AngelsFanSince86

Among batters with at least 75 PA w/RISP, Pujols ranks 56th worst in BA, but 106th in OPS. He is 8th worst amongst 1B with at least 75 PA w/RISP (29 of them). Pujols is 4th on the Angels among regular starters in OPS w/RISP. Freese actually does have a better OPS w/RISP (he ranks 2nd on the team). The problem is you never know how the dynamic will change once you switch it up. Freese's success could be a direct result of his spot in the lineup. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try it out, but this is definitely not the time for that. Plus Freese is getting about as many PA/game as Pujols so he is still getting the opportunities. The reality is that Pujols is at his worst right now and it is still better than the vast majority of the team. Its frustrating, but I don't see what there is to do about it. And you have to think that, whether or not Pujols takes advantage of it, his presence messes with at least some of the younger pitchers heads if not others. Maybe Pujols can't capitalize, but others around him in the lineup can. Point being, Pujols is where he is because it makes sense. It speaks more to the Angels as a whole than it does to the decision to place him in the #3 spot. Interesting side note: -Dan Robertson is the #4 guy with RISP on the Angels if you include smaller sample sizes. Not that I think he should be a middle of the order guy, but I would have liked to see him continue to play LF. Maybe get one of DeJesus/Murphy/Victorino, but not all 3. Completely unnecessary. Look at this: -The three headed joke that plays LF for the Angels has provided a -1.2 combined WAR. Yes, every single player has produced a negative WAR value as an Angel. Meanwhile, in 32 games, Dan Robertson posted a 0.5 WAR (on pace for 2.5-3 WAR which would be starter level player). Would have been nice to just get Murphy for the RHP. Then we would have Robertson and Cowgill as starters for LHP's or as late innings replacements (both are better defenders than anyone else the Angels have).

BAbip in August was .304 in August compared to a career of .357. The last 2 weeks he has hit well and has also had a .385 BAbip.

Interesting article I read a couple weeks back: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/why-mike-trout-aint-right/ I think maybe it wasn't so much the injury nagging him. Maybe it just threw him off initially and in trying to readjust he faced a lot of tough pitching. As Fletch has said though, he is hitting well over the last couple weeks so we can hope that he has figured it out.

Agree with most of what you are saying, but am curious what veteran catcher would fit this bill.

I just don't see them sticking with Giavotella again or trying another patchwork job at 2B. The free agents available at 2B are not very enticing outside of maybe Zobrist. They are going to have to sign somebody to play that spot and I think Howie is the most likely candidate. Howie might be getting up there, but he is still better than any other option we have. He plays well with Aybar, hits better than most of the current team, and the fans love him. I'm still on board with the Dee Gordon idea some on here have proposed, but what does it take to get him? It took Miami Heaney to get him and he is having the best year of his career right now. I don't see how 2B is not a top 2 need. LF, 2B, C, and bull pen are top needs. C has basically zero better options than Iannetta so not much can be done there except to maybe sign Weiters. And bull pen can easily be upgraded in the offseason. LF has plenty of good options and so should be their main priority. Next to that is 2B where we have a defensive replacement that can't even play that good of defense starting at the position. Before that we had a gritty short dude that the fans loved because he has been pretty clutch, but has still had overall average offensive value at best and is the worst defensive starting 2B in all of baseball. That position has cost the Angels many games just because of poor defense. As far as Kubitza, I agree with the sentiment that they should see what they have in him now at 2B if that is even a thought. At this point I wouldn't mind seeing both Kubitza and Cowart out there. The Angels need to know whether or not they need to resign Freese and/or figure something out at 2B.

I really like the idea of bringing Heyward or Cespedes and Gordon as a speed guy, but isn't Gordon not a free agent for a while? I've heard a lot of people bringing up Gordon and I really like the idea, but it took Andrew Heaney for the Marlins to acquire him and his value has only gone up since he is currently having his best season and is just hitting his prime years. I have a feeling the Angels would have to give up too much to get him. His defense is probably enough to at least equal Freese's overall value to the team. Cowart didn't hit that well overall this year (although he seemed to hit his stride just before Freese came back), but he still accumulated 0.2 WAR in the 15 games he played. Small sample size, but still on pace for about 2 WAR which is about what Freese brings to the table.

To me 2B and LF are almost equal, but I stand by the rest of my rankings and here is my reasoning: Giavotella is not a starter. He has been great considering the the options available and he has been pretty clutch. He also is the worst starting defensive 2B in baseball (worth a -14 defensive runs saved) and really has provided minimal offensive value. He has been worth 0.4 WAR so far on pace for 0.5-0.6, well below the baseline of 2 to be considered a starter. He plays a premium position and so I think it should be a top priority. 3B is a position of need, but that doesn't mean it is a priority. Here is the list of the upcoming free agent 3B: Mike Aviles (35) Gordon Beckham (29) David Freese (33) Maicer Izturis (35) – $3MM club option with a $1MM buyout Casey McGehee (32) Aramis Ramirez (38) Juan Uribe (37) There are no good options. Its most likely going to be either resign Freese or go with one or both of Cowart/Kubitza. So although it would be nice to upgrade somehow, last time I checked Machado, Arenado, etc aren't going anywhere...at least not for anything the Angels have to offer short of Trout. Options at 3B are just limited in general. Thats pretty much my same argument for C. Everyone wants to upgrade at C. Few teams have a truly solid C that can hit and play solid defense. Weiters is probably the best option other than Iannetta available and he isn't much better than Iannetta if at all. He is definitely better defensively, but has hardly ever provided any offensive value outside of hitting 20 HR a year. I'm definitely down for a switch I just don't think the overall effect on the team will be as great as filling LF and 2B will be. Lets just hope Taylor Ward works out because that is the only way you get a well rounded C. 3B and C are needs, but they aren't priorities because the opportunity to make a big improvement on either position just isn't there outside of Cowart panning out. Next, I think the bullpen needs to be bolstered. They don't need to add much, but it would be nice to add a veteran or two that have been relatively consistently good. I'm too lazy right now to look through all the free agent RP stats, so I don't know who that would be. The Angels have good enough SP to where it is more important to make sure they can hold leads late in games. As far as adding an ace that really depends on a couple of things. If the Angels trade Santiago, Shoemaker or both then the priority goes up. As of now I just think they will be fine with Richards, Heaney, Weaver, Santiago, Skaggs plus Tropeano, Rucinski, and possibly Wilson. If they have a good pen and they address the higher priorities of LF,2B, and to a lesser extent C, then they will have solid enough overall pitching to compete. Adding an ace is also something I would love for them to do I just don't think it is as much a priority as the rest given their current depth at the position and the likelihood that Richards will return to form. LF=2B>C>pen>ace>3B

I just wish we could have seen Cowart play for a bit longer. He seemed to be hitting his stride and it would have been nice to know what we have with him before making the decision as to whether or not Freese should be resigned.

Well actually Freese could just DH since Pujols says he could play SS so I'm sure 2B will be no problem.

This. I don't get the hate on Richards. Its not like Santiago earlier this season pitching over his head. Richards has some of the best stuff in baseball including having more spin on his fastball than anyone else according to statcast. What I see is a guy who has great stuff that took until he was 26 to be able to put it all together and locate his pitches. He didn't even get a full season in before getting injured. Doesn't it make sense that it might take him a while to get back to that point? He has his dominant games, he just needs to work on consistency. Although he does have a 72% quality start rate, so he's been pretty solid. While I am not opposed to signing a proven frontline starter, I don't think it is the main priority. 2B>LF>C>bullpen>ace.

Just an interesting note about Cowart: After his first 5 games in which he had no hits, he has batted .296/.406/.888 including getting hits in each of the last 4 games he started. Thats only a small sample size of about 10 games, but he was starting to get things going. I like having Freese back in the lineup, but I think Cowart needs more of a shot as well. There is just really no way to fit them both in the lineup unless Pujols or Cron are having a rest day.

That would be amazing, but is anybody ever really going to replace Joe Buck? He's been absolutely terrible since day 1 and they still trot him out there for every major sporting event.

Its because he is clutch offensively and defensively. His arm can make that play that changes the game. His bat is one of the more clutch bats in baseball despite his sometimes mediocre slash line. Even though he hit .260 last year he still hit .300 w/RISP, a .338 w/2-outs late and close, and .336 in high leverage situations. He is a spark plug and I've always liked him as a player. I agree adding Gordon to the mix too would really get things going.

Not even close. MAYBE if 2nd base was the only hole and Howie was the only missing piece to an otherwise perfect roster. Personally I never really felt like this was their year anyways and so making a move like that for the future was great. Especially given how well Heaney has done this year outside of his last start.

Aaaaaand they took him out

Don't forget Jason Grilli...oh wait...

So does every other team that doesn't have Madison Bumgarner on their team. What he did was historically great. If there is another pitcher in the league that could do that he sure hasn't shown it. Dodgers have Kershaw and that hasn't worked out for them in the postseason.

11-12...which isn't terrible except for the fact they started it out 6-0. They seem to be getting on a roll though so hopefully they can keep it going. Good to see them hanging on in games to be able to pull out wins like todays or the two against the Indians.

He does, but I think that has more to do with the fact he just hasn't done well against the Angels. His splits at Angel stadium are actually a little bit better than his overall splits against the Angels. So for whatever reason he hasn't done well against the Angels, but I don't think it has anything to do with the stadium. He played well in Oakland in a pitchers park and has played within the division so it wouldn't take much getting used to.

Here is where the Cespedes hype comes from... Career with: men on base: .290/.338/.834 RISP: .308/.368/.885 2-outs, RISP: .294/.354/.838 tie game: .296/.346/.881 high leverage: .313/.361/.883 Dude is and always has been a clutch machine. We are talking about the guy that left the #1 offense in baseball at the time and it instantly fell apart. He has been good for about 4.0 WAR, 20 HR, 100 RBI, and 30 doubles per season. This year he has already amassed 4.2 WAR, 18 HR, 65 RBI, and 31 doubles. I mean everyone ignores Giavotella's mediocre bat because he seems to always come through when it matters. That is what Cespedes does, but with more power and he has done it for years and with hundreds of AB's in those situations. Not to mention Cespedes plays above average defense with a rocket arm.

No thats definitely Royals fans. Their attendance has gone up by an average of 10,000 a game. And they are full of fans who just started watching baseball this year and are acting like they have been die hard Royals fans their whole lives, but clearly lack the humility that would come along with being a fan of a team that had been irrelevant for three decades.

Richards is an ace and will be fine. He has struggled a bit this year, but overall has pitched well. He has 14 quality starts this year (a 74% QS %). For reference, Felix Hernandez has 15 QS, good for a 71% QS%. Several of Richards' QS were against top offenses. In addition he has posted a 2.67 ERA in his last 9 starts. I don't see how Richards is no longer an ace. Obviously he was going to have an off year because of the injury, but he still has the same stuff and has the ability to be just as dominant as he was last year. He has lacked the consistency he had last year, but he is still an ace.

The big difference is none of these teams traded away their best hitter to make these moves. More like this years Tigers.

Well, he did just buy a new house so you might have something there

They were killing it for a while and have now struggled a bit, but that will always happen. It doesn't help that their best player, who happens to be THE best player, got injured in the middle of it. I still believe this team can be pretty solid. I would have liked a MOTO bat, but I'd rather them sign one in the offseason if the price isn't right, which it clearly isn't. The team has the potential to be really good in the upcoming years and holding onto their young talent will be a part of that. This just doesn't seem like the type of year you go all in. As is, this team is most likely going to get at least a wild card spot. Calhoun has a 2.4 WAR, higher than Carpenter and on track for about 4, which is about what Carpenter had last year. He is on pace for 21 HR, 90 RBI, 71 runs scored, and he plays solid defense. He is also hitting .350 with RISP this year. As a matter of fact he is hitting .350 with men on any base. He was worth 3.7 WAR last year so he is definitely better than decent. The guy has a bad week and now all of the sudden he is mediocre. He is hitting .261 over his last 5 games, but is hitting .333 over his last 6 and also .333 for the last month.