Tuesday, May 23, 2006 |
Kendry Morales Makes A Splash: Angels 7, Rangers 6
He'll be the favorite for at-bats at first base until Darin Erstad returns, and could force a more permanent role if he plays well. AL-only leaguers will want to go the extra mile with their FAAB bids to acquire the switch-hitter.I would go further on a limb and say he's going to have to play himself out of a starting job. This is for two reasons: first, Chone Figgins isn't getting it done at leadoff, with his average sinking like a stone, his OBP as well (a .327 OBP isn't anything to write home about), and his play in the field horrible at any position, today's failure to back up Vlad turning a routine double into a triple and an eventual run scored. Figgins' symbolic benching at the end of the game in favor of Tommy Murphy was therefore entirely welcome; he's not hitting much better than Murphy so far, and we might see the speedy Tommy make a start or two in the near future.
The other reason Kendry is likely to keep his job — aside from his small-sample-size-warning admirable hitting, and the fact that Scioscia handed it to him in the press — is that he made a brilliant play in the eighth that saved the Angels a runner in scoring position. After Scot Shields walked leadoff hitter Jason Botts, Buck Showalter inexplicably had catcher Rod Barajas try for a sacrifice bunt. Kendry fielded the ball; instead of getting the out at first, he threw a strike to Cabrera, gunning down Botts and negating the sacrifice.
In the post-game interview, Morales said he heard Napoli yelling for him to throw to second. It was that kind of quick thinking I've suddenly learned to expect from a guy who's become a bright spot in an otherwise drab Angels season. Napoli has unexpectedly turned into a steady offensive contributor; in today's game, he went 1-2 with two walks, one of them sparking a crucial rally in the team's eighth inning. It almost seems criminal that he's batting so low in the order.
We take the good with the bad, of course. Chone Figgins' latest bid to be benched would seem to have him replaced in the lineup, at least for a while, with the speedy Tommy Murphy. Murphy saved the game by robbing Mark Teixeira of an almost certain home run; his lone plate appearance was, of course, a disappointing strikeout. It's hard to imagine Murphy hitting well over any extended period, but something must be done about Figgins' plummeting production at the top of the order. Perhaps he and Kennedy — 4-4 with a double on the night — can switch places, a suggestion I've been pilloried for previously, but it seems meet to revisit it now.
Perhaps the biggest complaint of the night, though, goes to Mike Scioscia for his continued overreliance on his 2002 bullpen usage patterns. Donnelly in the seventh, Shields in the eighth, and K-Rod in the ninth almost cost the Angels a win; the game went according to plan, but Donnelly gave up the go-ahead run, and if it weren't for the two-run rally, keyed in equal parts by Napoli's walk and a stroke of good fortune in Mark DeRosa's misplaced foot, he becomes an example of Scioscia's tendency to go too much by the game plan when it isn't called for. Facing the top of the powerful Texas order, Scioscia should have called for Scot Shields in the seventh, and Donnelly or Romero in the eighth. He didn't, and very nearly accumulated his seventh straight loss.
Napoli and Morales, guys who weren't on the A-list (or the B-list for that matter in the case of Napoli) were the heroes of the game from a young player stand point.
yeah, Mathis, Kotchman, MacPherson, Kendrick, Willits did not get it done to start 2006 .... but we were able to keep sending up the bodies and a few are starting to make some plays. Aybar and Murphy have gotten off on a good foot too. Yes, small sample size, and i expect a roiser future down the line for Mathis, Kotchman, MacPherson and Kendrick.
But this is about our depth and how its working. And there's more a comin' too - Weaver, Saunders, Wood, Adenhart, maybe Shell.
THAT is the benefit of having one of the best farms in the game!!
Since you're trying to take the good with the bad, or so you say, you should also note that Figgins has scored two runs in the last two games, and largely on speed and heads up baserunning alone, which is likely why he's still in the lineup.
There was a little luck there too, but then again Figgins makes his own luck my scaring the strength out of any competent defense, and causing slip-ups like DeRosa's last night...a small 'footnote' that literally saved us the game.
That said, I wouldn't mind a weeklong experiment flipping Adam and Chone, though Kennedy, whose defense last night was also extraordinary suspect and led to unearned runs scoring (curious why you evaded that?), has not been producing much outside of last night himself.
: 5/24/2006 07:55:00 AMMaxwell -- I did mean to get to mention AK's brain fart that ended up scoring a run for Texas, but we went out for dinner and by the time we got back it slipped my mind. In fact, I was going to mention how both Kennedy, who called out Figgins, and Figgins alike had black marks on their record in last night's game.
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