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Sunday, October 07, 2007 |
The Hall Of Pretty Good: Red Sox 9, Angels 1
I've been searching fruitlessly for a couple days now for a Bill Stoneman quote in which he said he had hoped to pattern the Angels after the wildly successful Braves franchise. It's beginning to look like he's done that in more than one way, as the Angels got a first-round 'bye in their third postseason since 2002. We left this game after Shields walked one and Justin Speier couldn't make an out on the next two batters, really an exclamation point on a series that seems to have just underscored the Angels' lack of power and inability to do anything when their offense can't get the singles they thrive on — and seem to absolutely require as a prerequisite to scoring anything.
I've been over all this team's defects, namely
- The powerlessness of the offense. The Angels had two extra base hits in the game and four in the series. C'mon.
- Showing veterans the door after it's too late, signing the wrong ones, or letting vetruhnness dictate playing time. Anderson in left mangled a catch that might have been playable by a fielder who, oh, I dunno, had two actual working eyes. Why he was given a start in left over Willits is completely beyond me; it maybe amplified a bad situation when Anderson did have to be replaced by Reggie Willits, leaving Willits to flounder in the bottom of the third with the bases loaded, thus compounding problems (1) and (2). This principle extends to giving out contracts as well (the rest of GMJ's contract is gonna be tough to swallow).
- Continued suckage in the bullpen. Jered Weaver pitched very well, his two solo homers allowed to David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez notwithstanding, and especially in the early innings, striking out four in the first two frames. Shields actually pitched an excellent game, save for the last batter he faced, walking leadoff man Julio Lugo; it was Justin Speier who really let the game get away, ironically the man signed to fix the bullpen's leakiness.
- Erick Aybar-ism. Not really in evidence today, but since I was on the subject of the team's most glaring flaws, it seems to me that Scioscia's mancrush on Aybar needs to either be controlled or Aybar needs to be dealt to another team. There are three players on this team who I could entirely live without (and not necessarily because they are bad players, either):
- Reggie Willits. God bless him, he's got great OBP and speed galore. He also can't play a credible center field, and therefore must occupy a corner outfield spot desperately needed for a power bat. Tradebait, with the caveat that if Scioscia is willing to work out a time-sharing arrangement in left (through group therapy or bribery), the net result could be better than GA alone.
- Garret Anderson. I'm probably alone in finding GA's second half less-than-compelling as an indicator of future ability. The Angels need a power hitter and left field seems to me to be a good place to put one. (No, I don't mean Barry Bonds.)
- Erick Aybar. Aybar's a terrible hitter with no discernable plate discipline, and an out at first waiting to happen if he does reach. He's also a highly inconsistent fielder who can make brilliant defensive plays and botch routine ones. As with Jim Tracy playing Jason Phillips out of position at first, sometimes a GM has to make a stand and trade a player just to keep him away from the manager.
- Lately, lousy production out of the catching position. I'm pretty sure that won't last, but how much of a correction the Angels will get remains to be seen. I was thrilled to see Napoli get a hit in today's game; it was the first hit by Angels catching in the entire series.
I wish they had battled more, wish they had held onto the only lead they ever had in the series on Friday. It was a good season, one I'll admit right now I didn't enjoy as much as maybe I should have, thanks to a big bout of mid-season panic in July, when the Mariners started catching up. I should have known better, of course, since Seattle's rotation was never up to the task, and their offense lacked depth and consistent punch.
For the rest of the postseason, I'm rooting for a Colorado/Cleveland matchup. I have no ill will toward the Diamondbacks, but speaking as an Angels partisan, I just love the Rocks' scrappy underdog story, coming from obscurity with a sudden hot streak. As to Cleveland, I'm tired of the Red Sox beating the Angels' brains out every time they meet in the postseason; with their recent rings and continued postseason success, they're no longer AL East doormats, but a big-market team only a notch or so back of the spendiferous Yankees. Cleveland going to the World Series, therefore, falls into the category of "spreading the wealth", and "doing things the right way because they have to".
Labels: angels, postseason, recaps, red sox
Comments:
The Angels need to find some type of offense that isn't all or nothing. I don't think the answer is signing A-Rod and as of right now the farm system doesn't look to great in the terms of hitting prospects. The next few drafts the Angels need to focus on the kind of players the Rockies have been drafting. Big strong players with pop, guys like Holliday, Hawpe...etc. Until then, they need to sign someone who can protect Vlad and actually put up 30 homers in a season
If the Angels had somebody hit 30 HRs in a season, he'd be hitting where Vlad is. I won't be surprised to see Vlad hit 20 next year. Not predicting that he will, but I do think he's aging in one heck of a hurry.
I'm probably alone in finding GA's second half less-than-compelling as an indicator of future ability.
I don't think many smart people think his 2nd half was much more than Indian Summer.
I won't be surprised to see Vlad hit 20 next year.
I'll make that same bet I offered to you when you thought the M's were a legitimate threat.
Not predicting that he will, but I do think he's aging in one heck of a hurry.
If he is, it's not really reflected in his numbers (he had a career high in Win Shares, for example). He hit a *lot* of balls off the wall this year; they became doubles, of which he hit a ton. Sure, he looks like death warmed over, but so did Magic Johnson until the whistle was blown.
I mostly agree with your take on things, with the caveat that I think the offense has more underlying power than it showed. Kendrick had only half a season (with 30 XBHs); his replacements were punchless. Napoli missed half the season; his power seems right on track. Kotchman's will only improve, and isn't bad to begin with; same goes for Kendry.
The power problem is 3B/LF. Hopefully Kendry can be taught the corner OF, and hopefully we'll sign that one dude who likes to hit 50 HRs to play 3B.
I don't think many smart people think his 2nd half was much more than Indian Summer.
I won't be surprised to see Vlad hit 20 next year.
I'll make that same bet I offered to you when you thought the M's were a legitimate threat.
Not predicting that he will, but I do think he's aging in one heck of a hurry.
If he is, it's not really reflected in his numbers (he had a career high in Win Shares, for example). He hit a *lot* of balls off the wall this year; they became doubles, of which he hit a ton. Sure, he looks like death warmed over, but so did Magic Johnson until the whistle was blown.
I mostly agree with your take on things, with the caveat that I think the offense has more underlying power than it showed. Kendrick had only half a season (with 30 XBHs); his replacements were punchless. Napoli missed half the season; his power seems right on track. Kotchman's will only improve, and isn't bad to begin with; same goes for Kendry.
The power problem is 3B/LF. Hopefully Kendry can be taught the corner OF, and hopefully we'll sign that one dude who likes to hit 50 HRs to play 3B.
"hopefully we'll sign that one dude who likes to hit 50 HRs to play 3B."
From your lips to Arte's ears.
From your lips to Arte's ears.
Curt Schilling:
"One last thought. I guarantee someone will make a big deal out of this and it’s not meant to be. It’s something that I would guess only affected me but that’s why I mention it. I was stunned yesterday as I walked to the pen to warm up, that the Angels took no BP outside. I am walking to the pen and they were doing the ‘on your own’ routine that teams will often do in Spring Training for oddly timed games or during the regular season when you get an early day game after a late night. Now I would bet they didn’t think twice about it, they were ready for the game and all that, but as I am walking to the pen I couldn’t help but think that as high as I was adrenaline wise, with the series on the line, and my nerves on edge, there was no way they could be anywhere near as ready for this game as I was when it started. Sounds stupid I guess, but I know it got me fired up and excited about being able to grab a hold of this game and win it. They were obviously ready to go as Jared looked very good early on and they swung the bats well."
http://38pitches.com/2007/10/08/what-a-series/#more-106
"One last thought. I guarantee someone will make a big deal out of this and it’s not meant to be. It’s something that I would guess only affected me but that’s why I mention it. I was stunned yesterday as I walked to the pen to warm up, that the Angels took no BP outside. I am walking to the pen and they were doing the ‘on your own’ routine that teams will often do in Spring Training for oddly timed games or during the regular season when you get an early day game after a late night. Now I would bet they didn’t think twice about it, they were ready for the game and all that, but as I am walking to the pen I couldn’t help but think that as high as I was adrenaline wise, with the series on the line, and my nerves on edge, there was no way they could be anywhere near as ready for this game as I was when it started. Sounds stupid I guess, but I know it got me fired up and excited about being able to grab a hold of this game and win it. They were obviously ready to go as Jared looked very good early on and they swung the bats well."
http://38pitches.com/2007/10/08/what-a-series/#more-106
I know it won't happen, but the easy way to get power in this lineup will be to sign Barry Bonds.
Offer him the DH job, trade Rivera, use Willits part time in left and as Barry's legs. If the Angels offered Bonds a 1 year contract at any reasonable rate I'm sure he'd jump.
If we try to upgrade with A-Rod, Hunter, or Andruw, we'd have a lot of competition and winning the bid sticks us with at least 100 million in cost (the CF's) or over 200 -ARod.
Offer him the DH job, trade Rivera, use Willits part time in left and as Barry's legs. If the Angels offered Bonds a 1 year contract at any reasonable rate I'm sure he'd jump.
If we try to upgrade with A-Rod, Hunter, or Andruw, we'd have a lot of competition and winning the bid sticks us with at least 100 million in cost (the CF's) or over 200 -ARod.
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