gurn67

Moniak also has a penchant for swinging at pitches that only travel 57 feet, so there’s that also.

Guys like Renfroe go up there and try to hit the ball 450 feet, regardless of the situation. We aren't moving runners over, we aren't playing small ball. It's just grip it and rip it. 
Missing guys like Trout and.....Rendon....definitely doesn't help. But the situational hitting is just fucking bad.

Evidently guys like Moniak have a zone that's pretty damn large including ankles to nose. 

It’s sad that some random poster can do the research in the flaws of the Angels and their approach, yet who knows if the angels are aware, and if they are aware, clearly aren’t able to fix or coach it down to the players. 
 
Meanwhile the Dodgers can turn every struggling player they acquire around into a productive player because whatever data they are receiving , they have the coaches that know how to put it to use. 

Maybe Shohei is playing because he loves the game and he feels that he has a responsibility to the fans and to fulfill the obligation he made when he signed his contract for this season to continue. He's not an ordinary modern player. Most would have already stopped.

It's nice to know that I wasn't imagining that this team had the worst 2 strike approach at the plate that I have ever seen. Swing from the heels and hope for the best. Productive outs? What are those? Those don't show up in your stats. That's the way it's been for the last 8 years.

Maybe Shohei is playing because he loves the game and he feels that he has a responsibility to the fans and to fulfill the obligation he made when he signed his contract for this season to continue. He's not an ordinary modern player. Most would have already stopped.

It's nice to know that I wasn't imagining that this team had the worst 2 strike approach at the plate that I have ever seen. Swing from the heels and hope for the best. Productive outs? What are those? Those don't show up in your stats. That's the way it's been for the last 8 years.

Sad part about this is the same thing could've been said about this team almost every year since 2015.  
Funny thing about this is I used to blame Bane for the Angels being like this 10+ years ago, recalling his infamous line (paraphrasing) "I came here to see a hitter - a player takes a walk, I'm walking to my car"
But for some set of reasons, this team haven't been able to field a team for 162 that can "hit" - other than home runs.
Our OBP/wOBA/RS stats are average, at best, for most seasons.  It's injuries, lack of depth, too-young or 2nd tier players taking too many AB's.  
Is it all just bad luck?  Or something else?
 

I did a data project for fun from the beginning of the season through August 17th. Finding a baseline and helpful data took quite a bit of time. I didn't want to vomit too much data, but figured to share some data snapshots, such as specific counts being met and what follows. I hope this helps a little.
“We want our guys to be aggressive — aggressive in the zone,” said Angels hitting coach Marcus Thames. “Pitchers are trying to get ahead. So I want our guys’ mindset to be ready to go attack. If the ball’s in your zone, be ready to go.” - The Athletic
Looking at RISP, advanced data shows when the Angels have counts 0-1 & 0-2, and they're top in strikeouts and lowest in average. They're in the middle of the pack when they make contact in 0-2 counts. They’re close to average in 1-1 and 2-1 counts. Swinging early has put them in holes, causing them to slip further.
The Angels lead the league in 1st pitch swing percentage, tied for the highest whiff percentage and worst zone contact in MLB. [Provided by Baseball Savant]
For example, in 0-2 counts, the Angels’ batting avg is 30th (.136) and MLB avg is .177, OPS: 25th (MLB avg is .478) Angels are .414. Batted balls in play, the Angels are 29th, and most of the top offensive teams are in the top half. They’re 4th in strikeout rate. When they make contact in 0-2 counts, they’re about average. Surprisingly, they're  2nd in walk % from 0-2 counts. [Found in Fangraphs].
I interpreted it as Angel hitters getting behind early, not making contact in the zone, and with each strike, they are one of the worst teams in the league, making contact as the count has additional strikes and whiffing often. They have too many guys who can’t make contact, miss too much in the zone, and can't adequately work counts. While they can get walks, they fail to put the ball in play and make decent contact. Aggression has made counts tougher to handle, as they’re too challenged as hitters. This could add to why they slump when they get so cold due to a lack of making contact. Maybe scouting is off, but it starts with preparation and putting hitters in better opportunities to succeed.

The Angels need a couple more "contact guys" in the line up.   Assuming everyone is healthy let Trout, Ohtani and Moose swing from the heels.  Everyone else should be a line drive/hit the other way contact guy that can homer every once in a while liket Neto and Rengifo.

Maybe Shohei is playing because he loves the game and he feels that he has a responsibility to the fans and to fulfill the obligation he made when he signed his contract for this season to continue. He's not an ordinary modern player. Most would have already stopped.

CJ quit in his last contract year, refused to pitch but took the money instead of retiring. Fuck him. 

Grichuk and Cron really have no business being on the team in September. I'd say the same thing for Renfroe. Cut all three of them and let them get picked up by another team in contention. 
Just let Cabbage play RF and Adams play LF and platoon with Mickey Moniak once Trout is back ...if he comes back.
Adams sucked defensively in his first stint with the Angels but everyone I talked to says he's an above average outfielder defensively with good range. I say see what you got in your own guys, not dudes that won't be around next year. 

That and Luis Rengifo continues to establish himself as one of the best leadoff men in the AL. 
Rengifo: .344/.400/.594 .994 OPS hitting leadoff. 
I wonder once Schanuel is back what they do there? Rengifo clearly blows in comparison at other spots in the lineup compared to leadoff. 
Could the Angels go with this lineup going forward?
SS Rengifo
1B Schanuel
DH Ohtani
2B Drury
3B Moustakas
C O'Hoppe
......

That is Lopez 6th blown save this year to go with 6 saves. Estevez has 28 saves and 2 blown saves. Those that tried to anoint Lopez as the closer over Estevez are out of their minds.

That's why I think there is a higher chance that he stays now, at least for the next couple of years. One thing he gets from Moreno, that he can't guarantee that he will get elsewhere is he gets to do whatever he wants here. He obviously wants to play every single game. Maybe he didn't know the extent of the injury after the first game of the doubleheader, but he knew he was hurt. He still went out and played the 2nd game. I can't think of any other current player that would have done that. 
Arte will have to give him an opt out, maybe even multiple opt outs, to get it done though. 

I don't know what the total will be. However, they'll win a bunch of meaningless games the last week and drop at least a couple of spots in the draft. They seem to always do that. I am hoping they don't finish with a .500 record. I want the shame of 8 consecutive losing seasons to sit squarely on the shoulders of Arte.

I totally agree. Judge got $360,000,000 coming off a healthy age 30 season. Ohtani will be coming off an injury after his age 29 season. However, I think he gets more guaranteed than Judge. In fact, I think he still gets more guaranteed than Trout's $426,500,000 who was coming off a healthy age 27 season. He will also get opt outs so that if he resumes pitching, he can enter free agency again, or force whichever club he signs with to renegotiate a new deal. I'm not saying he deserves more than they got, but he will. He's by far the best free agent available this season. There's no one even close. There's no Plan B player for the teams that don't get him. 

Why would Ohtani do that?
He could just get a big guaranteed deal and get an opt out or have pitching bonuses included to account for the fact that his pitching career is uncertain. 

Is it just me, or are the 2023 Rangers and the 2023 Mariners looking a lot like the 1995 Angels and 1995 Mariners?

Let's not forget his .165 batting average with RISP and .148 with RISP and 2 outs. He's paid to drive in runs. That's what they brought him here to do.

Mets, Padres and Yankees….

Is it just me, or are the 2023 Rangers and the 2023 Mariners looking a lot like the 1995 Angels and 1995 Mariners?