Pablo

Baines has to be the most-improved HOFer ever. 
6.1% of the vote was the highest percentage he received while on the regular ballot. 

Stay classy

Then he won’t order the fries.   
 
 
That is an awesome comment that if youre you’re interested in an explanation hit me up.  

I was pretty lacquered up! 

The hit sequencing issue seems really insightful to me. Without digging too deeply, it just seems like the "need", or perhaps "felt need" to put AP in the heart of the order could be responsible for alot of that. I was never on the Dump Scioscia bandwagon, but creating an effective lineup is the managers most important day-to-day contribution. I don't know if Ausmus will have the leeway (or the stones) to make lineup modifications, but that sure seems to be an area that needs to be shored up.

https://www.mlb.com/news/scouting-top-contenders-to-sign-shohei-ohtani/c-262478194
http://larrybrownsports.com/baseball/yankees-seen-favorites-shohei-otani/409825
https://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2017/11/mlb_free_agency_rumors_yankees_supreme_favorite_fo.html
And there's a lot more where that came from, and also just as entertaining, the hurt other teams endured in their failure....
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/12/shohei-ohtani-mlb-los-angeles-angels-decision-sign-mariners-stunned-sad-fan-reaction
And the there was the reaction to his Spring Training....
https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/news/mlb/shohei-ohtani-baseballs-biggest-bust/
I post these as a reminder for all of us. Shohei Ohtani is an Angel, and didn't even give the Yanks a chance. Then he led the Mariners on to trade actual prospect us for international money, only to leave them high and dry. 
The truth is, NONE OF US know who will sign where or how good or bad they'll be. Not Jon Paul Morosi, not Tim Brown, not Andy Behrens, not Ken Rosenthal. A year ago, the Angels weren't even a dark horse candidate for Ohtani. Then after they landed him, it was only because he's not as good as everyone thinks.
His rookie year was a campaign to shut everyone, including the experts....the heck up. And I'm grateful for it. 
 

The hit sequencing issue seems really insightful to me. Without digging too deeply, it just seems like the "need", or perhaps "felt need" to put AP in the heart of the order could be responsible for alot of that. I was never on the Dump Scioscia bandwagon, but creating an effective lineup is the managers most important day-to-day contribution. I don't know if Ausmus will have the leeway (or the stones) to make lineup modifications, but that sure seems to be an area that needs to be shored up.

By Robert Cunningham, Angelswin.com Senior Writer
Before we can make educated guesses at what moves the Angels will make over the 2018-2019 off-season, we need to understand what they did produce in 2018. You cannot fix something if  you do not know what is broken or in need of repair.
Below are two tables, that include all 30 MLB teams, with one sorted by ‘wRC+’ and the other by FanGraphs ‘DEF’:
2018 MLB Teams Sorted by Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+)

2018 MLB Teams Sorted by FanGraphs Defense (DEF)

As you can see the Angels did relatively well, ranking in the top half of all teams in both wRC+ and DEF. As a team against LHP the team performed poorly, ranking 23rd out of all 30 teams in wRC+. Versus RHP, they did well ranking 6th overall using the same metric. Generally, the offense benefited a bit more from slugging in the batter’s box as evidenced by their ranking in home runs and ISO for the year.
Flipping to the pitching side, there are two tables below, one for starters and the other for relievers, listing all 30 teams, sorted by K%-BB%:
2018 MLB Teams (Starters) Sorted by Strikeout Minus Walk Percentage (K-BB%)

2018 MLB Teams (Relievers) Sorted by Strikeout Minus Walk Percentage (K-BB%)

Here, the Angels were middle-of-the-pack, with the rotation doing a bit better than the bullpen. Results against left-handed hitters were average while the outcome versus right-handed hitters was a little less palatable.
So what gives? Why did the Angels not perform better overall?
It is actually really difficult to point to any one thing as the root cause as nothing in particular stands out. Offense and defense were above average. The rotation was a touch above average and the relief corps was below average, but not terribly so.
Interestingly, Angels hitters led the League in Pull% as seen in the table below:

This means they hit the ball to the same side of the batter’s box, rather than hitting it up the middle or to the opposite part of the field. This almost certainly contributed to their BABIP issue as it became easier for opposing teams to set up defensive shifts on our hitters (ranked 28th with a wRC+ of 63) because they know we hit the ball so much to one side of the field.
The caveat to hitting the ball so much to the pull side is that the Angels were 8th overall in Hard% contact, which allowed them to defeat those defensive shifts more often because their exit velocities off the bat were harder, putting the ball over the head or out of the reach of defenders. The teams line drive (LD%) and fly ball (FB%) percentages reflect their ability to keep the ball in the air at a consistently above average rate.
One may be apt to wonder if the Halos and perhaps other teams have discovered an inefficiency or advantage to stacking the lineup with so many pull-side hitters with better hard-hit rates? A lot of teams with high Pull% rates also happen to be playoff contenders so it makes one wonder what the advantage may be or is it simply coincidence.
Maybe hitting to the outfield corners, more, is an advantage for right-handed hitters because defensively most teams place their worst outfield defenders in left field? Could power to the corners potentially be advantageous due to ballpark dimensions, overall? There seems to be something to it and it could be a combination of both pull hitting and power and maybe other factors, like the ones above, this analysis did not deep dive into at this time.
Earlier in the season the Angels were running a reasonably modest run differential but then, once the season got out of reach, ended up at -1 to end the year. Additionally they over-performed their expected runs (RE24) a bit but it was marginal in comparison to other teams as seen below:

Hit sequencing (RE24 minus Bat) was an issue as the Angels ranked 24th overall at 8.38 (for reference the League average was 29.08). This simply means that the team as a whole did not score as many runs as expected based on their below average hit sequencing from batter to batter in the lineup. We should note that the team’s focus on pull power and the resulting defensive shifts probably impacted this hit sequencing calculation.
Looking at team stats with runners in scoring, men on base, and bases empty, the Angels were average or better overall based on wRC+ so that was a marginal positive in their favor.
Walks were a touch below League average (bad). Strikeouts were below average (good). Offensive Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP) was worst in the League so that hurt the team. Pitching BABIP was average.
So beyond the raw numbers, perhaps their absence from the post-season had something to do with the individual players?
Certainly, there were members of the team who under-performed, some wildly so, and we will examine in detail each position in subsequent articles of the Primer Series.
Over the past handful of years, the Angels have run out more of a stars and scrubs type of team with players like Mike Trout, Andrelton Simmons, Justin Upton, and Shohei Ohtani, being the more notable producers, and a laundry list of league average or replacement players trying their best to compete, but simply unable to make a significant impact in many cases. It did not help that the pitching staff had so many injuries as well.
In the end you can continue to parse out the season but it really just comes down to some bad luck, unfortunate circumstances (injuries), and some mediocrity among individual members of the team. Better luck with balls in play (really hitters who can spray the ball), a boost in production against left-handed pitchers, and an improved bullpen would put the Angels in an enhanced spot, assuming the other 2018 numbers hold true in 2019.
The actual fix here is broad but solvable. Finding one or more position players with high on-base skills, the ability to capably handle left-handed pitching, and maintain quality defense will be important. Adding a starter and perhaps a bullpen piece that can improve our numbers against both left- and right-handed hitters, particularly the latter, will be a tremendous improvement too, particularly in the rotation. Above all, health and team depth will be keys to the Angels success in 2019.
It is up to Billy Eppler to build a winner and it seems like the base is there, just like last off-season, to create a competitive team to take the Angels to the playoffs and a chance to win their 2nd World Series Championship.
In the next section we will discuss Team Depth.
View the full article

and horrible englishers 

Nah. I was raised to respect others, and do what is right. You should try doing the same, or just put a dodger hat on. You’ll fit right in.

Let’s say they very aggressively make changes to ensure they are contenders in the next 2 years. What does that cost? Giving up a lot of prospects? Signing free agents to bloated deals that will be horrible in 3 years?
Doesn’t that actually make it less appealing for Trout?
You don’t need to convince him you’re going to be good in 19-20. He has no choice where he plays in those years. You need to convince him you’re going to be good from 2021-2030. 
So, what do you suppose is the best way to do that?

Reed is a Dirtbag. Thumbs up.

Sneak peak and Tyler Skaggs for 2019...
 
 

Can we create a position for 'Zen Coach'?  Or maybe that's the "Z" in Zhealth?
 

Can we create a position for 'Zen Coach'?  Or maybe that's the "Z" in Zhealth?
 

Can we create a position for 'Zen Coach'?  Or maybe that's the "Z" in Zhealth?
 

We don't do gut feelings anymore.  Only probability decisions.

I owe a lot of people here (who posted on the OMB)  an apology. This seems like the appropriate thrad to do this. Over eight years ago, when I was living in the Anaheim/Orange County Area, I was what a lot of people would refer to as a troll on the Angels OMB (no longer exists). A couple of months after I settled in Colorado Springs, CO; I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, and that opened my eyes as I learned about this disability. For anyone with Bipolar Disorder, feelings and views are usually very unstable, and therefore are often very inaccurate. After learning this, the trolling stopped. I have gotten along very well out here in my new home these last few years. I am a Civilian Contract Worker out at the U.S. Army Post at Fort Carson, I have written and published a few books, and celebrating 28 years as a Member of Toastmasters International. Again, I apologize to everyone.

HaloFan - thanks for the thread and the memories! Had no idea you were the old 'Beerman'!!  I've been Pablo since the early days on LATimes board. Good ol' Carl Golden - every board has an adversary. He had a partner in crime, too; remember Leisure Suit? He was like a stat-driven version of Carl.
 

Chucks fault since his server password was password. 

Thanks HH! 
 
I no longer have a problem with "that other site" or the Rev. Way past that, despite an ugly history and friendly fire that went on for a long time. The people that post there like their setup and content, our members & lurkers here prefer what we offer. To each his own!  

Dear Fellow Angels Supporters:
Under the heading, be careful of what you ask for, as you may get it, Mike Scioscia is gone, just as many of you have been so anxious to see for years.  
I recognize that I may receive hate mail, but I believe Mike was a really good manager.  Here are my reasons (not in any particular priority order):
 
His players loved him, even when they had losing seasons.  In 19 years, he never lost the club house.  That is amazing.  Orlando Cabrera said he was the best manager he ever played for.  Torri Hunter,  Juston Upton,   Garrett Anderson, Mike Trout, Otani, etc, --they all loved playing for Mike.  Lots of manager lose the clubhouse when seasons go south.  That never happened with the Angels under Sosh.  To me, that says something about his ability to manage the clubhouse. You can't blame Mike for the past 3 seasons,  How can a team win when four fifths of their starting rotation is gone for the season.  I think it's incredible that the team was as good as it was last year and this year they projected a rotation of Richards, Otani, Skaggs, Ramirez, and Shoemaker.  Basically, except for Skaggs, the rest were out for the year and Skaggs had at least 3 stints on the DL.  You take 4 starters out of most teams, and I think they may have trouble competing.  Yes, I know Oakland managed it this year, but I suggest that is an outlier. I think it's amazing how Sosh developed quality bullpens despite significant injuries over the years.  Last year, Street basically missed the entire season.  This year, Kenyon Middleton  missed the season.   His players love the guy, his peers respect the guy as as very knowledgeable, and the Angels fans have, by and large, ripped him since I have been on this site.  I really don't get it.  When he had talent, the team won.  When his team was destroyed by injuries they often were still in the hunt late in the season.  And most importantly, to me, it speaks volumes that in 19 years he never list the clubhouse.  That is very rare.
It's not his fault the club signed Josh Hamilton, Pujols and Vernon Wells.  He and the entire club suffered as a result.  It's not his fault that Dipoto savaged the farm system , leaving the Angels with little talent to draw on for years. 
Of course, I hope the Angels select a great manager and I am confident they will.  They should be much improved next year, as many of their pitchers are set to return (Ramirez, Shoemaker, Bridwell, Middleton, Meyer).

Cron finishes with a .280/.360/.500 slash.  
But not for the Angels.
 

NO OHTANI !?!?!