DoubleOffTheWall

This was an excellent postseason, full of some pretty talented teams. I didn't get to watch as much as usual as I was traveling internationally for work but it was great to see teams like the Royals, Mets, Cubs, Blue Jays and even the Astros do so well. The game has changed significantly in recent years and due to this, I think we all know the Angels need to implement some changes in the way they approach team building going forward, and I think this postseason informs on that effort greatly. Here are some of my takeaways from this postseason:
 
- Hitting and starting pitching? No, more like bullpen and great defense - I think the mantra for awhile has been - you need great hitters and starting pitchers, and that is true no doubt. But I think what we saw from the Royals is that a lockdown pen and great defense are just as important. The Mets had a somewhat soft underbelly within their bullpen ranks, and it got exposed, while the Royals pen was so strong, that it allowed the starters to just concentrate on going 5-6 innings and keeping the damage to a minimum (hmmm, sounds familiar angel fans...) We also saw the ranks of other pens exposed such as the Doyers and Astros. 
 
What is good here is that you can always build a pen. It takes forever to develop top notch starters, and not everyone pans out. But every offseason, you have a chance to build a strong pen. 
 
The other thing here is defense. The royals have incredible defense. They are not error-free (see hosmer in game 1 of the WS), but in general, you simply cannot have defense lapses in the playoffs. Our Angels committed a plethora of errors in the 09 and 05 ALCS, and you see from the Giants and ROyals' recent runs - you don't have to hit amazingly well or even have three Aces, but you simply cannot make fielding mistakes. 
 
What this means for the Angels:
 
The pen - Our pen needs work. I am still confident in Street and in Gott, but aside from that, we probably need 2 more arms, preferably that throw heat. I think we need to see what we have in Rasmus as a 6th or 7th inning guy, and probably need to sign one established flamethrower out of the pen. 
 
In the minors, it seems we have not produced a legit reliever in years, with Jepsen being the closest thing. Its a shame that our system produced Percival, Donnelly, Krod and then has not produced a single noteworthy reliever since. 
 
Defense - In my opinion, our defense is lacking in three key areas: Left field, third base and 2nd base. I think we're all aware of the fact that we need offense from those positions as well, but I don't think we can afford to have a one-dimensional player in any of those spaces - As we attempt to fill those holes, we need players that can hit and field. I think of Freese. he can hit, but his defense leaves something to be desired. I think of Gia - he is a decent clutch hitter with some offensive upside, but I highly doubt he becomes a stalwart defensive player.
 
- Offensively, you need a blend of power, contact, and speed: When we think of the Royals, we say yeah they are great contact hitters, and this is true. They put the ball in play, and when that happens, you constantly test the other team. However, let's be real here - that offense was actually very balanced with legit power hitters, contact, and speed. The lineup was incredibly deep, with guys like Gordon and Rios hitting 8th and 9th, and the middle supported by solid hitters like Hosmer, Morales, Cain, Moustakous. Speed was present at the top of the order for KC and off the bench in spades. 
 
What this means for the Angels: When I think about offense (compared to pitching, defense and the pen), I realize this team is really in some trouble. We have some decent power hitters, but lack significantly in contact, speed and depth. We have too many players striking out including Calhoun and Trout, and the contact hitters are almost non-existent, as well as speed. But most of all, the lineup simply has no depth, especially at the top and the very bottom. While I wouldn't call Alcides Escobar a great hitter, he had the ability to simply cause chaos, as we saw in the ALCS. For the mets, Granderson has always been a dangerous force that can put up crooked numbers to start off any game. We pretty much have none of that. At the bottom, players like Ianetta, Featherston, and even Giavotella just aren't good enough. 
 
The offensive side of things is going to be difficult to fix.
 
Based on all the above, I think we need to focus first on things in this order:
 
- The pen (easiest area to build up in one offseason)
- Defense (too important to ignore) 
- Offense (with the focus on contact and speed more than on power. With such glaring holes, this area will take longer than this offseason to shore up and thus, I think if we want to remain competitive, we support the pen and defense first and plug in offense where possible)  
- Starting pitching (with our available resources, I'm not sure we even touch this area this offseason) 
 
 
 

the mota interviews would be epic.Doc, with them having almost identical numbers, would this qualify cespedes as a torii imposter?

Having a great player like cain bunt in the 8th with no outs was scioscia-esque

KC has a sick offense this year. Hosmer, Gordon, Cain, Morales is a pretty good core. 

To me, the mets are going to be the successors of the giants and have followed their blueprint. Their 3 aces remind me of a young lincecum, cain and bumgarner. Both teams utilized and concentrated their resources on building up the rotation - the way it should be.
On offense, while they dont boast incredible hitters, they have soild veterans who deliver timely hits.
The blueprint isn't really that hard, GMs and teams have really made this more complicated than it has to be.

To me, the mets are going to be the successors of the giants and have followed their blueprint. Their 3 aces remind me of a young lincecum, cain and bumgarner. Both teams utilized and concentrated their resources on building up the rotation - the way it should be.
On offense, while they dont boast incredible hitters, they have soild veterans who deliver timely hits.
The blueprint isn't really that hard, GMs and teams have really made this more complicated than it has to be.

I'm not undervaluing Santiago and I agree with you. Just because he had a poor second half doesn't put him into the conversation of being a young cost controlled solid lefty that most teams would want in their rotation. 

joe maddon is better than mike. cubs players are better than angels. it doesn't have to be exclusive. 

just another example of how so many of these new teams go in and win playoff games. especially from our division. the angels are one of the few that just lay over and play dead when they get to the postseason with all the sweeps. 

Figgins was way better than all these players mentioned except Trout obviously. and people complained about him. He went from a pinch runner to a legit .390 OBP with a nice glove who could play 5 positions. Sad how far we've fallen. 

Figgins was way better than all these players mentioned except Trout obviously. and people complained about him. He went from a pinch runner to a legit .390 OBP with a nice glove who could play 5 positions. Sad how far we've fallen. 

the astros have won more playoff games than the angels in the last 5 years. 

the astros have won more playoff games than the angels in the last 5 years. 

the astros have won more playoff games than the angels in the last 5 years. 

the astros have won more playoff games than the angels in the last 5 years. 

Or, as it will be spelled here, EpPler.

I feel bad. Our guys played their asses off this month and gave every fan what we want. Now we need to rely on a shit team like the dbacks. We dont have as much talent as the othet teams, but i really think that losing freese and johnny G for august was what doomed us. Those guys have been great since coming back and it really intorms on some of the things we need to do for next yeAr

we still need houston to lose a game. we have no breathing room and its freaking me out. 

Lol some of yall talkinf about the doyers like they are the shaq-kobe lakers. Those dudes havent won shit. I bet they are complaining on their board that it sucks that St. louis is in their league.

Would be crazy. I dont see Tejas losing its grip on the division. I wonder if we can even go into Houston and win 2 of 3, which is what is going to have to happen.

richards is a good pitcher. i don't know why people are worried about whether he is an ace or not. he is a solid 2, or a 3 at worst, and the #1 slot will get filled by heaney and/or newcomb.
 
we have bigger problems, like the fact we've basically never developed a great reliever since krod, our positional talent is a joke, our overseas scouting sucks, we might have internal issues, and the organization from a third party perspective, just isn't one of the top tier companies in the game. We're that company with a 2.5 rating on glassdoor. The Giants and Cards are like the silicon valley of the game, with a 4.5 rating and employees who love their jobs. 

richards is a good pitcher. i don't know why people are worried about whether he is an ace or not. he is a solid 2, or a 3 at worst, and the #1 slot will get filled by heaney and/or newcomb.
 
we have bigger problems, like the fact we've basically never developed a great reliever since krod, our positional talent is a joke, our overseas scouting sucks, we might have internal issues, and the organization from a third party perspective, just isn't one of the top tier companies in the game. We're that company with a 2.5 rating on glassdoor. The Giants and Cards are like the silicon valley of the game, with a 4.5 rating and employees who love their jobs. 

Terrible decline. At least he is trying though, unlike Hamilton. Sigh...we could have just kept Hunter and gotten Beltre...

The offense last year was considerably better, was the bullpen. 
 
Last year we had Kendrick, Hamilton (who was still better than all our LFs this year), a much better season from Ianetta, and at least some production for DH (remember the solid contribution Cron and Green made about midway?). 
 
The bullpen was also much better about half-way through after the acquisitions. 
 
This year we literally are relying on a great season from Trout and a great month from Pujols. 

Your right, its too good to be on this thread. I guess the silliness of the movie reminds me of the silliness I have seen on the field and dugout recently.