Angelsjunky

The Vlad signing was pretty thrilling. He was 28 29, one of the best hitters in the game, and the Angels got him for a bargain because of a lingering back issue which wasn't an issue. It was also pretty thrilling to finally beat the Red Sox in the postseason in 2009.

January 21, 2011.

They were never Angels. Not to mention, every team has drafted players that ended up going to college and being drafted later and becoming stars.

It might give some pleasure to note that Vernon Wells has been playing terribly of late - his stats are down to .263/.313/.457. Wells is 2-22 in his last five games and is hitting a very familiar .229/.260/.375 in May. I personally don't wish any bad mojo on Vernon but it is nice to know that it wasn't just being on the Angels that made him play so poorly. Torii Hunter's numbers--.312/.358/.427--are surprisingly similar to last year (.313/.365/.451) although with even less power, only 2 HR so far this year. Like Wells he's cooled off a lot in May, hitting .253/.306/.354. I predicted his numbers would drop this year - that his loss of power and high BABIP last year would lead to something like a .270/.750 line this year, which may end up being about what he hits. That said, it will be interesting to see if he can maintain his new high BA, low power approach. Kendrys Morales started slow but is hitting better and better, now up to .300/.373/.479. I suspect those numbers are legit, although I'd guess he hits for a bit more power and a bit less average and walks going forward...maybe ending with something like .290/.350/.500. At this point Mike Napoli is ancient history but I'll still give him a mention. He's been solid for a surprisingly good Red Sox team, hitting his usual .258/.338/.485 with a bunch of RBI (39). He's done as a catcher so is basically now a run-of-the-mill DH. I keep expecting Jean Segura to slump but he just has six hits last night and is now hitting .365/.400/.569, which is almost exactly the same line as Howie Kendrick in the minors. I don't expect him to continue at this pace forever, but he's looking like a legit .300+/.850+ hitter and an All-Star middle infielder. Watching him play is going to hurt for years to come, especially in light of the what-could-have-been scenario of a 1-2 Segura-Trout punch. Oh well. Not much to say about Jeff Mathis and Maicer Izturis. Mathis is back in the majors and has one hit in 20 at-bats for the Miami Marlins, a team a belongs on. I'm sure he'll heat up and hit at least .150 before the season is through. Izturis continues his poor performance from last year and may be close to the end. If you were wondering about Brandon Wood he's in AAA where's hit .288/.320/.415 for two teams. He's currently playing for Baltimore's AAA team, Norfolk. On the pitching side of things, Ervin Santana continues a strong year, although his ERA is now up to 3.33 thanks to a poor showing against the Angels a few days ago. But his walk-strikeout rate bodes well for continued success: 11-57 in 71.1 IP. Dan Haren continues to give up tons of hits and his ERA is still up at 5.43, but of his 10 starts only 2 or 3 are terrible. He's better than Joe Blanton but not by much. Tyler Chatwood is back in the majors and pitching well, with a 1.90 ERA through four starts. Obviously that won't continue but he could be starting a run as a solid back-end rotation pitcher. I see a Joe Saunders-esque career ahead of him. Speaking of Joe Saunders, he's struggling for the Mariners with a 6.09 ERA through ten starts. So much for the "we should have signed Saunders instead of Blanton" meme. I suppose he would have been cheaper at least for similar performance. Patrick Corbin is now really looking like the one who got away, or at least sharing that title with Jean Segura. He's leading the majors with a 1.71 ERA in 10 starts. Tyler Skaggs is now up as well and pitched 6 shutout innings in his first start. Ouch. Fernando Rodney continues to be Fernando Rodney, albeit the pre-2012 version (what was that all about?). Oh yeah Zack Greinke. I barely consider him an Angel. He's just the guy that cost us Jean Segura. Anyhow, he's back and rusty but I'm sure will be fine.

I love this Yahoo article and completely agree. I particularly like the part where he says "The lineup is solid all around and also happens to have three former league MVPs in Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout (give it a rest, Miguel Cabrera fans, your old-timey Triple Crown bores me)." My prediction: This team kicks ass the rest of the year and wins 90+ games, sneaks into the postseason, and wins the freakin' World Series! You heard it here first. (And yes, I have been drinking).

Youth, I think you've got it about right with Verlander, Kershaw, Hernandez, and now Darvish all in the mix. Strasburg is getting there.

In other words, it sounds like you're a bit butthurt from Simers for some unknown reason

I'm not sure what offended you there, Chuck.

Is this where the old folks hang out? The chat is where its at, y'all

It wasn't in a major league game but Bryce Harper supposedly hit one 500+ feet...when he was 16 or 17.

That's some serious commitment there.

There's been a marked dearth of productive outs.

That's the overall "score" of the Angels vs. their opponents during their 7-game win streak. That's 7.7 runs/game vs. 2.6 runs allowed/game. Not bad.

I think this has more to do with the psychological nature of the game than it does with something the Angels are doing wrong. Vernon Wells, for instance, played himself into a funk that he could never get out of. Changing scenery, a new start, and with lower expectations took the pressure off - despite playing in New York. Rodney is inexplicable. He always had the stuff, but finally put it all together. That said, he's back to his usual ways - he's already walked more batters in 2013 than in all of 2012, which is looking like an anomaly. Santana also always had talent but was erratic, but overall good for the Angels. Looking back on it, trading him doesn't make sense. He improved greatly late in the year and, at worse, would have been a decent starter, certainly better than Blanton. Napoli was under the eye of Scioscia and couldn't thrive as an Angel. He had his "revenge year" in 2011 but has been back to his usually good-but-not-great self in 2012-13. Haren isn't doing better - he's even worse overall. He seems to have declined significantly and Dipoto made the right call. Tyler Chatwood? Three starts. The Angels rushed him - he was 21 in 2011 and mediocre at best. Latroy Hawkins? Come now.

Check out this awesome gif of Cabrera's amazing plate coverage: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/miguel-cabreras-ridiculousplate-coverage/

The Trade That Didn't Happen almost makes me nauseous to think about. Miggy is basically peak Pujols, but without the defensive prowess. He just edges Joey Votto for best hitter in baseball, although I think Trout edges Cabrera for best player.

May: .257/.333/.514, 4 HR Last nine games: .333 BA, 5 BB, 7 K Last four games: .455 BA, 4 BB, 3 K On May 7 his OPS was .535, now its up to .666. Those are encouraging signs.

...playing in Salt Lake, that is. He's hitting .333 with a .429 OBP in four games. Shuck has been pretty solid but I'd love to see Kole get a chance before Bourjos comes back.

Just like Travis Witherspoon makes Trout expendable.

I'd package Ryan Bolden and Chevez Clarke for Cliff Lee.

Santana, that is, but Santa will do just fine as well.

Angels win 7-5. Santa gives up 4 runs on 6.1 IP

True. Of course it isn't just the younger generation but us "old folks" who have gotten used to a perennial contender. I suppose the last few years have taught us not to take contention for granted!

Chuck, its just like the 90s - watching Angels baseball to enjoy the game, not with any hope of actually ever making the postseason. Ha ha, just kidding. I too am very pleased and feeling hopeful.

Your stat sheet would read high in WAR (or should I say SABR?) but low in GRITz. Or maybe you're just watching too much Bill Maher?