WicketMaiden

Dancer

Dancer

The funeral mass and burial for Lou took place on Friday. @Adam @mrwicked and I were there. It was a simple but dignified service, and we got to hear from his sister and a couple of his nieces as they spoke. 
One of the better things I've seen at a funeral was that they asked everyone to wear their favorite sports jersey. Plenty of Angels jersey as you can imagine but I only saw one UCLA jersey. Someone had the nerve to show up in a Dodgers jersey.
Adam and I left after the funeral mass but mrwicked continued on to the burial and to @stpat373's house for stories and remembrances. wicked said there were a lot of good stories and lots of laughter, and it would've been just like Lou would've wanted it to be. 
The family shared something in the printed program that was unknown to most people - Lou had been planning to move to Mexico and do some work with orphanages. Lou and I had talked about him retiring and moving south, but I didn't know about the orphanges angle. My impression was that after his mother passed, he wanted to do something  that was meaningful - I could be wrong about that, but that was my take. 
Lou was able to hear our stories that we posted here, and they meant a lot to him and to his family. 
Every time I log in to this site, I think of him. I miss him a lot.

I'm a maybe.

Go Bruins!

it's our dirty little secret.

This is brilliant content. Thanks for putting in the work and sharing it with us.
Keep them coming @VladimirTrout27, and welcome to AW.

I could use a bigger wiener 

This is brilliant content. Thanks for putting in the work and sharing it with us.
Keep them coming @VladimirTrout27, and welcome to AW.

This is brilliant content. Thanks for putting in the work and sharing it with us.
Keep them coming @VladimirTrout27, and welcome to AW.

Go Bruins!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoAdY3uP9c0

Cue to Jim Healy:
“I tell ya. He would have made an F’ing great cricket player.   Hitting the ball on one F’ing bounce!”

Good post @VladimirTrout27!!

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.

What kind of answer do you realistically expect?

Whether it's the Indian burial ground jinx, Arte's meddling, managers' use of players, or our seemingly awful medical team, the Angels seem to be beset by season-altering injuries every year. So I headed over to Spotrac to see just how bad we are compared to the other MLB teams (they've been tracking it since 2015).
2015: 11th worst in MLB 13 players, 713 IL days, $23.75m
(Most IL days - Rangers 1812: most dollars - Giants $47.89m)
2016: 3rd worst. 17 players, 1483 days, $36.77m
(Most IL days - A’s 1996; dollars - Dodgers $73.13m)
2017: 6th. 19 players, 1482 IL days, $29.41m
(IL days Dodgers - 1779: dollars Dodgers $56.04m)
2018: 5th. 25 players, 1812 IL days, $36.63m
(IL days Angels - 1812: dollars - Mets, $69.80m)
2019: 9th. 26 players, 1344 IL days, $32.74m
(IL days Cubs - 6850: dollars Yankees - $178.94m)
2020: 25th. 12 players, 324 IL days, $4m
(IL days Marlins - 1049: dollars Astros - £21.73m)
2021: 1st. 26 players, 1504 IL days, $94.06m
(IL days Rays 2502; dollars Angels - $94.06m)
2022: 8th. 21 players, 1333 IL days, $39.17m
(IL days Reds 2638: dollars Red Sox - $72.47m)
2023: 3rd. 25 players, 1680 IL days, $45.34m
(IL days Dodgers 1799; dollars Yankees - $71.72m)
https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/injured-list/cumulative-team/
Five times in 9 years the Angels have been in the worst 20% for cost of injuries, and aside from the shortened 2020 season, they are consistently in the top third.
That's not just bad luck, that's institutional failure. And until it is fixed, we aren't very likely to be competing any time soon.

Whether it's the Indian burial ground jinx, Arte's meddling, managers' use of players, or our seemingly awful medical team, the Angels seem to be beset by season-altering injuries every year. So I headed over to Spotrac to see just how bad we are compared to the other MLB teams (they've been tracking it since 2015).
2015: 11th worst in MLB 13 players, 713 IL days, $23.75m
(Most IL days - Rangers 1812: most dollars - Giants $47.89m)
2016: 3rd worst. 17 players, 1483 days, $36.77m
(Most IL days - A’s 1996; dollars - Dodgers $73.13m)
2017: 6th. 19 players, 1482 IL days, $29.41m
(IL days Dodgers - 1779: dollars Dodgers $56.04m)
2018: 5th. 25 players, 1812 IL days, $36.63m
(IL days Angels - 1812: dollars - Mets, $69.80m)
2019: 9th. 26 players, 1344 IL days, $32.74m
(IL days Cubs - 6850: dollars Yankees - $178.94m)
2020: 25th. 12 players, 324 IL days, $4m
(IL days Marlins - 1049: dollars Astros - £21.73m)
2021: 1st. 26 players, 1504 IL days, $94.06m
(IL days Rays 2502; dollars Angels - $94.06m)
2022: 8th. 21 players, 1333 IL days, $39.17m
(IL days Reds 2638: dollars Red Sox - $72.47m)
2023: 3rd. 25 players, 1680 IL days, $45.34m
(IL days Dodgers 1799; dollars Yankees - $71.72m)
https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/injured-list/cumulative-team/
Five times in 9 years the Angels have been in the worst 20% for cost of injuries, and aside from the shortened 2020 season, they are consistently in the top third.
That's not just bad luck, that's institutional failure. And until it is fixed, we aren't very likely to be competing any time soon.

Whether it's the Indian burial ground jinx, Arte's meddling, managers' use of players, or our seemingly awful medical team, the Angels seem to be beset by season-altering injuries every year. So I headed over to Spotrac to see just how bad we are compared to the other MLB teams (they've been tracking it since 2015).
2015: 11th worst in MLB 13 players, 713 IL days, $23.75m
(Most IL days - Rangers 1812: most dollars - Giants $47.89m)
2016: 3rd worst. 17 players, 1483 days, $36.77m
(Most IL days - A’s 1996; dollars - Dodgers $73.13m)
2017: 6th. 19 players, 1482 IL days, $29.41m
(IL days Dodgers - 1779: dollars Dodgers $56.04m)
2018: 5th. 25 players, 1812 IL days, $36.63m
(IL days Angels - 1812: dollars - Mets, $69.80m)
2019: 9th. 26 players, 1344 IL days, $32.74m
(IL days Cubs - 6850: dollars Yankees - $178.94m)
2020: 25th. 12 players, 324 IL days, $4m
(IL days Marlins - 1049: dollars Astros - £21.73m)
2021: 1st. 26 players, 1504 IL days, $94.06m
(IL days Rays 2502; dollars Angels - $94.06m)
2022: 8th. 21 players, 1333 IL days, $39.17m
(IL days Reds 2638: dollars Red Sox - $72.47m)
2023: 3rd. 25 players, 1680 IL days, $45.34m
(IL days Dodgers 1799; dollars Yankees - $71.72m)
https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/injured-list/cumulative-team/
Five times in 9 years the Angels have been in the worst 20% for cost of injuries, and aside from the shortened 2020 season, they are consistently in the top third.
That's not just bad luck, that's institutional failure. And until it is fixed, we aren't very likely to be competing any time soon.

Go Bruins!

Whether it's the Indian burial ground jinx, Arte's meddling, managers' use of players, or our seemingly awful medical team, the Angels seem to be beset by season-altering injuries every year. So I headed over to Spotrac to see just how bad we are compared to the other MLB teams (they've been tracking it since 2015).
2015: 11th worst in MLB 13 players, 713 IL days, $23.75m
(Most IL days - Rangers 1812: most dollars - Giants $47.89m)
2016: 3rd worst. 17 players, 1483 days, $36.77m
(Most IL days - A’s 1996; dollars - Dodgers $73.13m)
2017: 6th. 19 players, 1482 IL days, $29.41m
(IL days Dodgers - 1779: dollars Dodgers $56.04m)
2018: 5th. 25 players, 1812 IL days, $36.63m
(IL days Angels - 1812: dollars - Mets, $69.80m)
2019: 9th. 26 players, 1344 IL days, $32.74m
(IL days Cubs - 6850: dollars Yankees - $178.94m)
2020: 25th. 12 players, 324 IL days, $4m
(IL days Marlins - 1049: dollars Astros - £21.73m)
2021: 1st. 26 players, 1504 IL days, $94.06m
(IL days Rays 2502; dollars Angels - $94.06m)
2022: 8th. 21 players, 1333 IL days, $39.17m
(IL days Reds 2638: dollars Red Sox - $72.47m)
2023: 3rd. 25 players, 1680 IL days, $45.34m
(IL days Dodgers 1799; dollars Yankees - $71.72m)
https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/injured-list/cumulative-team/
Five times in 9 years the Angels have been in the worst 20% for cost of injuries, and aside from the shortened 2020 season, they are consistently in the top third.
That's not just bad luck, that's institutional failure. And until it is fixed, we aren't very likely to be competing any time soon.

Normally, our good friend Lou would be starting this, but it would be my pleasure to officially kick off the 2023 college football season in his honor 🙏.
A couple games of note today, Notre Dame takes on traditional foe, Navy in Dublin and the Trojans start their final year in the PAC12, with San Jose State.
I think both teams should win.  Navy is breaking in a new coach and new offensive system, while USC should have no issues if their defense decides to show up.
Should be an interesting season with the impending movement out of conferences.  I can’t wait.

This sounds like the Angels 2002 - 2009. Those early Scioscia teams were great fun to watch.