redoctober2002

28 minutes ago, ettin said:

I should clarify that I should have used the word "statistically" instead of "traditionally". It has statistically been proven to be a poor run-producing spot in the order. You normally want to place a good power hitting, higher-strikeout player in that spot with the ability to take a walk when able, ideally.

I question if that's still relevant in the modern game. From what I remember, the data set used to prove this was from 1952-2004. Since then, there has been a much greater emphasis on putting guys who can get on base in those first two spots rather than, fast guy hits leadoff and guy who can bunt bats second. The only team I can think of that batted their best hitter second consistently in recent years were the Yankees and even now they have Judge batting 3rd this year.

I figured if the Angels were going to get shafted by the Stephenson signing it would be due to regression from him not being on the Rays anymore. He had an elbow injury to start the season last year so it wouldn't surprise me if this ends up being kinda nasty.

What was the ump going on about? Tuned in at the tail end of it.

3 hours ago, BTH said:

I don’t necessarily believe this, but I’m just gonna throw it out there and see what other people think...

Do Canning and Sandoval have mentality problems on the mound? And if so, might that have to do with where they grew up?

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to suggest people in OC have different personalities than, say, people from New York or Boston.

Whenever these two pitch, there doesn’t seem to be a bulldog, fight through it mentality that other pitchers have.

Sandoval leading MLB in unearned runs last year suggests there’s something there.

Is there something here?

Canning is just sucking right now and Sandoval has had issues for at least the past two seasons. Before Sandoval it was Andrew Heaney that would be a mental case on the mound and he's from Oklahoma. So no I don't think it's an OC native issue.

Luckily, I had other things going on so had to miss this one. Only real positives out of this one is that Ward continues to mash and Rendon is still hitting (finally got the BA above the Mendoza line). Also, why is O'Hoppe still batting 8th? Is this some old school lineup thing where you just slot your catcher in at 8 or what?

2 hours ago, Jeremiah said:

The NCAA and MLB want players who throw hard and put spin on the ball

This is where it starts. The best kids are playing travel ball year round and so by the time they get to that level they already have a ton of hard innings on their arm.

Add in once you get to a high level pitching labs and coaches are instructing how to push your body to the limit at max effort every pitch and it's no wonder they break down. These things were being brought up years ago, but since so many are bought into the status quo nothing was done about it.

Last time this was a discussion it was over the recent ban of sticky stuff. Now it's the pitch clock. In a year or two when this happens again they'll probably blame something else.

31 minutes ago, samwum said:

Maybe I just can't wrap my head around signing a pitcher to a 3yr/$36mm deal without expecting them to be a significant contributor. 

It's 3/39 but still, this was a pretty good deal considering the pitching market that year. I think the intention was to provide some stability in the middle, or worst case, back end of a 6 man rotation while providing some veteran leadership in an otherwise young rotation. That next tier of guys above him were going for $20M+ AAV, and the top tier guys going for over $30M AAV so $13M is quite a bargain. I would say if Anderson has an ERA around 4-4.5 and pitches 150+ innings the next two seasons I would feel that contract was a good deal with all said and done.

6 minutes ago, Taylor said:

He might bat with the bases empty more often than other sluggers, since the Angels haven't always surrounded him with a solid core of hitters.

It does "feel like" Trout often chokes with runners on base, but that could just be confirmation bias. I'm not sure what the statistics say.

In his career, Trout has a 173wRC+ with runners in scoring position. So pretty dang good.

Truth be told, I don't think anyone is buying the pitch clock argument. Everything I've seen is it's usually a combination of max effort every pitch and year round travel ball while growing up. This trend has been going on for what, 7 years now (when did The Arm get published)? Seems like every year there's a stretch where a bunch of top tier pitchers get hurt and we have this same discussion then nothing changes.

Lame. That long 7th probably shortened the leash. Really like what I'm seeing from Anderson so far though.

Anderson at 88 pitches through 7. Love the efficiency. What are the odds they let him go 9 if he has a quick 8th?

Anderson dealing right now.

2 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

He is so back.

Phase two is when we ask "When's he going to stop."

Love it. Get a lead and the pitcher has a quick inning. Feels like there haven't been too many of those lately.

4 straight games with a hit from Rendon now.

I know it's still a small sample size but seeing the two lowest OPSs batting 1-2 is kinda funny.

If Schanuel is still struggling in the middle of May I'd be more entertained with the idea of sending him down. Until then though I'm willing to let him try to figure it out.

I do agree with some other posters that Rengifo should figure into the lineup more. Maybe a platoon with Drury or just leaving Sano as a bench bat rather than the main DH.

6 minutes ago, Stradling said:

I’d go:

Schanuel 1st (see if this gets him spraying to all fields again)

Trout CF

Ward LF

O’Hoppe C

Rendon 3rd

Drury 2nd

Adell RF

Rengifo DH

Neto SS

 

 

Personally, I like Rengifo at leadoff with Schanuel batting 2nd. Historically, Regnifo has hit well at leadoff (134 wRC+) and I like the lefty in the two spot if Washington is going to commit to guys stealing often. If Schanuel starts to hit again, that gives more opportunities for Trout to bat with guys on base than if they slot him in the two hole.

1 minute ago, CaliAngel said:

100% agree.

I know it's there to benefit both teams but it seems to burn us more than it helps. Also a ball smacking off the scoreboard and staying in play just doesn't feel like a home run, the ball should definitely have to clear the scoreboard to be a home run. 

Just adds a unique dimension to the field.

I'm quite a fan of quirky stadium dimensions and when they put that line in I was pretty bummed. I used to love watch Calhoun play the ball off that wall. He always seemed to know just the right angle and location to be in when the ball came off of it.

7 minutes ago, TroutField said:

In my worthless opinion the lineup should be 

Rengifo 3B 

Trout CF 

O’Hoppe C 

Ward LF 

Drury 2B 

Hicks/Adell RF 

DH spot 

Schanuel 1B 

Neto SS

 

Rengifo has been squaring the ball up pretty well despite the limited playing time. Wouldn't mind giving him some more ABs at leadoff.

11 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

Yeah, it's been an odd start so far.  They're 5-4 now. Swept 3 against the Marlins by a combined score of 20-7, yet they've still been outscored by 12 runs overall this year. 

Wasn't Seattle like this in 2021? Won a lot of close games but had a ton of blowouts so their run diff at the end of the year was -50 something but still managed to win 90 games.

Lock this shit down Sano

1 minute ago, Mark68 said:

Let's hope the official scoring committee doesn't go back in time and take a hit away because it was bobbled or something...

Lol... beat me to it.

Just now, Chuck said:

 

Hopefully no one told the MLB scorers.

I think originally, the idea was to platoon Moniak and Adell based on pitcher handedness. With Hicks and Sano making the roster, this takes away the ABs Adell would have gotten against lefties and clogs up the DH even more since Sano isn't great in the field. I agree that it feels like a waste letting him sit on the bench as much as he had to start the season.