ip)
So we need 2 maybe one starter to be better than that season depending on Vargas?  Hmm.  Not bad
Bullpen
2012 -  Frieri (2.3era, 50ip), Jepsen (3.0era, 45ip), Downs (3.2era, 45ip), Hawkins (3.6era, 42ip), Izzy (4.2era, 50ip),  Walden (3.5era, 40ip), Williams (4.0era, 45ip).  The rest included Richards, Taka, Carp and a few other (5.5era, 125ip)
2014 – New Closer (2.7era, 50ip), Frieri (3.2era, 50ip), Burnett (3.0era, 50ip), DDLR (3.5era, 50ip), (3.0era, 50ip), Kohn (3.5era, 50ip), Williams (4.5era, 50ip), and the rest including Rasmus, Coello, Bosher, Jepsen, Maronde and maybe Morin and Alvarez.
By era, the 2012 pen look ok, but the problem was that the ‘other’ category that comprised a boat load of innings to the tune of a 5+era saw a large number of high leverage situations.   Why?  Because really no one was to be trusted.  A new closer and good high leverage reliever as well as the bottom of the pen performing more capably would make it all better like a cherry otter pop and hello kitty band aid.   (Frieri will be fine – I heard he’s working on a knuckleball. )
Offense
2012 C- Iannetta/Wilson/Hester 1B – Pujols 2B – Kendrick 3B – Callaspo SS – Aybar LF - Trumbo CF – Trout RF – Hunter DH – Morales Bench – Izturis, Wells, 
2014 C – Conger/Iannetta 1B – Pujols 2B – Kendrick or Green 3B – Green/Nelson/Jimenez/FA SS – Aybar LF – Trout/Hamilton CF – Bourjos/Trout RF – Hamilton/Calhoun DH – Trumbo/Shuck/Calhoun
Can Hamilton, Calhoun, Green, and Bourjos replace the production of Hunter, Morales and Callaspo? Can 2014 Pujols be 2012 Pujols?  Sprinkle a little amnesia, a dash of defense, and a pinch of faith on there and sure.
Does the team have a bunch of financial commitments? Yes
Is the farm system still pretty bad?  Yes.  But it’s better than it was at the end of 2012.
Are there some front office and coaching issues?  LALALALALA!!! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!! Winning make the heart grow fonder. 
Will some additional moves potentially make the team even better?  You bet!
A couple of trades, a juicer, a few scouts, some first class seats to Asia, a rabbits foot and there you have it, 94 wins.  
Thank you and please try the veal.

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By David Saltzer, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer - 
  What if I told you that for just the pro-rated portion of this year’s Major League minimum salary the Angels could get a relief pitcher with a career ERA of 3.06 and a career WHIP of just 1.16? You’d probably say, there’s a catch, like he’s got an injury or those are career numbers, not this year’s numbers. If you said either of those things, you’d be wrong. He is not coming off an injury, and this year, his ERA is 2.88 and his WHIP is 1.18.   Interested? Me too.   That’s probably because the Angels bullpen combined is sporting a 4.35 ERA and 1.36 WHIP, leaving them ranked 28th in ERA and 25th in WHIP. As a team, the Angels bullpen has 22 losses (tied for 10th worst as of the time of the writing according to MLB.com).   So, how do the Angels get this reliever? Easy. They promote him from within the organization.   Let me introduce you to Jeremy Berg, one of the unheralded players in our organization currently playing for the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees. He’s a sidearm pitcher who won’t blow away the hitters (mostly throwing 86-89 from what I have seen). But, he gets the job done, inducing tons of ground balls and controlling the zone. In 72.0 IP, he has only allowed 17 BBs, or 2.1 per 9.0 IP. He’s struck out 63 batters in that time span. For a full list of his stats, click here.    Jeremy Berg is a sidearm pitcher. It’s not an orthodox delivery, but one that can be difficult to hit when done well. Signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Angels in 2009, Berg has slowly been working his way up the organization since graduating from High Point University in North Carolina. Back in November, 2010, I interviewed Abe Flores (the Director of Player Development at the time for the Angels) about Jeremy Berg. Here’s how he described him:   Aggressive, competitive guy. Strike thrower. Causes a lot of swings and misses—funky swings. Changes speeds. Can work soft on soft. He’s just a deceptive guy. He’s just a different package so far as what he brings to the mound, but it works.   Over the years, I’ve seen him pitch several times, but unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to interview him for AngelsWin.com. So, I cannot comment on him as a person. However, that’s not the point of this article. I still want to see Berg promoted to the big league club, especially as soon as the rosters expand on September 1st.   Here’s why: The Angels are going to have to revamp their bullpen this offseason and they need to know what talent they have within the system as they rebuild it. Many fans have started to become familiar with R. J. Alvarez and Michael Morin, but they are at least a year away. Other players may also figure into the Angels plans (one sleeper candidate is Jonathan Van Eaton at Orem) or may get converted into a bullpen role as they move up the ranks, but again, they are more than a year away. Jeremy Berg, on the other hand, is ready right now.   More importantly, there’s another reason why I’d like to see the Angels promote Jeremy Berg this year: It will give the bullpen a new look going forward which will make it more effective. Right now, the Angels bullpen has very little difference in it. Outside of having righties and lefties, the Angels bullpen is pretty much the same. Most of the right-handers primarily throw mid-90s with a slider. If the slider isn’t working, the pitchers can only throw their fastballs, which Major League hitters can hit (and have been hitting this season).   One of the objectives of the bullpen is to give teams a different look and to mess with the opposing hitters’ timing. No one could potentially mess with the opposition’s sightlines and timing more so than Jeremy Berg. With his unorthodox sidearm delivery, his control, and his ability to throw a variety of breaking balls and offspeed pitches, he would make for a very effective setup man. The opposition would have to adjust from a hard throwing pitcher before him and then adjust back to a hard throwing closer in the 9th. It should make the entire bullpen better as whoever comes in after him will benefit from having to make all of those adjustments.   Think of it this way: Earlier in the season, the Angels brought in Robert Coello and he immediately had success with his forkball. Prior to his injury, he struck out 21 in 14.2 innings and for a brief period changed the dynamics of the bullpen because he brought a different pitch and a different look to our bullpen. Adding Jeremy Berg could have a similar effect because he would present something entirely different than what the rest of the bullpen throws. Thus, not only would he have an advantage, but, whoever comes in after him would also gain an advantage as the hitters try to readjust back to the mid-90s fastball and slider combination.   It’s not like sidearm pitchers haven’t had success. There have been a lot of them. With all the movement that they can generate on a pitch, they don’t need to blow hitters away. The last Angels pitcher that I recall pitching like that was Darren O’Day. And, Brad Zeigler from the Oakland A’s has been very effective with that kind of delivery.   At this point, the Angels have very little to lose by promoting him to the Major Leagues. If he does not pan out, then at least they learned that and can move on in their efforts. But, if he has some success, it could be an out-of-the-box move that could help transform the latter innings for the team. If we get a solid closer, we could once again see a conveyor belt from the rotation to lighting up the halo with Berg as a part of it.    I want to see the Angels promote Jeremy Berg this September so that they can truly evaluate how his talent will play out and what effect that could have on our future bullpen. It would add some meaning to the remaining games of this season and no matter what, will help determine our offseason moves.   The Angels should promote Jeremy Berg and let him play this September. 

By David Saltzer, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer - 
  What if I told you that for just the pro-rated portion of this year’s Major League minimum salary the Angels could get a relief pitcher with a career ERA of 3.06 and a career WHIP of just 1.16? You’d probably say, there’s a catch, like he’s got an injury or those are career numbers, not this year’s numbers. If you said either of those things, you’d be wrong. He is not coming off an injury, and this year, his ERA is 2.88 and his WHIP is 1.18.   Interested? Me too.   That’s probably because the Angels bullpen combined is sporting a 4.35 ERA and 1.36 WHIP, leaving them ranked 28th in ERA and 25th in WHIP. As a team, the Angels bullpen has 22 losses (tied for 10th worst as of the time of the writing according to MLB.com).   So, how do the Angels get this reliever? Easy. They promote him from within the organization.   Let me introduce you to Jeremy Berg, one of the unheralded players in our organization currently playing for the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees. He’s a sidearm pitcher who won’t blow away the hitters (mostly throwing 86-89 from what I have seen). But, he gets the job done, inducing tons of ground balls and controlling the zone. In 72.0 IP, he has only allowed 17 BBs, or 2.1 per 9.0 IP. He’s struck out 63 batters in that time span. For a full list of his stats, click here.    Jeremy Berg is a sidearm pitcher. It’s not an orthodox delivery, but one that can be difficult to hit when done well. Signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Angels in 2009, Berg has slowly been working his way up the organization since graduating from High Point University in North Carolina. Back in November, 2010, I interviewed Abe Flores (the Director of Player Development at the time for the Angels) about Jeremy Berg. Here’s how he described him:   Aggressive, competitive guy. Strike thrower. Causes a lot of swings and misses—funky swings. Changes speeds. Can work soft on soft. He’s just a deceptive guy. He’s just a different package so far as what he brings to the mound, but it works.   Over the years, I’ve seen him pitch several times, but unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to interview him for AngelsWin.com. So, I cannot comment on him as a person. However, that’s not the point of this article. I still want to see Berg promoted to the big league club, especially as soon as the rosters expand on September 1st.   Here’s why: The Angels are going to have to revamp their bullpen this offseason and they need to know what talent they have within the system as they rebuild it. Many fans have started to become familiar with R. J. Alvarez and Michael Morin, but they are at least a year away. Other players may also figure into the Angels plans (one sleeper candidate is Jonathan Van Eaton at Orem) or may get converted into a bullpen role as they move up the ranks, but again, they are more than a year away. Jeremy Berg, on the other hand, is ready right now.   More importantly, there’s another reason why I’d like to see the Angels promote Jeremy Berg this year: It will give the bullpen a new look going forward which will make it more effective. Right now, the Angels bullpen has very little difference in it. Outside of having righties and lefties, the Angels bullpen is pretty much the same. Most of the right-handers primarily throw mid-90s with a slider. If the slider isn’t working, the pitchers can only throw their fastballs, which Major League hitters can hit (and have been hitting this season).   One of the objectives of the bullpen is to give teams a different look and to mess with the opposing hitters’ timing. No one could potentially mess with the opposition’s sightlines and timing more so than Jeremy Berg. With his unorthodox sidearm delivery, his control, and his ability to throw a variety of breaking balls and offspeed pitches, he would make for a very effective setup man. The opposition would have to adjust from a hard throwing pitcher before him and then adjust back to a hard throwing closer in the 9th. It should make the entire bullpen better as whoever comes in after him will benefit from having to make all of those adjustments.   Think of it this way: Earlier in the season, the Angels brought in Robert Coello and he immediately had success with his forkball. Prior to his injury, he struck out 21 in 14.2 innings and for a brief period changed the dynamics of the bullpen because he brought a different pitch and a different look to our bullpen. Adding Jeremy Berg could have a similar effect because he would present something entirely different than what the rest of the bullpen throws. Thus, not only would he have an advantage, but, whoever comes in after him would also gain an advantage as the hitters try to readjust back to the mid-90s fastball and slider combination.   It’s not like sidearm pitchers haven’t had success. There have been a lot of them. With all the movement that they can generate on a pitch, they don’t need to blow hitters away. The last Angels pitcher that I recall pitching like that was Darren O’Day. And, Brad Zeigler from the Oakland A’s has been very effective with that kind of delivery.   At this point, the Angels have very little to lose by promoting him to the Major Leagues. If he does not pan out, then at least they learned that and can move on in their efforts. But, if he has some success, it could be an out-of-the-box move that could help transform the latter innings for the team. If we get a solid closer, we could once again see a conveyor belt from the rotation to lighting up the halo with Berg as a part of it.    I want to see the Angels promote Jeremy Berg this September so that they can truly evaluate how his talent will play out and what effect that could have on our future bullpen. It would add some meaning to the remaining games of this season and no matter what, will help determine our offseason moves.   The Angels should promote Jeremy Berg and let him play this September. 

By David Saltzer, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer - 
  What if I told you that for just the pro-rated portion of this year’s Major League minimum salary the Angels could get a relief pitcher with a career ERA of 3.06 and a career WHIP of just 1.16? You’d probably say, there’s a catch, like he’s got an injury or those are career numbers, not this year’s numbers. If you said either of those things, you’d be wrong. He is not coming off an injury, and this year, his ERA is 2.88 and his WHIP is 1.18.   Interested? Me too.   That’s probably because the Angels bullpen combined is sporting a 4.35 ERA and 1.36 WHIP, leaving them ranked 28th in ERA and 25th in WHIP. As a team, the Angels bullpen has 22 losses (tied for 10th worst as of the time of the writing according to MLB.com).   So, how do the Angels get this reliever? Easy. They promote him from within the organization.   Let me introduce you to Jeremy Berg, one of the unheralded players in our organization currently playing for the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees. He’s a sidearm pitcher who won’t blow away the hitters (mostly throwing 86-89 from what I have seen). But, he gets the job done, inducing tons of ground balls and controlling the zone. In 72.0 IP, he has only allowed 17 BBs, or 2.1 per 9.0 IP. He’s struck out 63 batters in that time span. For a full list of his stats, click here.    Jeremy Berg is a sidearm pitcher. It’s not an orthodox delivery, but one that can be difficult to hit when done well. Signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Angels in 2009, Berg has slowly been working his way up the organization since graduating from High Point University in North Carolina. Back in November, 2010, I interviewed Abe Flores (the Director of Player Development at the time for the Angels) about Jeremy Berg. Here’s how he described him:   Aggressive, competitive guy. Strike thrower. Causes a lot of swings and misses—funky swings. Changes speeds. Can work soft on soft. He’s just a deceptive guy. He’s just a different package so far as what he brings to the mound, but it works.   Over the years, I’ve seen him pitch several times, but unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to interview him for AngelsWin.com. So, I cannot comment on him as a person. However, that’s not the point of this article. I still want to see Berg promoted to the big league club, especially as soon as the rosters expand on September 1st.   Here’s why: The Angels are going to have to revamp their bullpen this offseason and they need to know what talent they have within the system as they rebuild it. Many fans have started to become familiar with R. J. Alvarez and Michael Morin, but they are at least a year away. Other players may also figure into the Angels plans (one sleeper candidate is Jonathan Van Eaton at Orem) or may get converted into a bullpen role as they move up the ranks, but again, they are more than a year away. Jeremy Berg, on the other hand, is ready right now.   More importantly, there’s another reason why I’d like to see the Angels promote Jeremy Berg this year: It will give the bullpen a new look going forward which will make it more effective. Right now, the Angels bullpen has very little difference in it. Outside of having righties and lefties, the Angels bullpen is pretty much the same. Most of the right-handers primarily throw mid-90s with a slider. If the slider isn’t working, the pitchers can only throw their fastballs, which Major League hitters can hit (and have been hitting this season).   One of the objectives of the bullpen is to give teams a different look and to mess with the opposing hitters’ timing. No one could potentially mess with the opposition’s sightlines and timing more so than Jeremy Berg. With his unorthodox sidearm delivery, his control, and his ability to throw a variety of breaking balls and offspeed pitches, he would make for a very effective setup man. The opposition would have to adjust from a hard throwing pitcher before him and then adjust back to a hard throwing closer in the 9th. It should make the entire bullpen better as whoever comes in after him will benefit from having to make all of those adjustments.   Think of it this way: Earlier in the season, the Angels brought in Robert Coello and he immediately had success with his forkball. Prior to his injury, he struck out 21 in 14.2 innings and for a brief period changed the dynamics of the bullpen because he brought a different pitch and a different look to our bullpen. Adding Jeremy Berg could have a similar effect because he would present something entirely different than what the rest of the bullpen throws. Thus, not only would he have an advantage, but, whoever comes in after him would also gain an advantage as the hitters try to readjust back to the mid-90s fastball and slider combination.   It’s not like sidearm pitchers haven’t had success. There have been a lot of them. With all the movement that they can generate on a pitch, they don’t need to blow hitters away. The last Angels pitcher that I recall pitching like that was Darren O’Day. And, Brad Zeigler from the Oakland A’s has been very effective with that kind of delivery.   At this point, the Angels have very little to lose by promoting him to the Major Leagues. If he does not pan out, then at least they learned that and can move on in their efforts. But, if he has some success, it could be an out-of-the-box move that could help transform the latter innings for the team. If we get a solid closer, we could once again see a conveyor belt from the rotation to lighting up the halo with Berg as a part of it.    I want to see the Angels promote Jeremy Berg this September so that they can truly evaluate how his talent will play out and what effect that could have on our future bullpen. It would add some meaning to the remaining games of this season and no matter what, will help determine our offseason moves.   The Angels should promote Jeremy Berg and let him play this September. 

When I found out that we raised $3072.00 over two days from our AngelsWin.com Charity Golf and Softball tournaments (and tailgater raffle) this past weekend for the OC Miracle League, I was reminded that Angels Baseball is much more than wins and losses within the Halosphere. Then Tim Mead showed up to talk to our group of over 100 Angels fans under the Big A and he confirmed that the Angels too are in the business of blessing others, despite being in the midst of a poor season on the field and in the standings. Tim spoke to me about Alex Collins, that Alex an Angels fan, had the opportunity to throw out the first pitch earlier in this season (May 29th). The Angels organization as whole was touched by Collin's story, rehab and the amazing progress he's made physically.

Deputy Collins suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body during the Feb. 12 gun battle after an exhaustive manhunt for Christopher Dorner across Southern California. According to Cindy Bachman, Sheriff's Department spokeswoman, said Collins was shot three times. Collins is father to a newborn son with wife, Lila Collins, and he had been on family leave at the time of the shootout, yet returned to duty during the search to help his fellow officers.

The Angels may have swung and missed with the results on the field this past season, but they continue to demonstrate acts of kindness and should be recognized.

Below is a note that Tim Mead had sent internally to those who work hard behind the scenes, but also go out of their way to recognize men and women of bravery, those in need or individuals who have made a difference.  What an honor it is to be a fan of such a great organization.
Good afternoon to all. Though wins and losses often times define us as an organization to some, realize that is NOT the case in the eyes of most. One tremendous example of that is Alex Collins, the young police officer we had throw out a ceremonial first pitch earlier this season. PLEASE take the time to view the embedded YouTube video below in order to see the impact Angels Baseball can have off the field. - Tim Mead



View the full article

When I found out that we raised $3072.00 over two days from our AngelsWin.com Charity Golf and Softball tournaments (and tailgater raffle) this past weekend for the OC Miracle League, I was reminded that Angels Baseball is much more than wins and losses within the Halosphere. Then Tim Mead showed up to talk to our group of over 100 Angels fans under the Big A and he confirmed that the Angels too are in the business of blessing others, despite being in the midst of a poor season on the field and in the standings. Tim spoke to me about Alex Collins, that Alex an Angels fan, had the opportunity to throw out the first pitch earlier in this season (May 29th). The Angels organization as whole was touched by Collin's story, rehab and the amazing progress he's made physically.

Deputy Collins suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body during the Feb. 12 gun battle after an exhaustive manhunt for Christopher Dorner across Southern California. According to Cindy Bachman, Sheriff's Department spokeswoman, said Collins was shot three times. Collins is father to a newborn son with wife, Lila Collins, and he had been on family leave at the time of the shootout, yet returned to duty during the search to help his fellow officers.

The Angels may have swung and missed with the results on the field this past season, but they continue to demonstrate acts of kindness and should be recognized.

Below is a note that Tim Mead had sent internally to those who work hard behind the scenes, but also go out of their way to recognize men and women of bravery, those in need or individuals who have made a difference.  What an honor it is to be a fan of such a great organization.
Good afternoon to all. Though wins and losses often times define us as an organization to some, realize that is NOT the case in the eyes of most. One tremendous example of that is Alex Collins, the young police officer we had throw out a ceremonial first pitch earlier this season. PLEASE take the time to view the embedded YouTube video below in order to see the impact Angels Baseball can have off the field. - Tim Mead



View the full article

By Jessica Melendez, AngelsWin.com Feature Writer - 
 

You guys, the Angels suck this year. No two ways about it!  I've been meaning to write this post for the last few months but I have kept putting it off.  Every few days I thought, “this is it, this is where the Angels turn it around and I can just write something super happy and fun instead!”  And then, you know, this season kept happening.
 
But what’s the real problem?  I’m sure everyone has an opinion.  Pitching. Consistency. Everything. All of these are valid answers.  But in my opinion, the biggest problem is a lack of team building.  There’s no chemistry.  It’s like watching a romantic comedy starring two sticks.  Boooooring. Painful.  Coma inducing.
 
So let’s talk team building.  I’m pulling out my Human Resources Professional hat to offer these totally legitimate*, legal**, and effective*** ways to encourage camaraderie and togetherness.
 
1. A brawl. The Dodgers got into TWO brawls earlier this season and look where they are now.  It’s time to start beaning batters and throwing our collarbones into harm’s way.  Nothing says solidarity like that awkward half-sprint-half-jog from the bullpen that happens during brawls.
 
2. Team field trip to church with Josh Hamilton. Yeah, I know there are federal laws against forcing one’s employees to practice a specific religion...do not talk to me of such trivial matters.  Arte needs to lay down the law: head on over to church, boys, and have an honest to goodness “come to Jesus” moment.  Nothing’s more earnest than a new convert.  
 
(and/or)
 
3. Voodoo cleansing ceremony at the Big A with mandatory participation by all players.  I’m sure there’s got to be something that can be done involving chicken sacrifice and maybe burning some Rangers jerseys or something...I’ll leave the details up to the professionals.  Arte’s got the money to hire the big guns, but maybe some fans could go in on some cheaper spells in the meantime.  RealAfricaVoodoo.com offers a “Masculine Power Spell” for $89.95.  You can even add it to an online shopping cart.  Seems totally legit to me and she offers a 30 day money back guarantee so you really can’t go wrong. I say everyone pick a player and send a $89.95 “Masculine Power Spell” their way.  They’ll thank you later.
 
4. Team Campout.  Campouts are a great way to build camaraderie, confidence, and basic life skills.  This is the concept behind every scouting organization.  In my mind, this Team Campout includes repeated watching of The Sandlot, Major League, and Field of Dreams.  And s’mores. Lots of s’mores. Probably a few rounds of the “trust fall” followed by more s’mores.
 
5. Matching tattoos à la the Nine from The Lord of the Rings.  Here’s a way to make sure everyone commits to the season and each other—get a permanent reminder on their bodies!  And they can all match and be adorable and what a fabulous story that would make for sports writers everywhere.  You’re welcome, sports writers.
 
6. Team building through survival!  On the next off day or perhaps even after this dreadful season is over, I vote the entire team get dumped onto a deserted island and forced to scavenge for food and shelter.  As it turns out, fending off danger together is also a great way to form lasting bonds so maybe there could be some dangerous animals and possibly some kind of random setting off of explosions...I’m not saying anyone should actually get killed, I’m kind of asking for The Hunger Games Lite package.  Drama, danger...less actual killing.  This experience should last more than a few days so while they’re off surviving we just bring up a bunch of minor leaguers to play a few games.  Cause it would be fun to watch and we’d probably not lose any more games than we already are, am I right?  
 
So those are my top suggestions for the all important team building that the Angels seem to be sorely lacking this year.  What are yours?
 
* doubtful
** not at all
*** extremely doubtful

By Jessica Melendez, AngelsWin.com Feature Writer - 
 

You guys, the Angels suck this year. No two ways about it!  I've been meaning to write this post for the last few months but I have kept putting it off.  Every few days I thought, “this is it, this is where the Angels turn it around and I can just write something super happy and fun instead!”  And then, you know, this season kept happening.
 
But what’s the real problem?  I’m sure everyone has an opinion.  Pitching. Consistency. Everything. All of these are valid answers.  But in my opinion, the biggest problem is a lack of team building.  There’s no chemistry.  It’s like watching a romantic comedy starring two sticks.  Boooooring. Painful.  Coma inducing.
 
So let’s talk team building.  I’m pulling out my Human Resources Professional hat to offer these totally legitimate*, legal**, and effective*** ways to encourage camaraderie and togetherness.
 
1. A brawl. The Dodgers got into TWO brawls earlier this season and look where they are now.  It’s time to start beaning batters and throwing our collarbones into harm’s way.  Nothing says solidarity like that awkward half-sprint-half-jog from the bullpen that happens during brawls.
 
2. Team field trip to church with Josh Hamilton. Yeah, I know there are federal laws against forcing one’s employees to practice a specific religion...do not talk to me of such trivial matters.  Arte needs to lay down the law: head on over to church, boys, and have an honest to goodness “come to Jesus” moment.  Nothing’s more earnest than a new convert.  
 
(and/or)
 
3. Voodoo cleansing ceremony at the Big A with mandatory participation by all players.  I’m sure there’s got to be something that can be done involving chicken sacrifice and maybe burning some Rangers jerseys or something...I’ll leave the details up to the professionals.  Arte’s got the money to hire the big guns, but maybe some fans could go in on some cheaper spells in the meantime.  RealAfricaVoodoo.com offers a “Masculine Power Spell” for $89.95.  You can even add it to an online shopping cart.  Seems totally legit to me and she offers a 30 day money back guarantee so you really can’t go wrong. I say everyone pick a player and send a $89.95 “Masculine Power Spell” their way.  They’ll thank you later.
 
4. Team Campout.  Campouts are a great way to build camaraderie, confidence, and basic life skills.  This is the concept behind every scouting organization.  In my mind, this Team Campout includes repeated watching of The Sandlot, Major League, and Field of Dreams.  And s’mores. Lots of s’mores. Probably a few rounds of the “trust fall” followed by more s’mores.
 
5. Matching tattoos à la the Nine from The Lord of the Rings.  Here’s a way to make sure everyone commits to the season and each other—get a permanent reminder on their bodies!  And they can all match and be adorable and what a fabulous story that would make for sports writers everywhere.  You’re welcome, sports writers.
 
6. Team building through survival!  On the next off day or perhaps even after this dreadful season is over, I vote the entire team get dumped onto a deserted island and forced to scavenge for food and shelter.  As it turns out, fending off danger together is also a great way to form lasting bonds so maybe there could be some dangerous animals and possibly some kind of random setting off of explosions...I’m not saying anyone should actually get killed, I’m kind of asking for The Hunger Games Lite package.  Drama, danger...less actual killing.  This experience should last more than a few days so while they’re off surviving we just bring up a bunch of minor leaguers to play a few games.  Cause it would be fun to watch and we’d probably not lose any more games than we already are, am I right?  
 
So those are my top suggestions for the all important team building that the Angels seem to be sorely lacking this year.  What are yours?
 
* doubtful
** not at all
*** extremely doubtful

By Jessica Melendez, AngelsWin.com Feature Writer - 
 

You guys, the Angels suck this year. No two ways about it!  I've been meaning to write this post for the last few months but I have kept putting it off.  Every few days I thought, “this is it, this is where the Angels turn it around and I can just write something super happy and fun instead!”  And then, you know, this season kept happening.
 
But what’s the real problem?  I’m sure everyone has an opinion.  Pitching. Consistency. Everything. All of these are valid answers.  But in my opinion, the biggest problem is a lack of team building.  There’s no chemistry.  It’s like watching a romantic comedy starring two sticks.  Boooooring. Painful.  Coma inducing.
 
So let’s talk team building.  I’m pulling out my Human Resources Professional hat to offer these totally legitimate*, legal**, and effective*** ways to encourage camaraderie and togetherness.
 
1. A brawl. The Dodgers got into TWO brawls earlier this season and look where they are now.  It’s time to start beaning batters and throwing our collarbones into harm’s way.  Nothing says solidarity like that awkward half-sprint-half-jog from the bullpen that happens during brawls.
 
2. Team field trip to church with Josh Hamilton. Yeah, I know there are federal laws against forcing one’s employees to practice a specific religion...do not talk to me of such trivial matters.  Arte needs to lay down the law: head on over to church, boys, and have an honest to goodness “come to Jesus” moment.  Nothing’s more earnest than a new convert.  
 
(and/or)
 
3. Voodoo cleansing ceremony at the Big A with mandatory participation by all players.  I’m sure there’s got to be something that can be done involving chicken sacrifice and maybe burning some Rangers jerseys or something...I’ll leave the details up to the professionals.  Arte’s got the money to hire the big guns, but maybe some fans could go in on some cheaper spells in the meantime.  RealAfricaVoodoo.com offers a “Masculine Power Spell” for $89.95.  You can even add it to an online shopping cart.  Seems totally legit to me and she offers a 30 day money back guarantee so you really can’t go wrong. I say everyone pick a player and send a $89.95 “Masculine Power Spell” their way.  They’ll thank you later.
 
4. Team Campout.  Campouts are a great way to build camaraderie, confidence, and basic life skills.  This is the concept behind every scouting organization.  In my mind, this Team Campout includes repeated watching of The Sandlot, Major League, and Field of Dreams.  And s’mores. Lots of s’mores. Probably a few rounds of the “trust fall” followed by more s’mores.
 
5. Matching tattoos à la the Nine from The Lord of the Rings.  Here’s a way to make sure everyone commits to the season and each other—get a permanent reminder on their bodies!  And they can all match and be adorable and what a fabulous story that would make for sports writers everywhere.  You’re welcome, sports writers.
 
6. Team building through survival!  On the next off day or perhaps even after this dreadful season is over, I vote the entire team get dumped onto a deserted island and forced to scavenge for food and shelter.  As it turns out, fending off danger together is also a great way to form lasting bonds so maybe there could be some dangerous animals and possibly some kind of random setting off of explosions...I’m not saying anyone should actually get killed, I’m kind of asking for The Hunger Games Lite package.  Drama, danger...less actual killing.  This experience should last more than a few days so while they’re off surviving we just bring up a bunch of minor leaguers to play a few games.  Cause it would be fun to watch and we’d probably not lose any more games than we already are, am I right?  
 
So those are my top suggestions for the all important team building that the Angels seem to be sorely lacking this year.  What are yours?
 
* doubtful
** not at all
*** extremely doubtful

By Robert Cunningham, AngelsWin.com Contributor - 
This season has had more than its share of disappointmentsfor Angel’s fans and one of the biggest disappointments has been the strugglesof Josh Hamilton at the plate.

Simply put Josh has been swinging at a lot of pitchesoutside of the strike zone and, when he does put the ball in play, he has nothit the ball quite as hard and it has not found as many holes as it normallyhas for him in the past.

Additionally, Hamilton has faced an increasing number ofoff-speed pitches and has had particular trouble with sinkers, curveballs, andespecially changeups.

So what does this mean now and in the future for Josh? Willhe return to the Hamilton of old and post an on-base plus slugging over 1.000?Or will he slip further, forcing the Angels to push him into a really expensivebench role at some future, point in time?

The answer appears to be somewhere in-between and let meexplain why.

Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP)

For those of you unfamiliar with BABIP, please take the timeto read these two articles, hereand here.

In seven big league seasons Josh Hamilton has a careeraverage .327 BABIP. This is a typical number you would see when you examinereally good hitters and/or decent hitters with good speed.

In 2013, Hamilton currently has a BABIP of .257, which is 70points below his career average, above.

This can indicate a number of different things but itappears to be related to four main areas: Pitch recognition, batted ball data, parkfactors, and defensive shifts.

Clearly one of the biggest issues is Hamilton’s pitchrecognition. All year opposing pitchers have been throwing him low and outsideor high and outside and Josh has been swinging all day long.

In particular Hamilton has had trouble with off-speed stuff.He has been swinging and missing at a number of sinkers, curveballs, andchangeups this year that have led to weak contact and/or strikeouts.

Opposing pitchers throw the off speed stuff to Josh so thatwhen he swings (thinking fastball) the head of his bat goes further through thezone and either misses the ball completely or makes weaker contact with it infront of the plate hitting it to the right side of the diamond.

If Josh can reacquire some of the plate discipline hedisplayed in previous years this would go a long way towards reducing his weakcontact.

He needs to recognize the off speed pitches and start hisswing a split second later to keep the meat of the bat in the zone as the ballcrosses the plate and drive it up the middle or even to the opposite field.

Another factor is Hamilton’s reduced line drive rate, whichis down almost 1% from his career average. In the ESPN BABIP article (link isabove), the average league BABIP for line drives, for 2012, was .714.

If you look strictly at his batted ball data (Line drive,groundball, and fly ball rates) from a 2012 BABIP point-of-view, that 1%equates to an approximate drop of 10 points in BABIP. The reduction in linedrives leads to more ground balls and fly balls.

It is not the primary part of his problem but it doescontribute to his BABIP issues. Hitters who smack line drives and make hardcontact (such as Mike Trout) will see a lot of hits fall into the gaps in theoutfield and through holes in the infield.

There are also park factors to consider. According to ESPNdata, Arlington ballpark had an average BABIP of .311 for last year in 2012.Anaheim stadium had an average .290 BABIP last season.

Moving from one stadium to another for half of the seasonwould account for an approximate 10 point BABIP swing in Hamilton’s overalltotal for the year.

Finally, Josh has been the target of several defensiveshifts throughout the season. This is a consequence of his struggles with pitchrecognition and chasing after off speed pitches, resulting in weak contact intothe shift.

This weak contact to the right side of the diamond convincesopposing managers to shift their defense, accordingly, to increase the odds ofthrowing Hamilton out at first or catching a line drive or fly ball to thatside of the infield.

If Hamilton can work on his approach and hit more linedrives up the middle or to the opposite field, teams will be forced to stopputting the shift on him almost every at-bat and that will create moreopportunities for the ball to find a hole, which can, and should, result in a correspondingincrease in BABIP.

More Batted Ball Data and Injuries

Back in early August FanGraphs ran an article (found here)on the biggest decliners in HR/FB (Home Run/Fly Ball) ratios and batted balldistances from last year to this season.

Josh Hamilton, unfortunately, was on that list with anoverall reduction in his HR/FB ratio of 25.6% down to 13.3%! Yikes!

His average batted ball distance dropped 26.43 feet from 2012and, in 2013, is actually below the average for the league.

As Mike Podhorzer’s article indicates, Josh has dealt with avariety of moderate injuries throughout the season to his wrists, back, andankles. Any one of these, or some combination, could be contributing to hisproblems at the plate in addition to those mentioned above.

Conclusion

One thing that is clear is that Josh Hamilton is probablynot as bad as he has been in 2013.

Although BABIP doesn’t correlate well from year to year itdoes provide a snapshot of whether a player is outperforming or underperformingfrom their career average (which does correlate well).

It can also point towards increased or reduced contact withthe ball and even hints at a player’s luckiness or unluckiness with where theballs land in the field of play.

After examining some of the contributing factors above youcan see that the change in stadiums and the reduction in Josh’s line drive rateaccounts for about a 20 point reduction in his overall BABIP. However thatstill doesn’t account for the wide gap he has experienced this year.

If Hamilton can reacquire some of his plate discipline andpitch recognition he should be able to see the ball better and make bettercontact up the middle and to the opposite field.

By doing this he will help reduce and/or eliminate thedefensive shifts which will force the opposing defense to make the tough playsif they want to get Josh out.

Hamilton’s days as a premium middle of the order bat aredeclining, but they are not gone. Unless he experiences additional, persistentinjuries it would not be unexpected to see Hamilton return to about 70-90% ofhis formal self (pre-2012) during his remaining contract years.

Heck we may even get lucky and see Hamilton go on one of hishot streaks!


Josh was, and still is, a talented baseball player. Look forhim to get healthy in 2014 and focus on improved pitch recognition especiallywith off speed pitches. The last part is the key for him to regain his form andprovide production and protection in the middle of the Angels lineup.

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By Grant Larson, AngelsWin.com Baseball Columnist - 
A Tale of Happenings From Around the League
Here we are at the unofficialhalfway point of the season. The midsummer classic has come and gone. Some teams had surprises while others faced bumps and bruises.Baltimore’s sensational season wasn’t a fluke and neither wasOakland’s. Money doesn’t buy happiness; we can thank the Dodgers and theYankees for proving that theory. The Blue Jays have been painfully bad, thenexceptionally good, and now just average. Washington doesn’t seem like the 100win team many thought they were, while the Red Sox look like the 100 win teammany thought they weren’t.
I set to identify how teams have fared this year in terms of production, payroll, and against expectations. I broke down teams into 3categories: starting pitching, relief pitching, and hitters. I used WAR fromfangraphs.com to determine the average performance of players from eachcategory for each team. I used WAR because it is an attempt to quantify all ofthe contributions a player provides his team into a single value. If you areinterested in learning more about WAR click here. To simplify theinformation I limited those players included in this analysis so the averageswere more accurate. Hitters needed to have at least 80 AB, relief pitchersneeded more than 10 IP, and starting pitchers needed to have pitched in excessof 40 IP. I made my graphs available at the bottom of this article.
Before I get into theindividual teams I want to point out one thing I found while doing thisanalysis because it effectively adds credence to a theory I have. The theory has to do with paying large sums of money to player in their late 20's and early 30's, but that is for another time. Of the top15 hitters with the highest WAR, 10 of them cumulatively made less than whatAlex Rodriguez is making this year. Let me repeat that for those of you notlistening! Alex Rodriguez is making $29 million dollars to lick his wounds thisyear, meanwhile there are 10everyday players around the league ranked in the top 15 in the WAR category forhitters that are making just over $25 million COMBINED! That blows me away!

Now on to the teams:


AL East:

Boston Red Sox (Wins: 58, Cost per Win: $2.6Million) - Oh my,what a difference a year makes. Many people, myself included, were convincedthat overpaying a bunch of role players didn’t seem to be the best formula forsuccess. Many were wrong. And they remained financially flexible movingforward. They are near the top in all categories of WAR, which is astoundingconsider where they were less than a year ago. The pitching has been revived,obviously by strong performances by Buchholz and Lackey. Lester is still a bit ofa question mark. He started the season off really well and then sloweddramatically. The bullpen has gone through many drastic transformations butseems to be holding itself together. The hitting has been amazing. Papi seemsto refuse to age, Ellsbury is burning up the base paths, and Daniel Nava hasbeen a nice surprise. Dustin Pedroia has been a gutsy, hard workingcontributor and seems to personify the team as a whole.

New York Yankees (Wins: 51, Cost per Win: $4.5Million) – There isonly one statistic that can explain what has happened to the Yankees this yearand it’s obvious it has to do with injuries. To quantify it the Yankees (ifDerek Jeter is counted) have more than $90 million dollars on the disabledlist. I fear this is what happens when a team locks themselves into too many expensivelong-term contracts that run parallel courses. Theywant to be under the luxury tax number before next year and have a chanceat doing it but that will limit their flexibility in freeagency during the offseason. The one thing I can assume that they are hopingfor is that A-Rod either gets banned for life or he gives up and calls it quitsif his suspension is too long. Without their top hitters they have fallen tothe bottom half of the league in WAR. Meanwhile, they have produced very wellin each of the pitching categories telling me they may be posed to make a runwith Jeter, Granderson, Texeira, and possibly A-Rod returning soon. If everyonecan manage to get healthy it will be interesting to see how they juggle alineup that has been built based on pressure. The pressure to win in the Bronxhas forced the Yanks into taking on bad contracts (e.g. Vernon Wells),overpaying veterans (e.g. Youkilis), and taking on struggling youths (e.g.Boesch).

Toronto Blue Jays (Wins: 45, Cost per Win: $2.6Million) - The way to win quicklyis not by taking on a bunch of players from one team that underperformed the year before. It is easy to say that the Blue Jays offseasonhad similarities to the Marlins offseason from a year ago. Their expensive starting pitchers have producedan average WAR that is very underwhelming. Josh Johnson has lost his stuff andit seems RA Dickey might have been a one-year wonder. What’s worse is Dickeygets much more expensive starting next year. Their relief pitchers haveperformed well because of strong performances from Delabar, Janssen, and a re-bornBrett Cecil. Hitters have been about what was expected for the most part. OverpayingMelkey Cabrera was a bad idea, but I think they knew that. His numbers havebeen flat and uneven. Brett Lawrie’s energy has been missed. I won’t say theycan’t turn it around, but I doubt it. Biggesttakeaway from the Blue Jays is payroll went up performance stayed flat. I’m notimpressed.

Baltimore Orioles (Wins: 53, Cost per Win: $1.7Million) – TheOrioles are winning again, and they are winning without pitching.  More importantly they are winning with apayroll that sits right in the middle of the pack. Chris Tillman has the winsbut the stats accompanying them are just alright. Wei-Yin Chen has been hurt agood portion of the year and I think there is a case that can be made that heis there best pitcher. They don’t aggressively pursue free agent pitching andthat is probably because they are waiting for some of their young talentedprospects (they have two that could be front of the rotation starters). Theirbullpen, one of their greatest strengths last year, has been just above averagethis year and Jim Johnson has blown 6 saves already this year after blowing only 3 lastyear. Their hitting has been their strength and has managed to keep them ingames all year. Trading for Davis (a couple of years ago), signing Adam Jonesthrough only his 32/33 age season, and drafting Machado have given themflexibility and made them competitive for years (if their pitching develops).

Tampa Bay Rays (Wins: 55, Cost per Win: $1.1Million) - The Raysare known for defying the odds and had a great degree of responsibility forskewing my results; I am sure of that. The combination of player development andfinding journeymen who break out as a Ray have made them great. I love what theydo. Instead of spending otherworldly amounts of money to bring free agents,they spend their resources creating dynamic rising stars. They develop armslike the Dodger’s spend money and they do it more effectively. Enough saidabout their pitching. Their hitting has been a nice surprise based on WAR; theyrank in the top 5. A lot of that is attributed to a healthy Evan Longoria butlet’s not discount their offseason additions. The $2 million they gave Loneylooks like a steal, trading two of their arms for Meyers seems like the rightmove (he’s the real deal), and Escobar has behaved himself and produced on thefield. Again, another efficient and successful season so far.

AL Central:

Detroit Tigers (Wins: 52, Cost per Win: $2.9Million) – Tiger’sstarting pitching has been nothing short of spectacular by producing lots ofstrikeouts, minimizing walks, and accumulating wins. That being said they havecertainly paid for it but in an effective way. Their bullpen has beenserviceable, with the exception of the closer role. I know they were hopingRondon would be ready but considering their win now approach, I believe theyshould have been more involved in the closer market in the offseason. They maybe involved going into the trade deadline though. Their hitters have beenbetter than average. There is no question they will be a major player come October.

Cleveland Indians (Wins: 51, Cost per Win: $1.5Million) – TheIndians did an effective job upgrading their offense in the offseason while only spending about$47 million. Contributions from new additionssuch as Swisher and Bourn have been nice but the bright spot has been Kipnis.He’s young, affordable, and an underrated 5 tool player at a limited position.Their starting pitching has improved from last year mainly due to improvementsmade by Masterson. After watching Danny Salazar pitch in his major league debutlast week I believe they may have a stud in the making. Their bullpen has beentheir Achilles’ heel and they absolutely need to be in the market for somehelp.

Chicago White Sox (Wins: 37, Cost per Win: $3.2Million) – What amess. They have a young superstar pitcher that is plagued by a poor win-lossrecord because run support is apparently hard for him to come by. And becauseof him the pitching for Chicago seems to be doing alright. The back end oftheir bullpen has been nothing short of spectacular thanks to set-up man JesseCrain (who may be on the move) and closer Addison Reed. Hitting is a majorproblem for the White Sox. The big concern is that Paul Konerko seems to be afraction of his former self, Tyler Flowers hasn’t been good, Adam Dunn loves toswing at everything (30% of his at-bats result in strikeouts), and GordonBeckham refuses to turn the corner. It seems to me they have a long rebuildingprocess ahead of them and they are spending a lot of money doing it.

Kansas City Royals (Wins: 43, Cost per Win:$1.9 Million) – Theoffense has been a bit of an anomaly. It just refuses to develop like we allthought it would. Francouer got really bad and shipped out, Billy Butler hasn’tbeen close to what we have come to expect, and they don’t have a single playerwith more than 10 HR’s. Chris Davis has more HR’s than Gordon, Moustakas,Hosmer, Butler, and Cain combined.Pitching has been ok and that is only because they managed to get Shields andErvin Santana, who have been their two best players. I just don’t understandthis team.

Minnesota Twins (Wins: 39, Cost per Win: $2.1Million) – TheTwins seem to be torn between trying to win and trying to rebuild. Their hitting andstarting pitching were incredibly bad. Joe Mauer provided one of the few brightspots in their lineup. A few young guys (Florimon and at times Hicks) showedsome glimpses of being pretty good players. Starting pitching has been as badas any team and they don’t have a starter with a WAR greater than 1. Thebullpen is been borderline great. Perkins has worked himself into being apretty reliable closer. They have some really nice looking players on the wayup. Patience is needed if you are a Twins fan.

AL West:

Texas Rangers (Wins: 54, Cost per Win: $2.3 Million) – I truly thought the Rangers would struggle thisyear without Hamilton, Napoli, and many unhealthy pitchers. They have pieced areally nice team together and have one of the best starting rotations inbaseball through the first half. All the money they gave to Yu Darvish seems tobe money well spent, Derek Holland has fulfilled some of his promise, and acouple of their young prospects including Martin Perez have been contributors.Adrian Beltre has led an offense that is above average and includes: a toolsyLeonys Martin, power hitting Cruz, and many other top hitters. The bullpenhas been one of the best in the league and Joe Nathan has done an exceptionaljob closing out games.

Oakland A’s (Wins: 56, Cost per Win: $1.1Million) – I lovewhat Billy Beane does and I think he may be there until the end of time. Hejust keeps digging into the farm and finding players to produce. It’s amazing.Josh Donaldson has a midseason MVP claim and he didn’t even make the all-stargame. I want to clarify that I have a major issue with that. They have managedWARs above average in each of the categories and there aren’t a lot ofhousehold names. Everyone seems to contribute and there is a different heroeach night. I loved the Bernie lean last year and this team has the same typeof mojo.

Los Angeles Angels (Wins: 44, Cost per Win:$3.2 Million) - Is ittoo early to be concerned about whether the organization is going to be able tosurvive under the weight of some of their lofty contracts. I get that ArteMoreno seems to find bundles of cash when the people around baseball leastexpect it. Maybe it was that he wanted to hide it until Torii Hunter signedelsewhere thinking it wouldn’t offend him after he signed. I don’t get it.Spending money for a need is one thing, but throwing cash at players over 30because they are simply household names is straining. Josh Hamilton has beendreadful and that has carried over from the second half of last year, whilePujols (even though he has been injured) hasn’t been the Pujols the Angelsthought they were going to get when they signed him. These two guys are makingclose to $45 million dollars more than Mike Trout, who is probably the bestoverall player on the planet. Another big problem is their pitching.

Seattle Mariners (Wins: 43, Cost per Win: $1.9Million) - Thisyouth movement has been atrociously disappointing. Player development, with theexception of Kyle Seager, has disappointed fans. Highly regarded prospectsincluding Dustin Ackley and Jesus Montero have had to be optioned to refinetheir swings and change positions. That being said, Nick Franklin looks like thereal deal and may turn into a top tier 2nd baseman very soon. It’snot happening this year though and they have some nice pieces to trade, namelyMorales and Ibanez. I say do it and try to get a young major league readyplayer or two and pray to the baseball Gods that some of their young playersdevelop and break out. Their closer got demoted for underperforming but thebullpen overall has performed nicely. Pitching has been good and it usually isin the thick air at Safeco. I’m glad for the fan base that they signed Felix toan extension to keep fans energized. This team could be on the brink ofbreaking out or they could be years away.

Houston Astros (Wins: 33, Cost per Win: $.8Million) – If ateam is going to go through a rebuilding process they should look at the Astros as a template on how to do it. They have stripped down to nothing and are rebuilding from the farm on up. And I’ll tell you what I see: a very bright future. I could spend pages talking about the depth and talent they have on theway up instead I am going to keep it simple. They have at least 5 top tier prospectsthat any team would be lucky to have. One of my favorite moves for them issaving money long-term by signing Jose Altuve to a team friendly contract thatextends beyond his arbitration years. Well done Astros and while it is painfulfor fans now the future is bright.

NL East:

Atlanta Braves (Wins: 54, Cost per Win: $1.7Million) – TheBraves started out the season really well, built up a huge lead, and are justcoasting now. They are at or just slightly above average in all WAR categoriesand they are doing it with a relatively low payroll considering the highprofile names on their team. I think it is easy to admit that the B.J. Uptonsigning was painfully bad and might haunt them for the next four and a halfyears. Freddie Freeman continues to be one of my favorite players. He hasproduced every year since he has come up and in my opinion is the best playeron that team and gets none of the prestige. I want to talk a lot about J.Up butI don’t think this is the place for it. He has been really disappointing aftera great start. I will leave it at that for now. The pitching has beenserviceable. Julio Teheren has finally developed into a decent option,Medlen has been sporadic (not the same Medlen from last year) but stillpretty good, and Beachy could elevate this staff upon his return from TommyJohn surgery. 

Washington Nationals (Wins: 48, Cost per Win:$2.5 Million) – It ishard for me to say that a team spending only $2.5 million per win has been adisappointment, but they have. The starting pitching has been above average andJordan Zimmerman can be thanked for that. It’s unfortunate he doesn’t get morecredit. The bullpen has been solid but not the unstoppable force we thoughtthey would be and they have a ton of money tied up in that category. Theirhitting always seems to be blah to me and their average WAR backs that up. IanDesmond is putting up monster numbers for a short stop and Bryce Harper is aspark plug and I love the way he plays the game. Anthony Rendon seems to be onthe brink of contributing big time. The rest of the team has kind ofunderperformed. They will still make the playoffs, maybe win the division, andmaybe even win a championship but a few people need to step up and now.

Philadelphia Phillies (Wins: 48, Cost per Win:$3.3 Million) – Holy oldfolks home! They have more than $80 million tied up into 3 pitchers: one has lookedgreat, one loves racking up loses, and one was really bad before going onto theDL. That being said they are still managing to compete. There have been a lotof questions about the direction they will take leading into the tradingdeadline. They are only 5 ½ out of a wild card spot and 6 ½ out of first in thedivision. It’s amazing how they have been able to stay afloat with so many DLstints but they have. They have a long rebuilding process ahead of them; I’mjust thinking they are trying to get one last push from their aging stars. Idon’t see it happening; I say break it up and start building while you can.

New York Mets (Wins: 41, Cost per Win: $2.3Million) – I havebeen waiting to get to this team because of their payroll. The New York Metshave nearly half of their payroll tied up into players that haven’t played asingle game for them this year. Johan Santana has been one of the worstsignings in recent memory but the contract will likely end following the 2013season, Jason Bay is playing for the Mariners while the Mets pay him (some ofit has been deferred), and I just learned recently they are paying BobbyBonilla more than $1 million a year from a contract that had been deferred. Nowonder they are struggling to be a competitor. That being said they are close.Zach Wheeler and Matt Harvey are providing affordable innings and theyhave a 3rd highly regarded prospect Noah Syndergaard on the way. DavidWright is in the top 5 in WAR and has stayed healthy the last two years, while therest of the offense has really struggled. Their bullpen has a few bright spotsbut has been merely average. When they can shed these bad contracts they canfinally start building up their offense

Miami Marlins (Wins: 35, Cost per Win: $1.1Million) – I am really disappointed with the Marlins. I don’t agree with the deceitfulness they exhibited inthe past two off-seasons. They have two of the best young players in baseballin Jose Fernandez and Giancarlo Stanton but they don’t seem to have a desire towin. It seems to me that they simply want to turn profits and don’t really careabout competing and thrilling their fan-base. And maybe they did the smartthing and broke it up when they realized it wouldn't work out but it certainly doesn’t look thatway to me. They’ll have to prove me wrong.

NL Central:

Cincinnati Reds (Wins: 53, Cost per Win: $2.1Million) – The Redsare another team with a lot of contributors. Their pitching has some holes init but a lot of that has to do with the injury to Cueto and uneven performancesby Homer Bailey. Mike Leake was forced to fight hard to maintain his rotationspot and has in the process become one of their best pitchers. Matt Latos is ayoung stud at only 25 and has performed better in hitter friendly GreatAmerican Ballpark than expected. The bullpen has been below average, which is a surprise butAroldis Chapman hasn't been quite as effective as last year. To be fair, thatwould have been hard to do. We knew they would hit and they have done exactlythat and Brandon Phillips have fared well producing from the cleanup spot. Theywill be around come October.

St Louis Cardinals (Wins: 57, Cost per Win: $2Million) – TheCardinals, in my opinion, are the best team in baseball in staying relevant yearafter year while managing to maintain a payroll in the middle of the pack. Likethe Rays they seem to have pitchers stock piled. Shelby Miller has been one ofthe best rookies this year and they have guys like Michael Wacha and CarlosMartinez waiting in the wings. That combined with the Cy Young caliber seasonthat Adam Wainwright has had has led them to the second highest WAR in baseball. Theirhitting has been equally good and that is because they are loaded with greatplayers including: the best catcher in the game, an established veteran in Beltran who isplaying as well as he ever has, and Allen Craig is an RBI magnet. Their onlyweakness is their bullpen but that has a lot to do with the injury to JasonMotte. Overall, might be the best team in baseball.

Pittsburgh Pirates (Wins: 56, Cost per Win:$1.2 Million) - To me itseems that the Pirates have been rebuilding for years. And the organization hasbeen patient doing it. The two previous years' terrible second halves derailedtheir dream of a winning record but the front office stuck with coach ClintHurdle, and it seems to be paying off. They have been flirting with the bestrecord in baseball all year and they are doing it with a minimal payroll thatranks in the bottom 5. McCutchen is a star, it seems Starling Marte may be too,Pedro Alvarez has incredible power, and they have a plethora of role playersthat have contributed. The pitching has been good with some veterans leadingthe way and young Jeff Locke looks like a future star if he isn’t therealready. Taking a chance on Grilli as a closer has proven brilliant. This istheir year.

Milwaukee Brewers (Wins: 38, Cost per Win: $2.3Million) – TheBrewers have been flat out bad. Carlos Gomez and Jean Segura are maybe the onlybright spots on this team and they have been spectacular sporting WARs above 3.Two great building blocks if you ask me. Braun has not been very good but I’msure his impending suspension has affected his mentality. Taking into accountthe whole pitching staff, they are the only team without a pitcher with a WARnorth of 1. Thankfully there payroll doesn’t have much allotted to pitchersotherwise this would look really bad. Having some nice young offensive piecesis promising but winning seems a ways away.

Chicago Cubs (Wins: 42, Cost per Win: $2.5Million) – TheCubbies just keep peeling back the layers. The problem is they are still beingweighed down but one contract that I am sure has haunted them for years andthat is the perennial $22 million check they write to Alfonso Soriano. They seemedto be moving in the right direction and then they dumped $52 million into EdwinJackson’s lap spread over 4 years. Garza has looked good but he is likely to beshipped out. Their bullpen averages a WAR below zero. On the offensive side ofthe ball Rizzo has taking a very small step back in terms of batting averageand Starlin Castro has taken a large step back and sports a negative WAR.Thankfully they have a farm system that is becoming well stocked. The future isnot now and might not be in the immediate future.

NL West:

Los Angeles Dodgers (Wins: 47, Cost per Win:$4.7 Million) - WorldSeries or bust?! I am pretty sure I heard those words come out of someone’smouth. I am going to try really hard to avoid the trade from last year and justlook at this year when it comes to the Dodgers. They are spending more per winthan everyone else in baseball and the results have been uneven. Yasiel Puighas been a spark plug and makes the front office look brilliant for signing himthrough 2018 for only $42 million. Hanley has shown signs of returning to theproduction of years past. However, Kemp has been hurt and not great whenhealthy, Ethier’s $85 million contract seems straining only one year in, andrest of the offense hasn’t been great either. My biggest problem with theDodgers is that they have 6starting pitchers making more than $10 million this year. Clayton Kershaw ismaybe the best pitcher in baseball, Grienke has gotten better, and Hyun-Jin Ryuhas impressed and it not one of those 6. They are flat out throwing money awayand they barely reached .500 before the break. I’m not impressed.

Arizona Diamondbacks (Wins: 50, Cost per Win:$1.8 Million) – PaulGoldshmidt is a rockstar and Arizona made the impressive move to lock him upthrough at least 2018. The rest of the offense has been pretty good. The onlyguy I am really concerned about is Miquel Montero. His numbers are way down andhis slugging is almost .100 points down from the last three years. PatrickCorbin has been spectacular and they have some other young pitchers that haveshown flashes of brilliance. They have a lot of contributors and they arewinning with a limited budget. I like what this team is doing and they arepretty young.

Colorado Rockies (Wins: 46, Cost per Win: $1.6Million) – If allyou had to do was hit the ball Colorado would be a force every year. MichaelCuddyer was a great short-term investment and the positive influence andproduction have been immeasurably important to their first have success. Tuloand Cargo have had predictably good seasons and have managed to stay on thefield for the most part. The bullpen has done a nice job. More importantly, thestarting pitching has been surprisingly competitive. I know Chatwood is strandingrunners at a rate that is probably too high to sustain but he has beenimpressive. And so has Chacin who has looked great the last few weeks. Whether theyare able to keep it up is obviously not known but this division is surprisinglyup for grabs.

San Diego Padres (Wins: 42, Cost per Win: $1.6Million) – There isnot much to say about the Padres. They seem to teeter back and forth betweenbuyers and sellers at this time of the year. They have a lot of potential…… butonly when it comes to swinging the bat. Gyorko is brought positive energy andproduction, Evereth Cabrera can’t be stopped on the base paths, and YonderAlonso seems poised to break out. That being said, they are near the bottom inWAR when it comes to starting pitching and bullpen. I mean really bad. Stults,a journeyman pitcher, has been the lone bright spot in an otherwise depressingrotation. The biggest problem is I don’t see an impending solution (Fried is only 19 and in lo-A). They aregoing to have to get involved in the free agent market if they can’t develop. If theywere really smart the would trade Headley for a large package and move Gyorkoback to third because his bat plays well there. Just my take.

San Francisco Giants (Wins: 43, Cost per Win:$3.2 Million) - Eventhough the Giants are spending way over the league average per win I don’t haveit in me to talk negatively about them. I say that because if they have taught us anything in the last threeyears it is that they know how to win. The Giantshaven’t been overly active in the free agent market over the last few years andI believe I know why: Barry Zito and Tim Lincecum. Zito came to the Giants on amonster contract that the Giants are still choking on and they are payingLincecum $22 million to have a below average WAR. That is pretty much areflection of the starting rotation as a whole. Additionally, Matt Cain hasseemingly fallen apart. In short, the strengths for the Giants in previousyears (pitching) has been quite suspect to put it mildly. Meanwhiletheir offense is performing well above the league average. That has really beena product of a team full of contributors. They desperately need their pitchingto reappear or they may spend October away from the field.

Starting Pitching (Avg. WAR)
The average team WAR in thisanalysis was 1.22.



Relief Pitching (Avg. WAR)
The average team WAR in thisanalysis was .25.



Hitters (Avg. WAR)
The average team WAR for thisanalysis was .93.




Payroll by Category for eachteam




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By Ellen Bell, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer - 
Women of Angels Baseball: Jackie Autry
No series on the Women of Angels Baseball would be complete without Jackie Autry—arguably the most influential female in franchise history. During her time with the Angels, she witnessed the team’s transformation from a small baseball business into a corporate sports franchise. She also had a front row seat to watch a group of home-grown, unknown players develop into World Series Champions.
During the All Star Game in New York, Jackie Autry continued her role as honorary American League President and introduced the AL Team Manager, Jim Leyland. Once again, she was at the heart of one of baseball’s biggest events of the season.
None of this was ever her intention.
In fact, the former Security Pacific Bank Vice President was actually more of a football fan when she met Angels owner, Gene Autry. But when you marry a man you adopt his family, and Gene Autry’s family was always the Angels.
“We were all like a big family back then,” she said. “From the front office to the bat boys. We had get-togethers and picnics. It would be hard to do that today.”
The Angels meant more to Gene Autry than just another business. Autry, who had no children of his own, saw the players as sons. 
“He loved the Angels,” Jackie Autry said. “but if you told Gene you loved another team that was OK too, as long as you were a baseball fan. He thought that baseball was a family game and he wanted it to stay that way forever,”
The game was already changing when Jackie and Gene Autry married on July 19th, 1981. The Angels and the Dodgers were the only family owned teams at the time. Salaries began to rise and expenses increased. In baseball, the old way of doing business began to make no business sense at all.
In 1982, after a successful season and a trip to the playoffs, Jackie Autry looked at the financial statement and was surprised to see that team barely made a profit. 
“Clubs were losing money back then,” she said.  â€œeven when salaries were lower.”
Jackie Autry started working with the Angels in 1983, using her prior business experience in marketing and budgeting. In her former career at Security Pacific, Autry worked her way up from a switchboard operator to become the 13th female Vice President in company history. She brought this same focused work ethic with her to the Angels Front Office. She soon learned that a professional sports franchise doesn’t run with the fiscal discipline of a bank.
“I would try to start with a two million dollar bottom line and work backwards,” she said. “But with free agents on the market and a team in the hunt for the playoffs, that two million went pretty quickly.”
Jackie Autry tried to hold a responsible bottom line, looking at the team as a businesswoman, not only as a baseball fan. Near the end of her husband’s life, she worked hard to preserve the team that he dearly loved. 
She became active in Major League Baseball and is the only woman to ever serve on the Major League Baseball Executive Council, Oversight Committee, and as a member of the Board of Directors. 
“In Major League Baseball, I always voted for the good of the game,” Autry said. “I looked at the Big Picture, even when if it didn’t directly benefit The Angels.”
It was this “big picture thinking” that finally convinced Jackie Autry that a change in ownership was inevitable. Years of losses and mounting debt led her to negotiate a sale to the Walt Disney Company. Disney purchased controlling rights in 1996. Even though Jackie Autry sold the team, she never lost faith in the Angels.
“I told Michael Eisner to stand pat and stick with the young players,” she said. “They’ll win you a World Series. In 2002, all players came from our farm system except for three. These were home-grown kids who won a World Championship.”
Her critics may have disagreed with her decisions to avoid high-contract players, but Autry believed that the best course was to develop franchise players from within the organization.
“It’s not about pinching pennies, it’s about building a foundation,” she said. “You cannot buy a World Championship Club.”
These days, the business of baseball is very different from the time when Gene Autry owned the team, and she admits that the multi-million dollar player contracts and blockbuster media deals have been game changers. 
“If Gene Autry were alive today, he’d have a heart attack,” she said.
There are some things that are still familiar to Jackie Autry. She never misses watching a game, either from her box at Angels Stadium or from her home in the Coachella Valley. Now, freed from her financial responsibilities with the team, she can follow the Angels like her husband always did, as a devoted fan.
What would Gene Autry think of today’s Angels?
“Oh he would have loved to watch the young guys play, like Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo,” she said. 
“He would have loved their hustle.” View the full article

By Grant Larson, AngelsWin.com Baseball Columnist - 
A Tale of Happenings From Around the League
Here we are at the unofficialhalfway point of the season. The midsummer classic has come and gone. Some teams had surprises while others faced bumps and bruises.Baltimore’s sensational season wasn’t a fluke and neither wasOakland’s. Money doesn’t buy happiness; we can thank the Dodgers and theYankees for proving that theory. The Blue Jays have been painfully bad, thenexceptionally good, and now just average. Washington doesn’t seem like the 100win team many thought they were, while the Red Sox look like the 100 win teammany thought they weren’t.
I set to identify how teams have fared this year in terms of production, payroll, and against expectations. I broke down teams into 3categories: starting pitching, relief pitching, and hitters. I used WAR fromfangraphs.com to determine the average performance of players from eachcategory for each team. I used WAR because it is an attempt to quantify all ofthe contributions a player provides his team into a single value. If you areinterested in learning more about WAR click here. To simplify theinformation I limited those players included in this analysis so the averageswere more accurate. Hitters needed to have at least 80 AB, relief pitchersneeded more than 10 IP, and starting pitchers needed to have pitched in excessof 40 IP. I made my graphs available at the bottom of this article.
Before I get into theindividual teams I want to point out one thing I found while doing thisanalysis because it effectively adds credence to a theory I have. The theory has to do with paying large sums of money to player in their late 20's and early 30's, but that is for another time. Of the top15 hitters with the highest WAR, 10 of them cumulatively made less than whatAlex Rodriguez is making this year. Let me repeat that for those of you notlistening! Alex Rodriguez is making $29 million dollars to lick his wounds thisyear, meanwhile there are 10everyday players around the league ranked in the top 15 in the WAR category forhitters that are making just over $25 million COMBINED! That blows me away!

Now on to the teams:


AL East:

Boston Red Sox (Wins: 58, Cost per Win: $2.6Million) - Oh my,what a difference a year makes. Many people, myself included, were convincedthat overpaying a bunch of role players didn’t seem to be the best formula forsuccess. Many were wrong. And they remained financially flexible movingforward. They are near the top in all categories of WAR, which is astoundingconsider where they were less than a year ago. The pitching has been revived,obviously by strong performances by Buchholz and Lackey. Lester is still a bit ofa question mark. He started the season off really well and then sloweddramatically. The bullpen has gone through many drastic transformations butseems to be holding itself together. The hitting has been amazing. Papi seemsto refuse to age, Ellsbury is burning up the base paths, and Daniel Nava hasbeen a nice surprise. Dustin Pedroia has been a gutsy, hard workingcontributor and seems to personify the team as a whole.

New York Yankees (Wins: 51, Cost per Win: $4.5Million) – There isonly one statistic that can explain what has happened to the Yankees this yearand it’s obvious it has to do with injuries. To quantify it the Yankees (ifDerek Jeter is counted) have more than $90 million dollars on the disabledlist. I fear this is what happens when a team locks themselves into too many expensivelong-term contracts that run parallel courses. Theywant to be under the luxury tax number before next year and have a chanceat doing it but that will limit their flexibility in freeagency during the offseason. The one thing I can assume that they are hopingfor is that A-Rod either gets banned for life or he gives up and calls it quitsif his suspension is too long. Without their top hitters they have fallen tothe bottom half of the league in WAR. Meanwhile, they have produced very wellin each of the pitching categories telling me they may be posed to make a runwith Jeter, Granderson, Texeira, and possibly A-Rod returning soon. If everyonecan manage to get healthy it will be interesting to see how they juggle alineup that has been built based on pressure. The pressure to win in the Bronxhas forced the Yanks into taking on bad contracts (e.g. Vernon Wells),overpaying veterans (e.g. Youkilis), and taking on struggling youths (e.g.Boesch).

Toronto Blue Jays (Wins: 45, Cost per Win: $2.6Million) - The way to win quicklyis not by taking on a bunch of players from one team that underperformed the year before. It is easy to say that the Blue Jays offseasonhad similarities to the Marlins offseason from a year ago. Their expensive starting pitchers have producedan average WAR that is very underwhelming. Josh Johnson has lost his stuff andit seems RA Dickey might have been a one-year wonder. What’s worse is Dickeygets much more expensive starting next year. Their relief pitchers haveperformed well because of strong performances from Delabar, Janssen, and a re-bornBrett Cecil. Hitters have been about what was expected for the most part. OverpayingMelkey Cabrera was a bad idea, but I think they knew that. His numbers havebeen flat and uneven. Brett Lawrie’s energy has been missed. I won’t say theycan’t turn it around, but I doubt it. Biggesttakeaway from the Blue Jays is payroll went up performance stayed flat. I’m notimpressed.

Baltimore Orioles (Wins: 53, Cost per Win: $1.7Million) – TheOrioles are winning again, and they are winning without pitching.  More importantly they are winning with apayroll that sits right in the middle of the pack. Chris Tillman has the winsbut the stats accompanying them are just alright. Wei-Yin Chen has been hurt agood portion of the year and I think there is a case that can be made that heis there best pitcher. They don’t aggressively pursue free agent pitching andthat is probably because they are waiting for some of their young talentedprospects (they have two that could be front of the rotation starters). Theirbullpen, one of their greatest strengths last year, has been just above averagethis year and Jim Johnson has blown 6 saves already this year after blowing only 3 lastyear. Their hitting has been their strength and has managed to keep them ingames all year. Trading for Davis (a couple of years ago), signing Adam Jonesthrough only his 32/33 age season, and drafting Machado have given themflexibility and made them competitive for years (if their pitching develops).

Tampa Bay Rays (Wins: 55, Cost per Win: $1.1Million) - The Raysare known for defying the odds and had a great degree of responsibility forskewing my results; I am sure of that. The combination of player development andfinding journeymen who break out as a Ray have made them great. I love what theydo. Instead of spending otherworldly amounts of money to bring free agents,they spend their resources creating dynamic rising stars. They develop armslike the Dodger’s spend money and they do it more effectively. Enough saidabout their pitching. Their hitting has been a nice surprise based on WAR; theyrank in the top 5. A lot of that is attributed to a healthy Evan Longoria butlet’s not discount their offseason additions. The $2 million they gave Loneylooks like a steal, trading two of their arms for Meyers seems like the rightmove (he’s the real deal), and Escobar has behaved himself and produced on thefield. Again, another efficient and successful season so far.

AL Central:

Detroit Tigers (Wins: 52, Cost per Win: $2.9Million) – Tiger’sstarting pitching has been nothing short of spectacular by producing lots ofstrikeouts, minimizing walks, and accumulating wins. That being said they havecertainly paid for it but in an effective way. Their bullpen has beenserviceable, with the exception of the closer role. I know they were hopingRondon would be ready but considering their win now approach, I believe theyshould have been more involved in the closer market in the offseason. They maybe involved going into the trade deadline though. Their hitters have beenbetter than average. There is no question they will be a major player come October.

Cleveland Indians (Wins: 51, Cost per Win: $1.5Million) – TheIndians did an effective job upgrading their offense in the offseason while only spending about$47 million. Contributions from new additionssuch as Swisher and Bourn have been nice but the bright spot has been Kipnis.He’s young, affordable, and an underrated 5 tool player at a limited position.Their starting pitching has improved from last year mainly due to improvementsmade by Masterson. After watching Danny Salazar pitch in his major league debutlast week I believe they may have a stud in the making. Their bullpen has beentheir Achilles’ heel and they absolutely need to be in the market for somehelp.

Chicago White Sox (Wins: 37, Cost per Win: $3.2Million) – What amess. They have a young superstar pitcher that is plagued by a poor win-lossrecord because run support is apparently hard for him to come by. And becauseof him the pitching for Chicago seems to be doing alright. The back end oftheir bullpen has been nothing short of spectacular thanks to set-up man JesseCrain (who may be on the move) and closer Addison Reed. Hitting is a majorproblem for the White Sox. The big concern is that Paul Konerko seems to be afraction of his former self, Tyler Flowers hasn’t been good, Adam Dunn loves toswing at everything (30% of his at-bats result in strikeouts), and GordonBeckham refuses to turn the corner. It seems to me they have a long rebuildingprocess ahead of them and they are spending a lot of money doing it.

Kansas City Royals (Wins: 43, Cost per Win:$1.9 Million) – Theoffense has been a bit of an anomaly. It just refuses to develop like we allthought it would. Francouer got really bad and shipped out, Billy Butler hasn’tbeen close to what we have come to expect, and they don’t have a single playerwith more than 10 HR’s. Chris Davis has more HR’s than Gordon, Moustakas,Hosmer, Butler, and Cain combined.Pitching has been ok and that is only because they managed to get Shields andErvin Santana, who have been their two best players. I just don’t understandthis team.

Minnesota Twins (Wins: 39, Cost per Win: $2.1Million) – TheTwins seem to be torn between trying to win and trying to rebuild. Their hitting andstarting pitching were incredibly bad. Joe Mauer provided one of the few brightspots in their lineup. A few young guys (Florimon and at times Hicks) showedsome glimpses of being pretty good players. Starting pitching has been as badas any team and they don’t have a starter with a WAR greater than 1. Thebullpen is been borderline great. Perkins has worked himself into being apretty reliable closer. They have some really nice looking players on the wayup. Patience is needed if you are a Twins fan.

AL West:

Texas Rangers (Wins: 54, Cost per Win: $2.3 Million) – I truly thought the Rangers would struggle thisyear without Hamilton, Napoli, and many unhealthy pitchers. They have pieced areally nice team together and have one of the best starting rotations inbaseball through the first half. All the money they gave to Yu Darvish seems tobe money well spent, Derek Holland has fulfilled some of his promise, and acouple of their young prospects including Martin Perez have been contributors.Adrian Beltre has led an offense that is above average and includes: a toolsyLeonys Martin, power hitting Cruz, and many other top hitters. The bullpenhas been one of the best in the league and Joe Nathan has done an exceptionaljob closing out games.

Oakland A’s (Wins: 56, Cost per Win: $1.1Million) – I lovewhat Billy Beane does and I think he may be there until the end of time. Hejust keeps digging into the farm and finding players to produce. It’s amazing.Josh Donaldson has a midseason MVP claim and he didn’t even make the all-stargame. I want to clarify that I have a major issue with that. They have managedWARs above average in each of the categories and there aren’t a lot ofhousehold names. Everyone seems to contribute and there is a different heroeach night. I loved the Bernie lean last year and this team has the same typeof mojo.

Los Angeles Angels (Wins: 44, Cost per Win:$3.2 Million) - Is ittoo early to be concerned about whether the organization is going to be able tosurvive under the weight of some of their lofty contracts. I get that ArteMoreno seems to find bundles of cash when the people around baseball leastexpect it. Maybe it was that he wanted to hide it until Torii Hunter signedelsewhere thinking it wouldn’t offend him after he signed. I don’t get it.Spending money for a need is one thing, but throwing cash at players over 30because they are simply household names is straining. Josh Hamilton has beendreadful and that has carried over from the second half of last year, whilePujols (even though he has been injured) hasn’t been the Pujols the Angelsthought they were going to get when they signed him. These two guys are makingclose to $45 million dollars more than Mike Trout, who is probably the bestoverall player on the planet. Another big problem is their pitching.

Seattle Mariners (Wins: 43, Cost per Win: $1.9Million) - Thisyouth movement has been atrociously disappointing. Player development, with theexception of Kyle Seager, has disappointed fans. Highly regarded prospectsincluding Dustin Ackley and Jesus Montero have had to be optioned to refinetheir swings and change positions. That being said, Nick Franklin looks like thereal deal and may turn into a top tier 2nd baseman very soon. It’snot happening this year though and they have some nice pieces to trade, namelyMorales and Ibanez. I say do it and try to get a young major league readyplayer or two and pray to the baseball Gods that some of their young playersdevelop and break out. Their closer got demoted for underperforming but thebullpen overall has performed nicely. Pitching has been good and it usually isin the thick air at Safeco. I’m glad for the fan base that they signed Felix toan extension to keep fans energized. This team could be on the brink ofbreaking out or they could be years away.

Houston Astros (Wins: 33, Cost per Win: $.8Million) – If ateam is going to go through a rebuilding process they should look at the Astros as a template on how to do it. They have stripped down to nothing and are rebuilding from the farm on up. And I’ll tell you what I see: a very bright future. I could spend pages talking about the depth and talent they have on theway up instead I am going to keep it simple. They have at least 5 top tier prospectsthat any team would be lucky to have. One of my favorite moves for them issaving money long-term by signing Jose Altuve to a team friendly contract thatextends beyond his arbitration years. Well done Astros and while it is painfulfor fans now the future is bright.

NL East:

Atlanta Braves (Wins: 54, Cost per Win: $1.7Million) – TheBraves started out the season really well, built up a huge lead, and are justcoasting now. They are at or just slightly above average in all WAR categoriesand they are doing it with a relatively low payroll considering the highprofile names on their team. I think it is easy to admit that the B.J. Uptonsigning was painfully bad and might haunt them for the next four and a halfyears. Freddie Freeman continues to be one of my favorite players. He hasproduced every year since he has come up and in my opinion is the best playeron that team and gets none of the prestige. I want to talk a lot about J.Up butI don’t think this is the place for it. He has been really disappointing aftera great start. I will leave it at that for now. The pitching has beenserviceable. Julio Teheren has finally developed into a decent option,Medlen has been sporadic (not the same Medlen from last year) but stillpretty good, and Beachy could elevate this staff upon his return from TommyJohn surgery. 

Washington Nationals (Wins: 48, Cost per Win:$2.5 Million) – It ishard for me to say that a team spending only $2.5 million per win has been adisappointment, but they have. The starting pitching has been above average andJordan Zimmerman can be thanked for that. It’s unfortunate he doesn’t get morecredit. The bullpen has been solid but not the unstoppable force we thoughtthey would be and they have a ton of money tied up in that category. Theirhitting always seems to be blah to me and their average WAR backs that up. IanDesmond is putting up monster numbers for a short stop and Bryce Harper is aspark plug and I love the way he plays the game. Anthony Rendon seems to be onthe brink of contributing big time. The rest of the team has kind ofunderperformed. They will still make the playoffs, maybe win the division, andmaybe even win a championship but a few people need to step up and now.

Philadelphia Phillies (Wins: 48, Cost per Win:$3.3 Million) – Holy oldfolks home! They have more than $80 million tied up into 3 pitchers: one has lookedgreat, one loves racking up loses, and one was really bad before going onto theDL. That being said they are still managing to compete. There have been a lotof questions about the direction they will take leading into the tradingdeadline. They are only 5 ½ out of a wild card spot and 6 ½ out of first in thedivision. It’s amazing how they have been able to stay afloat with so many DLstints but they have. They have a long rebuilding process ahead of them; I’mjust thinking they are trying to get one last push from their aging stars. Idon’t see it happening; I say break it up and start building while you can.

New York Mets (Wins: 41, Cost per Win: $2.3Million) – I havebeen waiting to get to this team because of their payroll. The New York Metshave nearly half of their payroll tied up into players that haven’t played asingle game for them this year. Johan Santana has been one of the worstsignings in recent memory but the contract will likely end following the 2013season, Jason Bay is playing for the Mariners while the Mets pay him (some ofit has been deferred), and I just learned recently they are paying BobbyBonilla more than $1 million a year from a contract that had been deferred. Nowonder they are struggling to be a competitor. That being said they are close.Zach Wheeler and Matt Harvey are providing affordable innings and theyhave a 3rd highly regarded prospect Noah Syndergaard on the way. DavidWright is in the top 5 in WAR and has stayed healthy the last two years, while therest of the offense has really struggled. Their bullpen has a few bright spotsbut has been merely average. When they can shed these bad contracts they canfinally start building up their offense

Miami Marlins (Wins: 35, Cost per Win: $1.1Million) – I am really disappointed with the Marlins. I don’t agree with the deceitfulness they exhibited inthe past two off-seasons. They have two of the best young players in baseballin Jose Fernandez and Giancarlo Stanton but they don’t seem to have a desire towin. It seems to me that they simply want to turn profits and don’t really careabout competing and thrilling their fan-base. And maybe they did the smartthing and broke it up when they realized it wouldn't work out but it certainly doesn’t look thatway to me. They’ll have to prove me wrong.

NL Central:

Cincinnati Reds (Wins: 53, Cost per Win: $2.1Million) – The Redsare another team with a lot of contributors. Their pitching has some holes init but a lot of that has to do with the injury to Cueto and uneven performancesby Homer Bailey. Mike Leake was forced to fight hard to maintain his rotationspot and has in the process become one of their best pitchers. Matt Latos is ayoung stud at only 25 and has performed better in hitter friendly GreatAmerican Ballpark than expected. The bullpen has been below average, which is a surprise butAroldis Chapman hasn't been quite as effective as last year. To be fair, thatwould have been hard to do. We knew they would hit and they have done exactlythat and Brandon Phillips have fared well producing from the cleanup spot. Theywill be around come October.

St Louis Cardinals (Wins: 57, Cost per Win: $2Million) – TheCardinals, in my opinion, are the best team in baseball in staying relevant yearafter year while managing to maintain a payroll in the middle of the pack. Likethe Rays they seem to have pitchers stock piled. Shelby Miller has been one ofthe best rookies this year and they have guys like Michael Wacha and CarlosMartinez waiting in the wings. That combined with the Cy Young caliber seasonthat Adam Wainwright has had has led them to the second highest WAR in baseball. Theirhitting has been equally good and that is because they are loaded with greatplayers including: the best catcher in the game, an established veteran in Beltran who isplaying as well as he ever has, and Allen Craig is an RBI magnet. Their onlyweakness is their bullpen but that has a lot to do with the injury to JasonMotte. Overall, might be the best team in baseball.

Pittsburgh Pirates (Wins: 56, Cost per Win:$1.2 Million) - To me itseems that the Pirates have been rebuilding for years. And the organization hasbeen patient doing it. The two previous years' terrible second halves derailedtheir dream of a winning record but the front office stuck with coach ClintHurdle, and it seems to be paying off. They have been flirting with the bestrecord in baseball all year and they are doing it with a minimal payroll thatranks in the bottom 5. McCutchen is a star, it seems Starling Marte may be too,Pedro Alvarez has incredible power, and they have a plethora of role playersthat have contributed. The pitching has been good with some veterans leadingthe way and young Jeff Locke looks like a future star if he isn’t therealready. Taking a chance on Grilli as a closer has proven brilliant. This istheir year.

Milwaukee Brewers (Wins: 38, Cost per Win: $2.3Million) – TheBrewers have been flat out bad. Carlos Gomez and Jean Segura are maybe the onlybright spots on this team and they have been spectacular sporting WARs above 3.Two great building blocks if you ask me. Braun has not been very good but I’msure his impending suspension has affected his mentality. Taking into accountthe whole pitching staff, they are the only team without a pitcher with a WARnorth of 1. Thankfully there payroll doesn’t have much allotted to pitchersotherwise this would look really bad. Having some nice young offensive piecesis promising but winning seems a ways away.

Chicago Cubs (Wins: 42, Cost per Win: $2.5Million) – TheCubbies just keep peeling back the layers. The problem is they are still beingweighed down but one contract that I am sure has haunted them for years andthat is the perennial $22 million check they write to Alfonso Soriano. They seemedto be moving in the right direction and then they dumped $52 million into EdwinJackson’s lap spread over 4 years. Garza has looked good but he is likely to beshipped out. Their bullpen averages a WAR below zero. On the offensive side ofthe ball Rizzo has taking a very small step back in terms of batting averageand Starlin Castro has taken a large step back and sports a negative WAR.Thankfully they have a farm system that is becoming well stocked. The future isnot now and might not be in the immediate future.

NL West:

Los Angeles Dodgers (Wins: 47, Cost per Win:$4.7 Million) - WorldSeries or bust?! I am pretty sure I heard those words come out of someone’smouth. I am going to try really hard to avoid the trade from last year and justlook at this year when it comes to the Dodgers. They are spending more per winthan everyone else in baseball and the results have been uneven. Yasiel Puighas been a spark plug and makes the front office look brilliant for signing himthrough 2018 for only $42 million. Hanley has shown signs of returning to theproduction of years past. However, Kemp has been hurt and not great whenhealthy, Ethier’s $85 million contract seems straining only one year in, andrest of the offense hasn’t been great either. My biggest problem with theDodgers is that they have 6starting pitchers making more than $10 million this year. Clayton Kershaw ismaybe the best pitcher in baseball, Grienke has gotten better, and Hyun-Jin Ryuhas impressed and it not one of those 6. They are flat out throwing money awayand they barely reached .500 before the break. I’m not impressed.

Arizona Diamondbacks (Wins: 50, Cost per Win:$1.8 Million) – PaulGoldshmidt is a rockstar and Arizona made the impressive move to lock him upthrough at least 2018. The rest of the offense has been pretty good. The onlyguy I am really concerned about is Miquel Montero. His numbers are way down andhis slugging is almost .100 points down from the last three years. PatrickCorbin has been spectacular and they have some other young pitchers that haveshown flashes of brilliance. They have a lot of contributors and they arewinning with a limited budget. I like what this team is doing and they arepretty young.

Colorado Rockies (Wins: 46, Cost per Win: $1.6Million) – If allyou had to do was hit the ball Colorado would be a force every year. MichaelCuddyer was a great short-term investment and the positive influence andproduction have been immeasurably important to their first have success. Tuloand Cargo have had predictably good seasons and have managed to stay on thefield for the most part. The bullpen has done a nice job. More importantly, thestarting pitching has been surprisingly competitive. I know Chatwood is strandingrunners at a rate that is probably too high to sustain but he has beenimpressive. And so has Chacin who has looked great the last few weeks. Whether theyare able to keep it up is obviously not known but this division is surprisinglyup for grabs.

San Diego Padres (Wins: 42, Cost per Win: $1.6Million) – There isnot much to say about the Padres. They seem to teeter back and forth betweenbuyers and sellers at this time of the year. They have a lot of potential…… butonly when it comes to swinging the bat. Gyorko is brought positive energy andproduction, Evereth Cabrera can’t be stopped on the base paths, and YonderAlonso seems poised to break out. That being said, they are near the bottom inWAR when it comes to starting pitching and bullpen. I mean really bad. Stults,a journeyman pitcher, has been the lone bright spot in an otherwise depressingrotation. The biggest problem is I don’t see an impending solution (Fried is only 19 and in lo-A). They aregoing to have to get involved in the free agent market if they can’t develop. If theywere really smart the would trade Headley for a large package and move Gyorkoback to third because his bat plays well there. Just my take.

San Francisco Giants (Wins: 43, Cost per Win:$3.2 Million) - Eventhough the Giants are spending way over the league average per win I don’t haveit in me to talk negatively about them. I say that because if they have taught us anything in the last threeyears it is that they know how to win. The Giantshaven’t been overly active in the free agent market over the last few years andI believe I know why: Barry Zito and Tim Lincecum. Zito came to the Giants on amonster contract that the Giants are still choking on and they are payingLincecum $22 million to have a below average WAR. That is pretty much areflection of the starting rotation as a whole. Additionally, Matt Cain hasseemingly fallen apart. In short, the strengths for the Giants in previousyears (pitching) has been quite suspect to put it mildly. Meanwhiletheir offense is performing well above the league average. That has really beena product of a team full of contributors. They desperately need their pitchingto reappear or they may spend October away from the field.

Starting Pitching (Avg. WAR)
The average team WAR in thisanalysis was 1.22.



Relief Pitching (Avg. WAR)
The average team WAR in thisanalysis was .25.



Hitters (Avg. WAR)
The average team WAR for thisanalysis was .93.




Payroll by Category for eachteam




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As part of the August AngelsWin.com FanFest this year, we will kick-off the weekend of fun with a golf outing at San Juan Hills Golf Club in San Juan Capistrano on Friday, August 16.
We will have a Shotgun start at 8:30.  The format is a Scrambles foursome.  Rental sets of clubs are available. There will be a raffle afterward while we wind down with a cold beverage and lunch.
All net proceeds for the event go to the Miracle League of OC.  This is a terrific event for the benefit of disabled children in our community.
The cost is $80 person and is tax deductible.
Contact Bruce Nye or Adam Dodge for additional details. 

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By Jonathan Northrop, AngelsWin.com Columnist - 
As we approach the July 31st trade deadline, conversations are swirling about what the Angels will, won’t, should and should not do: Should/will they buy, sell, or stand pat? If they buy (or sell) who goes and who comes in? And more so, how does what they do now impact the future?
To approach this question we have to look at two areas: the rest of 2013 and 2014 and beyond. Let’s take a look at both.
2013: “So you’re saying there’s a chance!” For 2013 it is quite simple and revolves around the question: Do the Angels have a reasonable shot at making the postseason? And, if so, what do they need to 1) increase the likelihood that they do and 2) improve their chances of going deep in the playoffs? A third question is, what can they do that wouldn't damage 2014 and beyond?
At this point, heading into a three game series versus the Mariners before the All Star Break (which is awfully late this year, after 93 games), the Angels are 44-46, 9 games out of first place in the AL West and 7.5 games out of a Wild Card spot with five teams ahead of them. That might sound grim but it’s a lot better than it was a few weeks ago.The Angels were probably at their lowest point on May 17th when they finished the day 15-27, a .357 winning percentage. Since then they've gone 29-19, a .604 pct. They've been playing particularly well of late: winning 11 of their last 14 and 17 of their last 25. 
The Angels have 16 games left before the end of July, the trade deadline. At that point they’ll have played 106 games and only have 56 left. Given their current place in the standings, there’s no clear answer to the question above. They certainly have “a shot” at making the playoffs but is it reasonable? Right now, considering how many games are left (72) and how they've been playing, the answer is yes. If you look at the teams ahead of them, they’re probably better than Cleveland, which leaves the Yankees, Orioles, Rays, and Rangers (or Athletics). They only need to out-play three of those teams.
As we will discuss shortly, the Angels offense is doing quite well right now. The pitching staff is holding its own, but is the obvious area of upgrade. The biggest way that the Angels can improve their chances of making—and succeeding in—the playoffs is by acquiring a quality starting pitcher, one better than Joe Blanton, Tommy Hanson, Jerome Williams, and Garret Richards.  Whether they do that or not depends a lot on how they play during the next two weeks, so stay tuned. Even so, if they continue to play very well and gradually gain ground, Jerry Dipoto might be tempted to sit pat and play with what has been working. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That said, it’s a scary thought making the postseason with one of the above being your fourth starter and you’re second best starter being CJ Wilson or Jason Vargas.
In the end it will come down to whether or not Dipoto can acquire a pitcher better than the “Crappy Quartet” above for a reasonable cost, or a more expensive cost but with a guaranteed multi-year contract. I’m not sure that pitcher is out there, and that its worth the cost in the few remaining prospects that the Angels have.
2014 and Beyond: Rebuild or Retool? For 2014 and beyond, the question is a bit more complex but actually rather similar: How to remain competitive and rebuild a weak farm system? The Angels have committed a ton of money to four players over the next three years:
2014: Pujols ($23M), Hamilton ($17M), Weaver ($16M), Wilson ($16M) = $72 million 2015: Pujols ($24M), Hamilton ($25M), Weaver ($18M), Wilson ($18M) = $85 million 2016: Pujols ($25M), Hamilton ($32M), Weaver ($20M), Wilson ($20M) = $97 million 2017: Pujols ($26M), Hamilton (32M) = $58 million for two players 2018-2021: Pujols ($27M, $28M, $29M, $30M)
What we can clearly see above is that there’s a 3-4 year plan – through 2016, the last year of Wilson and Weaver’s contracts – and a plan for 2017 and beyond. We’ll focus on the short-term because we can hope that, by 2017, the Angels’ farm system will be strong and vibrant again.
It should go without saying, but any plan for the future centers around Mike Trout. As I wrote just recently, not only is Trout a great player, according to Fangraphs’ WAR he’s been the best player in the history of the game through this point in his career. If he continues at his current pace he will surpass Mel Ott for the most WAR through his age 21 season – a remarkable feat. Trout is eligible for free agency starting in 2018, but we can hope that Jerry Dipoto will give him a mega-contract well before then, possibly as soon as this offseason. But whatever monster contract he is given will probably start kicking in big time after Weaver and Wilson come off the books.
Beyond Trout the Angels have a strong core of position players, most of whom will remain in their prime during the next few years. Erick Aybar is signed through 2016 and Howie Kendrick through 2015, with two of the best prospects at second base in Taylor Lindsey and Alex Yarbrough. Peter Bourjos and Mark Trumbo remain under club control through 2016, and the emerging Hank Conger through 2017. While top prospect Kaleb Cowart, who is penciled in as the third baseman of the future, a position that the Angels have struggled with since the departure of Troy Glaus, has struggled this year, he should still be ready by the time the steady Alberto Callaspo departs in 2015.
So again, the core lineup is set for the next few years – and should remain strong throughout.
The Angels have a notoriously weak farm system, one of the worst in baseball, in particular due to recent trades for Dan Haren, Scott Kazmir, and Zack Greinke that saw them lose Patrick Corbin, Tyler Skaggs, Alex Torres, and Jean Segura among others. The farm is just starting to show signs of life, but it is generally at the lower levels and there are still no truly standout prospects, and an alarming lack of decent arms. But given the above, the Angels don’t need any position player replacements – except for perhaps bench – for the next few years, other than third base and second base in 2016, and they have strong prospects at both positions. 
So even if the Angels wanted to throw all of their chips into that 2014-16 window, they don’t have many chips to work with. Certainly the outfield is crowded, so they could trade one of Trumbo or Bourjos, and one or more of Kole Calhoun and Randal Grichuk, not to mention one of two second basemen Alex Yarbrough or Taylor Lindsey. Unless the Angels trade Mark Trumbo, first baseman C.J. Cron is also expendable. Even then, if Albert Pujols is good to his word – he insists that he’ll be playing first base next year – both Trumbo and Cron could be traded, if the right scenario came up. But again, none of these players – with the possible exception of Trumbo and Bourjos – have the cache to bring in the type of pitchers that the Angels need.
And that’s the main weakness now and going forward: pitching. The offense, as of this writing (July 12) is finally firing on (almost) all cylinders. Even with a greatly reduced Albert Pujols, with Josh Hamilton being closer to the player they invested $133 million on, in addition to Mike Trout and a strong complementary cast of Kendrick, Aybar, Trumbo, Bourjos, and the Conger-Iannetta duo, the Angels can score some runs, and will continue to do so for the next few years. 
But the pitching? Well, a bullpen can be pieced together. It takes some Bill Stoneman-esque savvy, but it can be done without investing a huge amount of money or trading away good talent. But a starting rotation is more difficult.
The good news is that Jered Weaver seems to be back to his old tricks, with an improved velocity and his typical excellent command making him, if not a Cy Young contender, in the next tier down. C.J. Wilson has been erratic, but good overall. He continues to oscillate between a #2 and #3 starter, but seems to be gradually improving as the season goes on (his 3.37 ERA is the lowest its been since the 4th inning of his first start on April 3rd).
It is after those two that it gets tricky. Jason Vargas is injured but has been a passable #3 or a strong #4 starter. Joe Blanton has pitched very well of late, but got rocked recently. He’s signed for another year but is no more than rotation filler, which is the same with Tommy Hanson and Jerome Williams. The Angels seem to have given up on Garret Richards, who is stuck in middle relief, neither improving his trade value or learning how to be a major league starter.
So if we take the premise that the lineup is basically set for the next few years, with a possible tweak here or there, and that the bullpen can be cobbled together year-to-year, the key to the 2014-2016 window is improving the rotation. Joe Blanton and Jerome Williams aren't the answer, neither seemingly is Tommy Hanson. Jason Vargas is a nice player to have as your #4 or #5 starter on a championship rotation, but he shouldn’t be your third best starter, at least not if your second best is the erratic CJ Wilson. Garret Richards needs time, but Scioscia seems to lack confidence in him.
Starters are often broken down into five types which follow the #1-5 format, but I’m going to use three. The first category is the staff ace – a pitcher that you look to for your big game, someone who is a true #1 or #2 starter, with have an ERA around 3.00 or lower and can win games for you. The second category is your workhorse – the type of pitcher that has an ERA in the mid to upper 3.00s and will keep you in most games, giving the offense a chance to win almost any game. These are the type of pitchers a good team has in the #3-4 slots. The third category is filler – either young guys learning the ropes or mediocre pitchers trying their best to give the offense a chance to win. These are the type of pitchers who fill the #5 slot and don’t pitch in the postseason, except in long relief.
A championship caliber rotation generally has at least two aces and two workhorses, or at least one ace and three to four workhorses. In the above formulation, the Angels have:
Ace: Weaver Workhorse: Wilson, Vargas Filler: Blanton, Hanson, Williams, Richards
So the answer is simple but, of course, easier said than done: at least one of those filler starters needs to be swapped out for an ace, and/or two filler starters swapped out for a workhorse or two.
Easy, right? Well, aces don’t grow on trees and, according to MLB Trade Rumors, there are none available via free agency next year. The best starters on that list are all workhorses – Bronson Arroyo, Hiroki Kuroda, Matt Garza, Josh Johnson, Ervin Santana, etc.
So the Angels are left with two choices:  1) Trade for an ace, and/or 2) Trade for or sign two or more workhorses
It seems clear that the first order of business would be to sign Jason Vargas. Blanton and his $7.5M contract for 2014 aren't going anywhere, so he’s either a filler or a long reliever. Hanson and Williams are expendable and unless the Angels think that Hanson can someone rebuild himself, both can either go or be resigned for peanuts and depth.
One big question mark is Garret Richards. He has the potential to be a workhorse, but how is he going to actualize it? The Angels need to get him starts, which probably won’t happen this year unless they fall far out of contention. Even so, they need at least one more starter this offseason.
Summary The above convinces me that things aren't quite as dire as they might seem, given the terrible first half. The offense should be very good for the next few years and the pitching staff can be worked with. But there is a clear need for at least one, preferably two, more good to very good starting pitchers.
The problem, though, is that there’s no clear route to building a truly championship caliber rotation. Barring some unforeseen trade for an ace, the best the Angels can hope for is a staff of Weaver, Wilson, Vargas, another workhorse type, and a host of fillers that includes Blanton, Richards, and possibly Hanson or Williams.  It seems unlikely that they would sign two workhorses, unless they don’t extend Vargas. 
Now obviously Jerry Dipoto is capable of surprising us – he’s done so before (for better or worse) and will likely do so again. But I think it is clear that the focus of whatever machinations he and his staff are working on right now, is starting pitcher, both for the short and long-term. It is the obvious, even striking, hole on this team both in 2013 and the future. Expect him to deal from the team’s few areas of depth – outfield and middle infield – and reel in a quality starting pitcher or two. I’m not sure it will happen this year, but that’s the route I think he should, and will, take.
But again, things aren't as bad as they seemed to be about a month ago, especially in the future. The Angels are one or two starters away from being a contending club for the next few years, and beyond that…well, they have time, and they have Mike Trout. View the full article

Jered Weaver's wife, Kristin, gave birth to the couple's first child on Friday. He weighed eight pounds, measured 21 inches and his first name was Aden -- in honor of the Angels pitcher whose death left a hole in Weaver's heart.
View the full article

By Ellen Bell, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer -    By Ellen Bell, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer -    Kathy Mair and I have something in common.    Once a year, we find ourselves in a room full of men who are scouring over stats and bidding on baseball players.   The only difference is that her baseball draft isn't a fantasy and there's more at stake than bragging rights and beer.   As Baseball Administration Coordinator, Kathy Mair works at the heart of Angels Baseball Operations. She is the contact person for staff that work offsite, such as minor league affiliates and scouting personnel. Even though she works with such crucial aspects as contracts and payroll, one of her main responsibilities is preparing for the amateur baseball draft every June.   Draft preparation gets busy in February, when scouts begin to send in material about amateur players from collegiate leagues and Fall Ball play. Mair inputs the gathered information  and creates player magnets, color-coded by position, for use on Draft Day.    "It gets pretty hectic in April, May and June," Mair said. "The Angels look at about 700 players each season and everything has to be ready for Draft Day."   The selection process begins before the start of the first draft round. General Manager Jerry Dipoto, Director of Baseball Operations Justin Hollander, and Coordinator of Scouting Nate Horowitz listen to recommendations from regional scouts. Information is broken down, analyzed and matched with specific team needs.     On Draft Day, Mair is one of about 30 people in the room, waiting and watching as players are taken off the board and drafted by other teams. Each team has one minute to make its selection.   "It's an exciting time for the organization," said Mair. "There's this great energy surrounding the draft because of the expectation of what these players might bring."   After the draft, Mair is the main contact for the young players and their families. Here,  her role is decidedly maternal.    "I always tell the moms that they can call me if they have questions," she said. "Guys aren't really good at communicating about logistics and sons don't usually give their moms all the details. If I was the mother of one of these kids, I'd want someone to answer my questions too."   Mair has enjoyed a special relationship with Mike Trout's mom, Debbie.    "I grew up about 20 minutes away from their home in New Jersey," Mair said. "They bring a little piece of home whenever they come to visit."   It was there that Kathy Mair grew up dreaming of being a broadcaster for her beloved Philadelphia Phillies. Her aspirations led her to a Communications degree from Elizabethtown College and a summer media internship for the Phillies broadcast affiliate.    Sometimes dreams change when they become a reality. Even though Mair discovered that the broadcast booth wasn't for her, she never lost her love for baseball. She continued to work in the front office for several minor league franchises. During her time at the Cleveland minor league afffiliate, the Kinston Indians, she saw a glimpse of her future.   "There was a woman there who did what I do now. Until then I didn't know that a job like this existed."   After five years working as the assistant to the general manager of the Lake Elsinore Storm, Kathy Mair applied for the job with the Angels. Now she spends 8-12 hour workdays immersed in the sport that she loved as a kid.    "You have to love baseball to do this," Mair said. "It would be a pretty long day of you didn't."   So what's it like to work in a department as the only female?    "No one treats me any differently. We all just do our jobs."   She admitted that her co-workers tease her when she roots for players because they are nice guys, not necessarily because of their baseball skills."   "I guess it's the girl in me," she said.

By Danny Farris, AngelsWin.com Contributor -
 
What's up Halo fans! June has come to a close with a good run by the Angels to finish a rocky month. Many people were speculating that the June 20 roller coaster ride of a win against the Mariners would be the turning point of the year. While they went on to lose the next three, they've rattled off 7 straight wins against good teams, which is where we're at today. Hard to say whether we can continue to win, but if we continue playing at a high level into the All Star Break, who knows where they will end up. Just be sure to buckle your seatbelt, because either way it's going to be a wild ride.
 
The month of June in the Fan Cave has been awesome. My last blog was written the day after Cano came into the Cave and we've had a bunch of awesome and fun players come in since then. Evan Gattis came in shortly after and he's one of our favorite guests to come by. We also had an event for the top draft prospects on the day of the draft and it was cool to meet these kids who could someday be starts. Travis Snider came by for a food tasting event (which I won by the way, not a big deal).
 
And while everything was awesome the past month, two visits stick out to me: the first one is a tough one to swallow because Dodgers - it was when Yasiel Puig came by. We didn't know for sure whether or not if he was coming the night before, but to just be on call basically. We woke up to an email from one of the PR guys asking for us to be at the Cave in like a half an hour because Puig might be coming in very soon. Marcus (White Sox fan and my roommate) scrambled around and got to the Cave where we met with the rest of the Dwellers and the understandably excited Aaron (the Dodgers fan). Sure enough, he walks through the door with a local barber who has come by before. After getting a tour, he gets his hair cut and hangs out for a bit. He was actually a really shy guy when he first came in and it took a little while for him to open up. His hands were as big as bear claws. When it came time for him to get out of here, word had gotten around on Twitter and there was a LARGE number of Dodger fans at the door waiting to get an autograph from Puig. We had to form a human shield for him to get to his car. It was ridiculous. Puig Mania. What was really cool though, is that he took the time to take pictures and sign autographs for the kids that had shown up to see him. Good guy Puig. If you have a minute, check out thevideo of his visit here.
 
The second visit that really stuck out this past month was when Angels fan Sarah Colonna came by! She's awesome. If you don't know, Sarah is a writer for Chelsea Lately and a huge Angels fan. She had a few days off form the show, came out to NYC to visit a friend and checked out the Fan Cave while she was here. Ricardo Marquez (who works in MLB PR now) came by to hang out too. It was the only time where Angels fans outnumbered any other fan in the Cave. Glorious moment. Sarah was really sweet, enjoyed her time here and is going to come back for when the Angels are out in New York in August. If you don't follow her on Twitter, follow her @sarahcolonna.
 
I wanted to get a blog out before the All-Star game because we will be attending the Derby, the game, and whatever else they have planned for us. I will be doing my best to represent the Angels and Angels fans everywhere! I'll be sure to update everybody after the game but until then, GO ANGELS!