HaloWay94

You just proved my point... both players have small sample sizes. People are acting like La Stella has some huge career to look at, when he has been a bench player the majority of his career

I was way off on the numbers and wrong. But the point remains that those numbers should have no bearing on where he is in the lineup today.

Stellar advice. Baseball is a beautiful game and it's being warped by people who don't get it.

If you were paying attention, my point was sample size from both spots. Fletch has the majority of his at bats from the bottom 3 spots in the order. Thanks for the correction and also missing the point

Great, show me the numbers of La Stella starting a full season. And no, you have to play the hot hand

Oh no I understand why... you don't need to watch the games anymore because prior stats perfectly predict future outcomes... Or that the best thing for the team is putting a slumping hitter in the lead off spot... Or that Fletcher not taking walks is a reason to put La Stella in over him when he's hitting .167 Rationality...tricky sob sometimes.

My point is Fletcher being 6 for his last 12 is more important than La Stella's 3 ABs against Miller in a previous season.

Oh please, if you're gonna respond at least think it through. I claimed none of those things. If you can't see how pinch hitting skews stats, you gotta take a closer look at the game and all of its variables. Lead off hitters also need to hit above .167.

As a pinch hitter in mainly the 8 or 9 hole he is going to get pitched around to get to the pitcher or he will get a lot of fastballs to avoid turning the lineup over. He may also get a lot of fastballs if he's coming in to hit with runners on base. Assuming most of these at bats were 6th inning or 7th inning, he's also facing almost exclusively middle relief pitchers. These differences also combine with the mental aspect of never going 0 for 4 in one game and having to break a slump. Those factors skew numbers for better or worse.

First off, we are talking about today's game against the rangers with the current set of players. In that context, there's no question Fletch should be leading off. The point that the majority of Angels fans have been trying to make for the last 2 years is that the lineup is being constructed based on irrelevant stats rather than who is playing well. For example, Fletch's career BA in the 9 hole compared to the lead off spot is an irrelevant stat. Fletch has started 18 games at leadoff in his career. He's started in the 9 hole for over 40 games. The idea that we should never bat him lead off on those grounds, especially when he's 6 for 12 in the series is illogical. In addition, I don't think La Stella's pinch hitting stats are going to transfer as a starter. Pinch hitting statistics are often skewed because of the situations. It's unlikely they will carry over when hes getting 4 at bats a game.

Rokay. Let's let him hit for 3 months like Valbuena and hope he magically becomes a valuable starter. La Stella has no career numbers to back him up as a starter. All of his numbers are as a national league bench guy/pinch hitter. If you don't see the difference between starting every day and pinch hitting once a game, well I don't know what to say. The numbers won't translate they never do. Just to be clear- you are saying it makes more sense to put Fletcher 9 and La Stella lead off today?? Give me a break. Fletcher has proven where he belongs.

Missing the point entirely. Fletcher is 6 for his last 12 and got on base 4 times yesterday from a lead off spot. Common sense says, roll with that guy in the leadoff spot. Common sense does not say "Well in previous seasons with a different team.. as a pinch hitter.. this other guy hitting .167 is 2 for 3 against the starting pitcher so let's lead him off instead and put the 6 for 12 guy where he gets the least at bats. That's insane and ruining baseball. To your last point... La Stella OBP this season .241.....Fletch .333.

Yes. Numbers are valuable, but when you have two similar players, you gotta trust what you see. You have to look at small details of the game, their mental makeup, and if they bring something to the table. La Stella's ridiculous cutoff the other night wont show up in anyone's stats. It's not an error. But it's a huge indicator that shouldn't be ignored. On the other hand Fletch beating the shift against the dodgers in the freeway series is a positive that shouldn't be ignored. But you won't find it in the stats. The walk thing is a fair point. And that's probably Fletch's weakest point outside of his obvious lack in power. But becoming more patient as a hitter is something that he can develop. We're acting like he's stuck at a 5% walk rate. But even with his lack of patience, La Stella doesn't have the upside to justify him getting a platoon job. And no this switch wouldn't fix us being 1-3. But it's something that bugs me as a fan of the team and fan of Fletcher. Any way you slice it, we just have to try to stay alive until Ohtani's back.

Preach

Ausmus didn't sign La Stella. And I don't hate Eppler, I'm eternally grateful for the Trout signing and I think Upton and Ohtani are huge achievements as well. But in the case of Cozart and La Stella, I think he made bad choices. Yes I know how OBP is calculated. But those numbers can't tell you if a guy is gonna come through with the game on the line or go from being a pinch hitter to a starter. The eyes are important. And I think you lose more by having Fletch on the bench than having La Stella on the bench. We also haven't seen what Fletcher can do. He's played a half a season. La Stella is a career bench player.

Totally agree with you there. And I'm especially with you on the homegrown talent as a reason I'm rooting for Fletch. Our offense is pretty bleak without Ohtani and Upton, and we only have one lefty. That's a good argument. I guess where I disagree is whether La Stella will provide that OBP boost over Fletcher. And if one more walk every 5 games is gonna be worth the loss on defense. And I'm not anti-numbers, I just think it's easy to overthink these decisions and reduce the game to them. OBP isn't a substance that enables you to break a slump or magically go from a pinch hitter to an everyday starter. And it's certainly no indicator of future numbers. La Stella could go .600 OPS this year or he could go .800 and the only way to make that prediction is the eye test in my opinion. I think Fletch has a higher ceiling in that regard though others may disagree. It also ticks me off that between two players who are very close in overall value, they go with the outside hire over the homegrown fan favorite for 3/4 games so far. Don't mean to sound like mindless jerk. It just seems like the mediocre vet is a recurring theme in angels management the last decade and it frustrates me @Jeff Fletcher

You're right, Jeff and Billy know best, stupid me for disagreeing smh I stand by my statements. Jeff's logic hinges on an obsession over the OPS of a career pinch hitter vs. a solid rookie campaign. Trust your eyes man.

I know who Jeff Fletcher is... the point remains... many people are trying to outsmart the eye test and common sense by over analyzing numbers.

You're right, Billy is our daddy and he knows best, we're stupid for questioning. I'm not taking that BS. Anyone who can't see the difference between Fletcher and La Stella's approach to the game has probably spent too much time with their head in a computer. Even if I grant you that La Stella and Fletcher are even with the bat, Fletcher has defense that is far above average and brings an energy to the lineup by the way he plays the game. He gets the little things right- Like putting the ball in play when the tying run is on instead of going down looking.... (La Stella) But all we can do is wait for Fletcher to prove he's more valuable just like he did with Valbuena. It's annoying because Fletcher deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt over this piece of work who threw a fit for being sent to AAA with the cubs. I'd release his ass without a second hearing. What kind of message are sending if that's tolerable? Sidenote...how are people not realizing that the stats of a pinch hitter cannot be compared to someone starting every day? La Stella's hitting statistics are mostly as a pinch hitter. If we expect him to maintain those with 4 at bats a game.. we're fools.

Fletcher can easily be an every day second baseman that puts up a .285 BA with 15 steals and above average defense. Why are we writing him off as a bench player. La Stella is a joke. Doesn’t deserve playing time. The OBP argument is absurd. The idea that Fletch peaked at .316 OBP is ridiculous. If that’s our logic Taylor Ward will never start based on his first call up OBP. Fletch is a good contact singles-doubles hitter. La Stella is below average defense with a bat that’s equal or worse than Fletch’s. Fletch needs to be starting. Heck I’d start him over Cozart.

I mean Cozart used to be a gold Glover but his defense at 3rd has been mediocre. Fletch played really well taking over third last year. Bat wise fletcher brings zero pop, but hitting .275 in your first 300 PAs with 18 doubles is not too shabby. I think he can play as a great 9 or lead off guy depending on Kole. Better .300 and 5 homers than .220 and 12 homers and that seems to be the options. But you’re right it’s small sample size too. A lot of unknowns

What gives you that idea other than Fletch bouncing around in ST? Id be surprised if he didn’t start 5 outta every 6 games given his performance last year. His defense is head and shoulders above Cozart and La Stella at both second and third.